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NARRATOR: Do not attempt the techniques you are about to see
without consulting a professional.
On this episode of the Dog Whisperer...
RAUL VALESQUEZ: I first started getting concerned when Bam Bam
started jumping on top of people and,
you know try to bite your hand.
Bam Bam, no.
The thing that worries me the most is my little girl.
I just think it's going to get a little worse if,
you know I don't do something about it.
LANCE MEHEGAN: It makes no sense, she's,
she's the world's best dog 90% of the time.
And then that 10% she's Count Dracula, she's, you know,
a weredog.
KIM MEHEGAN: She's mean!
If Mason comes too close, like to her dog bed or something,
she would like she would kinda snap, and so that really worries
me that she will bite him.
NARRATOR: When good dogs go bad, there's one man who's their best
friend... Cesar Millan.
CESAR MILLAN: No dog is too much for me to handle.
I rehabilitate dogs.
I train people.
I am the Dog Whisperer.
NARRATOR: When Raul Velasquez decided to adopt his first dog,
he wasted no time putting the word out among his friends and
co-workers.
ELENA RODRIGUEZ: I work with Raul and he always mentioned
that he wanted to have a dog, a pit bull.
So when I had it, I told him, you know, would you want him,
like, for free? I'm like, yeah for free.
RAUL VALESQUEZ: When I told my mom, she kind of, was a little,
you know, iffy about it.
ANA RAMIREZ: Ay no no no. No tengo gusto de perros.
El tiene gusto de jugar
RAUL VALESQUEZ: You know, he was a pup,
so he wasn't that much of a bundle to handle,
but as he started growing, been a little bit more difficult.
I first started getting concerned when Bam Bam started
jumping on top of people and, you know try to bite your hand.
Stop. Bam Bam.
No, Bam Bam no.
No Bam Bam no, no.
ELENA RODRIGUEZ: He would tell me,
Bam Bam was always nipping at my hand,
and the other day I think I noticed like a scratch in his
hand, I'm like, Was that from Bam Bam?
He's like, Yeah he had jumped at me and, you know, bit me,
and stuff like that.
RAUL VALESQUEZ: I've been afraid a couple of times just because
he's come close to my face and I don't want him to, you know,
by accident him grab me.
You know, it could become more, especially with my little girl,
she's not that tall.
JASMINE: I can't play with Bam Bam because he's not acting
normal right now.
No, just put him down and say sit.
Sit Bam Bam, sit.
Bam Bam will just jump on me, on top of me and tackle me.
And when my friends come over here, they will like,
my Bam Bam will like bite them.
ELENA RODRIGUEZ: Jasmine can't really play with him on her own,
because, you know, he's afraid like he might really hurt her.
And his mom came home and Bam Bam ran to her and she kind of
did this to him, and she felt like if he would've kept going
it was going to puncture her.
His mom constantly tells him, you know this is not going to
work out or things like that.
And that concerns him because he wants the dog,
he really loves the dog.
RAUL VALESQUEZ: I am starting to have a little doubt,
second guessing myself and maybe I'm not able to control him.
I just feel like he's the one running the whole show here.
The thing that worries me the most is my little girl.
I just think it's going to get a little worse if,
you know I don't do something about it.
JASMINE: Cesar, I would want you to make him be a normal dog.
NARRATOR: When it comes to misbehaving pit bulls,
Cesar often reminds people not to blame the breed but to look
at the owner behind the dog.
In Bam Bam's case, Cesar needs to determine whether Raul and
his family can truly satisfy the needs of such a physically
brawny dog.
CESAR MILLAN: So you're like brand new Brand new, yeah so...
dog owner. RAUL VALESQUEZ: Yeah, brand new.
CESAR MILLAN: And you get to have a powerful breed.
RAUL VALESQUEZ: Right.
CESAR MILLAN: Right, I haven't seen him in action but it,
it sounds like he's wrestling or is chasing. Right?
Alright so that's normal, all dogs do that.
Now it's also normal for them to have rules, boundaries,
and limitations.
But it will be difficult for a brand new dog owner to know
how to apply it.
And I was going to ask you how often do you walk the dog?
RAUL VALESQUEZ: Um, you know...
CESAR MILLAN: Monday through Sunday.
RAUL VALESQUEZ: Monday through Sunday,
he probably gets like three walks, honestly.
Three walks, I'm not going to lie to you.
CESAR MILLAN: So it's affect-, no don't lie because lying
only hurts you.
RAUL VALESQUEZ: Yeah I'm not, I'm not you know.
CESAR MILLAN: All dogs, regardless of the breed,
all dogs supposed to wake up stretch and go for a long walk
then come back.
In America you must keep a dog confined with a leash or with a
wall right?
That is okay, but they don't tell you,
you must drain the energy before you do this.
