03x05 - Fighting Spirit

[bunniefuu]

CESAR: When my journey
began as the dog whisperer,

I taught the world there is
no such a thing as a bad dog.

Today, my message has evolved.

Shh.

But it's clear that people
and dogs still need help.

WOMAN: The problem is me.

CESAR: He needs rehab like ASAP.

MEGAN: I just don't
want you to get bit.

CESAR: Do you know who I am?
MEGAN: Yes.

CESAR: Together
with my superhero pack,

our mission is to create
better humans and better dogs,

one pack at a time.

(theme music playing).

DAISY: I'm Daisy Thompson.

BRANDON: And I'm
Brandon Thompson.

We're originally from Chicago
but we live in Los Angeles.

DAISY: We recently
had a little baby, Amani.

She's only a few months old.

(sneezes)

DAISY: Bless you.
BRANDON: Bless you.

Uh, there you go.

DAISY: And we've had, Milo,

our dog, for about
a year and a half.

BRANDON: He is our first born.

DAISY: Milo is five years old.

He is a Maltipoo Terrier mix.

BRANDON: Milo has been
to one shelter, one rescue,

a foster family,
and then to us.

He basically was the
Patron Saint of Lost Causes

down at the shelter from
the way that they presented it.

They would be like, "Hey,
I just wanna let you know,

like he's got a bad record."

And then when we met him,
we were just like, "This guy?"

(laughs)

He's the fluffy
little 20 pound dude.

DAISY: He's a
super cuddly, smart dog.

BRANDON: He kind of
like pounces when...

DAISY: When he...
BRANDON: When he walks.

I was like, "Oh, my gosh,
this guy needs a second chance."

DAISY: So we took him.

BRANDON: Okay, buddy. Okay.

DAISY: And then we learned the
second day that we had him that

he has a dark side.

BRANDON: It's like a
Jekyll and Hyde situation.

(growls)

I remember I was telling
him to sit for the treat,

so I reached out and I
touched his butt to like

show him, like, "Hey,
this is what I mean by sit."

And he's like, "Oh,
I don't like that."

(growls)

And that's when he bit me.

(barking)

And it drew blood.

It was like a pretty long gash.

(growls)

DAISY: It's okay, Milo.

It's okay.

(barking)

BRANDON: Milo has
bitten us probably,

between the two
of us, about ten times.

DAISY: Maybe a little more,

ten to 15 maybe.

He has bitten
friends and family members.

Milo.

(growling)

I'm sorry.

MAN: It's all right.
DAISY: Sorry.

Any time that Milo
bites or nips at you,

it's like your little
friend and so you feel betrayed.

(snarls)

It's like a switch turns
off and for those ten seconds

he's this scary dog.

When we got him, his vet record
said that he had a tail injury.

We think it hurt him
and traumatized him.

I'm not sure when to trust Milo.

So the things that we
know will trigger him,

we just kind of avoid.

BRANDON: We kind
of learned like, oh,

we have to make sure that
we're being extra careful

with him touching his body.

(growling)

(snarls)

Anything about resources,

feeding him...

DAISY: Milo, no.

BRANDON: We're pulling
him away from stuff that

he just shouldn't
have like chicken bones or

anything that's on the ground.

Drop it.

And anybody or anything
that comes in between him and

that resource,
that's when he kind of,

you know, gets into
his ferocious instincts.

No, no.

DAISY: The biggest fear we
have would be that Amani would

trigger his anxiety
and he wouldn't move to

being aggressive with her.

BRANDON: We avoid any
kind of interactions with Milo and Amani.

Milo biting Amani is the
biggest concern that we have.

Yeah, we wouldn't be
able to look past that.

DAISY: Yeah.

That, you know, yeah, that
would be really challenging.

BRANDON: We would have
to decide to take him back

to a rescue or a shelter.

It will be devastating.

We love Milo despite...

DAISY: Yeah.
BRANDON: You know, his behavior.

DAISY: We're willing to
do anything that we can to

make sure that
that doesn't happen.

BRANDON: We need Cesar's help.

CESAR: Today, I'm
taking on an urgent new case.

Milo has been biting his pet
parents since they adopted him,

so his bite count
is way, way too high.

So for this particular
case they want is when

I'm assessing and evaluate him.

And for this dog I know
there is going to be aggression

and outburst, so I asked Daisy
to stay home with baby Amani to

keep everything safe, while
pet dad Brandon brings Milo

solo to my ranch.

Brandon.

BRANDON: Hey, Cesar.

CESAR: So how can
I help you, brother?

BRANDON: My wife and I, we are dealing
with our little dog in there.

His name is Milo.

He's like a 20-pounds
Maltipoo but he's 100% gangster.

CESAR: What's your
little gangster doing wrong?

BRANDON: He's just
defensive when his,

his paws and his
body get touched.

It's almost like he's in pain.

Even though
we're not hurting him.

CESAR: Right.

BRANDON: He just
kind of goes berserk.

He's bitten us
before in the past.

CESAR: How bad?

BRANDON: He snaps
at us, growling, et cetera,

but we kind of send
him back into his crate.

CESAR: So you've
been avoiding it?

BRANDON: Yeah.
But with the baby here...

CESAR: You can't avoid it.

BRANDON: We
can't do that anymore.

And that's, that's
our biggest issue.

CESAR: Your added issue.

BRANDON: You know, like she's
gonna drop food on the ground

and as she starts crawling
and becoming more mobile,

that's our biggest
concern is that he'll bite her.

CESAR: When it's
a baby and a dog and

a dog has some
aggressive issues,

we have to start
working on that right away.

