Hey. Hi.
How are you? Ah! Pandora!
What you need to do is get control of Pandora.
DOGS BARKING
If dogs go wild...
They are absolutely nuts.
Is the dog around?
DOGS YAPPING
And I can't control 'em.
Come on now, big boy.
Nathan thinks he can read. Sure he can.
He can't. He's a dog. Of course he can.
...and get up...
Oh, here we go. No! Get down.
...to no good...
Oh, it's me now, is it? I'm honoured.
...or down... Oh, no.
...and dirty. He loves a big, large crap.
DOG GROWLS Oh.
Tank likes to rub his boy parts.
What is going on with you, Tank?
When pups... Wonder what we're gonna learn today.
...need to be schooled... Three, two, one, sit.
Fantastic. Look at that.
DOG FARTS ...or if your pooch...
He's dropped one. You got a whiff?
...has a personal problem...
Some dogs have bacterias that are gas-producing.
Just in case.
...one man... Hey! Look at that!
...will give it his all...
Jack! Oi! Leave it.
...and get answers...
I think I might know what's going on, and it's not what you think.
...to any doggy dilemma.
Yeah, that's next level, innit?
DOGS BARKING This week... a six-pack...
She loves the dog so much. Back up, back up.
...shredding a grandma's home life...
That's such a hazard to her.
...and frazzling a first-time mum.
It's just unbearable every time the door goes. Oi!
This is exactly what I mean. Oi! Stop it!
DOG GROWLS
A couple looking for love and affection...
The nearer I go to his bottom, the more he'll... Yeah.
...get a bum deal... DOG GROWLS
He really don't like that, does he?
...and so does Graeme...
This is really good for helping to settle the stomach...
...in his quest for healthy poos.
...and take water out of the stool.
First up, Graeme's in the South East...
Well, I'm in the Essex countryside today. Very tranquil.
...answering an SOS call...
I'm off to see a young mum.
...from three generations of the same family.
She's got a four-month-old baby,
and the dogs, by all accounts, are causing chaos in the house.
Recent months have been a roller coaster
for new parents Alex and Joel,
whose baby, Savannah, arrived alongside moving house.
We've recently moved into my parents' house
to help my father with my mother, who has Parkinson's,
has done for 16 years now.
Hello, babe.
She's quite advanced, and we're not too sure how much longer
we're gonna have left with her.
But we also have a four-month-old baby,
and it's a fantastic time
for Mum to spend some quality time with her grandchild.
Dog lovers Diane and Michael were used to living
with their own four furry housemates,
but since their son moved his in,
the new grandparents are cohabiting not with four, but six.
We've got four generations of cocker spaniels,
so we've got the Great-Grandma Tess, the Grandma Honey,
the Mum Ruby and then the baby Two Shoes.
And we've got a Jackador - Arrow, and Nigel over here.
Is this your mummy?
The dream was for the family to live under one roof
and support each other.
But that comforting idea is shattered...
DOORBELL RINGS, DOGS BARKING
...every time the doorbell rings.
They are absolutely nuts when it comes to barking.
They bark at anyone trying to come in.
This is exactly what I mean. Oi!
Stop it! Back!
The noise is upsetting enough.
Sorry. Dogs, in. Get in.
But the constant risk... Back up. Back up.
...of the dogs tripping Diane over...
...is a real and present danger.
Back up.
Mum, with her condition,
where she can't move her feet to stabilise herself quick enough,
she can fall over on her own,
let alone with having six dogs getting in between her feet,
tripping her up.
It's just so upsetting to see, like...
because she loves the dogs so much, but they are such a hazard to her.
We're torn because what can we do?
We take them away, it's like taking away
one of the last bits of happiness that she has.
That comes down to do we put up with the pain of losing them?
And that is literally where we're at.
It's not just putting up with the pain, is it?
Putting up with the risk to your health, Mum.
When they get really excited,
they get under your feet, they jump up at you.
You can't... you can't get rid of...
No, we're not losing them.
If we can't find a solution to this, it would break Mum's heart.
It'd break all of us. Yeah.
With so much at stake...
DOORBELL RINGS, DOGS BARKING
...there's a real pressure on Graeme.
Blimey! Get down!
Hiya. You all right? Hello. Hi.
Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you.
Do you want to come in? Yeah, thank you.
How many are there? There's six.
Come on in, Graeme. Cheers.
Take a seat. All right. Thank you.
Hello, you two. You beat us to it.
