02x03 - Frozen in Fear

[bunniefuu]

CESAR: When I started my journey

and people start calling me
the, "Dog Whisperer,"

the only thing
I wanted to do is to teach

people that there's no such
a thing as a bad dog.

FEMALE VOICE: Oh, my gosh.

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

Today, I'm still doing what I love,

but the world has changed.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

CESAR: Record dog adoptions have
made many packs complete.

But now, more than ever,
people and dogs...

-(BARKING AND SNARLING)
-...still need help.

-We can't live like this.
-MALE VOICE: Yeah.

-The problem is me.
-MALE VOICE: What do I do?

CESAR: More pooches,
more problems, right?

He needs rehab like ASAP.

So many things
you can fix already.

-Sorry, sorry.
-CESAR: Ignore the excitement.

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

-Do you know who I am?
-(CHUCKLING) 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 CHEER)

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

one pack at a time.

(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)

CESAR: Today I'm working
with a pair of ballroom dancers

with the dog they say
is terrified of everything.

Now that the pandemic is slowing,
they'll be traveling for work again.

But there's no way
they can bring the dog along

in their fearful present state.

So, I'm on my way to help them out.

(UPBEAT MUSIC FADES)

-I'm Valeria.
-I'm Oreste Alitto.

We are married four years, and we are
professional ballroom dancers.

(CROWD CHEER)

We wanted to adopt.

We are searching
particular for a small dog

because we knew that we are
gonna travel for our careers,

you know, for our dancing,
and we really wanted to have

a furry friend with us.

We went to a place close by,

very first dog
that got our interest was Zoe.

VALERIA: She was like sitting
in her little bed

with those eyes so sweet,

and that's the moment
that we kind of understood both

that that's gonna be
probably our dog.

-(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)
-VALERIA: Zoe is a mixed breed

between Chihuahua and Italian Greyhound.

ORESTE: I love the fact
that she's Italian Greyhound

because I'm Italian, so of course
there's a little bit of pride in it.

-But she was surrendered several times.
-(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)

So we decided that we had
to interrupt this chain of...

-This chain of...
-Of surrendering.

There was a big paper on her crate,

with written, "Approach carefully,"

because this dog is very sensitive.

(BARKING)

-She also barks at the big dogs.
-(BARKING)

I'm pretty sure that if, God forbid,
that the leash breaks or something,

she would attack the dog.
And because she's so tiny and delicate,

she would, most likely,
be the defeated one.

-Zoe makes this, uh, these screams.
-(SQUEALS)

Imagine you have a person
and you have a knife.

(YELPING LOUDLY)

That's the kind
of scream that...

-Yeah.
-...that you hear from Zoe.

-(SQUEALS)
-I have been bitten before.

The biting situation
would be like a warning.

It's, "Stop. I'm getting uncomfortable."

ORESTE: Come here. Come here.

VALERIA: Because the dog is very scared,

we're trying to kind
of be gentle with her.

-ORESTE: It's okay, Zoe.
-(BARKS)

Typical day of Zoe,
97% of the time in her bed.

VALERIA: She wouldn't dare
to come out from her bed

even like to eat or drink.

So we put a bowl, food,
and water close to her bed.

I think it's not a healthy situation.

Staying all the time at home
is just not normal for a dog.

Come, Zoe.

If Cesar is able to help Zoe,
we would finally be able

to have her with us while working.

This would
completely change our lives.

(BARKING)

ORESTE: The main reason we need
Cesar is because we are scared

that Zoe's fear is going
to get her hurt or sick.

Not eating and picking fights
with other dogs.

Her physical health is in danger.

I have this clear feeling
that she's just surviving,

like she's in prison,
an emotional kind of prison.

We just really want her
to be happy in her life

and make her feel free
and not scared,

and to understand that we love her

and that we want
to just be a family.

(DOG BARKING)

CESAR: I am in Laguna Hills.

I asked Oreste and Valeria
to meet here at this park

with their dog Zoe to assess
and evaluate the problem.

(BARKING)

Ooh. Ooh. Wow.

(BARKING AND SNARLING)

Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo!

Can't go after big dogs like that.

CESAR: The first thing
that is obvious is that Zoe

is launching at every dog
she sees, even the big ones.

That is going to get her hurt.

Zoe.

-(BARKING CONTINUES)
-CESAR: Wow. Wow.

Hey, guys, listen,
the body posture is good.

(BOTH CHUCKLE)

Obviously,
be careful, be careful.

Because he's promote...
he's provoking fights.

-ORESTE: Yes.
-VALERIA: Yeah.

CESAR: But, you know,
when you have a little dog,

you don't want your
little dog to instigate fights.

-BOTH: Yeah.
-The little dog is gonna lose.

-Yeah.
-Yes.

CESAR: Zoe's bark
isn't aggressive, it's fearful.

