CESAR MILLAN:
When I started my journey
and people started calling me
the Dog Whisperer,
the only thing I wanted to do
is to teach people
there is no such a thing
as a bad dog.
WOMAN: Oh, my gosh.
CESAR: Give me the leash.
She's safer with me.
(growl) (bark)
Today I'm still doing what I
love, but the world has changed.
(all talking)
Record dog adoptions
have made many packs complete.
But now, more than ever,
people and dogs...
(growling)
still...need...help.
ANGIE: We can't live like this.
WOMAN: The problem is me.
MAN: What do I do?
CESAR: More pooches,
more problems, right?
He needs rehab, like, ASAP.
So many things
you can fix already. Tsch!
MAN: Sorry, I'm sorry.
CESAR: Ignore the excitement.
WOMAN: I just don't want
you to get bit.
CESAR: Do you know who I am?
WOMAN: Yes!
CESAR: 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're
gonna have everything else.
(cheering)
And that's how we create
better humans and better dogs,
one pack at a time.
♪ ♪
CYNTHIA: My name is Cynthia.
And this is my husband, Phillip.
We're owners of a corgi.
His name is Journey.
You're so cute.
The thing I love
about Journey most
is that he's hypersensitive.
He'll come,
try to like console me,
like lick my face,
come sit on my lap.
PHILLIP: He has
a lot of personality.
He's funny, you know,
he's very playful.
CYNTHIA: But he started biting
a little bit before a year old.
(bark) (scream)
Progressively it's gotten worse.
I think Journey's bitten me
about 30 times.
(barking)
I have multiple scars
on my hands.
I had tears in my mouth.
I had punctures in my lips.
He's also bitten me on my foot.
PHILLIP: There were a couple
of very serious instances.
CYNTHIA: Just recently, I had
picked him up to give him a hug.
PHILLIP: Within a second,
he turned around
and he bit her on the face.
CYNTHIA: I could feel his teeth
going into my cheek.
That one was pretty traumatic.
PHILLIP: Get off the couch.
CYNTHIA: Oh, my God,
he's on the...
PHILLIP: Get off the couch.
CYNTHIA: And now with my son,
having a baby has changed
my point of view.
Um, I do want to keep Journey,
but I'm so scared that he's
gonna do something to my son.
(barking)
PHILLIP: Hey, what are you
doing? Get off.
So right now we're able
to control the situation,
but I do definitely have
a ticking clock in my head.
I'm worried about
when Case is crawling.
You know, there's just so many
things that can be a trigger.
Go to your bed.
CYNTHIA: Journey.
PHILLIP: You don't touch him
when he's sleeping.
CYNTHIA: When he's tired.
PHILLIP: You can't kiss him.
CYNTHIA: Oh, yeah,
he doesn't like that.
PHILLIP: You don't touch him
when he's eating.
(growling)
We don't know how
to fix his behavior.
Hey, sit.
Journey, settle down.
We tried getting other
dog trainers in the past.
Go to your bed.
(growls)
We were considering
re-homing him,
but the thought of not knowing
where he would end up
was something that we
couldn't really get over.
CYNTHIA: Hi, baby.
Well, I can't imagine
a world without Journey.
I think it would be devastating,
even though he's bitten me
so many times.
I'm loyal, so once
I love something,
it's hard for me to let it go.
(barking)
Hey, calm down.
We really need Cesar's help
because Journey's
so unpredictable.
We don't know when he's
gonna bite me next.
We don't know if he's
gonna bite our son.
(whimpering)
We just want to live as a happy
family together without fear.
PHILLIP: This is really
all or nothing for us.
♪ ♪
(knocking)
CESAR: Hi, guys.
PHILLIP: Hey, Cesar.
CESAR: How are you?
PHILLIP: Good. Nice to meet you.
I'm Phillip.
CESAR: Phillip.
CYNTHIA: Hi. I'm Cynthia.
CESAR: Cynthia, how are you?
CYNTHIA: How are you?
PHILLIP: This is our baby.
CESAR: Hey.
I can't wait to help you.
CYNTHIA: Yeah.
PHILLIP: Looking forward to it.
CYNTHIA: We are looking forward.
CESAR: A little tense.
You're okay?
PHILLIP: I'm good,
I'm good, I'm good.
CESAR: Yeah. Yeah.
Listen, I'm here to help.
You know, this is what I do
for a living.
(Phillip laughs)
Relax.
PHILLIP: All right.
CESAR: You know what I mean?
Relax.
(Phillip laughing)
So, how can I help?
CYNTHIA: So, we just
obviously had a baby.
CESAR: Congratulations.
What's his name?
CYNTHIA: Case.
CESAR: Case. Wow.
CYNTHIA: We have our dog,
Journey.
CESAR: Yeah.
CYNTHIA: He's a corgi.
He has...
CESAR: And you had him
since he was a pup?
CYNTHIA: Yeah. Like right about
when he turned one,
he started acting up
by like snarling.
CESAR: Mm-hmm.
CYNTHIA: Nipping at our hands.
Well, my hands.
He just likes biting me.
CESAR: How many times have you
been bitten by your boy?
CYNTHIA: I've probably been
bitten like 30 times plus.
CESAR: That's pretty a*usive.
CYNTHIA:
Yeah, it's pretty a*usive.
It started with nips, and then
it got progressively worst.
I have some pictures.