I've got to ask the question - why six dogs?
Only two of them are mine and my partner's.
OK. And we've had to move in with his parents
because my partner's mum has Parkinson's.
She's had it for about 17 years or so.
They already had four dogs, four cocker spaniels.
So now we've got a pack of six.
Oh, blimey.
Yeah. You've got your work cut out, haven't you?
Before long...
DOORBELL RINGS, DOGS BARKING
...Graeme sees for himself how tough life is...
Oi! Stop it!
...around the six-pack.
It's mayhem, innit? Absolute mayhem.
Thank you so much. Sorry. All right. Off.
Down. Dogs, in.
In! Oh, my word.
How do you live with this with a baby?
Oh! My word.
BABY BABBLES Hi, baby.
Blimey. Oh, my God.
Parcel.
Yep. Thought so.
Yeah, man, I'd like to get my parcel.
So, unfortunately, this happens all the time.
Blimey.
It's just unbearable every time the door goes.
BABY SOBS Oh, dear.
Oh, baby.
Sorry, I'll have to go to sort her out. Of course.
No problem at all. Thank you.
Yes. Bless.
While Alex tries to settle baby Savannah...
DOGS BARKING Get back.
...Graeme wants to know how this extended dog family...
Get back. Cor, blimey.
...affect Granny and Grandpa.
Hello, Graeme. Hello. Hi. Nice to meet you.
I'm Michael. And this is Diane. Nice to meet you.
Hi, Diane. All right, darling? All right.
After you. They're everywhere, aren't they?
When you were coming in the back, they're really under your feet.
Oh, yes. Yes. Trouble with them at times.
Come through the gate,
and I sort of stand sort of careful because I think they knock me over.
It would be easy to look at this situation and say,
"Well, that's too many dogs."
It is a concern that they are a bit raucous.
And Diane's having to make sure
she's got hold of something or someone
when they're having their mad moment.
But we love them to bits. Yeah.
And we can't part with them.
Very upset about it. They are so affectionate.
They are. They're a huge comfort.
If ever I'm having a bad day,
I have a lie-down, and they'll all crowd over me.
And if I fall over, they'll crowd all round and look after me.
You've got to feel for them, haven't you?
For Diane, I think all of these six dogs mean something different,
but they're all, in their own different ways,
very comforting to her.
These dogs are going nowhere. The situation is what it is.
These people really need help, I'm here, so I'm gonna do my best.
Coming up... Hands in ears.
DOORBELL RINGS ...Graeme must step up...
DOGS BARKING ...to get a handle on the howling.
Now we've got trouble.
DOG BARKS He meets a mini poodle
with a big beef at bath-time...
All right, all right.
...and learns how not to get in a tangle...
When you move your hand, you always move your hand up.
...at the groomers. Voila.
GRAEME CHUCKLES
In Essex, Graeme's answering an emergency call...
DOORBELL RINGS, DOGS BARKING
...from three generations at breaking point
with their six chaotic dogs.
While first-time mum Alex and baby Savannah
struggle to cope with the extreme noise...
It's just unbearable every time the door goes.
...the commotion under foot... Back up.
...is dangerous for Parkinson's sufferer Diane.
Obviously, with her Parkinson's, she's more likely to have a fall.
If Graeme can't turn
things around... Back up.
...the family faces a heartbreaking decision.
When they get really excited,
they get under your feet, they jump up at you.
You can't... you can't get rid of...
No, we're not losing them.
This family really love their dogs.
I mean, they can't live without them.
For Diane, they mean an awful lot.
And yet... living with them is a nightmare.
Before he can tackle the trip hazard that is so dangerous for Diane...
Oi!
...Graeme needs to deal with the chaos at the door.
Absolute mayhem. Hiya.
And he thinks he knows exactly what's revving them up.
The first thought I had when I met them is, yeah,
these dogs aren't barking at the door to get rid of people.
They've made the connection.
"We bark, people come in, so we get to say hello to lovely people."
So we've got to turn that around.
I've got to get these dogs to understand
that barking at the door is not what we want them to do.
At its purest form, we could just ignore them.
They need to be taught a new way to meet and greet.
This is the best way to do it with six dogs.
We just ignore them and wait for them to calm down.
Does that make sense? Yeah. Absolutely, yeah.
So, once they calm down, we can tell them "good boy"
and give them a little bit of fuss.
So the message is, if you're quiet, look what happens.
Graeme makes it sound simple, but time is tight.
The only training window is while baby Savannah takes a nap.
