02x07 - Moving Forward

[bunniefuu]

CESAR MILLAN:
When I started my journey

and people started calling me
the Dog Whisperer,

the only thing I wanted to do
is to teach people

there is no such thing as a bad dog.

WOMAN (off screen): Oh, my gosh.

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

-(growling)
-(barks)

Today, I'm still doing what I love,
but the world has changed.

(overlapping chatter)

Record dog adoptions
have made many packs complete.

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

(shushing)

...need help.

ANGIE: We can't live like this.

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

CESAR: More pooches, more problems, right?

He needs rehab like ASAP.

So many things you can fix already.

-Shh.
-MAN: Sorry. Sorry.

CESAR: Ignore the excitement.

GIRL (off screen):
I just don't want you to get bit.

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

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

one pack at a time.

It's not natural for pack members
to attack each other.

And I don't mean play fight or wrestling.

I mean, going for the throat,
drawing blood, no limits.

This morning, I'm going to the house
of a mother and son

who have two powerful dogs
that has begun fighting.

I've been told that one of 'em is hunting

and k*lling small animals in the backyard.

And now they're even hunting each other.

I need to figure this out right now.

JEROME: My name is Jerome.
This is my mom Angie.

ANGIE: Jerome and I,
people don't believe we're mom and son.

They think that, you know,
we're brother and sister.

But I'm still the oldest and I...

(laughs)

JEROME: No, you're the youngest.
Yeah, we know.

Like...

We have two dogs named Mirai and Shiro.

PRODUCER 1 (off screen):
Yeah, before we go on...

PRODUCER 2 (off screen):
Yeah.

PRODUCER: Is there anything
we can do with Mirai's whining or no?

She just wants to be down here
with you guys?

ANGIE (off screen):
I told you to give her the ball.

JEROME: That doesn't matter.
I already know how she is.

ANGIE: Mirai was the first dog
that was brought into our home

that I didn't know about.

JEROME: My mom
was trying to walk past the room

and Mirai was on the edge of the bed.

That's when my mom saw her

and then she wanted me
to have Mirai out by like that day.

Well, look at her now three years in.

She's a pit Lab.

And she just turned three in September.

The way I would describe
Mirai's personality is very calm

and energetic when she wants to be.

But she's a very loving dog.

Mirai loves to hang around other people.

The second dog I have is Shiro.

He's a Dogo Argentino
and he's about two years in March of 2022.

He likes to be playing around
all the time.

He's just like a little boy.

He's just a goofy dog
and that's just how I see him as.

How they got their names is because
I've always loved Japanese anime.

And my two favorite character names
are Shiro and Mirai.

I didn't think naming them after warriors

would mean they'd start fighting
with each other.

(growls, barks)

ANGIE: It's always Mirai
that's attached to Shiro.

Mirai, she attacks
and she always either goes

for his throat or his ears or something,

and she latches on and she doesn't let go.

(growling)

JEROME: I usually don't see
blood being drawn from Mirai,

but there's usually blood on Shiro's neck

or around his ears
or on the side of his head.

Sometimes on his chest or his legs.

The progression of their fighting,
it was happening almost every day.

That's when we started separating them

and not having them
in close proximity at certain times.

ANGIE: You can see the jealousy.

That's where the aggression comes in,

because he wants to be there
but she's there.

And then that's when
the growling would start

and there would be an incident.

(growling)

JEROME: Hey. What did I say?

ANGIE: I do think that there would
probably be a fatality between the two.

JEROME: Mirai has definitely gone after
countless animals in the backyard.

She actually doesn't really care
about what animal.

She's gonna attack or k*ll.

(growling)

I've been bit twice.

(snarling)

Alright, alright, alright.

I have one right here on my arm.

But it's not,
it wasn't too bad... right now

but at the time, it was kinda bloody.

Then I have another one right here.

ANGIE: I was hospitalized for ten days
actually for a heart condition

that I didn't even know that I had.

You know, I can't be having
the stress on my heart

pulling two dogs apart.

With the new diagnosis,
it's very serious,

and that's why I really, you know,

want the help from Cesar and his team

to what can be done
to stop the aggression.

JEROME: Oh. How you doing? Cesar.

-Nice to meet you, man.
-CESAR: My man. How are you?

-JEROME: Nice to finally meet you.
-CESAR: How are you?

-ANGIE: Hi, Cesar. How are you?
-CESAR: Come on. Come on out.

How are you, ma'am? So how can I help?

-ANGIE: We have two, um, aggressive dogs.
-CESAR: Okay.

ANGIE: Once they fight,
it's like, oh, my goodness.

-CESAR: Yeah.
-ANGIE: Yeah. It's, it's really bad.

The last fight was in the backyard,
I was sweeping,

and I don't know what happened,
next thing I know, they're fighting.

And it took a long time to break them up.

-The worst fight that I had seen.
-CESAR: You actually broke 'em up?

-ANGIE: Yeah, I have to. He's not here.
-JEROME: Many times.

ANGIE: And I didn't know then
I had a heart condition.

I was recently diagnosed
with cardiomyopathy.

And so had I not gotten the diagnosis
and I'm back here breaking them up,

and I could have just fallen dead.

CESAR: I know of people, the situations
have made their hearts stop.

Loud sounds, so unexpected things,
so stressful situation,

that can make her heart stop.