BRANDON: Okay.
CESAR: Let's do it.

BRANDON: Let's do it.

CESAR: Go get your boy.

BRANDON: Come on, Milo.

CESAR: Brandon says Milo becomes
aggressive when he's touched

which is something
we'll need to address.

But his most
concerning behavior is when

food is dropped on the floor.

Now that their baby is crawling and
creating a mess at meal times,

every day that passes,
the risk of a bite increases.

So I asked my team to set up a
drop food scenario where I can

monitor how Brandon normally
prevents a dog from becoming

aggressive when the humans
attempt to clean up the mess.

BRANDON: Okay.

CESAR: Brandon is,
um, guiding him, sort of...

BRANDON: Come on, come on.

CESAR: From here,
Milo looks tense.

The tail is at the left.

So when the tail is to the left,
many dogs are letting you know

they're not comfortable.

If the tail is to the right,
they're happy about it.

Interpreting a dog's energy and
body language is a major reason

I can do what I do.

Just like humans, dogs
have two sides of their brain.

When a dog is relaxed, the
left side of the brain responds

by moving the tail
opposite to the right.

When a dog is anxious or tense,
it's the right side of the brain

that moves the tail to the left.

So just remember
when a tail is right,

the dog is all right.

Right now, Milo is
pretty far from all right.

Okay, Brandon, now
try to pick up the food.

(growls)

You see the way Brandon
is tentatively reaching in?

He's telling Milo he's afraid.

BRANDON: Wait, wait.

(growling)

Don't reach over.

CESAR: Brandon is basically asking for
permission to take the food.

He hesitates and fleeces
in fear of a bite even though

Milo has the muzzle on.

Milo 100% senses that.

The take away here,

Brandon's fear with
Milo's tension equals no trust.

That's not a good energy.

Milo is just guarding.

(growling)

That was a nip and a charge.

I'm gonna go in there.

Milo thinks that food
on the ground is his and

Brandon getting close
to it makes him tense,

so he guards it.

And Brandon is afraid of
a bite, so he hesitates.

Pass me the leash.

I need to show Brandon how to claim the
food with the right energy.

Your fearful energy isn't
helping Milo snap out of

guarding the food.

So I'm gonna show you how to remove a dog
from food using energy.

BRANDON: Okay.

CESAR: In order for them to
understand what you're doing.

Your energy have to be
confident when you're asking him

to do something, like
staying away from the food.

No hesitating.

See? Like this.

(laughs)

BRANDON: Oh, my God.

Seeing Milo react
and respond differently

to Cesar, that's,
that's magical.

CESAR: He has to move
away from the object that

he's mentally guarding.

BRANDON: Hmm. Mm-hmm.

CESAR: Milo respecting my
calm confident energy and

moved away from the food,

so that tells me that
Milo doesn't need a muzzle,

just the right energy
from his pet parents.

I need you to see that the
real muzzle, is calm confidence.

You can take the muzzle off.

BRANDON: Okay.

So knowing that he
doesn't have a muzzle on,

I was concerned that Milo
was going to bite or snap.

My current trust level for
Milo is just really, really low.

(growls)

CESAR: He's getting tense again.

Shh. Shh. Shh.

Look at his eyes.
They're a little frantic.

The human can't be afraid.

BRANDON: Mm-hmm.

CESAR: So he's, he's doing this.

Look.

BRANDON: Yeah.

CESAR: You should
be calm surrender, not tense waiting.

BRANDON: Yeah.

(growls)

CESAR: Shh.
BRANDON: Milo.

CESAR: Hey. Shh.

This is bad.
This is tense.

(growls)

CESAR: Shh.
The warning's normal.

BRANDON: Mm-hmm.

CESAR: But at the same
time you stand your grounds.

Shh. Shh.

Shh.

All right,
that's calm surrender.

If you guys
practice tension at home,

he absorbs that energy.

BRANDON: Mm-hmm.

CESAR: So you get tense guarding which is
extra dangerous around a baby.

And then you don't trust
him and he doesn't trust you.

So if your trust
is broken, calmness is gone.

BRANDON: Yup.
CESAR: Peace is gone.

BRANDON: Mm-hmm.

CESAR: I am beginning to understand
what's going on with this pack.

Milo became distressful while he
was in various shelter systems.

When Brandon and
Daisy brought him home,

they were clueless how
to build trust with him

using the right energy.

They allow him to
continue growling, biting,

and guarding, which
just puts them on edge

trying to protect themselves.

Throw a new baby in the mix and the fear
of a severe bite is very real.

It's no wonder Brandon's energy
seems fearful with his dog.

But next, I need to see
Milo with pet mom, Daisy,

to get the full
picture of what's causing

the dog's tension
and aggression.

That's enough for today.

At home, make sure to keep
Milo and baby separate tonight.

Tomorrow, you and Daisy can
bring back this little gangster.

BRANDON: Okay.

She's gonna be excited to
get some of the master's tips.

(laughs)

CESAR: Come on.

NARRATOR: The next day,
both of Milo's pet parents

arrive at the ranch.

DAISY: It's so pretty! Wow!

NARRATOR: So Cesar can
assess Daisy's relationship

with the tensed Maltipoo.

(whines)

BRANDON: Shh.
Milo, it's okay.

CESAR: Let's see...

CESAR: Come on,
come on this way.

Give me a hug.

DAISY: Ooh.
CESAR: Come here.

DAISY: Nice to meet you.
CESAR: Thank you.

What's up, brother?

BRANDON: How you doin',
doing well? Great to see you.

CESAR: I'm glad you
brought the family.

