Choosing a dog based only on breed can lead pet parents to overlook something Cesar Millan considers even more important: the individual dog’s energy.
German Shepherds, Rottweilers, and Pit Bulls are three powerful breeds that have played an important role throughout Cesar’s career. They are also breeds that have often carried strong reputations created by humans. Yet Cesar’s experience with these dogs points to a different way of understanding them.
The breed may influence what a person is attracted to, but it does not tell the whole story about the dog standing in front of them.
For Cesar, one of the most useful things a pet parent can learn is how to recognize whether a dog naturally carries low, medium, or high energy and how that energy relates to the dog’s position within a pack. That information can help a person think beyond appearance and reputation when choosing a dog.
His larger lesson is simple: know the dog before judging the breed.
What Matters Most When Choosing a Dog
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Breed can be a preference, but Cesar places greater importance on the individual dog’s natural energy.
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Puppies can show low, medium, or high energy from an early age.
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Cesar connects fearful or hesitant behavior with the back of the pack, highly excited behavior with the middle, and strong, calm presence with the front.
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German Shepherds, Rottweilers, and Pit Bulls should not be judged only by the reputations humans have given them.
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Puppies still need Cesar’s formula of exercise, discipline, and affection.
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Understanding the dog in front of the human matters more than making assumptions from breed alone.
Breed Is a Preference, Not the Whole Dog
Cesar does not suggest ignoring breed completely.
People naturally have preferences. Someone may love the appearance of a German Shepherd, feel comfortable around Rottweilers, or have always wanted a Pit Bull.
But Cesar encourages people not to stop there.
In his view, the most important question is not simply, “What breed is this dog?” It is also, “What level of energy was this dog born with?”
He describes three basic levels:
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Low energy
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Medium energy
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High energy
Recognizing those differences can help a pet parent understand what kind of dog they are considering bringing into their life.
That becomes especially important with strong breeds because people may already approach them with assumptions based on reputation.
Cesar’s experience has led him in the opposite direction. Rather than beginning with what society says about the breed, he pays attention to the individual dog’s energy and natural position within the pack.
Why German Shepherds Became So Important to Cesar
German Shepherds were among the breeds that helped shape Cesar’s early career.
He describes the German Shepherd as a powerful breed with unusually strong public relations because of its long association with military personnel and police officers. The breed has been seen working alongside people in demanding roles, which has affected how the public perceives it.
German Shepherds also had personal significance in Cesar’s own story.
He refers to the breed as the dog that helped bring him to the United States and remembers three German Shepherds in particular: Howie, Sly, and Julio.
Howie helped create an opportunity for Cesar to live in a particular place in Inglewood.
Sly was connected to the parking lot that became Cesar’s first Dog Psychology Center in South Central Los Angeles.
Julio was another German Shepherd Cesar used during demonstrations when he was training dogs for obedience and personal protection.
These dogs were not simply examples of a particular breed. They became part of the relationships and opportunities that helped Cesar develop his work.
That history also illustrates why he does not reduce dogs to labels. His understanding came through working directly with individual dogs and observing who they were.
Why Rottweilers Can Be Misunderstood
Cesar describes the Rottweiler as a beautiful, bear-like breed with a powerful presence and a distinctive growl.
He also acknowledges the breed’s negative reputation.
But he does not believe Rottweilers earned that reputation simply by being Rottweilers.
His point is that humans often create reputations around animals and then begin treating those reputations as if they describe every individual.
Cesar compares this process to the fear surrounding sharks after Jaws. Once people are repeatedly told that an animal is dangerous, that image can become difficult to separate from the animal itself.
His own experience with Rottweilers was very different.
One of the first important Rottweilers in his life was Sych. Cesar describes him as very obedient, middle of the pack, and happy-go-lucky.
Working with Sych opened the door for Cesar to meet other people with Rottweilers.
That eventually connected him with additional dogs, including Kenji and Saki. Through those relationships, Cesar later met Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith and became involved with a pack that included multiple Rottweilers.
For Cesar, those experiences reinforced what direct observation can teach that reputation cannot.
A person may hear one thing about a breed.
Working with the actual dog may reveal something very different.
What Daddy the Pit Bull Represented
Pit Bulls were another breed carrying a difficult public reputation during Cesar’s early career.
Then Daddy entered his life.
Daddy came to Cesar when he was approximately three months old and, according to Cesar, was a little shy.
Cesar did not yet know how important that relationship would become.
Daddy would eventually become closely associated with Cesar’s work and with the idea that a Pit Bull should not automatically be defined by the image humans have created around the breed.
For Cesar, that relationship had another personal meaning as well.
He described himself at that time as a Mexican man facing his own cultural stereotypes while working alongside a Pit Bull that was also being viewed negatively.
The connection between them became an example of how both humans and dogs can be misunderstood when others judge them according to labels.
The lesson was not that breed means nothing.
It was that the individual deserves to be seen before the stereotype.
Look at the Dog’s Pack Position
One of Cesar’s strongest recommendations for people considering a German Shepherd, Rottweiler, Pit Bull, or any other dog is to understand pack position.
He associates different types of energy with different positions within the pack.
Back of the Pack
If a dog appears somewhat afraid or hesitant, Cesar says that dog is more likely to have a back-of-the-pack nature.
That applies regardless of whether the dog is a German Shepherd, Rottweiler, or Pit Bull.
The breed name does not erase the individual dog’s natural energy.
Middle of the Pack
A dog that is very excited may be more likely to fall into what Cesar describes as the middle of the pack.
Sych, the Rottweiler Cesar remembered from his early career, was described as a middle-of-the-pack dog with a happy-go-lucky nature.
Again, the important point is that the dog’s energy gives the human information that the breed label alone does not provide.