CESAR: Let me see.
CYNTHIA: A little bit graphic,
but this was the first time.
CESAR: Your feet.
CYNTHIA: He bit my foot.
I was rubbing him with my foot.
(Cesar gasps)
And that was my hand.
(gasps)
CESAR: Journey's
only biting Cynthia,
which is very telling about
whose energy might be off.
These are not little nips.
They are deep bites.
I need to figure out
what's going on
with Cynthia and Journey's
relationship.
What were you doing here?
Why, why did he, why did he
make that decision?
CYNTHIA: It happened so fast.
CESAR: That's right.
CYNTHIA: So I have no idea
what exactly I did wrong.
He was sweet,
I went in to pet him,
and then he bit my hand.
CESAR: They don't just go sweet
and then they bite.
They don't do it
when they're sweet.
Dogs always give a warning sign
before they strike.
What I'm hearing is
that Cynthia and Phillip
don't know how to recognize
the signs or how to correct it.
And what happens
after he bites you?
CYNTHIA: I thought that he
felt regret, I think.
CESAR: So, okay,
so, you do humanize him a lot.
CYNTHIA: Yeah.
If the dog food gets stuck,
like matted down
into the corners,
he, like, stops eating.
He looks at me and he barks
the most obnoxious bark,
like "ruff!"
CESAR: Obnoxious or demanding?
CYNTHIA: Demanding.
CESAR: Yeah.
CYNTHIA: Yeah.
CESAR: That's also a*usive.
CYNTHIA: It is.
But I always oblige,
and I'm like, "Oh, here you go."
CESAR: I can...
Yeah, yeah.
That's the most worrisome
of this.
CYNTHIA: Mm-hmm.
CESAR: How, how your
interpretation
makes you surrender
to his demands.
Journey is a*usive
and demanding.
Plus Cynthia humanizes him
and makes excuses
for his aggressive behavior.
I can see how deep
their love for Journey is,
but they need to see
how broken their pack is.
They're not supposed to bite
the hand that feeds them.
CYNTHIA: Yeah.
CESAR:
That's against moral code.
You're like a punching bag.
CYNTHIA: I am.
I'm a doormat.
CESAR: We don't want that.
I don't think you would tolerate
a human doing that to you.
I hope not.
CYNTHIA: No.
Like, why, why is he always
biting me, you know,
like I try so hard.
CESAR: Yeah, yeah,
you try hard,
but, but you haven't
done it right.
CYNTHIA: Yeah, I understand.
CESAR: Yeah. I mean, I admire
how much, uh,
tolerance you have.
How are you feeling, brother?
PHILLIP: Well, I mean,
we were trying for a baby
for over four years.
CESAR: Oh.
PHILLIP: So, having
our family all together
and me being able
to protect my family,
there's nothing
more important than that.
CESAR: I agree.
PHILLIP: On one end,
if I re-home the dog,
and I know she's gonna be
an emotional wreck.
But Cynthia's
physical well-being,
it's the utmost of importance.
You are really our last hope.
CESAR: Well, this is serious.
There's a new baby in the home,
so we have no time to waste.
I need to begin
my assessment of Journey,
but to do so I need to excuse
Cynthia from the room
so her energy
doesn't influence him.
Let me meet your boy, but I want
to meet him without you around.
Sorry to say, but biting means
he doesn't respect you.
CYNTHIA: Okay.
I'll be in the nursery.
PHILLIP: Okay.
CYNTHIA: It makes me really sad
when Cesar tells me that Journey
doesn't have respect for me.
I didn't know that I
was enabling Journey.
But obviously, 'cause
I'm getting bit 24/7,
I'm pretty sure that I am, and I
don't know what to do about it.
CESAR: Stay quiet
when he comes out.
We want to keep
the excitement level down.
Look at that.
So does he always
greet people like that?
PHILLIP: He, this is
his usual behavior.
CESAR: Yeah. Okay.
See, that's, that's being
disrespectful
to immediately jump
on people like that.
PHILLIP: Mm-hmm.
CESAR: So he has no respect
for people's intimate space.
PHILLIP: Mm-hmm.
CESAR: So most people,
when they see this,
they think it's a cute behavior.
PHILLIP: Mm-hmm.
CESAR: But it's not.
When Journey invades the space
of both my crew and me,
that is pure disrespect.
And he's confused,
because that behavior
has never been corrected.
It is actually being encouraged.
The result is over 30 bites.
Some of his most
aggressive attacks
were triggered
during feeding time.
(growling)
CYNTHIA: Journey.
CESAR: So that's what I want
to begin, a lesson in respect.
Can you get his ball
and some food, please?
We're not even gonna feed him.
PHILLIP: Okay, got it.
CESAR: We just gonna let,
have the smell.
He can't get near it
until he shows respect.
Pass me the food.
♪ ♪
(growl)
Tsch! No biting.
(snaps fingers)
Tsch!
CESAR: Tsch!
Biting is not allowed.
♪ ♪
Here's what happened.
Journey's approach
was disrespectful,
so I used my touch
to correct him.
He's not used to that,
so he warned me.
To overcome
his disrespectful mindset,
I need to use my energy
to block him
until he sits and surrenders.
He's stuck.
♪ ♪
He needs to show respect.
♪ ♪
He should sit.
♪ ♪
There he goes.
That's showing respect.
So he's recognizing,
okay, that guy...
