01x10 - Hijacked Pack

[bunniefuu]

CESAR [off-screen]: When I
started my journey and

people started calling me
the dog whisperer,

the only thing I wanted to
do was to teach people that

there's no such
thing as a bad dog.

WOMAN: Oh my God!

CESAR: Give me the leash!
She's safer with me.

CESAR [off-screen]: Today,
I'm still doing what I love.

But the pandemic has
changed the world.

[overlapping chatter].

Dog adoptions have
hit a record high.

The good news is dog
shelters are empty.

The bad news is,

people still need help.

WOMAN: He
doesn't listen to me.

WOMAN: Like, the
problem is me.

MAN: What do I do?

CESAR [off-screen]: Mo' pooches,
mo' problems, right?

This is why he
doesn't listen to you.

MAN: No.

CESAR: So many things
you can fix already. Tsch!

MAN: Sorry, sorry!

CESAR: Ignore the excitement.

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

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

CESAR [off-screen]: Together
with my superhero pack,

our mission is to teach the
world to honor the "pack code"

honesty, integrity, and loyalty.

Once you get this, you
gonna have everything else!

And that's how we create
better humans and better dogs,

one pack at a time.

NARRATOR: Today, Cesar begins
his work with a newly rescued

Australian cattle dog and
his adoptive pet parents,

who believe the dog's anxious
and destructive behavior is a

result of being
rehomed numerous times.

LAURIE: How do you think
Dakota is gonna react to Cesar

when he first meets him?

CHARLIE: Oh, I'm not sure.

I think he might be a
little nervous because
he's a scaredy-cat.

LAURIE: I'm Laurie.
This is Charlie.

And this is our dog, Dakota.

CHARLIE: When we got Dakota,
he was 10 months old,

and he's about a
year and a half now.

We were looking at lots of
shelters and came across a

listing for a dog
who needed a home,

and Laurie and I immediately
fell in love with the
photos of Dakota.

He can be a very cuddly dog.

Sometimes he'll actually
lie down trying to encourage

another dog to come
say hello to him,

and I think that's trying
to signal to other dogs,

you know, "Come meet me.
I'm friendly!"

LAURIE: When we got him,
we were told that he had

some separation anxiety.

And we definitely
noticed that right away.

CHARLIE: Where have you been?

[inaudible].

LAURIE: We noticed that he
would herd us together if we

were in different rooms.

CHARLIE: Don't worry.
Don't worry. Don't worry.

He truly is a
shadow in some ways.

He follows us everywhere.

And I think
initially we thought,

oh this is so endearing.

He just wants to be with us.

But that should've probably
been a signal that he
was too attached.

And because we got
Dakota in COVID,

it actually took a while for
us to leave him by himself and

realize the
extent of his anxiety.

LAURIE: No.
CHARLIE: Just go out.

The one time we did leave
Dakota by himself and it was

only for about a half an hour,

we came back to a
truly panicking dog.

LAURIE [off-screen]: It's ok.

CHARLIE: He had torn up a few
things and that wasn't what we

were worried about.

It was just quite sad to
see the state he was in.

He was having a panic attack.

LAURIE [off-screen]: It's ok.

CHARLIE: And we knew that
he was looking for us,

because he actually ran
through a screen door on a

balcony, so that he could run
through another screen door

into our bedroom to check that
we weren't in the bedroom.

LAURIE: We've only left him
alone for about two minutes at

a time since then.

CHARLIE: It is just part of
our lives that Dakota is with

us 24 hours a day.

And I think he's
quite ok with that.

And we realize it's
probably not sustainable.

CHARLIE [off-screen]: Dakota
positioned himself where
he's touching both my

feet and both Laurie's
feet at the same time.

LAURIE: Feeling like a hostage
in your own home is stressful

and my biggest fear is that
Dakota would hurt himself

trying to escape to
come find us or get
lost trying to find us.

CHARLIE: The day he ran
through screen doors,

I was so happy in retrospect
that the glass sliding doors

were open,
because I do wonder,

would he have tried to run
through those glass doors?

And he could have
seriously hurt himself there.

So that's my fear.

In his first year of life,
we're his third home.

And I'm worried he thinks
there might be a fourth.

CESAR: Good morning!

CHARLIE: Oh good morning,
Cesar. How are you?

LAURIE: Hi.

CESAR: Right this way, guys.
CHARLIE: Nice to see you.

CHARLIE: Thank you so
much for having us.

CESAR: Welcome to the ranch.
CHARLIE: This is fantastic. Yes.

LAURIE: Thank you.
CESAR: So, how can I help?

[scratching, whining].

CHARLIE: So I think we
have quite a nervous dog,

who's not
comfortable being by himself.

LAURIE: We can't
leave him alone.

We try, and it's a
whole production.

And he gets very worked up,
and he has panic attacks,

where he just
shakes and chews.

And we're worried
he's gonna hurt himself.

That's really my
biggest concern.

Um...

It's, yeah, it's really
heartbreaking to watch.

CESAR: This panicked behavior
is sometimes the result of

what's called
separation anxiety.

