02x06 - Dog Therapy

[bunniefuu]

CESAR: 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.
-Give me the leash.

She's safer with me.

Today, I'm still doing what I love.

But the world has changed.

MAN: Problem child.

CESAR: Record dog adoptions
have made many packs complete,

but now more than ever,

people and dogs still need help.

-We can't live like this.
-CESAR: Yeah.

-The problem is me.
-MAN: What do I do?

CESAR: More pushes, more problems, right?

He needs rehab, like, ASAP.

So many things you can fix already.

-Shh.
-Sorry.

-Sorry.
-Ignore the excitement.

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

-Do you know who I am?
-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.
-ALL: Yay!

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

one pack at a time.

Sometimes when a dog
acts aggressive in public

pet parents decide that it's best
to keep a dog behind closed doors.

But incarceration barely
is a solution for a bad dog behavior.

I'm heading to Lancaster, California
to work with a family

that have kept one of their dogs
locked down in their backyard

for 10 years.

I could not imagine a dog
locked up for 10 years.

That could be a dog's whole life.

It's time for me to give this dog
her freedom again.

(upbeat music playing)

-I'm Asia.
-I'm Jamal.

We're the Mayo family.

We have four kids.

We have Nyah. She's 25.

We have Hunter. He's 22.

We have Charlie. She's 11.

And baby Jesse. She is nine.

We also have three dogs.

We have Molly, Madden, and Logan.

JAMAL: Madden is a
11-year-old shepherd mix.

He's the old man of the family.

ASIA: Molly, she is a pit mix. She's 11.

And we have our new addition Logan.

He is the annoying little brother.

Logan, get out of her ear.

It's disturbing.

Yippee.

We're a close-knit family.

We do a lot of family activities together.

We call them adventures.
It's like "Let's go on an adventure."

Like, we wanna bring our dogs
and we can't do that because

Molly and Logan are so unpredictable.

It's a real risk factor
taking them out of the house.

ASIA: Ten years ago,
we thought it was a good idea

to take Molly to a dog park.

Bad idea. Bad idea.

She got loose and attacked a woman
walking her poor little dog

and Jamal and I looked at each other
and we're just like

-never again.
-Never again.

No.

So she's been in the backyard
for about 10 years now.

We ultimately felt like
it was the responsible thing to do.

But I feel regret and guilt
about keeping Molly

just confined to the backyard.

She is out during the day,
in the house by night.

I don't know
why that's making me emotional.

Hold on.

-(Asia sighing)
-(Jamal chuckling)

This is ridiculous.

-You okay?
-Yeah.

Molly is the one
that's always started the trouble.

And now Molly's habits
are rubbing off on Logan.

He's the newcomer.
He's never hurt anyone but he could.

(dog barking)

Logan is a lot for me.

So I can only take him
on very short walks, five or ten minutes.

He's a strong animal.

There's a fear of the leash breaking.

There's the collar not holding up
and him getting away from me

and attacking another animal.

NYAH: Our youngest sister Jesse,

she'll be in her skates
just rolling downstairs.

Hey, Logan.

Logan will bite her shoes
and she'll fall and hurt herself.

Logan stop!

ASIA: My fear
is any of my animals biting a person

and the animal control or police

demanding that we turn over our dog
and they have to be euthanized.

At this point,
we are desperate for guidance.

JAMAL: We've gone as far as we can go.

So we need Cesar's help.

CESAR: This is a very serious situation
to have a dog like Molly

confined for the past 10 years.

It's urgent that I get
to the bottom of this

to get this family
and their pack back on track.

(dog barking)

Hi, Cesar.

-Thank you for inviting me.
-Come on in.

-Thank you. Thank you.
-Come on in.

Beautiful. Feels like home.

-Thank you.
-Yes.

Well, let's go see Molly.

CESAR: Let's see. Let's see.

I need to assess Molly right away.

This dog has been locked up for 10 years.

So we have no time to waste.

-This is Molly.
-CESAR: Yeah.

ASIA: This is where she's been
for the past decade, Cesar.

(ominous music playing)

-She's mainly outside during the day.
-CESAR: Yeah.

-We bring them in at night.
-Yeah.

-And that's Logan next to her?
-ASIA: Yes.

CESAR: I have to move slowly with Molly.

She's not used to strangers.

And I know she's had
some aggressive incidents.

To assess her mental state,
you must carefully read her body language.

And there is a lot
you can tell from her eyes.

So look at the eyes.

See, so this is what I'm seeing.

-Mm-hmm.
-Like she's fixating?

No, no, she's like...

-JAMAL: She's unsure.
-She's unsure.

She's, she's a little bit
in the tense part of it.

-Is that okay if I opened the door?
-Yes, it is.

CESAR: I need to see
firsthand what Molly does

when a stranger steps into her space.

So my energy must be completely
calm before I meet her.

If she senses any weak or fearful energy,
that could trigger aggression.

(exciting music playing)

Shh.

(dogs barking)

Shh.

