My Dog Coach: Understand your dog with Cesar Millan

Have you ever wondered just what on earth your pet dog’s trying to say? Well you’re not the only one.

Due to Dr. Doolittle being preoccupied with his Push-Me-Pull-You’s and other such animals, there’s been an opening for a dog interpreter and there’s arguably none more knowledgeable on such a subject than Cesar Millan. It’s fortunate then there’s a game come application for anyone who’s interested in going the extra mile for their pet or rather pet hobby – My Dog Coach: Understand your dog with Cesar Millan is a superb guide to becoming the leader of the pack you ever wanted to be.

By being Cesar’s apprentice, you’ll get to study 20 real-life cases of dogs and their owners. You’ll be given a report on how the animal behaves and what may trigger the behaviour from which you must diagnose the possible problem and then put into place a possible cure. For guessing the correct answer Cesar will congratulate you and give you a bit more information. If you get it wrong, Cesar will tell you how you made a mistake and then will let you pick again from the multiple choice answers to hopefully get it right the next time round.

After you have got the pet’s problem outlined, it’s down to you to walk the dog in a mini-game which will help you train it in the process to be obedient and calm rather than dominant and aggressive. Through a simple tug on the leash whenever the dog starts trying to get too far ahead or distracted by a cat, dog or hedge, you’ll see the dogs’ behaviour improve. You have to keep a close eye on the animal at all times as it will prove unpredictable and more challenging from case to case/animal to animal. Whether the dog’s nervous from an experience with a house plant, or aggressive towards the owner through being left home alone for any length of time, you’ll need to build an understanding and bond with the dog to get the best results.

Full of useful bits of information, from what’s the best leash to take your dog for walks on (any short one will do), to how long you should take a dog for walks for and so on. You’ll undoubtedly get a lot of information which is practical and enlightening in terms of your own circumstances (either if you have a dog or are interested in getting one), as you will gain a lot from this programme which will benefit you and your pet.

Having had pet dogs previously, I would have found some if not all of the tips in this programme more practical and entertaining than any other dog training scheme. Of course it doesn’t take the animal for walks when you want it to, or train it to perform tricks for treats, but it does give you some scope on how to deal with your animal and learning the shortcuts from others experiences – and spotting problems and nipping them in the bud early.

This is brilliantly practical and invaluable for any dog owner or lover. The one thing I would say is missing from the game is that you can’t skip onto the next lesson until you’ve managed to successfully accomplish the one you’re on. So unlike a text-book which you can turn to for advice, you may need a few hours to play until you get the tips you’re seeking.

Rating 86%

Positives

Entertaining and very thorough

Factual and practical advice

Educational but not boring and has some good gaming elements

Negatives

The walking the dog mini-game is a bit boring and repetitive by the third time round

You can’t just jump lessons straight to the one you’re looking to learn most – you need to unlock them first

Graphics are a little tame but certainly not the worst