Shelter dogs who have
had multiple families,

can become confused because
important people from their

lives keep disappearing.

This can lead to instability
and anxious behavior,

like we're seeing from Dakota.

Alright let's get the guy out.

[whining].

CHARLIE: Love you.

CESAR: Oh that's bad.
Oh my god, no. No.

Put it back.
Put it back.

CHARLIE: Put him back in?

CESAR: Yeah. Yeah.

CHARLIE: Dakota. Dakota.

CESAR: See that?
He has to stop.

LAURIE: I know.
He rushes through doorways.

CESAR: No, not your dog.
Your man.

Your human man needs to
stop that baby talk right now

because it's gonna
make him very nervous.

Unfortunately, baby talk
is a very common thing
around dog people.

There's nothing wrong with it.

It's just that most people do
it at the wrong time for the

wrong reasons.

CESAR [off-screen]: Like here.

Dakota is behaving anxiously,
and Charlie's baby talk is

interpreted as a reward
for feeling that way.

CHARLIE: Dakota, stay.
Come on.

CESAR: Stay there. Stay.

Don't get him out.
He's not ready yet.

CHARLIE: Dakota.

CESAR: Charlie, look.

That's better.

We have a lot of work to do.

Follow me.

Separation anxiety can be one
of the most challenging issues

pet parents face.

In the most serious cases, the
bad behavior can even lead to

the surrendering of a
dog back to a shelter.

When this happens
repeatedly, eventually
the dog can be put down.

Can you bring him in there?

CHARLIE: Of course.

CESAR: To see how deep
Dakota's anxiety goes,

I want to observe the family's
typical separation routine.

Okay. Okay, so pretend this
gate is your front door,

and Laurie, you're
about to leave the house.

LAURIE: Come. Come.

No. Sit. Sit.

Stay. Stay.

Good boy.
Good boy.

[whining].

CESAR: So, now since
you're inside the house,

what would you do there?

CHARLIE: I mean I would try
to calm him down normally.

CESAR: Like how,
what would you do?

CHARLIE: Stroke him, just.

CESAR: Stroke him?
CHARLIE: Yeah.

CESAR: No, no, no.
Don't reward this behavior.

Let me show you.
Alright, here.

Put a leash on.

CHARLIE: Dakota.

CESAR: And you just
hold right there.

Look, so when he's
pacing, just put the leash on.

Tsch.

Put the leash on. Sit.

And remove him from the fence.

If you pet him,
you're not giving him
direction to calm down.

You're giving
affection when he's nervous.

CHARLIE: Yeah.

CESAR: So you're the
dad, you need to give
him the right direction.

CHARLIE: Yeah.

CESAR: Let me explain why
Dakota has separation issues.

At only a year and a
half old, he has already
been in three homes.

Twice before, his parents
have left and not come back.

That can be extremely
confusing for a dog.

It's up to Laurie and Charlie
to replace that confusion
with confidence.

But with their
constant baby talk.

CHARLIE: Don't worry.
Don't worry. Don't worry.

CESAR: Over-petting and
letting him linger by the door,

they are encouraging
worry and distress.

We need to stop all
of that right now.

Now when you come
back and reunite,

no touch no talk,
no eye contact.

No touch, no talk,
no eye contact.

I know this is cute.
I understand.

Please see beyond cuteness.

No touch, no talk,
no eye contact.

Tsch. Careful!

No, no, no.

He shouldn't be touching you,
let alone using his teeth.

So, come here.

Biting in any form
should never be tolerated,

even with little
nips like that.

Dakota is an
Australian Cattle Dog,

so he is a natural herder and
that's exactly what he's doing,

herding Laurie
away from the door.

The dog isn't
trying to hurt her,

but when the teeth come out,
people can get hurt.

Tsch. Hey. Tsch.

See how he's touching you
without you requesting that?

LAURIE: Right.

CESAR: I'm not saying
don't play with the dog,

I'm just saying, you have to
be able to convey that that's

not what you want.

He needs to understand,
we don't use our mouth.

CHARLIE: No.
LAURIE: Right.

CESAR: You gotta
claim yourself.

One more time.

LAURIE: Okay. Stay!
CESAR: Yes.

That's what we
want right there.

That right there.
That was good!

LAURIE: Stay.
CESAR: Stop him.

LAURIE: Stay.

CESAR: Stop him!
Make him stop!

LAURIE: Stay.
CESAR: Yes.

That's what we
want right there.

That right there.
That was good!

LAURIE: Stay.
CESAR: Stop him.

LAURIE: Stay.

CESAR: Stop him!
Make him stop!

LAURIE: Stay!

CESAR: Tsch. Tsch! Stay.
Tell him again.

LAURIE: Stay. Stay.

CESAR: Tsch!
Make him stop.

Tsch! Yeah, stay.

There you go. Haha!
Welcome back.

LAURIE: I headed into
today feeling very
optimistic and hopeful,

but I didn't expect that we
would already be where we are.

Until today, he was completely
unable to take our direction.

CESAR: That's what you want.
Your turn, Charlie.

CHARLIE: Yeah? My turn?
CESAR: Yeah.

