The first mbwa I trained were on my grand-father’s farm in Mexico when I was just a boy. Inspired kwa reruns of Rin Tin Tin and Lassie, I decided as a first step to teach the mbwa to jump on my command. I would bend down, and the mbwa would jump over my back.

Soon after, I announced to my family that I wanted to become the best dog trainer in the world and set out to learn as much as I could from people I met who trained mbwa for a living. And even now, with the success of Dog Whisperer and all my books, I still upendo getting the chance to meet with trainers and watch them work. Which is why...

mbwa use constant energy to communicate. Energy is what I call beingness; it is who and what wewe are in every moment. mbwa don’t know each other kwa name, but kwa the energy they project and the activities they share. They know humans in the same way.

As humans, we too are communicating with energy—whether we realize it au not. And, though we may attempt to persuade, explain, and rationalize all siku long, these energy signals are the only messages getting across to our dogs.

The first energy that a puppy experiences after birth is mom’s calm-assertive energy. Later, the puppy will follow...