PHILLIP: Mm-hmm.
CESAR: ...has the right energy,
has the right body language.
And look, now he's
getting confused.
Look at his face.
So he's seeing that I'm
taking away his, his control.
PHILLIP: Mm-hmm.
CESAR: Right now this dog's eyes
tells me one thing:
complete confusion.
His disrespectful behavior
has been corrected
probably for the first time
in his life.
It's normal for him
to be confused.
PHILLIP: Mm-hmm.
CESAR: But he's doing it.
PHILLIP: I was blown away.
I've seen Cesar magic on TV.
I've never seen what it can do
to change the behavior
of your dog.
CESAR: Now let's,
let's bring Cynthia.
I just want to see how,
uh, he reacts with you.
CYNTHIA: Okay.
Hey, Journey.
CESAR: Tsch. Yeah.
So that's quite disrespectful.
CYNTHIA: Mm-hmm.
He's like over there scared.
CESAR: Confused
is a better word.
Yeah. He should be confused,
because I took away
the leadership position.
You know, I just took away,
uh, the position in the pack.
CYNTHIA: I see.
CESAR: So if he doesn't
know what to do,
our job is to tell him
what is required.
The confusion tells me
he's starting to listen.
Now I want to address the way
he disrespectfully
approaches things.
CYNTHIA: Hey.
CESAR: He crowds Cynthia.
He crowds his food bowl.
CYNTHIA: Journey.
CESAR: I need to put him
in a situation
when he's not allowed
to do either,
so we can continue
to observe and correct.
So that way he can
experience the food,
you, the people.
Watch. We want him
to sit down
like he did
when you were gone.
He was confused but respectful.
Obsessing is bad.
Tsch. You see
how he won't settle?
PHILLIP: Mm-hmm.
CESAR: Yeah.
CYNTHIA: And he keeps on
looking at me.
CESAR: Literally, if we
remove you, he changes,
'cause now our energy is
the only one that influenced.
Yeah.
CYNTHIA: So I mess things up?
CESAR: Well, you know,
a little bit, a little bit.
Seeing Journey become restless
when his mom returned
confirms what I felt is
going on in this pack.
First, Cynthia attributes human
thinking into a canine brain.
A dog doesn't feel regret
after he bites.
He needs a correction,
but instead, his mom excuses
the a*usive behavior,
and it continues.
When he finally gets corrected,
it confuses him.
Both parents are clueless
about reading their dog's
warning signs.
Cynthia moves close
for affection
when the dog tells her
to stay away,
so she gets bitten 30 times.
The pet parents need to
establish respectful boundaries
for the dogs and the humans.
With a new baby
in the household,
I need to remove the dog now,
so we can begin his rehab
at my Dog Psychology Center.
My offer to you is for him to
come and stay with us for rehab.
He needs it.
CYNTHIA: Cesar told me that he
doesn't really take many dogs.
CESAR: You're going home
with me, buddy.
CYNTHIA: So the fact
that Cesar's taking him
is quite alarming,
but I think it's very important.
I trust Cesar.
I trust we're gonna get
the help we need.
Thank you so much.
PHILLIP: Thank you, sir.
CESAR: Thank you.
I haven't had a corgi
in a long time.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: The next day,
Cesar is in Santa Monica
to help the owners
of a private dog park
whose own dog is
chasing away business.
♪ ♪
LIAM: My name is Liam,
and this is Kylo.
JULIET: My name is Juliet.
I came into their life
when Kylo was two years old.
Kylo is a husky,
German spitz mix.
LIAM: He's like
a first-born child for us.
He's very clever.
He's very expressive.
JULIET: He's very communicative.
(barking)
LIAM: Generally, he's
a really good dog.
People say that they will do
anything for their dog,
so I built a dog park
for my dog.
I started
a dog park barn cafe
in Santa Monica, California.
It's a beautiful
community of people.
It's a private members club.
So there's a huge portrait
of Kylo at the desk here
when you checked in,
so he's essentially
a face of this business.
And he's quickly becoming
the problem of the business.
(barking)
WOMAN: Um, really?
That's like...
LIAM: Right when we got inside,
he immediately wanted
to establish his dominance
in the park.
When I'm out here on patrol
making sure that the play is
safe, I have to assert myself.
And Kylo has adopted
that energy.
JULIET: We joke that Kylo
thinks he works here.
LIAM: He's aggressive.
JULIET: No.
LIAM: He asserts his dominance.
JULIET: He's growling right now.
(growling)
Kylo, stop.
LIAM: Just like that.
(barking)
I honestly do come to work
with a little bit of anxiety
because my worst fear
is that there's an incident
involving Kylo
where he hurts someone else
or another dog.
JULIET: If Kylo were
to bite a member,
they could try to get
this place shut down.
LIAM: Kylo's, uh, energy
has sort of scared off
potential members here.
JULIET: And there's
way too much at stake
to not find
a solution immediately.
♪ ♪
(dog barking)
CESAR: All right, all right.
How are you guys?
JULIET: Hey.
LIAM: Hey.
CESAR: How are you?
JULIET: Hi. I'm Juliet.
CESAR: Juliet, Cesar.
LIAM: Liam.
CESAR: Nice to meet you.
LIAM: Such a pleasure
to meet you.
CESAR: Cesar Millan, pleasure.
I understand you have a dog
that believes he's in charge?
LIAM: Yeah.