BRANDON: Oh, of course.
CESAR: Thank you.

BRANSON: Of course.
CESAR: Thank you, thank you.

CESAR: Who's the calmest?
DAISY: The calmest?

BRANDON: Oh, oh.
DAISY: Not me.

BRANDON: I am, I am. Yeah.

DAISY: Yeah, yeah, not me.

CESAR: So that's what
we got to work on it?

DAISY: Yeah.

CESAR: As fearful as Brandon
was around Milo yesterday,

I was not expecting
Daisy to be even less calm.

It's a good indicator
that the dog's tension has

never been held by his humans.

So the first lesson is to teach
Daisy a new way to keep herself

and the dog in a calmer
mindset to proper guidance.

I just wanna see how
you guide my boy, Milo.

DAISY: Okay.

CESAR: Brother,
let's come sit over here.

DAISY: So, try it out?
CESAR: Yes.

DAISY: Okay.

CESAR: Begin
with the narrow one.

Good start for Milo,
but you are little tense,

like your head is
a little crooked.

Relax the neck.

(laughs)

CESAR: Relax your neck.
DAISY: My neck?

CESAR: Yeah,
because you're like...

DAISY: Okay.

Okay.

CESAR: You go, keep go...

DAISY: Okay,
little one. Let's go.

CESAR: Relax the neck.
DAISY: Okay.

CESAR: It's normal
for them, you know,

to say, "I don't wanna go there
because it feels dangerous."

BRANDON: Yeah.

CESAR: But if your
tension becomes too strong,

he won't trust you to guide him safely up
the ramp and he'll resist.

DAISY: Come on.
CESAR: Relax the arm.

(growls)

Can you feel how
much tension you carry?

DAISY: I think so.

(growls)

CESAR: Hold there.

You get tense,
that's not gonna work.

I know he's bitten you before.

Is that where all that
tension is coming from?

DAISY: Okay.

I'm gonna share something
that I don't usually share.

CESAR: Okay.

DAISY: Um, so when
maybe like ten years ago,

my friend and I,
we were shot at.

We're from Chicago and there's
a lot of shootings there.

CESAR: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

DAISY: Um, and my
friend passed away and I, um,

had a b*llet go through my neck,

so from the back
to the, to the front.

CESAR: I am sorry that happened.

I can only imagine
how hard that day was.

DAISY: Yeah.
You're just are kind of...

CESAR: Sure.

DAISY: You know,
tense all the time.

CESAR: Yeah.

DAISY: There's a little
bit of, like, PTSD kind of.

Physically, this is where,
like, the g*nsh*t wound was.

My muscles are not all
the way rehabilitated.

And yes, that is a, a big
part of how you carry yourself

but it's not the only part.

Your mind can be a little bit on
edge and a little bit protective

without knowing
that you have, you know,

so much tension there.

CESAR: What you're doing is practicing
what your instincts tell you to do.

DAISY: Yeah.
CESAR: It's life and death.

Instinct is all
about life and death.

DAISY: Yeah.

That one sad tragic
event kind of taught me

you have to protect yourself.

But it's probably
an overcorrection and

that's impacting other people
and yourself, and our baby.

I feel like nervous, you know.

CESAR: Fear is fear.
DAISY: Yeah.

CESAR: It doesn't matter
if it comes from a b*llet or

it comes from a dog.

It's how the human responds.

DAISY: Yeah.

CESAR: It makes
sense that Daisy is tense.

Not only did she suffer a
g*nsh*t wound to the neck,

she lost her friend.

While her physical
wounds may have healed,

mentally she's still living
with the effects of that trauma.

When facing new threats,
like Milo biting her,

her body reacts.

So how do you think you did it?

That's right.

DAISY: I pulled it. Yeah.

CESAR: It's like
you're holding like...

DAISY: Yeah.
CESAR: Yeah.

So that's not comfortable.

You're not gonna
be calm about it.

Look, my arm is relaxed
while I'm guiding him.

That way he knows I am
calm and confident about

why he's doing it.

DAISY: Oh, okay.

CESAR: But right now
we're just gonna control

the hesitation that he's having.

See it? Look.

BRANDON: Mm-hmm.

CESAR: As soon as he sees it,
he has to go through it.

DAISY: Yeah.

CESAR: You have to let
him know what's not allowed.

DAISY: Okay.
CESAR: Yeah.

Milo is, Milo
became flight avoidance.

DAISY: Yes.
CESAR: That's not who he is.

BRANDON: Yeah.
DAISY: Okay.

CESAR: Yeah.
DAISY: Who is he?

CESAR: Well, he's a dog
that is confused because.

DAISY: Okay.

CESAR: You're confused and you're
nurturing fear and tension.

DAISY: Yeah.
BRANDON: Yeah.

(laughs)

(whines)

CESAR: Shh,
want it, there we go.

BRANDON: Yeah, yeah.
CESAR: No, don't laugh.

He's tense, so the laugh
sends the wrong message.

DAISY: Oh, okay. Sorry, sorry.

CESAR: I come across many
pet parents who laugh nervously

when they're feeling
vulnerable or tense.

It's a way to calm yourself down

when overwhelmed
by too much emotion.

It's perfectly natural considering the
traumas Daisy has suffered.

But when Milo is in this
confused and tense mindset,

he needs quiet,
calm confident corrections,

so Daisy's nervous laughter actually
reinforces the dog's tension.

(growls)

(laughs)

BRANDON: Yeah, there it is.
DAISY: Oh, my gosh.

CESAR: Yeah, but
that's not good.

BRANDON: Yeah.
CESAR: Because if you laugh...