That bark is saying,
"Stay away from me."

Not just to the passing dogs,
but the whole world.

The other dogs are gone,
but her fear hasn't gone anywhere.

Come here.

-(BARKING)
-Oh, yeah. (HUSHES)

Hey. (HUSHES)

(HUSES) Hey. (HUSHES)

(HUSHES)

ORESTE: I'm already
so impressed about this.

-(CHEERFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
-VALERIA: Wow.

ORESTE: When Cesar took the leash,

I was immediately impressed
just by the fact that Zoe

was okay with another person
having the leash.

Then, she also sit next to him.
It's pretty impressive.

We are not able to...
to even get to this kind of state.

-Yeah.
-Uh, I mean, this never happens.

Even when we are
in like cozy situation at home,

she still is in an alert sort of state...

-Yeah, always nervous. She's always there.
-Always nervous, and I would say scared.

CESAR: All right, so now
that I see her behavior outside,

we'd like to see it inside.
Come on, let's go.

-Okay. Let's go, Zoe.
-Let's go.

A lot of dogs get scared
outside around unfamiliar dogs.

But a dog terrified inside
her own home is very unusual.

I want them all to go
inside and get Zoe comfortable,

and then I'll knock
on the door to see her reaction.

(BARKING)

ORESTE: Hello. Welcome.

-Thank you.
-(ORESTE CHUCKLES)

-So this happens all the time?
-VALERIA: Yes.

ORESTE: When someone
knocked the door, yes.

-CESAR: Let's go inside.
-Please, yes.

-CESAR: Whoa, she's still wound up.
-(BARKING)

CESAR: Look at that, she's shaking.

ORESTE: In a normal situation,

just family at home
and no one else is here,

she would just stay in her...

-In the bed.
-...in her bed.

And even when she wants to eat,

you can tell that she's so scared
to even go.

VALERIA: She doesn't wanna get
out from the bed.

ORESTE: So she never really enjoy...

-VALERIA: No.
-...even eating or drinking, you know.

My biggest concern
would be how skinny she is.

CESAR: The fact that Zoe doesn't even want

to leave her bed
to eat is very concerning.

Eating is a survival instinct.

We try to interact with her, to call her,

even just to invite her
on the couch, she wouldn't come.

VALERIA: I'm all the time being careful

-with how I'm touching her...
-(YELPS)

What I'm doing to her, that's it.
(CHUCKLES)

Yes. Because this
can happen just randomly.

And, just like right now, scares me.

-I didn't even touch her.
-No, no, yeah.

Yeah, that's not normal.

You're not a stranger,
you're her pet parent, you know?

Like, I'm always alert

and we are always alert with her,
you know.

CESAR: I understand why they are on alert.

This is one of the worst cases
I had ever seen.

Zoe is a dog that sees everything
as a life or death threat.

Out in public, her fear leads
her to lash out at bigger dogs,

provoking fights that
could get her hurt or k*lled.

At home, she hides in her bed,
afraid to move or even eat.

That's because extreme fear
floods a dog's body

with stress hormones
that suppresses appetite.

Those hormones
also upset the immune system,

which can make her sick
and raise blood pressure,

leading to heart disease.

Her fear is literally
putting her life at risk.

This dog was adopted
and given up three times

before Oreste
and Valeria adopted her.

I have to make sure
this is her forever home.

And even though
her pet parents love her,

all I can really tell about them

is they have no clue how to help her.

Zoe needs radical intervention.

At this point, you need
professional help to help a dog

that is practically petrified.

Have you seen it
when a tree becomes a rock?

-ORESTE: Mm-hmm, yeah.
-CESAR: That's exactly it.

-She became an element. Right?
-ORESTE: Petrified. Yes.

-VALERIA: Oh.
-CESAR: So we have to send her

-back into the animal.
-(YELPS)

This is what I'm proposing.
I'm proposing for her to come

and stay with us
for two weeks minimum

at my Dog Psychology Center.

Uh, so she can reconnect,
just to live a... a dog life.

-ORESTE: Dog life.
-(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)

-ORESTE: I did feel that...
-VALERIA: Yeah.

...she was an extreme case,

but I'm so happy that Cesar
noticed right away

because that confirmed

-what we were guessing.
-VALERIA: Yeah.

In a way we were relieved
because we are going somewhere.

Now someone is finally
stating that there is a problem.

Zoe,

-you're going with the pack.
-(VALERIA CHUCKLES)

-ORESTE: Oh.
-CESAR: Yes.

CESAR: I worked
with thousands of scared dogs,

but this is the first time
I ever worked with a dog

who's petrified with terror.

This is a very rare case
and I cannot wait to begin.

-Ciao.
-Thank you, Cesar.

-Thank you.
-CESAR: Let's go, Miss Zoe.

Ready lady?

