Hi! Hi. Ooh!
How are you? Oh! Pandora! Pandora!
What you need to do is get control of Pandora.
BARKING
If dogs go wild...
They are absolutely nuts.
Is the dog around?
BARKING
I can't control them.
Come on now, big boy. Nathan thinks he can read.
Sure he can. He can't. He's a dog.
Course he can.
...and get up... Oh, here we go.
No. Get down. ...to no good...
Oh, it's me now, is it? I'm honoured.
...or down... Oh, no.
...and dirty...
He loves a big, large crap.
DOG GROWLS Oh.
Tank likes to rub his boy parts.
What is going on with you?
When pups...
Wonder what we're gonna learn today.
...need to be schooled.
Three, two, one, sit.
Fantastic. Look at that.
FARTS Or if your pooch...
He's dropped one. Have you got a whiff?
...has a personal problem...
Some dogs bacterias that are gas producing.
Just in case.
...one man...
Hey, look at that!
...will give it his all...
Jack! Oi! Leave it.
...and get answers...
I think I might know what's going on, and it's not what you think.
...to any doggy dilemma.
Yeah, that's next level, innit?
Come on, big lad. This week...
Come on, Ri. Come on. Rio.
No, no, don't pancake, please.
...an immovable colossus...
No. Rio.
He knows this is the vet. He knows the car park.
Come on. ...refusing medical aid.
Nathan thinks he can read "vet" and he knows what vet is.
But he can't read "vet".
Sure he can. He can't. He's a dog.
Can your four-legged friend be vegan?
Every day, Proshka would need to be eating all of that.
So you need all of that to match that.
A grandma in danger...
I'm frightened he's gonna trip me up.
BARKING ...of losing the dog she adores.
I don't want to get rid of him.
It's really sad cos I really love him.
And Graeme takes a hairless dog...
Just a very light touch to start off with.
...for a spa day.
Enjoying that?
First up, Graeme's in God's own country.
Well, I'm in Yorkshire today, near Barnsley,
and I'm on my way to see a couple
who've got a problem with a dog and a vehicle.
And I'm just wondering what kind of vehicular hell awaits me today.
Nathan and Cathy got six-year-old Rio as a puppy.
Good boy.
He's a fantastic dog with a strange personality.
Rio, come on now.
Come on, big lad.
Now a 15-stone adult...
Come on.
Come on, Ri. Rio.
He takes some manoeuvring about at times.
Come on now, big boy.
...getting their enormous Leonberger, a German working dog...
He'll not come out. Definitely not come out.
...to the vet...
Come on. Rio. No, no, don't pancake, please.
He knows this is the vet. He knows the car park.
Come on.
...is a colossal battle they're losing.
Come on, Rio.
Come on. Shift. Shift.
Nathan thinks he can read. Sure he can.
He can't. He's a dog.
Come on. Rio.
He says he can read "vet", and he knows what vet is.
But he can't read "vet".
No. Rio, please.
He just pancakes himself to the floor.
Come on.
We've never got him in. Never, ever got him in the vet.
The vet has to come out, do what she can.
We don't normally see dogs in backs of vans.
Routine car park check-ups are one thing...
I think it would probably take about six good, strong people
to take him into the vet's.
...emergency treatment another.
It is a big worry for the future if he ever needs a major operation.
In fact, we just don't know how we're gonna do it.
Rio! And that's not the only issue.
Come on.
Rio's a serial refuser.
Rio.
He will not walk upstairs for anybody.
Even at home, where bedrooms are up them...
Come on.
...Rio's never climbed a flight of stairs.
But the big issue with that is he doesn't like being on his own.
Come on, kid.
You've never been upstairs - you don't know what's up here.
So, middle of the night, you know, you're laid in bed...
BARKING Rio?
...and he'll start crying, barking,
and you have no option, you have to get up.
Come on. Come on, big boy.
It is really draining.
Yeah. I'm exhausted.
Rio, come on, upstairs.
Graeme's meeting Rio...
Come on.
...at his vet's car park.
Morning.
'Ey up. THEY LAUGH
'Ey up. You all right?
Nice to meet you. All right?
You're struggling there, aren't you? Oh, complete nightmare.
You can't get him out of the van, then?
We can't get him to the vet's.
If we get him out of t'van, there's no way you'd get him to the vet's.
Really? He has a booster jab in the van.
Oh, really? They come out? They have to come out to him, yeah.
When people are walking past, vet's bum's stuck out of the van!
What does he weigh?
The last time we weighed him, believe it or not, 93 kilos. 93.
93 kilos? 93 kilos.
Yeah. Wow.
15 and a half stone or thereabouts.
Might be the heaviest dog I've ever worked with.
So, what do you do eventually to get him out? How does this end?
Come on. Yeah.
