KATE SULLIVAN: On a quiet side street in beautiful Santa Monica, California, just a few short miles from the hustle and bustle of its famous pier, we're meeting a man known simply as "The Dog Whisperer."

KATE: And we're going to one of your favorite restaurants.

CESAR MILLAN: This is like one of the things that, you know, "love at first sight," this is love at first bite.

KATE: He's part dog whisperer, part spiritual guru.

A dreamer, whose message for success embraces a path to better living.

CESAR: One thing is having a dream.

How you push it, coming from low income.

Right, so when people say, "How did you became the dog whisperer?"

Fate, hard work, passion, creativity.

That's how.

KATE: Cesar Millan is taking me to his favorite restaurant to eat what he loves and find out why he loves it.

We will dive into Cesar's lifelong love affair with dogs and how he bonds with them so profoundly.

CESAR: First, connect to the spirit of a dog.

Second, connect to the instinct of a dog.

And then, the heart.

So, the mind can listen to you willingly.

You don't need toys or food.

They do it for loyalty.

KATE: From his humble immigrant beginnings to living the American Dream, Cesar's journey has been far from easy, and he's sharing what he's learned from it all.

CESAR: I'm giving my very best.

KATE: Yes.

CESAR: Right?

And America has given me an incredible gift, right?

To become the best dog trainer in the world.

Only in America.

KATE: What's better in life than a bottle of wine, great food, and an amazing conversation?

My name is Kate Sullivan, and I am the host of To Dine For .

I'm a journalist, a foodie, a traveler with an appetite for the stories of people who are hungry for more: dreamers, visionaries, artists: those who hustle hard in the direction they love.

I travel with them to their favorite restaurant to hear how they did it.

This show is a toast to them and their American Dream.

To Dine For with Kate Sullivan is made possible by... (Music and chatter) MAN: During the weekends, we do like a grill.

(Clatter of chess board) MAN #2: You know you have bragging rights in the hood.

I'm like, "My guy won the game."

(Clatter of chess piece and men yelling and cheering) FEMALE ANNOUNCER: At American National, we honor the "do"-ers and the dreamers: The people who gets things done and keep the world moving.

Our local agents are honored to serve your community, because it's their community, too.

American National.

KATE: Hi everyone!

Today I'm in Santa Monica, California, on my way into a neighborhood gem, Giorgio Baldi.

I am meeting a dreamer and visionary, whose life truly exemplifies the American Dream.

I can't wait for you to meet Cesar Millan.

Cesar!

CESAR: How are you?

KATE: How are you?

CESAR: Really good.

Looking forward.

KATE: It is so wonderful to meet you.

CESAR: Thank you so much, appreciate it.

KATE: I am so looking forward to this.

CESAR: Please.

KATE: You have no idea.

CESAR: Well, let's...talk about it, then.

KATE: Let's talk about it.

Let's do this.

CESAR: Yes.

KATE: And we're going to one of your favorite restaurants.

CESAR: This is like one of the things that, you know, "love at first sight," this is love at first bite.

KATE: Love it.

[Kate laughs] KATE: Cesar Millan is talking about his favorite restaurant, Giorgio Baldi, whose founder was an immigrant, just like him.

His daughter, Elena, has since taken up the mantle and says her dad came to America with a love of Italian cooking, and a dream to share it in his newfound home.

ELENA BALDI: He just loved to cook, he loved people.

He just wanted people to be comfortable, enjoy the food.

You know, you're coming to eat at your house, and this is your kitchen.

We love the families, you know, we always have these families coming here for like, 34 years now.

That was like what he loved the most.

KATE: And that family-owned, family-oriented mission has never changed.

Giorgio Baldi is cozy and inclusive.

They've been serving their loyal local community for generations, including some celebrities.

ELENA: It's just great to see, you know, we have some families that still come for dinner every Sunday, and it's like five generations.

KATE: Today we're dining on some of the classics, the artichoke salad with fennel and a sprinkle of pecorino cheese, freshly sautéed clams with white wine and a touch of tomato sauce, and the house-made ricciarelle with a white truffle sauce, highlights that have solidified their status and fulfilled the dream, even after its patron's passing.