He's become the CEO, I guess.
JULIET: Yeah.
LIAM: He thinks
I'm his right paw.
CESAR: That's right.
JULIET: Exactly.
LIAM: Right.
CESAR: That's a problem.
LIAM: Yeah.
CESAR: That's a problem.
But what we need to figure out
is why he's running the park.
Liam says Kylo has
too much authority,
but he doesn't know how
to solve the problem.
My first step is to observe
Kylo's behavior
around other dogs in the park.
(dogs barking)
JULIET: Kylo.
All right, all right.
LIAM: He's very excited.
JULIET: All right, Kylo.
We're here, we're here.
CESAR: Not that bark.
That's beyond excitement.
If you bring that energy
into an enclosed area,
he's gonna release it into it.
They're gonna run.
(dogs barking)
LIAM: Here he comes.
CESAR: Yep.
(dogs barking)
LIAM: (laughing)
Hi, Kylo.
Yes, I'm here.
You found me.
JULIET: Yeah. Star.
LIAM: Good job.
Okay, okay. Yes, yes.
CESAR: So when he comes here,
he comes like a b*llet. Phoo!
JULIET: Yeah.
CESAR: And so he's gonna
make everybody follow.
JULIET: He was so anxious
to get inside.
He was like pulling and crying.
LIAM: I heard it.
CESAR: Yeah. Yup.
Kylo is coming into the dog park
with way too much excitement.
(dogs barking)
And that excited energy
is transferring over
to the other dogs.
LIAM: Now, he thinks
he's gonna go to work.
CESAR: Yup.
JULIET: We definitely notice
Kylo monitoring the other dogs.
CESAR: Mm-hmm.
Because he owns it.
JULIET: Yes.
LIAM: He polices energy
that enters this space.
CESAR: Yeah. He takes
the, uh, referee position.
Look how he walks.
He's the only one
walking that way.
That's empowered by how
you let him come to you.
LIAM: Yeah.
JULIET: There goes
Kylo monitoring.
LIAM: Yeah, Kylo's interjecting
himself a little bit here.
CESAR: Yeah, he caused
the excitement,
but now he believes his job
is to correct it.
(dogs barking)
The energy is too high.
It's not a fight yet,
but it's coming.
Oi, oi, oi, oi.
Liam, separate them now.
(dogs barking)
(dogs barking)
LIAM: Kylo.
CESAR: It's not a fight,
but he needs to separate
before it escalates.
(dogs growling)
LIAM: Tsch tsch!
(growling)
CESAR: I needed to see how Liam
reacts to Kylo's behavior
so I can evaluate how
he handles the situation.
He tried his best
to break it up,
but I notice right away
that Kylo's not backing off
and not giving space
when Liam steps in.
LIAM: Tss tss! Hey.
Tsch! Come on.
CESAR: Liam.
LIAM: Hey. Let's go. Come on.
Let's go.
(whistles)
CESAR: Kylo launches
into the park,
and his excited intensity
is contagious.
LIAM: Here he comes.
CESAR: Then the humans
are not owning the park,
so ironically Kylo thinks
he has to regulate
the excitement that he created,
putting himself
and the other dogs
and his pet parents'
business at risk.
The fix is simple:
Liam must learn to control
the excitement before entering
so Kylo doesn't feel the need
to become a dog park bouncer.
To be more hands on.
LIAM: Mm-hmm.
CESAR: I would like to see
how you help him...
LIAM: Mm-hmm.
CESAR: ...to stay calm
so he can't run in excited.
So I just want to see
your energy,
your body language and distance.
LIAM: Okay, Kylo.
CESAR: To teach Liam how to put
Kylo in a calm surrender mindset
when entering the park, we'll
put Kylo in the gated entrance.
LIAM: Bye, Kylo.
CESAR: There I'll demonstrate
a technique
to lower his excitement
until he surrenders, giving
the human respectful distance.
Liam, will watch
from across the park
so he doesn't affect the energy.
(barking)
Tsch.
(dog barking)
LIAM: Kylo's
keeping his distance.
♪ ♪
CESAR: He's anxious.
Let's correct that.
♪ ♪
LIAM: This is
super surprising to me,
because Kylo doesn't let people
approach him like this.
♪ ♪
CESAR: He's learning boundaries,
low excitement,
and respectful distance.
LIAM: Cesar was communicating
with energy instead of words.
He approached the gate.
He made eye contact with Kylo
to truly express his intentions,
and Kylo reacted
the way Cesar wanted him to.
♪ ♪
CESAR: So you got to
take over the environment,
then you take over
who is in the environment.
LIAM: Right.
CESAR: Your turn.
LIAM: Okay.
CESAR: You got this.
(barking)
The dog is a little anxious.
(bark)
(gate opens)
He didn't even
address the anxiety.
Oh.
He just walked right past him.
He should ask him to sit.
LIAM: (snaps fingers)
Tsch tsch.
(snap) Hey.
Need your help, buddy.
CESAR: He's hesitant, so he's
making the dog more anxious.
Liam, come join me.
Not really good.
So here you have an anxious dog.
Anxious, you come in,
he got happy.
LIAM: Yes.
CESAR: Right? So you never
address the anxiety.
Need to learn to stop
the behavior at a distance
with your energy.
LIAM: Oh, I see.
CESAR: Yes.
A dog should be able to feel
your energy at a distance.