Oh, aye, and then you just get him on there.
Yeah. And then we drag him...
Pull him. ..we pull him, and then he falls out.
Right. So, if we go for a walk now, what's gonna happen?
He'll get a few steps, and he'll pancake down, yeah.
And right on cue...
No. Oh.
No. Somebody comes flying around the corner,
we're in trouble, aren't we?
Just down the road, there's another car park...
Oh, we're using the push and pull technique now, are we?
Oh, yeah.
Oh, you got there in the end. Wahey!
...Rio also refuses to leave...
Rio. "No, I don't want to go. I want to go back in the van."
...the one next to his groomer's.
Rio. Come on. Come on.
So, basically, anywhere you go, he just refuses to get out?
No, not really. There's one place he will go...
Oh, yeah? ..without any problem, and that's the pub.
The pub? Is that right?
He loves the pub.
He's like a whippet when he gets out of t'van.
Is he really?
First, it's time to wet Rio's whistle.
'I'm a bit confused.'
Come on, Rio, pub.
Why is he so happy to go in a pub but no other establishment?
He knows where he's going, doesn't he?
Yeah. Good Lord.
Straight in. Straight in.
THEY LAUGH
NATHAN SIGHS Can we have his usual, please?
Ha!
GRAEME LAUGHS
No wonder he likes coming to the pub.
I take it you're regulars, then, are you? This is his local.
Is it, yeah?
Dare I ask, have you got any other problems?
Stairs. Stairs?
He won't go up stairs.
Oh, he won't go up stairs? No. No, no.
Do you think you could show me, maybe? Yep.
Come on, Rio.
Rio. Go on, Rio. Go upstairs.
Rio! Go upstairs with your mum.
Go on. Rio.
Rio, come on!
Come on! Rio!
SHE LAUGHS I can't move now.
Rio! Rio!
Come on! Go on, Rio.
Rio.
Go on. Rio.
He's not happy, is he? Rio! Go on, Rio, upstairs.
"No. Not going. Get off me."
From a puppy, he's never, never entertained stairs.
So it's any stairs, any place? Any stairs, any place.
That's why he cries at night.
He wakes up about three o'clock in the morning,
and he sits at the bottom of the stairs just crying and crying.
Does he?
Eventually, twice every night, you have to get up.
Right, so, basically, you just want me to get this monster of a dog
out of the van on command,
walking to wherever and walking upstairs? Yeah.
Yeah. Right.
I might need a drink. HE LAUGHS
Mini cheddary biscuits. No wonder he loves the pub.
And as if trying to get a 93-kilo dog out of the van wasn't enough,
he won't go upstairs.
Rio, come on. Rio!
And then he whines in the middle of the night cos he's lonely.
Poor thing. Rio!
And you really can't drag 93 kilos worth
of resisting dog up any stairs, can you?
Might have my work cut out here.
Coming up... Archie, stop it!
A furniture fiend...
Out the way, out the way. ...faces rehoming.
I am frightened of losing him.
If I go over, that'll be me finished.
A meaty question...
So, we're vegan, and we were wondering
if a dog could have an exclusively vegan diet?
And can Graeme... Come on.
Rio! ...give Rio lift off?
Shall we? Come on!
Come on.
Rio! Rio!
In Barnsley... Come on.
...Nathan and Cathy's heavyweight hound...
Come on, Rio.
No, no. Please.
...is as stubborn as he's large.
Come on, Rio.
He will not walk upstairs for anybody or anything.
Not only does Rio refuse to climb stairs...
Come on. Hey?
Come on, Ri. ...he won't leave his van...
Come on now, big boy.
Rio, please.
...and walk willingly to the vet's.
Nathan thinks he can read.
Sure he can. He can't. He's a dog.
He knows where he's going, doesn't he?
But there's one place he loves visiting...
You got yourself a sausage roll? No, I haven't.
It's for Rio? Yes. Ha! I might have known.
...his local pub.
There we go. GRAEME LAUGHS
I think we can understand why he wants to come here.
There's mini cheddary biscuits and sausage rolls to be had.
I think there's something you've not spotted.
When I first met you, you looked apprehensive.
And he's reading your face.
He's looking at you going,
"No, this isn't good. Something bad going on here.
"They're not happy. No, no, I'll stay where I am.
"Safe bet."
Yeah? Yeah, correct. Absolutely correct.
As opposed to when you're here.
HE LAUGHS Right?
Yeah. Relaxed. Yeah.
The energy of it has got to be a bit more
"let's go to the pub" kind of energy.
I just thought he was big, fat and stubborn.
But Graeme pointed out maybe it's 50-50, and we're to blame as well.
I'm watching Cathy trying to get Rio up the stairs.
I'm like, "Oh, no, please stop me
"cos you're gonna take a tumble here."
