'Whisperer' to speak during Cluster shows

Through his Emmy-winning show “Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan” on the National Geographic Channel, his three best-selling books and their accompanying DVDs, and his Web site, the Mexico-born Millan teaches dog owners how to handle misbehaving pooches by changing their own behavior.

“I don’t train dogs. I train people,” Millan said in a December 2007 interview with Conexión.

“I can help people better understand the common sense of relating to dogs. It’s a state of mind. You have to show the dog a calm assertive energy,” said the self-proclaimed dog whisperer.

Millan will bring his pack-leader approach to dealing with misbehaving canines to San Antonio’s Lila Cockrell Theater on Saturday, July 11, as part of the 2009 River City Cluster of Dog Shows. Tickets for the 4:30 p.m. lecture and Q&A session start at $40 and are available through Ticketmaster.

Millan’s visit to the Alamo City is billed as the highlight of the city’s “Dog Awareness Week,” a public awareness initiative that coincides with five days of dog shows at the Convention Center that kicked off July 8.

The 2009 River City Cluster of Dog Shows partnered with the city this year to reinforce a message of responsible pet ownership, a state of mind that officials say is essential in stopping the killing of healthy, adoptable animals by 2012.

More than 5,600 dogs and cats have been euthanized here this year. In a mostly Hispanic city with more than 700,000 animals and a lackluster sterilization rate, officials are hoping Millan, a Mexican immigrant, will prove an inspiring presence.

He filmed a bilingual public service announcement for San Antonio that officials   plan to air soon.

“We’re hoping that the community will really listen to him,” said Shirley Wills, spokeswoman for the dog shows.