“They accept you as who you are — one leg, two legs, no eyes, no problem.”

By AMY WALLACE


LOS ANGELES - Cesar Millan has a hit American television show, a glossy magazine called Cesar’s Way and four books to his name, the first three of which have cumulatively sold two million copies in the United States and are available in 14 countries.

And it is all built on his talent for explaining to humans the ways of their four-legged companions. As the title of his latest book puts it, he specializes in “How to Raise the Perfect Dog.”

As seen on his television show, “Dog Whisperer With Cesar Millan,” the dogs he works with have exhibited seemingly irrational fears (of motorbikes, toasters, linoleum floors) and strange obsessions (biting rocks, ankles, tires).

One couple sought out Mr. Millan after their two pit bulls, intent on killing each other, forced them to live apart. Another hadn’t slept in the same bed for months because their Yorkies wouldn’t allow it.

Based in Los Angeles, the epicenter of the entertainment industry, Mr. Millan has helped scores of movie stars and moguls, charging $10,000 to $100,000 for a private consultation, which he usually donates to his charitable foundation. Among his clients have been the talkshow host Oprah Winfrey, the actor Will Smith, the former Disney chief Michael D. Eisner and the director Ridley Scott.

They are impressive achievements for a native of Culiacan, Mexico, who crossed the border illegally 19 years ago. (He became a United States citizen this year.) When he talks about transformation, he’s living proof that it’s possible.

With his wife, Ilusion, he runs Cesar Millan Inc., which coordinates all things Cesar beyond the show, including speaking engagements; executive leadership seminars; and a line of organic dog food, fortified water, shampoos and toys for dogs.

His Web site, cesarmillaninc.com, grosses annual sales in the mid-seven figures, according to a company spokesman. According to MPH Entertainment, the production company that is Mr. Millan’s partner in all its many offshoots, he will be a $100 million business in a few years. And he says he’s just getting started.

There are 65 million dogs in the United States, where pet care is close to a $40 billion industry.

“Anything that is realistic, if I create it in my mind, it can become a reality,” Mr. Millan says. “That is the power of intention.”

He grew up on a farm in Mexico, where from an early age he was known as El Perrero, or “the dog man.” Dogs made sense to him. They telegraphed their anxieties in predictable ways. They loved to be led.

“They accept you as who you are - one leg, two legs, no eyes, no problem,” he says. “But they won’t be around unstable energy. That’s how much integrity they have.”

He’s the first to say, however, that communicating with humans didn’t come so naturally. His wife, Ilusion, a Mexican- American whom he met and married when she was 18 and he was 24, recalls the moment he began to understand his own species. After the birth of their first son (they have two), they’d hit a rough period and separated. Cesar was too macho and too bossy, she felt, and ignored her feelings. At her insistence, they went to counseling.

“I said: ‘You know, Cesar, I really want you to listen. I want you to be there in our household. I want to hear you say that you love me,’”

Ilusion says, recalling how her husband looked at the counselor and exclaimed, “She’s just like dogs!” Ilusion is wry about this revelation, which she says initially made her angry. But then she realized that for her husband, all knowledge walks on four legs. His mantra of “exercise, discipline and affection” - the essential trio that he says keeps dogs (and apparently wives and anyone else) happy and healthy - was born that day. Now, Mr. and Mrs. Millan are a team.

“We’re what I call Mr. Talent and Mrs. Brains,” says Ilusion. “You can’t have one without the other.”

Cesar agrees: “My wife rehabilitated me.”


MONICA ALMEIDA/THE NEW YORK TIMES