-She's nervous.
-ASIA AND JAMAL: Mm-hmm.

So that bark that we're hearing
right now is a nervous bark?

-Yeah.
-Okay.

-Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo.
-Yeah.

-Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo.
-Mm-hmm.

A normal, normal, like, strong bark
is like woo, and then they pause.

-Boom, and then they pause.
-JAMAL: Mm-hmm.

-Then you, to, to, to. They don't do that.
-ASIA: Mm-hmm.

The dog is just showing nervousness,
uncertainty, confusion.

A nervous scared dog can be
much more dangerous than an angry dog

because they're acting
out of sheer terror.

-She attacks because she's nervous.
-ASIA: Mm-hmm. Okay.

So this is your fear aggression case.

-NYAH: Fear aggression?
-ASIA: Okay.

-Yeah.
-ASIA: Okay.

So she's more like a back of the pack.

-ASIA: She's at the back?
-Yes.

-Got it.
-Hmm.

CESAR: When there is no leadership
in a pack,

a scared back of the pack
dog often gets thrown

into a role where they don't belong.

That stress can cause them
to lash out at the slightest provocation.

Go back.

It's critical that I immediately
show Molly that I am in charge.

And that she can fall back into
her more comfortable follower position.

-That's just nervousness.
-JAMAL: Mm-hmm.

CESAR: Ah. Shh.

Send them back. Send them back.

-Send them back.
-ASIA: Go, go back.

I mean, outside, outside.

Outside.

-ASIA: Outside.
-Go.

NYAH: Go.

CESAR: The family is clearly
not respected by Molly.

She seems confused that
they're even telling her what to do.

She's gonna continue to try
to lead the pack in a dangerous way

until the family begins enforcing
clear rules and boundaries.

Right now, she's gonna show
a lot of confusion.

Okay.

Because they never had clear rules,
boundaries, limitations.

Okay.

-The humans do not represent leadership.
-Mm-hmm.

You know what I mean?

I think I got a good handle on Molly.
Now I'd like to assess Logan.

I wanna see how he behaves in public.

Okay.

JAMAL: Let's go.

Come on. Come on. Shh, shh.

CESAR: Logan,
he's completely out of control.

ASIA: No, pup, no, no.

CESAR: He's lunging
at other dogs and people.

This dog is a danger to himself
and everything around him.

That's how you walk? Is that typical?

-That's normal?
-ASIA: Yes.

It's typical for him.

-Yes.
-CESAR: You can't walk him then.

-JAMAL AND NYAH: No.
-ASIA: Definitely not.

CESAR: What about you, brother,
you, can you hold this thing?

Uh, to a certain extent.

-CESAR: Yeah.
-ASIA: Not really.

(Jamal chuckling)
Oh.

CESAR: Logan has them
literally spinning in circles.

Just like with Molly,
the family is showing no leadership

and so they are helpless
to stop that behavior.

ASIA: We haven't walked him enough
because of the bad behaviors

that he's picked up from Molly.

But to really see him

try to get at the other dog...

-NYAH: It's scary.
-ASIA: Yeah.

CESAR: Now he's fixated
on the production crew.

That's unacceptable
and extremely dangerous.

Let me borrow... Give me the leash.
This dog is gonna pop that thing.

JAMAL: Come on, come on.

CESAR: What'd he do?

(Logan growling)

Shh.

Nope, over here.

Easy, Logan, easy. Shh.

The Mayo family's youngest dog Logan

has learned
aggressive behavior from Molly,

their pit mix who's been locked up
in the backyard for 10 years.

Now he's fixated on my production crew
and I have to stop that immediately.

He's never had anyone move his eyes.

You're keeping him
too much in a, an excited state.

Mm-hmm.

CESAR: This leash lets me redirect
his eyes the moment he fixates

before it escalates into a lunge.

That's the key to stopping
aggression before it happens.

-You have a dog with no brakes.
-JAMAL: Right.

-Just gas pedal.
-Okay.

The right leash is like your brakes
and stops all of this.

-It's how you set your boundaries.
-NYAH: Mm-hmm.

You know what I mean?

So if you don't set the
right rules by limitation,

then they're gonna set
the rules around the limitations.

-JAMAL: Right.
-NYAH: Got it.

So he's already setting his rules.

-Basically, that's what he...
-Well, he learned it from...

ALL: Molly.

-Well, yeah.
-JAMAL: From Molly. Yeah.

So right now the one who rules
your house energetically is Molly.

Not you guys, you guys just pay for food.

-Got you.
-(Nyah chuckling)

-NYAH: Right, right.
-ASIA: I don't like that.

Yeah, you guys are, like, tenant.

-HUNTER: Right.
-NYAH: Okay.

-ASIA: All right.
-She is the owner.

Right now the Mayos' pack is being led
by the dog least equipped for the job.

Molly is a natural back of the pack dog.
She's timid and unsure.

What she needs is a strong leader
in Asia and the family,

but they're not leading anything.

-ASIA: Outside. Outside.
-NYAH: Outside.

ASIA: Go. Go.