I've never been in a situation like that,
you know, where, yeah...

This is my first time
so I'm still in shock.

Who walks them?

-ANGIE: Both.
-JEROME: I walk them, yeah.

-ANGIE: He does it most of the time.
-CESAR (off screen): Every day?

-ANGIE: No.
-JEROME: Not every day, no.

I play with them outside in the backyard.

-CESAR: Well, play is a reward.
-ANGIE: Oh, really?

-JEROME: Play is a reward?
-ANGIE: Oh, wow.

JEROME: I think that,
I thought it was just normal for them.

CESAR: So the birds have to fly,
the fish have to swim,

and the dogs have to walk.

BOTH: Ah.

CESAR: For dogs,
play is not the same as a walk.

Yes, they both burn energy,

but pet parents need to fulfill
the dogs' migration instincts first.

Play comes after
a long walk of good behavior.

And when dogs only get play,

it's like rewarding everything
they do, good or bad.

Dogs, in my opinion, has always brought
safe, peace, and love in my home,

you know, and that's really my goal,
to help you achieve that.

ANGIE: It's a lot. We need help.

CESAR: So this is what
I'm gonna do now, right?

CESAR: So we're gonna put
some cameras inside,

and you and I, we're staying outside.

I want to see how you behave,
what's your energy around,

'cause, obviously,
the rehab is gonna come from you.

Angelina's heart condition
immediately excludes her from this rehab.

So I need to assess
how Jerome interacts with his dogs

to pinpoint what's causing them
to turn against each other.

Alright, Jerome. Get the dogs out.

ANGIE (over radio): There he is.

JEROME: Get down.

Come here.

CESAR: That's too much excitement
for the kitchen.

ANGIE: Mm-hmm. Right.

CESAR: See, how they move constantly
like that, blocking each other?

That needs to be stopped.

Mirai and Shiro would move
in a very francy way, very frantic.

Moving really fast, and then pass
by each other, give a glimpse.

This is literally half a second
but the half a second can ignite a fight.

(sighs deeply)

JEROME: Oh... (inaudible)

-(inaudible dialogue)
-(growling)

CESAR: Ooh. Okay.

(growling)

Oh, that's not a good play.

-This is bad.
-JEROME: Stop before he gets mad.

-CESAR: Yeah. This is... Don't do it.
-JEROME: Before he gets mad.

CESAR: Yeah, just don't do that.

This is the opposite
of how to interact with an aggressive dog.

Jerome's playing in a way
that elevates Mirai's state of aggression

when he should be calming her.

Even worse,
he's doing it inside the home,

where the pack should be safe.

Brother, I've seen a lot in the kitchen,

so do you mind going in,
outdoor and, you know,

in the backyard and see how you play?

JEROME: I hope they don't fight outside.

CESAR: Jerome needs
to take these dogs outside

where the play is more appropriate.

But I'm moving in closer
in case I need to step in.

(growling)

I don't like the shaking.

-ANGIE (off screen): Yeah.
-JEROME: Ahh.

CESAR: Yeah, that's bad,
'cause he's k*lling the toy.

This not only can trigger a fight,
it can teach to fight.

Okay, guys, my stomach is hurting a lot.

-ANGIE: Okay.
-CESAR: From this.

-This is a lot of anxiety.
-ANGIE: Right.

CESAR: This is the...
it's a bad thing waiting to happen.

PRODUCER (off screen): You wanna step in
and show Jerome how to calm...

CESAR: No, I-I-I wanna
actually take a breath.

Breathe.

I wanna go outside and just breathe.

Yeah, I don't know how you live with it.

(Angie laughs)

-ANGIE: So now you see how I feel.
-CESAR: Yeah.

Brother, stop, stop, stop.

I'm gonna go outside and just... breathe.

-JEROME: Breathe?
-CESAR (off screen): Yeah.

-'Cause it's pretty tense.
-JEROME: Yeah. You could feel that?

CESAR: Yes.

At one point, I just couldn't take it
so I have to leave the house.

My stomach just got bloated
of the anxiety that I was feeling.

You live with that in your stomach?

ANGIE: Yes.
Oh, it's worse when they fight.

CESAR: Yeah. You're used to this.

But part of what I do is
I pick up on the energy.

In order for me to heal,
in order for me to rehabilitate,

I have to feel the energy.

And I also have to put a limit in how long
do I wanna feel that energy,

because then I'm not
gonna be calm confident.

I'm gonna be full of their energies.

Whoo. (sighs)

Honestly, it's like a ticking b*mb.

Honestly, honestly, I...

Big respect.

Big respect for the family. Uh...

But my stomach hurts.

It's, it's... Normally, well,
my stomach hurts because of the anxiety.

It's-it's-it's in the air.

I know you're not seeing aggression
but it's coming.

And they've been doing this way for years

so they're used to it, you know.

They-they don't understand
what safe, peace, and love means.

I do.

I wanna see him walking the dog.

ANGIE: Okay.

CESAR: I wanna have a nice chat
with him while we walk

and for him to embrace the walk.

Without the walk, we can't really achieve
what they're looking for.

He's already saying a dog just passed by.

JEROME: I know. I saw him excited,
yeah, Shiro, he likes other dogs a lot.

Slow down.

CESAR: Yeah, but he can
never pull you to a dog.

-JEROME: Yeah, I can't let him do that.
-CESAR: Yeah.