Come on, upstairs. Rio!
You know, she's pulling on him, he's pulling on her.
Rio! It's not gonna end well, is it?
We need to find a better way.
Graeme doesn't think he's scared of stairs,
it's just a negative association.
Now, the thing is this, if I was to go up there
and I'm, "Come on, lad, up you get," and I'm pulling and pulling,
he's gonna pull away from me, isn't he?
I'd have thought so, yes. Which is what happened at the pub.
So he needs to turn it into a positive...
Ideally, I'm gonna keep a loose lead. Right? OK.
...and hopes a not-so-secret ingredient could flip the switch.
I've got bits of food.
While a taste of the pub...
I reckon I'm gonna alternate this. Sausage, cheese, sausage, cheese.
...might encourage him to take the stairs...
And when I get to the top, I'm gonna put quite a few down.
Like the jackpot. Got you.
The real secret sauce... There we go.
...is changing Nathan and Cathy's mindset.
Now, remember, we need to hit this
with a bit of pub energy, as we might know.
"Come on, lad," all happy, you know.
Yeah. Very good.
So, will an old-fashioned knees up...
Right. Upstairs. Upstairs.
...fuelled by home brewed pub energy...
Rio, come on.
Come on, Rio.
Rio!
...really be enough...
Come on, Rio.
...to get him climbing?
Good boy. Go on. Come on.
Shall we? Come on, then.
Rio! Rio, come on.
Come on.
Rio! Rio!
Come on.
Your mum's up here. Yeah, he's like, "No."
Pub vibes still bottled...
Rio! Come on, then.
...training's on the rocks.
Come on.
Now, remember - pub energy.
Can the couple put their stress on ice...
Come on.
...and roll out a barrel of fun?
Hello, baby. Hello, Rio.
Hey! Hello!
Go on! Rio!
Rio, come on. Come on, Rio.
Go on, lad. Come on.
You can do it.
Hello. Good lad.
Rio, come on! Yay! Come on, then.
Come on! Yeah, you can do it.
Wahey! Good boy!
THEY CHEER
Oh! Yay! Clever lad.
You've never been up here. Way! Fantastic.
Hey, that was a result. Oh, absolutely brilliant.
Literally the first time he's ever been up here.
He's never been up here in his life? Never.
He has never, ever been upstairs. Wow.
Never, ever. We should show him around.
THEY LAUGH
Interestingly, he didn't bother with the food on the way up,
but cos you were giving it what we might now call pub energy, right?
"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" He's like, "Ooh!"
No treats required, it's a win for positivity.
Oh, it's a fantastic result, yeah.
Yeah. How about that?
THEY CHUCKLE Still don't believe it, like, but...
But will Rio let his dad...
Let's see if you can do it for yourselves.
...take the pub upstairs...
Nathan, you know what to do, don't you? Yeah.
Don't pull him. I'll see...
...and give them all a good night's sleep?
Come on. Nice and steady. Nice and steady.
Come on, Rio!
Nice and steady. Come on, Rio!
Nice and steady! Yeah!
Fantastic! Nice and steady.
Oh, you beauty!
That's it. Keep coming backwards, Cathy.
Clever boy! Yes!
Who's a clever boy?
You are! THEY LAUGH
Oh, that's brilliant. Absolutely fantastic.
Absolutely brilliant.
Absolutely unbelievable.
If we can now get him upstairs,
that will really, really improve our lives.
We don't have to get out of bed. Exactly. We don't, no, we don't.
Just shout him to come up.
More than impressed.
Isn't it amazing?
A six-year-old dog, and he's never seen the upstairs of his own house.
I'm really pleased for him.
But when it comes to getting your dog out of the van... No.
If somebody comes flying around the corner, we're in trouble, aren't we?
...and to the vet,
well, that literally could be life and death.
So there's a lot more hanging on this next time when I come back.
Every time, this, innit? Every time. Fed up of you.
Graeme's career calling is mending our dogs'...
See what we've got here, then. ...dodgy behaviour.
Oh, that's puzzling.
But to answer questions not about their wayward ways...
So many questions from so many people.
...he's gathered a team of top pet professionals, including a vet...
Good result. ...a nutritionist...
If you compare these, this has got far more omega-3 in it.
...and a groomer. What a clever girl.
Today, he's homing in on nutrition.
Hi, Graeme, my name's Stephanie, and this is Proshka.
Oh.
My question is, can a dog have an exclusively vegan diet?
I don't know whether a dog can be vegan,
but the question has piqued my interest.
To investigate, Graeme's on his way to Wetherby.
But before he introduces his resident nutritionist to Proshka...
Hiya, nice to meet you. Hi. Hello. Hi.
Stephanie. Stephanie and...?
Gordon. Hello.