To help, one of the production team is ready to greet the whole pack...
but only when they're calm enough to accept visitors.
Lesson one...
"ding dong" doesn't mean "go nuts!"
Right, hands in ears. LAUGHTER
BARKING Oh, right.
So, we'll ignore this. BARKING
All right, all right. Arrow!
Ah, no, don't say anything.
You see? It's natural instinct for me.
"Arrow, stop!"
Now they've gone quiet, look. So, come on. You know what to do.
Good girl.
There you go. Oh, dear.
I don't know whether I'm training the dogs or the people here. No!
Well, first attempt, less than ideal.
'We need to do the opposite.'
We need to ignore the barking and praise the silence.
All right. More doorbell, please.
Can Alex and Michael remember the golden ticket and keep schtum?
BARKING Right.
Wait for it.
Good.
Well done. Good girl!
Good girl. Well done!
SHE LAUGHS You did the right thing there.
But you could praise 'em in a calm way or an excited way.
How calm we talking? I'll tell you how calm.
Baby in your arms, about to fall asleep. Yeah?
Good girl.
Manifest inner hippie. Yes.
Manifest your inner hippie. Very good!
With her baby sleeping upstairs...
Right. Doorbell, please. BARKING
...this should be an easy note for mum Alex.
BARKING Right.
BARKING Wait for it.
Ah!
Good.
Go on, then. Good girls.
Well, that was really good. In terms of barking, it was next to nothing.
That's progress.
Time for lesson two.
Let's get our delivery person
to actually ring the doorbell, walk in the door.
Right. Doorbell, then, please.
BARKING OK.
BARKING CONTINUES
Now we've got trouble. EXCITED BARKING
The pack must understand they'll only meet guests if they're calm.
Nearly. Nigel's good, look.
Good boy, Nigel.
And where Nigel leads...
Good.
...the others follow.
Good girls.
You notice, all that's going on,
and the way I'm thinking is like, "Right.
"One of these is gonna stop first. Who's it gonna be?"
Turns out to be Nigel, right? Yeah.
Then what happened was the girls went, "Hang on a minute."
Yeah. "He's getting a bit of fuss for being quiet!"
So then they all follow suit.
Now the penny has dropped, the final test can begin...
OK.
...actually meeting the visitor.
BARKING Ooh.
Ooh, that was nothing, wasn't it?
Two barks each. Good.
FOUR BARKS
One, two, three, four.
And that was only one dog, I think.
Good. Back.
In you come.
And as if by magic...
...it's a peaceful hello.
Right. Lovely.
All right. How's that, compared to normal?
No. It's pandemonium, normally.
That was obviously minuscule,
compared to what they're normally barking.
We're on a winner. Yeah, absolutely. Great.
What a difference.
But the family need to practise that after I've gone for themselves.
They may have learnt to pipe down at the front door...
BARKING Back up!
...but making the pack safe for Diane could be much more challenging.
BARKING
I'm still a little bit worried
about these six dogs getting underneath Diane's feet,
and I wanna give them a technique that keeps her safe
so that she's free to walk wherever she wants.
Graeme's dedicated his career...
See what we've got here, then.
...to help out-of-control dogs.
Ooh. That's puzzling.
But he also receives queries not always related to bad behaviour.
So many questions from so many people.
To answer them... I'm just gonna zoom in.
...he's gathered a team of top pet professionals...
What a clever girlie!
...including a vet... Good result.
...a groomer... Who's a pretty girl?
...and a nutritionist.
This is obviously really high-quality food.
This morning...
This is Maria from London.
...he's concentrating on a grooming query.
This is Sidney, our beautiful Bedlington whippet.
His fur is quite fine underneath, and that gets matted.
Oh, bless him.
And it gets twisted into knots,
which get tighter and tighter and really hurts him.
All right, let's see if we can get Sidney
a bit of the help he desperately needs.
Based in Godalming... I know, you are a good girl.
...if anyone knows... Yes, you are.
...how long-haired Bedlington whippet Sidney
and owners Maria and Kerry...
There you go.
...can avoid a matted coat...
Hi, I'm Costin. I'm Maria.
...it's world champion groomer Costin Stoica.
How often do you take him to groomer's?
Maybe twice a year.
Is it cut, or it's just buffing brush, nothing else?
Completely shaved. He's cut, shaved.
Why do you shave him? Mainly because of the...
Because of the mats? Yes, yeah.