CESAR: So Molly feels
that she must take charge,

but she gets too aggressive.

Now she is teaching her pack mate
the same bad behavior.

It's all made worse because Asia
is stuck in old fears replaying memories

of Molly's aggression 10 years ago.

She's trapped in the past.

And as a result,
Molly is trapped in the backyard.

-Humans hold the past.
-ASIA: Mm-hmm.

CESAR: Which is, it's gonna be
your most difficult challenge

because you've seen things in the past.

-NYAH: Yeah.
-CESAR: If you hold it,

you keep looking at it
over, and over, and over, and over.

But to move forward,

-you need to let all of that go
-ASIA: Got it.

The first step to fixing all this
is getting Molly out of the backyard

and out on a walk.

The walk will be how the family
can start showing

the leadership their pack badly needs.

And it will begin
the hard work of proving to Asia

that she can leave her memories
and past fears behind.

And I see you guys right now
with Ms. Molly.

-All right.
-Okay.

CESAR: Yup.

Molly has been confined
to the backyard for the past 10 years.

I don't know what she's gonna do.

I don't know how she's gonna react.

I feel as though Molly
will be out of control.

So you're the one that walks normally?

-ASIA: No.
-No? Who, who walks them?

-Uh, sometimes Jamal walks them.
-Okay.

I'm starting with Jamal because
he's the most comfortable handling Logan.

-Now you come with me.
-Okay.

I'm gonna show you how to walk two dogs.

Look, my beginning.
My beginning is a little slow. Shh.

I have to stay calm and confident
with my head held high.

-If I am calm then they stay calm.
-JAMAL: Okay.

Look, walk with her.

-JAMAL: Come on.
-CESAR: Shh.

-Hmm. Better, no?
-Much better.

Oh, my goodness. Wow.

CESAR: Ah.

JAMAL: We've been doing
all the wrong things.

CESAR: Okay.

-Your turn.
-I'm ready.

-CESAR: Yeah. Grab this guy here.
-{Jamal chuckling}

(suspenseful music playing}

CESAR: Okay.

And then you just want,
don't say a word just walk.

Jamal picked up the walk pretty fast.

But it's Asia's fear that has created
this aggression in the first place.

Learning to stay calm and confident
is the key for Asia to keep Molly

and Logan from turning aggressive again.

I wanna put both of them at the same time.

Okay.

You can do it. I know you can.

Head high, eyes forward.
Show me your supermodel walk.

Confident and fierce.

-There you go, do you feel it?
-I do.

We're just marveling
at what we're looking at right now.

It's crazy.

CESAR: There you go.

To walk Molly for the first time,
I feel so light.

The first time in 10 years,
I was able to drop my anxiety.

This is absolutely unbelievable.

-(Cesar laughs)
-She looks fashionable.

JAMAL: She does.

NYAH: She looks like

-a cool Cruella de Vil.
-JAMAL: She's like she's on a photo sh**t.

-(all laugh)
-But in a good way.

Earlier this morning,
I sensed a lot of fear in Asia.

But I can feel that that fear
is starting to melt away.

This is just one step.

But it's a good one to start with.

-JAMAL: Wow.
-NYAH: Look at you.

I just walked

both of our dogs at the same time.

JAMAL: And you're in one piece.

-And your arms are in your sockets.
-Oh, my gosh.

The homework is gonna be
super simple, just pack walks.

And just as much walk as you can do.

The Mayo family now has some tools
to become leaders of their pack.

But this is only
the start of their journey.

They got a lot of work to do
before they see me again.

See you soon.

-Thank you, Cesar.
-Do your homework.

We will.

CESAR: We got you Molly. We got you Molly.

NARRATOR: The next morning,
Cesar heads to Huntington Beach

to help a dog
with a big time bladder problem.

CRAIG: We're the Callahan family.
I'm Craig.

SHANNON: I'm Shannon Callahan.

We live
in Huntington Beach, California.

And we have two dogs, Charlie and Jeffrey.

Charlie, I call the teenager.

Like, hey, let's go do things.
Like, let's hang out.

(dog barking)

SHANNON: Jeffrey is a two
year-old German Shepherd.

We found him at a rescue organization.

CRAIG: As a little puppy, I mean,
eight to ten weeks old maybe.

SHANNON: Yeah.

He went through hell and back.

SHANNON: He had been mauled, like,
his face sort of partially bitten off.

His mouth couldn't open
more than one inch.

Had some emergency surgery.
Stitches all up the side of his face.

His tongue kind of
hangs out most of the time,

so there is a lot of drool that.

CRAIG: Yeah. Drools a lot.
SHANNON: That ends up.

I mean, we pretty much
just love the little guy.

He's, you know,
with his little crooked face and tongue.

He's just such a sweet little goober.
(laughs)

CRAIG: Yeah, but then also.

SHANNON: Oh, oh, oh, oh.

He pees.

Hey, Jeffrey.

-Oh, there we go. Oh, oh, buddy.
-CRAIG: There he goes.

