DOGS BARK
This once-peaceful country house...
DOG GROWLS MENACINGLY This is our life.
...is now a special place...
Back, back!
My house smells of his wee.
...for those at the end of their tether.
I'm frightened it's gonna kill him.
DOG BARKS AGGRESSIVELY
He has pulled my arm out the socket.
If she could get off that leash, she'd be hanging off their face.
This is make or break for us.
Here, a team of expert trainers...
Down. Back.
They look like SAS geezers.
...take on... Stop it!
...some of Britain's worst-behaved dogs...
Whoa! No, not good.
ANGRY YAPPING Oh, my God!
...and their humans...
How much training do you guys do now?
None.
What's this?
She's lost trust with humans.
...at an academy...
This is your opportunity to move forward,
and we're gonna give you those skills. Yeah.
...unlike any other...
We need to get that muzzle off you.
Oh, I love your face!
Good boy!
That has never happened before.
Yes! Can you believe that?
Ba-ba-ba-ba!
It's like he's a different dog.
WOMAN TRILLS Good girl!
Down.
Come on, then, this way.
MAN WHISTLES Yes.
It's mid-morning at the Dog Academy,
and lessons are in full swing.
I know, mate, it's stressful, innit, all this learning?
On his way is a brand-new pupil, ably escorted by driver Dan.
So, he is a beautiful dog. Is he a cockapoo?
He is, yeah. He is? He's more poodle.
He's more poodle... Than cock.
THEY LAUGH Yeah.
This is Bear.
And his parents, Paul and Louise.
So, how old is Bear now?
He's 18 months now.
When he was a puppy, I used to sleep downstairs with him,
and I used to, kind of, put the bed right next to his cage.
And then I, kind of, carried on sleeping downstairs for...
Six weeks? Six weeks?! Yeah. Something like that.
I know. I think by then... the complete obsession had started.
Yeah.
What kind of student do you think
Bear's going to be at the Dog Academy?
Oh, no!
He's gonna be the naughty one. I'm sorry.
BEAR GROWLS Bear, Bear, Bear, stop it.
SHE SIGHS
Yeah, but that gives him a bit of personality.
He's worse than the kids.
Yeah, there's gonna be some home
truths said about what we could've done differently, in hindsight.
When you say we, do you mean more you?
Probably more me.
Guys, we're nearly here.
So, how are you feeling?
Hopeful that we can get the help we desperately need.
You're in very, very good hands.
Welcome to the Dog Academy.
Now, we have Paul, Louise, and Bear.
Every new student, canine and human,
will first have their behaviour assessed remotely.
Oh, no, don't do that.
Watching on, trainers Victoria and Adam.
Here they come.
Hi! You OK? Hello. Good, thank you.
Welcome to the Dog Academy. I'm Grace.
Hi. Thank you. Nice to meet you. And you.
Who's this little fluff ball? This is Bear.
Bear?
Oh, he's quite tentative. Yeah.
Yeah, he is, isn't he?
Yeah, really looking for Dad.
"Are you coming with me?" Checking in on him.
If Paul's in the house, Bear is his shadow.
Even if Paul goes to the bathroom,
he will sit outside the bathroom door and wait.
Yeah.
Yeah, I do probably think he IS my dog,
and not so much, kind of, the family dog.
When the three of us are together, Bear doesn't like it,
because we're not having that time, just the two of us.
Why did you go for the name Bear?
Because he just looked like
a fluffy teddy bear when we picked him.
Is he like a teddy bear?
BOTH: No.
VICTORIA: All right, let's see what he's like at home.
No. No.
Oh! He's not happy, is he, at all?
BEAR GROWLS No! No!
That's serious.
Get down.
OK. Well, that's one way to walk around a house.
So, Bear's found her bag.
GROWLING Ooh! Ooh.
No! BEAR BARKS ANGRILY
Oh, my God! Argh! Oh, my gosh.
Oh, that's like a scene from a horror movie, isn't it?
Did it bite her? Did he bite her?
I think so.
WOMAN:You OK? LOUISE CRIES
BEAR BARKS ANGRILY
Oh, poor thing.
He bites a little bit.
Oh!
A little bit?
Our daughter calls him Bearasaurus.
- BEAR BARKS LOUDLY - Oh! - It's OK.
Oh, gosh.
Sh, stop it. It's OK.
That's why. I'll leave you guys to it,
and the trainers will be out to see you soon.
Thank you.
He's just building up for...
...an attack.
So, go careful around his ears.
I'm not touching his ears. I know.
Can you give me a sense of what life was like before you got Bear?
Oh, my gosh, it was so calm.
The only things we ever disagreed
about was what we were going to watch on TV,
or what we were going to have for dinner.
Good boy. Uh-uh-uh!
Oh, boy, right up to the face. OK. All right, shall we go chat?
Let's take a look.