We'd like his fur to be longer,
but if it's gonna do the matting underneath,
by the time we keep cutting those off...
He'll be bald and patchy. ...he'll be bald.
The first thing Costin needs to know is what brushes they use at home.
So, we have two brushes. OK.
Erm, we were told to use this one first...
By who? By...? By the shopkeeper.
But you can see he hates this one. That's why he chews it.
I'm gonna chew that and throw it in the rubbish, this one.
Because this is not the proper brush for him. Really?
Yeah, this is for topknot for poodle.
Yes. And this is for...
Let's say you take this dog for showing,
and I'm gonna brush the jacket to stay flat before I go in the ring
because this gives shininess to the coat,
but definitely not for this dog
and what you want to achieve with it, yeah? OK.
This brush I really don't like because it catches on his knots,
and then it pulls.
And I don't want to hurt my dog.
I love that brush cos that's the correct brush for this type of coat.
But I will never use this brush on a dry coat,
so I always wash the dog before.
Or if I don't have the time, I'm conditioning the coat.
I'm not gonna lie to you, this is a really easy coat to maintain.
Why? Because it's very wiry.
Compared with a very curly coat, it brush so easily.
As a regular Best in Show winner...
So, this is... For the bin. ..in the bin.
...Costin always uses the best brush for each dog's coat,
be it short, long, wiry or curly.
So, notice, just, like, tiny, like we have here... So, here...
This is a knot, yeah?
Next step - how to use them.
It's very important how you brush the dog also
because he doesn't like it
because you might brush a little bit hard on the skin.
You know when you press on the... You know? Yes.
Yeah. That's too hard.
Yes. So, like this, yeah?
Softer and lots of movement.
Yes. Yeah?
There is some good news for Sidney.
His coat is not matted, his coat is knotted.
From a knot, becomes a mat.
Does that make sense?
If there's no time to wash your pooch,
soften their coat for brushing with a spray-on conditioner.
Some of them have aerosol,
and when you push aerosol, tssh, the dog panic, you know?
Yeah. So this doesn't have aerosol.
Oh, it does smell of menthol. No, it smells lovely.
To locate any knots, gently comb it.
You don't want to do this.
So, when you move your hand, you always move your hand.
The thumb is always, like, your best friend, yeah?
Holding the hair should stop any tugging,
which is particularly useful when working on a curly or wiry coat.
And look, he was fine. No mats.
No, I know. Easy.
That's it all done. It's lovely, easy to brush. Voila.
Oh, brilliant.
Looks nice, doesn't it? You can see right through it.
Thank you. My pleasure.
So quick when you get... when you know what you're doing.
Yeah, with the right tool.
If you do wash your dog to avoid knots and mats,
be cautious with your towel.
You have to be careful when you dry him
because when you dry him, you have to pat it.
Right. Don't rub it.
Ah. Ah.
There's no point. LAUGHTER
There's no point to brush him, and then you create the mats again
because you brush him out, look.
Yeah. What happened? Ah!
So you must pat him. Pat it, yeah, yeah.
Not rub him. You have to think how the hair grows.
So this is how you pat, and it's how you dry it.
You dry it how the hair grows.
It makes sense. Yeah? Yeah, yeah.
It's one of those things. When somebody says it, it's obvious.
Wasn't obvious until he said it. Well, yes.
With Maria and Kerry now armed with the know-how...
It was lovely to have you in my salon.
I hope you learn some tricks today.
We certainly did. Thank you so much. My pleasure.
...Sidney can look forward to a knot- and mat-free future.
Sidney happily let Costin get hands-on.
But 230 miles north...
Well, I'm in Yorkshire today. My part of Yorkshire, really.
It's where I grew up, the Vale of York.
...there's a dog with a very touchy problem.
I'm gonna go see a couple who've got a dog who's turned on them.
GROWLING
I just hope it hasn't gone too far because if it's really bedded in...
SNARLING, YAPPING
...it's really difficult to convince a dog to sort of... to love again.
Mini poodle Reggie...
GROWLING
...absolutely hates being handled.
Morning. Hiya, Graeme. How are you? Chris, in't it?
Please come on in. Thank you very much.
Morning. Hello. Hi.
This is Reggie. Reggie. Hello, Reggie.
GROWLING
That's interesting.
And if you stop, what happens then? So...
All right. GROWLING
He never bites. Just as well.
You're not far away from him, are you? Blimey.
I've got no fear of him.
I'm not scared of him. Blimey, all right.