NARRATOR: Before they head to the DPC,

Cesar feels Zoe requires
immediate intervention

to unlock her petrified body.

She pretty much
gets panicked by everything.

-If I grab the bed, see?
-(YELPS)

If I get close to her, she's terrified.
Beyond that, and then she gets stuck.

What I know that I need to do,
instinctually, is put her in the water

so she can get softened up by the water.

My goal with this exercise
is to transform

this petrified rock back into a dog again.

My instincts tell me that
if I can take her into the pool,

-she will go into survival mode.
-(YELPS)

And while she's focused on swimming,

I will gradually be able
to get her comfortable

with my touch.

There you go.

If I can touch her,
it will be a huge first step

in her establishing
a new connection with the world

she's so afraid of.

You know I'm gonna save
your life, right? Come on.

-We're about to go in the water.
-(YELPS)

She's gonna yelp like crazy
when I pick her up

because she yelps
at pretty much everything,

but she won't be in any pain
and I'll make sure

she's never in danger.

(DRAMATIC MUISC PLAYING)

We might get bitten, but this
is what it takes sometimes.

Okay, Zoe, time for a swim.

(YELPING)

-(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
-(YELPING)

CESAR: We got to go into the water.

I've never worked with a dog like Zoe.

She's so petrified with fear,
she can't even move

and is afraid of being touched
by anyone, even her pet parents.

This is an extremely rare case,

and I am working entirely
by instincts here.

But I sense that putting her in the water
will throw her into survival mode.

And while she's focused on swimming,

I can slowly get her comfortable
with my touch.

I'll make sure she's never in danger.

Survival kicked in which is good.
We're moving.

That's what we want. Move, move, move.

It's better than being like a rock.

Oh, finally.

Okay, she started to trust me,
but she's still stressed.

Look. See?
Now she's not trying to escape.

She's focusing on staying afloat.

I can begin to touch her.

This is my work
right here, me touching.

This is good.
She's starting to rely on me.

-(TENSE MUSIC FADES)
-Just by holding. It's working.

(CHEERFUL MUSIC PLAYING)

CESAR: Before, I couldn't even
touch her without yelping

and trying to bite me.

I'm just going to put my hand
on her chest and massage her.

This is gonna do two things,
it's gonna help her relax

and its gonna help her
build trust with me.

We're gonna help you, okay?

Yeah.

-(YELPS)
-(HUSHES) There.

Hey, that's not an option. Relax.

Look at that.

That's good.

Being afraid of a dog that is afraid
is the worst thing people can do.

If you get afraid
when they respond with fear

and then you just...

you just become part
of this kind of ball of fear.

Yeah, this is what I'm looking for.

Look at the eyes. Look at... look.
She's about to go to sleep. Look.

This is surrender.

This is a huge moment.

A few minutes ago, I couldn't touch Zoe

-without her biting me or squirming away.
-(YELPING)

CESAR: Now she's letting me
cradle her with total calm.

This is a big first step.

So this is really good.

Don't you think? Hmm.
We have a good beginning,

and now we get to work on the land.

(SIGHS) So worth it.

Okay, let's get the pack.

Now that I have her
in a calm, surrender state,

I want to introduce her
into my own pack of dogs.

These dogs will be her role models
during her stay at the ranch.

-(GROWLS)
-CESAR: So there's the growling.

-(DOGS GROWLING)
-This is avoidance.

They're not gonna nurture her...
her insecurities.

Look, give her personal space.

Right. Very respectful.

This is why this pack is the A-Team!

But this is your new family.
Let's go to the ranch.

Let's go. Let's continue your growth.

CESAR: Zoe wants nothing to do
with my pack right now,

but my pack is not going
to nurture that insecurity.

We got this petrified dog moving again.

It's time to show her
her new home for the next few weeks.

Ooh-wee! Don't tell me
we're not progressing.

NARRATOR: Over the next week,

Cesar works with Zoe
at his Dog Psychology Center.

CESAR: It's been a few days
since she arrived,

but she's still reverting back
to that petrified state too much.

It's literally two step forward,
three steps back,

sometimes she let me
touch her, sometimes not.

A dog's supposed to play
with you when you roll him over.

I rehabilitated many aggressive dogs,

but this is a petrified case.

Her fear is still suppressing
her appetite and she barely eats.

Zoe.

She's my toughest case in years,

and I'm still figuring out
how to get through to her.

So today, I'm putting
her back into the deep end.

I'm going to use my pack
to completely push her out

of her comfort zone.

We've seen how aggressive
she gets around new dogs,

so this is going to be a delicate work.

All right, let's get the pack.

Come on, get in the pack.

And we're gonna make
it so she can't run away.

No fear allowed.

Tssch, tssch, tssch.

We're gonna turn around here.

Come on. Come on, guys.
She needs to stay in the pack.

She wants to get out.

-(YELPS)
-CESAR: Tssch!