SHANNON: If he gets scared
like something drops, he'll pee.

You say his name.

Jeffrey, buddy. He'll pee.

Even if I step in
to try to calm him,

it'll actually just trigger even more pee.

-Jeffrey.
-SHANNON: Oh, so much pee.

CRAIG: And it's just progressively
gotten worse, and worse, and worse.

SHANNON: Are we all done peeing?
Are we all done?

Oh, nope. There's a little more.

-Jeffers.
-CRAIG: It's okay.

SHANNON: We love animals,
and we love helping animals.

Fostering dogs and rescuing dogs
was always important to us.

I love that we're saving their lives.

It always makes me feel so horrible
that there are thousands of animals

euthanized every year.

But because Jeffrey is not
in the best behavior mode right now,

it just makes it really sad
that we can't keep helping more animals.

So we realized that we needed
to get Jeffrey better behaved

before we brought in more foster dogs.

So this is just very important for us
to get back on track,

rescue more animals,
and help them find homes.

That's why we need
Cesar's help desperately.

CESAR: So how can I help you guys?

So we have Jeffrey, uh,
who's our dog that we adopted

and he pees all the time when he's scared.

It just shoots out
all over him and everything.

Has the vet rule out
that this part of his face

has anything to do with the pee?

He's completely healthy
and in good shape,

and none of the behaviors
have anything to do with his face now.

-With his face.
-SHANNON: Yeah, he's all healed.

What are you afraid might happen
if Jeffrey doesn't get better?

We'd like to foster dogs

and we've done a couple
and it's just complete chaos.

And it wasn't a happy environment

-for the puppies.
-Got it.

and certainly not an environment
where they were gonna grow

in a positive way
for when they were adopted.

There is much more at stake here
than just a dog peeing uncontrollably.

What I would like
is to see Jeffrey in action.

-CRAIG: Okay.
-So we'd like to put some cameras inside.

-All right. Perfect. Sounds awesome.
-Sounds good. Thank you.

-CRAIG: Thank you.
-CESAR: Come on.

This issue is preventing Craig and Shannon

from their mission
of fostering shelter dogs.

Every dog they cannot foster is a dog
that could be denied a loving home

and maybe even a long and full life.

-SHANNON: Hello. Hey, puppy dogs.
-CRAIG: Hi. Hey, Jeffrey.

-SHANNON: Hello.
-CRAIG: How's it going?

SHANNON: Jeffrey.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, Jeffrey. Oh, bubba.

Oh.

SHANNON: Oh, oh, Jeffrey.
You peed on me, buddy.

What exactly what they're not
supposed to do they're doing.

-SHANNON: Jeffrey.
-CRAIG: What's the matter, buddy?

-CRAIG: What's the matter?
-SHANNON: He's, oh, no.

He's peeing, oh, he got peed on you.

Sometimes people get used to this idea
that every time you meet a dog,

you have to have this excitement.

SHANNON: Oh, my gosh, that was epic.

Hey guys, I would like to see
how you leash the dog.

SHANNON: All right.
Who wants to go for a walk?

CRAIG: Ready for a walk?

-SHANNON: Oh, it's walk time.
-CRAIG: Time to go.

I'm having a hard time watching it.

They are making so many mistakes.

-CRAIG: Jeffrey. Shh. Come on, come on.
-SHANNON: Jeffrey, Jeffrey, Jeffrey.

Sit, bubba. Sit.

-SHANNON: Ooh.
-CRAIG: Oh, dear.

SHANNON: There's the pee.
All right. sh**t. All right.

CRAIG: That was a doozy.

It's all over the counter,
all over the cabinet.

SHANNON: Oh, geez.

CESAR: I've definitely seen enough.

It's time for me to go in.

Jeffrey's nonstop peeing
is a result of one thing.

He's confused by the mixed up energy
his pet parents are giving him.

It starts when they bring
big excited energy

to everyday situations like coming home,

or leashing it out for a walk.

That gets them excited and so he pees.

SHANNON: Oh, oh, Jeffrey. Oh, bubba.

CESAR: Then they compound the problem

by offering affection and disapproval
at the same time.

-SHANNON: Jeffrey, bubba.
-CRAIG: What's the matter, buddy?

-CRAIG: What's the matter?
-SHANNON: Oh, no,

He's peeing, oh, he got peed on you.

Simultaneously rewarding
and punishing his behavior.

So Jeffrey gets even more confused
and keeps peeing again and again.

-SHANNON: Oh, geez.
-CRAIG: Oh, more pees.

-SHANNON: Hello.
-CESAR: So, I saw

all the cleaning you have to do.

Solving this means
that Craig and Shannon need to greet him

and interact with Jeffrey in a calmer way
and stop giving him mixed messages.

When you guys come in,
you guys are doing the typical baby talk

-and you go...
-SHANNON: Right.

"Hey, Jeffrey, ooh." So you go with this.

-CRAIG: Oh.
-SHANNON: Got you.

And then you feel bad about him.
You feel good about him.