He's actually petrified of being touched.
Blimey, all right.
The nearer I go to his bottom, the more he'll...
GROWLING Oh, he's away again now.
GROWLING INTENSIFIES
Oh, he really don't like that, does he?
Let him go. Let him go.
SPEECH DROWNED BY GROWLING
All right, all right, all right.
You OK?
But he wants...
Yeah, yeah. He comes to me.
He comes to you for... almost for reassurance. Yeah.
But then when you stroke him, he doesn't like it. No.
GROWLING
Reggie's behaviour is really upsetting to Gail and Chris.
And I think Gail in particular,
she just wants to be able to cuddle her dog.
The irony of this is,
I'm convinced she's got a dog who just wants to be cuddled,
but he can't tolerate being touched.
'That's really odd.
'In fact, I would say it's unique in my experience.'
But why?
All right.
Gail and Chris have been getting mixed signals from Reggie
ever since he was a pup.
This is what we get every time.
He'll be quiet, and as soon as I go like that...
GROWLING
If we stroke him, he growls at us...
GROWLING
...and then he spends most of his time under the sofa.
Come on, Reg.
'And he won't come out.'
And he won't come out for a couple of hours.
Come on. Come on.
Reggie's mood swings began after a much-needed bidet.
He just turned so aggressive.
GROWLING, BARKING
He's that frightened of you doing it,
he'll actually wee himself because he's that petrified.
Now every outing with Reggie fills the couple with dread.
Come on, this way.
When we take him out for a walk...
Here.
...we're waiting for him to have a poo.
And if it's a clean one, it's like, "Thank God for that."
It's like... It's like a stress relief.
But if it's a sticky one, they're in for it.
It's not clean today. It's dirty.
So we know what we've got to come when we get home.
GROWLING, BARKING
All right.
'It's a very stressful situation.'
BARKING, GROWLING
Hey! Hey, stop it.
Stop, stop. Good boy.
'It don't make me feel good.'
I hate it, in fact, cos... we're helping him.
We're not trying to kill him or anything.
Come on, that's it. That's it.
BARKING
GROWLING
But Reggie's not one to forgive...
Come on. ...and forget.
I mean, look at him now.
He should be sat here next to me, not on his own sat there
because he thinks he's gonna get something done to him.
Come on, Reg. Come on. What's this?
Even the threat of bath time throws Reggie...
FURIOUS BARKING Oh!
Oh, right.
...into a frenzy.
Oh, he don't like that towel, does he? No.
But if that... Sometimes, if I don't get my hands out of the way...
He'll get you by accident? Yeah, yeah.
So he's taking it out on the towel.
GROWLING
When I'm watching Reggie,
I do have a bit of sympathy for him, if I'm honest.
BARKING
'I can see why Reggie wouldn't like that.'
That can't be nice, can it?
Coming up... No.
...can Graeme show Reggie's owners the way to his heart
is through his stomach?
He's very keen on these treats.
And the pressure is on...
It's really important to stop the dogs from going under Diane's feet.
...to tame this boisterous brood.
But I'm wondering, maybe I can use that moving together as a pack
as part of my training.
Graeme's in North Yorkshire...
It's OK.
...where mini poodle Reggie just hates being touched,
particularly at bath times.
It's a very stressful situation.
GROWLING
And it's breaking his owners' hearts.
He should be sat next to me, not on his own
because he thinks he's gonna get something done to him.
Gail and Chris believe his hatred of human contact is driven by fear.
He's actually petrified of being touched.
But Graeme disagrees.
One of the first things you said
was, "I think he's a very scared dog."
He acts very scared. Yeah.
But what doesn't make sense
is that he's also quite attention-seeking, isn't he?
Very. Really needy, right? Very needy.
So, does he growl cos he's scared?
Or does he growl cos he's attention-seeking?
I don't know.
So, when he's growling, what you do,
in a lovely tone of voice, you're like, "It's all right. It's OK."
GROWLING Come on, then.
Come on. All right.
You're all right. Come on.
So he's like, "If I growl, oh, I get all this lovely stuff going on."
Mm. So I think, is he doing it cos he's scared,
or is he doing it cos he's attention-seeking?
I think both, at different times. Yeah.
In one dog, you've almost got two zones.
You've got the top end of him is the attention-seeking,
"I'm growling cos I get love for it."
GROWLING All right. All right.
And at the back end, we've got, "I don't like this. I'm scared.
"Get away from me." Yeah.
BARKING There we go.
