03x03 - In Sicknes & Health

[bunniefuu]

CESAR: When my journey
began as the dog whisperer,

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

Today, my message
has evolved.

Tsch.

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

WOMAN: The problem is me.

CESAR: He needs
rehab like ASAP.

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

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

CESAR: Together
with my superhero pack,

our mission is to create
better humans and better dogs,

one pack at a time.

(theme music playing)

RICK: My name is Rick.
This is my husband, Carlos.

We have two dogs,
Gigi and Harley.

Our older dog, Harley,
is a blue nose pit bull.

She just turned ten and I've
had her since she was six-weeks-old.

Harley is very friendly.

She loves people.

She is 72-ish pounds
and thinks she's a lap dog.

(laughter)

In January of 2020, Harley
was diagnosed with lymphoma.

When the neurologist first
told me that it didn't really

register at that moment, just
thinking like she's only seven.

I'm not ready for her to go yet.

But as soon as, as soon
as she told me that, um,

Harley turned around
and jumped up on me and

started licking my face.

Basically like, "It's
gonna be okay, don't worry."

So we wanted to try to give her more
quality of life and try to...

CARLOS: Kind of spark
up her life as well, yes.

RICK: Yeah. And give her some energy and,
so we introduced Gigi.

Gigi is our pit bull.

Gigi is spunky and she's fun
and she has that pity smile where

her smile is just as big
as her face from ear to ear.

And she's loving.

And the two of
them are close now.

I feel like she has brought
some life back in to Harley's heart.

CARLOS: Definitely, yes.
Harley is much better now with Gigi.

She used to just
basically sleep all day and

now she likes to play.

She just wants to
keep up with Gigi as well.

RICK: With Harley, they
said that she would have

six to 12 months to live
and she's now passed two years.

But Gigi, well,
there's two sides to Gigi.

CARLOS: Come
on. Gigi, hey.

RICK: There's the aggressive
nature when we walk her or if

she's in the car and she sees another dog
where she tends to act violently.

We don't want it to get to
that level that she actually

bites someone else
or bites another dog.

(barking)

No. No. No.

No. Come on. No.

CARLOS: I feel like she's
going to attack the dog and

she's going to
possibly k*ll the dog.

I know she's, she's capable of
doing that because she's strong.

(growls)

RICK: It would be devastating
if she were to do something

like that, to the point where if she
had to be put down or something,

that would just be
the worst thing ever.

Right now, Carlos is in school and he has
a really busy schedule.

So it's usually me that's taking
care of the dogs and sometimes

they're just too much
for one person to handle.

My biggest hope is that we
cannot have to worry about

Gigi's behavior and have her
be surrounded by lots of people and

lots of dogs and
be a little angel.

That would be a
dream come true.

CESAR: Pit bulls have always been an
important part of my life.

They're family to me.

So when I heard
about Rick and Carlos,

I asked them to come
to the ranch right away.

RICK: Gigi, look.

Yeah, look where we're going.

CESAR: Gigi's aggression towards other
dogs is definitely a problem.

But this case is more an
emergency because Gigi's

aggression towards other
dogs is not allowing the calmness,

that her pack mate
Harley needs to battle cancer.

For Harley to be in
the best place to recover,

this whole pack
needs help immediately.

RICK: And we are here.

CESAR: I know that Gigi gets
aggressive towards other dogs

on walks, so I'm having Rick
walk the pack into the ranch.

I'll assess how the dogs
and human behave as they

pass members
of my own pack.

(sighs)

RICK: Gi...

No. No. Come on.

No. No.

Come on. No.

CESAR: Holy crap.

RICK: Come. Hey, Gigi.

CESAR: Be careful, eh.

RICK: Let's get over here.

CESAR: Oh, my
God. Be careful.

RICK: Come on.
CESAR: She's the worst.

RICK: No. No. Come on.
Come. Come on.

Harley. Hey, come on.

(sighs)

RICK: You're good. No, Gigi.

I'm sorry. Nice to meet you.

CESAR: That's,
nice to meet you.

It took ten seconds to see that
this pack has very dangerous dynamic.

Both dogs are excited,
especially Gigi.

But the real problem is Rick.

He's incredibly nervous and constantly
giving them anxious words and energy,

which turns Gigi's anxious
excitement into aggression,

and then Harley
follows her lead.

Where's Carlos?

RICK: He is tied up
on a school project.

CESAR: Okay.

So is it you taking care
of the dogs most of the time?

RICK: Yeah. No.
CESAR: Just you. Oy, oy, oy.

RICK: Come on.

No. Harley.

CESAR: Gigi and Harley are
two strong, powerful dogs.

That will be a lot for
two pet parents to handle.

But with Rick doing the
majority of the walks and other cares due

to Carlos' schedule,
is even more dangerous.

RICK: Walking the
two of them together,

it's a lot to hold them back.

CESAR: Yeah.

RICK: My concern is, if
something were to happen.

Sometimes Gigi likes to run around me and
what if I get tangled up.

CESAR: Yeah. Yeah.

RICK: And fall or
something and they get loose,

I don't want the
worst to happen.

CESAR: Yeah.

RICK: So Harley just
turned ten last month.

CESAR: Uh-huh.

RICK: But January of 2020,
she was diagnosed with lymphoma.

CESAR: Hmm.

RICK: And she was given six to 12 months
to live with treatment.

CESAR: Right.

RICK: I mean, she's
definitely prolonged

the expectancy
more than doubling it.

She's fallen in and out
of remission four times now.

CESAR: Mm-hmm.

RICK: She's currently
being treated right now.

But I kind of feel like Gigi causes
behavior on Harley a little bit.

Gigi will start barking first.

CESAR: Yeah.

RICK: And then that
gets Harley barking too.

CESAR: Yeah.

RICK: So I kind of
blame Gigi a little bit.

CESAR: Right off the gate,
Rick is blaming Gigi when he needs to

take responsibility himself.