This is what leads a dog to attack.
The frustration built because you can prevent this,
you can totally stop this behavior but you have to change
patterns. Right?
Like you say he is baby, well he's a puppy, right?
Puppy who's turning an adolescent very soon.
And they need someone to live with all the time.
So the responsibility of being a dad and being a dog owner is
the same... RAUL VALESQUEZ: It's hard.
CESAR MILLAN: You have no choice.
RAUL VALESQUEZ: I feel like I'm living his life because.
CESAR MILLAN: You're not living his life.
You lived his life you, you would have a whole different
aspect, you would not call me if you would be living his life.
NARRATOR: Raul's mother joins the consultation in progress.
CESAR MILLAN: Y quando el se esta tirandose exitado que
siente adentro usted.
ANA RAMIREZ: Haveses miedo. CESAR MILLAN: Miedo?
ANA RAMIREZ: Haveses. CESAR MILLAN: No confia?
ANA RAMIREZ: No confieo en el.
CESAR MILLAN: Y eso usted cree que puede cambiar?
O es dificil cambiar?
ANA RAMIREZ: Yo creo que si se puede educarlo.
CESAR MILLAN: Educar al perro o al humano?
ANA RAMIREZ: Al humano y el perro.
CESAR MILLAN: Exacto.
Because it was his choice to bring a dog into the house,
the responsibility lands on him.
He's responsible also to teach them what would be the best way
for them to coexist among each other.
NARRATOR: Because Raul's situation involves his whole
family, Cesar enlists his own sons, Calvin and Andre,
as well as his trusty pit bull, Daddy,
to assist in the rehabilitation.
CESAR MILLAN: By me bringing my kids into the picture I want
to show Raul how from a father point of view you can pass good
information or bad information.
Okay, okay I'm going to show you,
I'm going to show you to before you let a dog go.
This, this position here is a very, very much is,
is a dog fight so we don't want to.
NARRATOR: Cesar starts with the basics -teaching Raul how to
make sure Bam Bam is calm and submissive before introducing
him to another dog.
You're going to relax him just a little bit.
Right there.
If you were to let him go the way he was earlier,
Daddy would've feel the need of pin him down and put him on
the floor. I gotta see.
CESAR MILLAN: See now Bam Bam is in a more submissive state.
Look at that, he keep his neck higher.
See he's not jumping on Daddy, he's not attacking Daddy,
you don't have an aggressive dog yet.
Which that's what we're here to prevent right?
What you do have is an excited dog which is controlling people,
and that makes him excited dominant.
Opening the door is an activity.
A lot of people open the door and like, where's the dog right?
Or hold the, hold the dog cause the dog is going to run away.
But you're supposed to open the door with a tsst, tsst, tsst,
See this is the way you're supposed to open the door.
This, this is respect, this is rules.
Now Daddy's teaching door open doesn't mean you walk away see?
Look at this, it's beautiful.
Tsst, relax. Right?
If I woulda been there, he woulda...
That's right, tsst.
Stay right there.
See that Boom, touch, create bam, right there.
JASMINE: He's funny when he does his tongue like that.
CESAR MILLAN: Yeah. Right,
so if he comes this way, you guys send him right back over
NARRATOR: Cesar's sons, Andre and Calvin,
demonstrate how they use their energy and body language
to control Bam Bam.
CESAR MILLAN: Now guys step back so, so he learns the lesson,
right there touch.
Nice. Nice.
Because if you stay there you become the physical wall, right?
So you want, you want him to learn that his job is to go all
the way over there. Without you putting a wall.
Right? You got to touch now, Andre, touch.
You gotta follow through. This is good.
You have to s-, you have to surrender.
He has, he has learned to nip at people.
Tsst,
hey, he's getting nervous. Tsst, hey. Tsst.
How many times have you done this to you?
Oh! everytime I come from work..
Yeah he's, he's nervous right there.
Now what you need to do is you have to make sure you follow
through until he totally relaxes, otherwise he's, he, he,
he stays nervous and an-, and so he's biting from nervousness.
Right now that was a nervous behavior.
That's why I came and make sure that I, I apply what, you know,
I follow through.
See, see what I'm looking for?
I'm looking for him to relax and lower the head and change
the energy because he became nervous.
And wh-, when, when they're nervous they can hurt you.
Tsst.
Tsst.
See?
They don't born like this. Something happened to him.
Hey.
To me it's a sign or sometimes when a dog needs to drain his
energy with whatever is accessible to him, you know.
And sometimes your hands are accessible to a dog.
See, he got nervous.
See that doesn't mean that he's aggressive.
But if you see this and you become nervous about it,
then you can turn him into a nervous dominant.