Come on, then.
We just thought, "We can give Bear a perfect life.
"He's just going to come and fit straight in
"and we're going to live this fairy tale."
BEAR BARKS LOUDLY
It's OK, It's OK. Bear, it's OK.
It is not a fairy tale, it is a living nightmare.
BEAR BARKS LOUDLY
Bear, Bear. What's this? Good boy.
LOUD BARKING CONTINUES
Bear, Bear.
Bear, what's this? Good boy.
That was a lively welcome, wasn't it? Yeah.
So, a bit stressful, yeah? Yeah. Yes, very. OK. Massively.
I can see that he's really stressed right now, OK,
and that's why we just threw a whole load of food on the ground.
Yeah. Because instead of him focusing on us,
then he can, like, start sniffing on the ground. Yeah.
OK, good.
How long has this been going on? When did it start?
From him being tiny. Tiny?
Yeah.
People just kept saying to us, "Oh, it's just puppy behaviour,
"he'll grow out of it." But as he's got bigger,
he's becoming more aggressive.
Our children have been frightened to go near him,
because he can be so unpredictable.
He has got the potential
to actually really hurt somebody at some point.
I see you have some scars on your arm.
Yes, dog, yeah, that's Bear. All from the dog?
He will go from being a dog like this,
where he's just chilled out, to then just jumping up and biting.
BEAR GROWLS It's OK.
Bear, Bear.
Hey, hey, no!
Bear... Bear.
I always try and say it's
because he's trying to tell me something.
This is normal, everyday behaviour.
The impact on you and your family...?
Huge. Massive, yeah.
Rather than bring us even closer,
it just feels like it's ripped us apart. Yeah.
This is make or break for us.
OK. All right.
BEAR BARKS LOUDLY Bear, it's OK.
Sh, sh, sh.
Bear, Bear. HE CLICKS HIS FINGERS
BARKING CONTINUES Bear, Bear.
NARRATOR: As Victoria and Adam get to work,
a new classmate is already en route to the academy.
Oh, my God.
So, Cindy and Cory? Yep.
Are you brother and sister?
Yeah, we get asked that all the time, don't we? SHE LAUGHS
So, what is your relationship?
This is my son, this is. It never is!
It is. I am. Yeah.
Wow! Yeah, yeah, he's 18 now.
Somebody thought he was my boyfriend yesterday.
I said, "You're joking, aren't you?"
So, does that mean you're going out partying with your mam?
Well, I misbehave more than him,
so he doesn't let me go out with him.
I'd have to be looking after her if I went out.
Yeah, he would, yeah.
So, tell me about the big boy in the boot.
Boss, in the back, is a rottweiler.
I got burgled twice.
Cory was only young at the time.
Obviously, being a single woman on her own in the house,
I had to get him just as a deterrent,
and I've never been burgled since.
He's like your right hand, really.
He's like my right-hand man, yeah.
With me.
Go find.
Good boy! Clever lad.
DOG BARKS, TRAINER CLICKS TONGUE
Bear. Come on, then. Find it.
At the academy, dogs are first trained one-on-one.
Bear, what's this? Come on. HE CLICKS HIS TONGUE
Only when Bear has achieved
a baseline of behaviour can Paul
and Louise be taught the same techniques.
Bear's been showing those aggressive outbursts since he was young,
so these unwanted behaviours very quickly become habit,
so that then becomes really hard to break.
BEAR BARKS LOUDLY
- ADAM CLICKS HIS TONGUE - Come on. - Good boy.
The first thing to do is generally just getting him sniffing.
Oh, what's in there?
Sniffing is a really calming influence for dogs,
it releases dopamine.
Just helps to, kind of, calm them down,
put them in a much better head space.
Good lad.
I'm concerned about the future of Bear.
The worst-case scenario, in, kind of,
strong reactivity cases, resulting in biting,
is that the dog is then put to sleep.
That would be devastating for the family,
so I've got a lot of work to do,
a lot of weight on my shoulders, to make sure that doesn't happen.
BEAR BARKS LOUDLY
ADAM CLICKS HIS TONGUE, WHISTLES Come on, boy.
Good lad.
All right, here we are. Welcome to my boudoir.
If you want to go sit on the sofa. Thank you.
NARRATOR: In the human training room,
Victoria is turning her attention to Paul and Louise.
VICTORIA: It's been quite a morning already, hasn't it?
You can relax, Bear's not here.
No biting.
I've brought you into this room to allow you to see
the world from Bear's point of view. Yeah.
How do you feel, Paul, about this whole situation?
When I was growing up, we had a dog.
He was, kind of, everyone's best friend,
and I was thinking, "Oh, amazing, I can have that again."
The relationship that we both had separately
with Bear when he was growing up,
you were always very authoritative around him,
whereas I was the always playful one,
give him my undivided attention.
