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Show:		5.0
Picture:		6.0
Sound:		6.0
Extras:		5.0
Score:		5.0

Director(s):	SueAnn Fincke
Writer(s):	Jim Milier, Melissa Jo Peltier
Starring:	Cesar Millan
Genre:	Reality
Release Date:	March 02, 2010
Rated:	NR

List Price:	DVD - $25.99
Amazon:

With a lot of animal oriented shows it's hard to tell one season from the next. Meerkat Manor? You might be able to distinguish one or two of the little guys, but chances are if the cast changes between two seasons (one gets eaten by a hippo, etc.) would you ever know it? Oddly, it's not much easier with Dog Whisperer. Find someone who can tell you what season a random episode is from (by some method other than sheer fanaticism after having watched each episode 10 times over) and you have found someone so intimate with Cesar Millan they can tell you his age year by year. The fourth season of Dog Whisperer is exactly the same as those that came before it save for the amount of gray in Millan's hair and goatee. Though even that might not be a safe indicator thanks to makeup artists.

That said, this season's arbitrary allotment of episodes includes the following:

“Binkey, Kiko, and Tootsie & Ginger”

A chihuahua mix named Binkey born without her two front legs needs encouragement to use the wheel-apparatus constructed by its owners. Kiko is a hellish hound whose marine owners can't reel in her off-the-wall behavior. It seems even movie stars need help with their pets, so Millan assists actor/director Mike White with his two aggressive pooches Tootsie and Ginger.

“Reggie, Diva, Rocco & Vito, and Mugsy”

The wild Reggie has been adopted as an impromptu shepherd on a ranch, but her overproductive ovaries have led the ranch's owners to seek out Millan's help to rope her in and get her spayed. Rocco & Vito, two unneutered males are about ready to rip out one another's throat out, Millan brings two dogs back from the “red zone”. Mugsy, a lethargic bull terrier, needs a wake up call; Millan lends a hand.

“Luna and K9 Sniffers”

A paranoid labrador learns to trust again with Millan's help. Meanwhile, Cesar assists a unit of K9 drug sniffing dogs learn to play in their off time.

“Willie, Major & Mira, and Zena”

Two separate instances of dogs gone wild, Willie and Major & Mira, see Millan help two families regain control of their hounds and homes. Zena's odd fear of her families oven has forced them to cook outside on the grill for too long, they bring in Millan to remedy her phobia.

“Hudson & Orchid and L.A. Animal Control”

Cesar returns to a home from a previous season to help the family acclimate to the addition of a new Great Dane. Then, Millan takes a ride along with L.A. Animal Control.

“Gus, Abbey, and Vinnie”

Millan helps another star, this time Ed McMahon's pooch hears Cesar's whispers. The dog whisperer helps a Minnesotan beagle leave the house while helping another family bring guests back into theirs by taming the monster scaring them away.

“Troy and Roxy”

A violent pooch gets his attitude checked while another learns not to pee indoors.

“Tara, Molly & Mandy, Olive, and Dexter”

An old woman can't handle her overly aggressive trio, one dog can't control his salivation glands, and again, Cesar returns to a past canine conquest.

“Gavin”

A rescue labrador gets nervous during Thunderstorms, Cesar helps him out.

“Cody, Chloe, and Buffy”

Cesar helps an owner cope with her dog's blindness, and then calms two others.

“Gizmo and Indigo, Diego, Valley & Whiskey”

Cesar soothes an angry beagle and then brokers peace between four dogs at war.

The remaining episodes include “Curly and Baxter”, “Life Changing Stories”, “Owen, Jerry, and Rocky”, “Marley and Piper”, “Shadow and Norton, Jake & Riley”, and “Sasha and Angler”. The biggest downside to the show is that each episode deals with one of four types of dog: lethargic, overactive, over aggressive or misbehaved. The special segments where they branch out and explore a dog-oriented profession are refreshing but ultimately fall back on one of those four qualities. Not only is it hard to tell one season from the next, but each episode is far too similar to the one that came before or after. It's easy to understand how dog-lovers might flock to the show, but even then the homogeneous content week after week is tedious.

Millan's a watchable figure and genuinely seems like a nice guy, but mastering the Pavlovian systems of negative and positive enforcement doesn't make you a master of animals. It just makes him smarter than the desperate pet-owners who want to be on TV.

DVD Bonus Features

Included is the 100^th episode which, besides the fact that it should naturally have been a part of the season (likely in volume 2 of this season), seems like a cheap way to make the set seem padded. It's in the extra features section, but it shouldn't be. Deleted scenes, mostly Cesar repeating a step over and over without getting the desired reaction, are also on the extra features disc. Finally, bloopers that (like with dogs) only lovers of the series will find even remotely funny.

The bottom line here, is that the series is a lot like a TV psychic, you remember the hits, but you're required to forget or just ignore the fact that all the times Cesar failed didn't make it into the final cut of the series. The DVD set is for fans, but even they will find there's not much replay value to the series.