That is excitement,
which is normal.

The first thing I see, is that
Dakota did not follow Charlie

to the door the same
way he did with Laurie.

He seems less worried
about Dad leaving than Mom.

CHARLIE: Dakota, stay.
CESAR: Nice.

Yeah, that's good.
See, that's at a distance.

Come and meet the queen.

Nice, come on.
Yeah. Tsch!

That was interesting too.

Instead of biting Charlie
like he did with Laurie,

he stayed at a distance,
and only got close when

Charlie touched Laurie.

And then he jumped
on her, not Charlie.

He wasn't as
aggressive with you,

but he still
drifted into your space.

You need to tell him "Stay.
Let me greet the queen."

He would actually stay.

CHARLIE: If I'd
stopped myself.

CESAR: So what you did.

What you did is
you kept him here.

Right?

But you did a great job,

because he was not
like with her, like holding.

Now I know that Dakota's
separation anxiety is much

more focused on
Laurie than Charlie.

LAURIE: Stay.

CESAR: When Laurie left he
was whimpering and pacing,

and then jumping and
biting when she returned.

We need to focus our work on
correcting that relationship

between Laurie and Dakota.

Follow me, guys.

NARRATOR: Cesar plans to use
his annex to teach Dakota's

pet parents proper
separation techniques.

CESAR: You guys are
gonna go in there and
make him feel at home.

And then you're
gonna come out,

and then you come out.

So I want to see the separation
anxiety at its best.

LAURIE: Okay.

CESAR: Alright,
just go in there.

I need to
increase the difficulty,

so in this next exercise,
Dakota won't be able to

maintain eye contact with
Charlie and Laurie when they

leave like before.

This will really
trigger his anxiety,

but that is the only
way we can correct it.

There we go. See?

He's just showing right away
exactly who he's close to.

CHARLIE: Well, he
made a good choice.

CESAR [over radio]: Okay.

Let's ease into this
with Charlie first.

CESAR: Whenever you're
ready, my friend.

CHARLIE: Dakota, sit. Stay.

CESAR [over radio]: You see how
close he is to the door?

LAURIE: Yes.

CESAR [over radio]: So for him,
he never understood distance.

CESAR: So pretty much, we're
closing the door on his face.
Right?

CESAR [over radio]: And he's
still unsure like,

"Hey. He left through that door.
Should we follow him?"

LAURIE: Right.

CESAR [over radio]: You need
to tell him what to do.

Move him out of the
space by the door,

where he is most anxious.

That's how you'll
help him snap out of it.

And that's why you have
that bed right there.

LAURIE: Up here. Yes.

CESAR [over radio]: Don't forget
to say stay, yeah.

LAURIE: Dakota, stay.
Dakota, lay.

CESAR [over radio]: Good.
See the yawn?

CESAR [off-screen]: A
yawn means relaxation.

So now that Dakota's
anxiety has been lowered,

we need to take the next
step, with Laurie leaving.

CESAR [over radio]:
That's great right there.

CESAR: Whenever you're ready
to leave the house.

LAURIE: Stay.

CESAR: What?
CHARLIE: That was amazing.

CESAR: What?
Look at this.

He's still in the bed!

CHARLIE: Yeah.
He's still in the bed, Laurie.

That's not him.

CESAR: Now, your job
is to maintain that.

CHARLIE: Okay.

CESAR: Not touch, no
talk, no eye contact.

If he comes, send
him to the bed.

CHARLIE: Yeah.

LAURIE: Ah.
He just got up.

CESAR [off-screen]: Laurie, he
thought you would be with
Charlie and you're not.

So now he is anxious again.

CESAR [over radio]: Charlie, now
move him away from the door.

CHARLIE: Go to bed.

CESAR: He doesn't
take him serious.

CHARLIE: Go to bed!

CESAR [over radio]: Wait!
Watch the door! Grab him!

♪ ♪

CESAR [over radio]: Charlie, now
move him away from the door.

CHARLIE: Dakota, go to bed.

CESAR: He doesn't
take him serious.

Oh that's gonna be bad.

CHARLIE: Go to bed.

CESAR [over radio]: Wait,
watch the door! Grab him!

CHARLIE: Dakota!
CESAR: Now bring him in.

Bring him in.
Just walk that way.

She's gonna bring
him back to you.

We saw in the Serengeti
that Dakota followed Charlie's

direction when he could
see Laurie was nearby.

But when Laurie is out of
sight, all bets were off.

CHARLIE: Hey, go to bed.

CESAR: He
listens to you better,

but he's also more
anxious about you.

LAURIE: Mhmm.

CESAR: Stay.

CHARLIE: Stay!

CESAR [over radio]: Much better.

CESAR: Well, this afternoon
was a little hit or miss.

At times we saw
Dakota taking direction,

especially from Laurie.

But when she wasn't around,
Charlie struggled to get him

into a calm surrender state.

So, I don't want to
send them home just yet.

On that note, come over.

I have a
surprise for you guys.

Sometimes home can be a
trigger for dogs with

separation anxiety.