She's literally trying
to avoid the other dogs.

But I won't let her. Tssch!

-(YELPS)
-CESAR: Tssch!

Bison, help your girl.

There is always one dog
in my pack that steps up

when I need it.

And in this case
is my French Bulldog, Bison.

Come on, guys, keep her inside.

Tell her
to go back into the pack.

Here we go.

Good boy, Bison.
See? He used his body

to tell her to calm down
and get in the pack.

No, not there.
I want you in the pack.

Yes. Yes. Right there.

Her fearful avoidance
is starting to melt away

and she's finally walking
inside the pack.

Right there.

The pack's infectious
happy-go-lucky energy

is getting through to her.

Yes.

And that is the power
of the pack.

This is a major breakthrough.

But if I stop for one second.

All right.

She could slip right back
into her terrified mindset.

This is really good.

Tssch, tssch, tssch, tssch, hey,
tssch, tssch, tssch, tssch.

Actually, I think there
is something else going on here.

She keeps hiding the tail,
it's all in the tail.

So that's what
she's going after, she bites it.

Just like when people
bite their nails,

they're releasing
their nervousness or their fear

on some part of their body
and it start causing pain.

So those are all stress-related.

She's directing a lot of this
anxiety into biting her tail

and is looking scarred,
maybe even infected.

I need to get Zoe in front
of a vet to take a look at this.

You're about to meet
my best friend.

How are you? Good to see you.

-Good to see you, brother.
-How've you been?

The worst for her is her tail,
especially the tip of the tail.

Look, she doesn't have
any skin here.

-RICK: Yeah.
-CESAR: Any, any fur. It's red.

RICK: Oh, I see a red,
red sore right there.

CESAR: Yeah. It gets worse.

It's okay, sweetheart.
It's all right.

CESAR: As soon as the tail
would start touching

the skin like that,
she would start screaming.

RICK: It would hurt her.

Yeah, and she turns around
and bites the tail where.

And bites the tail.

It looks like this is your
typical bacterial infection.

And unfortunately,
that's a complex problem.

We need to put
her on an antibiotic.

This requires antibiotics?

The redness on the tip
of the tail, yeah.

If the tail is infected,
that explains why

she's protecting it.

She's terrified
that someone will touch it

which just causes more anxiety.

Hopefully, if we can eliminate
her physical pain,

that will ease some
of her mental pain.

So this is an antibiotic
that lasts seven days, okay?

-That's great.
-So we're gonna give this one...

BOTH: Two, three.

RICK: That's it.
That's it. We're done.

-CESAR: Appreciate it. Okay.
-Yeah.

RICK: All right,
have a good day, Cesar.

-CESAR: Bye.
-RICK: Bye.

CESAR: I can't wait.

NARRATOR:
After a week of training,

Cesar invites Oreste and Valeria
to the ranch to continue work.

-CESAR: How are you?
-Good to see you. I'm good.

-Good to see you.
-Good to see you.

-Where's Valeria?
-There are some news.

-CESAR: Okay.
-She cannot be with us today,

unfortunately.

She got a very nice job
but on the East Coast.

She's very sorry to not be here.

CESAR: Okay.

Valeria had to travel
across the country

for this job opportunity
that she got.

So Zoe is gonna stay here
with me.

I will have to take care
of her myself.

I always turn bad things
into good things,

just to like, keep going in life.

-Right.
-CESAR: The good news for him

is that she made
a lot of progress.

He's about
to experience Zoe's rebirth.

It will be like he's meeting
his dog for the first time.

I don't want you to
experience her with your eyes.

I want you to wear
this bandana on your eyes.

Okay.

This is a big moment
for them, especially for Zoe.

So I have a super special way
for them to reunite.

By covering his eyes,

Oreste won't be able
to overreact to Zoe's approach.

And she'll rediscover him
as a calm confident pack leader.

But if she senses fear or worry,

the dog will regress back
to her petrified state.

What I want for her
is just to do this.

-Okay, okay and then be.
-Right?

You're not gonna be able to
see that, because if you see it,

-you're gonna do this.
-Yes, yes.

I don't want you to stop her
from the surprise.

Part of me,
I hope and trust Cesar so much,

but the other side of me
saw how Zoe was all this time

in real trouble that the fear
that this wouldn't work

is pretty high.

I really don't know
what to expect.

CESAR: Ready?
I'll be right back, brother.

Now is the moment
where all my work with her

can be undone in an instant.

Just stay calm, stay confident.

Breathe, Oreste.

CESAR: There we go, there we go.

I've seen every kind
of dog problem

in my 30 years of doing this,

but Zoe is the first dog

I ever seen
who's petrified with fear.

She's a very rare case,

and I have to handle her
with extreme care

over a week of work together.

Now, her pet parent Oreste
will finally meet the real Zoe

that has been locked
inside that petrified shell.

