Dogs In The City (2012) s01e03 Episode Script
Don't Give Me The Drool
1 There's 80 million dogs in America.
One in eight New Yorkers owns a dog.
Titus, come here, big handsome.
That's one-and-a-half million dogs.
Which means, there's gonna be some problems.
Oh, no.
That's where I come in.
I'm Justin Silver.
They call me the Dog Guru.
All right, let's get started right now.
I've been working with dogs and their owners for nearly ten years.
Watch his feet, watch my feet.
Just walk.
They're gonna follow you.
Walk.
Good girl.
And believe me, I've seen every problem you can imagine.
- Stubborn.
- No, that way.
Difficult.
- Spoiled.
- Oh, my God.
Demanding.
And that's just the owners.
- Okay, now you're gonna hate me.
- Now? I mean, the truth is, when I'm training dogs, I'm training owners.
I don't want him to bark.
I didn't ask what you don't want him to do.
I asked what you want him to do.
You never get past the introduction because you're worried about the flare-up.
Up.
Good boy.
Bottom line, my job is to make life with dogs in the city a whole lot easier.
Walk.
You see how she starts to just fall into a rhythm with you? If there's one language I speak fluently, it's canine.
This stuff ends today.
What can I say? I speak dog.
What? Oh, my handsome dog trainer? Any breed, any time, anywhere.
Come.
When it comes to dogs, I've got this city covered.
Tonight, a Brooklyn family needs to get a grip - You're losing.
- No, he's not.
and stop their devious dogs from hounding the neighborhood.
I guess I don't mind having dogs as neighbors, as long as maybe it wasn't them.
A media maven rescues disabled animals She took the blind dog on as if it was her newborn child.
So you feel like her relationship with the dog gets in the way? Yeah.
And rescuing four troubled dogs has pushed this owner to her breaking point.
I'm tired.
I'm really tired.
Dogs In The City Season 1 Episode 3 Today, I am meeting Simone Reyes.
She's Russell Simmons' personal assistant.
Her dog Hubble Yoda is blind and it's got some issues.
I'm gonna see if I can help her out.
The Fashion District is right off of Times Square, so there's people everywhere.
There's a lot of traffic.
Very jam-packed.
This is an area where anybody-- person or dog-- with a disability might have a hard time.
So, a blind dog is certainly gonna have a bigger challenge.
- Hello.
- Hi! - I'm Justin.
How are you? - How are you? I'm good.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
- This is Hubble Yoda.
- Hi, Hubble Yoda.
Oh, my goodness.
Look at you.
We got some parts missing, huh? I've had special needs dogs all my life, but I had never had a blind dog before.
- He doesn't let it bother him.
- No? - Not so much.
- He's cute.
I'm an animal rights activist, and so I see firsthand how many animals are euthanized in shelters every day.
The ones that typically go first, let's face it, are handicapped dogs.
I had deaf dog, three-legged dog, old, sick I have all of my dogs on my arm.
Pikachu, special needs, three-legged dog.
Stevie, special needs, deaf dog.
Cassidy, special needs, dementia.
And then, hamsters and mice.
I work for Russell Simmons.
He's one of the most influential, amazing people in the entertainment industry.
Russell knows me better than almost anyone, and he knows how attached I am to Hubble Yoda.
Simone has been maybe my best friend for the last 20 20 years.
She's worked for me for 25 years.
She spent all of her time taking care of these animals.
She took the blind dog on as if it was her newborn child.
Just wonder if it's too far.
Hubble Yoda, you doing good in there? I'm hoping that Justin can provide me with the tools that I need to have a very confident, happy, little old blind dog.
So what's up? How can I help you? Um, well, he has a couple of issues.
He goes crazy around other dogs.
I just adopted him, like, six weeks ago.
- Oh, he's brand-new.
- He's brand-new for me.
He's nine years old, but he's brand-new for me.
And, um, all of my dogs that I had in the past-- all rescues, all special needs-- they all had no issues whatsoever with other dogs.
And I'm scared to put him anywhere near another dog because he can't see what the body language is of another dog to know if they're sort of coming at him aggressively or not.
He will lunge, bark and attack them.
Okay.
Okay, okay.
- Your state in your head at that point is what? - Freaking out.
- You're terrified.
- Yeah.
You're terrified holding a dog who's terrified.
Yeah.
You know what the most important sense for them is? Smell and hearing? Smell and hearing.
Eyes are kind of third.
They need them, but they get along pretty well.
That's good.
What's his day-to-day with you like? I'm attached to him all day.
He's never not within, like, two feet of me at any time.
Never? Mm, nope.
Simone adopted Hubble Yoda about six weeks ago.
The eyes were removed because it had glaucoma.
So, she's very, very concerned, obviously.
I mean, you see an adorable dog with no eyes, of course you're gonna be like, "Oh, my God, this poor thing.
" But at the same time, just because an animal has a handicap, doesn't mean that it is helpless.
So your life is Russell, Hubble.
Russell, Hubble.
- How's it going? I'm Justin.
- Hi, Justin.
Nice to meet you.
Let me get your honest opinion on your feeling with her relationship this dog.
I don't mind the dog in the office, nothing.
I, you know, I want her to go out.
So you feel like her relationship with the dog - gets in the way of her social life? - Yeah.
I'd like to see Simone live her life a little more freely.
She should go out.
She should date.
She should get herself a man or a girl or a something.
A human.
Thank you, Russ.
My concern is this: I think this dog has what we call "learned helplessness.
" I'm gonna do a little training with some other dogs, and we'll go have a little fun with them in the park, and expand his world a little bit.
- It's, he's in a bit of a bubble.
- Okay.
It's not like a "normal dog" that's having issues.
He has special needs, so he requires more care.
- It was so nice to meet you.
- Thank you.
Thanks so much.
I'll see you soon.
Good-bye, H.
- I'll see ya soon, kid.
- Bye! Bye-bye, Justin.
See ya, Monday.
I'm on my way to Hempstead, Long Island.
Christine Filardi called me; she's got four rescue dogs.
One of the them, Ika, is really aggressive.
No, Ika, no, out.
Out.
I've got two pit mixes myself.
Pit bulls are often misunderstood.
And unfortunately, a lot of them end up in shelters.
So I'm really looking forward to helping Christine out.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Come on in! - Hi, how are you? - Great! - Welcome to my home.
- Hi, I'm Justin.
- Great to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
- Oh, my goodness, doggies on the table? - They're everywhere.
I have four dogs: Madeline, Crystal, Ika and Dottie.
Hi, mama.
Hi, beautiful Okay, okay, okay, calm down.
Easy.
All right, this one's got a lot of energy.
We didn't run this morning.
We ran a small amount.
Uh-uh, stop! That's enough now.
Stop! Christine's house is intense.
That's enough! Stop.
It's not a big space.
The dogs are jumping all over the place.
Crystal, come over here! You've got, Dottie, the little white one.
She's fearful.
She's climbing up around her on the table.
She's got Madeline.
Madeline is not an issue at all.
Then she's got Crystal, the little party animal.
She's like, "Oh, you coming over to party with me?!" She's adorable, but she is high energy.
All right, all right.
Hey, hey! Stop! - Crystal! - Come here.
I got it.
I got it.
That's not even the dog I got called for.
Yes, I love you.
- You got your hands full with these three.
- I certainly do.
I have my hands full.
How many fights are you dealing with, like, on a weekly basis here? - I would say two to three right now.
- Two to three fights? We had a little incident between these two the other day.
- These two? - Yes, they were in the yard.
A little dog walked by, and these two redirected right onto each other.
Relatively new thing that has happened to these two.
I also think they're feeling my stress levels.
Because, you know, things are changing, - and I'm in a transition period.
- Tell me about that.
- Well, I'm going through a divorce.
- Right.
- My husband owns this house.
- Okay.
- My husband also owns 30 acres upstate.
- Okay So between this house and upstate with him, they would get a lot of exercise, especially upstate running all the time.
Okay, so, you had your husband helping you out.
Things have gone sour.
And I'm moving to a small one-bedroom next door.
- Smaller than this? - Yes, with no yard.
With no yard? Okay.
I will make it work, 'cause I'm determined to make it work.
I do not want my animals to suffer.
And I don't want them to have a lack of quality of life.
And I will always put them first.
I'm sorry.
Don't be sorry.
Don't be sorry.
This is a case where her heart is bigger than her home.
And you can just see she's so emotional about it; she feels like she let the dogs down.
She's trying to keep everything together for these animals, but the ground is shaking beneath her.
You are going through so much transition right now, - and have a ton on your shoulders.
- Yes, I do.
Now, I was overwhelmed from the moment I walked in with these three.