So I want them to continue
practicing in a place that

isn't so loaded for Dakota.

I would like to keep teaching
you, and so for that,

I would like for you guys to
stay overnight in my RV.

CHARLIE: Oh!
LAURIE: Awesome!

CESAR: What do you think?
LAURIE: I'm excited.

CHARLIE: I'm
really excited, yeah.

CESAR: Good. Good.

Once you go in there,
tell him immediately
where you want him to be.

Don't let him
wander right away.

And on your
morning walk, Laurie,

do some separation
exercises then too.

I want them to
have an amazing time.

I want them to feel at home.

But at the same time, use
it as a learning experience.

Good night!

CHARLIE: Thank you.
LAURIE: This is cool!

CHARLIE: Yeah, really cool.
Dakota, to bed.

NARRATOR: The next
morning, as Charlie,

Laurie and Dakota
work on their own.

LAURIE: Dakota, stay.

NARRATOR: Cesar awaits the
arrival of a Lhasa Apso who

refuses to take his medicine.

AUGUSTA: Oh, there it is.
It's gorgeous.

Finally at the DPC.

DAVE: Hopefully we get Maynard
the help that he needs.

AUGUSTA: I want
Cesar to help me.

I'm Augusta.

DAVE: I'm Dave.

AUGUSTA: And this
is my dog, Maynard.

DAVE: My dog's
name is Sierra Bear.

She's completely
controlled by Maynard.

He's definitely
the one in charge.

AUGUSTA: Maynard was
rescued by my father.

I woke up one morning all
tired from working the night

before, and he put this
adorable little puppy in my

arms and said, "Here,
you've got a lot of friends.

You can find him a good home."

And I was like,
"He's mine now. He's mine."

Walking?
You wanna walk?

About three years ago,
Maynard started getting like

conjunctivitis in
his eyes a lot.

The vet informed me that he was
starting to lose his vision,

and that he would need
eye drops every day to

not have it progress.

Come here.

He's always been kind of a
terror about giving a bath to,

giving him eyedrops
is near impossible.

DAVE: Maynard, he just
becomes super violent.

Vicious.

He will always bite you.
Can't hold him there.

You cannot get those eye
drops in his eyes.

AUGUSTA: You ripped my
glove off, mister!

That hurt, you
still got through it.

A lot of times, we
honestly give up.

Ow.

It's a really dire situation
because as he's going blind.

Maynard, can I take your bowl?

We're worried that
he'll get more aggressive.

[barking].

You know, I can't ever imagine
a world without Maynard,

but I can't keep living
with a dog who's gonna
be super aggressive.

At this point, I don't really
trust Maynard not to hurt me.

I mean I know that he loves
me because he shows me love.

Can I have a kiss?
Oh thank you!

What a kiss, oh thank you.

But, recently, he shows
me more aggression
than he does love,

and it's super heartbreaking.

We're actually here.

We're about to
meet Cesar Millan!

DAVE: Like Doggy Disneyland.
CESAR: Welcome to the DPC.

DAVE: Thank you.
CESAR: Bring the hounds out.

Let's talk about your problem.
Come this way, guys.

Maynard is a Lhasa Apso,
which is a breed of great
nobility from Tibet.

Historically, it is the
dog of the Dalai Lama,

but it does not sound
like Maynard is very zen.

Alright.
I'm gonna sit here.

You guys sit there.
Welcome to my paradise.

I know the overall story,
but now we really dig in,

so, what do you
think the problem is?

AUGUSTA: Well, my problem is
how Maynard reacts to anything

when I'm trying to
help him with anything.

Like, he gets
really aggressive.

Trying to give him
a bath, you know,

I'm in the bathroom for 12
hours trying to get him to

calm down to even
attempt to put him in the tub.

I mean literally, I've been
in the bathroom for 12 hours

multiple times with him.

CESAR: I believe you.

Listen, I've
seen people, days!

Tell me about his eyes.

AUGUSTA: Maynard's eyesight
is starting to go.

DAVE: It's really because he
gets just like an eye crust.

I mean you can see it
on his eye right now,

and it develops, it seems
like in a few days it
just gets super thick.

CESAR: Maynard suffers
from conjunctivitis,

or pink eye.

Dogs get it just like humans.

In severe cases, it
needs early treatment,

or it can result in blindness.

That's why his
eyedrops are so critical.

So if he's rejecting
them, that could turn
into a huge problem.

DAVE: Putting the
eyedrops in his eyes
is not the easiest thing.

AUGUSTA: It's a
whole production.

DAVE: He gets very angry.

You have to grab him,
which I don't wanna do,

and I know there's
got to be a better way.

CESAR: Right.
AUGUSTA: Yeah.

CESAR: Can you show me
how you do the eyedrops?

Go ahead.

AUGUSTA: Alright.
Come on.

CESAR: Bathing your dog
should never take 12 hours and

putting eyedrops should never
be the scariest part of the day.

I want to see
what's going wrong here.

AUGUSTA: Alright.
Come on.

[growling].

DAVE: A little bit grouchy,
but he's letting us do it.