It's true that Gigi's bad
behavior is triggering Harley.

RICK: No. Come on. No.

CESAR: But Gigi's becoming
aggressive because Rick is

making her nervous,
not the other way around.

RICK: Hey!

CESAR: Rick's anxious words
and energy make Gigi anxious,

and that leads to aggression.

We can't blame animals.

RICK: Yeah.

CESAR: That's,
that's a given, right?

You brought them into your
life, so it's our responsibility to

make sure they
do the right thing.

RICK: Right.

CESAR: So we have to
do the right thing 'cause

they're imitating our energy,

our philosophy,
and our activities.

Not only is Rick
making the dogs nervous,

he's not correcting
them when they act out.

And even if he try, he can't
because the harness won't allow

him to make that correction.

You can't correct
with a harness.

You can't.

RICK: Come here.

CESAR: The tools you're
using is your worst tool.

The harness doesn't give you
the ability to guide the dog.

It wasn't meant for that.

What harness were made
for is tracking and pulling.

RICK: I, I used to have a
pinch collar on her and people used to

comment that that was cruel
and that I was hurting my dog

by using a pinch collar.

CESAR: But now, now, now,
the behavior she's doing is cruel

to the other dogs.

RICK: Absolutely.
CESAR: You see?

So we gotta find a medium.

RICK: Absolutely.

CESAR: Where, where
guidance is available.

Because Rick doesn't
have the right leash,

he's not giving the dogs
what they need from him.

Calm, confident
guidance through the leash.

And his words are just
making everything worse.

(whimpers)

RICK: I'm right here.

CESAR: Don't give
comfort when Gigi's anxious.

Don't nurture anxiety.

Don't, don't
nurture the, "I'm here."

The, there's no need.

She knows you here.

RICK: She's my baby.
I can't help it. I'm sorry.

CESAR: You're giving
attention to an anxious dog.

You're nurturing anxiety.

RICK: Right. I'll get better.

CESAR: Yeah, you
got to. But, yeah.

RICK: Yes. Yeah, I know.
I have a lot of work here.

CESAR: You have so much
work to do, my brother!

RICK: I do. I do.

RICK: Gigi.

What's up, girls?

CESAR: Oh,
goodness gracious.

You're, this is
why I train humans.

RICK: A lot of work.

CESAR: Rick is one of the
worst baby-talkers I ever seen.

But his problems started
with his fearful energy.

RICK: No. No.
Come on. No. No.

CESAR: Which
makes Gigi anxious.

RICK: Hey, Gigi.

CESAR: Then she goes into
a fight-or-flight state and

turns aggressive.

RICK: No. No.

CESAR: Then he nurtures that anxiety and
aggression with baby-talk.

RICK: I'm right here.

Gigi.

What's up, girls?

CESAR: It's really bad.

But the serious
consequence of this,

is that Gigi's anxious aggression
gets Harley worked up too,

which can wear her out when
she needs rest and calm energy

in her fight with cancer.

For the health of both dogs,

Rick must stop the
constant baby-talk

and anxious energy so
he can give Gigi the calm,

confident energy, corrections,
and leadership she needs.

If he can do that, the whole pack will be
happier and healthier.

First, you need to learn
how to be around dogs without

feeding their anxiety.

So I want you to walk in.

No touch, no talk,
no eye contact.

It's not that I'm
not acknowledging them.

RICK: Right. Makes sense.

CESAR: It's just I want to
love them when they're calm.

RICK: Okay.
CESAR: So I represent calmness.

RICK: Calmness. Okay.

CESAR: Whenever you
come. And no baby-talk.

(sighs)

RICK: Gigi, no, no.

CESAR: Don't say anything.
RICK: No. No.

CESAR: That's
feeding the excitement.

RICK: No.

CESAR: Have they
ever fought for you?

RICK: No. No, they haven't.

They haven't.

CESAR: That could turn into
it. How would you stop it?

(growls)

RICK: Gigi.
CESAR: That's too bad.

RICK: Girls!
CESAR: Let me see.

RICK: Girls! Gigi.

CESAR: Rick is a baby-talker.

RICK: She's my baby.
I can't help it. I'm sorry.

CESAR: You're giving
attention to an anxious dog.

You're nurturing anxiety.

Combined with
his fearful energy,

it makes his pit bull, Gigi,
anxious and aggressive,

which can lead to fights.

RICK: Girls!

CESAR: There you go.

That's a lower excitement.

Okay. So you have
some sort of authority.

RICK: I'd like to think so.
CESAR: Okay. Yes.

So that's good news for,
that's the best.

RICK: Mm-hmm.
CESAR: Thing you've done so far.

RICK: Something so far.

CESAR: That's really,
really good.

RICK: Okay.

CESAR: It's clear how in-tune
Gigi is to Rick's energy.

He first walk in and
let them jump on him.

Then he say, "No, no, no,"
in a sing-songy voice

that made Gigi anxious.

RICK: Gigi. No, no, no.

No.

CESAR: Gigi made
Harley anxious as well and

they almost
redirected on each other.

But when Rick
projects leadership,

he correct them with
a strong, confident voice.

RICK: Girls!

CESAR: Instead of baby-talk,
and Gigi instantly respect it.

So you have to control
the intensity of your voice.

RICK: Makes sense.
Makes sense. Yeah.

I feel like I've, I've
babied the girls too much.

It's not what I want.

It makes me realize that I've got a lot
of work on myself to do.

NARRATOR: Now that
Cesar has assessed the pack,

he wants to sit down with
Rick to get to the heart of

his fearful, anxious energy.

CESAR: I sense that you
have a lot of fear and anxiety.

Where do you think
that's coming from?

RICK: I do have a lot of worry.

CESAR: Yeah.
RICK: About what's gonna happen.

What Harley's been
through with her cancer.

I feel like I try to
care about her even more.

CESAR: Yeah.

RICK: So it's constantly
going through my mind.

Harley to me is my baby girl.