...he wants to know why Stephanie and Gordon...
And this is... Hey. And Proshka.
Yes. Blimey.
...want their Brussels griffon... He's a unique-looking dog, in't he?
He was born grumpy, and he's been grumpy ever since.
Has he? Yeah. GRAEME LAUGHS
...to eat plant-based food.
I'm guessing that's cos you guys eat a vegan diet yourself.
We do eat a vegan diet, yeah.
But we do buy quite a lot of meat.
So, we've got 15... 15 dogs. Yeah. Wow. OK.
And how does that make you feel?
So, yeah, it's an odd one morally,
but we wanna do what's best for our animals.
So we're a little bit torn.
Chloe Fuller has five years' experience in dog nutrition.
We think about their breeding, we think about their training,
but we don't often think about their food.
Pleased to meet you. Stephanie, Gordon, Proshka.
I love being able to come in and share a different perspective.
I am obsessed. THEY CHUCKLE
And what breed is Proshka? He's a Brussels griffon.
Oh, wow. So, what's the problem, then?
Ah, well, not so much a problem but a big question.
So, we're vegan, and... Uh-huh.
...we were wondering if a dog could have an exclusively vegan diet.
OK, and do you just have Proshka,
or do you have other dogs at home as well?
No, we... we do have a big crowd at home.
We've got 15 dogs in total,
and I'm obviously buying a lot of meat. Yeah!
The good news is dogs can eat vegetables.
And you know what? It's actually a really good opportunity
for me to clear up a bit of a myth, cos people always go,
"Well, dogs are wolves, you know, they're carnivores."
They're not. They're actually obligate omnivores.
So, what that means is that they are meat-eaters,
but they also have an ability to digest plant-based protein, too. OK.
But this is where it kind of gets a little bit tricky.
So, this is what you're currently feeding Proshka, right? Yes.
This is actually what Proshka would need
over the course of the entire day, so it's quite a small portion.
When pondering a vegetable-based doggy diet...
So, Graeme, can you bring in my chopping board, please? Mm-hm.
Right, there you go. There's a ton of stuff there. There is.
...first, consider portion size.
So, we're gonna weigh out how much he would need
to not lose weight, OK?
So how much food he would need on a daily basis,
only looking at the calories.
This isn't even trying to consider
meeting all of Proshka's nutritional needs.
So, it's already looking like quite a lot here
that I'm struggling to fit in.
So, we're gonna add some broccoli.
No, that's not quite enough.
Nope.
Yep. More?
Wow.
Every day...
...Proshka would need to be eating... all of that.
So you need all of that to match that.
And that's just calories, yeah?
Just the calories, not even making it nutritionally complete.
Vegetables can deliver sufficient calories,
but missing nutrients must be supplemented.
An alternative is fortified vegan food.
This here is actually a commercial vegan diet for dogs,
and it has all the nutrients he needs as well.
The question is, is it actually good for him?
The problem is that we don't have any lifetime studies.
Early studies do show promising signs,
but is it giving us enough confidence to go,
"Yes, a hundred percent, that's not gonna cause my dog any problems
"over the course of their entire life"?
That, we just don't know.
But could we say, for instance,
just reduce the amount of meat we're giving Proshka at the moment?
Yeah, absolutely.
I think, ultimately, there's no reason
that you can't swap out one or two days a week
with a vegan diet for them.
So, without sufficient evidence-based science
yet available...
So, is that a decent compromise?
I think that's an excellent compromise.
...it's recommended safe
to only switch to a purely vegan diet a couple of times a week.
It's definitely food for thought.
CHLOE LAUGHS 'Ey!
See what I did there? I like that. I do.
Leaving Proshka with plenty to chew over,
Graeme's heading south-west, answering a cry for help...
I'm in Weston-super-Mare today,
and I'm on my way to see a little Jack Russell
who is causing quite a problem in the house.
It's getting quite dangerous.
BARKS
...from a three-generational household.
Now, a lot of Jack Russells get under your feet,
but this one, apparently, goes for legs.
For the last two years...
GROWLS Archie, stop it!
Enough! Stop it! Come here!
Leave the chair alone! Stop it!
...Archie's made life at Cathy's house unbearable.
Stop it, Archie! Stop it!
He's a lovely dog.
'He's a lovely, lovely dog.' It's just this behaviour.
Let... Let me...
Archie, stop it! Leave it, leave it! Archie! 'Ey!
He chews any kind of legs - chair legs, outdoors, indoors.
Archie, stop it! Let me have the chair. Stop it!
'Ey.
Her parents, Barry and Janet...
Right. Come here.
...decided to live with their daughter's family
for a peaceful retirement.
We all moved in together in 2009
due to an injury I got at work with my back
that means I had to finish work.
BARKS
When Archie arrived, Janet fell for him.
