The term “celebrity dog trainer” gets tossed around pretty loosely in Hollywood, but (much like the O.G. Cesar Millan) Brandon McMillan may be the rare one who’s actually earned it. Aside from hosting his own Emmy-winning CBS reality show, Lucky Dog, in which he rescues and rehabilitates “unadoptable” canines, his off-camera client list reads like the seating chart at the Dolby — Dr. Phil (Great Pyrenees), James Caan (pit bulls), Demi Lovato (Maltipoo) and Wolfgang Puck (golden retriever and English sheepdog), to name just a few.
With no shortage of trainers in Los Angeles, why do the rich and famous choose him? It’s certainly not to save money. McMillan, who charges $9,500 for a two-week camp or $14,000 for six weeks of boarding and training, may be among the most expensive dog trainers on the planet — and he doesn’t pretend otherwise. “Honestly, I work with very wealthy people,” he says unapologetically. “My clients have fabulous homes filled with priceless furnishings that they do not want destroyed by a rambunctious puppy.”
What he offers isn’t a quick drop-in session; it’s a three-month immersion. Clients hand over their dogs to one of McMillan’s two “puppy-raising camps” in California or Florida. These are no kennels. He describes them as “dog Shangri-Las,” architecturally charming mini-barns designed to mirror the upscale homes the animals will return to. The logic: A puppy that learns to respect its surroundings will bring those manners home.
His understanding of animals was forged early, in the family business. When he was 6, his father — who, along with Brandon’s uncle, ran a Hollywood business supplying trained animals for film and TV — was launched 6 feet into the air by a Siberian tiger that took a chunk out of his thigh. The lesson was clear: Whether it’s a tiger, an orca or a teacup poodle, no animal is ever completely “trained.”
McMillan chose to focus on pets, building his method around simplicity. Behind the private jets and Architectural Digest-worthy surroundings, his curriculum boils down to seven commands: sit, stay, come, down, off, no and heel. Each takes weeks of repetition to master — longer if he’s training the owners, too.
LOS ANGELES – NOVEMBER 13: “Holidays – Episode #412L” — Coverage of the CBS Original Daytime Series THE PRICE IS RIGHT, scheduled to air on the CBS Television Network. Pictured: Drew Carey and Brandon McMillan. (Photo by Sonja Flemming/CBS/Getty Images
This story appeared in the Oct. 22 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
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