DAISY: Yeah.

CESAR: Off his temper tantrums, oh,
he's manipulative ways to be.

DAISY: Okay.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Yeah, as it is
very manipulative.

CESAR: Yeah.

(growling)

CESAR: I just got bit.

(growling)

CESAR: I just got bit.

(sighs)

DAISY: Oh, man.

CESAR: It's all right.
It's all right.

BRANDON: Okay.
CESAR: It's all right.

Producer: It's bleeding.
Let's get that cleaned up.

CESAR: Yeah. I just
don't wanna put blood on him.

Producer: First aid kit ASAP.

CESAR: It's, it's
just a little nip.

There's just a lot
of blood because he's,

he got the soft
part of the hand.

Producer: Here's a bandage.

CESAR: Just wrap it
around so I can go.

I can't, I can't stop too long.

As I was working with
Milo's hesitation on the ramp,

Daisy's nervous laughter
amplified Milo's tension

causing him to shut down.

(laughs)

CESAR: And then as I tried to snap him out
of his moment of fear...

(growling)

All that build up
tension he received from Daisy

was released on me
in the form of a bite.

BRANDON: Milo biting
someone is really, kind of,

our worst fear.

DAISY: In most cases.
BRANDON: Yeah.

DAISY: If he draws blood, people
are very scared rightfully so.

CESAR: I don't want Daisy
to dwell on this bite and

I can't leave Milo
in this state either.

I need to finish the
exercise to erase the bite and

show them both that
you have to work through

your triggers
with calm confidence.

This is the moment.

DAISY: I'm sorry.

CESAR: I just
don't want to keep...

No, please don't apologize.

This is what I do for a living.

Even though he bit me,
I can't feed tension.

He's only going to
follow confidence.

DAISY: Yeah, I think in the
past we would have been afraid

to pick him up after a bite.

CESAR: That's right. Yeah,
but that's why he did it.

That's why...

DAISY: Yeah.

CESAR: You know, him, he's
doing all the stuff he did.

DAISY: Yeah.
BRANDON: Yeah.

CESAR: And if we
laugh about it and then.

DAISY: Yeah. I'm sorry.

CESAR: He actually sees
it as the right thing to do.

Look.

He's fighting out of fear.

He's afraid.

He needs to lay on
his side and surrender.

Slowly, gently,
I'll help him get there.

But I can only teach
surrender in a moment of fight.

DAISY: Yeah.
CESAR: Shh. Shh.

He has to in a moment...

(growls)

There you go.

In a moment of fight, flight...

Shh.

(whimpers)

Shh.

In a moment of fight or flight somebody
has to come and help him get to surrender.

There you go.

DAISY: Wow.

DAISY: There's no way
after a bite I could do that.

And I am just thinking like,

"Oh, my God. I don't
know how to do this myself.

How do we do this at home?"

BRANDON: We really have
to resolve these issues or

Milo will not be, you know, safe
in our home with Amani and us.

DAISY: Yeah.

BRANDON: What's the plan
for his rehabilitation and

kind of getting him to
get out of that state?

CESAR: This whole
session took a turn.

BRANDON: Yeah.

CESAR: You know the
Red Zone cases that I work on?

DAISY: Yeah!
BRANDON: Yeah.

CESAR: Well,
this is one of them.

He needs rehab.

That means he
needs to stay with us.

BRANDON: Okay.
DAISY: Hmm.

CESAR: If you want.

BRANDON: Uh, yeah, absolutely.
DAISY: Yes. Yeah.

CESAR: So while he's away,
you practice calmness and

be more aware of your tension.

DAISY: Yeah, yeah.
BRANDON: Yeah.

DAISY: Hey, Milo.
BRANDON: All right.

Good luck, buddy.

DAISY: After talking with Cesar,

I realized that I'm
carrying a lot of tension.

Milo's feeding off of me and
it's not really helping him.

And so, the homework for me will
be to try to be more mindful of

the tension that I might
be holding and letting it go.

BRANDON: And I'm just
gonna be working on like

my own reactivity to
negative things that happen.

We have a journey ahead.

DAISY: Bye, Milito.

NARRATOR: As
Brandon and Daisy head home

to address their own tension...

CESAR: Milo, welcome
to boot camp, buddy.

Let's go to work.

NARRATOR: Cesar works on
Milo's fearful distrust of touch

that causes his aggression.

CESAR: Using the
leash and my gentle touch,

I'll guide him
up onto this bench.

So with every repetition,
Milo learns that human touch

does not equal pain,
it equals trust.

When you're working
with a dog that has bit you,

your job is to be fearless.

You can't hold the past.

There's, there's, you see how
he jumps for no reason at all.

He doesn't trust me yet and
his eyes are suspicious of me.

Okay.

He hesitates
always in the guidance.

There you go.

Look at the lips.

Every time he,
that is a warning.

(growls)

Shh.

He's afraid.

I touched to help
him to calm surrender.

(snarling)

I'm not hurting him,

so he learns my touch
equals trust, not fear.

(barking)

Now he's relaxed.

Something in that
area triggers for him to

defend himself when you touch.

Let's do it again.

Shh.

He's still afraid.

(whimpers)

Shh.

Shh.

(whimpering)

Shh. Shh.

He went to calm surrender
a little faster this time.

He's starting to trust.

Relax.

Come on.

There you go.

That's the
breakthrough we needed.

You see it?
His eyes are softer.

There you go. Finally.

There you go.

That's all. That's it, buddy.

That is trust.

NARRATOR: Milo's
emerging trust in Cesar means

he's ready for
intensive rehabilitation.