Then you feel bad about him.

So you just create this expl*sive meeting.

So obviously a dog
that gets overly excited

is gonna keep peeing, so you want...

-Right.
-...to bring the excitement down.

-SHANNON: Okay.
-CESAR: So there is no excitement.

-And there is no pee.
-SHANNON: Okay.

-So I'm gonna go outside.
-All right.

I'm just going to introduce
myself for the first time.

-SHANNON: Okay.
-You know.

-And you're gonna see how I move.
-Okay.

I wanna show Shannon and Craig
a different way of greeting their dogs.

They have no idea how one small change
in the ritual can transform their lives.

(suspenseful music playing)

CRAIG: Hmm.

Okay.

I was surprised it happened so quickly
that he was able to calm him down

and were able to just sit in front of him
and be respectful dogs.

If I have a hard day at work,
this is how I will greet my pack.

-SHANNON: Mm-hmm.
-Yeah.

Guys, I don't wanna give you my crap.

I just want to give you
my calm, comfort, love, and joy.

-Reconnect back to this beautiful home.
-SHANNON: Mm-hmm.

And feel safe, peace, and love.

-You see what I'm thinking?
-CRAIG: Yeah.

-Yeah, and you see what I'm creating?
-Right.

Craig and Shannon usually greet their dogs
with a lot of noise and excitement.

-SHANNON: Hello, hey, puppy dog.
-CRAIG: Hey. Hi, Jeffers.

-SHANNON: Hello.
-CRAIG: How's it going?

SHANNON: Jeffrey. Oh, Jeffrey.
Oh, oh, oh, Jeffrey. Oh, bubba.

CESAR: Instead, I don't say
anything at all.

Not a word.

And instead of hovering
with big energy like they do,

I go down to the dog's level.

I'm not excited,
so Jeffrey doesn't get excited.

And there is not one drop of pee.

-Next we'll do the leash.
-Okay.

There we go. Now here you put it on.

Jeffrey. No.

There you go.

I've given Craig and Shannon
some tools for greeting

and leashing Jeffrey without excitement.

It's very simple but the hard part
is putting it into practice.

Now their work really begins.

We created the non pee moment.

With Jeffrey it was just a matter
of just bringing a little peace,

little calmness into it,
and can do the excitement somewhere else.

-SHANNON: Yeah.
-Just don't do it coming in.

CRAIG: Helping Jeffrey
and getting the floors cleaned

and avoiding the pee is wonderful
but at the end of the day,

the real joy
of this whole experience would be

getting to foster and save

more and more animals
for years and years to come.

CESAR: So your homework is to practice
the calm, quiet approach again and again.

Okay.

CESAR: Craig and Shannon
have a lot of practice and repetition

ahead of them if they're going
to master calm confidence

and stop Jeffery from peeing.

And they'll have to do that

before they can even think
of fostering puppies again.

NARRATOR: In Lancaster,

the Mayo family has spent
a week working on pack walks

with their pitbull mix Molly,
whose aggression in a local dog park

led to her being locked down
in the backyard for the past decade.

ASIA: Our pack walks
with Molly have been fantastic.

I don't know who's more excited,
her or myself.

And we have such confidence
that we're able to control her.

NARRATOR: After a week of progress,

the family decides
to return to the dog park

to see how Molly responds
to walking past the other dogs.

ASIA: Nyah, Hunter, and I
have decided to take it up a notch

and bring the dogs to the dog park
to do our walk today.

Is this not a good idea?

-Okay.
-NYAH: Guess we're gonna find out.

ASIA: All right.

(upbeat music playing)

We're at the same exact park

where 10 years ago,
Molly got loose and went on the attack.

Being back here brings back...

not so good memories.

Ever since that... that incident,
we haven't trusted her

-to be outside of the house like that.
-NYAH: That's true.

ASIA: I don't know how she's gonna act.

NYAH: I guess we could just
control what we can control

and see what happens.

You guys ready?

-Are you ready, Mom?
-All right. Let's get it done.

-Let's do it.
-Let's do it.

(suspenseful music playing)

(dogs barking)

ASIA: Shh. Stop. Stop.

(dogs barking)

Shh. Hey. Shh. Shh. Shh.

(barking sound)

That was not good.

-NYAH: Yeah, I know.
-ASIA: Very risky.

Molly is just on the attack mode.

-Oh. You see?
-NYAH: Mm-hmm.

You see?

-NYAH: Yeah, that's not good.
-ASIA: No, it's not.

She is fully reverting back
to what she's been doing before the work.

She's regressed all the way back.

I think we should just go home. Come on.

Let's go home, guys.

NYAH: Let's get out of here.

NARRATOR: Cesar rushes back to Lancaster

to address Molly's regression
back into aggressive behavior.

CESAR: Why did Molly suddenly regress?

It wasn't her return
to the dog park that triggered her.

It was Asia.

Coming back to the park
triggers Asia's own fearful memory.

ASIA: Being back here brings back
not so good memories.

And Molly sensed that fear
and thought she needed protection.