You haven't yet introduced me to the one - that you called me about.
- Yes, I know.
so, take me to see Ika.
I want to see what's going on in there, okay? come on.
Let's go see Ika.
This is my Ika.
- Hi, I'm Justin.
- Great to meet you.
Nice to meet you.
Christine called me.
She's got four dogs.
One of them's got really bad aggression issues.
The dog is growling, lunging, it's biting at the cage, snarling.
And it does not like me.
It doesn't know I'm its friend yet.
It doesn't know that I'm its mama's friend yet.
It is just pissed.
So this is my Ika.
This is why you're here.
My biggest problem is that he's a fear biter.
- And he goes after people.
- I get it.
I don't even need to see him outside of the cage, off the leash.
I get it.
I see it all right now.
- Can you do me a favor? - Sure.
- Tell him to sit.
- Sit.
There you go, down, good.
- Have you gotten bit? - Several times.
Let me see your arms.
- Um, I have this - And there they are.
and then I have this arm.
This is pretty bad.
I've got my scars here.
I've got my scars there.
What do we know about his history? I know that he came from a family of fighting dogs.
And somebody, as a kind gesture, threw him out of a car window in Brooklyn.
He was discarded because they would have used him as a bait dog.
He was discarded because he wasn't - "Pittish" enough.
- tough enough to fight.
- Yes.
- So they just beat up on him.
And then they got rid of him.
This dog does not trust people.
It's probably been so abused and banged around so much that it's just it's a piece of work.
You know, what makes me angry is he didn't ask for what he got.
You didn't either.
- Yes.
- Okay? I feel like they don't have the best of me 'cause I can't be the best of me right now.
I don't have it.
I'm tired.
I'm really tired.
Christine is at her breaking point.
You can see she transfers a lot of the care that she needs to take of herself onto these animals.
When I work with you, we need to look at your bigger picture.
And we need to find resources to help that bigger picture.
And that may be things that you're going to have to give up that you don't want to give up.
You have to.
Ika is a dog I can absolutely help.
But the bigger question is if Christine even has the time right now to devote to the training that Ika needs.
I deal with a lot of aggressive dogs.
I am a pit lover like you.
I have lots of them.
But bigger dog, bigger bite.
Christine is at her breaking point, and I feel for her.
She's the same kind of person that I am.
She feels for these animals, but it's not conducive to her happiness, to the dogs' happiness, so she's in a pickle.
We are in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
This is real old-school New York.
And I'm going to meet the Scully family.
- How's it going? I'm Justin.
- Hi, how you doing? - I'm Irene.
Welcome.
- How are you? - Hi, how are you? I'm Megan.
- Justin.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
I walk in, and the first thing I see is the dogs are running amok.
They really got their hands full with these two.
He's a real bull in a china shop.
No, no, no pillow! Let me have my pillow.
He still thinks he's the nine - pound pup we brought home.
When we first got Duke, I mean, he was nine pounds.
He was this little lick bomb.
You're losing.
No, he's not.
Rotten dog.
That's how he drinks? And he'll lick whatever's in the sink, if there's dirty dishes in the sink.
He's like a two-year-old.
He gets very mischievous.
- He wants to play.
- Yeah, he's at your couch pillows again.
Of course, what else is new? Rotten dog.
We were very happy with just Duke.
But then he was always in trouble, and then a lot of people recommended that we get the second dog so he'd have somebody to play with.
And like jerks, we did that.
Okay, what's her problems? She doesn't stop barking.
She's the loudmouth out of the both of them.
When you take her to go out, the whole neighborhood knows.
- So she just barks for no reason? - Yeah.
Where's Daddy? Hi, mama! When my husband comes home in the afternoon, he's the fun-loving dad.
Oh, how are you? Ooh, doggy They know when he gets home, it's playtime.
So I got your wife's side of the story here with the dogs.
- The neighbors have some feelings about this.
- Yeah.
Somebody put in a complaint with the dogs, - and I don't want to see that happening.
- No You just love them to death, you know? But you'd like to see them behave a little bit better.
What have you done up until this point to instruct them to do that? Actually, really nothing.
We would like to have dinner without him drooling on my table.
Go set up a fake dinner for me right now.
There's a lot of love in this home and that's all they do is love, love, love, love, love their dogs.
They don't really incorporate any discipline into the dogs' lives.
I know, you are hungry.
Can I ask you a question? How many nights a week do you give him a little piece? Probably seven.
Seven.
Okay, so they're sitting at the table waiting to get fed where they get fed.
The thing with the faucet - Does he have hands? - No.
Who turns the faucet on? So he's allowed to eat from the table he's allowed to drink from the faucet.
Yes, and now we're trying to stop it.
Justin was talking to us, I realized how many mistakes we really made.
It was humbling.
So I get it.
You got some big, powerful rambunctious dogs who need some rules, and they're like kids.
all right.
so, I'm going to go out and talk to your neighbors, and I'm going to come back, - and then we'll take it from there.
Okay? - Okay, fine.
This is a very family-oriented community.
Everybody knows each other.
The houses are very close together.
I'm actually working with the Scullys with their dogs.
Duke and Daisy.
Duke and Daisy, yes.
Oh, yeah, yeah, Duke and Daisy.
Everybody knows Duke and Daisy.
I didn't even have to say anything Well, they're the dogs of the block.
Everybody knows them.
They're celebrities in the neighborhood.
- Or terrors, one of the two.
- Oh, okay.
I guess I don't mind having dogs as neighbors, - as long as maybe it wasn't them.
- Oh, really? They can be a bit of a handful.
7:00 in the morning, they're already outside barking, and I have two small children.
Wouldn't you know it, it's Duke and Daisy, it's time to get up.
they're like, they're like the roosters of the neighborhood.
- How long does it go on for, the barking? - Oh, for a while.
- Just, forget it.
- Okay.
The Scullys have a real problem on their hands.
When the dogs are acting up inside, they put them outside.
Then the dogs start acting up outside and driving the neighbors crazy.
I just met your lovely neighbors.
They could make our life miserable if they wanted to.
The only two I need to talk to now are the dogs.
I would like you guys to just take a little walk outside.
I'm going to spend a little one-on-one time with these guys and give them the skinny.
- Okay.
Thanks, Jim.
- Thank you.
I gotta be honest, they are freakin' adorable.
So it's kind of hard for me to not give in to them, too.
Sit down.
Listen, I'm going to be honest with you guys.
You're adorable, you're cute, but you're driving this family absolutely crazy.
Don't give me that sad look and don't give me the drool, okay? This stuff ends today, all right? You don't bark at me, I bark at you.
All right, I got a lot of thoughts about training for you guys that's going to make life a little bit easier.
I got to run, I got some other stuff I got to do.
But I'm going to come back, we're going to work on training these kids, getting them in tip-top shape, all right? - Sounds great.
- So nice to meet you.
- Thank you very, very much.
- Thank you.
I'll see you soon.
- How are you? - Good.
Today, I'm back in Long Island with my business partner, Dave.
Dave's my best friend of about 20 years.
He's going to help me work with Christine and start the process of socializing Ika.
Okay, let's go to work now.
They had to use the basket muzzle on Ika because he would have lunged at dogs, he would have lunged at people, and he probably would have bitten them.
So he's got dominance issues with other dogs.
He's fearful of other dogs, so he goes to lunge for them.
When you meet the new dogs, it's his job to be the guardian.
Look at this.
When I put him slightly behind me I relieve him of duty.
He's going to naturally follow.
I have my buddy over there, Big Dave.
He's got my two dogs, Pit bulls, too.
So if these guys fight, it's not going to be fun.
But we're going to introduce him to them - and I'm going to show you how I want you to do it from now on.
- Okay.
Ika's had a rough past.
He doesn't trust people.
He doesn't trust dogs.
He doesn't know what it means to have either people or dogs as friends.
Whenever we meet new dogs, we're basically making the pack bigger.
We're going to go one at a time.
Come.
Heel.
That's what he normally does? Okay.
I'm just going to lead him to this interaction.
He doesn't have to lunge; that's not his responsibility.
No aggression from him.
He still may strike and lunge at me.
You got a big smile on your face, why? It's great to see him like this with you.
It's remarkable, with another dog so close to him, and strangers.
Now that Ika has calmed down with Chiquita, I want Christine to take over while I bring in my other dog, Pacino.
This is a male, too.
A big, strong male.
I'm about to introduce Ika to another dominant male dog.
This could be a very serious situation.
It's very natural for dominant male dogs to want to attack each other if they're not in a pack.
Now your job is to keep him there, and you say hello to Pacino, just with your hand.