CESAR: We're helping
this dog become desensitized.

Shh. Shh.

NARRATOR: Slowly,
the dog responds by

shifting to a calmer mindset.

CESAR: He has
learned the human can touch.

Not with the purpose of hurting.

Shh. Shh.

Milo can't reach out and try to
take nothing from baby sister.

You understand?

Milo should now be a great
fur brother to baby Amani.

He's a much more relaxed dog

who's ready to reunite
with his pet parents.

Move out the way, Milo is
coming with his new haircut!

NARRATOR: One week later, Cesar
welcomes Milo's pet parents back

to the ranch to show
off the dog's progress,

and see if Daisy is making
headway on the tension caused

by the trauma she suffered.

CESAR: How we feeling?

Daisy has been living
with tension for years,

and she was unaware of how that tense
energy impacts her dog's behavior.

DAISY: Oh, my gosh.

CESAR: I just got bit.

CESAR: I must see a significant
change from them because

Milo deserves a forever
home where he can thrive.

Test number one
for Daisy and Brandon,

is to hear whether
they're done their homework.

How's it going?

BRANDON: We took the time
to just kind of like, Zen out.

DAISY: We've been
practicing mindfulness.

BRANDON: Learning how to
relax and deal with chaos

a little bit differently.

DAISY: Trying to be more mindful
of the energy that I have,

also how that can affect Milo
and his confidence and trust.

But, you know, it
hasn't been easy.

I don't know, I feel more calm.

CESAR: Okay, that's good.
So this is like a new beginning.

DAISY: Okay.

CESAR: So he's been
doing great, you know.

DAISY: Okay,
that's good to know.

CESAR: So what we're gonna
do today is a calm reunion

where we're gonna blindfold you.

DAISY: Okay.
CESAR: Come on.

BRANDON: Oh,
my God, we're excited.

CESAR: Let's go.
DAISY: Okay.

CESAR: Let's go. Let's go.

For a successful reunion,
Daisy and Brandon can no longer

be allowed to look at their
dog as if he's still a threat.

By wearing blindfolds, they
literally can't see Milo in

that fearful mindset anymore.

So all that remains is to be
present with who Milo is now.

Okay, here he comes.

(sniffing)

He's recognizing you right now.

Just it, uh, take the moment.

He's in a happy-go-lucky state.

DAISY: Okay.

CESAR: Remember,
no touch and no talk.

Okay, he's going back
your way, there you go.

He's greeting you.

So right now, he's celebrating.

His family is here.

So he's roll,
rolling over, being playful.

You can feel
his little nose, right?

DAISY: Yeah.
CESAR: There you go.

This is a very
good calm reunion.

BRANDON: Absolutely.
CESAR: Yes.

Now you can take it off.

There we go.

He's sort of clinging to you.

Move him away.

DAISY: Mm-hmm.
CESAR: Claim your space.

Come on. Come on.

This clinging behavior is
an invasion of Daisy's space,

it's disrespectful,
and if left unchecked,

it can be dangerous,
especially with a baby at home.

I must make sure Daisy
knows how to confidently and

safely ask for distance
by claiming her space.

He's still too close to you.

Claim your space by firmly
blocking him with your arm.

DAISY: Okay.
CESAR: With this, boom.

DAISY: Okay.
CESAR: This boom, this boom.

You just have to feel it.

And, and claim the space.

Oh, here he goes.

Claim your space.

Come on. Come on.
This is your moment.

Your child,
depends on this moment.

DAISY: What I was recalling in that moment
is this reel of Milo bites.

I am kind of afraid that
he's gonna react negatively

to me moving his body.

CESAR: Let's do it again.

Come on. Come on. That's right.

This gluing thing is not good.

You're getting tense. Breathe.

Come on. Be firm.

Shh.

You think you're
blocking gently.

But the hesitation
transfers tension.

Daisy has become
very tense again,

like she was in
the agility arena.

(laughs)

CESAR: Relax your neck.
DAISY: My neck?

CESAR: So she's causing
Milo to regress back into

an insecure fight mode mindset.

(growls)

Hold on, he's ready to bite.

Shh.

Let me take him away from you.

Even though he's become
super tense and ready to bite...

Shh.

I need to show Daisy that
powerful fearless energy is

the only thing a dog
like Milo will respond to.

(growls)

Yeah, he's super tense.

I need to block him with confidence
so he doesn't bite you.

So he's here, right?

He's right there.
Your confident.

Then you can go...

Gentle but firm, yeah.

(growls)

Shh. Shh.

Hey. Shh. Shh.

CESAR: Shh. Shh.

There you go.
That's regression.

His mind is going
back a little bit.

DAISY: Mm-hmm.
CESAR: You know?

'Cause you guys
are practicing tension.

Over the last few days of rehab,

Milo's behavior
was close to perfect.

And I feel certain he could do
the rest of his work at home.

But now, I'm not so sure.

Milo regressed in minutes because Daisy's
tension is just so strong.

DAISY: I know you're
not supposed to think about

the past, but I think I just
have memories of being bitten.

That makes me tense.

CESAR: If you don't
become calm confident,

your tension can tell him,
he cannot be trusted.

He can go back.

Like what makes
you tense the most?

DAISY: So, I think
there's two types of tension.

So one is from the sh**ting.

So now, you know, when you're
kind of startled by things that,

you know, that
can generate tension.

And then that feels like, "Is
this next thing that I'm gonna

do gonna mess up all the
progress that he's made?"

CESAR: Yeah, so you're already
anticipating

that you might make a mistake.

So we need to change
that for calm confidence.

Try to remember, you
don't have to be perfect.