And his blindfold will hopefully
keep him from feeding

any worry or fear to the dog.

Perfect. That's perfect.

Even though I couldn't see her,
I could feel Zoe

being happy and excited to see me,
recognizing me.

CESAR: She can't believe
you're here, she can't believe.

This was like
such an amazing feeling.

It's the first
time she kisses me.

-Never happened before.
-CESAR: Yeah.

ORESTE: I missed
you so much, baby.

When she jumped on
me and she kissed me,

and this was such a surprise

because she
never ever kissed me before.

And on my knowledge,
never kissed anyone before.

There was no fear,
no hesitation,

just this wonderful feeling
of being reunited again.

Oh. Ciao, amore mio.
Ciao, amore.

This reintroduction
couldn't have gone better.

Zoe rediscovered her owner

without his own anxiety
influencing her.

That allows her
to stay calm which is definitely

not what I saw the last time
they were together.

When you meet a puppy
for the first time and he

doesn't know you, that's exactly
what they will do.

Yes, but Zoe never,
with us never happened

because she was already
in this stage.

-That's right.
-And so I see.

I can feel she
wants to be with me.

The last time I saw her,
almost like, you know,

I have to force her
kind of to be with me.

(BOTH LAUGH)

Which is so sad.

-Yeah, it sounds very sad.
-Yeah.

I know how important
it is to Oreste and Valeria

to be able to bring Zoe
to work with them.

Today, we're gonna start to make
that dream a possibility.

It's a little bit
hard to imagine her, you know,

traveling with me,
even just bringing her

to the studio
seems to be like very difficult.

-CESAR: Yeah.
-But that's, I guess,

-what I wish, is that.
-CESAR: Right. Right.

Eventually I'll be able
to just bring her with me.

Well, we gotta go back
to the beginning, you know,

when you first learn how
to lead your dance partner,

that's what you need
to learn to do with Zoe.

Oreste has been sheltering Zoe

by letting her hide
in her bed all day.

Now they're able to be
together without fear.

So Zoe will be more open
to follow in Oreste's lead.

This exercise will give him
the tools to do that.

This is the agility area,
dogs learn with their handler.

-Nice.
-So just like

what you're doing in the
ballroom or the dancing,

you're a leading man, right?

-So same thing...
-Yes.

...you're gonna do
right now with the leash.

-I'll show you then.
-Yes.

CESAR: You're gonna guide Zoe

to go through
all these obstacles.

-Okay.
-CESAR: See?

As soon as she's doing it
on her own, I relax the tension.

Look. If she stops,

I remind her
to keep moving forward.

Look, then she goes.

As soon as they do it on
their own, you let them do it.

-ORESTE: Continue, I see.
-CESAR: It's only

when they need the help.

-Right there.
-ORESTE: Oh, amazing.

CESAR: Good girl.
Then you bring it up.

Okay, okay.

By going through obstacles
that they didn't wanna do

but you make them do it,
you create trust and confidence.

I see, okay, let's try.

Yeah, somewhat like
you're dancing, this is your...

-My, my floor, yeah.
-The floor. The floor.

-My ballroom.
-Ladies and gentlemen,

Zoe and Oreste.

-ORESTE: Let's go, let's go.
-CESAR: Yes.

ORESTE: All right.
Let's do our dance, Zoe.

Let's go, okay.

Mm-hmm, good job,
good job on the leash.

ORESTE: Oh, my goodness.

CESAR: You have no idea
how proud I am.

You're doing great.

I was surprised
to find myself able to lead her.

Oh, yeah, I can't believe
this is actually happening.

CESAR: (CHUCKLES) Right?

ORESTE: And she
letting me do it.

She's not screaming.
She is not biting her tail.

This is really amazing.

All this time I was so tensed
to do it but for nothing.

Now, you're gonna make
your touch a reward

where before your touch
was pain.

Yes, okay, so we create
a new association in her brain.

-Rebirth.
-ORESTE: Rebirth.

All right.

(CLAPPING)

Oh, my gosh, Cesar,
I can't believe it.

-Right?
-ORESTE: That's amazing.

CESAR: That
gives them confidence.

So you're grabbing a dog when
they're in a confident state.

You are the leading man, okay?

So that position
is always yours.

This is just what
Oreste and Zoe needed.

He is learning to lead
this dance and she is learning

to follow and trust him.

We got a new dog
and a new pet parent.

Just like dancing,
at the moment...

-Right.
-...their energy changes.

-ORESTE: Yes.
-The communication

-is not gonna be right.
-ORESTE: It's off. Right, right.

Great, do you
wanna try your hand off now?

-ORESTE: Okay.
-CESAR: Pass her to me.

-ORESTE: Okay, here.
-(YELPS)

-CESAR: So not like that.
-(YELPING)

ORESTE: Oh, my goodness.

