But Cesar was far from egomaniacal about his role as pack leader. For about an hour, I watched as he controlled about 50 dogs without raising his voice. We went into a back alley area where the dogs run and play, and he would point or say, "Hey!" when any of the dogs stepped out of line. A few times I didn't know which of the dogs had acted up until Cesar singled it out for a hard stare. Even then, the dogs could clearly tell which one of them was the focus of his ire, but I couldn't.

"Did you see that?" he'd say. "He walked up with his mouth ready to bite. The energy was no good."

"That one behind you? How did you even see that?"

"The energy. I could feel it coming up from behind, so I looked, and there he was."

By this time, Potus was tromping through the mud with a few of the other dogs, looking happy and relaxed. So where did all these dogs come from? Cesar says about half were problem cases from local rescue organizations, dogs that couldn't be placed in homes until their behavioral problems were addressed. The other half were the pets of private clients who could afford to spend thousands to have their dogs rehabilitated. For many of them, Cesar is the last resort, and he claims that he's only encountered two dogs that he couldn't rehabilitate.

Which of these bruisers are Cesar's dogs? A few of the Rottweilers, maybe, and a pit bull or two? No. Cesar's dogs are the poodle, the Boston terrier and the two little greyhounds.

But the more you learn about Cesar, the more he confounds expectations. He talks about running through the hills of Los Angeles with a pack of dogs off-leash and pulling an angry Rottweiler off a German shepherd, then segues easily over to couples therapy and Deepak Chopra. His wife, Illusion, runs the business because he says she's much better at that stuff than he is, and he trusts her completely. And despite the growing popularity of the show (its ratings have soared the past two months), and Cesar's clearly ambitious nature, he talks mostly about -- what else? -- maintaining balance. It's remarkable that someone who started with nothing could be self-disciplined and centered enough not to become anxious and egocentric in the face of having it all.

"This wave of opportunities can control your life. I don't want that, I want to control my opportunities. I want to be the best dog trainer in the world; I said that when I was 13 years old. I wished for it. So I know I have the power to create whatever I want to be. That is already a reality in my mind. But I don't want that to control me. I just don't. Then I will have no freedom, and I love the freedom."

When I was putting Potus in the car, Cesar finally acknowledged her, and she licked his face gratefully. Like the other dogs, she seemed to cherish the attentions of this person who was so clearly in charge. My affections would always come cheaper than that, but Cesar's poise and confidence were still genuinely inspiring. In the past week since then, I've been running with Potus every morning, and she's getting less and less riled up by other dogs along the way. I even cut her toenails the other day, a task that used to make her think I was trying to kill her. It was my calm, confident manner, not any trick or shortcut, that made the difference. And even though Potus still hogs the bed, and I still need a haircut, we're both happier, more balanced animals, thanks to the Dog Whisperer.

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