From the movie directed by Robert Redford, "The Horse Whisperer:" A horse whisperer is a horse trainer who adopts a sympathetic view of the motives, needs and desires of the horse, based on modern equine psychology.

The term goes back to the early 19th century when an Irish horseman, Daniel Sullivan, made a name for himself in England by rehabilitating horses that had become vicious and intractable due to abuse or accidental trauma.

Since the movie "The Horse Whisperer, " the term Dog Whisperer has been developed and used by some dog trainers. The most popular trainer that calls himself the Dog Whisperer is Cesar Milan, but he is not the only trainer who uses that term. Paul Owen, who wrote the book "The Dog Whisperer, " calls himself the Original Dog Whisperer and uses a much different approach to dog training than Cesar Milan.

In this article I am going to discuss becoming a dog whisperer by using the explanation described above: A horse whisperer is a horse trainer who adopts a sympathetic view of the motives, needs, and desires of the horse, based on modern equine psychology. A dog whisperer is a dog trainer who adopts a sympathetic view of the motives, needs and desires of the dog, based on modern canine psychology.

Adopt a sympathetic view of your dog's motives. Your dog's motives, needs and desires are simple. Every dog has social needs, the desire to interact and play. Your dog needs to have food and water and your dog needs a sleeping area.

With a clear understanding of your dog's needs and desires, you are able to use them to communicate to your dog and also set up boundaries to help your dog overcome any behavior problems and to live in a domestic situation.

Dogs are extremely social animals. We want to control the social interactions between us and our dogs. Depending on your dog's behavior problems we can use your dog's social needs to deal with any behavior problems.

For instance, some dogs are very demanding and slap their paws at the owner. The owner in turn pays attention and pets their dog. The dog learns that by pawing at the owner, the dog gets the owner's attention. To control social contact we can have the dog perform a quick obedience command. This puts the owner in control.

Playing is also very important to dogs. When you play you need to control the game. Many dogs love to play by their rules. I have seen a large number of dogs that love to steal socks or underwear or any object that they can get.

The dog walks into the room, sees the laundry basket and grabs the socks. The family members see the dog stealing the socks and take off after the dog. The dog loves this and runs around the couch, under the table and behind the chairs. If you look at it from the dog's point of view, the dog is training everyone to play by his rules. The dog is leading, the humans are following. We always want to be the leaders, not the followers.

Have your dog do sit stay for meals. Controlling your dog's food is a great way to communicate to your dog. Controlling the feeding times and by having your dog perform a command like "stay" for her meals is a great way to let your dog know who the leader is.

The stronger you are as the leader, the easier it is for the dog to live with us. Food is a great way to train and motivate your dog. By controlling your dog's food, you can control your dog's behavior. Your dog should always have access to water. Never use water to train your dog.

Your dog needs to understand that you are in charge of sleeping areas. Your dog should understand that you are in charge of the furniture and beds. It is okay to allow your dog up on the furniture--as long as they understand that it is your space and not theirs. Many dogs become very defensive of their sleeping areas.

If you allow your dog on the furniture make sure he understands that it is your. When your dog is young, keep a leash on your dog in the house. When your dog jumps up on the couch, walk over to him and say "Good dog, off." Then pick up the leash and gently pull your dog off the couch. In time your dog will learn the command and get off when you say so.

Those are the basic steps to becoming a dog whisperer. Learning about dog behavior is a lifelong study. After 18 years of training dogs I still attend seminars, workshops, read, view DVDs and work with other trainers.

If you are really serious about becoming a dog trainer a great place to start is the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. It is a great resource for dog trainers and anyone interested in becoming a dog trainer.