He should be in a resting state
when he's away from you.
What I want to see from Liam
is shoulders back and head high,
like, a drill sergeant
commanding his troops.
Kylo should feel
his energy and listen
no matter how far apart
they get.
Go for it.
LIAM: So I get up off the bench
and I try my hardest to walk
over there with intention.
If you're not
on top of these things,
the situation can go from one
to a ten really quickly.
It makes me really worried
about how this is gonna go.
(dogs barking)
Tsch tsch.
CESAR: Use your energy.
Make sure he gives you distance.
LIAM: Tsch tsch.
CESAR: Energy, body language,
and that creates
respect distance.
LIAM: Tsch tsch.
CESAR: Get him
to calm surrender.
Don't back up.
♪ ♪
LIAM: Tsch tsch.
CESAR: There you go.
Good.
♪ ♪
This is good.
♪ ♪
That's great.
He's still commanding leadership
at a distance.
(laughing quietly)
The distance that they have now
is beautiful.
LIAM: I try to be in tune
with my intentions
as much as possible,
as Cesar has taught me to do.
That was quite
a game-changing moment actually
that I experienced.
Okay.
Let's go.
(laughing)
CESAR: Instead of being
an influence of excitement,
Kylo is on his way to be
an influence of calm surrender
to the entire park.
And Liam is learning
a valuable lesson:
never allow a dog
to enter a park
at a high level of excitement.
It's a rule that might not only
save his business,
it could save a life.
What you did incredible
is that you actually
created distance,
but, but he stays
calm surrender.
LIAM: He did.
I am really proud of Kylo.
I have the tools now,
thanks to Cesar,
so that it's easier for Kylo
to be the ambassador
that I wanted him to be
all along.
CESAR: I really enjoy
what you did, brother.
LIAM: Thank you so much.
CESAR: Thank you so much
for bringing me.
Keep going.
Kylo, ambassador, okay?
That's it.
LIAM: You heard it here first.
CESAR: Simple as that.
Keep it simple, brother.
(dog barking)
♪ ♪
NARRATOR:
At his Dog Psychology Center,
Cesar begins his work
with Journey,
a disrespectful corgi who has
bitten pet parent Cynthia
over 30 times.
Now the family has
a newborn baby,
so Cesar must end
the dog's a*usive behavior
to keep the family safe.
CESAR: Many of Journey's
most violent bites have occurred
when his mom has been
giving affection.
I am certain she's giving
the wrong kind of affection
at the wrong time.
But I need to test
how the dog reacts
when he gets the right kind
of affection at the right time.
Come on.
For this exercise, I am bringing
my happy-go-lucky Frenchie,
Bison, to demonstrate
how a dog should react
when you give affection.
We should be able to do this
easily while the dog is playing.
So we combine playing
with affection.
Right, like that.
No dog should bite a human
who's giving affection.
Okay, now, it's Journey's turn.
(exhales sharply)
Always check your energy.
♪ ♪
Very light, firm.
I found an area that is hard.
Look.
(exhales sharply)
Wow, this guy is, this guy
gets like a rock.
Petting should relax Journey,
but his muscles are
tightening even more.
He's learned to associate
affection with tension,
and then Cynthia puts her face
near him or tries to cuddle him.
That is what causes
violent outburst.
(growl)
Tsch!
So that's pretty dangerous.
(exhales sharply)
CESAR: We're just trying
to loosen him up here.
How do we help Journey
not to feel tense
so he doesn't have to
demonstrate a bite?
This is something that Cynthia
has to learn to do.
I need to teach Journey
that affection should not
create tension.
How I do that is to help the dog
lay on his side
until he fully relaxes,
which I call surrender.
Once that kicks in,
I immediately reward him
with something he loves.
In this case, his ball.
But this can be dangerous if you
don't know what you are doing.
♪ ♪
Shh. Tsch!
I want you to see when
the surrender kicks in.
That's all I'm looking for.
♪ ♪
(dog groans)
♪ ♪
(groaning)
♪ ♪
(groaning)
Look, he's closing the eyes,
so he's relaxing now.
And then we play.
What I just did is I told him,
"If I touch you with my hands,
help you roll over,
and you relax,
I'm gonna give you the ball."
This moment of relaxation
is huge.
The fact that Journey
can go from a tense state
into calm surrender
when receiving affection
shows me a bite
can be prevented.
Come on.
Let's go, buddy.
If someone could recognize when
he's tense and can relax him.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR:
For the next four days,
Cesar and his pack
work with Journey
to identify any signs
of tension...
CESAR: Tsch!
He's, there we go.
NARRATOR: ...that could
cause aggression.
CESAR: If you're not looking
at it, you can get bitten.
Overall, he's still
a pretty tense dog
who gets stuck in the mindset.
Hey.
So we're correcting
the intensity and the tension.
Don't reward that intensity.
But as far
as a violent behavior,
he hasn't tried to bite me
or any of the pack.
Good boy.
That's a good face.
That tells me it's time
to bring back the pet parents
to address the tension
within the pack as a whole.
NARRATOR:
Two weeks after leaving
their disrespectful corgi,
Journey, with Cesar...
PHILLIP: We are here.
NARRATOR: ...Phillip and
Cynthia arrive at the DPC.
♪ ♪
CESAR: So I have good news
and bad news.
PHILLIP: Okay.
CYNTHIA: Okay.