When we thought we were
gonna lose her a couple years ago,

like that was just devastating.

Just hearing the word
lymphoma and knowing that's your girl,

it just scared me.

CESAR: Yes, I
understand Harley had that.

She has cancer.
That's the reality.

But she needs
your strength, not your worry.

I, you know, I share me.

I have, Daddy,
you know, had cancer,

I brought Junior, just like you.

RICK: Mm-hmm.

CESAR: You know, when
Daddy was like 14 years old.

RICK: Mm-hmm.

CESAR: And he
definitely extend his life.

He died when he
was 16 years old.

Daddy was a very
special pit bull.

And just like Harley, he
was diagnosed with cancer too.

So I got him a pack mate
just like Rick did with Harley.

His name was Junior and I
know he helped extend Daddy's life.

So I understand Rick's
pain on a very deep level.

But Rick must understand
that our pain and heartache

doesn't change what
the dogs need from you.

Right, never
feel guilty, sorry, worry.

Because I, I don't wanna
give that energy to my dogs.

RICK: Right.

CESAR: I'm, I'm
helping them remove cancer.

And here I am, you know,
giving this other energy that

is just as bad as cancer.

RICK: Mm-hmm.
CESAR: You know?

RICK: So, so how, how do
you, how do you make that happen?

CESAR: Every so
often I get insecure.

That's me.

I have to learn when that
thing is crawling inside of me

and just control that demon,
'cause it's mine, you know?

'Cause you worry
about a dog dying.

You worry about a dog
getting cancer again.

The dog, worrying
about the dog suffering.

RICK: Mm-hmm.

CESAR: And all of that
stuff when that blocks a dog

from like, "Are we
good or we're not?"

RICK: Right.

CESAR: "'Cause I go to get chemo,
you're not, but you are worse than me."

RICK: Yeah.
It's true. It's true.

CESAR: You know what I
mean? RICK: Right.

CESAR: This is a side of
myself that I don't show very often,

but I sometimes get insecure
and worry just like everyone.

But I don't want to
give my dogs any of that.

I can share that
with humans like Rick,

but my pack needs
the best of me.

Calm confidence
and no insecurity.

RICK: I've gotta be able
to control my emotions,

control my feelings.

I've gotta focus
on the present.

Not try to think about what's happened or
what might be happening.

CESAR: The past is beautiful if you,
if you have good memories.

RICK: Right.

CESAR: The future
is whatever you want.

RICK: True.

CESAR: So, once you get home practice,
calm surrender, as I call it.

RICK: Okay.

CESAR: 'Cause
you don't have that.

Walking, sitting, whatever,
when you are with a dog,

keep your energy
calm and no baby-talk.

That's your homework.

RICK: Okay.
CESAR: Good? All Right.

RICK: Okay. Sounds good.
CESAR: Come on.

RICK: All right.
CESAR: Come on.

I'm gonna get Rick started
with very simple energy homework.

I just want him to focus
on keeping his energy, calm,

and confident.

That is the first step
in ending Gigi's nervous,

excited aggression.

NARRATOR: The next day,
Cesar heads to Woodland Hills to help

an engaged couple.

ANNA: My name's Anna.
And this is Zach.

And our dog Bear is
a French bulldog and

he is about four years old.

ZACH: Overall,
he's a great dog.

I mean, we love him.

We wouldn't trade him for
anything and that's for sure.

ANNA: I love hanging
out with Bear all day.

He's like my best friend.

That is so corny.
But he's very snugly.

He's very warm that I would sell my soul
down the river for this dog.

ZACH: I would say there's
nothing I wouldn't do for Bear.

We love the dog.
We think he loves us.

So we're happy with him.

ANNA: But Bear
is a hot mess.

He eats everything
in his line of sight.

Bear.

Hey, no eating sticks.

ZACH: Hey.
ANNA: No eating sticks.

ZACH: Yeah, he...
ANNA: Oh, oh, oh, oh.

ZACH: Hey. Hey. Hey!

ANNA: Bear, will you drop it?

ZACH: Bear, stop. Hey, no.

ANNA: He's constantly
looking everywhere for things

to eat that are not food.

Bear, what are you doing?

Bear. Oh, come on, dude.

ZACH: Literally
anything that he'll find,

he'll go after, and we
don't know when or why.

ANNA: Hey, drop it.

Fabric softening sheets.

He eats cardboard boxes.

He eats paper towels
like there's no tomorrow.

Hey. Hey. What do you got?

Let me see.

ZACH: A remote or a battery,
or a doorstopper, Styrofoam,

or paper, or...

ANNA: I mean.
ZACH: Rocks.

ANNA: He eats rocks.

He had a belly full of
rocks at a vet one time.

Eats toys, stuffed animals.

Ew, what, what is this?

Ew.

He came home from being
watched and he threw up

an entire toy arm and I
have no idea where it was from.

Get it out. Get out. Get it out.

ZACH: Oh, that was deep.
ANNA: Buddy, stop it. No, sir.

Hey. Hey. Knock it off.
Knock it off.

Yeah, I think a lot of our time
is taken up by taking things out

of his mouth or taking
him to the vet for things

that he had swallowed.

Producer: What's a rough estimate
of vet bills that you've spent on Bear?

ZACH: 20,000.
ANNA: I mean, like, yeah.

That's what I was gonna say.

I would probably save,
say 20 grand, right?

Easily? 25?

ZACH: Probably.
ANNA: Probably?

ZACH: Honestly, probably.

ANNA: They did give us
a free visit at one point

because we were
there so much.

Zach and I are getting
married in a couple of months.

ZACH: Anna and I plan to
have Bear involved in the wedding

as the, "Ring bear."

But honestly, Anna and I are
unsure if Bear can even make it

down the aisle, being that
there will be flower petals on

the floor, a
pillow that he would eat,

rings that he could
potentially swallow.

It's kind of a liability.

ANNA: What seems like a funny quirk in a
dog is really dangerous.