Right away, you can see
this is not a good dog walk.

JEROME: Slow down.

CESAR: These are two powerful breed dogs
that are tracking out in front,

and Jerome is allowing it.

JEROME: Slow down.

CESAR: If they pull like this,
it's, it's really bad.

JEROME: Yeah, I know.

Usually Mirai pulls more than Shiro.

He's better at walking on leash.

That's why I don't walk them together

'cause I feel like they just pull too much
in both hands

and I just don't have control,
I feel like...

-CESAR: Yeah.
-JEROME: Come on.

CESAR: What do you think would happen
if you take the leash off?

JEROME: Uh, he would go over there
and smell on them.

For the small dogs,
Mirai would try to attack the small dog.

CESAR: I can tell.
That's a serious problem, Jerome.

This is hunting behavior.

The same way
they're hunting each other at home

and hunting small animals in the backyard,

they're hunting dogs on the walk.

This behavior is caused by
what I call unhealthy excitement.

And, unfortunately, it's Jerome
who's nurturing that excitement.

So I'm seeing
how does Jerome do walk? Excited.

How does he do explore? Excited.

-How does he do play? Excited.
-JEROME (off screen): Hmm. Okay.

-CESAR: You see it?
-JEROME: Yeah.

CESAR: So, so to stop a fight
or to prevent a fight,

you need the zero, you need the calmness.

JEROME: Okay.

CESAR (off screen):
Let me show you how I would do it.

By providing control,
you are providing healthy leadership.

And leadership brings calmness.

-JEROME: Come on, boy.
-CESAR: Don't say anything.

-Just, just move the leash.
-JEROME: Alright.

I need to see if Jerome
is capable of delivering something

besides excitement and chaos.

-I want you to experience...
-JEROME: Yeah.

CESAR: Tsch.

...his calm surrender state following you.

JEROME: Okay.

CESAR: 'Cause when he misbehave,
you're gonna ask him to be calm surrender.

No. Don't let him pass.
Hold it a little closer.

JEROME: Oh, so it should
be right on my side?

Should be right, following you,
not in front of you.

Finally.

You see the difference
between a dog that is understanding

that you're asking for follow
versus you following them.

JEROME: That's true. You're right.

I feel a complete difference right now.

-CESAR: Yeah.
-JEROME: Honestly.

CESAR: Tsch.

Hold on.

I'm gonna pass you your girl.

Tsch.

This excitement, this thing,

you have to encourage her
not to do it anymore.

-JEROME: Okay.
-CESAR: 'Cause this can provoke...

him to do that.

JEROME: Okay. You're right.

CESAR: See the calmness?
This is what you want.

-JEROME: Very calm.
-CESAR: Yes.

Let's bring some dogs.

JEROME (off screen): Uh-oh.

CESAR: Don't worry about it,
'cause this...

Tsch.

Your job is to ask for calm surrender
around those.

Come on.

Keep going. There you go.

-You see it? See?
-JEROME: Wow.

-CESAR: Your old way, big the uh-oh.
-JEROME: Wow.

-Bro, he's never done that.
-CESAR: Right.

JEROME: That-that's crazy.

CESAR: And so, how you keep 'em engaged.
Tsch. There you go.

-Don't let him get distracted.
-JEROME: Wow.

Mirai and Shiro
definitely were not pulling the leash.

They didn't care about the dogs
next 'em or anything.

They were just walking
and acting like it was

a normal day
on the sidewalk with nobody.

-CESAR: How does it feel?
-JEROME: It feels good, man.

-It feels...
-CESAR: Calm.

JEROME: It feels calm. You're right.

-CESAR: Look how safe it is. Turn around.
-JEROME: Yeah.

CESAR: Thank you. Stay right there.
Turn around.

See, that's the calmness
that you didn't have at home.

JEROME: Yeah.

CESAR (off screen): Let's go back
and talk to your mama.

It's very chaotic.

-ANGIE: We can't live like this.
-JEROME: Yeah.

ANGIE: We cannot.

CESAR: All this work lands on you.

The opportunity is here.
I can't do the work for you.

She can't do the work for you.

If Jerome doesn't put in the work,

his mom's health is at risk

and the dogs' frustration and boredom

could lead to another fight
or the death of another animal.

His next lesson will be at the DPC.

-Thank you for the opportunity.
-ANGIE: Yeah.

CESAR: And I can't wait to see you
at the ranch, brother.

-JEROME: Thank you.
-ANGIE: Okay. Thank you.

-JEROME: I appreciate all the work.
-CESAR (off screen): Yes.

I'll leave you that boy right there.
Calm surrender.

JEROME: Wow. That's crazy.
I've never seen him just stay there.

NARRATOR: The next day,
Cesar is in West Hollywood

to help a retired couple
whose dog has begun lashing out

after their recent move to California.

JOAQUINA: Well, we are Easterners
who have come West and loving it.

I'm Joaquina. Joe's my husband.

We've been married about
29 years, I think, now,

and mother to Tinker Bell.

JOE: We've had Tinker Bell now 11 years.

JOAQUINA: She's a mixed
cairn terrier, Jack Russell.

I was at the vet's office
waiting for my friend,

and this little cute bundle of joy
was running around.

She came to me and I said,
"I'd like to have her."

JOE: I just enjoy her so much.

I look forward to seeing her
when I get home.