Let Pacino smell you.
Don't let Ika lunge.
See how he's looking? Right now.
Choke up.
Right there.
See how he looked back at you? - Whenever he pins like that - Eyeballs.
he eyeballs, a lunge is right after that.
- So you have to read his language.
Okay? - Okay.
So keep an eye.
Meet him.
Now, normally, when he meets another male dog, is it like this? No, never.
- He's so calm right now.
- Exactly.
The tips that Justin has given me already makes me feel so much better.
- Three pit bulls, two people, let's walk.
- Okay.
What we learned today is that it's possible for Ika's aggression to be controlled.
- Now, relax, loosen up a little bit.
- Okay.
However, that is just a Band-Aid.
The bigger picture here is helping Christine manage her life right now.
Christine's got four dogs in this house, whatever she's dealing with with this divorce, moving-- I mean, she's got so much.
So this is insane.
How do you feel? - I feel a lot better than earlier.
- Yeah? It's good to see Ika walking with other dogs, not lunging, biting, so I'm very optimistic.
That's good.
Now, I'm happy to make your situation more manageable, however, I think overall, the situation is unmanageable.
I can always help you with these little issues that come up, with the aggression and all those things.
But the big picture, that's what I want to help you with.
This dog needs a lot of time and attention.
This dog needs time and attention.
Dottie needs time and attention.
- Madeline, not so much.
- Not so much.
This dog alone would be a lot for someone to handle.
How can we lighten your load? I don't want to lighten the load with them.
Is it realistic for you to have the amount of animals you have right now? Is it is it good for them? Is it good for you? I think I can handle it.
- You think you can? - Yes.
With the right help What's the right help though? Like what you did today, showing me how to socialize him better.
Right, but you still have breakout fights in the house, and you're going into a smaller space.
You're overloaded.
You're overloaded personally.
You're overloaded with all these animals.
They're overloaded.
They're feeling the brunt of it.
You have a lot of weight on your shoulders.
I think a huge fear of letting one of them go is that you feel like you'd be a bad mama, you'd be doing wrong by them, right? But by opening yourself up to the idea, you wouldn't be failing at all.
In fact, you'd be doing them a great service.
It's like giving away one of my children.
But in my heart, I know he's right.
I want us to work together and find a solution for you.
Okay.
Sure.
- Yeah? So, we'll be in touch.
- Thank you.
The life that I had envisioned for all of my animals is very different than the reality of what I can give them, and it's hard to accept the truth of what is and that I have to give up one of my dogs.
It's okay.
I don't have the answer for her today, but I wanted her to be open to other options.
So, it's my opinion that Crystal, the one who's setting off most of the attacks, get removed from the situation.
So I'm going to call sanctuaries, I'm going to call rescues.
I'm going to do the very best I can for Christine and her dogs.
Bryant Park is right in the heart of the Fashion District.
Hey, you.
This is going to be a perfect place that I can get Simone and work with Hubble Yoda.
Stop.
Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop.
- How are you? - Good.
We got a person who's so overly concerned about her dog, that she's pushing it around in a baby carriage.
Only in New York do you see this.
I'm a guy walking with my dog.
Go ahead, do what you normally do.
- Go ahead, don't be nervous.
- Okay.
I know.
I know.
She's tense; she doesn't know how he's going to react, so of course, he's going to sense that tension, and he lunges when he meets the other dogs.
- That's it? - Normally, honestly, I don't get that close 'cause I don't trust that he won't get hurt.
So that's the closest he gets to dogs? That's probably the closest he's gotten to a dog in my care.
Here's what I'm hoping to achieve in my training session with Simone.
Let me see it again.
Okay, don't worry.
Relax.
I want to give little Hubble Yoda a little confidence around other dogs.
- Let me have him.
- And I want to give Simone some tools so that she knows how to handle Hubble Yoda and doesn't need to carry him around like this.
We have another dog here.
He can't see the other dog.
Right? So he has to smell it in order to identify it.
But because he doesn't get to smell it, because you get nervous about his reaction, you never get past the introduction, because you're worried about the flare-up.
So, we just stay in the flare-up.
Now watch.
Now he's going to react.
That's fine.
Hubble Yoda, come on.
Just because he's blind, I'm still going to treat him like a dog that can see.
Watch.
Come on.
Now he knows he's walking with this dog.
We're just going to create the experience of these two walking together.
He's not trying to attack him.
- No, why would he? - I don't know.
There's nothing wrong.
He's not going to get hurt here.
Come on, little jerk, little yank, I let him know it's just fine.
- my heart is beating so fast right now.
- Relax.
I'm right here.
He smelled Ray, and then it was like they were fine together; it doesn't mean there's not gonna be another little flare-up, but it's nothing that I can't handle.
- Come on, you're gonna do this one with me.
- Okay.
And it's nothing she can't handle.
She's making such a big deal about it.
Relax, relax, it's a little flare-up.
- He was just saying,"I don't want you right there.
" - "I don't want you right there.
" Walk.
Come on, Hubble Yoda.
Relax your left arm.
Just relax it, walk confidently.
Walk the way you walk.
Turn around, walk toward me.
Let's turn around.
We're turning.
- We're turning.
- You don't have to say it, just move.
Now, you see how there's tension in your left hand? Relax it.
There you go, Simone.
- Good.
- How do you feel? They feel great.
Everybody's doing so great.
I have never seen Hubble Yoda in a situation where he wasn't barking and lunging and growling and freaking out all over another dog.
So, it-- I was like, is this voodoo? Like, what's going on? The more you do this and the more you stop toting him around, - the more confidence he's going to have.
- Right.
It was important for me to show Simone what was possible with Hubble Yoda.
And it was really cool for her to see, because I think dogs really do have an ability to break the ice and expand people's world a little bit.
See how he doesn't really need to walk in a stroller? So, I think that Hubble Yoda could be really healing to Simone in that kind of way.
The good thing here is that you can get somebody and have him walked with other dogs while you're in the office.
Have him have some Hubble Yoda time while you have some Simone time.
I'm absolutely willing to consider making a change because I want him to have the best life that he can, and so I think it's going to be a really fun thing for Hubble Yoda to be around other animals that he can, Like, jive with and that he can be friends with.
So I'm excited.
- You feel better? - It's really good for him.
- It is.
- It's really amazing.
I want to do a little bit of exposure therapy by having them around people and dogs and the things that trigger them.
I wouldn't dare come to a place like this, where there are so many kids.
I'm headed back to train the Scullys.
- I like these people.
- Bloodhounds are working dogs.
They are used for hunting.
These are big dogs with lots of energy.
They need jobs to do or they cause mischief.
Come on in.
- How are you? - Good.
It's good to see you.
Implementing just a few techniques is going to change this whole family.
All right, I thought a lot about our situation with these guys.
The pillows going under there, the taking food from the table, the barking outside-- it's all connected.
These are fun, happy dogs, but the lack of discipline in here just carries to right outside there.
You guys love, love, love, love, love, but the house can't be a playground and place to have manners.
So you guys got to pick.
- Does that make sense? - Yes.
Okay, these are working dogs.
So they're always looking to work and do things for us.
As long as you instruct them on what you want them to do and then reward them accordingly, - they're going to be happy and balanced.
- Okay.
Now I'm going to teach the Scullys how to have a nice family dinner without the dogs running around like crazy under the table and jumping on the table taking food from everybody.
When you start making food, they get excited? Yes.
Where do you want him to be when you're making food? - This is fine right here.
- That would be perfect.
- That's fine right here.
- You want him to be right there? - Yeah, he can be right there.
- Okay.
So here's what we're going to do; I brought you guys turkey.
Here's what I want.
We tell them sit, stay.
Sit.
Good.
Stay.
- See how they're looking right now? - Yes.
They're looking to do something.
Now watch.
They're going to do exactly what they're told to do.
Now, that's their job while this is our job, right? - Yeah.
- Okay.
Hold on, eye contact.
Put the plates down over there.
You see how they're looking right now? Nice, right? Look, I mean, these dogs are so attentive to you.
Sit.
Stay.
- Go ahead.
- Good girl.
It's amazing how attentive these two are.
Stay.
You're doing really, really well.
Go back, don't turn your back.
Keep your eye contact; they want eye contact.
You see how they're looking right now? You see the amount of communication that goes on between you and them? They're keyed in to you, which is perfect, all right? This is going to go a long way for you.
- Stay.
- Go back to the table.
Just put your butt down right on the chair 'cause that's enough right now.
Look how attentive they are.
Look how attentive they are.
Eyes on her, 'cause she'll get up.
Excellent.
Good girl.
Good boy.
- Stay.
