DOGS BARK
This once peaceful country house...
DOG GROWLS
This is our life.
...is now a special place... Bear! Bear!
My house smells of his wee.
...for those at the end of their tether.
I'm frightened it's going to kill him.
He has pulled my arm out of the socket.
If she could get off that lead, she'd be hanging off their face.
This is make or break for us.
Here, a team of expert trainers...
Down! Back!
They look like geezers.
...take on... Stop it!
...some of Britain's worst behaved dogs...
Oh, no, not good!
Oh, my God!
...and their humans...
How much training do you guys do now?
None.
What's this?
She's lost trust with humans.
...at an academy...
This is your opportunity to move forward,
and we're going to give you those skills. Yeah.
...unlike any other.
We need to get that muzzle off you.
Oh, I love your face!
Wahey!
That has never happened before.
Can you believe that?
TRAINER BABBLES
It's like he's a different dog.
Steady. Steady, steady, steady.
There's no task too big...
Twist!
Get it!
Big giant.
...or small...
You've got tiny legs.
Oh, good try!
...for the team at the Dog Academy.
We're going to have a lot of fun. Good boy.
But today's pupil...
Back, come on!
...is a bit of a handful.
Oh! Can't get her in! Ruby! No!
Don't fall over. Oh, my God!
You going to follow your mum?
Come on!
Oh, she's gone. She's gone!
Ruby, come here!
Ruby! Ruby!
This four-year-old giant is Newfador Ruby...
Shall we do you too?
...and her parents,
newly retired couple Nicola and Dale.
What are you feeding her?
She's the size of a horse.
I know! We just thought we were getting a slightly bigger labrador
but she kept growing and growing and growing.
People say, "Look at that dog! It's huge!"
Because I'm small, I get, "Put a saddle on that dog.
"You could ride it like a donkey." I get that all the time.
She's got no dog friends at all. Oh, no! No.
I just think it's the size.
Nobody wants to play with her, do they?
Good girl.
She got expelled from doggy day-care, so...
Because she was so big, they said it wasn't working.
She's had a Chihuahua chase her off the field before.
No way! Oh, yeah. Yeah.
All the dog walkers were hysterical, laughing,
saying that's the funniest thing they've seen.
Right, Ruby. We're here.
Nice, isn't it?
Ready to size up the latest arrival,
trainers Sean and Kamal.
Stay there, Ruby, Stay there. There you go.
Oh, that's just a step for her. That's not even a jump.
Good-looking dog. Beautiful.
She is fantastic, isn't she?
WOMAN: See you later.
Ruby, this way! Ruby!
Come on! Straight through it,
like a T-rex coming through the woods, isn't she?
Yeah.
Ruby, come on!
Hello.
Lovely to meet you. Yeah, you too.
Ruby. She's a big girl!
She is, isn't she?
Watch your head! No, don't do... Don't break the vase!
THEY CHUCKLE
Oh, Ruby! Oh, no! Don't worry, don't worry.
She never does that. No, and it's like a river.
It is like a river. It just keeps on going.
Big old wee, that. Yeah, exactly, yeah.
A pond in reception. Yeah.
Ruby, get away from it. Don't stand in it.
Don't worry.
Oh, I'm sorry. Ruby, what are you doing?
Oh, Ruby!
We say she's like the GC, Gemma Collins.
She's like the GC! Really?
She's a diva because she does what she wants to do.
Ruby rules the roost.
Let's see what's going on. Let's have a look.
Go for a walk? Where are we going?
Let's go. Come on!
You not happy? Ruby!
Let's go. Come on!
Come on. Get!
She's like an anchor in that boot.
Come on, let's go.
Trying to pull her, force the dog to move. Yeah.
The problem is she's going to resist even more. Yeah.
That's interesting. See her body language on approach to the bridge?
Yeah. She's looking at the vehicles.
Is there a noise sensitivity issue going on there, you know? Yeah.
Avoiding eye contact, pulling away.
She's a big girl, isn't she, as well,
so it's a real challenge.
She decides where she's going, where she's not going... When she's going.
...and everything's on her terms.
And that I s it. There is no compromise with Ruby? No.
If Ruby doesn't want to do something there's nothing you can do.
Ruby, this way.
Ruby! Oh, dear.
She's a very, very stubborn dog. Yeah.
I took her for a walk. She stopped,
she threw herself on the floor and she would not move,
and it was torrential rain.
I mean, I was dripping wet,
and she just sat there looking at us like this,
like, "What are you going to do about it?"
So I go back and Dale goes, "You've only been gone 20 minutes!”
"Oh, don't! Don't talk to me."
No, no! Had enough, had enough.
It's like a break of connection, isn't it? Yeah.
We need to reconnect them. Get the relationship back on track, yeah.
Let's go and meet them then.
RUBY BURPS
Oh, nice! Oh, Ruby!
Excuse you, burping like that!
Hello! Hiya! How are you? I'm Kamal.
Oh, just be careful, she's... Oh, OK.
Yeah, no worries.
How long has this all been going on for?
Since she was a puppy, really.
She was hard to get walking, to get going.
As she's got older, she's gotten worse.
Bit worse. Yeah, she's definitely gotten worse.
What have you tried?
I'll try and pull her.
OK. It doesn't make any difference.
The worst-case scenario is I leave her in the boot
with it open, and I run and hide behind the car next to it.
She'll jump out because she thinks I've disappeared,
which is absolutely ridiculous, because I have to look and make sure
nobody's about. OK.
People are thinking, "What are you doing?"
"What's this crazy lady up to?" Yeah. "What's she doing?" Yeah.
As awful as it sounds, I don't look forward to taking her out on my own.
I don't.
So what is it that you're hoping to get from today, then?