Jokingly, I always say
my dream was to have a wife

who would run to the front door
when I got home.

Well, maybe I didn't get that
but I got a dog that does.

JOAQUINA: I will run.
I'll run out and keep going.

JOE: When we first arrived in Los Angeles,

Tinker Bell's behavior
took a turn for the worse.

JOAQUINA: Yeah.

(barking)

No. No. No.

JOE: She's had some barking issues,

and, um, she just
gets very hyper in city living.

-MAN (off screen): So you gotta bring...
-JOE: Stop.

Everything is condensed
and sidewalks are small.

We have joggers coming up behind us.

We have other dogs,
even across the street she reacts to.

And now all of a sudden
she's also barking at city traffic.

I try to tell her,
"Tinker Bell, we're in a city now."

JOAQUINA (off screen): Look. No barking.

It's not just Tinker Bell. It's me too.

I get a mindset
before I go out anticipating

at any moment it can become disastrous.

One thing I do miss
in our retirement years

is that ability to just go out

and be carefree and enjoy,

especially the beautiful weather here.

We've always been outdoor people.

But with Tinker Bell,
they're not happening now.

-(barks)
-Get over here now.

-(growling)
-No.

Tinker Bell has shut our world down.

JOE: I need Cesar to help me.

What am I doing wrong?

JOAQUINA: I live for the day
that she's a good dog

and we are a happy family.

(barking)

JOE: Okay. They're your friends.
They're your friends.

CESAR: Okay.

JOE (off screen):
They're your friends. Look.

Look, how nice. It's okay.

They're your friends.

(barking)

JOAQUINA: Shh.

(barking)

JOE: Tinker Bell,
they're your friends too.

-CESAR: How are you, guys?
-JOE: Hello.

CESAR: Cesar. Joaquina, how are you?

-JOAQUINA: Thank you.
-CESAR: Joe.

-JOE: So nice to meet you.
-CESAR: Pleasure to meet you.

-JOAQUINA: I'm so glad you're here.
-CESAR: That's the famous Tinker Bell?

JOAQUINA: That's Tinker Bell.

(barking)

JOE: Tinker Bell. Tinker Bell.

-It's okay. It's okay.
-CESAR: Yeah.

You know, when you're saying it's okay,

you're saying it's okay to bark.

JOE: Oh.

CESAR: Mr. Joe is making
a pretty common mistake.

He's communicating like she's a human.

He thinks he's saying stop
when he's actually saying it's okay.

What Tinker Bell hears
is that it's okay to keep barking.

JOAQUINA: I'm a little bit stressed
right now with the barking.

-CESAR: Yeah. Because of barking?
-JOAQUINA: Yes.

CESAR: So how long
have you been stressed then?

JOAQUINA: Since we moved to California.

-It's gotten progressively worse.
-CESAR: Right.

JOAQUINA:
Because I don't know what to say.

CESAR: It's clear that Joaquina is
tense energy and Joe is in excited energy,

and, of course,
Tinker Bell is just all over the place.

This whole family is stressed

when they should be enjoying
their golden years.

It is up to me to make sure

that Joe and Joaquina's retirement
isn't ruined.

So do you know what is happening here?

-JOE: N... Not really.
-CESAR: Right.

JOE: I think she's trying to protect me.

CESAR: Mr. Joe is correct.

Tinker Bell is trying to protect them

because their energy
is a little too anxious right now.

JOE: Oh. (laughs)

JOAQUINA: Okay. It's okay.

It's okay, Tinker.

CESAR: So I have to get them
out of the city environment

to even begin to figure out
what else is going on with this pack.

NARRATOR: Later, Joe, Joaquina,
and Tinker Bell arrive at Cesar's ranch.

JOE: I'm a little nervous
about how she's gonna get along

with all the other animals.

JOAQUINA: Yeah. Hmm.

CESAR: Hi.

JOE: Alright, Tinker Bell, you ready?

Are you ready?

(gasps)

CESAR (off screen): Hey, this is
a stress-free ranch, people.

Right away, you can sense
they're still carrying some anxiety.

Joe is sort of fumbling with the dog
and Joaquina is taking calming breaths.

So I wanna give Tinker Bell
a little bit of breathing room.

-Take the leash off, Mr. Joe.
-JOE: Huh?

CESAR: Take the leash off.

-JOE: I will?
-CESAR: Yeah.

JOAQUINA: Oh.

CESAR: A little bit of freedom
and look at that.

That's happy-go-lucky.

-JOAQUINA: Oh, my God, it's me.
-CESAR (off screen): Right.

JOAQUINA: He's feeling my energy.

CESAR: Yeah, let's keep exploring that.

The more you let it out...
This is the perfect place to do it.

JOAQUINA: I was really so overwhelmed
when I saw Tinker Bell off leash.

Oh, my God.
I'm just so... She's not barking.

She's just being a dog
and a relaxed dog at that.

I didn't realize that I was, you know,
just adding to this energy.

It's us.

CESAR: Yeah.
That's why I say I train humans.

With some space, we can finally see
that below the surface,

Tinker Bell is really happy-go-lucky.

It's the anxiety and stress
from her pet parents' move to the city

that is causing her protective barking.

We have a lot of surprises for you, so...

-JOAQUINA: I'm... Oh...
-CESAR: Let's go in here.

-Come on in.
-JOAQUINA: Okay.