I think that's probably just why I'm, kind of, so protective of him.
Again, it's because I know he gets a hard time from...
Quite rightly so.
I know I, kind of, overcompensate and...
Because, again,
I just feel probably, sometimes,
that I'm the only person who loves him.
Paul is absolutely not tough enough with Bear, at all.
And then on the flip side, I think Louise is far too strict.
Every time, Paul will find the good in Bear.
Even if he's destroying things in the house,
"Well, he didn't mean to do that. He's just bored."
Bear can do no wrong in your eyes.
I know that things have to change,
and I want to make changes.
But I just feel like you don't want to listen.
Does he make excuses for the behaviour? Yeah, yeah. OK.
It makes me angry.
I've nearly left.
There was just the constant row,
where we weren't speaking, and it was just awful.
And I just thought, "This is not how I wanna live."
You know, our youngest daughter being so upset
because it was just constant arguments all the time
and you, sort of, said at one point,
"Right, well, we'll have to look into rehoming him."
And then deep down I was thinking,
"If Bear went, Paul would never forgive me,
"so that would probably ruin our marriage anyway."
I just felt so trapped.
When we... When you've discussed, kind of,
getting rid of Bear, kind of, breaks my heart.
This is someone that we've brought into our lives,
he didn't choose us, we chose him.
We have a responsibility to give him the best life possible.
But it just cannot continue like it is,
because it will get to
a stage where it will just completely destroy us,
and there will be no comeback from it, really.
What would you do if you had to give him up?
No...
I don't know if I could've ever given him up, really.
Well, if it was between your family and the dog, then...
Well, if it was, then there is only one choice,
but that would've... I think, like you said...
You would never have forgiven me.
No.
When she tried to make friends, they would all run in fear.
Ooh! Kisses.
Wait there.
Hey! that's enough!
At the Dog Academy,
six of the country's best trainers are hard at work.
Come here, let me help you.
Come on, then. Let's go, boy.
What's this?
Transforming not only the nation's dogs...
Good lad.
...but their owners too.
VICTORIA: So, now I have to be really blunt with you.
I can tell you right now,
if you are not consistent and you don't get on the same page,
I am telling you, behaviour will not change.
It will get worse.
So, you have a dog that is a bite risk.
There has to be accountability. Yeah. Yeah.
And the accountability is
the fact that I don't think this dog really has much structure.
That's a really good point.
I just see a dog that's very conflicted, very confused.
With the softness all the time,
and not giving him any boundaries, he's totally lost.
But also, punishment,
even when you're shouting at the dog, or challenging them,
actually makes the dog feel more stressed,
less responsive to you,
will come to you when he needs,
but doesn't trust you.
He's such a sensitive boy.
He's not a nasty boy at all. No.
But he has a really rough way of communicating.
So, we need to find him a different way,
or teach him a different way, to communicate.
This dog is a challenge, right? Yeah.
We've got to bring that energy down on the ground,
not up there, not to you.
Then I think when we put all of these things into place... Yeah.
...gonna see a massive change.
But it will not change if you do not work on the same page.
No. Yeah. We know. Absolutely. Yeah.
Right, we're nearly here... Oh, Jesus.
Here he is, Dan the man.
Standing by for a new student, trainers Shaun and Kamal.
There you go, mucker.
Whoa! Wow!
He actually hopped over me! That was amazing.
Oh, my God!
KAMAL: That was an exit! Bless his heart, you know.
Boisterous, eh? Boisterous, yeah.
Right, guys, best of luck. Thanks, Dan.
See you later on. See you. Bye-bye.
What a place this is.
Jesus!
You'd have a nightmare cleaning this.
Nightmare cleaning it.
Hiya, you all right?
Oh, what a lovely place this is.
How are you? I'm all right, are you? Yeah, not bad, thank you.
Oh, look, he's saying, "There's toys!"
Straight for the toys, I love it. And who have we got here?
Boss, this is, the rottweiler. Boss?
But this isn't the one with the issue.
Where's the one with the...?
It's Gina.
I love that! Gina's in the bag!
Thought she was coming in with a designer handbag,
and she pulls out the dog.
I'm gonna be honest, it's Legally Blonde.
She had a little chihuahua in that bag and I,
in my younger days, I thought they were a bit of an accessory,
I suppose.
And I did buy her coats and all that stuff to start with.
She was in the little handbag and she used to come out to
a little bar with me while I'm having a cocktail with my friends, sitting on my lap.
This is a proper dog bag, this isn't just a handbag.
This one's got a zip and clips,
so she just can't get out.
Extra safety. Extra safety!
We've had to swap the handbag
for a safety bag. SHE LAUGHS
So, Gina's the one you're here for?
Gina's the problem dog. Yeah. She's a nightmare.
With other dogs when she's out walking, she's terrible.
Really? Deadly. Like, vicious.