I think what we've got to do
is get him used to being touched without growling
and then transfer that towards his backside. Mm.
Graeme believes Reggie can learn to love touch again.
But rather than throw him in at the deep end with bath time,
he wants to start somewhere altogether more comfortable.
He's very keen on these treats, isn't he?
He likes these, yeah. Right.
The plan - reprogramme Reggie by teaching him touch...
If I give him a little touch... Good boy.
...comes with reward.
Good boy.
And Graeme's confident he'll embrace it again.
Oh, very good. No reaction.
Two things are happening.
One is he's getting rewarded for not reacting.
The other thing is we're creating
a positive association with being touched.
And by taking things...
Good boy. ...at Reggie's pace...
Who's a good boy?
...the touch is positively welcomed...
No reaction.
...even in areas no-one dared go.
Good lad.
Reggie may have embraced Graeme's touch,
but until now, Gail's been getting the cold shoulder.
Can he learn to love the affection she's so desperate to give?
Ah, ah. Sit down.
Good boy, good boy.
That's... Good boy.
Right. Now, then.
Why are you asking him to sit? I don't know.
LAUGHTER Here's the thing.
If you ask him to sit
and then he's a good boy and he gets a treat,
in his head, what did he get rewarded for?
He's getting a treat for sitting. Sitting. Yeah.
With her priorities reset...
Good boy.
...Reggie keeps coming back for more.
Good boy.
Is that nice?
Now he's responding well...
Good boy.
...Graeme wants to up the ante...
Good boy. ...by heading south...
Good boy. ...to the no-go zone.
Now, then, what I'm gonna ask you to do is give him a stroke
from his head all the way down to the base of his tail.
Let's see if he'll accept that.
Good boy.
And that'll do you. That's enough.
Good boy. There you go. Super.
And even now... Two hands.
That, if I were you, I'd quit while you're ahead.
THEY CHUCKLE
You see, you can't help yourself. I can't! I said...
I said, "From his head to his tail", so you did it twice anyway,
and then you're so pleased with yourself,
"I'll put two hands on him, and I'll start playing him like a keyboard!"
LAUGHTER
Don't push your luck. No. No.
I think we should get you to have a go, Chris. Yeah.
Come here, then. Daft lad. "It's a trap!"
There you go. Not too much.
Little bit. That'll do you.
Good boy.
Now Reggie's happy with the couple's caresses...
Yeah?
...Graeme wants to truly test the bond.
This is very good.
What I'm gonna suggest now is,
let's see if we can both give him a stroke without any treats.
Good boy. All gone.
That's it. Right. Can you touch him?
Good boy, Reg.
Good boy.
Look at this.
Good boy, Reg.
You've got your cuddly dog who likes being touched.
CHRIS CHUCKLES
Good boy, Reg. There you go.
Only hours ago...
GROWLING
...touch was not tolerated.
Now he's looking for love.
So this is now just perseverance from us?
Yeah. The biggest problem...
Is us. Yeah. Yeah.
Honestly, my biggest worry now is not him.
It's whether or not you have the discipline to slow yourselves down.
Yeah. Cos if you rush it, you will mess it up.
I think the training was absolutely fantastic.
I was amazed by it, actually.
But Graeme doesn't want the magic to end there.
He now wants to help reduce the bottom bath times
Reggie finds so traumatic.
There is one last way that I think I can help Chris and Gail,
and that's that Reggie...
does seem to have these sort of runny, sticky poos
probably a bit more than the average dog.
So there's a question in my mind around nutrition,
and I'm not an expert in that.
But I know a lady who is.
Our resident dog nutritionist, Chloe.
This is Chloe, everybody. Hi, Chloe. Lovely to meet you guys.
Gail, Chris and Mr Reggie.
Oh, my goodness, you're so sweet.
He'd have growled his head off at you doing that not so very long ago.
Really? Yeah.
My goodness, what a good lad. Grab a seat.
First thing Chloe wants to get to the bottom of
is what's been going in the other end.
All right, show me what he's been eating so far, then.
Reggie eats raw meat. OK. This is tripe and heart.
OK, so is it gonna whiff a bit when I open it?
No, no. Are you sure? Honestly.
Are you gonna be the verdict, Graeme?
Smells like a cow's backside.
But then it is tripe. Quite literally is, yeah.
This is obviously really high-quality food.
It may be high-quality grub, but Chloe's been doing some digging.
I actually have done a little bit of analysing of Reggie's diet,
and there's a few things that I think he might be missing.