ELENA: When someone comes here for the first time, and they take that first bite, and they love it.

And we're happy to just, you know, he's here all the time.

You know, you can feel him and it's just special.

KATE: Giorgio Baldi passes on that legacy by connecting food and culture.

And its importance is not lost on Cesar Millan.

Isn't it amazing how people connect over food?

CESAR: Yeah.

KATE: And it's very true in the Mexican culture, that the table is sort of the center of the world.

And it's true of the Italian culture at the Italian restaurant we are dining at today, right?

Something very powerful about sitting down for a meal.

CESAR: You see the whole family, grandparents, you know, the mom, the dad.

It's where rules by limitations must be followed.

Right, so, you come at a certain time, and everybody waits until the pack leaders are seated at the table, and they get served first.

Beautiful tradition, beautiful rituals, I think are important because I teach people: formula, rituals, symbols.

You know?

So, the symbol of eating its a ritual, its a formula right?

That allows you to practice a spirituality with the family, instincts and love and memories because you know once you hit fifty, you realize life, time, and memories is what life is all about.

KATE: Yes!

I totally agree.

CESAR: Right?

So, the fact that you're alive, that's happiness.

And then, how you manage time, that makes you disciplined.

And then the memories.

So, hopefully you have good memories.

KATE: Well you are- We're going to get into your fascinating career, but at the heart of it, is the rituals that make your connection with the dogs so powerful and also such a better experience, more obedient, with following "Cesar's Way," I should say.

But there is something to the ritual of eating uh, that is incredibly powerful as well.

CESAR: Well, three rituals for dog people.

Right?

The meeting, number one, cause that's how you met a dog.

Second is walking with the dog.

And then third is eating.

So, feeding a dog is a very important ritual.

But it's very important that people also feed the dog when the dog is calm or after he worked for food, so the gratitude and the appreciation is there.

KATE: The timing of it is important.

CESAR: Of course.

KATE: It's not just feeding the dog, it's when you do it.

CESAR: Exercise, discipline, and then, it's food.

Right, body, mind, heart.

So, the dog has to drain energy physically, have some challenge in the mind so he earned it, and then he gets food, water, shelter, family.

It's a reward, right, so then what happens when you have that, the dog is like "I was so hungry, you fed me," versus, "I'm not hungry, I'm still needy."

KATE: The gratitude.

CESAR: That's right.

KATE: It's a grateful heart, a grateful heart.

Okay, take me back to Mexico.

At a very young age, you had a special connection with animals.

Did that come from your family, or do you think that was innate?

CESAR: Both.

I think it instinctually came from my family because I grew up with my grandfather, my grandmother, my dad, and my mom.

Right?

And so, I grew up on a farm and there are certain rituals and traditions and a way of being that a kid would learn, we learn how to grow plants, how to take care of animals, how to follow the rules, the boundaries, the limitations.

Right?

And so, I grew up in that environment, of course, having this kind of responsibility is a God thing, a mission.

Right.

So, that's the part where I- I did gr- was born with something, but I did learn from my family.

KATE: You were training animals at a young age, correct?

CESAR: I didn't call it training, I was connecting with them.

KATE: Connecting with them, right.

CESAR: Cause I wasn't thinking, "Sit!

Down!

Stay!

Come!

Heel!"

I learned about that when I move into the city, and I watch "Lassie" and "Rin Tin Tin."

That's when I thought that every dog in America was Lassie and Rin Tin Tin.

I was like ten years old, so for many years, because I came to America when I was 21, because I never saw aggression in Mexico.

KATE: Ah.

Never?

CESAR: They're skinny, but they don't have psychological problems.

KATE: Really?

So, you never saw any aggression in any animal?

CESAR: Or anxiety, or separation anxiety.

KATE: Only until you came to the U.S.?

CESAR: That's right, because here the dogs were more kept behind walls.

They didn't walk enough.

Versus a dog in Mexico... KATE: They were chained, they were leashed.

CESAR: That's right.

They were free.