OK, here we go.
GINA BARKS AGGRESSIVELY It's embarrassing, sorry.
Wow, she's really going for it. She is lively, isn't she?
GINA GROWLS AND BARKS
It's like a can of Pepsi just bubbling away.
Yeah, yeah. Wow, look at that! Yeah.
CONTINUOUS BARKING
Stop it, Gina! Naughty!
They're trying to, sort of, shout at her.
It's not probably the best approach. There's just no response, is there?
Gina... GINA BARKS AGGRESSIVELY
Gina, stop that, now. GINA CONTINUES BARKING
Wow, that's extreme.
So, do these two get on?
Yeah. She's in charge of him.
Yeah. Oh, I see.
She thinks she rules the roost, she does.
When she goes into that craze of a Tasmanian devil,
there's no getting her out of it.
Well, I'll leave you to it. Nice to meet you. Wish us luck.
I'll see you in a bit. Yeah. Good luck. See you later, mate.
OK, I've seen plenty. Let's go and meet them.
Let's get into it, then. Yeah, absolutely. Come on.
You don't know what you've got coming, G.
My life has been Gina, really, for so many years,
and same with you. She's been through a lot with us, hasn't she?
She's seen you grow up from a child.
He even considered not going to Magaluf,
in case something happened to Gina.
Now, that's coming from a teenager.
Most teenagers would think, "Woohoo, Magaluf!
"I'm going on the piss, I don't care." But Gina was in his mind,
which I thought was lovely, to be honest.
Uh-oh. Have you seen the trainers? They look like SAS geezers.
Oh, my Lord!
This is gonna be like boot camp for Gina.
Come here, little girl. Brrr, bu-bu-bu.
We go walkies. Got your toy? Good man.
Bear, stop it.
Good. Walk back a couple of steps.
That's it. Nice and simple, walk back.
Good. Good.
NARRATOR: Two hours in,
and Adam has finally managed
to tame some of Bear's worst impulses.
What we have to do is
to get you working on the same page. Yeah.
Before Paul and Louise begin training,
Victoria has asked them to agree on three cue words for Bear to follow.
The first word we're gonna work on is "find",
so because he's jumping up, mouthing,
and everything's upwards at the minute, our first thing to do is
to try and put him in the complete opposite direction
and put his attention down on the ground.
We're gonna get him using his nose, getting him sniffing. OK.
So, there's gonna be a piece of chicken connected to the lead,
and I'm just gonna drag the chicken in a straight line.
So, we want him to sniff, following the scent of the chicken.
In human terms, this is the equivalent of him doing a crossword,
rather than a 100m sprint.
It works his brain rather than working his body.
Ah!
When you have a dog displaying aggressive tendencies,
one of the best things you can do with that dog is scent training.
A human nose has about six million scent receptors.
A dog has, on average, around 250 million to a billion.
When they put their nose down to the ground,
it turns the brain from being overwhelmed to problem solving,
to thinking. They're less emotional.
So, all you're gonna do now is walk round,
to the post, find, let him work. OK.
Don't forget your word.
Bear, find.
Find.
Good boy! Good boy.
Nice work! Excellent. That's so good!
That was amazing, to see him do that. Well done, Bear.
Yeah, we've been busy in the background, you know?
We've been working hard in the background.
It's all gone, mate. This is such good work.
Paul, can I get you to hand the lead over to Louise? Yep.
And then you're gonna do the same track. Yep.
So, when you woke up this morning,
did you think you were gonna be dragging chicken around?
It wasn't on the list I thought I'd do! OK.
And then, Louise, whenever you're ready, just encourage him over.
Bear, come on. Good boy. Good boy.
Good boy. Good.
Remember your word.
Find.
Give him a nice loose lead.
Do "find."
Bear, Bear.
Bear.
Bear. Bear, find.
Cos he has less of a relationship with her,
then I don't think that he wants to work with her. Yeah.
Bear. Bear. Come on!
Find, Bear.
I think he's getting a little frustrated. Yeah.
Find.
I almost feel ashamed that I'm struggling with... this puppy.
Find.
And I don't think that he wants to be like this.
Bear, find.
So, why do you think, Louise, why do you think he's not doing it?
Because he's watching Paul. He's distracted by Paul.
But I also think it's because he has less of a relationship with you.
He has more of a working
relationship with Paul and less with you.
Oh, it makes me feel sad.
BEAR BARKS LOUDLY Bear, stop it.
If we can get him fixed,
we can get our family life back together.
Hello, hello, hello. Hello, you OK?
Cory and...? Cindy.
Cindy, excellent. Don't laugh. All right. Nice to meet you.
That's all right. Sorry, he'll just wanna say hello. He is friendly.
He's so handsome! It's not him with the problem,
it's this one. Yeah. I know, I thought that was your handbag when you were walking up.