What I love about Archie is his character and his cheekiness.
I love him to bits, but he can be a nice dog...
...and then he turns into a little devil.
Archie! Stop it!
She might love him, but at mealtimes...
...Archie threatens Janet's safety most.
It just makes dinner time in the household
really unpleasant and really, really stressful.
The worry I have is falling over him.
Out the way. Out the way.
I'm frightened he's gonna trip me up.
'They both have had mobility problems for a long time.'
Come on, then. Come on, then.
'He's always under my mum's feet.'
Out the way, Archie. Archie, out the way.
'I worry that she's gonna fall over and hurt herself.'
And then you feel really guilty
because we wanted to make their retirement
really happy and stress-free.
Leave the chair alone. Stop it!
And it is not like that.
Archie, come here! Archie!
If he could be fixed, it'd mean the world to us
because we love the little furry thing so much.
BARKS
Can Graeme bring harmony back to the house?
Here you go, Graeme. Proper cup of tea for you.
Magic. Where's it from? Yorkshire.
Well, there you go. That'll do nicely.
Always the best. Aye, that'll do.
Archie, leave it, leave it!
Careful. Can I sit down, please?
Archie! Leave it.
Arch... Ah! Ah!
BARKING
Ah! Archie! LAUGHTER
Oh, Archie! He took my chair.
So, as you can see, when I try to sit down... I can see.
...or pull the chair out, he...
he likes to attack... the chair leg
and to the point where he will pull the chair legs over.
Any of these chairs? Any of these chairs.
Leave the chair alone. Stop it!
Archie fell out with the furniture two years ago.
We'd finished a meal, I got up, didn't realise he was there,
pushed the chair in and... ...hurt him.
...chair legs must have caught him. Ah.
And that was the trigger, we think, then. Yeah. Oh, I see.
So, the lady on the end there...
Yes, hello. ...is my mum, Janet. Her mum.
So, we've got three generations here.
So, how bad has it got, Janet?
It's got so bad that I'm worried he's gonna trip me up.
And because I've got dodgy knee
and a dodgy shoulder that needs replacing. Ah.
I am frightened of losing him.
If I go over, that'll be me finished.
So you'd have to rehome him.
But deep down, I don't wanna get rid of him.
It's really sad cos I really love him.
Are you thinking of going separate ways?
Yeah.
How does that make you feel? Yeah.
Sad cos it's not his fault, is it?
I'm worried about my little doggy.
So, the way Archie is,
in anybody's house, would be, at the very least, a nuisance.
But here, it's actually dangerous.
Out the way. Out the way.
'You've got an elderly couple who,
'in Janet's case, she's very unsteady on her feet.'
So, as a result of that,
and Archie doesn't know this, but his future in that household,
in the family that he's lived with for ten years, it's in jeopardy.
Coming up... Will Rio believe the vet...
Let's give it pub energy. So... Come on, Rio.
...is just as fun as the boozer? Come on!
Can a trip to the groomer...
When they're producing this oil, it's getting blocked in the pores,
so what we wanna be doing is exfoliation.
...protect a hairless dog's skin?
And can Graeme...
You operate the chair, I'll operate the dog. Yeah.
How about that? OK.
...save Archie's seat at the table?
In Somerset... Stop it!
...Archie's chair-chomping...
BARKS Stop it, Archie!
...makes mealtime so dangerous...
If I go over, that'll be me finished.
...Janet might have to rehome the dog she adores.
Deep down, I don't wanna get rid of him.
It's really sad cos I really love him.
The family think Archie took against chairs
after an accident, and Graeme agrees.
It does very much sound like that one day, unfortunately, Barry,
when you've managed to catch him with the chair,
that probably did change everything. Yeah.
Cos basically, bless him, he's scared. Yeah.
So we've got to help him to understand
that moving chair legs aren't a danger to him.
And then, in turn, he won't be a danger to you.
Yeah. Yeah. That's right.
So, how are we gonna convince Archie that chair legs aren't a problem?
Well, what I wanna do is start with one chair not moving
and build it up from there.
BARKING
To end Archie's fear...
So, we've got a chair to start with. Yeah.
...he needs convincing chairs are no threat.
What I'm gonna do is we'll pop him on lead.
If at any point he does go to bite the chair leg,
we can prevent him from doing that. Yeah.
If he doesn't react,
it's really important that we reward him for making good decisions.
Mm-hm.
That's always gonna be, "Oh, good boy."
What I'm really aiming for here is that we build this thing up.
A chair that's moving slightly, a chair that moves a bit more.
Maybe we sat on the chair.
So, we're making it a bit more difficult as we go.
Leg one - overcome Archie's fear of an empty, static chair.
Hey, Archie. Who's a good lad?