The actual Heimlich I've
had to perform on him twice.

It is absolutely
horrifying when he chokes.

My biggest fear with
Bear is that he's gonna die.

ZACH: Cesar is our last hope.

It's just a matter of time
before it's the last time.

CESAR: There they are.

ANNA: Bear. Bear. Come on.

ZACH: Hey.

ANNA: Bear, walk. Come on.

Hey. Hey.

CESAR: Too excited.

ANNA: Hey. Come on.
ZACH: Let's go. Nope.

ANNA: Get it.
Get it. Get it.

ZACH: Come
here, Bear. Drop it.

ANNA: Leave it,
dude. Leave it.

CESAR: They need
to calm him down,

but they're not doing it.

Oh, don't let him eat that.

ANNA: Bear. Ew.

CESAR: Yeah. Come over.

ANNA: Good morning.
ZACH: Good morning.

CESAR: How are you?
ANNA: Good. How are you?

ZACH: Good. How are you?

CESAR: How long has
that been happening?

ANNA: Uh, he's about
to be four in July.

CESAR: For four years?
ANNA: Yeah.

CESAR: You have this
walking vacuum cleaner for four years?

ANNA: Vacuum is
very much right.

CESAR: Yeah.
ANNA: He is a dog vacuum.

He's a garbage disposal.

CESAR: Yeah.

ANNA: And anything that's on
the floor, he will suck down.

CESAR: Yeah.

ANNA: It's been dryer sheets
one time and doorstoppers.

One time we had a
concern with a razor blade.

Anything he finds.

CESAR: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
ANNA: He will swallow.

CESAR: Which is dangerous and
not common sense, like, you know.

ZACH: Right.
ANNA: Right. Correct.

ZACH: It doesn't
make any sense.

CESAR: Is he
always this excited?

ZACH: Yeah, 'cause like what
he does couple of times a day is,

we call it the
Frenchie 500s, where,

you know, they
just run in circles.

ANNA: Bark, barks.
CESAR: Yeah.

Though, what you
have to stop is,

before he gets
into the Indy 500.

ZACH: Mm-hmm.

CESAR: Because his
nose is quite amazing.

ZACH: He can smell things.
CESAR: Yes. Which is unusual.

ZACH: Uh-huh.
CESAR: Okay?

So point is, is the excitement
is what we need to stop,

not what he's doing.

ANNA: Okay.

CESAR: 'Cause what he's
doing is the outcome of the energy

he's using to do it.

ZACH: Right.
ANNA: Okay.

CESAR: I see
overexcited dogs all the time,

but they rarely eat
razor blades and rocks.

That's not natural.

This is a huge health risk
that I must stop immediately.

Two things are at work here.

ANNA: Hey. Hey.

CESAR: First.
ANNA: Hey.

CESAR: Bear lives in a state
of nonstop over-excitement.

And, Zach and Anna have no
clue how to calm him down.

ANNA: Hey. No eating sticks.
ZACH: Hey.

CESAR: But the other
thing is that Bear has

a really sensitive nose,
especially for a Frenchie.

And because he's
already over-excited,

when he smells something,
he gets even more excited and

wants to eat it.

Second, Anna need to
learn how to calm him down and

stop that excitement.

Then when he's
around stinky, smelly stuff,

they need to claim it so he
knows it's not for him to eat.

If they can learn that,

Bear's dangerous
feeding frenzy will end.

All right. I wanna
jump into helping you guys.

You have four years of this,
so we're gonna end it today.

All right. Let's get Bison.

Bison is a super-balanced
member of my pack and I want you to see

how calm Frenchie behaves.

ANNA: Bison. Oh, oh, oh.

Oh, my God, what a cutie.

ZACH: Yeah.

ANNA: Hey, hey.

ZACH: Whoa!
ANNA: Hey, hey.

ZACH: Whoa, whoa!
CESAR: Okay.

Just keep it right there.

All right.

With that kind of impulse, he
can trigger a fight or a bite.

ANNA: Yes. Yeah.
ZACH: Yeah.

CESAR: When my calm,
balanced Frenchie,

Bison approached,
Bear charged him.

(growling)

As a result of the same
over-excitement that causes

him to eat dangerous
garbage like razor blades.

What Bear needs is someone
to teach him how to calm down,

but Zach and Anna
just don't know how.

ANNA: Get it out.
Get it out. Get it out.

CESAR: Now, I'm gonna
show Anna and Zach how to get

Bear calm and
keep him calm.

Follow me.

It's very simple, but
it remains to be seen

how quickly this
pack will learn.

So for this next thing, see
all of those obstacles there?

ZACH: Yeah.

CESAR: Instead of us
waiting for him to go to it,

we bring him to the object.

That's us claiming the object,

so he knows that
it's ours, not his, okay?

ANNA: Okay, cool.

CESAR: So I'm gonna show
you and then you guys do it.

ZACH: Okay.
ANNA: Okay.

CESAR: Simple.

(sniffing)

So instead of walking
away from the object,

you bring him to
the object, you claim it.

And then his job is to
make the right decision.

Tsch.

Tsch.

So the touch is just to block
his mind from getting excited.

That is the key.

See it?

ZACH: Mm-hmm.

CESAR: And I don't move on
into the next object until

he gets calm surrender.

That's when I
know he's learned.

Tsch.

Away from, tsch, food.

Avoidance, calm surrender.

Ignore object. Look at human.

He needs to finish
the exercise.

ANNA: Okay.
CESAR: Before I move on.

ANNA: It's amazing.

ZACH: Bear is picking
this up very quickly.

It's obviously our fault.

ANNA: So basically, that
means the pressure is on us

to do the right work.

If Bear is behaving so well,
we got to fix ourselves more

than we do him.

CESAR: He's very smart.

I'm very impressed how
quick he gets the point.

Very good. This is incredible.

Here.

If they wanna give you away,
you can come to us.