RAUL VALESQUEZ: See, and that's the thing with myself or my mom,
or whatever comes, if he's nibbling my hands or whatever...
CESAR MILLAN: Try to touch him or correct him,
and he gets nervous because you have not nip it in the bud from
the beginning.
You see it, so, so because you have, in a way,
nurtured the bad behavior, and then one day you decide
to correct him; that makes him nervous.
NARRATOR: Coming up, Bam Bam has his own idea of house rules.
CESAR MILLAN: You're watching Dog Whisperer on NatGeo Wild
please remain calm and open minded untill we come back.
NARRATOR: Raul Velasquez is a first time dog owner whose pit
bull, Bam Bam, nips at everyone including his mother and young
daughter.
As Cesar prepares for the next exercise,
he notices that 7-year old Jasmine shouts at Bam Bam
to correct him.
JASMINE: Bam Bam!
CESAR MILLAN: Oh, I see, see that's,
that's actually something that kids have to learn.
Come on, sweetie, let me show you how to do it.
Okay, so that's more powerful than screaming Bam Bam.
All right, so we are discovering that my girl here screams when
she is trying to control Bam Bam.
You see what I mean?
So that you have to teach your crew to do it in a calm way.
So now he knows that when, this means go over there.
NARRATOR: The next lesson involves teaching Bam Bam
to stay in the yard when the driveway gate opens.
CESAR MILLAN: But you see how quick he learns? Yeah.
So it's not that he is not willing to learn.
Also, another way that dogs can become nervous is when they
don't get to be themselves. Right?
So when people do ears, eyes, and they don't do nose/eyes,
that gets them nervous.
So that's, if you notice how Daddy did, Daddy didn't say,
Hi Bam Bam, you know I'm here to help you.
Daddy gave scent and energy.
You notice with Daddy, he behaves totally natural.
No growling, no nothing, nothing negative with it.
So animals are much quicker to learn than humans because
they don't rationalize, they just react.
Now let's go inside the house so I can show you how to maintain
the same state of mind.
Now, before we go in there, see right now he's pulling,
so if you, if you send him in there, he's gonna run in there.
There we go, now he's relaxed.
Then... hold on. Send him back.
There we go. There we go.
So we're gonna start all over again.
RAUL VALESQUEZ: Should I grab his leash?
CESAR MILLAN: You can. Nice, see...
At this point, don't. Watch this.
At this point he's already protecting himself.
So relax the tension, I just want you to relax the tension.
You have to help him to change how he feels about the touch.
When you touch here, he feels tense, you know what I mean?
So he feels that he's in some kind of chaotic problem,
you know.
So you have to change, there we go,
have to create the difference, yeah.
We just change the way he feels about the touch, look, he's not,
there, licking is good.
Right now, the way you are addressing yourself to him,
he doesn't trust you, so he's fighting you back.
They don't, they don't come to tense energy.
You can't force a dog to come to you in a negative way.
You can force him to do it in a positive way.
RAUL VALESQUEZ: Should I just make him sit?
CESAR MILLAN: Yeah, right here, just keep him right here. Nice.
Once he relaxes, you have to let the leash go.
There we go.
Now you walk in there first.
I'm gonna send him back in there, there we go, relax.
I'm gonna let him, you know just for right now,
because he is in a calm, submissive state.
RAUL VALESQUEZ: Yeah, because usually when I try to leave
him in the house.
Look. See, usually he's kinda like, boom, boom...
CESAR MILLAN: Yeah, forget, nobody is claiming the space;
you know, nobody is being the authority figure.
Everybody is being the excited figure, screaming figure,
frustrated figure, don't know figure.
RAUL VALESQUEZ: Don't know part.
CESAR MILLAN: So it's very difficult for him to know what
direction should take.
RAUL VALESQUEZ: My mom, she gets mad at whatever he does.
And that might frustrate me as far as that because it comes
back to me like, it's your dog, look what your dog did now.
You know?
But I feel like, she don't take the time to understand that
he's a dog, you know he's going to do those things,
he's gonna bite the living room table, or...
CESAR MILLAN: Yeah, but it's a rule not to do it.
True, right.
You're in a way excusing him from, for misbehaving.
You know, you see what I'm saying?
It's like the responsibility; you brought it into your life.
True. So that's what separates you from the boys and the man.
Right.
So your expectations are high, but your fulfillment is low.
Tsst!
See, at that time we have to teach our daughter that when he
go, put his feet here, she can't give affection.
Cause then she nurtures the behavior.
RAUL VALESQUEZ: Like don't pet him, right.
NARRATOR: Raul attempts to employ Cesar's methods.
Perfect time...
CESAR MILLAN: Remember, if he's not listening to you quick
enough, it's because you're also learning, okay, so.
There we go, perfect.
That's the time that you stop and you walk back.