So, Graeme, could you pass me the sweet potato?
I've always wanted to do this.
Here's one I prepared earlier! LAUGHTER
Right. So, in this pan, we have boiled sweet potato.
Now, we've not peeled it, and this is really important
because one of the things that I think Reggie's lacking in is fibre.
Now, you know from your own diet that if you don't have enough fibre,
then our stools can be a little bit runny.
And interestingly, carbohydrates help the brain take
the happy hormones.
If we do that, he's gonna be less stressed, too.
As well as adding stress-reducing carbs,
there are other quick fixes that could help Reggie's runs.
The first is tree bark powder.
This is really good for helping to settle the stomach
and take water out of the stool.
Now, the other thing that I like to use as well is this.
Now, you can get a number of different... I know!
Don't worry, it's not going where you're worried it's going!
It's going in the mouth, I promise. LAUGHTER
Now, this has a firming agent in it.
So not only does it help feed your dog's gut cos it's a probiotic,
but it also firms up their stool as well.
So, those are kind of your immediate quick fixes.
Reggie's new mix might be just the ticket to firming him up,
but will it pass the taste test?
What's this? What's this? Oh, that's interesting.
What's this?
There you go. Good lad.
Good boy, Reg.
He might be giving it a go here. He might be.
He's like, "Hey, this is nice.
"It tastes of, er... Mmm!
"..sweet potato and something woody."
You've had nearly half that bowl.
And that's meant to be a full day's worth of food for you.
So you're doing great. Yeah.
It's a big paws-up from Reggie.
Good boy. And we can stroke, look.
And you can stroke him. Yeah. Great. Was that helpful?
Very. Yeah, definitely.
Yeah, I've learnt stuff. Brilliant.
I'm really glad. Thank you, Chloe. That's magic.
So if, like Reggie, your dog has sticky poos,
it's worth considering if they're getting enough fibre in their diet.
Come on.
Graeme's brought the love back for Reggie.
BARKING
But until he's brought the pack into line...
It's a recipe for disaster.
Back up. Back up.
...and made home safe for Diane...
Diane, who lives with Parkinson's,
she needs to be able to walk around unhindered.
...his week is far from over.
It's important for Mum's health and for her safety
that we are able to get the dogs out of our way.
Graeme's in Essex...
BARKING
...where three generations moved in together
to look after grandma Diane, who has Parkinson's.
She's quite advanced, and we're not too sure how much longer
we're gonna have left with her.
But living with the family's six excitable dogs...
BARKING She'll fall over on her own,
let alone with having six dogs getting in between her feet.
...has made her loving home dangerous.
Back up.
It's really important to stop the dogs going under Diane's feet.
Obviously, with her Parkinson's, she's more likely to have a fall.
Last time, Graeme quietened the barking.
We're on a winner. Yeah, absolutely.
Now he faces a bigger challenge...
Back up, back up.
...getting Diane safe in her own home.
But the problem with the six dogs is that they move around together,
as a pack, you might say.
And for Diane, that's a real issue.
But I'm wondering,
maybe I can use that moving together as a pack
as part of my training.
Diane safely out of harm's way... We've got a bit of work to do.
...Graeme can now teach Michael and Alex...
But this bit should be fun. Yeah. I hope.
...how to make it safe for her to be around her beloved dogs.
My thinking is, if we can teach them to go to a place willingly,
then we can get them to go into that room,
close the door whenever you need Diane to be walking around,
and there's no problem.
That sounds really good.
To keep them quiet...
I'll tell you how calm -
baby in your arms, about to fall asleep.
...Graeme needed the dogs relaxed.
Manifest inner hippie? Yes, manifest your inner hippie.
But this time, he'll tap into their natural excitement
and pack mentality.
In the bag, I've got a whole load of dog toys,
all sorts of things, brightly coloured,
some treats as well. Mm.
I'm gonna spread them around in the kitchen,
and then it's gonna be a game of treasure hunt.
SHE LAUGHS So, as they're rushing in,
we start to go, "Treasure hunt!"
Yeah. Right? That becomes your new command.
Further down the line, as and when you need the dogs
out the way, dead easy. "Treasure hunt!"
"Yeah, you bet!" In they go.
I love that.
Graeme hopes once the "treasure hunt" command beds in...
TOY SQUEAKS, HE LAUGHS
...the dogs won't need as many toys or treats to clear the room.
Very good.
But are they game?
Hello. You're ready, aren't you?