ANNA: Yeah.
CESAR: Woo!

That's really good, buddy!

It's really good.

Bear is a super-fast learner.

All he really needed was the
right guidance from his human.

ANNA: Wow, buddy.

CESAR: Now, now,
you can give affection.

That's when you
give affection.

ANNA: Okay. Now?
CESAR: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

ANNA: Hi.
ZACH: Good boy.

ANNA: Good boy.
CESAR: Yes.

But Bear's success tells me
the problem is Zach and Anna,

will they learn
as fast as Bear?

Who spends more
time with him?

ANNA: Me.
CESAR: So we'll start with you.

ANNA: I'll try it.
ZACH: I'll watch her first.

CESAR: Yes, yes, yes.

ANNA: Right now I'm
feeling pretty nervous.

I'm thinking there's no way we're
gonna get all the way through this.

At some point, he's gonna
stop me because Bear knows kind of

that he can bully me around,
so I am anticipating that.

CESAR: Bring
him to the object.

Claim it yourself.

There you go.

ZACH: Hmm.

ANNA: And then I remembered what Cesar
said about being calm and confident.

And so I walked into it
with a leash in my hand as calm

and confident as I could.

CESAR: That's good.

He's not even
looking at the object.

You can move on now.

That was perfect. Keep going.

ZACH: I don't know.

I never thought we'd even
see this, to be honest with you.

CESAR: Really?
ZACH: Never.

CESAR: Beautiful.
That was, that was perfect.

You can see this dangerous
problem can potentially have an

easy solution, but it all
depends on the pet parents.

And Anna did great.

She got Bear calm and kept
him there by claiming each object,

so Bear knew it
wasn't his to eat.

ANNA: That was easy.
CESAR: I know.

That's what I'm very
impressed with this guy.

He's...

ANNA: He's a very smart boy.
Like look at him.

CESAR: Your turn.
ZACH: All right. Okay, Bear.

CESAR: Leash all
the way in the top.

Beautiful. All right.

Approach and claim the first
object with calm confidence.

Perfect. Now, the next one.

Not so much
tension on the leash.

ZACH: Mmm.
CESAR: Yeah.

Beautiful. Relax the leash.

There we go.

ZACH: Going
through the gauntlet,

Cesar made a, a
couple of corrections.

But being as
successful as we both were,

gives me a lot of hope that
we can actually do this and...

ANNA: Have a normal dog.
ZACH: Yeah.

CESAR: In order for him not
to be a vacuum anymore, obviously,

you guys have to follow
through with what you learned.

ANNA: Yeah.

CESAR: You can practice the same thing
with the leash inside the house.

It should be easier
because you control

pretty much what's inside.

So by the time your,
your wedding date is, is,

is done, the walk
should not be a problem.

Bear is doing great because
Zach and Anna are doing fantastic.

If they keep working
with him how to stay calm,

Bear will have no problems walking down
the aisle at their wedding.

I think the rings are safe.

Do you like the
information today?

ANNA: Yeah. Definitely.

One of our biggest
dreams is to have Bear as

the ring bearer
in our wedding.

And I think before today, we
never thought in a million years

that would be possible.

But now, I think
it's entirely a reality,

like he could be
the ring bearer.

I feel really good about that.

It's just such a relief to
not see him go after something.

It reaffirms that I don't
think he'll eat a diamond ring.

CESAR: Nice to meet you.
And I can't wait...

ANNA: Nice to meet you.

CESAR: For your wedding
to be amazing and for...

ZACH: Thank you.
CESAR: For my boy...

ANNA: Thank you.
CESAR: To be the ring bearer.

Send me pictures of
the wedding or a video.

ZACH: You got it.

ANNA: Our wedding day
finally came and it was so much fun.

And it was so great
to have Bear with us and

it was just a magical night.

ZACH: Bear was
awesome as the ring bearer.

Our nephew actually got
to walk him down the aisle.

He didn't go after a
single thing down the aisle,

a single person, anything.

ANNA: It worked
out beautifully.

ZACH: Perfect.

NARRATOR: Rick is
joined by Carlos on

a return trip to the DPC.

Two years ago, the
couple's pit bull Harley,

was diagnosed with cancer.

Nine months later,
they added pit bull,

Gigi to the pack
to support Harley.

RICK: Hey, Gigi.

NARRATOR: But Rick's
constant worry and baby-talk.

RICK: I'm right here.

NARRATOR: Fuel
aggression in Gigi.

RICK: No.
CESAR: Wait, wait, wait.

NARRATOR: So Harley
doesn't get the support she needs

as she battles cancer.

RICK: Okay.

CESAR: Good morning.
RICK: Hey, Cesar. How are you?

CESAR: Hola.
RICK: Hey, good to see you.

CESAR: How are you?
RICK: Good.

CARLOS: Hi, Cesar.
CESAR: How are you?

Carlos, nice to meet you.

Last time, Rick and I
talk about how his worry over

Harley's cancer
triggers anxious excitement and

aggression in Gigi.

RICK: I've got to be
able to control my emotions.

Control my feelings.

CESAR: Today, we'll put
the leash and Rick's hands and

give him the tools needed
to lead the pack with quiet,

calm confidence.

I wanna begin just to
see how they come out.

RICK: Do you want both of
them? CESAR: All right.

Let's focus on Gigi.

Her aggression
is why we're here.

RICK: Okay.

CESAR: Just leave
it open like that.

Let me see, Carlos.

Oh, wow. She's shaky.

RICK: Sometimes, um, she
does not wanna come out of the car.

She'll start shaking and stuff.

CESAR: Yeah.
So she's going in a flight mode?

CARLOS: Mm-hmm, mm
-hmm. RICK: Yes.

CESAR: All right. So I
haven't seen that part of her.

I've only seen the fight mode.

I seen aggressive Gigi,
the Gigi that wants to fight.

(growling)

RICK: Come on.

CESAR: So seeing
Gigi in flight is new,

but both responses
are fueled by fear.