So, the whole point of the land of the free, they get to live it over there.

So, a dog from the north of Mexico can go all the way to Cancun if he wants to.

We don't have dog parks.

So the whole country is a dog park.

Here, in order for the dog to be social, he has to go from his home, into the car, and to a dog park.

KATE: Right.

CESAR: So, it's box, box, box, box.

KATE: Very different.

CESAR: He doesn't walk to the dog park and so the dogs at the dog park, they come with the same ritual.

So the dog hasn't walked, he goes into the car, and then he goes into the park.

So, he goes from Chuck E. Cheese to UFC.

[Kate laughs] Right, because people go "You want to go to the park?!"

And the dog's like [panting] so you put the dog in the car, and then, "Ready?

Ready?

Ready?

Go!"

So that's what they're bringing into the dog park.

KATE: They're training them with that energy.

CESAR: That's right, so Chuck E. Cheese, UFC.

KATE: Wow.

CESAR: Because now you have a whole bunch of Chuck E. Cheese going on there, and it's in a boxed area, so the energy is going to contain, so the dogs are going to go into that.

So, every three hours, you're going to see a dog fight at a dog park.

KATE: Ok, that's really interesting.

Where did the dream begin that you wanted to become one of the best dog trainers in the world?

CESAR: Well, I always wanted to be anything with animals, right, so I wanted to be a vet.

That's when I found out that we came from a low-income family, so they couldn't send me from the north of Mexico to Guadalajara or Mexico City, cause that's where they do dogs or cats.

You know, where I'm from, it's pigs and cows.

So, it's very farm, you know, oriented, where I'm from.

BOTH: Thank you.

WAITER: Artichoke salad.

KATE: Artichoke salad, wow.

Doesn't that look beautiful?

CESAR: You try it first so you can... KATE: This is one of your favorite dishes.

CESAR: This is so simple.

It's so simple, you know?

I love artichokes.

KATE: Simple is the best.

CESAR: There are masses of the cheese.

KATE: Exactly.

Who doesn't love parmesan, right?

CESAR: Right.

I wanted to be a vet, sorry, I wanted to be a vet and I realized I couldn't, and I said to my mom, "Mom, do you think I could be the best dog trainer in the world?"

I was thirteen years old.

And my mom turns around, "You can be whatever you want."

And that really sealed the belief.

KATE: To have a dream is essential.

CESAR: And to push the dream.

KATE: And to push the dream.

CESAR: One thing is having a dream.

How you push it, coming from low income.

Right, so when people say, "How did you became the dog whisperer?"

Fate, hard work, passion, creativity.

That's how.

KATE: Dreaming big is what brought Cesar to America.

He trained as a vet tech in Mexico, grooming dogs, learning body management, clipping nails, whatever was needed.

He said he saw signs and heard a voice that propelled him to leave his homeland, to pursue the dream of becoming the best dog trainer in the world.

But the road was difficult.

He tried for weeks to cross the border, with only 100 dollars in his pocket until, as Cesar describes, an angel that you can see helped him across.

Tell me about that journey.

CESAR: This coyote guy came to me and said, "I'll charge you $100," mind you, I already tried for two weeks because I wanted to save this $100 that my gran- that my father gave me.

Right, so if I have $100, once I came to America, I'm going to be able to eat.

When the guy came and he said, "I'll charge you $100," so that to me was a sign.

KATE: Because you only had $100.

CESAR: That's right, how does he know?

Right?

But this is the beautiful part.

So, at the end, you know, I didn't like the way he looks, but then the voice comes and says, "He's the one."

Which- he's the one.

Right, so, we go, we run, we do what we gotta do, and then the guy says, "I'm going to get a taxi, so it takes you away from San Ysidro and takes you to downtown San Diego."

I say, "I have no more money."

He pays the taxi driver $20 for me to go.

So, this is an angel that you can see.

KATE: And I heard you were homeless for the first... CESAR: For the first two months.

KATE: First two months?

CESAR: Yes, so I learned to live under a bridge.

Right?

So, I learned the concept of the homeless.

KATE: Yes.