CESAR: Next, I want all three of them
to share their space

with an animal they never met

so they feel just
a little bit of pressure,

then we can begin
to address their anxiety.

Fortunately, I got an animal on the ranch
that some guests find a little unsettling.

-Mr. Joe, you're gonna be in charge...
-JOE (off screen): Okay.

CESAR (off screen):
...of making sure Tinker Bell,

if she barks, you control the situation.

If we can teach them
to correct her outburst,

they are all going to learn
to calm down together.

-(Tinker Bell barks)
-JOE: Psst.

CESAR (off screen):
It's okay. Keep trying.

Go for it, Mr. Joe.

-JOE: Psst.
-CESAR (off screen): Project control.

(Tinker Bell barks)

JOE: Tinker Bell, they're your friends.

Psst.

CESAR: Nope. Not yet.

It's a good start for Mr. Joe,

but another issue is that Tinker Bell
doesn't know how to listen.

JOE: Psst.

CESAR: But all of them need to experience

what a true instinctual correction
should feel like.

I'm gonna show you guys
how Rio is going to enforce to Tinker Bell

to be respectful and calm to new things.

There you go.

JOAQUINA: Uh-huh. (laughs)

CESAR: So right now
Tinker Bell just got reinforced

of be respectful
to people's intimate space.

So she's just helping us
to reinforce behavior

that we are doing
and the human is learning.

With an animal,
you don't have to teach them.

-They already know.
-JOAQUINA: Mm-hmm.

CESAR: All animals know to give space
or to respect other animals.

What Rio did was to show Tinker Bell
that this is her space

and she needs to respect it
or she gets corrected.

That's an instinctual correction,

and the only thing
the humans needed to learn today.

-You know... Psst.
-(barks)

Go ahead, Mr. Joe. There you go.

-JOAQUINA (off screen): Oh.
-CESAR: There you go.

JOE: Psst.

CESAR: Good job. There you go.

So how do you know she got it?

-JOE: Uh, she backed away and she...
-CESAR: She backed away.

-JOE: ...lowered her head.
-CESAR: Lowered. That's right.

-JOE: And knew she was wrong.
-CESAR: Yeah. Mm-hmm.

So you have it, Mr. Joe.

JOE: I'm very proud of Tinker Bell
how she went through this.

When we started this,
I didn't know how she would react.

I didn't wanna be Cesar's first failure.

CESAR (off screen): When you correct
with the right energy, you're saying,

"That behavior,
we don't need it right now. We're safe."

Yeah. That's it.
That's all I wanted from today.

One solid correction
will lower the anxiety of the entire pack.

For now, they will be heading home

to practice simple correction
on short walks.

Next time, we'll take their lessons
to the next level.

NARRATOR: The next morning,

Cesar awaits the arrival
of Jerome and his two dogs,

whose unhealthy excitement

has led to bites,

bloody fights,

and hunting behavior.

(low growling)

JEROME: I know. You'll be outside soon.
Don't worry.

You'll be cool.

CESAR: Jerome has admitted
that he doesn't walk his dogs enough.

Instead he plays aggressively,

getting them riled up
before he leaves for work,

which causes unhealthy excitement.

That energy is what made me
feel sick to my stomach

and is the source
of the fighting, hunting, and k*lling

that must be stopped.

-What's up?
-JEROME: How you doing today?

CESAR: Ooh, what happened?

JEROME: Uh, you know,
just playing basketball, you know.

It just happened yesterday.

CESAR (off screen): Alright.

Um, what's your goal?

JEROME: I guess my goal is to have
them harmonize with one another.

CESAR: That's right. For them to be
calm surrender, happy-go-lucky.

-This is calm surrender.
-JEROME: Yeah.

CESAR: We're gonna let them
run over there so they can, um, explore.

That's happy-go-lucky.
Okay, let's-let's get 'em out.

Right now, they are
at a very low level of excitement,

so I feel it is safe
to let them roam the Serengeti.

The reason is very simple.

I just want to see how they explore.

Right now, this behavior is normal.

So far, I like what I'm seeing with Shiro.

See, I like... His energy
is very consistent with-with the calmness.

Safe comes from calmness.

They need a little bit more running room.

Let's go this way.

When they're this big,
they cover an area really fast.

JEROME (off screen): Mm-hmm. Okay.

CESAR: Look how fast they move.
We can't keep up with them.

JEROME: Yeah.

CESAR: But, uh, your girl is leading him.

JEROME (off screen):
Yeah. He really does follow her.

CESAR (off screen): Yeah.
Everything she does, he's gonna do.

He's not gonna go too far away from her.

It's when you give dogs room to explore
that you can see who's the influencer.

Here we can see
that it's Mirai who's leading Shiro,

so she's likely
the aggressor in the fight.

But it's Jerome's job
to prevent that behavior.

At one point, they have
to stay right behind you.

JEROME: Yeah.

CESAR: So that's what
makes it more dangerous

when the dogs
are not following their human.

JEROME: Okay.
They're just following themselves?

(barking)

CESAR: Look, look.

Yeah, that's bad.

She won't get past the fence
but we don't allow hunting here.

Psst.

Psst.

Psst.

She was hunting my dog Benson.

So at that moment,
I stopped her 'cause that's not good.

JEROME: Okay.

CESAR: Mirai wanted
to chase my dog.