Nothing wrong with that chair, is there? Good boy.
Leg two - gradually introduce movement.
Hey, this is great.
He's not bothered at all, is he? He's not bothered at all.
Good boy.
Ye-he-he-heah! Who's a clever lad?
I think the next thing is... Why don't you take a seat? OK.
You operate the chair. I'll operate the dog. Yeah.
How about that? OK.
Come here, Arch.
Right. OK.
Good boy. Good boy.
That's it. And sit down again. Maybe a little shuffle backwards.
All right. Good boy. Good boy.
Oh, this is surprising. It's very surprising.
But I'm not at a table. Exactly.
Will the seat of Archie's problem...
Right, then. Off to the table.
...leave Graeme's training...
Shall I have a seat? ...without a leg to stand on?
What I want you to do is just...
just that far, a little "hoitch" back.
That's it.
Good boy. Good...
Now he's got up, and he's... ...boy.
He was thinking of moving out of the way, then. Good boy.
So, shall I try and get up? Yeah.
That's it.
Good boy. He moved out of the way.
Good boy.
Was that a surprise? Real surprise.
Cos normally, he would be straight in there, attacking.
It's a breakthrough.
What do we do after we get up? Push the chair.
Push the chair under. Yep.
Don't do it in a oner. OK.
So, maybe two, three inches. Let's see what he does. Yep.
Good boy. Good boy.
So, I'm gonna take the lead off.
So, if you sit down now. OK.
Ooh, he looked at the chair.
Good boy. Good boy.
That's it.
Hey, we're on a winner.
Clever boy, Archie. Yes, you are. Good boy.
But Archie's toughest test is still to come.
We've got something to show to the family. We have.
If his chair-chomping returns...
So, I'm gonna show you what I've done,
and then I'd love you all to sit down one by one.
...when the family come together...
You just need to be aware of where he is. Yes.
...Janet could be saying goodbye... OK.
And then... Oh, my God.
...sit down. OK?
...to the dog she loves.
So there you go, my duck, there's your seat.
Thank you. Right. That's it.
Pull it out. That's it.
If you shuffle in a little bit at a time.
Just a little bit. Little bit.
Good boy. Good boy. Good boy.
It's a remarkable turnaround.
ARCHIE GROWLS AND SNORTS
For the last two years, Archie's made mealtimes...
Stop it, Archie! ARCHIE BARKS
...chaotic... Enough. Stop it! Come here.
...and dangerous.
If I go over, that'll be me finished.
Now...
Good boy. ...the family can look forward...
Good boy.
...to calm, safe...
So quiet.
...and peaceful dinners.
What do you reckon, Barry? You've trained us very well, Graeme.
LAUGHTER You spotted my secret. Yes.
This morning, you were worried you might have to let him go.
I think you can keep him now. Yeah.
I'm really happy you came. Thank you very much. Aw.
Lovely man. You're welcome.
I'm gonna have a custard cream.
THEY LAUGH
Have a good journey, thank you ever so much. See you, everybody.
Cheers. Thank you. Thank you. Bye-bye.
Leaving Archie's feet firmly under the table,
Graeme's in Harrogate,
continuing his quest for happy and healthy dogs.
Hi, Graeme.
I'm Rosie. And I'm Dan, and this is Knuckles.
Oh. A four-year-old hairless Peruvian Inca orchid.
We were just wondering
if there was anything specific we needed to be doing
when grooming a hairless dog?
Thanks, Graeme. GRAEME CHUCKLES
How do you groom a hairless dog?
I know it sounds like a joke question,
but I don't think it is.
I think if you ask a professional groomer,
they'll tell you there are things that you should be doing
to care for a dog with no hair.
Before introducing Knuckles to his grooming expert...
Morning. Hello. Morning.
Nice to meet you, Daniel and Rosie. Dan, yeah. Yes.
Hello, nice to meet you. Hello. And Knuckles.
...Graeme wants to meet Dan, Rosie and their hairless hound.
So Peruvian Inca orchid, then? Mm-hm. He's a rare breed.
He is. You don't see many of them. We've never seen another one.
Not in the UK. Yeah.
I've got to ask, why? Why a Peruvian Inca orchid?
It's because of me. I'm actually allergic to dogs.
Ah. Whereas he hasn't got any hair
and I don't seem to be affected with my asthma.
I see.
If anyone knows how to maintain Knuckles's skin...
Ooh, she's a good girl. Yes, she's a good girl.
...it's Best In Class Crufts winner,
dog wellness author...
What a clever girl.
...and award-winning groomer Verity Hardcastle.
Most people think when they bring the dog to the groomers,
they're just making them look pretty...
Morning, Verity. Morning.
Boy, have I got a dog for you. VERITY CHUCKLES
...but there's much more to it than that.