- Wait, wait till eyes on you.
Daisy, stay.
Duke, stay.
Stay.
- You feel a sense of control right now? - Yeah.
Feels better, right? Nicer.
She's good.
Did you see that? - No.
Stay.
- Now you give them-- well, he's still He's protesting.
- Stay.
- But he's still respecting her.
These guys are so responsive to training.
- Sit.
- There you go.
- Now you want to see how this works outside? - Sure.
The sit-and-stay command is going to work wonders for Duke and Daisy.
The next thing I want to work on with the Scullys is teaching the dogs not to go nuts when people walk by the fence outside.
The only difference out here is that there's more distractions.
So the same thing as we did in there, I just want you to practice the sit-stay command out here.
The sit-and-stay Justin taught us, it's just amazing.
You know, they actually listen.
And they're like two different animals.
- Tell them to stay.
- Stay.
Start small.
So each time, you go a little closer to the fence.
Back up.
- Get eye contact.
- Stay.
Go to the fence.
Stay.
He's listening to you.
How's that feel? That's wonderful.
It's not that they're not gonna get triggered, but when they get triggered, now you have something to do.
- It's a relief.
- Feel good? - Yeah.
- They're more manageable.
This is going to be an everyday project, because I think if we stop doing the training end of it, I can see them falling back into their bad habits.
And I really don't want that.
Now you feel a sense of control.
I want you to have some people over here.
You can have a barbecue, have a party and practice this, okay? - All right, sounds good.
You'll come? - Sounds great.
- Absolutely.
- Okay.
Thank you for everything.
Leaving tonight, I feel the Scullys have a good handle on the things that I showed them.
This is just the beginning, but I feel like they've made a good start, and I'm looking forward to having them invite some friends over and having a nice little get-together.
- Take care, guys.
- Bye-bye.
Love those dogs.
Hello? - Justin? - Yes? - Hey, it's Christine.
How are you? - How are you? - Fantastic.
- What's going on? Well, great news.
my ex is willing to take Crystal for a couple of months.
That's really great news.
Great news, yes, I'm very happy.
So I was able to squeeze a few months out of him.
not permanent, but it's good for a few months.
So we will be able to work with Dottie and Ika.
Dottie and Ika, yeah, that's awesome.
I am psyched that Christine's ex is gonna step up and take Crystal.
That's gonna allow her the wiggle room so we can work with Dottie and Ika.
They both really need to be socialized with each other and with other dogs.
Christine, that's great news.
So what I want to do is have you come to Manhattan, and we'll just start on a little bit of training with Dottie and Ika.
- Awesome.
Thanks so much, Justin.
- You're so welcome.
- Bye.
- Bye.
I asked Christine to come meet me here in the park so we can start working with Dottie and Ika, now that she's got a little bit of free space and can start focusing her attention on them.
Good morning.
- Got some coffee for you.
- Oh, thank you so much.
That's from the dogs.
- Got some coffee for you.
- Oh, thank you so much.
That's from the dogs.
Today, I want to do a little bit of exposure therapy by having them around people and dogs and the things that trigger them, and just have them enjoy that time without stress.
You see we have other dogs here? They see other dogs.
They don't lunge, they don't react.
There's kids.
There's all these things that would normally trigger them.
And you can see, they're getting a little, like, you know, he's looking around.
He's getting a little worked up, but we can control them.
My goal for today is to get Ika in a calm state so I can remove the muzzle and go to a head collar with Ika.
That's how we make slow progress.
We want to start with the muzzle so it's completely safe.
And then when I feel he's not reacting to things the way he initially did by attacking them, I'm gonna take the muzzle off.
You see how he just lunges forward, - like I'm getting something out of my bag, and he's, like, in it? - yes.
Like, watch.
Sit down, sit, wait.
I can go to this bag and do what I want to do without him coming forward for it.
He's got, like, impulse control.
So, when I give him a little control here, it translates.
- You see how dogs are walking by? - Right.
Normally, he's lunging at them.
Because I have a little control here, I have control here.
A dog like Ika is highly reactive when it sees other dogs.
When I first met him, all I saw were his teeth.
When other dogs started to walk by, and Ika would just look at me for instruction, that's when I knew that he was in a good state and I could remove the muzzle.
I don't want to see you with this.
Let me see that pretty face.
Let me see that pretty face.
- Does he seem to care? No.
- No.
Ika's like a different dog today.
And it just gives me such hope because these are the kind of things I want to do with my dogs.
So, we're coming up on a dog park, right? So, they're gonna be triggered.
We're gonna be the calm leaders and watch.
I set the tone.
I set the tone.
- All these dogs here - Great.
Look.
Calm.
They're aware.
They're very calm.
I wouldn't have dared to come to a place like this with Ika and Dottie, where there are so many kids and other dogs.
I think I was in a little bit of denial about how overwhelmed I was with everything.
And it really took a complete stranger to come into my house and really give me the wake-up call that I needed that it's okay if you can't do this by yourself.
It's really okay, and I'm gonna give you the help you need.
No one could have convinced me to give up one of my dogs.
Like, I just would never have done it.
And you saw the chaos that I was living in, and more importantly you just validated how much I had on my plate.
So that's good to hear.
I'm glad that I can help you.
I want Christine to be able to have time with Dottie and Ika around all these things that they usually react to on her own.
But she's not there yet.
So the way I'm going to train her is by having dog dates with her.
So we're gonna get our weekly pit bull coffee dates.
That's gonna be your training program.
I'm making it-- it's gonna be nice for you, nice for me, nice for them.
- We just have nice times.
- Awesome.
When the dogs get a little ornery, I'm gonna show her how to cue them properly.
And pretty soon, she's gonna be able to do that on her own.
The Scullys are hang a little barbecue, and I'm gonna show up, test out their skills with the dogs, see how they handle them.
- How are you guys? - Hi! Welcome! - Look at how quiet and peaceful over here.
- How quiet and peaceful.
This is a nice way for the Scullys to acknowledge what's been going on with their dogs and neighbors and make some peace if there was a little bit of discord.
You know, this is very family neighborhood.
- Hi! How are ya? - Mike, you need to .
The fact that the dogs are just sitting there, a part of the family as opposed to the neighborhood nuisances, that's great.
Okay, good boy.
- Wow, that's huge, man.
- You're doing very, very, very good.
- Huge difference.
- That's huge.
I'm very proud of Duke and Daisy.
I never expected it to go as well as it has gone.
You're not hearing that barking all the time.
Especially from her.
Right, 'cause they're basically-- when dogs are barking, they're just, like, "What should I do, what should I do, what should I do?" And the second you just give them a little bit of instruction, it's like, "What should I do?" "You're supposed to do that.
" "Okay.
" And then they do it.
We had rules and regulations for the kids, - but we never made them for the dogs.
- Right.
The tricks that he showed us to do, it's just amazing.
- Practice your distance.
- Okay.
- Stay.
- There you go.
They're working dogs.
They're trying to please us.
And we weren't taking advantage of them trying to please us.
We were trying to please them, which is stupid.
It was a good morning.
I didn't hear them at all.
Good, huh? Uncle Frank can sleep now? Uncle Frank can sleep now? - She's a sweetie.
- She's so sweet.
They both are.
If this is the improvement you're seeing in such a short amount of time, in a week, in a month, you'll be great.
Well, thanks so much for having me by.
I really appreciate it.
I really appreciate this.
- thank you so much.
- You're welcome.
- Thank you so much for everything.
- You're so welcome, you're so welcome.
The Scullys, they're just good people.
They're supposed to be having barbecues on their stoop with two dogs sitting there behaving.
That's what's supposed to be.
Everybody enjoy sleeping in on Saturday morning.
See ya later.
Thank you.
I'm really glad that I was able to help them out and just make those adjustments 'cause those dogs were driving everybody crazy, and, you know, everyone was all smiles today.
- bye guys.
- Bye.
You were so good! With the three owners I've met this week, there's a common theme.
They were adapting to the dogs' problems rather than instructing the dogs and having them live in their lives properly.
The Scullys finally have Daisy and Duke's behavior in check.
And they're back to the life they should have been leading all along.
That a boy.
And while Ika and Dottie are still going to need a lot of attention, Christine's now in a position where she can be there for them.
- Feels nice to see them like this.
- It feels nice to see you like this.
You're so much calmer than when I first met you.
Yes, I know.
I feel a lot better.
And now that Simone realizes that Hubble Yoda is by no means helpless, she can expand her world beyond their little bubble.
- We can hang out now.
- Yeah, we can hang out now.
We're able to walk in the park together for the first time ever.
And in the end, I'm gonna be there for all these dogs and their owners to help them live happy lives in the city.