CESAR: The good news
is he's doing great.
He hasn't done anything wrong.
CYNTHIA: Okay.
CESAR: Bad news,
Journey is doing great.
(laughter)
CYNTHIA: So it's a us thing.
CESAR: Besides extreme tension,
Journey hasn't had any bites
or real aggression
here at the ranch.
Back at home, he snapped at me,
and I learned Cynthia
humanizes the dog
and make excuses
for his violence.
Now I need her to look
within herself
to find the source of
Journey's a*usive behavior.
That's the question is
what is it that you do
that it triggers
so much aggression?
CYNTHIA: Mm-hmm.
It's probably my affection.
CESAR: But why do you have to
give affection all the time?
CYNTHIA: I've been
through a lot of stuff.
CESAR: Yeah.
CYNTHIA: And he's been
such a good,
good, like, comfort for me.
CESAR: Yes.
What kind of stuff?
CYNTHIA: Okay, like maybe
there's one thing
that I should share with you.
20 years ago, I had like
a really traumatic experience.
CESAR: Mm-hmm.
CYNTHIA: I'm not really ready
to share exact details.
CESAR: Don't worry about it.
Don't worry about it.
CYNTHIA: But I think that it
gives me a stronger attachment
to holding on to Journey
just because I don't want
to give up on something I love
even though he bit me
so many times.
CESAR: Yeah.
CYNTHIA: Just because I have
problems with people or things
getting taken away
from me that I love.
CESAR: Okay, okay, okay.
Cynthia doesn't want
to give up on Journey,
and she shouldn't have to.
So I have to help her identify
when her dog is tense
and teach her how to find
her inner confidence
so she can be the leader
that Journey needs.
PHILLIP: It's a football field.
CESAR: This is
my dog football field.
CYNTHIA: Wow.
(laughter)
CESAR: We'll begin
with an exercise
where Cynthia will
have to claim the item
that will normally bring
excitement and tension
to Journey.
CYNTHIA: Okay.
Normally, when we try
to take a toy away from Journey,
he's so focused on the ball.
We would have to actually like
wrestle it out of his mouth.
PHILLIP: Yeah.
CESAR: That can trigger a bite.
CYNTHIA: Mm-hmm.
CESAR: It's not safety that way.
CYNTHIA: Mm-hmm.
CESAR: Grabbing a ball
from a dog when he's tense
is never a good idea.
I need to teach Cynthia
to claim her space
and then the ball
before she reaches for it.
Boom.
Okay, so never throw it, never
take it when he's holding it
or, or the, or the ball
is right here.
PHILLIP: I see.
CYNTHIA: I see.
CESAR: Because he's guarding it.
Look, he's guarding.
Right there he's telling you,
"I'm guarding."
PHILLIP: Mm-hmm.
CESAR: Right? So if you move in,
you can initiate for him to...
Tsch! He has to move away
from the ball. There you go.
PHILLIP: I see.
CESAR: Give him space.
PHILLIP: Give him space.
CESAR: And then reward that.
PHILLIP: I see.
CYNTHIA: Okay.
PHILLIP: All right, pack leader.
CESAR: Go ahead.
CYNTHIA: Me?
CESAR: Yes.
PHILLIP: Yeah.
CYNTHIA: Okay.
CESAR: Let's see how fast
of a learner you are.
Strong energy.
Oh, look at the ears back.
Do you see the ears back?
CYNTHIA: Yeah.
CESAR: Yeah, he's telling you,
"I'm getting nervous."
That's nervous, tense
guarding behavior.
He's telling you
to stop right now.
CESAR: So you just
have to project
the confidence or assertiveness.
CYNTHIA: Mm-hmm.
CESAR: Yeah.
This is a good example
of how Cynthia
needs to look for Journey's
warning signs.
To her, he looks
innocent enough,
but that's the type of mistake
that created 30 bites.
CYNTHIA: Tsch!
♪ ♪
(Phillip laughs)
PHILLIP: He's like,
"Take the ball."
CESAR: You, you, you see how
he's, that is like, "Throw it."
CYNTHIA: I know.
CESAR: No. Don't throw it.
CYNTHIA: Okay.
CESAR: Because he's pushing
the ball so you can throw it.
You want him to move
before you throw it.
CYNTHIA: Psst!
(laughter)
CESAR: Oh, my God.
Let me show you.
♪ ♪
CYNTHIA: Wow.
CESAR: See? So, the reason
why he's doing that
is because my energy is strong
enough to take over that space.
CYNTHIA: I see.
CESAR: And the way you make
your energy big
is with the confidence.
Not this, but this.
Especially with him.
CYNTHIA: Okay.
CESAR: Make sense?
CYNTHIA: Let's try it again.
CESAR: Yes. Go ahead.
CYNTHIA: Just go get it?
CESAR: Yeah. Approach.
PHILLIP: Tell him you,
make him move back.
CESAR: Yes.
PHILLIP: There you go.
CESAR: Yeah.
♪ ♪
There you go.
After he does the nose thing,
then tell him to move back.
CYNTHIA: Tsch!
(Phillip chuckles)
CESAR: Yes.
CYNTHIA: Good.
CESAR: Yes.
I am really proud of Cynthia.
After initial setback,
she was able to stay
strong and confident
and showed Journey
that she can lead.
Journey is respecting
her authority
and moving away from the ball.
What do you feel?
