And why is that? "First of all, they're not behind walls. Walls create frustration," he says. "And then, they have a job. So they use their bodies and their minds every single day to survive. Dogs in America don't use their bodies and their minds to survive. They get food because they're cute. They get food because somebody loves them very, very much and they're somebody's kid, or a replacement for something else -- which is really good for the human."

"I'm not saying it's bad. I'm just saying the human is fulfilling himself first."

Guilty as charged. Cesar feels that training is fine, but it doesn't help much when it comes to bad behavior. If you're not the pack leader -- which you sometimes don't discover until a problem emerges -- you won't be able to control the dog when instinct takes over. Fulfilling a dog's real needs, and behaving in ways that a dog understands naturally, Cesar says, are the keys to having a calm, submissive, balanced dog. This means lots of exercise with you as the leader, in front of the dog, and lots of discipline.

As opposed to, say, just for instance, waking up first thing in the morning and showering your dog with kisses? "I'm not saying not to share affection -- I love what I do, it's my passion! -- but I give that as the dessert. After they're calm from exercise, submissive from the psychological part," he says. At his center, Cesar sees a lot of wealthy clients whose dogs are very loved, have huge houses, get lots of treats, but they develop behavioral problems because their owners aren't actually giving what they need first and foremost -- daily exercise and psychological discipline. "The dog is not going to get the benefit of being loved because he is out of balance."

This is a key to the appeal of "The Dog Whisperer," by the way; Cesar may be a dog charmer, but his attention to the humans on his show is what makes it so entertaining. He focuses as much on the dog owner as on the dogs themselves. "I rehabilitate dogs. I train people," he says during the opening credits. And whether it's the owner who is more manic and hyper than Flirt, her pet Chinese Crested, or the lonely, recently divorced owner who babies Sunshine, her Doberman, Cesar is constantly uncovering the psychological needs in the human that create the neurotic tic or aggressive streak in the dog.

Such sensitivity wasn't always Cesar's strongest suit. He grew up on a farm in Mexico in a family where the men were in charge. When he was 21, he paid a coyote to help him illegally cross the border into San Diego, where he held down a series of menial jobs. Eventually, he got a job working for a limousine salesman who helped teach him English and encouraged him to pursue his interest in dog training. He met his wife, Illusion, 29, around this time, but quickly learned that his macho Mexican ways stood in the way of keeping his marriage together.

"What I learned when I came to America is, third-world country men do not fulfill women. The third-world country way of being is physical/psychological. That's perfect for animals, because animals want physical and psychological challenges," he says. "Animals want to be told what to do.

"A woman requires affection, a woman requires emotion, a woman requires you to say, 'You're so beautiful and you're so great,'" he says, before adding: "In America, dogs receive more affection than women in third-world countries.

"I really became aware of how much my mom suffered from the lack of emotion. She got exercise, discipline every day. But not affection. And then I came to America, and read the book 'Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus.'"

Yes, Cesar's been in California for a while now. And who gave him the book? Actress Jada Pinkett, of course. Cesar worked with Pinkett's Rottweilers, and the two became close friends. "We had a lot of sessions together, a lot of conversations together, and she became my mentor. But the most beautiful thing she did was, she hired a special English teacher to come to me for a year, because she believed in me. We didn't know each other, but somehow we clicked."

Did Pinkett point him in the direction of TV? "Yes. She always thought, 'This has to be on TV.' But of course, she knew better than that because my English was really bad. And I was nervous, I was insecure, and you know, all these things you go through because you think you can't pull it off. But then I figured out that I have this past pattern with people. I was a follower. In order for you to be on TV, you have to be the leader. Oprah is another of my role models in that area. She's a calm, assertive individual. So I start seeking help from people by observing them."

As Cesar and I spoke, Potus, who was supposed to be lying down at my feet, started rolling around and tugging at my shoelaces. "Has she exercised yet?" he asked.

Next thing I knew, we were walking down the street, with Cesar keeping Potus on about 2 inches of leash, giving her a little yank every time she pulled ahead of him, or her ears moved up into an alert position.

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