CESAR: Wait, wait, wait, wait,
wait, wait, wait, wait.

Don't feel sorry about that

because it doesn't help
to feel sorry.

-Right.
-CESAR: Okay.

A week ago, Zoe was literally
petrified with fear.

She was the most fearful dog
I have ever seen.

Our work has seen
some big improvements,

but all of that
goes away in an instant

when Oreste
starts overprotecting her again.

ORESTE: Oh, my goodness.

So you are pretty much
overprotecting her?

ORESTE: Yes, and instead...

And instead of saying,
"I trust you. Here..."

ORESTE: I don't know, yes.

-"Take care of my dog."
-ORESTE: Got it

Okay.

-CESAR: Yeah.
-ORESTE: More, okay.

-Yeah.
-There you go.

I realized that I was doing
something absolutely wrong

that I didn't even know
was wrong.

Somehow I was relating to Zoe as
I would relate to any person in,

that is in a difficult stage
of life, so I was sad

a little bit for her
and trying to give comfort.

Then I realized that I
was making the situation

with Zoe even worse.

CESAR: This setback
with how Oreste handled Zoe

makes it clear
he needs to understand

her pain isn't just mental.

It's also physical.

This is to continue
with her rehab.

So I took her to the vet
and the tail was infected.

He gave her
a shot of antibiotics.

ORESTE: I figured
there was something there.

She used to bite it
until like bleeding hard.

Then of course I
couldn't even go and heal it

because as
soon as I go close to it,

-forget about it.
-CESAR: Right.

And if a human
actually responds afraid,

then she also becomes afraid of
the human who's trying to help.

-Creates this circle of...
-CESAR: That's right.

Do we have the spray?
Give it to my friend.

We found something
that actually soothes her tail.

-Go for it.
-ORESTE: Spray on it?

Yeah.
Because it gets red sometimes.

-ORESTE: Yes.
-See, then I come and touch,

and then she goes used to it.

-ORESTE: Good job, baby.
-CESAR: That's it, no cry.

-ORESTE: Yeah.
-CESAR: And so,

my calm confidence
stops the mind.

This stops
the itching of the skin.

Science, instinct...

-ORESTE: Instinct, yes.
-...work together.

Right.

Do you think we are ready

to get home together
or what do you think?

She's not ready to go home.

Her regression just now showed
that there's more work to do

and there is one more big
issue she and I need to tackle.

Okay, I, I understand.

I mean, I will miss her
but I'm, I'm happy

-that she's here with you.
-CESAR: One more week.

One more week
and you guys are back together.

ORESTE: Thank you.

My advice, is just remember
what you need to do,

how you need to guide,
how you need to hold her,

how you need to greet her.

All of that,
repeat it in your mind.

So whatever you felt
in the past,

you already did
it for two years.

You did it, doesn't work.

This is the way it works.

Bye-bye, see you next week.
(SMOOCHES)

You're in good hands
with Uncle Cesar.

Yeah,
let's put her on the floor.

All right.

CESAR: Tell Valeria I
can wait for her to get...

-ORESTE: I will, of course.
-CESAR: ...the news, let's go.

ORESTE: The last few years
have been really tough.

I felt absolutely helpless
with Zoe.

I didn't know how to help her,

how to make her
feel less scared,

but I just wanted
to be there for her.

Today for the first time,

I feel really
connected with Zoe.

Uh, I feel we are having
the kind of relationship

that I always wanted
to have with her.

-Thank you, Cesar.
-All right, brother.

ORESTE: Now I need to step up
and be the leader of this dance.

CESAR: One more week.

Zoe's been one of the hardest
cases I have ever faced.

But all the work
is starting to pay off.

Even her tail
is healing after the vet visit.

But there is one more area
where she's still petrified,

feeding time.

She'll nibble a little if she's
in bed but the second she's out

of that comfort zone,
she won't eat a bite.

This is because at home,
Oreste and Valeria

nurtured her fear
by bringing her food to her bed.

I need to reconnect her
to her feeding instincts.

To do that, I'm going
to use her most powerful sense.

You entice the nose.

She gets stuck.

I know she's hungry
because she's been working

a lot today, so.

She needs to learn
to come to her food,

not to expect her
food to come to her.

I just want her to...

If I move the plate
close to her, I nurture this.

Hunger has to be stronger
than fear, or hesitation,

or nervousness.

The hunger has to be stronger.

There we go,
her nose is taking over.

This is the profound moments,

the, the one
that take the longest.

Such a simple task but for her
it's really challenging.

See? This is a huge moment.

I'm gonna celebrate like
this instead of clapping

because as you can see,
she can get shy about it.

You can't move
with these animals, you know,

with this kind
of brain, you can't move.

Squeaky clean.

She finally figured it out.

Her fear goes down,
her pain goes down,

her confidence goes up.

This is good.