CYNTHIA: I never really
seen him back up like that.
CESAR: Calm confidence
is strength.
CYNTHIA: Yeah.
CESAR: Now that she
can claim the ball,
it's time to take it
to the next level
and show Cynthia how she will
eventually use this technique
at home with Baby Case.
Because she's still working
through her past trauma
and Journey has been so a*usive,
we need to stay super safe,
so my team has brought along
a unique tool
meant to stand in for Baby Case.
CYNTHIA: Case, what
are you doing here?
(laughter)
CESAR: Case. Look.
CYNTHIA: Aw, I missed you.
CESAR: Now, is your turn
to claim toys, food, and baby.
CYNTHIA: Okay.
CESAR: I want Cynthia
to hold a plate of toys
to represent food
and the stunt baby
to represent Case.
What I'm looking for
is Cynthia's confident energy
to influence Journey
into stepping back
and giving her
and the baby space.
CYNTHIA: Tsch!
CESAR: The ears are telling you
like, "I'm getting excited."
That's excited and tense.
♪ ♪
CYNTHIA: (laughs)
It's not working.
CESAR: Come over here.
CYNTHIA: Okay.
CESAR: But we have to
make it work.
♪ ♪
Look, let me do it again.
CYNTHIA: Okay.
CESAR: Pass me the baby, okay.
Gentle.
Tsch!
Look. See it?
Journey is giving me space.
I'm just claiming the baby,
and I want him in his personal
social zone, whatever you want.
CYNTHIA: Let me try it again.
CESAR: Oh.
PHILLIP: All right.
CESAR: Somebody, yeah.
Oh, yeah.
Okay, maybe that's what it is.
We have to get you
into that zone.
Yes.
♪ ♪
Yes, that's better.
Back him up.
♪ ♪
Much better.
You're getting the distance,
he's not jumping,
so that's good.
Cynthia's projecting confidence.
CYNTHIA: Let me try it again.
CESAR: Oh.
PHILLIP: All right.
CESAR: Somebody, yeah.
This causes Journey
to respect her
by backing off
and giving her space.
Much better.
I felt Journey has been
ready to go home,
but now this show
of leadership from Cynthia
show me that she, too, is ready
for the dog to come home.
At home, before you work with
Journey, check your energy.
When you're relaxed,
he'll be relaxed.
And then play.
You know, practice
with the ball.
So before you practice anything,
whether philosophy
or activities,
check self.
Any questions?
PHILLIP: No.
CESAR: No affection
if it's tense.
And keep the dog
and the baby separate
until I visit you
in a few days, all right?
PHILLIP: Thank you so much.
CESAR: Thank you. Let's go.
PHILLIP:
You're going home, buddy.
CYNTHIA: It's a lot of work, but
we're very excited to get to it.
PHILLIP: Cesar took care
of the first 90%.
He did all the heavy lifting.
So it's, it's on us
to do the remaining 10%.
CYNTHIA: The most important part
is to check our energy when
we're playing with Journey.
We're excited to start our new
relationship with Journey.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Three days later,
Cesar returns to Fullerton
to see if Cynthia is able
to create a less tense
home environment
where Journey no longer feels
the need to bite.
(knocking)
♪ ♪
(door opens)
CYNTHIA: Hi.
(dog barks)
Tsch!
CESAR: Love it.
CYNTHIA: Back to your bed.
♪ ♪
(laughing)
Nice to see you.
CESAR: I love it.
Walking into Cynthia
and Phillip's home
feels completely different
from the last time I was here.
(growl)
(fingers snap)
For the first time since
I've been working with them,
they're able to bring Journey
to calm surrender.
His ears are relaxed and he's
respecting everyone's space.
Look at this.
PHILLIP: Yeah.
CESAR: Oh, my God.
You guys feel happy.
CYNTHIA: Yeah...
PHILLIP: Absolutely.
CYNTHIA: ...it's been great.
And I feel safe.
CESAR: Yes.
CYNTHIA: And I feel at peace.
CESAR: Yes.
CYNTHIA: I'm more aware
of when to give affection.
I'm reading the cues.
I'm understanding
like when to touch him.
CESAR: To see this, it's just
the feeling is amazing.
It's clear that Cynthia
and Phillip
have done their homework.
All right.
PHILLIP: All right.
CESAR: I want to see
how you play with him.
So we're heading to the backyard
to see how much progress
they made
in an exercise that used to
make Journey very tense.
CYNTHIA: I'm really excited
about the progress.
PHILLIP: Yeah, this
next challenge, I mean,
it's something that we're
very excited to show him.
CESAR: (clapping)
All right.
PHILLIP: I mean, we, we've been
practicing every single day.
CESAR: You remember
how we played before.
CYNTHIA: Uh-huh.
CESAR: In the past,
I know he has been
very possessive of the ball.
You know, borderline
aggressive with it.
So as one of your
final challenge for today,
I want to see how
you create the game,
how you create the excitement,
and how you get the ball back.
That's it. Simple.
Take the leash off.
PHILLIP:
You want to start? Okay.
(chuckling and clapping)
CESAR: Good. He's attentive
but not jumping.
PHILLIP: Oh, yes.
CESAR: That was good,
but let's see how you do
when he brings it back.
CYNTHIA: Bring the ball.
PHILLIP:
You got to claim your space.
CYNTHIA: Oh. Tsch!
CESAR: No, no, no. Careful.