It's okay to make mistakes.

DAISY: Okay.

CESAR: Daisy must do some deep
work to confront her triggers.

Otherwise, her baby will
continue to be in danger.

I need to
deliver some hard news.

He's not going home, okay?

DAISY: Okay.

CESAR: I can fix him,
but you have to fix you.

DAISY: I think it was a
really good lesson learned on

how ruminating and doubt
can impact Milo negatively.

CESAR: So next time, I
bring Milo to you guys,

and then I get to meet the baby,

and you guys keep
working on yourself.

Remember, the way you dealt
with something in the past

doesn't have to define how
you handle it in the future.

BRANDON: Okay.

CESAR: As soon as
the past comes in, just acknowledge it.

If you're feeling
nervous and then...

(takes deep breath)

You breathe it out.

BRANDON: Yeah.
DAISY: All right.

BRANDON: Okay.
DAISYY: I'll do that.

CESAR: Gracias...

DAISY: Thank you.
BRANDON: Oh, my gosh...

CESAR: Brother.
BRANDON: Thank you so much.

CESAR: Thank you.
BRANDON: Oh.

CESAR: You stay with me, Milo.
DAISY: Sorry, Milo.

CESAR: Don't worry.

DAISY: We were
disappointed because

we've been planning
for Milo to come home.

I am afraid that all
this progress is lost.

That we sent
Milo back, you know?

BRANDON: But we wanna do
whatever is best for Milo.

DAISY: So while
we're away from Milo,

I'll keep reminding myself
that everything from your past

doesn't have to influence
every single current moment.

NARRATOR: After
he was triggered by

Daisy's tense energy
Maltipoo Milo regressed.

CESAR: Hey. Shh. Shh.

(growls)

Shh.

NARRATOR: So Cesar
must reinforce the calm surrender mindset

the dog achieved
during his rehabilitation,

to ensure that he's trustworthy.

Otherwise, baby Amani
could still be in danger.

CESAR: I'm gonna use the duck.

As you see right now,
Milo is laying down.

This is a calm
surrender part of him.

His closed eyes and
relaxed body shows trust.

So that's why I feel he's ready.

I've taken Milo, as far
as I can here at the DPC.

He's 90% there, but the
last 10% has to be done

by the pet parents at home.

Only they can assure that
baby Amani will stay safe.

I just hope Daisy
and Brandon are ready.

If not, you'll be
staying with me, Milo.

NARRATOR: The next day, Cesar
arrives in South Los Angeles

with Milo to see if
Daisy's newfound awareness

has improved her tense energy.

CESAR: Come on out.

NARRATOR: If not, the
pack won't be able to reunite.

CESAR: So how's it been?

What you guys
have been working on?

DAISY: Uh, Brandon
has been really helpful,

because I get
triggered sometimes and avoid.

So he has been
reminding me, like,

let's try it again, and kind of prove to
your brain that it's okay.

You don't have to be afraid
of whatever that trigger was.

CESAR: Right.

DAISY: And then, you know,
just continuing to breathe.

CESAR: That's right.

You have the
energy that he needs.

Milo has done his work,

and it sounds like
you're doing your work, too.

BRANDON: Yeah.

CESAR: So let's get you working together.
DAISY: Yeah!

BRANDON: Oh, my gosh.
CESAR: I'll go get your boy.

DAISY: Okay.
BRANDON: Let's do it.

CESAR: Daisy identifying and
working through her tension

shows she's beginning to overcome her
triggers from the sh**ting,

but she must be able to
maintain that newfound calmness,

especially when
Milo is around baby Amani.

To test this, she needs to
put Milo in calm surrender on

his bed, and remain calm
when introducing the baby.

This safe controlled greeting
at a distance is the key to

growing confidence
and building trust.

Put him on the bed foam.

There you go.

DAISY: Shh.
CESAR: Nice.

From this point on,
he can't move.

Simple as that.

DAISY: Shh.
CESAR: Nice.

So this bed to a
point of reference,

that reminds the mind, "Okay,
so once they put me in the bed,

what they want is
calm surrender, 100%."

BRANDON: Mm-hmm.
DAISY: Yeah.

CESAR: Daisy was able to
confidently guide Milo to

the bed, so I feel it's
safe for the next step.

Let's get the baby.

DAISY: Shh. Shh.
BRANDON: Heal.

I have a little nerves.

I'll be honest.

DAISY: Yeah, the training wheels are off,
we're trying to take all

the knowledge that
Cesar has imparted on us,

and then bring that
into the fresh start.

BRANDON: Are you ready?

DAISY: I don't know.

I hope so.

BRANDON: Here comes Amani.

CESAR: Oh, my dear Lord.
Oh, with a tutu?

BRANDON: Say, "Hi, Tio."
CESAR: He's getting too close.

DAISY: Shh.

CESAR: Daisy,
keep him on the bed.

DAISY: Shh.
CESAR: Nice. Yes. Mm-hmm.

DAISY: Shh. Shh.

CESAR: Yes.

When I last saw Daisy, she
was so tense that it caused

Milo to get tense and bite.

Hey. Shh. Shh.

Causing me to keep Milo
at the ranch for safety.

He's not going home, okay?

But after a week of trying
to reduce her tension, Daisy...

DAISY: Shh.

CESAR: Stayed calm and
directed Milo to the bed.

Nice.

And Milo listened.

DAISY: Shh.

CESAR: That tells me, Daisy's
begun to manage her tension and

let go of Milo's past.

That's a major breakthrough.

So over the next week,
they need to practice,

calm surrender before I can
test Milo's biggest trigger,

dropped food.