CESAR: Cause, I grew up with no money, but I wasn't homeless.

KATE: Between moving here, homeless, underneath a bridge, to the Dog Psychology Center, take me from that point to that point.

How do you learn, how do you bridge, how do you create your own center?

CESAR: I experienced the help of two wonderful ladies in a grooming salon.

Right?

That's what I learn, "do you have application for work?"

So that was the first sentence I learned in English.

KATE: Okay.

CESAR: I wanted to sound proper.

You know, I wanted to sound like I really want a job.

KATE: And where is the first place you applied?

CESAR: Sizzler, as a dishwasher.

And then another one was um, a burrito place.

So, literally I only have to make $1 a day and I would totally eat because and back then, an AM/PM and 7-Eleven, there were two hot dogs for $0.99.

So, literally I only needed $1 a day.

KATE: Wow.

CESAR: And then I learned about the investment of Big Gulp because you can do refills.

KATE: [laughs] You could do free refills.

CESAR: See.

That's an investment, right.

Because in Mexico we don't have that, free refill.

KATE: So, you were doing what you needed to get by.

Where is your first opportunity to really work with dogs in the U.S.?

CESAR: At the grooming place.

KATE: Ok, so you get a job at the grooming place?

CESAR: That's correct.

So, I went to this grooming place.

It was a dog, it was a cocker spaniel, black cocker spaniel that was aggressive towards one of the ladies.

So I go and say, "do you have application for work?"

The good thing is this cocker spaniel was misbehaving, right, so they start talking to me in English, I have no idea what they were saying, but they point to the dog, and they show me a picture.

So, that's the beauty, right?

So, they trust this process.

So, I go in the back and start grooming the dog and the dog totally calm.

Right, so I know how to hold a dog, I know how to shave the dog.

So, I saw instinctually that they were doing it wrong.

KATE: They were acting with aggression to an aggressive dog.

CESAR: To a dog that was nervous.

KATE: To a dog that was nervous.

CESAR: That's right.

That's correct.

So, then, you hold the dog in a certain place, you give certain energy, and then you bring the clipper, and that's how the dog is going to experience it.

So, of course, they're like, okay this guy knows what he's doing.

That day, I make $60.

KATE: Wow.

CESAR: $60.

KATE: That's a lot of hot dogs at 7-Eleven!

[Both laugh] CESAR: That's exactly what I said!

That's exactly what I said.

I said, I return $50, I say what do I need so many hot dogs?

People only gave me a job once a day, so I was not a permanent guy.

KATE: You were a fill-in?

CESAR: So, the ladies ask me to come back.

My first bath in America was in a dog bathtub.

KATE: Wow.

CESAR: So those ladies not only gave me a job, they also found out I was homeless, they let me stay in in their grooming salon.

I clean it in return.

KATE: It's stories like that that helped Cesar get on his feet.

He cleaned kennels and limos.

Became a dog walker, where he walked up to forty dogs off-leash, and trained dogs in his spare time.

After moving to Los Angeles, he learned English with the help of Jada Pinkett Smith, who had attended one of his training demonstrations.

Once The Los Angeles Times wrote about his unique training style, it all started coming together, and The Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic channel was born.

It's focus?

Behavior modification for dogs and their owners.

So, what are most dog owners doing wrong?

CESAR: Unconsciously, by humanizing the dog, they practice human psychology on a dog.

Right?

KATE: Instead of dog psychology.

CESAR: Because the human rationalizes and humans have a choice, so we should be like the most balanced of them all.

But we're not.

KATE: Right.

CESAR: We're the one that creates confusion and happiness and chaos all over the world.

Animals would never aim for confusion and happiness and chaos.

They will never follow unstable leaders, ever, woman or a male.

KATE: Wow.

CESAR: We're the only species that follow unstable leaders.

KATE: At what point when you are in the world of dogs in the U.S. do you realize it really is about the owner, and I need to train the owner?

It is about a better human.

CESAR: Since Dog Whisperer, cause I you know... what I used to call "I train people, rehabilitate dogs.

I am the Dog Whisperer."

Right?