Dogs In The City Season 1 Episode 3
One in eight New Yorkers owns a dog.
Titus, come here, big handsome.
That's one-and-a-half million dogs.
Which means, there's gonna be some problems.
Oh, no.
That's where I come in.
I'm Justin Silver.
They call me the Dog Guru.
All right, let's get started right now.
I've been working with dogs and their owners for nearly ten years.
Watch his feet, watch my feet.
Just walk.
They're gonna follow you.
Walk.
Good girl.
And believe me, I've seen every problem you can imagine.
- Stubborn.
- No, that way.
Difficult.
- Spoiled.
- Oh, my God.
Demanding.
And that's just the owners.
- Okay, now you're gonna hate me.
- Now? I mean, the truth is, when I'm training dogs, I'm training owners.
I don't want him to bark.
I didn't ask what you don't want him to do.
I asked what you want him to do.
You never get past the introduction because you're worried about the flare-up.
Up.
Good boy.
Bottom line, my job is to make life with dogs in the city a whole lot easier.
Walk.
You see how she starts to just fall into a rhythm with you? If there's one language I speak fluently, it's canine.
This stuff ends today.
What can I say? I speak dog.
What? Oh, my handsome dog trainer? Any breed, any time, anywhere.
Come.
When it comes to dogs, I've got this city covered.
Tonight, a Brooklyn family needs to get a grip - You're losing.
- No, he's not.
and stop their devious dogs from hounding the neighborhood.
I guess I don't mind having dogs as neighbors, as long as maybe it wasn't them.
A media maven rescues disabled animals She took the blind dog on as if it was her newborn child.
So you feel like her relationship with the dog gets in the way? Yeah.
And rescuing four troubled dogs has pushed this owner to her breaking point.
I'm tired.
I'm really tired.
Dogs In The City Season 1 Episode 3 Today, I am meeting Simone Reyes.
She's Russell Simmons' personal assistant.
Her dog Hubble Yoda is blind and it's got some issues.
I'm gonna see if I can help her out.
The Fashion District is right off of Times Square, so there's people everywhere.
There's a lot of traffic.
Very jam-packed.
This is an area where anybody-- person or dog-- with a disability might have a hard time.
So, a blind dog is certainly gonna have a bigger challenge.
- Hello.
- Hi! - I'm Justin.
How are you? - How are you? I'm good.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
- This is Hubble Yoda.
- Hi, Hubble Yoda.
Oh, my goodness.
Look at you.
We got some parts missing, huh? I've had special needs dogs all my life, but I had never had a blind dog before.
- He doesn't let it bother him.
- No? - Not so much.
- He's cute.
I'm an animal rights activist, and so I see firsthand how many animals are euthanized in shelters every day.
The ones that typically go first, let's face it, are handicapped dogs.
I had deaf dog, three-legged dog, old, sick I have all of my dogs on my arm.
Pikachu, special needs, three-legged dog.
Stevie, special needs, deaf dog.
Cassidy, special needs, dementia.
And then, hamsters and mice.
I work for Russell Simmons.
He's one of the most influential, amazing people in the entertainment industry.
Russell knows me better than almost anyone, and he knows how attached I am to Hubble Yoda.
Simone has been maybe my best friend for the last 20 20 years.
She's worked for me for 25 years.
She spent all of her time taking care of these animals.
She took the blind dog on as if it was her newborn child.
Just wonder if it's too far.
Hubble Yoda, you doing good in there? I'm hoping that Justin can provide me with the tools that I need to have a very confident, happy, little old blind dog.
So what's up? How can I help you? Um, well, he has a couple of issues.
He goes crazy around other dogs.
I just adopted him, like, six weeks ago.
- Oh, he's brand-new.
- He's brand-new for me.
He's nine years old, but he's brand-new for me.
And, um, all of my dogs that I had in the past-- all rescues, all special needs-- they all had no issues whatsoever with other dogs.
And I'm scared to put him anywhere near another dog because he can't see what the body language is of another dog to know if they're sort of coming at him aggressively or not.
He will lunge, bark and attack them.
Okay.
Okay, okay.
- Your state in your head at that point is what? - Freaking out.
- You're terrified.
- Yeah.
You're terrified holding a dog who's terrified.
Yeah.
You know what the most important sense for them is? Smell and hearing? Smell and hearing.
Eyes are kind of third.
They need them, but they get along pretty well.
That's good.
What's his day-to-day with you like? I'm attached to him all day.
He's never not within, like, two feet of me at any time.
Never? Mm, nope.
Simone adopted Hubble Yoda about six weeks ago.
The eyes were removed because it had glaucoma.
So, she's very, very concerned, obviously.
I mean, you see an adorable dog with no eyes, of course you're gonna be like, "Oh, my God, this poor thing.
" But at the same time, just because an animal has a handicap, doesn't mean that it is helpless.
So your life is Russell, Hubble.
Russell, Hubble.
- How's it going? I'm Justin.
- Hi, Justin.
Nice to meet you.
Let me get your honest opinion on your feeling with her relationship this dog.
I don't mind the dog in the office, nothing.
I, you know, I want her to go out.
So you feel like her relationship with the dog - gets in the way of her social life? - Yeah.
I'd like to see Simone live her life a little more freely.
She should go out.
She should date.
She should get herself a man or a girl or a something.
A human.
Thank you, Russ.
My concern is this: I think this dog has what we call "learned helplessness.
" I'm gonna do a little training with some other dogs, and we'll go have a little fun with them in the park, and expand his world a little bit.
- It's, he's in a bit of a bubble.
- Okay.
It's not like a "normal dog" that's having issues.
He has special needs, so he requires more care.
- It was so nice to meet you.
- Thank you.
Thanks so much.
I'll see you soon.
Good-bye, H.
- I'll see ya soon, kid.
- Bye! Bye-bye, Justin.
See ya, Monday.
I'm on my way to Hempstead, Long Island.
Christine Filardi called me; she's got four rescue dogs.
One of the them, Ika, is really aggressive.
No, Ika, no, out.
Out.
I've got two pit mixes myself.
Pit bulls are often misunderstood.
And unfortunately, a lot of them end up in shelters.
So I'm really looking forward to helping Christine out.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Come on in! - Hi, how are you? - Great! - Welcome to my home.
- Hi, I'm Justin.
- Great to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
- Oh, my goodness, doggies on the table? - They're everywhere.
I have four dogs: Madeline, Crystal, Ika and Dottie.
Hi, mama.
Hi, beautiful Okay, okay, okay, calm down.
Easy.
All right, this one's got a lot of energy.
We didn't run this morning.
We ran a small amount.
Uh-uh, stop! That's enough now.
Stop! Christine's house is intense.
That's enough! Stop.
It's not a big space.
The dogs are jumping all over the place.
Crystal, come over here! You've got, Dottie, the little white one.
She's fearful.
She's climbing up around her on the table.
She's got Madeline.
Madeline is not an issue at all.
Then she's got Crystal, the little party animal.
She's like, "Oh, you coming over to party with me?!" She's adorable, but she is high energy.
All right, all right.
Hey, hey! Stop! - Crystal! - Come here.
I got it.
I got it.
That's not even the dog I got called for.
Yes, I love you.
- You got your hands full with these three.
- I certainly do.
I have my hands full.
How many fights are you dealing with, like, on a weekly basis here? - I would say two to three right now.
- Two to three fights? We had a little incident between these two the other day.
- These two? - Yes, they were in the yard.
A little dog walked by, and these two redirected right onto each other.
Relatively new thing that has happened to these two.
I also think they're feeling my stress levels.
Because, you know, things are changing, - and I'm in a transition period.
- Tell me about that.
- Well, I'm going through a divorce.
- Right.
- My husband owns this house.
- Okay.
- My husband also owns 30 acres upstate.
- Okay So between this house and upstate with him, they would get a lot of exercise, especially upstate running all the time.
Okay, so, you had your husband helping you out.
Things have gone sour.
And I'm moving to a small one-bedroom next door.
- Smaller than this? - Yes, with no yard.
With no yard? Okay.
I will make it work, 'cause I'm determined to make it work.
I do not want my animals to suffer.
And I don't want them to have a lack of quality of life.
And I will always put them first.
I'm sorry.
Don't be sorry.
Don't be sorry.
This is a case where her heart is bigger than her home.
And you can just see she's so emotional about it; she feels like she let the dogs down.
She's trying to keep everything together for these animals, but the ground is shaking beneath her.
You are going through so much transition right now, - and have a ton on your shoulders.
- Yes, I do.
Now, I was overwhelmed from the moment I walked in with these three.
You haven't yet introduced me to the one - that you called me about.