Front of the Pack
Cesar describes the front-of-the-pack dog differently.
This dog may be very strong and yet very calm.
Rather than moving constantly or showing excessive excitement, the dog can have a powerful presence without needing much motion.
Cesar compares that presence to a lion.
The strength is visible, but so is the calmness.
Understanding these differences can help a pet parent look beyond physical appearance and begin evaluating the individual animal.
Energy Can Matter More Than the Breed You Want
People often begin their search for a dog with an image in mind.
They want a German Shepherd.
They want a Rottweiler.
They want a Pit Bull.
Cesar does not criticize that preference. He recognizes that people are naturally attracted to particular breeds.
His recommendation is simply to go one step deeper.
A person should understand the energy of the dog they are considering and the pack position that dog naturally appears to carry.
That can provide more useful information than choosing solely because a certain breed looks appealing or feels familiar.
Two dogs of the same breed do not automatically have identical energy.
One may be hesitant.
Another may be highly excited.
Another may be calm and strong.
The breed may be the same while the individual dogs are very different.
That difference is central to Cesar’s way of evaluating dogs.
Puppies Still Need Exercise, Discipline, and Affection
Choosing the right dog is only the beginning.
Cesar also emphasizes that being a puppy does not mean the dog should grow up without structure.
His familiar formula remains:
Exercise, discipline, affection.
Puppies still need exercise.
They still need mental stimulation.
They still need affection.
Cesar’s point is that people should not overlook these needs simply because a dog is young or because certain behaviors seem easier to excuse in a puppy.
The relationship between human and dog begins immediately.
A pet parent who understands the dog’s energy while also providing exercise, discipline, mental stimulation, and affection is paying attention to the dog as an individual rather than relying only on breed expectations.
Humans Play a Major Role in a Breed’s Reputation
Cesar repeatedly returns to human responsibility when discussing why certain breeds become feared.
He does not believe that German Shepherds, Rottweilers, or Pit Bulls should automatically carry negative reputations because of their breed.
Instead, he points to human decisions.
One issue is people who interact with dogs without focusing on the dog’s happiness, health, mind, and overall well-being.
Another issue is breeding.
Cesar criticizes breeding practices carried out without enough knowledge or without thoughtful intentions about the kind of dogs being produced.
In his view, people can misunderstand what real power looks like in a dog and may deliberately select for more aggressive traits because they associate aggression with strength.
Cesar separates that idea from what he calls competition.
Competition Is Not the Same as Aggression
Cesar makes an important distinction between dogs being competitive and dogs being bred toward aggression.
Competition, in his description, does not mean dogs need to harm one another.
A competitive dog may become faster, more capable, or better at solving problems.
Cesar compares this to human competition in activities such as chess or the Olympics.
People compete through skill.
The purpose is not automatically to hurt another person.
He therefore sees natural competition as different from aggression deliberately encouraged through human breeding decisions.
His broader concern is creating a safer, more peaceful relationship between humans and dogs.
That begins by understanding what nature gives the dog and what humans add to the equation.
A Dog Should Be Understood Before Being Judged
The stories of German Shepherds, Rottweilers, and Pit Bulls in Cesar’s life all point toward the same lesson.
These breeds became important to him not because every dog within each breed was identical, but because individual dogs gave him opportunities to learn, work, demonstrate, connect with people, and build his career.
Howie was not simply “a German Shepherd.”
Sych was not simply “a Rottweiler.”
Daddy was not simply “a Pit Bull.”
Each was an individual dog with a particular energy and place within Cesar’s life.
That is why judging a dog only by breed can miss the most useful information.
The human has to observe the dog.
The human has to understand the dog’s energy.
And the human has to provide the relationship and structure the dog needs.
At Better Dog Supplements, that relationship remains the priority. Wellness support can complement a dog’s routine, but it does not replace the human’s responsibility to understand, guide, exercise, and build a balanced relationship with the dog.
The Dog in Front of You Matters Most
German Shepherds, Rottweilers, and Pit Bulls helped shape Cesar Millan’s career, but their greatest lesson is not about choosing one breed over another.
It is about learning to see the individual dog.
A breed can attract a person.
A reputation can influence a person.
But neither one fully explains the dog standing in front of them.
Cesar’s recommendation is to understand the dog’s natural energy, recognize its likely pack position, and remember that the human still has a responsibility to provide exercise, discipline, mental stimulation, and affection.
The better a pet parent understands the individual dog, the less they have to rely on stereotypes.
That creates room for a relationship based on observation rather than reputation—and on understanding rather than assumptions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is breed the most important factor when choosing a dog?
No. Cesar views breed as a preference, but he places greater importance on understanding the individual dog’s natural energy. He recommends looking at whether the dog has low, medium, or high energy and considering the dog’s position within the pack.
How does Cesar describe a back-of-the-pack dog?
Cesar associates a dog that is somewhat afraid or hesitant with the back of the pack. He says this can apply whether the dog is a German Shepherd, Rottweiler, Pit Bull, or another breed.
What does a middle-of-the-pack dog look like?
Cesar associates very excited energy with the middle of the pack. He described Sych, one of the Rottweilers from his early career, as middle of the pack and happy-go-lucky.
What does Cesar mean by a front-of-the-pack dog?
He describes a front-of-the-pack dog as very strong but also very calm. The dog may not move excessively and can carry a powerful, steady presence that Cesar compares to a lion.
Do puppies still need structure?
Yes. Cesar emphasizes exercise, discipline, affection, and mental stimulation even when dogs are puppies. Being young does not remove the need for those elements.
Why do some powerful breeds develop bad reputations?
Cesar believes humans play a major role. He points to lack of knowledge, assumptions about breeds, human intentions, and irresponsible breeding decisions as factors that can shape how certain dogs and breeds are perceived.