ASIA: Hey.

So we're back to where
the whole incident happened.

-This is the park. This is...
-Yes, it is.

I don't like to focus too much on,
you know, the past.

-ASIA: Yeah.
-You know, it did happen

but we have to erase that moment.

Today is a new day.

CESAR: The key to keeping Molly calm
is you staying calm yourself.

-Okay.
-Watch.

Yeah. Shh.

Shh.

Look at that.

See, the head goes down,
and then they forget about everything.

-They're focusing on following.
-ASIA: Mm-hmm.

-CESAR: See, ignore that.
-ASIA: Look at that.

-JAMAL: Yeah.
-NYAH: Wow.

-HUNTER: Didn't even look at 'em.
-That's crazy.

-So can she do it? Yes.
-JAMAL: Yes.

ASIA: Mm-hmm.

Now the question is can Asia do it?

Asia, you got it.

Can she overcome the memory
of Molly's past aggression

and leave with calm confidence?

NYAH: You got it.

I'm a little nervous,
a little anxious.

-CESAR: Here we go.
-ASIA: All right.

-CESAR: Let's do it.
-JAMAL: You got this.

CESAR: Walk in the park.

-Literally.
-NYAH: Literally.

CESAR: Don't let her get fixated.

There you go. That's right.
Don't pay attention to that.

Asia is... is, you know, is doing it.

-Yeah.
-But is nervous.

-JAMAL: Yeah.
-NYAH: Yeah, a little bit.

CESAR: Don't forget to breathe.

-Look, see?
-JAMAL: Uh-oh.

-NYAH: Uh-oh.
-CESAR: Hold that.

Stay right there. Stay right there.

Stay right there. Shh.

Stay right there.

-Because we need to erase that.
-ASIA: Mm-hmm.

Shh.

I was thinking to create
the space to remove that,

-separate her from that energy.
-Yeah, but first snap her out of it

then you move away.

-Yeah
-Got it.

CESAR: Don't move away
while she's in that state.

ASIA: Okay.

Because you're gonna pull
and you're gonna keep her in that state.

-Got it.
-Snap her out.

-Remove the state, and then you move away.
-(dogs barking)

JAMAL: That's good. Good test.

-NYAH: Mm-hmm.
-CESAR: Yes.

-NYAH: Much better.
-JAMAL: Much better.

CESAR: Beautiful. That little, hey.

Stop right there. Stay right there. Yes.

-Stay right there.
-(dog barking)

-Stay right, wait, don't move yet.
-(dog barking)

Head high.

-(dog barking)
-Yes.

-And then you move.
-NYAH: Good job.

-Good job, Molly.
-CESAR: Mm-hmm.

-NYAH: Mom too.
-CESAR: Yeah.

-NYAH: Woo-hoo!
-(clapping)

-She listened. She listened.
-(laughs)

ASIA: It was just for a moment there

reverting back to old memories
of Molly's past behavior

but I'm able to push through that.

-JAMAL: Up top. Up top. Up top.
-NYAH: Gotta do it.

ASIA: like we're coming

-through the tunnel.
-NYAH: Oh, sh**t. Sorry.

JAMAL: The tunnel, the tunnel.

Today, I gave Asia some more
techniques for keeping Molly focused

and out of trouble.

But Asia is the real key
to Molly staying on track.

For Molly to truly leave
behind her aggressive ways,

Asia will have to leave behind
her own fears and memories.

So after she practiced
a few more days with Molly,

I'm going to have Asia visit the DPC

so she can face her fears
head on once and for all.

-ASIA: All right.
-CESAR: Thank you.

-Thank you.
-Thank you.

NARRATOR: Craig and Shannon spent a week
working on their calm confidence.

SHANNON: We're supposed
to be in a calm state, you two.

NARRATOR: In order to calm
their German Shepherd Jeffrey's

overactive bladder.

SHANNON: I don't know
if this really consists of calmness.

NARRATOR: If the Callahans can't
put a stop to Jeffrey's constant peeing,

they won't be able to realize
their dream of fostering more dogs.

CRAIG: Oh. There goes the pee.
There goes the pee.

SHANNON: All right.

I think like any process,
this is definitely a two-steps forward,

a half a step back.

-SHANNON: Oh, Jeffrey, sweetie. Dammit.
-CRAIG: Oh, buddy,

It's okay. It's okay.

NARRATOR: Cesar heads back
to Huntington Beach

to check on the Callahan's progress

in stopping Jeffrey's
bladder control problems.

Let's see how they're doing.

-I wanna see the progress.
-SHANNON: Okay.

CESAR: So we're gonna
have the cameras inside

and I'm gonna step outside
and just look. All right?

-CESAR: All right?
-CRAIG AND SHANNON: All right.

CESAR: The first step
is to see what happens

when Shannon and Craig
greet the dogs after some time away.

On my first visit,
this simple ritual was a disaster.

-SHANNON: Hello, hey, puppy dog.
-CRAIG: Hey. Hi, Jeffers.