Honestly.
So, what would you say actually, sort of,
happens when she sees another dog?
Fine at home, fine with people. Soon as you go on a walk,
she spots another dog, the craze comes into her.
Yeah. And she just goes mental.
It's like a switch. You can't switch it off.
The moment we leave the front door, we're on edge.
Yeah, we're like this, looking for other dogs.
Cos it is the collar as well.
If she was to slip out of the collar...
Yeah. And she's fast. When I say she's fast,
she's like Usain Bolt, I'm not even joking.
And I ran national 100m sprint, and I can't catch her.
I will take her out in the dark and...
Or anywhere I know where there just won't be any other dogs.
So, the picture is you're down a back alley,
hiding away from dogs, 12 o'clock at night,
you see something, and she's just going bananas.
Yeah. Spot-on. Yeah.
When Gina kicks off, we either cover her eyes,
like this, because she can't see them,
but she still goes, or pick her up, but she's still going.
We just basically have to get out
the situation as fast as we can, don't we?
It's panic stations. Panic stations.
But she's not all bark. If she could get off that lead,
she'd be hanging off their face. She's done it with a boxer before,
and luckily the boxer was soft. I'm scared for her life.
What's brought it to a head, then,
that you've now picked this moment to go,
"Right, we're gonna try and fix this"?
I feel sorry for her, cos she's getting old now.
She should be living her life, shouldn't she?
But she's not going to the places she should,
because I can't take her, cos she's crazy.
And I think if she passes away
and she hasn't lived her full life,
I feel guilty as well, and we're just willing to try,
do you know what I mean? OK.
I always think when someone passes away,
you always think what you should've done and could've done.
You know, you wanna make the most out of your life when you've
only got a few years left. Do your bucket list.
I bet she's got one the size of my
arm cos she hasn't been able to do anything.
You know, she's 11 years old.
We've gotta be realistic about how long she's been doing this for.
Yeah.
And what impact we can make.
Do you think she's trainable?
Honestly, no.
Pop her in the handbag.
Good girl.
Oh, Jesus. Good luck. Nice.
If she could see another dog and just walk past it,
it would be a miracle.
Good lad! Super boy.
Good lad, well done.
And the more I think about it,
I just think.... I feel sorry for the trainers.
Bella, come on, bub. Good.
Do you wanna take a selfie, Brian?
CLICKS Yeah, you did it!
We're gonna have you in Crufts in no time.
Ready when you are.
Yeah, come out.
Hold there.
NARRATOR: It's mid-afternoon at the Dog Academy,
and Shaun's started his training with firecracker chihuahua Gina.
Just make a bit of noise.
Here, dog. HE WHISTLES
Gina.
Gina. Good girl.
Gina's very reactive to other dogs. When she sees a dog,
she gets a real kick of anxiety and adrenaline,
and then she starts going mental and barking away at it.
So, what we're doing is we're using a teddy dog to, sort of,
replicate it, where we can really control the circumstances,
and then we're gonna do positive association,
so every time she sees a dog, she gets a little reward.
Gina, Gina.
GINA BARKS LOUDLY Wait.
There, Gina.
It takes time to build on this.
Gina. GINA GROWLS
It's almost like smoking for ten years
and then just trying to quit on day one.
It is incredibly difficult,
and that's, kind of, what we're dealing with here.
Gina. Good girl.
Go again, Adam, go a bit closer.
Hello, boy, what's this?
Gina... GINA BARKS
Ah-ah-ah, Gina. Ah-ah-ah.
Gina. GINA GROWLS SOFTLY
Tell you what, my next case, I'll be teaching a dog to sit.
HE CHUCKLES
Imagine a picture of your house in your house.
Gotta have something to show off for that, haven't you, really?
Hello, all right?
Made me jump there, I was like, "Huh?"
You made me jump in my seat then. That's all right.
Gina, she's such a personality, isn't she?
Yeah. Was she OK? She had water? Yeah, she's had water. There's water in there.
I'm doing a proper mummy anxiety at the moment. That's OK. That's OK.
She's never been away from me, really. Really?
How about yourself? How's it making you feel at the moment?
I am stressed for Gina,
because I haven't ever seen her with another person.
She's always been... With us. ...a home dog. OK.
Because of how she acts.
And then I suppose it's like his little sister, isn't it, almost?
You could look at it like that. Yeah.
You've got a really old head on your shoulders.
Definitely, definitely.
Who's the parent in this dynamic, then?
More him. OK.
I think I learnt off Mum's mistakes.
Cos I was quite young when I had Cory,
I was pregnant at 17, had Cory at 18. I was a kid.
How did that make you feel, then, at the time, then?
Loved it, if I'm honest.
He comes first, over everything, because me and MY mum,
we lost contact when I was 15.
So, I ended up leaving home and lived on my own from 15.