And if he follows you, bam, right there.
Now, at, if you leave him here, you can't start the discipline,
or you can't send him back there when he's already here.
At the moment he gets up, you have to remind him, not yet,
don't move yet.
They live in the second world.
Everything they do is by the second.
They can be like this, and then they can go into that state,
in a second, right? Right.
So your job is to detect the state of mind from here.
NARRATOR: Next, an off-leash pit bull threatens the rehab
session.
And later, a Mastiff-Chihuahua odd couple terrorizes their
suburban neighborhood.
NARRATOR: Cesar has been teaching novice dog owner,
Raul Velasquez, the basics about setting rules,
boundaries and limitations for his high-energy pit bull,
Bam Bam.
Next, Cesar demonstrates how to maintain order during mealtime,
which is a vital ritual in every dog-owner relationship.
CESAR MILLAN: So we bring the food,
which is gonna create smell.
This is all about, you know again, claiming the space.
Something that we normally don't do.
Very important for him not to get close to the food.
See that?
Hey!
Tsst! There we go. Tsst! So this...
this way people can eat comfortably.
See how much space I'm asking, it's normal for him to be
curious.
Now if you start, if you start doing...
Hey, huh!
That, that is an invitation for them to chase the food and
you at the same time.
But if you claim the food and you say this is my food,
and then he understand to respect.
Now I want to see you walking with the food right here in
this area.
That's an exercise, okay?
And I, I want you to practice.
No, okay. Only no, okay?
So... got it?
The goal is for him to follow you and respect you.
So your, your job is to supervise.
Come back.
Nice! I like that.
He's already learning that that smell tells the brain give more
distance.
The smell alone.
NARRATOR: Next, Daddy returns as a calm, submissive role model,
while Cesar teaches Raul to master the walk.
CESAR MILLAN: Turn around, Raul. This is nice, right?
Isn't it? Right.
This is nice right here.
Let me be in front so you can see it.
Look. Right there.
See the touch is just for him not to pass.
There we go. Oh, look at that.
That's a silence, quiet energy eye contact.
Look at the eye contact, see it?
Look at the tail, it's not moving, he's ready to pounce.
So we're not going to make it anything out of it.
Our dogs are not projecting, we're going to take over,
we're not being aggressive about it.
That's the conversation, that's a conversation right there.
Daddy's going to try to protect. Now listen to the bark.
This bark is a territorial bark that means no harm.
But if he barks and surprise you and you go this way...
oh man, that, that makes him go into a higher level.
So this is really good.
NARRATOR: Suddenly, there's a scuffle across the street.
An off-leash pit bull charges some passers by and their dog,
presenting Cesar with an unexpected challenge.
CESAR MILLAN: Today we had what I call a miracle day.
Because we had a situation where a pit bull who was off leash
charged somebody that was not really following,
just walking with a dog, and it was a perfect opportunity for me
to show him what would I do in a situation like that.
I get this question all the time.
What would I do if a dog charge me?
Well, don't panic, that's easier to say.
And then the pit bull came after us.
It's a big dog, just, but see theres's another little dog
over there.
Tsst.
I corrected the pit bull and then claimed my space.
So he didn't take it personal, he just gave me my space.
This scenario is populated by a lot of dogs,
not only populated by a lot of dogs,
there's a lot of dogs off leash dogs in the street.
So, to me, the ideal area to become a pack leader,
you know because the more I show my dog that those dogs respect
me and I can control them from far away,
the more pack leader I become.
To me, this is the perfect area to become pack leader.
NARRATOR: Cesar believes Bam Bam is a good candidate for
the Illusion Collar, which will give Raul better control
on their walks.
The collar is designed to fit the entire length of
a dog's neck, to provide proper positioning for more effective
corrections.
CESAR MILLAN: Does he invest one whole day for him to learn to be
okay with the whole ritual. I didn't go in with the protest.
See how he's going to keep it all on the top.
RAUL VALESQUEZ: His whole neck, huh?
CESAR MILLAN: Yeah, so it stays all the way in the top all
the time. You have to adjust, all the time
That's, that's a good pull right there.
RAUL VALESQUEZ: Right, 'cause, well...
CESAR MILLAN: So you pull, but you stay tense.
You pull and relax.
See, it's very important that your dad keeps his shoulders up,
his head up, and not looking at the floor,
your dog is not pulling on the leash.
Look at how the leash is looking nice.
Your dad is really correcting perfect, perfect.
There we go. Perfect timing, perfect.
What he's saying is Do not pay attention to the dogs who are
behind the wall, frustrated.
Now if you find yourself doing this too much, then go to,
you know send him back to...
go, go.... if I find myself pulling too much
Yeah, if you find yourself more than three times,
you have to change the touch.