SHANNON: Hello.

CESAR: They entered with nervous,
overexcited energy

which opened the floodgates
of peeing on the kitchen floor.

SHANNON: Jeffrey, you peed on me, buddy.

CESAR: Today, I want to see them enter
with quiet and calm confidence.

Shannon and Craig, go in.
Your guys are waiting.

SHANNON: We're home.

(dogs barking)

CESAR: Just calm and quiet, okay?

Calm and quiet.

SHANNON: We're home.

CESAR: This is beautiful.

You're doing good.

Instead of greeting the dogs
with the excitement and baby talk

that usually triggers
Jeffrey out of control peeing,

Shannon and Craig are staying silent
and just going about their business.

This calm confident approach shows Jeffrey

he doesn't need to get hyper
and pee all over the floor.

SHANNON: Wanna come up?

What they're embracing is exactly
healthy behavior, healthy energy,

and we have no pee on the floor.

-SHANNON: Aww.
-CESAR: So

I feel that the pack
is in a perfect frame of mind

to bring the final challenge.

So I know you guys love to foster dogs
and with the tools I'm giving you,

I think you're ready.

So what we're about to do
is to bring some puppies.

Okay, wait.

Calm down, Shannon. Look at...
Now we know your weakness.

-CRAIG: Yeah.
-Puppies, yeah.

We borrowed these puppies
from a nearby animal shelter

so that we can see just how far
Jeffrey has come in the last week.

We know that when their energy is right,

Shannon and Craig
can keep Jeffrey from peeing.

But their final test

for whether they're ready
to start fostering again

will be if Jeffrey can stay calm
and not pee around new dogs.

So it's important that Jeffrey
is in a calm surrender state.

We're just gonna stay consistent
to what I've been teaching you.

Good. Let's put the puppies on the floor.

SHANNON: Okay. There you go.

Well, my first thought was,
oh, wow, it's a big step right away.

It's like, wow, three puppies brought in.

Jeffrey. Come on.

Oh, shh, Jeffrey.

CESAR: It's okay.
This is not a confused or excited pee.

This is a confident pee.

He's marking his territory.

-Okay.
-Yes.

-He's telling them...
-Yeah. This is mine.

You know. I'm an adult.
I'm the only one who marks here.

So there's time
when you can't discourage pee.

Right.

To see this is a good result
if what you want is to foster dogs again.

-CRAIG: Yeah.
-SHANNON: Yes.

CESAR: As far as the dogs are concerned,
they're ready.

SHANNON: Mm-hmm.

My whole life I've always rescued animals.

So it's nice to know that with these
new tools that we can keep fostering

and helping more and more animals.

If I can help one animal be saved
and go to a home and not be euthanized,

that just makes me so happy
and I think it's just really important.

CESAR: Now it's time for affection.

Look at this.
This is my first time. Look at that.

Look at that tail.

See, I worked for it, right, Jeffrey?

I am proud of Shannon and Craig.

It takes true dog lovers
to foster like they do.

But when I first met them,
they had a lot of confused energy

and a lot of pee to clean up.

Now they can once again
start fostering dogs and saving lives.

I'm gonna take these
guys back to the shelter.

CRAIG: Aww.

CESAR: This is a great experience
for them.

They got to help Jeffrey and you guys.

SHANNON: Mm-hmm.

And they got to be
in Huntington Beach.

-(Craig and Shannon laughing)
-So, what a trip.

Thank you, guys.

-CRAIG AND SHANNON: Thank you.
-CESAR: All right.

ASIA: We're going on an adventure.

NARRATOR: The next day,
Asia and Jamal arrive at the DPC

for their final day of work with Molly,

their pit mix whose past aggression

led to her being kept
in the backyard for 10 years.

JAMAL: Let's go.

-JAMAL AND ASIA: Good morning.
-Good morning, Mayo family.

-How are you?
-ASIA: Good morning.

CESAR: We're gonna have
Madden and Logan be taken by Jaimito.

Jaimito, come and take 'em.

And then we're gonna
focus on my girl Molly.

-ASIA: Okay.
-Can't wait to see her in action.

ASIA: All right.

CESAR: Give them a nice tour.

Well, the last time I saw Molly,
she had just relapsed back

into her old aggressive ways
at the dog park,

triggered by Asia's memories
of the past incident.

ASIA: Hey. Hey, hey.

We need to start today
by seeing how Asia and Molly

handle the same situation with my pack.

-I'm gonna bring my dogs.
-ASIA: Okay.

-I'm gonna set it up.
-JAMAL: All right.

CESAR: Let's do this.

I am putting my pack inside
the Serengeti Dog Park.

Then I will ask Asia
to walk Molly past the fence

so I can see how they respond.

So your first test is just
going back and forth at the fence,

see the reaction of the pack.

In their mind,
you're passing by their territory.

They're all gonna come
to the fence to smell her.

JAMAL: Mm-hmm.

That can make her tense.
That can make you tense.

-Okay.
-CESAR: Right.

So then your job
is to control the reaction.