The ears up,
head high, it's good.

Okay, that's good, Zoe.

NARRATOR:
Cesar spends another week

working one-on-one with Zoe.

She's feeling proud,
she's not feeling pain.

She's still tense,
but it's not being fearful.

CESAR: Zoe is making progress,
but if I don't keep pushing her,

she can go right back
to her old self.

I gotta keep advancing 24/7
so I can bring a calmer dog back

to her owner.

NARRATOR: Today, Cesar
returns to Laguna Hills

-to continue Zoe's training...
-Oh.

-NARRATOR: ...with Oreste.
-CESAR: Zoe!

Zoe has come a long way with me.

Now it's time to see how she
and Oreste do when they are out

of the safe confines of the DPC.

Big day for you, mama.

We're gonna meet
at the park where Zoe showed

that dangerous aggression
towards other dogs.

ORESTE: I missed
you so much, baby.

Last time here
at the park with Cesar was

an absolute awful experience.

(BARKING)

ORESTE: That's the reason
why we don't bring her

to the park because we know
this upset her so much.

But now I kind
of understand that avoiding it

would basically increase
her state of fear.

This is the moment
of calm, comfort...

Bring it here.
Because she can't, there you go.

ORESTE: To stop
Zoe being so fearful,

I basically have to show her
that there is nothing

to be afraid
of by just being calm myself.

-She knows how to be led now.
-Yes.

Today is like
the first real walk together

for Oreste and Zoe.

The key is to use
corrections to keep her

under calm surrender
as dogs pass.

-CESAR: Shh.
-(BARKING)

That touch, they understand
more when it's a physical touch

than when it's a verbal command.

Yes, I understand.

What you're gonna do is
correct the excitement choice,

go back to total calm surrender.

Okay.

So the reason why
she's doing it better now

is because the other one
where she charged,

she got corrected, okay?

Your turn.

ORESTE:
I see the first dog coming

and immediately in my head
that there is a movie happening,

the movie
of the last time at the park.

-Tssch.
-There you go.

-ORESTE: Good girl.
-CESAR: Yeah.

So she's not freaking out
as she used to.

And even if she makes
a little growling now,

Cesar told me how to stop that.

All right.

NARRATOR: Next, Oreste,
Zoe and Caesar,

head to the dance studio
for the final challenge.

-CESAR: Hey.
-ORESTE: Good girl.

-CESAR: Hey.
-Good girl, amore.

-CESAR: Hey, shake it, Bella.
-Cha-cha-cha, such good girl.

-Hey.
-Look how happy she is.

CESAR:
When they first adopted Zoe,

Oreste and Valeria wanted
a small travel-friendly dog

to join them in the ballroom
dances around the country,

but her extreme fear
has made that impossible.

ORESTE: Ah, hey, hey, hey, hey.

CESAR: Learning to stay calm
in spaces like this

is the final step in Zoe's work.

You need a tutu for her.

ORESTE: We wanted to adopt a dog

that would be
with us at the studio.

The dance studio is the place
where I would like Zoe

to be with me most of the time.

Having her with me
would literally change my life.

I can sense that she's happy.

-CESAR: Yeah.
-ORESTE: And calm.

CESAR: Dance studios can be

a super active
energetic environment,

so I want to introduce
her to the space gradually.

We invited some of Oreste's
dance students to the studio

with their dogs
so Zoe can practice meeting

new animals without fear.

I'm going to have some
of your students join us

-one at a time with their dogs.
-Okay.

Just to see
how you communicate with her.

ORESTE:
After all the improvement,

this could be a failure
and could be,

could represent
for me a step backwards,

so that's my biggest concern.

Keep her in a calm
surrender state, use the leash.

ORESTE: Tssch.

CESAR: Yes. Beautiful.

Zoe has some hesitation
with seeing the other dog,

but Oreste used his leash
and his sound to let her know

that's not allowed.

-Now Oreste, go to the human.
-Okay.

-CESAR: There you go.
-ORESTE: Hi.

-Hello, Oreste, good to see you.
-ORESTE: Good to see you.

CESAR: Your job is to wait
until they finish the greeting.

-There you go.
-STUDENT: Oh.

-CESAR: That's right.
-ORESTE: Ooh.

Perfect. They both went
to calm surrender.

So that is a good meeting.

-ORESTE: Yes.
-CESAR: That was great.

Oreste early corrections
snapped Zoe out of her fear.

And when he confidently
approached his friend,

Zoe saw
she didn't have anything to fear.

Can we bring another dog?

Actually,
can I have her without leash?

Yeah.

-Hello.
-Hi.

ORESTE: Tssch! Hey!

-(GROWLING)
-(VOCAL CORRECTIONS)

It's the nervousness.
There you go, address that.

-Zoe.
-CESAR: Address, there you go.

CESAR: Oreste corrected Zoe
after the charge

which is better
than no correction at all.