She wasn't chasing to play.

She was chasing to hunt.

There was never any danger
because of the fences,

but Mirai has a predator mindset
that must be stopped.

All those impulse are bad.

Brings the-the predatory side.

JEROME: Okay.

CESAR: What else she likes to chase?

JEROME: Anything smaller than her,
she'll chase it.

She'll try to k*ll it, to be honest.

CESAR: No, I'm saying
that what, that's what I saw.

JEROME: I, I just let her do that,
to be honest.

For any other small animal besides a dog,

I just let her chase after it.

If she catches it,
she catches it, you know.

CESAR: I knew Mirai was hunting on walks,

fighting her brother and k*lling animals.

What I didn't realize is that Jerome
could think k*lling is ever allowed.

If you permit k*lling of any kind,
what you can expect is even more death.

JEROME: I'm not like, "Oh, go get it."
If she gets it, then she gets it.

If she doesn't, she doesn't.

Mirai has k*lled
about four or five animals.

Three rats, one possum, and one bird.

I thought it was natural.
I didn't consider it bad.

-I considered it...
-CESAR: To k*ll something?

JEROME: Like let's say,
it gets in the backyard.

I don't have a leash on her

and if she chases it, catches it,
that's her.

CESAR: It's just bad.

I believe domesticated dogs
should not be allowed to k*ll, period.

When Mirai enters the hunting,
k*lling level of excitement,

she's entering a mindset with no limits.

No limits means no safety in the home,

which is especially dangerous
for Jerome's mom

due to her heart condition.

For this relationship to work,

Jerome must teach the dogs,
especially Mirai,

to sit and stay and remain calm surrender.

He must learn to control the excitement
or else the next death is on him.

Nope. Nope. Slow down.

Yep.

Control the excitement.

Nope. Too fast. Too excited.

Stay right there.

So right now you are creating excitement.

You just have to practice calm surrender.

Look.

Psst.

So they have to give you
distance, respect, and calmness.

JEROME: Okay.

CESAR: So when they misbehave
or before they misbehave,

you ask them to go back to this.

Like her chasing small animals.

Then she's gonna say,
"What-what do you want me to practice?"

I want you to practice calm surrender
when you see a cat.

JEROME: Hmm, that's-that's a hard one.

CESAR: The hardest thing is not the dog.

The hardest thing is the human
actually practicing it. That's it.

The dog is just gonna react,
'cause the dog is just mirroring it.

Now, let's do it.

You practice it.

Start again.

You're gonna...
I want you to be able to open the door,

stay right there
without them going on that direction.

JEROME: Psst. Psst. Ah!

-CESAR (off screen): You see it?
-JEROME (off screen): Yeah.

Worked for her. Psst. Nah.

CESAR: Yeah, but you need
to have the team, not just one.

CESAR: You see they're all,
they-they went in it.

JEROME: Alright. Come on.

Psst. Psst.

CESAR: Psst.

(laughs)

JEROME: That's because it's you though.

-CESAR: That's right.
-JEROME: That's why.

Psst. Psst.

So if the psst doesn't work for you,

just use whatever sound
that means calm confident.

Use that.

"Hey," "Uh," "Huh," whatever it is.

I grew up with that sound.

-My mom used that sound. Psst.
-JEROME: Oh, okay.

CESAR: That means
I'm doing something wrong.

-CESAR: And what sound...
-JEROME: I can use a word?

CESAR: Yeah, you can use a word.

You can use a word
as long as it creates calm confidence.

JEROME (off screen): Imma try.

-I'm gonna go try again.
-CESAR (off screen): Yeah.

Jerome needs to find his voice now,

his energy that embodies calm confidence

or he may never get control
over Mirai and Shiro.

JEROME: Wait. Wait. Hey.

-Wait.
-CESAR (off screen): Okay.

Yes.

Yes.

Yeah.

This is a big moment for Jerome.

He can keep them from becoming aggressive

and bring them to calm surrender.

JEROME: I feel like I got
the predatory out of her a little bit

by learning these new tricks,
but it's not completely gone.

CESAR: No. No, it's not.

It took many times
for her to get, to be here.

It takes repetitions.

There is more work to be done
but I believe he's up to the task.

Let's make sure we do this for your mom.

-JEROME: Okay.
-CESAR: Because they can do it.

JEROME: They can. Alright, thank you.

CESAR: Alright!

NARRATOR: One week later,
Cesar checks in on Joe, Joaquina,

and their protective terrier Tinker Bell.

-JOE (off screen): Cesar.
-JOAQUINA (off screen): Hi.

-CESAR: Good morning, guys.
-JOE: Good morning.

-CESAR: Good morning. Good morning.
-JOAQUINA: Good to see you again.

CESAR: Tinker Bell, good morning.

Since they moved to the city,
Tinker Bell's protective behavior

was robbing the sweet retired couple
of their golden years.

JOE: No, Tinker Bell.
They're your friends.

They're your friends.

CESAR: We made some progress
teaching them how to correct her behavior.

JOE: Psst. Psst.

-CESAR: There you go.
-JOE: Alright. Alright.

CESAR: So today is your big day.

How's everything going?

JOE: One day, I came out of the apartment,
and I was calm and confident.

There were two dogs
facing us in the hallway.

She was so calm.

They were reacting but she wasn't.

It was wonderful.