Ooh, not so fast.
HE LAUGHS
I've set the treasure hunt up. Are we ready?
On your marks, get set... treasure hunt!
Yay! In you go.
Hello. Come on, then.
In you go. Treasure hunt!
Yay!
Go on, Two Shoes! Good girl.
Oh. Oh!
All right, you might need to encourage her in.
Two Shoes, treasure hunt. That's it.
But just as one dog steps into the kitchen,
another... Hey! Arrow!
...steps out. Arrow, treasure hunt. What's this?
TOYS SQUEAKING There you go.
So, I can step out. We can close the door momentarily. Right?
Now, there's no rush to that.
The problem now is getting them out.
The dogs understand what's expected with Graeme...
Right, come on. That's it. That's enough. Come on.
There you go. Leave 'em wanting more. Out you go.
...but will they play the game with Alex and Michael?
There's a toy each.
There you are. How about you guys have a go?
Come on, then, doggies. Very good.
Treasure hunt! There you go.
Yay!
Chuck that one as well. There you go.
Treasure hunt! There you go, doggies!
There you go.
In you go. Go on, then. Treasure hunt.
Treasure hunt! Yay! There's one.
Two Shoes, Ruby, treasure hunt! There you go.
Yay! Lovely.
THEY CHUCKLE Nice.
GRAEME LAUGHS
With a bit of repetition...
Are you ready, doggies?
Come on, you lot. Are you ready?
...Alex... Treasure hunt! Come on, then!
Yeah. ...and Michael...
Treasure hunt.
...have the dogs following their command.
Excellent.
Yay!
Well, I think the dogs have got the idea,
but I want to make this a real-world scenario.
If we're all sat in the living room together
and we need to move all of the dogs into the kitchen,
can we do that with the "treasure hunt" command
and then give Diane the chance to walk through unaided?
So, can we do this from a different room?
We'll find out, won't we?
Good, we've got the whole family together,
minus Diane, of course, but the dogs are all here.
Michael, let's see if we can get them into the kitchen,
play a game of treasure hunt,
and then we can get Diane to walk in unhindered.
Can Michael clear the lounge with the pack now settled on the sofa?
Come on, everyone, treasure hunt. Ooh.
Wow. That's impressive. Keep going.
Ah! Ah! Come on.
Very good.
Fantastic. Well done.
That was good, wasn't it?
With the dogs happily playing treasure hunt...
That was quite impressive. Yeah.
Huge improvement, isn't it?
...Diane can enter the living room without them under her feet.
There you go.
How was the walk through? Unhindered?
It is very helpful.
Thank you, Graeme. Oh, you're welcome.
These dogs that you love so much
should be a bit easier to live with now.
Yeah, let's hope that's true.
Erm, no, I think it's all gonna be good.
We could bring the dogs back in now.
Everyone's safely settled.
The six-pack can get their real reward...
Come on, everybody.
...quality time around the people they love.
Come on. It's all they've ever wanted.
Good. Silence reigns.
Dogs are quiet. This is gonna make a difference, isn't it?
Huge difference. Practice makes perfect.
Being consistent and using the tools you've given us,
we should be able to really continue this and see a big improvement.
Yeah. Well, I'm glad I was able to help.
Thank you very much, Graeme. Yeah, all the best.
Thank you, Graeme. Cheers.
Diane, look after yourself. Thank you so much. All right.
And you lot...
be good! LAUGHTER
It's gonna alleviate a lot of the stress.
And that technique seems to be spot on
for making sure that she can traverse the house
without tripping over them and without them pushing her over.
Graeme's certainly given us the tools that we need
to be able to train the dogs properly.
I'm looking forward to seeing what's to come.
It's really clear how much Diane loves those six dogs,
but that love came with a cost.
They made their life really, really difficult.
And now, I think, with the training,
that I'm sure they'll keep up going forward,
she's got all the upsides of having those six dogs -
how comforting they feel, how much they love her -
with none of the downsides.
Treasure hunt!
In Essex, the six-pack are following the treasure-hunt training to a T
but still packing a punch when it comes to noise.
No!
In Yorkshire... Good boy.
...Reggie's loving the attention
when he's rewarded with his favourite treats...
That nice?
...but still hates his bum baths.
And Maria is equipping herself with the tools
so she can give Sidney a much-needed spruce-up soon.
If you think your badly behaved dog could do with Graeme's help,
then why not get in touch?
Details can be found at...
Ziggy! No!