A television show wouldn't get very far without its team of producers paving the way, and Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan owes an especially important debt to its unique production partnership. To get all the details, we caught up with Sheila Emery and Kay Sumner of Emery/Sumner Productions for an exclusive interview.

CMI: In what capacity do you both work for Dog Whisperer?

SE: We're partners in a joint venture with MPH Entertainment. MPH/Emery/Sumner Productions.

KS: We signed Cesar in 2002, then met with National Geographic Channel and teamed up with MPH to create Dog Whisperer.

CMI: How do you both personally feel about Cesar's dog rehabilitation philosophy?

KS: We love it! We wouldn't put all the time and effort into the show if we didn't. I think in the beginning we were amazed at how good he was... it was hard to believe. When we first met him, he had about 40 or 50 dogs at the DPC [Dog Psychology Center], and he had them absolutely under control. And these were "criminal" dogs; these were dogs that had terrible pasts. And he was able to just snap his fingers and they would all sit down. And he jumped over a fence, I remember, when we first met him, and we just thought, "Whoa! This guy is Superman!"

CMI: [laugh] He jumped over a fence?

KS: Yes, a big chain-link fence.

SE: These dogs at the center were about to have a fight... and so when his sixth sense kicked in and told him what was about to happen, he stopped in mid-sentence and he jumped over the fence, did his "TSST!" and got the dogs under control, then walked back in through the gate, sat down, and finished his sentence. And that's when we knew: this guy is pretty amazing.

CMI: How did you first meet Cesar?

KS: I read about him in the LA Times. I met Sheila about 2 weeks before, and we had decided we would like to do a TV show together. At the time, we were talking about how we'd like our show to be about animals, since we're both big animal lovers. Then, after reading about Cesar and realizing how bad my own dog was and how much grief she was causing me as a result, I called Sheila and suggested that Cesar's ideas would make a good television show.

SE: So I called him up, and he talked to me for about 45 minutes - this is before he was as busy as he is now! - and he explained his theory about dog rehabilitation. I remember thinking about how fascinating it was. I still have the notes I took during that first phone call! I just wrote and wrote. We made an appointment and we sat down with him and found out that he had actually been approached by several producers since the article went to print. But he went with me and Kay, and I found out years later that one of the reasons why was that he was observing how the dogs reacted to us. And I guess we passed the test.

KS: Also, in addition to him being supernaturally good with the dogs, we were amazed at how genuinely good-looking he was. Very handsome, great smile, charming... he was a TV show waiting to happen.

CMI: Take us through a typical day at work for you both.

KS: It's changed since the beginning. At first, the bad dog situations were divided between me and Sheila; we would contact the owner, set up the shoot, and work on the shoot with the individual owners.

SE: In the beginning we were always on set.

KS: But as things progressed, there's much more to do now with CMI and all the products, and we've become much more involved in that side of things. But we're still very involved in finding new stories. And it's become difficult, because a lot of our submissions are the same five bad behaviors over and over. So, we look for cases that are eye-catching in some way.

SE: We find stories by putting press releases in local newspapers, we schedule auditions, and we meet with dog owners and their dogs. Most of the time we can tell pretty quickly whether or not the story is one we're looking for, and whether the case would make a good episode. We also take and review submission tapes and pick the ones we think are the most interesting. From there, we recommended tapes to Sue-Ann, and she decides which cases would make the best episodes.

CMI: Do you have any suggestions for fans looking to submit their dog's bad behavior about how to put together the most effective audition video?

KS: Review the tape before you send it. A lot of the submissions we receive are blank DVDs, or the VHS isn't rewound, or something's gone wrong in the recording that the person could have caught if they had watched their video before they sent it to us.

SE: And the better the video presentation in the submission, the more likely it is to be selected. Some of the tapes we get are shaky...

KS: ... or the video was taken in the backyard at night where nothing can be seen…

SE: ... exactly. People need to understand that they're submitting to be on television, and we will need to use their audition video in the episode. They don’t have to get a professional to video tape it or anything, but they should take care to hold the camera as still as they can, make sure the date isn't printed on the picture, and really make sure to introduce themselves AND their dog before demonstrating the dog's bad behavior as clearly and being as concise as possible. We're not just looking for interesting dog stories, we're also looking for interesting people.

KS: And we would love to help them all, but we have to select them for a TV show, so we have to look for unique stories - something that's special.

CMI: Any advice for people who submit who don't make the final selection process?

SE: I'm so glad you asked that, yes. Exercise. It can't be stressed enough. I asked Cesar once, "Exercise? Is it really that important?" And it is. It's 90% of the rehabilitation for almost any problem. And not just exercise in the backyard, but exercise that's proportional to the dog's energy. If you have a high energy dog that needs 2 hours of walking, or if you need to get on your bike and run it, then that's what you need to do. If you have a little dog that needs just a half-hour around the block, then that's what you do. Whatever it is, it has to be enough. My heart breaks for people because they really want to do the right thing… we hear all the time about people who adopt or rescue dogs that have a lot of problems, and then they're stuck - they don't know what to do. If they truly exercise the dog enough, consistently, it can help so much.

KS: And also, you have to take responsibility. You have to go all the way. You can't just tell your dog not to jump up on the counter, you have to get up, go to the dog, and correct him. You have to take responsibility and be consistent. And also, just watching the shows can help. We've seen people who have gotten very good at following Cesar's philosophy and who have made a difference with their dogs just by watching the shows. Each episode is a little tutorial, and most basic problems have been covered in one way or another.