Otherwise you're going to get stuck in one way and then
it's not going to work.
Okay, sweetie pie. Let's go that way.
Relax the tension, sweetie.
There we go.
That's nice, that's, that's really nice.
Keep going, there we go.
That was good, then relax the tension.
Pull, pull, and then relax.
See it?
Now this is one thing that you have to master regardless how
old you are, okay?
Okay, come back here.
Open the door.
Relax.
Hold on, and then you tell him stay. Stay.
Going inside the house or coming outside the house, same ritual,
human first. Right!
Then human invites in.
So he never drags you in or he never drags you out.
JASMINE RODRIGUEZ: And I did the same thing as my dad,
and now Cesar changed him to be a good dog, not a bad dog.
CESAR MILLAN: Bueno gracias, nos venos.
See ya later.
Okay, thanks for being here.
Bye.
RAUL VALESQUEZ: It's a brand new day.
What Bam Bam needs is a lot of attention,
you know and a lot of commitment.
MOTHER: Me ha destruido la carpeta todo perro conforme los
dias que uno le va tomando carino a los perros.
JASMINE RODRIGUEZ: The biggest thing that I learned today is,
when Bam Bam jumps on me, I'm gonna tell him, Tsst, no!
NARRATOR: How can this little dog, cause this much chaos?
NARRATOR: Before their marriage...
before their son Mason joined the family...
Kim and Lance Mehegan had another couple in their lives...
LANCE MEHEGAN: Harley's personality he's a real
slow guy.
Nice guy, gets along with everybody.
KIM MEHEGAN: My parents have a pool, so in the summer,
he goes swimming every single day.
And he can swim for hours and hours and hours.
LANCE MEHEGAN: Mason can crawl over Harley,
he can gouge Harley's eyes out.
He kicks Harley, he climbs on Harley, he pulls Harley's lips.
And Harley will just keep snoring.
KIM MEHEGAN: One of my sisters lives in Arizona,
and she adopted a dog from the shelter.
Amalie was at home by herself all day.
So then my sister called us and said,
Can you come pick up Amalie?
She's my dog now.
But she is the sweetest dog ever.
Peop-, she loves people, she meets people, like,
She's so friendly, she's such an angel!
I'm like, Just wait till the devil comes out in her.
LANCE MEHEGAN: It makes no sense, she's,
she's the world's best dog 90% of the time.
And then that 10% she's Count Dracula, she's, you know,
a weredog.
KIM MEHEGAN: She's mean!
Oh my God, I've never heard a dog scream so loud in my life.
When we go on walks, Amalie screams at all other dogs.
It's just miserable taking her for walks.
When it's just Amalie, I'm like, okay, whatever,
she can scream at all the dogs she wants,
it's annoying and embarrassing, but she's only eight pounds,
she can't do anything.
But I walk Harley and Amalie together,
and it is so hard and stressful walking the two of them
together.
Because Amalie will scream, and then Harley wants to go after
the dog too because he wants to protect Amalie.
When we first brought Mason home for the first couple of months,
Amalie loved Mason.
Amalie thought that Mason was her baby.
She has this orange stuffed bone, she loves that bone.
She would give Mason her toy; she would drop it on his chest.
LANCE MEHEGAN: Once Mason got mobile,
Amalie decided it was a different thing.
We put him down and he's mobile.
And Amalie doesn't like that at all.
KIM MEHEGAN: If he would come too close,
like to her dog bed or something,
she would like she would growl at him and kinda snap,
she never bit, but just like snap.
Oh! Amalie
And so that really worries me that she will bite him.
LANCE MEHEGAN: I don't like to think that Amalie would ever
bite Mason.
But, I'm not willing to take that chance.
KIM MEHEGAN: I hope that Cesar could make Amalie nice.
LANCE MEHEGAN: Amalie's been through obedience school,
and Amalie's been to agility classes.
And Amalie's been through all these things.
And, and so all these professionals have tried.
And still, Amalie has...
failed.
CESAR MILLAN: And so the dog is dominating Harley, Harley.
the baby.
What about you guys?
KIM MEHEGAN: No, she loves people.
We can do anything, we can take food from her,
we can take her toys away, we can do anything with her.
LANCE MEHEGAN: It's just dogs.
Dogs and the baby.
And, and I think that since the baby crawled,
things have changed.
KIM MEHEGAN: He used to be her baby.
He, like she loved him so much.
Like she would cry like going around the house looking for him
Now she's mean to him.
I'm getting nervous that she'll bite him because she snaps.
She's never bit anyone, but I'm like worried now.
LANCE MEHEGAN: She bites sometimes.
CESAR MILLAN: What about Harley?
KIM MEHEGAN: She's never bit Harley,
but she'll jump at him and they...