It's funny.
We usually, yeah, we can't.

AUGUSTA: Ow!
Stop, Maynard!

AUGUSTA: Alright.
Come on.

Ow. Stop, Maynard.

DAVE: I can't get it
in there right now.

I mean I got a
little bit in, but not.

CESAR: Yeah.

Dave and Augusta may
have the Dalai Lama's dog,

but they don't have
the Dalai Lama's energy.

Tsch. Tsch. Hey.

Go on this side.

Just pull this
thing over here.

Tsch. Hey.

This is good for you.
Good boy.

DAVE: Yeah.
That was very easy.

CESAR: It is all
about your energy.

You need to be calm confident.

I mean, think about it
from his perspective.

Maynard sees those
gloves and thinks,

"Huh, they don't trust me."

And your dad is trying.

DAVE: I'm trying to come
in like a dive b*mber.

AUGUSTA: Through the years
of Maynard acting like this,

my resentments grown a lot
towards him just because it

just breaks my heart that
he doesn't want my help.

CESAR: He doesn't feel safe.

You don't feel safe.
You don't feel safe.

DAVE: No.

CESAR: So it's like,
none of us feel safe.

DAVE: I know that obviously
Cesar has a way with

animals, but I
was glad to see it.

I was glad to see it
was so simplistic,

which means I know it's
something that I can correct.

Actually it felt like,
ok this can be a
simple problem solved.

It shouldn't be
an insane problem.

I definitely
noticed the energy.

Like we dreaded
giving him his eyedrops,

rather than knowing it's
something that has to be done.

CESAR: And he
dreads it as well.

DAVE: And then he
dreads it, of course.

AUGUSTA: My biggest takeaway
with Cesar putting in the

eyedrops was that past doesn't
mean anything to Maynard.

And that we can
move forward and,

you know, I have to reconnect
with those feelings of

calm all the time.

CESAR: So to me, love is that,
that we change our energy,

you know, so that he can
then benefit from medicine.

But the first
medicine is our energy.

Part of Maynard's
grumpiness comes from
Dave and Augusta

and the frantic energy they give
off when they try to help him.

AUGUSTA: Ah, ah!
That one. That one.

CESAR: But another problem
is Maynard's got some gunk

building up around his eyes.

We have to cut his hair.
Lot of yucky stuff.

AUGUSTA: Yeah.

CESAR: It is probably
from his eye drops,

but it's likely part of
why Maynard is so grumpy.

But he is in luck today
because I actually started my

career as a dog groomer.

So I'm going to give
Maynard a little makeover.

Away from mama.
Good boy.

DAVE: That's crazy.

CESAR: Oh my god.
So much relief.

I swear to God I
feel so much relief.

Look guys.
So this is by his eye.

Don't tell me that this is not
uncomfortable if it's right on

your eye like this.

DAVE: It has to be.

CESAR: His face was dirty
because he's collecting,

some kind of lubricant.

That's why they're here,
because they can't take care

of him grooming wise.

DAVE: This is crazy
to seem this kills me.

CESAR: Don't you
feel good, buddy?

DAVE: Yeah. He looks so
calm and relaxed too.

And like, I want to be
able to do that for him,

but like, I
didn't think I could.

I was always afraid to
poke him in the eye with some

scissors or something.

Because he gets so upset
with us trying to do it.

CESAR: But what's your energy?

DAVE: I'm coming in
worried because I'm stressed,

because I know how he reacts.

CESAR: Yeah. Okay.

So now Dave, try to
touch Maynard's face.

I want to see if
he is less grumpy.

DAVE: Hey, Maynard.

Hey, buddy. Hi.
Chin scratchies.

Yeah?

He's actually
letting me do it.

I've never been able
to do this with him.

It feels nice, like relaxing.

CESAR: Because you're using
calm confident to keep him
at calm surrender.

DAVE: Yeah.
CESAR: Your turn.

AUGUSTA: Hey bud.
Let me see your face.

Let me see your sexy face.

CESAR: There you go.
Calm surrender.

AUGUSTA: Yeah. Calm.

I need to regress to a time
that Maynard did have

that calm energy.

And that obviously it's the
frustration that I've built

that I can work on.

CESAR: So I think it's fair
to give you the homework of

putting the drops.

So just, she can
do the holding,

opening the eye.

You do the drop.
Pow. Like that.

DAVE: Yeah.
AUGUSTA: Yeah.

CESAR: Now that
Maynard is clean,

I want Augusta and Dave to
focus on a calm confident

eye-drop routine.

AUGUSTA: Come on.
Maynard's biting me.

CESAR: Maynard needs
these eyedrops every day.

So they need to practice
calm confident all the time.

If they can do that,
they are going to see
a huge improvement.

NARRATOR: Across
the ranch at the RV.

CHARLIE [off-screen]: You should
practice going I think.

LAURIE: Okay.
Dakota, stay.

NARRATOR: Laurie and Charlie
continue to work on their

separation routines
with anxious Dakota.

LAURIE: I would say that
we definitely saw huge

improvements yesterday.

And seeing him stay in bed.

Go to bed.