So that has been from the moment- that's what made me different cause I was like America needs to be trained first, right?

They just get a dog because they love the dog, and they think the dog is cute, or they feel sorry for the dog.

That's an emotional way of going and getting into a relationship, right?

We need to understand how they function, how they connect, how they communicate.

KATE: When The Dog Whisperer started, it was the number one show on National Geographic, it ended up in 80 different countries, it was a sensation, it put you in a totally different stratosphere.

CESAR: Yes.

KATE: What was that like for you personally?

CESAR: To see my mom um, being so proud and surprised of the accomplishment, because she was part of it, right, I just did the journey, right but she did the belief.

She did the nurturing.

You know, she raised this boy.

Right, so to see her uh joy was the most amazing thing.

KATE: That was the best part.

CESAR: Yeah because none of us dreamed about that.

I just want to be the best trainer in the world, not necessarily on TV.

KATE: Right.

[Kate laughs] that's a whole other level.

CESAR: That's a whole other level and to be twenty years on TV, that's another uh thing, surprising thing that... you know, God does for us.

KATE: And why do you think it was so successful?

CESAR: Because the world needed it.

KATE: The world needed it.

CESAR: The world needed it.

The world needed a different way of being human.

KATE: Cesar continues to share a different way of being human, with shows like Better Human Better Dog, multiple best-selling books, and a foundation that provides training, seminars, and community outreach, even moving his Dog Psychology Center from south-central L.A. to Santa Clarita, just north of the city, to be more connected to nature.

Along the journey, he got married and had two sons.

Life was good, until it wasn't.

Fame and all the trappings that come with it took its toll and Cesar says he lost his way.

This dish looks so phenomenal.

CESAR: Yummy.

KATE: And it looks like just the right amount.

It is creamy.

It is delicious.

It has a little bit of pepper.

CESAR: Nice.

KATE: Oh my goodness.

CESAR: Simple and profound.

KATE: Simple and profound, to use your words.

CESAR: And the Italians say, "This is natural!"

[Kate laughs] KATE: When your show hit such success, did you change?

CESAR: For a little while, I did.

You know, definitely money, fame, and power affects people who are not ready for it.

KATE: Positive or negatively?

Some negatively?

CESAR: For a few months, I thought that I was Scarface.

[Kate laughs] I know, it's ridiculous.

But, it was a moment, I know, I'm getting to know myself.

You know, I'm getting to know my self-knowledge, self-body, self-love.

So, I'm building, you know, this dream at the same time I'm getting to know Cesar.

KATE: It's almost a surreal dream to be coming to the U.S., to be homeless, to be under a bridge, and then to reach such success, what a education, what an evolution that you had to go through.

CESAR: And I don't have male role models or women role models around me to guide me through this.

KATE: Yeah, so how did you do it?

CESAR: I just fall.

[Kate laughs] Right, like, I got caught.

It's a different border.

It's a different thing to jump.

Right?

So...before I crossed the border, I fell many times.

I fell for two weeks.

Right?

So, it's a metaphor, but it's the same thing as in life.

When you don't have a role model in front of you and that's why I love this conversation, because I do want people to see messages, right, how do we deal with what.

You know?

If you feel alone, how do you do it?

If you have a pack but you don't know how to put it together, what does it need to do?

You know what I mean?

Because that's what we need the most, we need the pack, we need the guidance, the protection, direction, the education, what do I do, why do I feel this way, why I don't feel happy anymore?

KATE: And did you reach a point where you didn't feel happy anymore?

CESAR: Yeah, of course.

You get to meet, uh your mind going in that chaos, right?

Because now you're guided by money, fame, and power.

KATE: Right.

How do you get back, once you cross over?

CESAR: Life.

In my case, it was life, right?

It was life because I tried to commit suicide and once I finished, uh being 72-hours in this detention place, um that was it.

I say, okay let's go back.

KATE: How did you shift your perspective and your purpose?

CESAR: I lost my faith.

I lost...lost that old Cesar, you know, that grateful Cesar, you know, that grateful Cesar, the the humble Cesar, you know, the loving Cesar, the son Cesar.

You know?