CESAR MILLAN: Touch, touch him.
Yeah Like you said, she never bit anyone,
but she touched them.
That, that's all it takes.
They don't have to necessarily use their mouths to practice
physical touch with dominance.
CESAR MILLAN: Perfect example of this story tells you the body
doesn't mean much, as much as mind.
You know, Chihuahua controlling mastiff,
no more than 10 pounds controlling 190 pounds.
So, because nobody, I don't know, it sounds like,
nobody set rules, boundaries, limitations during the time of
raising the baby, she took it as, Okay,
this is part of my pack.
You know, so since this is part of my pack,
I'm going to correct him.
So, so that's the part where she's a little confused.
Okay, you guys, with you, I surrender, but with him I don't,
but you guys never ask me to surrender to your son.
You actually give me power to tell your son what I want,
to be in his space any time I want it.
You know, maybe because you saw her bringing something, you say,
Oh, how cute.
But she was in his space without you guys, the pack leaders,
telling how far to come into the space.
So when they, when they can just come into your space any time
without you saying it's okay, that's dominance.
LANCE MEHEGAN: Okay.
That makes a lot of sense.
CESAR: See this is what you like, this one,
because it's a submissive state. It is a follower.
The reason why you are having trouble with that one is because
it is carrying the dominant position, the leader.
So anybody who has a dog that doesn't listen is going to have
problems because they're predator.
KIM MEHEGAN: Well, we don't know what to do with her.
CESAR MILLAN: Well that's why I'm here. Okay.
I see where you are, like, lost.
KIM MEHEGAN: I mean I hold her back, she screams louder,
I yell at her, she screams louder.
CESAR MILLAN: All those things are bad.
Most important is that they understand you are not playing,
leadership role even though you're doing a lot of these
things that you're mentioning.
And her brain, you are not the pack leader.
KIM MEHEGAN: I know I'm not.
Because... I love her.
CESAR MILLAN: All right, come on, speak up, say it,
say how you feel.
That's, that's what we want to find out.
KIM MEHEGAN: I don't want to hurt her, like Lance'll like,
what do you do?
LANCE MEHEGAN: She, she's a little bit of the enabler,
because when Amalie goes to do something, you know, I'll,
I'll go, Amalie!
And she immediately goes, Come here, no.
And she takes Amalie, and protects, I mean,
I never hurt the dog.
She doesn't want the, she's worried the dog will become
sheepish. Uh, you know...
KIM MEHEGAN: I don't want her to hate people.
CESAR MILLAN: Human is the only species that hates,
so get rid of that.
KIM MEHEGAN: Okay, well I don't want her to...
CESAR MILLAN: To become fearful. KIM MEHEGAN: Be mean to people.
CESAR MILLAN: Become fearful of people, nervous of people,
insecure of people, to less trust of people?
Yeah, I agree with that.
I don't want to create that.
What you need to understand here is, is about respect.
You are respecting her nature.
OK.. She'd rather be a dog than a human being. Yeah...
NARRATOR: Coming up, Harley and Amalie give Cesar an unwanted
concert...in stereo.
I'M CESAR MILLAN AND YOU'RE WATCHING DOG WHISPERER
ON NATGEO WILD!
NARRATOR: Since Kim and Lance Mehegan's tiny Chihuahua,
Amalie, has threatened their newborn, Mason,
Cesar feels it's vital that the couple immediately establish
leadership in their household.
CESAR MILLAN: The biggest challenge is always how can I
convince a human to practice a different way of being,
to learn to be pack leader.
NARRATOR: This new way of being must begin with inviolable rules
for Amalie's behavior whenever she is around little Mason.
CESAR MILLAN: So she would be that, I mean,
that's bad right there.
KIM MEHEGAN: She would snap at him.
CESAR MILLAN: See the silence that she's sharing?
That's a warning.
Okay.
Hey!
You have to immediately snap her out of it from there.
Look, come over here with me.
Yes sir!
So that's normal, there's nothing wrong with that,
what you're seeing is avoidance/ submission.
Hey!
That, when that was looking.
KIM MEHEGAN: Yeah, she was about to do it.
CESAR MILLAN: So, your job is to tell her not to focu-, tsst!
On the baby.
Whenever they focus on things that become a target, you know.
So the silence is the beginning of, the sound is warning,
and then...
so if you, there we go, that's it!
Relief, see that breathing?
That breathing happened, the breathe,
is a big relief for them to know what to do.
Okay.
Once she key on him...
KIM MEHEGAN: Yeah, how did you do that?
CESAR MILLAN: So now I'm going to provide even more power and
more safety to Mason.
There we go, see, look...
I'm changing this...
to this.
Saw it?
Okay.
She's looking at Mason like this...
Yeah That is the beginning.
Yeah Right?