CHARLIE: Dakota.

LAURIE: Maybe only for a
few minutes at a time so far,

but that's already
a huge improvement.

CHARLIE: Sit. Stay.

LAURIE: I'm hopeful that from
there we can continue those

boundaries to see
him take our lead.

It's a beautiful day.

CHARLIE: It's a
gorgeous morning.

LAURIE: Those
hills are really nice.

Okay.

But we went for a walk up
the hill and then when we came

back down, I went a separate
way toward the bathrooms.

And Dakota refused to
continue to go with Charlie.

CHARLIE: With me.
Hey, hey, hey.

Hey, hey.
It's ok. It's ok.

Hey! Hey. Dakota!

CHARLIE: Hey, hey, hey.

It's okay. Dakota!

NARRATOR: Dakota's escape at
Cesar's ranch is without risk,

but a runaway from their home
could result in a lost dog.

Or worse.

LAURIE: The one time it
happened in the neighborhood,

he ran across the street.

It was so lucky he
didn't get hit by a car.

It's very scary to
have him running loose
in the neighborhood.

CHARLIE: Dakota,
you're going to get lost.

CESAR: Good morning.
CHARLIE: Good morning.

How are you, Cesar?

CESAR: I know we
had some excitement.

Tell me.

CHARLIE: As soon
as Laurie left,

the connection between Dakota
and me just disappeared.

Hey, hey, hey.

And then as he thrashed,
he slipped his collar

and he found Laurie.

CESAR: So we
gotta change that.

CHARLIE: Yeah.

CESAR: You know what I mean,
so show me what happened.

Dakota slipping his
collar is not good at all.

If he can do that here,
he can do it on the
street or anywhere.

So this is pretty urgent.

I cannot send Laurie
and Charlie home without

addressing this issue first.

Alright. Come back.

So Laurie can just
move out of the way.

Whenever you're ready
Laurie, just go that way.

LAURIE: Okay.
CESAR: He's gonna react.

[whining].

There you go.

Charlie is trying
to do his best,

but his energy is getting
weaker and weaker and weaker.

Let's do it Laurie,
so he can see it.

Me and Laurie.

So, I have to show him how
to step up and take the lead.

Bye. Ok. Bye.

We love you.

We're gonna miss you.

Tsch.

CHARLIE: Yeah.

I've tried lots of
things to calm him down
when Laurie's left us,

and not once have I
got the reaction that
Cesar got in that moment.

CESAR: Zero.
CHARLIE: Yeah.

CESAR: The behavior I just saw
boils down to the fact that

Dakota doesn't respect their
leadership or their space.

That is the heart of
all their problems.

Come on.

Next, I want to do an exercise
that will give them a simple

but effective way to
reward Dakota for showing
the proper respect.

I'm gonna see how good
he is on the frisbee.

Playing frisbee is the
ultimate reward for Dakota

because it taps into his
natural herding instincts as

an Australian cattle dog.

Charlie and Laurie can use the
prospect of playing frisbee to

reward him for respecting
their space and
following directions.

See what he's
doing to your shoe,

I want to redirect
it into a frisbee.

So we're not saying you
can't use your mouth.

CHARLIE: Yeah.

CESAR: You can't
use your mouth on us.

The key takeaway on
this is you can also
practice claiming space.

You ask the distance.

And then you
reward the waiting.

CHARLIE: Okay.
CESAR: Hey!

Dakota has to understand, when
I get excited and jump or nip

at my humans, then I
don't get the frisbee.

But when I give the proper
space and calm surrender,

then I get my reward.

Tsch.

Then the reward is that.

So I'm actually rewarding him
because he's giving me space.

CHARLIE: Yeah.

CESAR: You can
invite him over here.

CHARLIE: You want to play?
Come on. Let's play.

Hey!

CESAR: Did he
just rip your shirt?

CHARLIE: Uh, you know, I
haven't counted how many holes

are in the shirt, but.

LAURIE: Five.
CHARLIE: Five.

Five holes.
It'll be a good souvenir.

CESAR: When he
gets overly excited,

you have to send the
brain back to calm surrender.

CHARLIE: Come on.
Let's play. Hey!

CESAR: Better.
And then throw it.

Yeah!

Playing Frisbee taps into
Dakota's mind in such a simple

but profound way.

If they all can
keep working on it,

all that chaos we've
been seeing will
begin to disappear.

You want to do it?

LAURIE: Yeah.

CESAR: Go ahead.
Don't let him touch you.

LAURIE: No. No.
CESAR: Make him sit.

Claim your own space.

LAURIE: No.

CESAR: Tsch! Tsch! Wait.

Ok, now give the reward.

LAURIE: Go get it!
CESAR: Yeah.

That's gonna be your thing.

So the Frisbee is
gonna be your homework.

If you can master it, then
Dakota can gain confidence in

himself and respect
for your personal space.

CHARLIE: Okay.

LAURIE: It's really good
practice to balance going from

the calm confident
state to the happy,

here you go,
enjoy yourself state.

And really being able to
express that without words.

That resonates with me.

CESAR: I like to
keep it simple.