So I brought you a hairless dog to groom.
Funnily enough, they actually do need grooming... Right?
...even though you wouldn't think so.
We are looking at their skin, their coat.
We're giving them a full-body MOT.
Tell me, why have you come in to see me today?
So, his skin changes between winter and summer.
In the winter, it becomes paler.
In the summer, he'll scratch a lot and over-lick.
But also where we would consider armpits... Mm-hm.
...it starts to rub and it can get quite irritated for him.
So, general care for it would be amazing.
Yeah, sure. Have you ever felt it?
Yeah, I have. And his skin actually feels quite nice.
Some of them are quite clammy.
The first thing to consider...
So they can get really greasy.
...is keeping skin pores open.
Because obviously they're secreting a lot of oil through their skin.
When they produce this oil, it's getting blocked in the pores.
So what we want to be doing is exfoliation.
To exfoliate without stripping the skin's essential oils...
So this is an aloe vera and green tea mask.
...a natural, gentle product is vital.
These are just an exfoliating bath glove
that we would use on our own skin. Yep.
This is gonna be really great
for helping to rejuvenate the skin cells as well. Mm-hm.
Take away any loose skin
and the perfect step just before we go into nourishing the skin.
How often should we be doing this?
So you should be doing this once a week
when you're doing your weekly bathing.
While skin is moist...
This is just gonna help them dry quicker.
And also it's super snuggly.
Right. So do you wanna put that on him?
...keep it warm and comfortable.
It's like a bathrobe.
Oh, he's a snuggly boy. Oh, he's a snuggly, snuggly boy.
Pores unclogged, Verity recommends targeted skin nourishment...
So this is a thicker balm -
an organic coconut oil.
...beginning with drier patches.
So I would use this more for high friction areas -
armpits, elbows, pressure points -
so more problem areas.
Do you wanna try it? OK.
Paw.
You're trying to lick it off already, aren't you, Puppy.
I'm loving this, Verity, because this applies to all dogs,
not just hairless dogs.
So pads, elbows... Absolutely.
...coconut oil. Yeah.
I wouldn't apply this to the whole dog
cos we don't want to block up those pores that we've unclogged.
To nourish the rest of a dog's skin,
choose a less clingy product.
And then we have a really light liquid crystal.
This is a light oil.
You can buy this online at professional grooming suppliers. OK.
It's really light, isn't it? It's very light.
It's like a silk, almost. Yeah.
Because that won't clog up the pores. Exactly.
Take your jacket off. I'm so sorry. He's so cosy in this.
THEY LAUGH Yeah, isn't he?
I'm gonna rub it through, warm it through my hands.
Then I'm just gonna... just a very light touch to start off with.
You enjoying that?
He is enjoying that. He is, isn't he?! Eyes are going.
Finally, whether your dog is hairless or not...
They'll need some protection for sure.
...sunscreen could save their lives.
So can you just use,
you know, sunscreen we've got in the cupboard?
No. Human sunscreen has zinc oxide in it. Oh, yeah.
So that is gonna be poisonous to the dog.
So, we need to be getting dog-specific sun cream. Right.
So this is an SPF 50, pet-friendly.
So it's really important that we apply this to our hairless dogs
cos they don't have any coat protection.
Also we need to be thinking about dogs that are white, as well,
because things like white boxers, Staffies... Staffies, bulldogs.
...especially when they've got that real pink pigmentation.
Especially here. Yeah.
They're super prone to sunburn and...
which also can lead to other problems like skin cancer.
So, has that been helpful?
Yeah, very much so.
I mean, we love him to bits. We wanna give him the best life.
And so, yeah, that's really, really helpful.
Great. Well, he's a beautiful dog.
Knuckles' skin might be in safe hands...
Rio, please.
...but until Graeme has got 15-stone Rio... Come on.
May be the heaviest dog I've worked with.
...to visit the vet...
He'll get a few steps and pancake down. Come on, kid.
Rio, Rio.
...his week is far from done.
Before his week ends,
Graeme's back in Yorkshire... Come on, Ri.
...where 15 stone Rio's...
Come on, Rio!
...refusal...
No, no. Don't, please. ...to visit the vet...
Nathan thinks he can read "vet" and he knows what "vet" is.
But he can't read "vet".
Sure he can. Yeah. He can't. He's a dog.
Rio, please. ...is a constant concern.
It is a big worry, like, the future.
We praying that Graeme can help us on this one.
Rio does love... Straight in.
Straight in, yeah. THEY LAUGH
...going to the pub.
Can he have his usual? Oh, God.
Ha! No wonder he likes coming to the pub. Oh!
Come on. Last time, Graeme rolled out the barrel...
Now, remember - pub energy.
Go on. Hello, baby. Hello, Rio.
Hey! Hello.
...and bringing the pub home...