And that fear is because
Rick isn't leading her with

calm confidence that lets her know
there is nothing to be afraid of.

Now I'm going to calmly,
confidently but firmly use

the leash to let her know
she needs to exit the car.

She has shut down.

So right now, she's in
a flight avoidance state.

So it might take a little longer,
but she will move.

RICK: Okay.
CARLOS: Okay.

CESAR: Yeah.

CARLOS: When I see Gigi
just, like, freezing like this,

it's just, it breaks my heart.

RICK: When Gigi's like this, I
literally have to go in the car

and carry her out
of the back seat.

What's going on?

This makes me very nervous.

(growling)

CESAR: See that movement?

RICK: Okay.
CESAR: Watch it. Watch yourself.

RICK: Okay.
CESAR: Look.

I just want her to get up,
and then I can stop.

RICK: Mm-hmm.
CARLOS: Mm-hmm.

CESAR: And then she says,
"What does that mean?"

I just want you to relax.
You see what I mean?

RICK: Makes sense.

CESAR: Okay?
CARLOS: Yes.

CESAR: You see it?

RICK: Yeah, she's
right there, she's...

CESAR: Look.
RICK: Yeah.

CESAR: See that?
RICK: She's wagging her tail.

CARLOS: Wow. Yeah.

CESAR: Until now, Gigi has
taken the fear and anxiety that

Rick gives her and
turn it into fight.

(growling)

RICK: No.

CESAR: Today, I see her
turning that anxiety into flight.

Her brain froze up with fear,

but with patient,
calm confidence,

I gently used the leash
to nudge her brain forward,

she unlock and moved
into a calm surrender.

So I turned her fear
into surrender because

that's what I want her to live.

RICK: Mm-hmm.

CESAR: So you want a
calm surrender pit bull.

CARLOS: Right.

CESAR: So now
she's in calm surrender.

So now she will follow my
lead and get out of the car.

Look.

And then she just
comes out on her own.

Make sense?

RICK: It does.
CARLOS: Totally, yes.

RICK: It's an
amazing moment.

I'm proud of her, like,
she can do it.

And it's like now, I want
us to be able to do that too.

CESAR: Your turn.
CARLOS: Okay.

RICK: My turn?
CARLOS: Go for it.

CESAR: Do exactly what I
did, so it's just a repetition.

Keep your energy calm.

Stay silent and
show her what you want.

CARLOS: Yup.
CESAR: That's right.

Calmly walking outside.

(whining)

She's getting anxious again,
but don't allow it.

(whining)

Look. Look over here.

You don't have to look at her.

CARLOS: Mm-hmm.
CESAR: Good. So, here.

When you give her
attention like that,

that's a form of comfort.

Even without words, she
doesn't need your comfort.

She needs your calm.

Don't do this.

RICK: Mm-hmm.
CESAR: Because look.

RICK: Right.
CESAR: She gets tense.

RICK: Yes.

CESAR: So however
you are, she becomes.

RICK: Okay.

CESAR: That's why
I say, unlock yourself.

RICK: Okay.
CESAR: You were locked into it.

CARLOS: Yeah,
you were like that.

RICK: Right.
CESAR: You see it?

So it's literally
relax, it's calm.

RICK: Right.

CESAR: It's clear Rick has a
long way to go before he can

give Gigi the calm
confident energy she needs.

Instead of showering
her with his own anxiety or

unnecessary comfort
when she's fearful.

Let's, let's get Ms,
Ms. Harley out.

CARLOS: Sure. Sure.

She had a treatment, so
she's not feeling very well.

CESAR: Okay.
Well, this is good vacation.

RICK: Yeah.

CESAR: Gigi will
never be the happy,

healthy pack mate that Harley
needs while she goes through

her own health challenges until Rick
develops that calm confidence.

So we're gonna excuse
my girl, so she does,

she can take a little break.

Heather, can you take her?

Just...

HEATHER: Harley.
CESAR: Show her around.

RICK: Thank you.

CESAR: If she needs
to go on the pool.

CARLOS: Come on. Go.
CESAR: There you go.

There you go.
Unlock it. Unlock it.

There you go.

I wanna just keep putting
you into situations where

I can force you to get
back into your calm confident.

RICK: Mm-hmm.

CESAR: So you are going to
lead Gigi along the fence.

But to make it a
little bit harder,

I'm going to bring
out some of my friends.

RICK: Mm-hmm. Okay.
CARLOS: Okay. There we go.

RICK: When I saw
all the animals,

and I know, we're
gonna have to walk by them,

I just know that's
gonna happen.

And I'm already, like,
a little nervous about

how she's going to behave.

CESAR: I will show you first.

You just walk like
this with calm confidence.

CARLOS: Whoa.

CARLOS: That's too close.

RICK: Oh, my God.
She walked right by that goat.

CESAR: I am giving
her calm confidence.

So she's giving me
back calm surrender.

The animals don't bother me,
so they don't bother her.

RICK: Oh, my gosh.

CARLOS: Like
they're not even there.

CESAR: Then we
turn around, just walk back.

That's it.
Look how sweet she looks.

RICK: She, she
looks relaxed.

CARLOS: Yeah. Relaxed.
RICK: I mean, she looks, yeah.

CARLOS: Yeah.

CESAR: So now it
will be your turn, Rick.

But clearly, your
fear is still an issue.

And it could
trigger her aggression.

So we are going
to blindfold you.

RICK: What?
CARLOS: Oh, wow.

RICK: Okay.

CESAR: Yes, uh, I need to
remove some of your senses.

RICK: Okay.

CESAR: Gigi can get nervous
excited if Rick is nervous.

And Rick gets nervous every
time he sees something that

he thinks Gigi will react to.

But if Rick can't see
the potential threat,

he can't react to it.

It should help him stay
in a calm confident state.

And if he can, Gigi
should follow his lead.

So the whole point is to
remove from your brain things

that might get you tense.