And it becomes very profound.

CHARLIE: Yeah.

CESAR: For the homework, I
really want Laurie and Charlie

to focus on getting Dakota
to a calm surrender before

separations and
after reunions.

They can do that
with the frisbee,

and the techniques they
learned in the Annex.

But it is going to take
a lot of practice and
even more patience.

AUGUSTA: Come here.
Good job, buddy.

The homework with
Maynard went alright.

I was able to get
drops on one eye,

but hopefully Cesar can
give us more pointers.

Now let me do this, buddy.

NARRATOR: Cesar welcomes back
Dave and Augusta to continue

work with Maynard.

The Lhasa Apso violently
refuses the eye drops he needs

to prevent him
from going blind.

[barking].

And his baths can
stretch as long as 12 hours.

CESAR: Yesterday we worked
on Dave and Augusta's bedside

manner when
applying the eye drops.

But the fact that they cannot
bathe Maynard is just as

important, because a dirty
dog can be a grumpy dog.

Okay, guys.

I want to see how
you give him a bath.

This bath is going to use a
lot of the same skills they

learned yesterday.

They need to build trust with
Maynard by staying calm and

using relaxed,
gentle movements.

AUGUSTA: Ow.

CESAR: Here. Here. Tsch.

You need to breathe deeply.

Relax.

AUGUSTA:
Maynard's bit me so much,

I've come to expect it
in a grooming situation.

Maynard just
doesn't trust me anymore.

CESAR: Try it again.
Relax. Alright.

AUGUSTA: Yeah, buds.

CESAR: If this
makes you tense,

just think about things
that doesn't make you tense.

AUGUSTA: Woo. Yeah.
DAVE: Yeah.

CESAR: That's right.
There you go.

Good boy.

He doesn't know
what you're thinking.

He just knows how
you're feeling.

AUGUSTA: Yeah.

CESAR: You know, so it's
definitely your energy
plays a big role.

AUGUSTA: Good boy, Maynard.

CESAR: David, I guess
you got to do the face.

DAVE: Okay.

I feel the idea of about to
groom the dog is definitely a

little nerve wracking, but
I'm actually kind of happy and

excited to actually learn
how to do this properly.

CESAR: There we go. Perfect.

DAVE: It's amazing.

I never would have thought in
a million years I'd be able to

do this to him.

It feels good to know that I'm
actually doing something for

him that I know he needs.

I got almost all the gunk out.

AUGUSTA: Yeah. I love it.

It's always me in the
bathtub with Maynard.

Yeah.

CESAR: Teamwork.

Yesterday, Dave was scared
to touch Maynard's face.

Now he is shampooing it.
What changed?

Dave's energy.
Simple as that.

Alright, let's get him
out so we can dry him.

DAVE: I will
definitely now bathe Maynard.

Every week you
know he gets stinky.

He's always in the
dirt rolling around.

His face gets all gross.
It drives me nuts.

CESAR: Yes.
Yeah, he likes it, huh?

DAVE: I'm gonna bathe him.
I don't care if she's
there or not.

Once a week, I'll
take care of it.

It's not that big of a deal.

AUGUSTA: I can't wait to see
them in the bathtub together.

It's gonna be awesome.

CESAR: Good? Alright.

It is time to put all the
newly earned trust to work in

your final challenge.

Now we're gonna do the eyes.

Come on, buddy.

DAVE: When Cesar asked
me to put the drops in,

it definitely made me a
little more nervous because

I definitely am coming in with a
preconceived notion there's a

possibility he's
going to snap at me.

CESAR: Now, keep
your hands there.

You want this.

DAVE: Want that, okay.

CESAR: Yeah. Just let him
rest his chin on you.

AUGUSTA: In Maynard's on a
different emotional level than

we are, and to be able to
put Maynard's eyedrops in,

we need to match
that emotional level,

instead of rile
up his emotions.

CESAR: There you go.
There you go.

That's what I want.

DAVE: Keep him calm.
CESAR: Ok. Let's go!

DAVE: There you go,
it's all good.

AUGUSTA: Yeah.
CESAR: You like it?

DAVE: Yes!
AUGUSTA: Yeah!

DAVE: I never thought
I'd be able to do that.

I haven't felt this happy
around him in a long time.

It's awesome to know
that I can actually take
care of him properly.

AUGUSTA: Being a pet
parent to Maynard,

the stress of him possibly
going blind weighed heavily on

me every single day.

And now knowing that
we can do it together
and the possibility.

DAVE: That we can do it.

AUGUSTA: Yeah.
And then we can do it.

DAVE: That we can actually do
it, that's the thing.

Not that we
didn't want to do it.

We just could
not figure it out.

CESAR: Now you know the
steps of how to care for him,

grooming wise, energetic wise.

AUGUSTA: Putting
in his eyedrops.

CESAR: Putting
in his eyedrops.

Maynard is ready.
Maynard is ready.

Come on.
Maynard is a piece of cake.

He just needed his
parents to help each other.

This is about
trusting each other,

commitment, and
follow through.

That's where the
confidence will grow.

Take care of my boy.