Yeah, it was a bit hard, but I look at it now and think,
"Well, at least it's made me who I am."
Cos I tell you, nothing can affect me really now.
I think that's why I've always loved dogs,
just because they're loyal.
They don't leave your side, do they?
They just love you no matter what.
Unconditional love, basically.
And that's why I feel so guilty that I'm not giving Gina
the life she deserves.
So, I'll do anything that it takes to change her behaviour.
Often when you have a dog with reactivity issues,
there's normally something else bubbling away.
A common issue that can cause it is that they're fearful.
So, dogs that are reactive, actually it's a defensive tool.
Do you know what really struck me?
Relaying in my mind what we've discussed,
you've been through a lot. Mm-hm. You've been through a lot.
Yeah, yeah. Been through a lot. Oh, I have, yeah. I could write a book.
I'm quite strong, really.
But I'm not sure that's the case really, though.
I think that it's a front. Yeah.
Because I think underneath, actually, is a lot of hurt.
Oh, yeah! I think there's a lot of distrust.
Well, there... Yeah, there is,
but I wouldn't let anybody know about that.
I think if you show weakness to people as well... Mm-hm.
This is what Gina does, isn't it?
It is, isn't it?
We pretend we're the Barry big-spuds, but really, we're not.
I was gonna say, can, like,
a human's behaviour or emotion rub off onto a dog?
Yeah. Really? Smart kid.
OK. He is. Yeah? Yeah, yeah.
She comes into this world like a whirling dervish,
and you used the term she's the Tasmanian Devil.
Tasmanian Devil, yeah.
Voila! Me.
In a little pair of yellow shorts. SHE LAUGHS
So, your dog is merely mirroring what's going on inside you.
So, all the "ba-ba-ba-ba-ba"... Yeah.
You aren't seeing that actually she's feeling kind of worried.
Yeah. And she's actually vulnerable.
She doesn't know how to communicate that she's feeling
the exact same thing that you are. Yeah.
I think this is why we're so close,
because I know all of this about my mum. He knows all of this.
So, I know that it's a front that she puts on.
I know that behind that front...
I haven't met a person like my mum, so it's like...
That front doesn't need to be there. Probably the same with Gina.
All right? Yeah. You OK?
I was getting a bit emosh, yeah.
It's OK, it's OK, it's OK.
All right, it's OK.
I sincerely believe that we don't get the dog we want,
we get the dog we need. Yeah.
And the reason she's turned up in this point is
because she's showing you who you are. Mm-hm.
And this is your opportunity to move forward,
and we're gonna give you those skills. Yeah.
All right?
Bear.
Bear. That's it.
Bear, find.
NARRATOR: In the courtyard,
Louise is still struggling to bond with Bear.
VICTORIA: He wants to be with Dad. So, let him go with Dad now.
Only by teaching him new techniques will she earn his trust.
We want to teach him a way to communicate
with you, where he does it with a closed mouth,
rather than an open mouth. And that's where the touch cue comes in.
Yeah.
When a dog doesn't feel listened to or heard,
the only way that they can communicate is to mouth.
When you put your hand towards a dog,
they're naturally curious,
they're gonna touch your hand with their nose.
As soon as they do it, you mark it with a "yes",
and they get a piece of food.
The touch cue teaches them to keep their mouths closed.
ADAM: So, I'm just gonna crouch.
Yes! He's rewarded. That's it. Good boy.
And if he comes in and he puts his mouth over the hand,
bring it back and start again. Yeah.
Cos we're not looking for contact with teeth.
We're looking for contact with nose.
Come on then, Louise.
Let's do it.
Good. So, you can use his name if you want, just to get his attention.
Bear.
Yes. Yes, well done.
Well done. Good boy.
Bear.
Perfect.
And now, without the word,
without his name, just the hand down.
Yes! Good boy.
Beautiful. Oh, it's so lovely!
Brilliant, well done. Well done.
I've never seen that. He just doesn't do it, does he? No.
NARRATOR: As an uneasy alliance takes shape... OK.
...Adam and Victoria have retreated to the indoor training room.
Paul, you look so good with that.
It suits you. THEY LAUGH
Paul and his little lamb. THEY LAUGH
Can you hear us? Yes.
Fitted with remote earpieces,
Paul and Louise are left alone with Bear, for the final test.
Remote training gives us a better picture of how
the owners will be when they get home.
It can feel to some people that we're throwing them into
the deep end,
but it's now up to them, they have to swim.
Throughout this whole thing,
what we're aiming for is calmness and relaxation.
Here, Louise must succeed where earlier she failed,
using a scent trail
to tempt Bear away from Paul without him looking back.
Now, we're gonna leave you guys to it.
Remember your cue. That's it. All on you.
Come on, then, Louise.
Find.
Bear, find.
With Louise, hello!
Off he goes, off he goes.