Hi.

BRANDON: You wanna hold her?

CESAR: Yeah. If she allow me.
DAISY: Yeah.

BRANDON: Oh.
DAISY: Yeah!

CESAR: Is she...
BRANDON: Oh, my.

DAISY: Oh, she loves it.
CESAR: Oh, look at those legs.

BRANDON: Oh, yeah.
DAISY: Oh, yeah.

CESAR: Oh, my dear Lord.
DAISY: Aww.

CESAR: The greatest
thing in the world.

DAISY: Yeah.

CESAR: How can you
be chaotic with this?

BRANDON: Yeah.

CESAR: I mean, he's
ready to come home.

DAISY: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
BRANDON: Yeah.

CESAR: And I think she's
ready to go back to mama.

DAISY: Ooh.
CESAR: Okay. Okay.

DAISY: Chiquita.

CESAR: Just remind your parents
to be aware of their energy.

And any time there is tension,
remember to stay calm confident.

BRANDON: The whole time.

CESAR: Call any time and
I'll check with you in a week.

DAISY: It feels very doable.

CESAR: Mm-hmm.
BRANDON: Say, "Thank you."

CESAR: Thank you. All right.

DAISY: Thank you.
CESAR: You got it.

NARRATOR: One week later, Cesar
returns to South Los Angeles to

follow up on Daisy and
Brandon's progress with Milo.

CESAR: So what's new?
BRANDON: We've been great.

DAISY: Okay.
CESAR: Yeah.

DAISY: We've been,
you know, practicing.

BRANDON: Yeah.

DAISY: I'm walking him more, so he's
trusting me a little bit more.

BRANDON: Milo's been
really good about just kind of

following some new commands.

He's really listening to me now.

DAISY: He's a little bit
more comfortable around Amani.

CESAR: That's good.
BRANDON: Yeah, that is.

DAISY: Yeah. Yeah.

But touching his legs to
brush the hair is a big no, no.

That's where we saw
the most aggression.

So, this is what happened.

(growling)

CESAR: Very tense.

DAISY: Very upset.
CESAR: Yeah.

(growling)

But he's doing that because
you're not confident about it.

DAISY: You know, we
don't wanna go back.

CESAR: That's right, yeah.

DAISY: We don't
want him to go back.

CESAR: He won't regress if
you touch him with confidence.

DAISY: Yeah.

CESAR: It sounds like Daisy is
really starting to become aware

when her tension
is affecting Milo,

but there is still
a lack of confidence,

especially when
touching the dog.

If calm confident is missing,
we cannot achieve trust.

The calmer you are, the
more effective you are.

Your energy has to
be 100% calm confident.

You haven't
mastered that energy yet.

DAISY: Yeah.

CESAR: That's why today's final
challenge is all about building

the confidence Daisy needs in
order to safely touch her dog,

which is the
foundation of trust.

DAISY: Yes.
CESAR: Let's go in the back.

BRANDON: Let's do it.
CESAR: Come on.

For the first part of
their final challenge,

I am having Daisy take Milo
through a mini agility course.

DAISY: Ooh, it's the DPC here.

(laughter)

CESAR: A little bit.
So I do it first.

DAISY: Okay.
BRANDON: Okay.

CESAR: An agility course is a
good way to build trust between

a dog and a pet parent.

DAISY: Milo.

CESAR: No hesitation
on the motion.

Boom.

Daisy needs to stay calm
confident through the course,

and keep Milo in a
calm surrender mindset.

The obstacle where I got bitten.

BRANDON: Mm-hmm.
DAISY: Yeah.

CESAR: That's good.
BRANDON: Yeah.

CESAR: Point of reference.

There you go.

BRANDON: Got it.
CESAR: That's it.

So that calm surrender state.

Then, boom.

If Daisy succeeds, she should
be able to touch him at the end.

You see it, he's calm,

so then we test your
confidence by touching.

DAISY: Okay.
BRANDON: Mm-hmm.

CESAR: The more he sees that
her touch is nothing to fear,

the more he'll
trust her guidance,

which will keep Amani safe.

So the reason why he's allowing that
is because his brain is calm surrender.

BRANDON: Mm. Mm-hmm.

CESAR: And then, once they're
in a calm surrender state, they,

they feel safe,
they feel trust.

BRANDON: Mm-hmm.

CESAR: Let's focus on you.
DAISY: Okay.

I'm gonna try to forget the
last time we did one of these.

It didn't go so well.

CESAR: I just got bit.

DAISY: And he bit
Cesar really hard.

BRANDON: Yeah.

CESAR: Yes. Yes.
There you go.

BRANDON: Yeah, he just did it.
CESAR: Last part. Yeah.

BRANDON: He gets it really fast.
CESAR: Yeah. Yes.

Very smart.

Yup.

DAISY: Now I'm just trying to remember to
walk with that confidence.

Come on.

And it doesn't
have to be perfect.

Come.

CESAR: Boom, boom.

(overlapping chatter)

CESAR: Yes. Boom.

Yeah, no hesitation.

Leash. Yes. Yes.

DAISY: Good boy. Okay.

CESAR: He just got tense.
BRANDON: Mm-hmm.

CESAR: You can
see it in his eyes,

they're darting around,
and he's licking the chops.

CESAR: Careful.

CESAR: Put it back
in the floor. Yeah.

DAISY: Okay. Yeah,
he did seem like he was...

CESAR: Yeah.
DAISY: Like flinching his head.

CESAR: That's, so that's because
you didn't kept him calm, so,

it's the leash, boom.

DAISY: Okay.
CESAR: Okay?