That's the one I got disconnected and, from that point, I said I'm never going to get this connection [inaudible].

Cause I like that Cesar better than this Cesar over here.

KATE: You knew it.

You felt it.

CESAR: That's when I say, wait God didn't want me to go because he didn't want me to go.

KATE: Yes.

CESAR: Right, I grabbed the mission again.

and start building myself again.

And so, I rehabilitated myself, along the way.

But it makes sense.

You know, it makes sense that I have to go through that thing so I can empathize with people who are going through the same thing.

KATE: I think your story is so inspiring for so many reasons, but the fact that you were a person of faith, you had a great family, you had a talent, you had passion, and incredible success, and you still sunk into depression.

I think it's so important for people to see, right, because it can happen to anyone.

CESAR: Anyone.

And that's the direction, that's why we need direction, so we can protect ourselves.

Right, because I love myself, but then I have no sense of direction, I'm not going to feel the protection.

KATE: And just the trajectory of you doing The Dog Whisperer to what you're doing now, which is Better Human Better Dog, and that has been an evolution.

CESAR: Thanks to me working on myself, the people on the TV show get that Cesar.

Because Dog Whisperer was uh, people would say "Oh it's a guy that has this special- special gift," no, no, no, we all have it.

But now with the title Better Human Better Dog, now you can do it.

KATE: And that's Cesar's message through all the hardship and chaos, he found his way.

By remembering what he always knew, that simple and profound was the way forward to freedom.

How many people ask you about immigration and how you personally feel about the debate, because you've lived it?

And, not only have you really personified the American Dream, but you've done it as you know, an undocumented immigrant.

What are your thoughts?

CESAR: So, I understand that what I did is against the law, breaking the rules bound by limitations.

But, at the same time, some people come for spiritual reasons, to make that place better.

Or instinctual reasons to show how things get done with nothing.

Or passion.

Right?

And this is the beauty of quotes, because I love the quote "Ask not what the country can do for you, what you can do for the country."

I say, "America, I can do this for you.

[Laughs] I don't need papers, in return."

Right.

So I'm going to make sure all dogs trust, respect, love.

I'm going to make sure you guys understand why you have fight-flight avoidance.

In return, I just want to be welcomed.

KATE: All that you've brought from your upbringing and how it's part of something that you wouldn't think it would be part of, which is dog training, right?

Right?

You're using the tenets of your culture in something that has really made you such a success.

CESAR: I'm giving my very best.

You know what I mean.

I've brought a gift to America, right?

And America has given me an incredible gift, right, to become the best dog trainer in the world.

Only in America.

Only in America.

KATE: Only in America.

CESAR: Only in America.

KATE: Cheers to that!

CESAR: You can be the Dog Whisperer in the world!

Here's to America.

You're magical.

KATE: What a meal with Cesar Millan, the man who will forever be called "The Dog Whisperer."

But he is a little more of a life whisperer, right?

A man who faced every obstacle possible to achieve the American Dream.

But when he did, found himself in a dark place.

He had to actually rehabilitate himself and remind himself that he already had everything he needed for life.

His grateful, humble heart led him back to who he has always been.

Yes, he trains humans to train their dog, but how many of us need a little training, dog or no dog?

How many of us need a little more connection to nature, to the simple, to the profound.

His story is a reminder, no matter how successful you get, to return to what is most essential.

If you're able to do that, you will find true success.

♪♪ KATE: If you would like to know more about the guests, the restaurants, and the inspiring stories of success, please visit ToDineForTV.com or follow us on Facebook and Instagram @ToDineForTV.

We also have a podcast.

To Dine For , The Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

To Dine For with Kate Sullivan is made possible by... (Music and chatter) MAN: During the weekends, we do like a grill.

(Clatter of chess board) MAN #2: You know you have bragging rights in the hood.

I'm like, "My guy won the game."

(Clatter of chess piece and men yelling and cheering) FEMALE ANNOUNCER: At American National, we honor the "do"-ers and the dreamers: The people who gets things done and keep the world moving.

Our local agents are honored to serve your community, because it's their community, too.

American National.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