Come on. Oh, yeah! Oh, you can do it.
...was just the tonic to get Rio upstairs.
Clever boy.
Yay! Clever lad.
Today... 'Ey up again, Graeme. 'Ey up.
Nice to see you again. You all right?
...he's asking Cathy and Nathan...
Cathy, darling, how are you? You all right?
...for the same again.
I think we're gonna keep that high energy up to get him moving.
Pub energy, as I keep calling it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Right, let's get stuck in.
Step one -
use turbo boosted encouragement to create the mood...
Hello, hello.
...to get him out of his van.
Let's give it pub energy. So, er... Come on, Rio. Come on, Rio.
Rio! Come on, Rio. Come on.
Come on, big boy. Come on, boy. Hey.
Who's a clever boy? Hey! Fantastic.
That was good, wasn't it? It was very good. Good boy.
It's that pub energy, as I keep calling it. Yeah.
That's what does it.
RIO PANTS Step two...
Ready to rock 'n' roll? Yes, certainly. Yes.
Come on, then, keep the energy up. Come on, Rio, walkies.
Come on, baby.
...step to the vet's.
Come on. Come on, Rio.
Good pace.
SHE LAUGHS Hey, this is good.
This is already further than we got last time.
Yes, far further.
Good boy. Keep going. Come on.
Pub energy flowing...
Come on, Rio. Brilliant.
...Rio doesn't read the signs.
Come on. Fantastic!
Come on, Rio. Come on, kid.
But before Nathan and Cathy get their champagne moment...
Rio, Rio. No, don't go with him.
Don't go with him. Don't go with him.
He's on a winner, then.
...he twigs he's not heading to the boozer.
Gone, "No!" And he's thrown on the emergency brake, hasn't he?
Yeah. "No, that's it."
He then went, "Go back to the van. Let's go back." Yeah, yeah.
And then you've sort of fallen for it there because you end up...
I know he's a big, heavy dog,
but you end up being dragged along with him
and you're sort of going with it.
So he's then thinking, "I'm winning, I'm winning."
Right. Right? So, my thinking is this -
"That way? No!"
I don't care.
If this takes two hours, so be it. Yeah.
We are not going that way. Right. Yeah.
Come on, kid. Come on.
Rio's tantalisingly close to the surgery.
Even this is the furthest we've ever been.
Come on, Rio. Come on, then. Rio. Come on, Rio.
Can one last burst of pub positivity...
Come on, Rio. Good boy.
...bring this crawl to an end.
Yeah!
Come on, Rio. Come on. Come on, Rio, come on.
Come on, Rio. Come on, Rio. LAUGHTER
That's amazing. Brilliant. THEY LAUGH
Ah, good boy. Rio!
First time he's ever been in a vet.
I can't believe you've done it. Oh, lovely. Yeah.
I can't believe you've done it. I really can't.
You look a bit emotional, actually. THEY LAUGH
For almost seven years... Come on.
Come on, Rio.
...Rio has only been seen by a vet in a car park.
If he ever needs a major operation,
we don't know how we're gonna do it.
Now... Let's give it a go again.
Let's prove we can do it again.
...Nathan and Cathy...
Come on, big lad. Come on. There's a good boy.
...might be able to stop worrying... Come on. Come on.
Come on, lad. In you go.
Come on. Oh-ho-ho. Fantastic.
...about his ongoing health care.
Did it in a oner. GRAEME LAUGHS
He did it in one go! Did it in a one... You did.
It's absolutely brilliant.
I never, ever thought that would happen.
Good, wasn't it? Absolutely brilliant.
Really good. Yeah. NATHAN LAUGHS
I think the world has changed for Rio.
I think it's opened up. And for his mum and dad, well...
...they seemed very happy.
It's certainly gonna change our lives.
Hundred percent. Yeah. Hundred percent.
At Kath's house...
Good boy.
...mealtimes are still loud...
Good boy.
...but Archie's chair chomping is on the wane.
Good boy.
In Worcester, Knuckles's skin has never looked better.
Really good advice, especially the exfoliating.
It's been a great help. Knuckles is happy.
Aren't you? Yeah.
In Sheffield, veganism is having its day.
We're doing meat-free Mondays.
Proshka and the pack are loving them.
We may introduce another day a week too.
So thank you so much for your help.
And in Barnsley...
Hiya, Graeme.
Just to say thank you, a very big thank you for sorting Rio out.
...Rio's climbing stairs... Clever boy.
He's doing really well. ...and discovering...
He's now happily going into the vet's.
Well done, Rio.
...the vet is almost as fun as the boozer.
There you go.
Thank you. Cheers. Bye.
If you think your badly behaved dog could do with Graeme's help,
then why not get in touch?
Details can be found at...
Ziggy, no.