Energy in the Wild and in Humans

Cesar's Way : The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems
by Cesar Millan, Melissa Jo Peltier

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Energy in the Wild

How can energy be a language? Let me give you some examples. In the wild, different animal species intermingle effortlessly. Take the African savannah or a jungle, for instance. At a watering hole in a jungle, you might see monkeys and birds in the trees, or on a savannah, different plant eaters, such as zebras or gazelles, wandering around, happily drinking out of the same crystal-clear pond. All is peaceful, despite the many different species sharing the same space. How do they all get along so smoothly?

How about a less exotic example? In your own backyard you may have squirrels, birds, rabbits, even foxes, all happily coexisting. There's no trouble until you rev up your lawnmower.

Why? Because all these animals are communicating with the same relaxed, balanced, non-confrontational energy. Every animal knows that all the other animals are just hanging out, doing their own thing - drinking water, foraging for food, relaxing, grooming one another. Everybody's feeling mellow and no one's attacking anyone else. Unlike us, they don't have to ask one another how they're feeling. The energy they are projecting tells them everything they need to know. In that sense, they are speaking to one another, all the time.

Now that you've got this peaceful vision in your mind, imagine this: Suddenly, a new animal enters your backyard, or approaches our imaginary jungle waterhole, projecting a completely different energy. This new energy could be something as minor as one squirrel trying to plunder another's stash, or a gazelle jockeying another gazelle for a better drinking position at the oasis. It could also be as serious as a hungry predator seeking to subdue its next prey. Ever notice how a whole group of peaceful animals can turn scared or defensive in an instant, sometimes even before a predator has shown itself on the scene? They probably got a whiff of its scent - but it's also probable that they sensed the energy the predator was projecting.

What's always amazing to me about the animal kingdom is that even if a predator is near, all the other animals can usually tell if it's safe to stay around it or not. Imagine being introduced to a man you knew to be a serial killer. Would you be able to relax in his presence? Of course not! But if you were another kind of animal on this planet, you would probably be able to sense whether the serial killer was on the prowl or simply kicking back. Animals immediately recognize when a predator is projecting a hunting energy, sometimes even before they spot the predator itself. As humans, we are so often blind to these nuances in animal energy - we think a tiger is dangerous at all times, when, really, if he's just eaten a three hundred-pound deer, he's probably more tired than treacherous. The moment his tummy gets empty, however, he's a different animal - all instinct, all survival energy. Even your backyard squirrel will pick up on this subtle difference. Yet we humans tend to be blind to what, in the animal kingdom, is pretty much a flashing red light.

Here's an example of animal energy that folks who live in the American South can probably relate to. On a sunny day in Florida, Louisiana, or the Carolinas, you'll see giant alligators sunning their leathery bodies on the banks of swamps - all over expensive, exclusive golf courses! Meanwhile, golfers are teeing off a few feet away. Herons and cranes and turtles are happily sunning themselves right next to these terrifying reptiles. Eightypound old ladies are walking their teacup-size dogs on footpaths just inches from the alligators' swamp. What's going on here? It's simple. The other animals - from the turtles to the teacup Chihuahuas - are aware, on an instinctual level, that these fearsome predators aren't in a hunting mode at the moment. One thing you can be sure of - when the same big creature's tummy starts to rumble and his energy shifts into hunting mode, the rest of the animals will be gone in the blink of an eye. Except maybe the golfers. But they are one of the strangest species in nature, and even modern science hasn't figured them out yet.

Energy in Humans

When it comes to energy, we humans have much more in common with animals than we usually like to admit. Imagine one of the most ruthless jungles in the human world - the high school cafeteria. Picture it as a watering hole where different species - in this case, the cliques of jocks, nerds, and stoners - peacefully intermingle. Then a bully "accidentally" bumps into a smaller guy's food tray. The energy released by that interaction will ripple right through the entire room. Ask your teenager if this isn't true. And exactly as in the animal kingdom, this energy shift doesn't even have to be as blatant as a shove. Let's say the little guy in the cafeteria is having a bad day. He's failed two tests in a row and is in a weak state of mind. He happens to look up and accidentally catch the eye of the bully. Maybe the bully was just minding his own business, but as soon as he picks up on the weaker guy's diminished energy, the whole dynamic between them changes in a split second. In the animal kingdom, that's called survival of the fittest.