So if you stop it there, the brain never escalate to
something higher than that.
So we're, it's like, you know, when they say nip it in the bud,
that is nip her in the bud.
See, she's not afraid of me, you know what I mean?
She is just respectful of me.
KIM MEHEGAN: But how did you get her to stop?
CESAR MILLAN: Well, I really mean what I am saying.
And I'm observing that this is not helping.
It's the energy that it speaks louder than words.
KIM MEHEGAN: Okay, so maybe she doesn't,
she knows that I don't mean it, is that what she thinks?
Okay.
CESAR MILLAN: This one is avoidance/submission.
Better than fight is what, when she does those things...
she's in a fight state, dominant state, territorial state.
But when the brain is in this state of mind; it's avoidance,
avoiding the situation, surrendering.
You want surrendering, not avoiding.
But that's, that's perfect for a dog that, that normally fights,
to choose avoid.... Tsst!
That's right, Mason.
I'm with you, buddy.
See, I am supporting.
Because he means no harm.
With Mason just being totally, I want to explore that toy,
I want that toy.
He just goes and get it.
If the parents are not showing how to be assertive without
being harmful to the dog.
Sometimes babies that just grab things,
they don't know their mechanics yet.
And so they can go and hot, hurt animal.
But animal comes and hurt baby.
So it takes the same, you have to be good pack leader for both
so they can coexist among each other.
This case as exercise, but not rules, boundaries, limitations.
NARRATOR: Cesar's hopes to trigger one of Amalie's barking
fits by positioning one of his pack members outside the window.
CESAR MILLAN: Watch this, buddy.
The intenser they get...
The intenser they get...
Harley comes in and join, his energy is much bigger.
So I have to stop him from providing the base feeling.
It's very intense.
But Amalie started the whole thing.
It was not Harley, Amalie started,
he just follow his pack leader.
Because I let her go to a higher level,
see how hard it was I stop her?
So, notice that I'm touching this area here, the one here.
And what it creates is this...
If I come, if I come from the back and do this,
it creates this...
KIM MEHEGAN: That's what I do. CESAR MILLAN: Hey. Tsst.
Look, see, the touch stops him from focusing on the target.
NARRATOR: Cesar opens the shutters to reveal one of
Amalie's least favorite dogs from the neighborhood.
CESAR MILLAN: See this is good, this is...
hey!
Hey!
Hey!
Tsst!
LANCE MEHEGAN: You can imagine when Mason's asleep how bad
this is.
CESAR MILLAN: Yeah. Hey!
So this can be a father/son, mother/son activity,
like mommy and I controlling the window behavior.
And then creating a different way of being out the window.
KIM MEHEGAN: Yeah, I can't believe she's sitting there
staring.
LANCE MEHEGAN: Yeah, that's very, that, that,
that dog is her arch nemesis.
CESAR MILLAN: See, the ears up, it's just a beginning of being
alert.
But we want her to be alert, and not territorial or dominant.
There's a dog over there.
We were teaching Kim how to teach Amalie to act in a
different state of mind.
That's what's going to keep this environment absolutely safe.
That the humans play leadership role, dogs play follower role.
Simple as that.
NARRATOR: Cesar identifies Kim as the person who needs the most
help correcting Amalie, so he asks her to take the dog for a
walk.
CESAR MILLAN: Because Harley is slow, within the pack,
within the walk, make the Chihuahua goes in front.
Just because of that, this litle Chihuahua end up to be
the pack leader. Statue means this... Okay.
This... tense statue. Okay.
Relaxed attention, statue.
There we go.
Relax, gotta relax.
There we go.
You're, you're tense, just relax.
There we go. Keep it right here.
And relax.
Relax.
Breathe.
The handler is like this...OK..
So you have to breathe, breathe, breathe.
I think I corrected Kim a hundred times.
Relax the tension.
Keep it right next to you.
Relax.
Just Relax.
You gotta breathe, breathe.
Very good.
Now relax.
It's not about holding with a lot of tension, look,
just holding with assertiveness.
Trust yourself more than anything,
that you have the inner power by being calm and you have no power
by being tense.
Walk as statue, proud, centered, balanced, in control.
KIM MEHEGAN: She didn't even look.
CESAR MILLAN: Now we're gonna do one more time without you
looking at the dog so much.
KIM MEHEGAN: Okay.
Can I go?
CESAR MILLAN: Yes you can.
Much better.
Relax...
there we go, nice.
How does it feel?
KIM MEHEGAN: Feels great.
CESAR MILLAN: Feels different.
Bring it back, facing forward, that's right.
Don't look at the dog.
KIM MEHEGAN: Oh!
This is so much better, I actually want to go on a walk
with her now.
I want to pass by another dog.