But he should have corrected her
when she first went

on alert and growled.

If he had respond
to the growl immediately,

he could have
prevented the charge.

-Yes. Zoe.
-Can we do it again?

This time
if she growls or charges,

you should give her
a verbal correction right away.

ORESTE: Okay.

ORESTE: Zoe.

Say hi to the human.

-STUDENT 2: Hi.
-ORESTE: Hi again.

CESAR:
Completely different reaction.

STUDENT 2: Wow.

Oreste read her fearful energy

and corrected her
using his voice.

ORESTE: Zoe.

CESAR: After that,
the greeting went smoothly.

That was better, but I want
to see Zoe and Oreste

get this exercise perfect
before we move on.

All right, number three.

Again, you have to be
aware of what happened before,

try to re-experience
the same situation.

-Hi.
-ORESTE: Hello.

-CESAR: There we go, very good.
-ORESTE: Hmm. Oh, there you go.

You can grab the leash.

Look,
look at the difference. See?

So each one
came with different energies

but we achieved
the same outcome. You see it?

Okay, that's lovely.

So it's very important
to know why the dog

is responding that way.

That gives the dog
so much sense of security.

Like, "My human
knows me deeply,"

-you know what I mean?
-Yes.

Like, "My human
knows when I'm doing right,

"my humans knows
when I'm not doing right,

"and it helps me to get better."

-I love this. We, we...
-She's loyal to you.

-We feel like one.
-CESAR: Yeah.

All right, this is good.

Zoe has become much less
fearful meeting other dogs

and Oreste is calmer
and reading her better.

So Zoe trusts him more.

CESAR: The last meeting
was flawless.

They're ready
for their final challenge.

For this, Zoe will have
to stay calm entirely on her own

without Oreste's leadership
or corrections,

and that's
because he'll be dancing.

I can't wait.
I wanna see you dancing.

In the past, we've seen
how when Zoe is on her own,

her fear boils
over into aggression.

(BARKING)

CESAR: So having Oreste dancing
around the room while she works

through her emotions by herself
will be the ultimate test.

You're gonna get to
watch your father dance, Zoe.

Seeing Oreste dance
and seeing him in his element

was completely captivating.

I could see how happy he was.
And the best of all,

Zoe sat calmly watching
as he spun around the room.

-Feels like a Disney story.
-(CLAPPING)

CESAR: This is
a completely different dog.

ORESTE:
The real dream was to have

her comfortable enough
to come with me everywhere.

And I'm looking forward
to experience life with her.

-Yeah. Everywhere.
-Everywhere.

-I'm really looking forward.
-CESAR: She's ready.

-Zoe, you're ready, sweetie.
-ORESTE: And she's ready.

-Thank you, Cesar.
-All right, I appreciate it.

I'm so proud of my
work with Zoe and Oreste.

The frightening petrified
dog that was afraid of living.

You know I'm gonna
save your life, right?

Is now the calm, happy dog.

Relax.

That I knew was inside
of her just waiting to come out.

ORESTE: Good girl.

CESAR: Zoe
was one of my hardest cases.

She pushed me harder
than any other dog in years.

That's a miracle right there.

I'm so grateful I got the chance
to meet her and help her.

Good girl, amore.
Cha-cha-cha, such a good girl.

CESAR: My job is done.

-This is my Picasso.
-ORESTE: Nice.

Cesar, grazie mille.

I don't even know
how to say louder than that.

Thank you so much
for changing my life,

for changing Zoe's life.

We will be
thankful to you forever.

I love it.

Valeria will be
absolutely thrilled

to see the results
of this process.

I'm so looking forward
to show her what we have done.

-How are you?
-I want to see her.

There she is.

-Zoe. Oh, mama.
-Look how calm she is.

VALERIA: (OVER COMPUTER)
She is so calm, my little baby.

-That's a normal dog.
-Yeah.

I mean, it looks like Zoe
but it doesn't behave like Zoe.

Exactly. She's acting
as a regular, as a normal dog.

We can finally
bring her to the studio,

-bring her with us on trips.
-VALERIA: That's great.

Like when you'll be home,

you'll find
a much calmer and beautiful Zoe.

VALERIA: (OVER COMPUTER)
I'm so excited.

I can't wait to see her.

CESAR:
People say I am a teacher

and in some ways it's true.

But in my life,

its dogs that have been
my most important teachers.

After 30 years of doing this,

I still learn
something from every dog

I work with.

And that is
the most challenging cases

like Zoe that teach me the most.

Zoe taught me
that a dog can be so scared

they're frozen like a rock,
too afraid to eat or drink.

I never knew a dog
that could be so fearful

that she forgot how to be a dog.

Zoe pushed me in new ways
and I pushed her.

There are dogs you meet
and never forget.

Zoe's one of those special
ones and I'll never forget her.