ASIA: Okay.

So I see her tail is getting higher.
We don't want that, right?

Snap her out of it.

(dogs barking)

CESAR: Correct that.

No, she's still in that aggressive state.

Make her fully calm down and sit.

Molly's a fearful back of the pack dog
who feels that she must defend Asia

when she gets afraid.

As my pack approached,
Asia tensed up and let Molly push in front

and fixate on King and Howard.

And that triggered the flare-up.

Good. Keep going.

I had to make
a split moment decision

where either I was gonna
panic or correct Molly.

She was reactive
but I was able to control her

and we kept moving.

CESAR: Exactly. Good.

She didn't initiate it,
so that's really good.

-ASIA: Okay.
-That was the German Shepherd who did it.

Right?

She seems a little bit
apprehensive to wanting to...

CESAR: Yeah, yeah. She's being respectful.
So drop the leash there.

Yeah. Just do it without looking.

There you go.

At first when Cesar says
drop the leash,

I wanted to say, "Are you sure?"

I wanted to question him,
but I thought,

"No, no, no. It's okay."

CESAR: She's in, "Follow her" state.

-JAMAL: Okay.
-You know, passing by...

-Mm-hmm.
-A dog park.

This feels really good. It feels natural.

-Yup.
-ASIA: Yeah.

And she's doing it off leash
that's how you know.

Yeah.

CESAR: Molly had a small setback
at the fence earlier.

But with Asia's correction,
she's doing great.

So I think she's ready
for the final challenge.

It's time to take Molly inside a dog park
to meet new dogs

face-to-face for the first time
since her attack ten years ago

that got her stuck in the backyard.

Go inside the little box.

This is not just a test for Molly.

It's whether Asia will finally let go

of all the memories and fears
from that incident.

I'm gonna walk Molly through
to make sure it's safe.

I don't know how Molly's
gonna react inside the dog park.

This is something very, very new.

So I feel a bit nervous.

Hmm.

So can she do it? Yes, of course.

She's ready. But Asia, are you ready?

I can't influence your energy.
You have to influence your own energy.

ASIA: Okay.

CESAR: We're gonna do it again.
All the way from where we were.

-Oh, okay.
-Yeah.

-All right.
-CESAR: Pass by the fence.

Drop the leash. Yup.

If you have the calmness
and then you drop the leash,

then that's the leash.

ASIA: Okay.

JAMAL: That calm energy
becomes an extension of you.

Yeah.

It's perfectly fine for Molly
to go in without a leash.

My dogs already met her

plus my staff will be close by
through the entire walk.

Breathe.

Yes, and just walk in.

Yes, ma'am.

Look at that.

JAMAL: No hesitation from the dog.
No hesitation from Asia.

You could see the difference
in Asia's body language.

-CESAR: Yeah.
-JAMAL: And Molly's body language.

-Yup.
-You don't see any tension at all.

CESAR: That's what needs
to happen at the dog park.

ASIA: Walking in the dog park
off leash with Molly,

it really is an overwhelming
sense of calm and confidence.

If someone
would've told me this yesterday,

I wouldn't have believed
that we'd be doing that.

-How did I do?
-JAMAL: Awesome.

-CESAR: You looked amazing.
-JAMAL: Give it up, smooth.

-ASIA: All right.
-CESAR: You looked amazing.

-Look, it looked really, really good.
-ASIA: Thank you.

-Cesar, it felt great.
-CESAR: Yeah.

I wish that
what we know now, we knew then.

I think her quality of life
could have been so much better.

This is just...
(sniffs)

it's overwhelming because...

I never thought
I would experience something like this.

JAMAL: Mm-hmm.

(sighs)

ASIA: I'm happy with where we are.

Good.

Mission accomplished.

Okay, Jaimito, bring the rest of the pack.

Look at my boys.

CESAR: Asia and Molly
have come a very long way.

When I first met them,
they were both trapped.

Molly stuck in the backyard
and Asia stuck in the past.

JAMAL: Look at her.

This is the happiest I've ever seen her.

-ASIA: To see this...
-CESAR: Yeah.

-is amazing.
-Yeah.

CESAR: After a lot of hard work,
Asia has let go of her memories and fear

and learned to lead with confidence.

Molly is embracing her pet mom
as the strong leader she needs.

They're both finally free,
and I'm so happy to see it.

-Thank you.
-JAMAL AND ASIA: Thank you.

-JAMAL: Come on, guys.
-Bye, guys.

ASIA: Come on, pups.

JAMAL: Molly is no longer
a danger to society.

ASIA: Jamal, I'm gonna drop the leash.

JAMAL: I think you should do it.

CESAR: Turning a misbehaving dog
into a happy friendly one

doesn't take harsh punishment.

It requires leadership, discipline,

and most of all the courage to let go

of old ways of doing things
and old stories you're still telling.

Sometimes what connects you with your dog
is also what holds you both back.

Dropping the past
is like dropping the leash.

It's choosing
trust, respect and love over fear

and that is true freedom.