CESAR MILLAN: Then she went into,
I want to keep looking for dogs.
That's a perfect moment.
Where can we find another dog?
That today, they saw different way to deal with, no fight,
no flight, no avoidance.
NARRATOR: Fortunately, this suburban neighborhood is
brimming with dogs.
CESAR MILLAN: Just don't let the leash go too far.
There we go.
KIM MEHEGAN: Can I get down and do that to her?
CESAR MILLAN: You can, yeah. Pass by, there we go nice.
Watch your head. Go ahead...
stay tight there.
Just don't walk away.
Hey, Watch this.
Hey! Tsst!
See you're pulling her away and you're trying to block her
outside instead of addressing the problem and then relax.
KIM MEHEGAN: So what did you do?
CESAR MILLAN: I was relaxed.
Okay.
So you were tense correcting the problem,
and so it's not gonna create...
Tsst!
See!
Just a big challenge right there, see it?
Wow.
Let's do it again, is that okay, ma'am?
Obviously I came to this case because we felt there was a need
for our, our instruction, we felt was our, you know,
a need to address, to help someone.
Especially because it's a baby involved now.
Amalie gave this aggressions, dominant, territorial,
whatever we were working on, right away.
She just, I don't want to be this way any way,
I'm happier this way.
I have more friends, I can walk by people.
Especially my human owner named Kim.
She feels really good right now.
KIM MEHEGAN: Wow Ams!
Good girl!
LANCE MEHEGAN: Wow, Mom!
Good girl!
CESAR MILLAN: Yeah. That's right. Now pass us again.
Don't forget to breathe. Nice.
Go ahead, do it again.
KIM MEHEGAN: I think the most important thing I learned today
is I need relax with Amalie.
Well with everything, with everything in my life.
CESAR MILLAN: That's nice, perfect, beautiful. Thank you!
Cause they have wrong understanding what discipline
is about.
LANCE MEHEGAN: Whenever we did apply something,
she thought it was gonna be mean and aggressive and whatever.
And this is not.
CESAR MILLAN: It's not always a physical touch.
And it's never with anger or frustration.
Like yelling is not healthy.
LANCE MEHEGAN: Not with children, not with dogs,
not with, not with wife.
CESAR MILLAN: Calm assertive energy delivered to someone who
is unstable is healthy.
LANCE MEHEGAN: The fact that she didn't feel like she's hurting
the dog when she's gonna discipline the dog.
That is a huge step, that is something that is really gonna
help her.
And I, I think she's gonna succeed now,
because I don't think she's scared to go forward with,
with the pro-, with the plan.
CESAR MILLAN: Your biggest block is not an aggressive dog.
Your biggest block is your worry about...
Yeah.
that goes into other areas, get tense, all that stuff.
But the main source is you worry, you worry, you worry.
Worry is healthy, to a certain stance, as you know.
You know what I mean?
And as a mom, I know as a woman, Yeah.
woman naturally do that for the benefit of the pack,
but at this point it's not healthy any more.
KIM MEHEGAN: It's not helping Amalie.
CESAR MILLAN: Right.
LANCE MEHEGAN: It's not helping anybody.
Cesar, thank you.
CESAR MILLAN: Thank you, thank you very much for being a great
listener.
I didn't address myself as much because I felt she needed most
of the information, you know, and if she has,
if he has good common sense, allow that to be a mentor.
KIM MEHEGAN: Yeah, I want your help, please.
CESAR MILLAN: That was, that was the most wonderful thing
she said the whole afternoon.
Cause she has a good instructor right next to her.
Today it was a perfect day of worry free.
Feel how it feels like, and just live it.
Of course, we want our dogs to be our best friends,
but before that can happen, we must learn how to be
their leaders.
For some owners, that begins with going back to the basics.
RAUL VALESQUEZ: Hey Cesar, I just want to say thank you for
coming and helping with Bam Bam.
Ever since the show, I've been walking him everyday about
forty-five minutes to an hour walk.
He's getting a little better as far as his behavior around
the house.
We still got a long way to go.
I know it's not easy, but I'm going to do as much as I can and
hope things will work out for the best.Thank you very much!
CESAR MILLAN: Keep working on it, Raul - I promise,
your persistence will pay off!
LANCE MEHEGAN: Hi Cesar, it's been a couple months since
you've been here.
And things are going really well.
Amalie is coming along and she and Mason get along really well.
KIM MEHEGAN: She barely ever barks at Harley anymore,
that was the first thing that changed.
LANCE: And on walks, she does really well, she's under control
she's a good girl.
Thanks again, Cesar.
We hope we see you again soon.
CESAR MILLAN: If we provide strong leadership to our dogs,
they will pay us back a thousand times with their trust, respect,
and friendship.
Until next time, stay calm and assertive!