- Yes, I know.
so, take me to see Ika.
I want to see what's going on in there, okay? come on.
Let's go see Ika.
This is my Ika.
- Hi, I'm Justin.
- Great to meet you.
Nice to meet you.
Christine called me.
She's got four dogs.
One of them's got really bad aggression issues.
The dog is growling, lunging, it's biting at the cage, snarling.
And it does not like me.
It doesn't know I'm its friend yet.
It doesn't know that I'm its mama's friend yet.
It is just pissed.
So this is my Ika.
This is why you're here.
My biggest problem is that he's a fear biter.
- And he goes after people.
- I get it.
I don't even need to see him outside of the cage, off the leash.
I get it.
I see it all right now.
- Can you do me a favor? - Sure.
- Tell him to sit.
- Sit.
There you go, down, good.
- Have you gotten bit? - Several times.
Let me see your arms.
- Um, I have this - And there they are.
and then I have this arm.
This is pretty bad.
I've got my scars here.
I've got my scars there.
What do we know about his history? I know that he came from a family of fighting dogs.
And somebody, as a kind gesture, threw him out of a car window in Brooklyn.
He was discarded because they would have used him as a bait dog.
He was discarded because he wasn't - "Pittish" enough.
- tough enough to fight.
- Yes.
- So they just beat up on him.
And then they got rid of him.
This dog does not trust people.
It's probably been so abused and banged around so much that it's just it's a piece of work.
You know, what makes me angry is he didn't ask for what he got.
You didn't either.
- Yes.
- Okay? I feel like they don't have the best of me 'cause I can't be the best of me right now.
I don't have it.
I'm tired.
I'm really tired.
Christine is at her breaking point.
You can see she transfers a lot of the care that she needs to take of herself onto these animals.
When I work with you, we need to look at your bigger picture.
And we need to find resources to help that bigger picture.
And that may be things that you're going to have to give up that you don't want to give up.
You have to.
Ika is a dog I can absolutely help.
But the bigger question is if Christine even has the time right now to devote to the training that Ika needs.
I deal with a lot of aggressive dogs.
I am a pit lover like you.
I have lots of them.
But bigger dog, bigger bite.
Christine is at her breaking point, and I feel for her.
She's the same kind of person that I am.
She feels for these animals, but it's not conducive to her happiness, to the dogs' happiness, so she's in a pickle.
We are in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
This is real old-school New York.
And I'm going to meet the Scully family.
- How's it going? I'm Justin.
- Hi, how you doing? - I'm Irene.
Welcome.
- How are you? - Hi, how are you? I'm Megan.
- Justin.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
I walk in, and the first thing I see is the dogs are running amok.
They really got their hands full with these two.
He's a real bull in a china shop.
No, no, no pillow! Let me have my pillow.
He still thinks he's the nine - pound pup we brought home.
When we first got Duke, I mean, he was nine pounds.
He was this little lick bomb.
You're losing.
No, he's not.
Rotten dog.
That's how he drinks? And he'll lick whatever's in the sink, if there's dirty dishes in the sink.
He's like a two-year-old.
He gets very mischievous.
- He wants to play.
- Yeah, he's at your couch pillows again.
Of course, what else is new? Rotten dog.
We were very happy with just Duke.
But then he was always in trouble, and then a lot of people recommended that we get the second dog so he'd have somebody to play with.
And like jerks, we did that.
Okay, what's her problems? She doesn't stop barking.
She's the loudmouth out of the both of them.
When you take her to go out, the whole neighborhood knows.
- So she just barks for no reason? - Yeah.
Where's Daddy? Hi, mama! When my husband comes home in the afternoon, he's the fun-loving dad.
Oh, how are you? Ooh, doggy They know when he gets home, it's playtime.
So I got your wife's side of the story here with the dogs.
- The neighbors have some feelings about this.
- Yeah.
Somebody put in a complaint with the dogs, - and I don't want to see that happening.
- No You just love them to death, you know? But you'd like to see them behave a little bit better.
What have you done up until this point to instruct them to do that? Actually, really nothing.
We would like to have dinner without him drooling on my table.
Go set up a fake dinner for me right now.
There's a lot of love in this home and that's all they do is love, love, love, love, love their dogs.
They don't really incorporate any discipline into the dogs' lives.
I know, you are hungry.
Can I ask you a question? How many nights a week do you give him a little piece? Probably seven.
Seven.
Okay, so they're sitting at the table waiting to get fed where they get fed.
The thing with the faucet - Does he have hands? - No.
Who turns the faucet on? So he's allowed to eat from the table he's allowed to drink from the faucet.
Yes, and now we're trying to stop it.
Justin was talking to us, I realized how many mistakes we really made.
It was humbling.
So I get it.
You got some big, powerful rambunctious dogs who need some rules, and they're like kids.
all right.
so, I'm going to go out and talk to your neighbors, and I'm going to come back, - and then we'll take it from there.
Okay? - Okay, fine.
This is a very family-oriented community.
Everybody knows each other.
The houses are very close together.
I'm actually working with the Scullys with their dogs.
Duke and Daisy.
Duke and Daisy, yes.
Oh, yeah, yeah, Duke and Daisy.
Everybody knows Duke and Daisy.
I didn't even have to say anything Well, they're the dogs of the block.
Everybody knows them.
They're celebrities in the neighborhood.
- Or terrors, one of the two.
- Oh, okay.
I guess I don't mind having dogs as neighbors, - as long as maybe it wasn't them.
- Oh, really? They can be a bit of a handful.
7:00 in the morning, they're already outside barking, and I have two small children.
Wouldn't you know it, it's Duke and Daisy, it's time to get up.
they're like, they're like the roosters of the neighborhood.
- How long does it go on for, the barking? - Oh, for a while.
- Just, forget it.
- Okay.
The Scullys have a real problem on their hands.
When the dogs are acting up inside, they put them outside.
Then the dogs start acting up outside and driving the neighbors crazy.
I just met your lovely neighbors.
They could make our life miserable if they wanted to.
The only two I need to talk to now are the dogs.
I would like you guys to just take a little walk outside.
I'm going to spend a little one-on-one time with these guys and give them the skinny.
- Okay.
Thanks, Jim.
- Thank you.
I gotta be honest, they are freakin' adorable.
So it's kind of hard for me to not give in to them, too.
Sit down.
Listen, I'm going to be honest with you guys.
You're adorable, you're cute, but you're driving this family absolutely crazy.
Don't give me that sad look and don't give me the drool, okay? This stuff ends today, all right? You don't bark at me, I bark at you.
All right, I got a lot of thoughts about training for you guys that's going to make life a little bit easier.
I got to run, I got some other stuff I got to do.
But I'm going to come back, we're going to work on training these kids, getting them in tip-top shape, all right? - Sounds great.
- So nice to meet you.
- Thank you very, very much.
- Thank you.
I'll see you soon.
- How are you? - Good.
Today, I'm back in Long Island with my business partner, Dave.
Dave's my best friend of about 20 years.
He's going to help me work with Christine and start the process of socializing Ika.
Okay, let's go to work now.
They had to use the basket muzzle on Ika because he would have lunged at dogs, he would have lunged at people, and he probably would have bitten them.
So he's got dominance issues with other dogs.
He's fearful of other dogs, so he goes to lunge for them.
When you meet the new dogs, it's his job to be the guardian.
Look at this.
When I put him slightly behind me I relieve him of duty.
He's going to naturally follow.
I have my buddy over there, Big Dave.
He's got my two dogs, Pit bulls, too.
So if these guys fight, it's not going to be fun.
But we're going to introduce him to them - and I'm going to show you how I want you to do it from now on.
- Okay.
Ika's had a rough past.
He doesn't trust people.
He doesn't trust dogs.
He doesn't know what it means to have either people or dogs as friends.
Whenever we meet new dogs, we're basically making the pack bigger.
We're going to go one at a time.
Come.
Heel.
That's what he normally does? Okay.
I'm just going to lead him to this interaction.
He doesn't have to lunge; that's not his responsibility.
No aggression from him.
He still may strike and lunge at me.
You got a big smile on your face, why? It's great to see him like this with you.
It's remarkable, with another dog so close to him, and strangers.
Now that Ika has calmed down with Chiquita, I want Christine to take over while I bring in my other dog, Pacino.
This is a male, too.
A big, strong male.
I'm about to introduce Ika to another dominant male dog.
This could be a very serious situation.
It's very natural for dominant male dogs to want to attack each other if they're not in a pack.
Now your job is to keep him there, and you say hello to Pacino, just with your hand.
Let Pacino smell you.
Don't let Ika lunge.