RICK: Okay.

CESAR: So you're following
me and she's following you.

RICK: When I'm walking with
her, I'm always try to be alert to

see what's going
on around us.

And that's gonna be
taken away from me.

CESAR: Okay.
Shorten up the leash.

There you go.

RICK: There are numerous
large barn animals that

she has to walk beside and I
have to be able to control her

without seeing
what's going on.

This is a scary thought.

In my head, I'm like, "No way
am I gonna be able to do that."

CESAR: So come a
little bit more this way.

RICK: I'm very nervous
as to what could happen.

CESAR: Ready?
RICK: Yes.

And then this voice in the
back of my head is Cesar telling me,

"Don't think
about possibilities,

just be present
in the moment."

CESAR: Just,
just walk with me.

Just trust me. Trust me.

Come here.

So we're passing by
a goat on your right.

How does it feel?
Is she pulling?

RICK: She's just,
no, not at all.

CESAR: That's right.

Now we're passing by
Amadeus, which is the horse.

How does she feel?

RICK: I don't feel a
tension from her or anything.

CESAR: That's right. You can see, and
you can, you can feel her right here.

RICK: Yeah. She
doesn't feel like...

CESAR: Yeah.
RICK: She's pulling.

I think she's sitting
now maybe?

CESAR: Yeah. Oh, yeah.
She is. Yes, she is.

RICK: Oh, okay.
CESAR: Yes, she is.

RICK: Okay. Is she staring at.
CESAR: No, no, no.

No, she's looking forward.

RICK: She's totally
ignoring the animal?

CESAR: She, that's right.
RICK: Okay.

CESAR: She's, she's ignoring
but also practicing calm surrender,

calm surrender to you.

RICK: Okay.
CESAR: Avoidance to the animal.

RICK: It's a great moment to
be walking and not feeling tension

in the leash knowing what's
on the other side of Gigi.

And I completely understand
why this exercise is happening.

If I'm seeing the animals,
I'm gonna feel that and

then Gigi's gonna feel that.

So the fact that I can't
see anything that's going on,

she's in a sense
walking blind as well.

CESAR: Now you are
going to do it yourself.

Okay. Same energy.

RICK: Okay.

CESAR: Peaceful.
CARLOS: Just wonderful.

Yeah. Look at this.

CESAR: Peaceful.
So why can she do it?

Because her true
nature is this.

You want the best of,
out of animals, be your best.

Be your calm confident,
love and joy.

Now we see that Gigi is exactly
the kind of dog Rick and Carlos thought,

they were getting
to help support Harley

going through chemotherapy.

RICK: The, the fact that
Harley is going through chemo...

CESAR: Yeah.

RICK: Sometimes, we feel
like Gigi is too much for her.

CESAR: Yeah, yeah.

RICK: Uh, the
excitement level will go up.

Harley wants to relax.

CESAR: Yeah.
RICK: And Gigi wants to play.

She doesn't seem to
know what's going on.

CESAR: Because she doesn't
know that you also want calmness.

'Cause you saw
that it's not her.

RICK: Yeah.
CESAR: Now you see clearly.

RICK: It's possible.
CARLOS: Yeah, now we can see it.

Yes.

CESAR: With Gigi calm,
she'll be able to give Harley

the calm support
Harley needs.

RICK: I'm learning more from
Cesar about how much more Gigi

can do to try to help
in Harley's situation.

We've always kind
of feared the unknown.

So, learning today, like how
important it is to have that

calmness and confident
level to keep Harley healthy,

just really gives us more
confidence and validates one of

the reasons we actually
brought Gigi into our family

in the very first place.

CESAR: This just
became bigger picture.

This is about us, all
of us together being our

very best energy for Harley.

So her healing gets better.

We don't give the bad energy.

RICK: Right, right.
CESAR: You know what I mean?

So let's focus on that.

I think the homework
is just the walks,

keeping calm yourself
and keeping Gigi calm.

Good to have you. Gracias.

CARLOS: Thank you,
Cesar. Gracias.

CESAR: My friend, thank
you so much, and please...

RICK: Yes.

CESAR: Calm confident,
love and joy.

RICK: We will. We will.
CESAR: All right.

CARLOS: Gracias.
RICK: Thank you, Cesar.

NARRATOR: One week later,

Rick and Carlos meet
Cesar in a local park.

After two days of work at the
DPC on Rick's nervous energy,

which fuels Gigi's
excited aggression,

Cesar wants to put the
pack to the test in public.

CESAR: All right.
I'm just gonna watch.

Let's get them out.

Carlos, look at Carlos.

Very serious. I like it.

RICK: You're not
gonna jump, come here girl.

CESAR: Good teamwork!
That's great!

CARLOS: Come on.

CESAR: This case
is very special to my heart.

My favorite dog, Daddy,
had cancer just like Harley.

And his pack mate, Junior
helped him through his illness.

They've both since then
passed away but I've seen

the healing power
of a supported pack.

A happy Gigi will be able to
give Harley the healthy support

she needs during
her cancer treatment.

So it's extra important that we
get Rick's energy cleaned up and

stop his baby-talk
at the wrong times.

How's the homework?

RICK: The hardest homework
assignment was walking the dogs.

The leashes that
we're using now,

the Halti, works a lot better.

(growls)

Sorry.

I feel like we've
made some improvements.

We've moved the
needle a little bit.

CARLOS: Yeah.

Nothing has been perfect.

I'm just a little bit scared
that we haven't done enough.

CESAR: Thank you for
doing your homework.

RICK: Thank you.
CARLOS: Thank you.

CESAR: Sounds like you
still have some doubts.

So let's see how you do
in your final challenge.

Follow me.

RICK: Okay. Let's do it.
CARLOS: Okay. Let's go.

CESAR: Let's go.

Pit bulls' in the house.

(laughter)

Rick has done a ton of
work to bring his nervous,

worry energy under control so
he can lead with calm confidence.