Look at him following, look at him following.
Look at that. Look at that.
Get in! Good boy!
Straight there. How was that?
That's amazing! He just came straight in.
You know, beforehand he would be not wanting to move,
because Paul was left behind,
but now, it's like he's a different dog.
Brilliant. Brilliant work.
Seeing Bear in the courtyard,
sniffing around
and being so calm,
I've never, ever seen him like that.
Like, now he's just wandering around
and not even bothered that Paul's outside.
Yeah, work with him. That's fine, that's good.
That's lovely, and you know what? He's walking away from Paul.
Yeah. Right? Paul is there, he knows he's there,
but instead of being welded to him...
And now he's going to the toilet!
He's doing a poo, which is good.
If you can poo in front of someone, there's a bond there.
Oh, good lad.
How do you think Louise did, Paul?
She did good. She did really good.
And you're not jealous, are you?
HE LAUGHS A little bit. No.
The biggest thing I've learnt today is I'm gonna have
to learn to, kind of, stop being all over the top with him.
He's probably thinking in his head,
"Finally. Finally, somebody's making them listen.
"Finally someone's got through to them."
Good boy, Bear!
I can't wait to get him home, put these things into practice.
We've got a lot of work to do,
but we're both committed to making this work.
Brrrrr, this way. Good girl!
Perfect.
You wanna go to work? Good boy!
How are you feeling? Your mum is chewing her nails. Yeah.
Don't mess up them nails! THEY LAUGH
Here she is. Gina! Who's that?
NARRATOR: Reunited with Gina... Come here.
...Cindy and Cory are about
to learn how to handle her hot-headed impulses.
How was she? She's good, she's good.
Testing... Did she go crazy? Testing. Told you.
It was a slow burner, but we'll get there. Serious?
Yeah. How are you feeling, all right?
Yeah. A bit emosh.
Get a grip, Cindy. SHE LAUGHS
We wanna measure your expectations, this is not an overnight fix, OK?
It's not clicking our fingers and the magic wand has been waved, OK?
So, what we're gonna do,
we're gonna change how she feels about the sight,
presence, or even smell of another dog.
So, every time she sees another dog,
we'll pair it with something that she likes.
You guys are gonna be in the pen area, OK? Pen, yeah.
We're gonna have the gates opened,
and we're actually gonna expose her to another dog. Oh, Jesus.
We're gonna be here. Just be confident.
It's gonna be fine, OK? It's OK to say,
"Do you know what? I'm getting a bit anxious." I am.
Because that's gonna feed down to her. Yeah.
Deep breaths, relax your shoulders, zone out.
You've got the big man with you, all right?
We're good, we're all right.
Do you wanna come with me, then? We'll go into the pen.
Just come over here. OK.
Good girl, Gina!
Confidence. Boom! She'll be good.
Every time she sees a dog and she stays calm,
I want you to reward her.
Now, if she does get a little bit fired up,
I want you to give her a little bit of space.
If she calms down again, we'll go back into it.
If not, I want you to take her out of the situation.
Here we go.
Oh, Jesus.
So, she might not have seen the dog,
but she would've smelt it, right, she knows there's a dog about,
so that's how we start building in the first bit of
the desensitisation. Good girl.
Gina.
OK, I'm gonna put her down on the ground, OK?
Just be nice and chilled, you're relaxed,
you're in control, OK? Everything's fine.
Good girl, sit.
Good. Reward that. See that little look then?
Here you are, Gina, good girl!
Perfect. Good girl.
So, Kamal, if you come in a bit closer again, bud.
Good girl. Sit.
Once she sees it... Gina...
Oh, yeah. Good girl, Gina. Yeah, perfect. Good work.
So, we'll bring Kamal in a few more steps now.
Good girl. Good girl.
Gina. Gina, Gina.
Gina, Gina. It's all right, it's all right.
GINA BARKS Gina!
Gina, sh.
Right, we're gonna move her now, so just move her.
OK. Come on, Gina. Come on, Gina. Good girl.
Good. Just try and reset. Come on.
So, we're building step by step, then we can move closer again.
Good girl!
If we come back over here, guys.
Good girl. It's all right.
Come here. Gina, treat...
...treat, treat. GINA BARKS
Come on, have a treat. Urgh! Gina!
Cindy, just relax.
Treat. Oh, my God!
OK, relax!
Right, Gina. It takes time to build on this.
Oh, God.
GINA CONTINUES BARKING Gina, Gina.
DOG WHINES
I know, but we're not going running round, barking at people.
That's not what we're doing today.
Gina, Gina. Gina, Gina.
It's all right, it's all right. Good, good. Good girl.
Come on, have a treat. It's all right, here you are, Gina.
Do you trust chihuahuas?
Out of all of the dogs,
I would never put my hand out to a chihuahua,
just in case I lost an index finger.