Let's take this concept beyond the school lunchroom and think about our society as whole. Right or wrong, we in America expect our leaders to project a dominant, powerful energy, like that of a Bill Clinton or a Ronald Reagan. Some powerful leaders project a charismatic energy that infects and energizes everyone around them - consider Tony Robbins. Martin Luther King, Jr., projected an energy that was what I call "calm-assertive" - the ideal energy for a leader. Though Gandhi was also a leader, his energy was of a more compassionate nature.

It's interesting to note that Homo sapiens is the only species on the planet that will follow a wise, kind, compassionate, or lovable leader. Humans will even follow an unstable leader, but that's another book in itself! As difficult as it may be for us to understand, in the animal kingdom, a Fidel Castro would win out as leader over a Mother Teresa any day. In the animal world, there is no morality, no right and wrong. Conversely, animals never cheat or lie their way to power - they can't. Other animals would figure them out in a heartbeat. Nature's leaders must project the most obvious and uncontestable strength. In the animal kingdom, there are only rules, routines, and rituals - based on survival of the strongest, not of the smartest or fairest.

Ever hear of "the smell of fear"? That's not just an expression. Animals sense vibrations of energy, but smell is their next strongest sense - and in a dog, energy and scent seem to be deeply connected. In fact, dogs empty their anal glands when they are afraid, emitting a smell that's distinctive not only to other dogs but to most animals (including us). A dog's sense of smell is connected to the limbic system, the part of the brain responsible for emotion. In his book The Dog's Mind, Dr. Bruce Fogle cites studies from the 1970s that showed that dogs can detect butyric acid - one of the components of human perspiration - at up to a million times' lower concentration than we can.1 Think of lie detector sensors that can pick up minute changes in the perspiration on a person's hands when she is being deceptive. In essence, your dog is a living, breathing "lie detector"!

Do dogs actually physically "smell" fear in us? They certainly can sense it instantly. Countless joggers and mail carriers relate this harrowing experience - running or walking past a house and causing the dog there to bark, growl, or even charge the fence or gate. Now, this could be a dog that has adopted the role of protector of the house and takes that role very seriously - and too many mail carriers and joggers have the scars to show how powerful, aggressive dogs - what I call red-zone dogs - get out of control. (Red-zone dogs are serious business, and I'll address them in depth in a later chapter.)

For the purposes of understanding how dogs sense emotional states, imagine this as you walk by a house with a red-zone dog in it: Perhaps the barking dog has a secret. He may be more afraid of you than you are of him! Once you freeze up in terror, however, the balance of power instantly changes. Does the dog pick up on your energy shift through his "sixth sense"? Or does he smell some change in your body or brain chemistry? Science hasn't spelled it all out in layman's terms as of yet, but in my opinion, it's a combination of both. I can be sure of this from decades of close observation: you cannot "bluff" a dog the way you might be able to bluff a drunken poker buddy. Once you shift into the emotion of fear, that dog instantly knows he has an advantage over you. You are projecting a weak energy. And if the dog gets out, you are much more likely to be rushed or bitten than if you had tuned out the barking and simply gone on with your day. In the natural world, the weak get weeded out quickly. There's no right or wrong about it - it's just the way life on earth has worked for millions of years.

Copyright © 2006 by Cesar Millan. Excerpted by permission of Harmony, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

About the Author

Founder of the Dog Psychology Center in Los Angeles, Cesar Millan is the star of Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan on National Geographic Channel. In 2005, the National Humane Society Genesis Award Committee presented him with a Special Commendation for his work in rehabilitating sheltered animals. A native of Culican, Mexico, Cesar lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Ilusion, and two sons, Andre and Calvin.

Melissa Jo Peltier, an executive producer and writer of Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan, has been honored for her film and television writing and directing with an Emmy and more than fifty other awards. She lives in Los Angeles and Nyack, New York.