JOAQUINA: I'm extremely happy
with how things are going.

-I recognize I need more practice.
-CESAR: Yes.

JOAQUINA:
And I'm looking forward to doing it.

CESAR: Now, we wanna create
the toughest challenge

they could face as newcomers to the city

to test whether they can control
their own nerves and Tinker Bell.

Are you guys ready
for your ultimate city challenge?

-JOAQUINA: Yes. Definitely.
-JOE: Yes, we are.

CESAR: Okay. So the key is very simple.
Always simple, right?

Your job is to stay
calm confident together

while Tinker Bell
is in a calm surrender state.

So you're gonna go
from this cone to the other cone

that I'm gonna put right now,

and just go around back and forth.

I'm just gonna add challenge.

JOAQUINA: Okay.

CESAR: Alright,
let's bring the hurricane, guys.

JOAQUINA (off screen): Oh, my goodness.

CESAR (off screen): Let's help Joaquina.

JOAQUINA (off screen): I have to admit...

I didn't know, I didn't know
what was gonna happen.

Look at this.

I'm stressed.

CESAR (off screen): Come on.
Everything at the same time.

The more challenge,
the better for Joaquina.

JOAQUINA: When you hear Cesar saying,
"I'm gonna bring a hurricane of dogs,"

I have to admit it was quite stressful.

I had to recognize there was some anxiety

and resort to just taking a deep breath.

CESAR: Yes. Yes.

Look at Bubbles.
There we go. Bring it in. Beautiful.

-Look at her.
-JOAQUINA: Yeah.

-CESAR (off screen): She's in heaven.
-JOAQUINA: She's proud.

CESAR: She's in heaven.

JOE: There were dogs on the left of us,
dogs on the right.

There was like more stimulus than I would
get in a month of walks with Tinker Bell.

CESAR: This is a surprise, guys,
right here.

Nobody's expecting a bird on the floor.

-Surprise!
-(Joaquina laughs)

-JOE (off screen): Hi.
-JOAQUINA (off screen): Look it's Rio.

-JOE (off screen): Your friend.
-CESAR: The one and only.

The one only. Right, Rio?

JOE: Hello, Rio.

CESAR: Last time, Rio made
an instinctual correction

while Mr. Joe
and Ms. Joaquina watched.

Today, if Tinker Bell
needs to be corrected,

I want to see who will make it first.

If she gets excited,
remember what you learned.

Control. Control the excitement.

Control that. Control.

JOE: Psst. Psst. Psst. Psst. Psst.

CESAR: Very good.

-JOE: Psst.
-CESAR (off screen): Good job.

-JOE: Psst. Psst. Psst.
-CESAR: Very good.

Rio, come on.

Instead of Rio correcting Tinker Bell,
her pet parents handle it perfectly.

Joe's calm confidence showed the dog

that they didn't need a protection
and he made a perfect correction.

Control the excitement.
Beautiful. That was great.

JOAQUINA: Psst.

CESAR: No barking, that was beautiful.

-JOAQUINA (off screen): Okay. Come on.
-CESAR: Very nice.

CESAR: I am very proud
of Joe and Joaquina.

When I first met them, they were letting
their nerves get the better of them.

-This is, this is the champion.
-JOAQUINA: Tinker Bell.

CESAR: This is the champion.

You take care of them. Good girl.

JOE: Today was
one of the most memorable days

I think I've ever experienced in my life.

I feel so confident and it's just
made us so happy as a family.

JOAQUINA: I'm really looking forward

to now taking her with me
to the restaurants

and going back to the coffee shops
and just sit out and get some fresh air.

This is going to be a big difference
in my life and in Tinker Bell's life.

Will definitely make
retirement a lot better.

CESAR: And you can come to the ranch
anytime you want to play with the pack.

Thank you, guys.

-JOAQUINA: Okay.
-JOE: Thank you.

CESAR: Mr. Joe and Ms. Joaquina
were much less anxious

and way more confident.

Tinker Bell is still learning

but now her parents can tell her
that they don't need her protection.

All they need is to enjoy
their retirement together as a pack.

I did it again!

NARRATOR: For the past week,

Jerome has been following
Cesar's lesson plan

to control his dogs' excitement

and prevent his pit mix Mirai

from reverting to her hunting behavior.

JEROME: The homework that Cesar gave me
was to start walking the dogs every day.

Wait. Wait.

When we first left the doors,

I felt like they had too much energy

but I felt like I had
a little bit more control

when we hit the street
and we started walking.

It just takes a little time
for them to get used to it,

but I just have to work at it.

Now I see he's on the side of me.

She's starting to get in front of me.

It was definitely important for me
to do this homework

because without these walks,

my dogs can still be aggressive
towards one another

and towards other animals as well,

and I don't want any of this chaos
happening inside or outside the house.

That's the end of the walk.

I definitely am only walking them
one time a day

but I still play with them in the backyard
and still get their energy out.

NARRATOR: Back at the DPC,
Cesar prepares for Jerome's final lesson.

CESAR: When I first met Jerome,
the pack dynamic was really bad.

He skipped regular walks
in favor of aggressive play,

so the dogs, especially Mirai

will fight and practice hunting behavior.

(inaudible)

On top of that, his mom's heart condition
means breaking up a fight could be fatal.

-JEROME (off screen): The man himself.
-CESAR: Look at that.