SHE LAUGHS
NARRATOR: Following Gina's failure to keep calm during her
earlier training, Cindy is ready for round two.
Cindy, I'm gonna make it easier. I'm gonna pick her up,
so she doesn't have that same level,
and then we're gonna try and see if
we can get her that little bit closer, OK? Yeah.
So, I'm going to pick her up.
Whenever Gina looks calmly at another dog, she must be rewarded...
Gina, good girl. Perfect.
...so that she associates other dogs with something good.
But this will only work if Cindy keeps her cool.
Come on, want your treats?
Cindy, just relax your posture a little bit.
You're very much like, "Argh," you're on guard, OK?
Just relax, OK? It's fine.
Let her just take in the world, it's fine.
She's doing it for you.
So, don't pull her lead back. Just slacken the lead,
give her a softer lead. Soften it. Yeah,
cos all that tension that you're conveying in that lead is what's
gonna cause the firecracker to go off, right? Yeah.
Just give her a little bit of space.
Now just back off a little bit, Cory,
just let her look. Let her take the world in and go,
"Do you know what? Oh, it's only a dog." OK?
Just relax, relax your shoulders. It's a cute little dog.
Just start to, casually, just edge this way a little bit.
Just casual, real slack.
That's it, hang out. Nice, slow Sunday stroll. Good.
Cory, you can go with your mum.
Same again, just keep it nice and relaxed.
Keep your body nice and relaxed.
Just relax. Now, hang out there. Let's just chill there for a bit.
Good girl, Gina! Nice. Good.
Just nice, deep breaths.
Good girl!
Soften your lead, relax, don't put tension.
Nice and soft, nice and relaxed.
She's pulling on me, that's why.
So, yeah, let her come forward a little bit.
Just let, she's curious. Shall we head forward again?
Yeah. There's nothing, let her come,
just keep nice and slow. Good girl. Sit.
Stay relaxed. Stay nice and relaxed.
Confident, remember? Confident in what we're doing.
Good girl! Relax your lead. Go with her. Just come up,
you can come up. That's it. Let her come.
She's being curious. She's not barking. It's cool. Good.
Oh, my God!
OK, relax.
Oh, no! SHE BREATHES OUT LOUDLY
OK. She's OK, she's OK. Not bit them yet, has she?
She's OK, she's OK. Let's walk around.
Let's go. Come trust, with me, come on.
Let's just move, just nice and relaxed. Come on, Cors.
So, tell me about what's the weather like at the moment.
Gone a bit nippy.
Let's just walk. OK, nice casual stroll.
Let's go back in the pen. Nice, zenned out, yeah?
Just seen my breath like that. SHE BREATHES OUT LOUDLY
Just relax. Give her the lead, after you. OK?
So, in the pen. She looks happy.
Just let her off the lead. Let her off?
Yeah, go on, then. Oh, sugar!
She seems... She's OK. Let her be, she's fine.
She's being a dog, let her be a dog. Yeah, yeah.
She's being curious, she's got a little mate.
That's funny. Aww! I'm chuffed.
SHE LAUGHS
It's your mate. Aww!
Let them just be.
She's having a great time.
SHE LAUGHS
I didn't think that she would ever get that close to
a dog that she doesn't know.
They're rolling around the floor on the grass. It's crazy!
That was a shock. Didn't expect to be seeing that.
It is, it's crazy, like, cos she just doesn't do that.
It's not the same dog, like, what the hell?
Where the hell is Gina? It was just so nice to see.
Just leave her, she's OK.
The tension that you were feeling, yeah,
beforehand, all that build-up, she was picking up on. Yeah.
And actually, her bark's worse than her bite. Yeah, yeah.
And actually, she's quite a sweet dog. Yeah.
Who does that remind you of? Me, yeah. All right?
SHE LAUGHS
I feel like we've got hope now,
and we've seen that she's made a step,
so if she can make one step, she can make more steps.
Right, see you later, guys. Bye, guys, see you later.
Thank you. Come on, G.
I think the future's looking bright, yeah. Miracle. Miracle.
She is enjoying her life a lot more now,
because she's going out more.
She's chilled out more,
because I'm more chilled.
Happy chihuahua...
Happy home. There you go!
He's so much calmer.
On the mat.
The way he just interacts with everybody,
he's gone from being my dog to being the family dog.
I'm out on my own in the woods with Bear.
See him there.
We're completely on the same line, in the same page. Yeah.
Because we are just communicating so much better.
The Dog Academy has saved our marriage.
SHE LAUGHS
Next time at the Dog Academy...
Who's done that? It's you, isn't it?
He has chewed a washing machine, the fridge, a concrete wall.
What's her personality like?
BOTH: Jekyll and Hyde.
ANGRY YAPPING
Whoa! No, not good.
I'm frightened it's gonna kill him.
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