See how he's looking? Right now.
Choke up.
Right there.
See how he looked back at you? - Whenever he pins like that - Eyeballs.
he eyeballs, a lunge is right after that.
- So you have to read his language.
Okay? - Okay.
So keep an eye.
Meet him.
Now, normally, when he meets another male dog, is it like this? No, never.
- He's so calm right now.
- Exactly.
The tips that Justin has given me already makes me feel so much better.
- Three pit bulls, two people, let's walk.
- Okay.
What we learned today is that it's possible for Ika's aggression to be controlled.
- Now, relax, loosen up a little bit.
- Okay.
However, that is just a Band-Aid.
The bigger picture here is helping Christine manage her life right now.
Christine's got four dogs in this house, whatever she's dealing with with this divorce, moving-- I mean, she's got so much.
So this is insane.
How do you feel? - I feel a lot better than earlier.
- Yeah? It's good to see Ika walking with other dogs, not lunging, biting, so I'm very optimistic.
That's good.
Now, I'm happy to make your situation more manageable, however, I think overall, the situation is unmanageable.
I can always help you with these little issues that come up, with the aggression and all those things.
But the big picture, that's what I want to help you with.
This dog needs a lot of time and attention.
This dog needs time and attention.
Dottie needs time and attention.
- Madeline, not so much.
- Not so much.
This dog alone would be a lot for someone to handle.
How can we lighten your load? I don't want to lighten the load with them.
Is it realistic for you to have the amount of animals you have right now? Is it is it good for them? Is it good for you? I think I can handle it.
- You think you can? - Yes.
With the right help What's the right help though? Like what you did today, showing me how to socialize him better.
Right, but you still have breakout fights in the house, and you're going into a smaller space.
You're overloaded.
You're overloaded personally.
You're overloaded with all these animals.
They're overloaded.
They're feeling the brunt of it.
You have a lot of weight on your shoulders.
I think a huge fear of letting one of them go is that you feel like you'd be a bad mama, you'd be doing wrong by them, right? But by opening yourself up to the idea, you wouldn't be failing at all.
In fact, you'd be doing them a great service.
It's like giving away one of my children.
But in my heart, I know he's right.
I want us to work together and find a solution for you.
Okay.
Sure.
- Yeah? So, we'll be in touch.
- Thank you.
The life that I had envisioned for all of my animals is very different than the reality of what I can give them, and it's hard to accept the truth of what is and that I have to give up one of my dogs.
It's okay.
I don't have the answer for her today, but I wanted her to be open to other options.
So, it's my opinion that Crystal, the one who's setting off most of the attacks, get removed from the situation.
So I'm going to call sanctuaries, I'm going to call rescues.
I'm going to do the very best I can for Christine and her dogs.
Bryant Park is right in the heart of the Fashion District.
Hey, you.
This is going to be a perfect place that I can get Simone and work with Hubble Yoda.
Stop.
Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop.
- How are you? - Good.
We got a person who's so overly concerned about her dog, that she's pushing it around in a baby carriage.
Only in New York do you see this.
I'm a guy walking with my dog.
Go ahead, do what you normally do.
- Go ahead, don't be nervous.
- Okay.
I know.
I know.
She's tense; she doesn't know how he's going to react, so of course, he's going to sense that tension, and he lunges when he meets the other dogs.
- That's it? - Normally, honestly, I don't get that close 'cause I don't trust that he won't get hurt.
So that's the closest he gets to dogs? That's probably the closest he's gotten to a dog in my care.
Here's what I'm hoping to achieve in my training session with Simone.
Let me see it again.
Okay, don't worry.
Relax.
I want to give little Hubble Yoda a little confidence around other dogs.
- Let me have him.
- And I want to give Simone some tools so that she knows how to handle Hubble Yoda and doesn't need to carry him around like this.
We have another dog here.
He can't see the other dog.
Right? So he has to smell it in order to identify it.
But because he doesn't get to smell it, because you get nervous about his reaction, you never get past the introduction, because you're worried about the flare-up.
So, we just stay in the flare-up.
Now watch.
Now he's going to react.
That's fine.
Hubble Yoda, come on.
Just because he's blind, I'm still going to treat him like a dog that can see.
Watch.
Come on.
Now he knows he's walking with this dog.
We're just going to create the experience of these two walking together.
He's not trying to attack him.
- No, why would he? - I don't know.
There's nothing wrong.
He's not going to get hurt here.
Come on, little jerk, little yank, I let him know it's just fine.
- my heart is beating so fast right now.
- Relax.
I'm right here.
He smelled Ray, and then it was like they were fine together; it doesn't mean there's not gonna be another little flare-up, but it's nothing that I can't handle.
- Come on, you're gonna do this one with me.
- Okay.
And it's nothing she can't handle.
She's making such a big deal about it.
Relax, relax, it's a little flare-up.
- He was just saying,"I don't want you right there.
" - "I don't want you right there.
" Walk.
Come on, Hubble Yoda.
Relax your left arm.
Just relax it, walk confidently.
Walk the way you walk.
Turn around, walk toward me.
Let's turn around.
We're turning.
- We're turning.
- You don't have to say it, just move.
Now, you see how there's tension in your left hand? Relax it.
There you go, Simone.
- Good.
- How do you feel? They feel great.
Everybody's doing so great.
I have never seen Hubble Yoda in a situation where he wasn't barking and lunging and growling and freaking out all over another dog.
So, it-- I was like, is this voodoo? Like, what's going on? The more you do this and the more you stop toting him around, - the more confidence he's going to have.
- Right.
It was important for me to show Simone what was possible with Hubble Yoda.
And it was really cool for her to see, because I think dogs really do have an ability to break the ice and expand people's world a little bit.
See how he doesn't really need to walk in a stroller? So, I think that Hubble Yoda could be really healing to Simone in that kind of way.
The good thing here is that you can get somebody and have him walked with other dogs while you're in the office.
Have him have some Hubble Yoda time while you have some Simone time.
I'm absolutely willing to consider making a change because I want him to have the best life that he can, and so I think it's going to be a really fun thing for Hubble Yoda to be around other animals that he can, Like, jive with and that he can be friends with.
So I'm excited.
- You feel better? - It's really good for him.
- It is.
- It's really amazing.
I want to do a little bit of exposure therapy by having them around people and dogs and the things that trigger them.
I wouldn't dare come to a place like this, where there are so many kids.
I'm headed back to train the Scullys.
- I like these people.
- Bloodhounds are working dogs.
They are used for hunting.
These are big dogs with lots of energy.
They need jobs to do or they cause mischief.
Come on in.
- How are you? - Good.
It's good to see you.
Implementing just a few techniques is going to change this whole family.
All right, I thought a lot about our situation with these guys.
The pillows going under there, the taking food from the table, the barking outside-- it's all connected.
These are fun, happy dogs, but the lack of discipline in here just carries to right outside there.
You guys love, love, love, love, love, but the house can't be a playground and place to have manners.
So you guys got to pick.
- Does that make sense? - Yes.
Okay, these are working dogs.
So they're always looking to work and do things for us.
As long as you instruct them on what you want them to do and then reward them accordingly, - they're going to be happy and balanced.
- Okay.
Now I'm going to teach the Scullys how to have a nice family dinner without the dogs running around like crazy under the table and jumping on the table taking food from everybody.
When you start making food, they get excited? Yes.
Where do you want him to be when you're making food? - This is fine right here.
- That would be perfect.
- That's fine right here.
- You want him to be right there? - Yeah, he can be right there.
- Okay.
So here's what we're going to do; I brought you guys turkey.
Here's what I want.
We tell them sit, stay.
Sit.
Good.
Stay.
- See how they're looking right now? - Yes.
They're looking to do something.
Now watch.
They're going to do exactly what they're told to do.
Now, that's their job while this is our job, right? - Yeah.
- Okay.
Hold on, eye contact.
Put the plates down over there.
You see how they're looking right now? Nice, right? Look, I mean, these dogs are so attentive to you.
Sit.
Stay.
- Go ahead.
- Good girl.
It's amazing how attentive these two are.
Stay.
You're doing really, really well.
Go back, don't turn your back.
Keep your eye contact; they want eye contact.
You see how they're looking right now? You see the amount of communication that goes on between you and them? They're keyed in to you, which is perfect, all right? This is going to go a long way for you.
- Stay.
- Go back to the table.
Just put your butt down right on the chair 'cause that's enough right now.
Look how attentive they are.
Look how attentive they are.
Eyes on her, 'cause she'll get up.
Excellent.
Good girl.
Good boy.
- Stay.
- Wait, wait till eyes on you.
Daisy, stay.
Duke, stay.