This one stays there.

Ah, look, look, this way.

Yeah. So this
keeps the mind in part.

Look at the difference.

Be confident.

Don't hesitate
when you pick him up,

and make sure the leash
is in the right position.

DAISY: Okay.

CESAR: As she finished
the obstacle course,

Milo sensed Daisy's
hesitation in picking him up,

and Milo became tense,
licking his lips,

which for him can be
a precursor to a bite,

because the leash
wasn't in the right position,

and she wasn't calm confident
she couldn't snap him out of it.

By showing Daisy how to
make minor adjustments,

she can let Milo know
to be in calm surrender

when she touches him.

Safe.

DAISY: Can I do it
again and pick him up?

CESAR: Yeah.
DAISY: Okay.

DAISY: Come on, little one.

CESAR: If you're
not fast, smart, and happy,

you're not doing
it the Milo way.

BRANDON: Mm-hmm.

DAISY: It, yeah, it
does have to be fast.

CESAR: Yeah.
DAISY: If you hesitate...

CESAR: Yeah. There you go.
DAISY: He's, like, okay.

CESAR: Yeah, outsmart this guy?
BRANDON: Mm-hmm.

DAISY: Come!

DAISY: Come on.
BRANDON: Oh, yeah.

CESAR: Good, good, good, good.

Boom, boom, boom.

Yep. Mm-hmm.

There you go.

DAISY: Look at that, Milo.
BRANDON: Yeah!

CESAR: Yeah!

So, the more you do
these calm surrender moments...

DAISY: Mm-hmm.

CESAR: The more
the trust arises.

DAISY: Yeah.

CESAR: Daisy's overcoming her
tension by using calm confidence

to maintain Milo's trust, which
tells me that this pack is ready

for the second part
of their final challenge.

Come on. Let's do
the food now with Amani.

She'll be safe in the highchair.

BRANDON: Look who it is.

CESAR: Hi.
BRANDON: It's Tio Cesar.

CESAR: Hi. I'm back.

It's important that this pack
work together to keep Milo calm surrender,

around what was once
his most dangerous trigger,

especially with a
baby in the house.

So, Daisy feed Amani.

And Brandon, if
Milo gets excited,

your job is to bring
him back to calm surrender.

You know, and
just for the record,

we're not teasing the dog.

We're making sure Milo doesn't get tense
or guard the food anymore.

For safety purposes,
because we don't want that

he feels comfortable just taking
food away from Amani's hand.

BRANDON: Yeah.
CESAR: Right?

BRANDON: Yeah.
DAISY: Sorry.

BRANDON: She's like,
"Give me some of that food."

DAISY: Here. It's okay.

It's right here.

BRANDON: Yeah.
CESAR: Uh, this is excitement.

DAISY: Shh. Shh.
BRANDON: Hey.

DAISY: Shh.
CESAR: That's excitement.

Excited dogs can get aggressive.

Calm dogs don't.

BRANDON: Come on.
DAISY: No hesitation.

CESAR: Wait for it. Wait for it.

(bag rustling)

That's really good.

This is calm surrender.

(laughs)

While Daisy fed Amani,

Brandon was able to
correct Milo's excitement.

Both pet parents stayed
calm and confident together,

so the dog
remained at calm surrender.

The last piece of their
final challenge will really

put this pack's trust
and confidence to the test,

with a mess that most new
parents have faced before.

Let's throw some food and
just maintain it that way.

BRANDON: Yeah, yeah.
CESAR: Okay?

BRANDON: Go ahead.
Hey, shh, shh.

CESAR: There you go.
Oh, timing was amazing.

BRANDON: Good job.
CESAR: There we go.

That's good. That's good.

He, he's doing it on his own.

Look, no more guarding.

Drop the leash.

He's about to move.

Oh, hold on, that's really good.

(laughter)

CESAR: So your first
correction was so good.

Now he understand
what's expected of him.

That's trust. That's perfection.

This is a moment
that we have to,

this is food for
your heart, your spirit,

your mind, like he can do it.

DAISY: He did it.
BRANDON: Yeah.

CESAR: I am so proud
of Daisy and Brandon.

They have created
trust with Milo.

So they're
finally a unified pack.

BRANDON: We are so
grateful for you and

everything that
you've taught us, yeah.

DAISY: It's a big deal. Yeah.
BRANDON: Yeah, it's a big deal.

In the beginning of all of this,

our confidence and
trust in Milo was super low.

And every time he bit us, it
really felt like a betrayal of

the trust that we had in him.

DAISY: Through the
journey with Cesar,

we learned how to
desensitize our triggers,

how to work through them.

We feel more confident
in ourselves and, like,

we can trust our pack.

This is life-changing.

CESAR: Mm-hmm.
DAISY: Thank you so much.

CESAR: You're welcome.
BRANDON: Yes.

Cesar Millan is in the house.

CESAR: Brother. Brother, man.

Amani.

DAISY: Say, "Thank you."
CESAR: Thank you.

BRANDON: Oh, yeah.
DAISY: Aww.

BRANDON: Say, "Bye."

CESAR: When pet parents
adopt a dog like Milo,

they may not realize it,
but they're taking on more than

just a dog with a troubled past.

They're taking in a dog
that can help them overcome

their own troubled past.

I believe dogs can
see what's inside of us,

our energy, our spirit.

When Milo sensed the
turmoil within his pet parent,

his aggression forces human
to seek help and look within,

to address their own
unresolved trauma and fear.

As the world continues to
change and test our strengths,

in new ways we
could never imagine,

I am glad that in the
fight to recover our spirit,

we have dogs on our side.