On day one, I saw how he
was passing his worry to Gigi.

RICK: Hey, Gigi.

CESAR: Which was
leading to total chaos.

RICK: No.
CESAR: Holy crap.

Rick has made a lot
of gain in his energy,

but now, for the first time,

we're going to
test him in public.

And I brought along
some distractions.

The final challenge is gonna be walking
with Gigi through the gantlet of dogs.

Simple as that.

RICK: Yeah.

CESAR: Yeah, okay.
RICK: I can do it.

CESAR: Carlos, you and I
will stay here with Harley.

And Rick, you
will do your thing.

CARLOS: Breathe.
Take a deep breath.

CESAR: Yes.
RICK: Okay.

(exhales)

I know I need to take a
deep breath 'cause right now,

I'm feeling a little bit
of anxiety in all honesty.

(exhales)

RICK: I wanna be able to
show Cesar that Gigi and I, like,

that we've made
some improvement.

Make him proud that
he's been working with us.

CARLOS: We are worried
about Harley's health.

I think cancer,
that is affecting her.

Part of it is
fixing this behavior.

You know, that you
provide a healthy environment

for Harley at home.

RICK: Ready?
CESAR: Let's do it.

Oh, look how
happy she looks.

CARLOS: I know.
CESAR: What?

(laughter)

CARLOS: Look at that.
CESAR: Even me was amazed with.

CARLOS: I know.
She's like a different dog.

Look at that. The energy.

Her tail is up, you know?

She doesn't care about the...

CESAR: Not at all.
CARLOS: Six dogs around her.

CESAR: What? What?

CARLOS: I know.

CESAR: I am stunned at the
transformation that Rick and

Gigi had made in
just a few weeks.

Literally stunned.

Rick is walking
with calm confidence.

Gigi is responding
with calm surrender.

And it feels like she's a
completely different dog.

Oh, my God!

She is so into you.

CARLOS: Look at that.

CESAR: And she's
so happy about that.

RICK: It's like a different dog.
CESAR: She's, she has a glow.

RICK: She's getting excited
now. CESAR: She, that's right.

Come back home.

RICK: That was amazing.

CESAR: No. Amazing, no.
Like a miracle.

RICK: Walking through
the gantlet with Gigi,

I am feeling proud,
proud of her, confident.

And it felt like I was in
control of the situation when

so many times I haven't been.

Seeing the dogs and
just telling myself,

"Nothing's gonna happen,
nothing's going to happen,"

and just looking straight
ahead and knowing where I was going,

and sometimes it felt
like she wasn't even there.

Learning how important it
is to control my feelings and

emotions and
excitement level that I think

has been my
biggest takeaway.

And because Harley has
fought so hard for the past two years

to beat cancer and part of
that learning for both of us is how

to work with Gigi to keep
Harley around a lot longer.

CESAR: All right.

So now we're
gonna move the pack.

Just gonna go in
motions around the cone.

I'm just simulating a
neighborhood walk because

neighbors' dogs don't stay
still while you're walking.

RICK: Okay.
CESAR: Okay?

RICK: All right.
CESAR: Same thing.

Same, same frame
of mind, Rick.

RICK: Ready? Okay.

CESAR: I miss my pit bull.

I'm getting my pit bull a fix.

Look it, see? Look at that.

That's fantastic.
Beyond. Beyond.

CARLOS: I know.

CESAR: Like, I'm not
even paying attention to you.

I'm in, I'm actually rewarding
myself by petting your dog.

CARLOS: She's just so
happy. RICK: I know. It was great.

See? Okay. Reward now?

CESAR: Reward.
Reward. Reward. Reward.

CARLOS: Hello. Hello.
CESAR: Reward. Reward.

RICK: Yeah.
CESAR: Reward. Reward.

(overlapping chatter)

CARLOS: It feels really good.

I just wanna say
this feels really good.

And all this time,
all this work, it's,

it's just paying off.

RICK: Mm-hmm.

CESAR: I just, I just,
it's just kicked right now,

you know, it just
hit me right now.

How our stories
are the same and, um,

sorry about the tears and...

CARLOS: Now you
get me emotional too.

CESAR: Yeah.

I remember my boys,
Daddy and Junior.

Somebody had to
take over and represent.

And the girls, they want
some girl time right now.

RICK: Yeah.
The update on Harley's.

CESAR: Yeah.

RICK: So she has her last chemo treatment
next week which will be good.

CESAR:
Congratulations, Harley.

RICK: She's still in remission
and we're gonna try to keep her

there as long as possible.

CESAR: What a dog
represents is that we're all capable to

heal each other, help
each other, love each other,

bring hope to each other.

And so that's what
this episode is all about.

I brought hope to your family,

and then we're keeping
the hope back into the world.

CARLOS: Thank you so
much. RICK: Thank you.

CESAR: My pleasure.
CARLOS: Thank you. Thank you.

CESAR: Let's hug it out.
Thank you.

CARLOS: Thank you, Cesar.
RICK: Thank you so much.

CESAR: Thank you so much,
man. Appreciate it.

RICK: Thank you. Thank you.
CESAR: Thank you. Thank you.

Appreciate it.

RICK: They thank you too.
CESAR: Woo!

This is a really
special case for me,

not just because Harley and
Gigi remind me of Daddy and Junior,

but because it's clear
that Rick and Carlos love dogs

as much as I do.

When I first met Rick,
he was full of fear,

but he put in the work to get
better because he wants Gigi and

Harley to be as happy
and healthy as they can be.

And that is the mark of
the best kind of pet parent.

I want this episode to be
dedicated to Daddy and Junior

because they're
not longer here.

You can feel the spirit
of dogs that passed away.

They never die, in your heart.

Pit bulls get a bad rep.

And it's not the breed.

Daddy made a big
impact in the world.

Junior made a big
impact in the world.

And I miss 'em a lot.

(sighs)

So I want this episode
to be dedicated to them.