Stay.
- You feel a sense of control right now? - Yeah.
Feels better, right? Nicer.
She's good.
Did you see that? - No.
Stay.
- Now you give them-- well, he's still He's protesting.
- Stay.
- But he's still respecting her.
These guys are so responsive to training.
- Sit.
- There you go.
- Now you want to see how this works outside? - Sure.
The sit-and-stay command is going to work wonders for Duke and Daisy.
The next thing I want to work on with the Scullys is teaching the dogs not to go nuts when people walk by the fence outside.
The only difference out here is that there's more distractions.
So the same thing as we did in there, I just want you to practice the sit-stay command out here.
The sit-and-stay Justin taught us, it's just amazing.
You know, they actually listen.
And they're like two different animals.
- Tell them to stay.
- Stay.
Start small.
So each time, you go a little closer to the fence.
Back up.
- Get eye contact.
- Stay.
Go to the fence.
Stay.
He's listening to you.
How's that feel? That's wonderful.
It's not that they're not gonna get triggered, but when they get triggered, now you have something to do.
- It's a relief.
- Feel good? - Yeah.
- They're more manageable.
This is going to be an everyday project, because I think if we stop doing the training end of it, I can see them falling back into their bad habits.
And I really don't want that.
Now you feel a sense of control.
I want you to have some people over here.
You can have a barbecue, have a party and practice this, okay? - All right, sounds good.
You'll come? - Sounds great.
- Absolutely.
- Okay.
Thank you for everything.
Leaving tonight, I feel the Scullys have a good handle on the things that I showed them.
This is just the beginning, but I feel like they've made a good start, and I'm looking forward to having them invite some friends over and having a nice little get-together.
- Take care, guys.
- Bye-bye.
Love those dogs.
Hello? - Justin? - Yes? - Hey, it's Christine.
How are you? - How are you? - Fantastic.
- What's going on? Well, great news.
my ex is willing to take Crystal for a couple of months.
That's really great news.
Great news, yes, I'm very happy.
So I was able to squeeze a few months out of him.
not permanent, but it's good for a few months.
So we will be able to work with Dottie and Ika.
Dottie and Ika, yeah, that's awesome.
I am psyched that Christine's ex is gonna step up and take Crystal.
That's gonna allow her the wiggle room so we can work with Dottie and Ika.
They both really need to be socialized with each other and with other dogs.
Christine, that's great news.
So what I want to do is have you come to Manhattan, and we'll just start on a little bit of training with Dottie and Ika.
- Awesome.
Thanks so much, Justin.
- You're so welcome.
- Bye.
- Bye.
I asked Christine to come meet me here in the park so we can start working with Dottie and Ika, now that she's got a little bit of free space and can start focusing her attention on them.
Good morning.
- Got some coffee for you.
- Oh, thank you so much.
That's from the dogs.
- Got some coffee for you.
- Oh, thank you so much.
That's from the dogs.
Today, I want to do a little bit of exposure therapy by having them around people and dogs and the things that trigger them, and just have them enjoy that time without stress.
You see we have other dogs here? They see other dogs.
They don't lunge, they don't react.
There's kids.
There's all these things that would normally trigger them.
And you can see, they're getting a little, like, you know, he's looking around.
He's getting a little worked up, but we can control them.
My goal for today is to get Ika in a calm state so I can remove the muzzle and go to a head collar with Ika.
That's how we make slow progress.
We want to start with the muzzle so it's completely safe.
And then when I feel he's not reacting to things the way he initially did by attacking them, I'm gonna take the muzzle off.
You see how he just lunges forward, - like I'm getting something out of my bag, and he's, like, in it? - yes.
Like, watch.
Sit down, sit, wait.
I can go to this bag and do what I want to do without him coming forward for it.
He's got, like, impulse control.
So, when I give him a little control here, it translates.
- You see how dogs are walking by? - Right.
Normally, he's lunging at them.
Because I have a little control here, I have control here.
A dog like Ika is highly reactive when it sees other dogs.
When I first met him, all I saw were his teeth.
When other dogs started to walk by, and Ika would just look at me for instruction, that's when I knew that he was in a good state and I could remove the muzzle.
I don't want to see you with this.
Let me see that pretty face.
Let me see that pretty face.
- Does he seem to care? No.
- No.
Ika's like a different dog today.
And it just gives me such hope because these are the kind of things I want to do with my dogs.
So, we're coming up on a dog park, right? So, they're gonna be triggered.
We're gonna be the calm leaders and watch.
I set the tone.
I set the tone.
- All these dogs here - Great.
Look.
Calm.
They're aware.
They're very calm.
I wouldn't have dared to come to a place like this with Ika and Dottie, where there are so many kids and other dogs.
I think I was in a little bit of denial about how overwhelmed I was with everything.
And it really took a complete stranger to come into my house and really give me the wake-up call that I needed that it's okay if you can't do this by yourself.
It's really okay, and I'm gonna give you the help you need.
No one could have convinced me to give up one of my dogs.
Like, I just would never have done it.
And you saw the chaos that I was living in, and more importantly you just validated how much I had on my plate.
So that's good to hear.
I'm glad that I can help you.
I want Christine to be able to have time with Dottie and Ika around all these things that they usually react to on her own.
But she's not there yet.
So the way I'm going to train her is by having dog dates with her.
So we're gonna get our weekly pit bull coffee dates.
That's gonna be your training program.
I'm making it-- it's gonna be nice for you, nice for me, nice for them.
- We just have nice times.
- Awesome.
When the dogs get a little ornery, I'm gonna show her how to cue them properly.
And pretty soon, she's gonna be able to do that on her own.
The Scullys are hang a little barbecue, and I'm gonna show up, test out their skills with the dogs, see how they handle them.
- How are you guys? - Hi! Welcome! - Look at how quiet and peaceful over here.
- How quiet and peaceful.
This is a nice way for the Scullys to acknowledge what's been going on with their dogs and neighbors and make some peace if there was a little bit of discord.
You know, this is very family neighborhood.
- Hi! How are ya? - Mike, you need to .
The fact that the dogs are just sitting there, a part of the family as opposed to the neighborhood nuisances, that's great.
Okay, good boy.
- Wow, that's huge, man.
- You're doing very, very, very good.
- Huge difference.
- That's huge.
I'm very proud of Duke and Daisy.
I never expected it to go as well as it has gone.
You're not hearing that barking all the time.
Especially from her.
Right, 'cause they're basically-- when dogs are barking, they're just, like, "What should I do, what should I do, what should I do?" And the second you just give them a little bit of instruction, it's like, "What should I do?" "You're supposed to do that.
" "Okay.
" And then they do it.
We had rules and regulations for the kids, - but we never made them for the dogs.
- Right.
The tricks that he showed us to do, it's just amazing.
- Practice your distance.
- Okay.
- Stay.
- There you go.
They're working dogs.
They're trying to please us.
And we weren't taking advantage of them trying to please us.
We were trying to please them, which is stupid.
It was a good morning.
I didn't hear them at all.
Good, huh? Uncle Frank can sleep now? Uncle Frank can sleep now? - She's a sweetie.
- She's so sweet.
They both are.
If this is the improvement you're seeing in such a short amount of time, in a week, in a month, you'll be great.
Well, thanks so much for having me by.
I really appreciate it.
I really appreciate this.
- thank you so much.
- You're welcome.
- Thank you so much for everything.
- You're so welcome, you're so welcome.
The Scullys, they're just good people.
They're supposed to be having barbecues on their stoop with two dogs sitting there behaving.
That's what's supposed to be.
Everybody enjoy sleeping in on Saturday morning.
See ya later.
Thank you.
I'm really glad that I was able to help them out and just make those adjustments 'cause those dogs were driving everybody crazy, and, you know, everyone was all smiles today.
- bye guys.
- Bye.
You were so good! With the three owners I've met this week, there's a common theme.
They were adapting to the dogs' problems rather than instructing the dogs and having them live in their lives properly.
The Scullys finally have Daisy and Duke's behavior in check.
And they're back to the life they should have been leading all along.
That a boy.
And while Ika and Dottie are still going to need a lot of attention, Christine's now in a position where she can be there for them.
- Feels nice to see them like this.
- It feels nice to see you like this.
You're so much calmer than when I first met you.
Yes, I know.
I feel a lot better.
And now that Simone realizes that Hubble Yoda is by no means helpless, she can expand her world beyond their little bubble.
- We can hang out now.
- Yeah, we can hang out now.
We're able to walk in the park together for the first time ever.
And in the end, I'm gonna be there for all these dogs and their owners to help them live happy lives in the city.
Dogs In The City Season 1 Episode 3