Jerome is making progress,
but the one thing that sticks with me

is that he lets Mirai
k*ll animals in the yard.

This is my football field.

-Ain't it beautiful?
-ANGIE: Yeah.

CESAR: I need to teach him
that cannot be allowed,

and that means learning to play
with Mirai the right way.

The way they play now is with no limits,
which fosters a k*ller mindset.

And in good conscience, I must make sure
he learn this now or lives are at risk.

So my point to people that have
powerful breeds is, have a limit.

-JEROME (off screen): Okay.
-CESAR: They can still play

but they can't k*ll each other.

It's best for them
to practice intensity but with limits.

JEROME (off screen): Okay.

CESAR: So, yes, you can play with the rope

but you cannot allow
the uncontrolled aggression.

Show me again how you play with her
so I can teach you how to do it right.

Immediately, the intensity is at a ten.

(growling)

Stop, stop, stop.

That's plenty.

Make her let go of the rope.

If you need her to let go,
what would you do?

JEROME: I don't think
I've ever asked her to let go.

That's the whole point,
not to let go, with her.

CESAR: In order to keep Mirai

from fighting her brother
and k*lling small animals,

I need to show Jerome that he can still
play with her in an energetic way

but he needs to be able
to turn off the excitement.

In this case, make her let go of the rope.

To the dog, letting go of the toy
is to surrender to her pack leader.

JEROME: She doesn't let go.

-She don't know how to let go.
-CESAR: Psst.

Psst. Psst. Psst.

JEROME: What? (laughs)

-Bro.
-CESAR: Psst. Hey. Psst.

(smacks lips)

Shh. Hey.

Happy-go-lucky.

(Cesar smacking lips)

-JEROME: Do you see this?
-CESAR: Psst. Sit.

JEROME: That's wild.

CESAR: See, I like to play with calmness.

You like to play with aggression.

JEROME: I wouldn't call it aggression.

CESAR: It is aggression, man.

That is aggression.

She's bringing argh, argh.
She's-she's doing it.

I'm just saying
play with the same level of calmness.

It's for safety purposes.

JEROME (off screen):
Yeah, you're right. It is.

CESAR: You know? But so you're
gonna open 300 miles an hour,

you gotta open 300 miles an hour calmness.

JEROME: Yeah, you're right.

CESAR: So don't bring her
into the zone of k*lling.

Just keep it into the zone of playing.

(growling)

The funny part is he thinks
this is not aggression.

-This is aggression.
-ANGIE: I know. I know.

Believe me, I know.

I lived with him for 22 years, I know.

CESAR: It doesn't matter
if it is aggressive play

or a level ten excited play.

What matter is
that Jerome needs to prevent Mirai

from entering
the hunting, k*lling mindset.

Let's do it again.

Take it all the way up
and take it all the way down.

It's not safe to have a dog
at that level of excitement.

The pack leader should always
have control at every moment.

She needs to play by his rules, not hers.

Okay.

And then, psst.

-(Jerome laughs)
-So that's it.

That's, turn it on, turn it off.

Turn it on, turn it off.

So then the brain practice
excitement, relaxation,

excitement, relaxation,

excitement, relaxation.

JEROME: Okay. Damn.

CESAR: On, off, on, off.

Walk, relax. Fast, relax. Fast, relax.

-JEROME: Okay.
-CESAR: You see? Okay.

Let me see you do that.

-(growling)
-JEROME: Psst.

-Wait.
-CESAR (off screen): Good.

Use your wait but also use your energy
to calm her.

Stay there.

She's still excited.

So wait for her to be
totally calm surrender.

Yes.

There we go.
Put the toy in front of her.

Yeah.

Relax. There we go.

Yeah.

And then breathe.

(both inhale and exhale)

Yes!

Perfection.

Dropping the rope is the off switch.

Sitting is the calm surrender.

Leaving the rope means total control.

Jerome has come a long way
as a pack leader.

-Good girl, you did good.
-JEROME: Yeah.

(Angie laughs)

CESAR (off screen): She's a fast learner.

JEROME: I didn't even expect her
to let go of the rope,

so that already was a plus.

So I'm just so happy now
that I can see them

and know I could turn the off switch off

when I'm playing with them.

And know that I can,
can actually control them

while they're in
a different mindset outside.

-CESAR: That's right. That's right. Yeah.
-JEROME: So I'm happy for that.

ANGIE (off screen):
I mean, they actually listen.

-CESAR: Right. Right.
-ANGIE: That's rewarding.

Today, I know I'm closer
to feeling safer with them.

And I'm just looking forward
to the end result.

CESAR: Now, you have the tools,
you have the knowledge,

it's just a matter of execution.

JEROME: Yeah. Facts.

CESAR: No excuses now.

-JEROME: No excuses. Right.
-CESAR: No excuses, man.

JEROME: I gotta do it
for me, my mom, my dogs.

I gotta do it for the whole household.

So I definitely have to step up
and "seven days a week" it.

CESAR: Come on.

Jerome now has the knowledge

to lead his dogs
in a healthier, safer lifestyle.

Free from aggression
and free from violence.

Like a master sensei,
he can turn off the excitement

long before
the dogs become aggressive.

I believe it's important to remember

that even though a dog's instinct
sometimes tell it to hunt,

there is an even more important instinct
for us to nurture.

That's following you,
their calm confident pack leader.