Make sure you have fun with
this guy because he's special.

AUGUSTA: Since being here
at the DPC and learning from

Cesar, I know with full
confidence that I can provide

the happy life that
Maynard deserves and wants.

And maybe Maynard
will never go blind.

You know, fingers crossed.

NARRATOR: One week later,
Cesar visits Dakota,

the fragile cattle dog who
was holding his family hostage

with his crippling
separation anxiety.

CHARLIE [off-screen]: He was
having a panic attack.

LAURIE [off-screen]: It's ok.

CESAR: Hey, hey, hey.
Come on out, guys.

CHARLIE: How are you, Cesar?
CESAR: Come on, hey!

Look at this guy.

NARRATOR: Today, he'll
check up on their progress.

CESAR: Well, as we all
remember the last time.

So I want to see how
you have improved on
your frisbee skills.

CHARLIE: Frisbee's
been going fairly well.

There's certainly some
patience involved in getting

it back and
asserting authority.

LAURIE: And even though it's
still very much a process to

get that frisbee back, it
feels like huge progress.

CESAR: Ready?
CHARLIE: Yeah. Ready.

CESAR: Let's do it.

CHARLIE: He smells it,
he's ready too.

CESAR: He is ready!
CHARLIE: Yeah.

CESAR: What I'm looking for
here is can Charlie and Laurie

get Dakota to calm surrender
with the frisbee

before they throw it.

Dakota must show that he
can respect their space.

CHARLIE: Shh.

CHARLIE: Shh.

CESAR: Use a different word.
Your shh goes like shhhhhh.

CHARLIE: Yeah.

CESAR: So whatever sound,
it doesn't have to be tsch.

CHARLIE: It's more punchy?
CESAR: Yeah, more punchy.

Yes. Good.

So even clapping on the frisbee
is equivalent of a sound.

Just like "Hey" or "Tsch".

That's really good.

CHARLIE: Go for it.

CESAR: Yes!
CHARLIE: Yeah!

CESAR: Right?
Makes him stay back.

CHARLIE: Yeah.
Yeah, he takes notice.

CESAR: Yes. Laurie do
you want to try it?

LAURIE: Yeah.
CESAR: Yeah.

Yeah stay.

LAURIE: Stay.

Sit. Stay.

CESAR: There you go.

LAURIE: Okay, go.

CESAR: Yes. Good!

You can see that now Dakota
is respecting their space.

I'm super proud of
Laurie especially,

because Dakota used to
really invade her space.

NARRATOR: After Dakota
exhibits a promising

calm surrender state
with the frisbee,

Cesar takes everyone out front
for their final challenge.

CESAR: So now we're gonna
do the final challenge,

which is the
separation part of it,

which I know is one of
the things you guys
have had problems.

Especially when you leave,
he goes a little bit bananas.

Last week at the ranch, Dakota
escaped his collar and ran

away from Charlie.

I need to ensure that
doesn't happen on the street,

where it could be deadly.

CHARLIE: Hey!

CESAR: So the exercise
is gonna be very simple.

You're gonna have these
cones to give you a
point of reference.

This is your door.

And then there is 25 feet.

That is 50 feet.

And then Laurie once
you get to the 75 feet,

you just move out of sight, so
then we are going to challenge

him not being able to see you.

Dakota's separation anxiety
is really triggered by Laurie.

If we can solve
the issue with her,

he should be
fine with Charlie.

To make that happen,
Charlie needs to be assertive,

keeping Dakota calm as Laurie
gets farther and farther away.

This is something he
couldn't do that last week.

So calm surrender when
you leave and calm surrender

when you come back.

Alright. Let's do it.

[whining].

CHARLIE: Sit.

[whining].

CESAR: He's just a little bit.

Just a little bit excited,
but not too much.

CHARLIE: Mhmm.
CESAR: This is good.

Dakota almost went to
full calm surrender on the

separation with Laurie, but
it is still a night and day

difference from last week.

Now I need to see if he can
stay calm for the reunion.

Alright Laurie.
Come back!

There we go.
There you go. Beautiful.

LAURIE: Hi.
CHARLIE: Hi.

CESAR: I am
completely blown away.

Dakota is totally respecting
their space on the reunions.

You create the happy-go-lucky.

CHARLIE: Yeah.

CESAR: No more jumping.
No more biting.

CHARLIE: Good boy, buddy!

I'm very proud of this pack.
That's a good boy.

CHARLIE: For the
last 10 months,

we've been
hostages in our own home.

And we've been in a
Stockholm Syndrome,

because we're in
love with our captor.

I mean this has been our hope,
and we've been so impressed

with how Cesar has been able
to teach us how to communicate

with Dakota where his place
is in our little family team.

CESAR: Good boy.
Good boy!

Good boy, Dakota!

Dogs are mirrors of
our expectations.

Give your dog baby-talk
and constant comfort?

You're saying it's
okay to act like a baby.

If you are afraid
your dog will bite you,

he senses that fear
and probably will bite.

But if you expect
your dog to be calm,

you will project
calm confidence,

and a calm dog
will be your reward.