CYNTHIA: Hey!
CESAR: No, no, no. Hold on.
When Cynthia accidentally
dropped the ball,
she immediately went to grab it
instead of using
her body language and energy
to stop Journey.
This is when Journey gets tense,
which can lead to a bite.
With him, the key is
don't grab the toy
if he's on top of the toy.
Wait for him to move
and give you space.
Do it again.
Make sure you make him wait.
♪ ♪
I like how comfortable you feel.
CYNTHIA: Come on.
CESAR: Have you been able
to hold the collar
and just throw it
and then send him?
PHILLIP: Yeah.
CESAR: Have you done it?
CYNTHIA: We do.
CESAR: Oh, okay.
CYNTHIA: Sometimes.
CESAR: Okay. Show me
if you can do that.
CYNTHIA: Come here.
♪ ♪
Tsch!
CESAR: Wow.
(Cynthia laughing)
Oh, that's totally relaxed.
PHILLIP: Oh, yeah.
CYNTHIA: Go.
CESAR: Yes!
(clapping)
CYNTHIA: Good boy.
Good boy.
When I'm playing with Journey,
I don't even have any fear.
All my anxiety is gone.
So it's been going really good.
CESAR: You're in total control.
You're in total control.
CYNTHIA: I am in control.
PHILLIP: Woo!
CYNTHIA: Woo-hoo!
CESAR: Perfect, perfect,
perfect, perfect.
Waiting for the ball
shows me that Journey
is more balanced and relaxed,
and it's Cynthia
who made the difference.
You're connected.
You're seeing it.
You're feeling it.
CYNTHIA: I am connected.
CESAR: Yeah.
I don't see a human
who will allow abuse
from her dog anymore.
I see a new confident
pack leader.
Very happy.
CYNTHIA: We're happy.
CESAR: Yes, you are.
For their final test, we're
heading back into the house,
because they're ready to have
Journey around Baby Case.
When we began, we saw how the
baby was kept at a safe distance
because Journey was
tense, aggressive,
and didn't respect
personal space
and how he snapped at me
when I challenged him.
Journey has come a long way,
and I am confident he's ready
to be reunited with Baby Case.
So for this one,
I would like to bring Case.
CYNTHIA: Okay.
CESAR: Calm confident.
You're ready.
We're gonna practice
giving affection
and practice protection.
PHILLIP: Mm-hmm.
CESAR: And a little bit
of, of distance.
Now it's up to Cynthia
to ensure that she
controls her energy.
There is no room for tension in
a moment as important as this.
Hey.
PHILLIP: There he is.
CESAR: Hey! Look at him!
Oh, my God.
So Phillip is gonna
hold the baby,
just like we hold the,
the fake baby at the ranch.
CYNTHIA: Okay.
♪ ♪
CESAR: This is it.
He's super relaxed.
This is when you give affection.
♪ ♪
Oh, look.
He's looking at the baby, guys.
He's looking at the baby
with such beautiful eyes.
A smile, ears are back, so it's
a very, very respectful state.
CYNTHIA: Yeah.
CESAR: Honestly, incredible.
Journey is sitting there
in a calm surrender,
even looking at the baby
in a very loving way.
Cynthia is able to pet Journey
without him getting
tense and biting.
This is huge.
The family is well underway to
repairing the extreme tension
that stressed out
Cynthia and Phillip
and made an unsafe environment
for Baby Case.
Well, the final challenge
is beyond amazing.
Oh, wow.
He just laid down.
Journey is
in a total calm surrender.
You did it. This is it.
CYNTHIA: This is
what I envisioned.
CESAR: Yeah?
CYNTHIA: Just sitting calmly
on the couch
with all of us, you know?
CESAR: Yes.
CYNTHIA: And thank you
for making it come true.
CESAR: My pleasure.
Simple things
that mean a lot, right?
The love was there.
It's just the calm confident
wasn't.
CYNTHIA: Mm-hmm.
PHILLIP: When we first started,
I definitely felt like
I was at my wit's end.
I was at the point where
I was about to give up.
We lost all hope.
Looking at where we're at
right now, I'm just amazed.
Yeah, thank you so much
for making it happen.
He seems like
a totally different dog.
CYNTHIA: Yeah.
CESAR: He's, he's who he
really was born to be, yeah.
CYNTHIA: But it's us
who's changed.
PHILLIP: Yeah.
CESAR: Yes, yes.
CYNTHIA:
I did a lot of reflection.
I realized that I wasn't
really reading Journey's energy
and I was giving him affection
at the wrong times.
So once I understood that
and practiced that,
I'm not really worried anymore
and I don't see
any future bites.
CESAR: Case say no touch,
no talk, no eye contact.
(laughter)
Thank you, Cynthia,
Phillip, and Case.
Case, we are doing this for you.
My name is Cesar, Uncle Cesar.
You don't know me, but I came
here to help your parents.
We want you to grow up
in a safe, peace,
and love environment.
And we want you to have trust,
respect, and love with dogs.
If it's anything outside that,
you just call me.
♪ ♪
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02x04 - Short Legs, Short Fuse
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With dog adoptions at a record high Cesar's timely return to television will give new pet parents the tools they need to teach their dogs good habits and shed the old bad habits.
With dog adoptions at a record high Cesar's timely return to television will give new pet parents the tools they need to teach their dogs good habits and shed the old bad habits.