If she was just more like a normal dog,
that'd be good, wouldn't it?
It would!
To be able to just say, "Shall we go to the park tonight?"
"Shall we take Ruby to the park, or shall we go somewhere different?"
"Shall we have a drive out?"
"Shall we go out for a few hours?",
knowing we can stay out for a few hours.
We're both retired now.
Are you at this time of life where you could literally
go anywhere, do anything? Yeah.
That's why we moved to Wales. That's why we moved to Wales.
So we could spend more time walking the dog.
Even if it was just a short walk, to get out, you'd say hi to people.
Some days she won't even come in the living room for me.
Do you think that she's going to go off with Sean?
Who knows?
SEAN: We'll see. We'll see when we get on.
Come on, then. Good girl.
SEAN CLICKS AND TRILLS AT RUBY
Come on then. Come on, you can do it.
You can do it!
Yeah!
It's a loud door, isn't it?
She froze and went... Kind of, like, startled, didn't she? Mm-hm.
Yeah. Come on. All right?
Would she not go? Nope.
I can't work out what's going on in that dog's head.
We love her. We love her to bits.
But it's hard, yeah.
Really hard.
Nope! Nope, not having it.
I don't think she'll let... I don't think she'll get better.
I don't.
Come here!
No chance.
Come on!
As the trainers struggle to budge an eight-stone dog...
...the next pupil is on the move,
escorted by owner Beth.
So my dog is called Marco.
I think he suits that name.
Marco Polo, the great explorer.
Love it. Has he been to Venice?
No, he hasn't.
He looks very sweet. What breed is he?
I think he's probably a little bit bichon,
a little bit poodle and maybe a bit Maltese.
I researched it very carefully.
I wanted a low-maintenance dog.
So you'd recommend a dog like that?
I would, if you can train him.
He needs putting in his place.
It is a commitment.
I mean, he's the first dog that I've ever had.
Oh, so are you not, like, a doggy person? No. Ah, right.
So who's the boss in the relationship? He is, unfortunately.
Is he really? And this has to change today.
Oh, is it? Things are going to be different, aren't they, Marco?
LAUGHING: You've been told, Marco, my boy.
How much longer is this journey? Cos it's making me feel a bit sick.
Ugh... It's not a very pleasant ride.
I get vertigo.
Well, we're not going uphill, so you should be OK.
THEY LAUGH
Let's go. Oh, good boy.
You're being a superstar.
Yes! Good girl!
Clever!
BEES BUZZ
Ruby. Ruby.
It's taken half an hour of negotiation...
Do you want this?
...but Ruby has begrudgingly agreed to join Sean in the training room.
QUIETLY: What's this?
What's up with you? Come here, then, Ruby.
So I'm trying to build a bond with Ruby.
There's so much going on, so much to unpack.
HE TUTS Right.
Bup-bup-bup-bup! HE MAKES KISSING SOUNDS
But she's kind of avoiding us, to be honest.
What's this? What's this?
She won't take food and play with toys.
She just really isn't responding.
She knows when we're trying to coax her in and she doesn't trust us.
HE PUFFS
Yeah, it's difficult.
If we can't get a good bond going with her,
we're falling at the first block.
Ruby. Ruby.
Ruby.
Newfoundlands are notoriously stubborn.
So we... So we're thinking, is that part of the reason?
OK. Yeah. OK.
And you said that she started doing this behaviour
in her puppy hood, yeah? Yeah.
Tell me a little bit about that, then.
Well, when she's only 12 weeks old,
we'd put a lead on and she seemed fine.
We got to the end of the drive and she stopped. OK.
With puppies, there's certain times
they can get a little bit more sensitive.
There might have been things that she couldn't see. Yeah.
Unpredictable things from...
"I can't see something. Something's making noise."
Halfway up the drive, and then she stops
and then she's backing up, backing up.
OK, let's forget it's a dog.
What would you say if that was one of your grandkids?
Well... You're a nan, you're a mum - you know.
You'd know.
They were scared of something. There you go.
I think it's fear-based.
What, not even getting out of the car? Mm-hm.
We just thought... We don't see anything
that she could be fearful of.
You probably can't see it, but she can hear it. Mm.
It could be that she heard a bang in the distance.
It's really difficult to say.
However, can be actually quite impactful.
Dogs' hearings are far more sensitive than ours.
So she's hearing things we're not? Yeah.
She's scared of noises. Mm. Right.
Oh, poor Ruby.
What's this?
I did wash this morning, Brian.
Yes!
Come on, then. Come on, then - go!
Good girl!
Ruby. I'm not so bad, am I?
RUBY PANTS
LEAD RATTLES
Even me rustling the lead is spooking her.
But you can see she's hesitant and really aware of her surroundings.
Ruby. Ruby.
Something in the past has frightened her so much
that she"s lost confidence in herself and others.
Dogs express their lack of confidence and fear
in many different ways.
Some will be really verbal and barky.
Some will freeze on you and shut down.
Working with a dog with fear can be really challenging
because they've lost that confidence and trust.
And to work with the dog, you need trust.
You can absolutely see how much you adore her.
But, in truth, there is an element of trust that's been broken.
So she goes out your front door
and she doesn't know if it's going to be a good day
or a bad day in terms of what she's going to hear.
She definitely is distrustful.
How do you say you get her out of the car? What do you do? Um...
Oh, we hide behind the car cos she'll jump out then. Yeah. Yeah.
Only because I want... I want her to go for a walk. Yeah.
She's saying to you, "Mum, I'm worried." Right. Right?
And then you go, "I'm going to leave you!"
Oh, God!
Honestly, I would never have done it.
I just thought she was being stubborn.
So we've got to try and rebuild the trust,
start to look at things from her point of view, yeah? Yeah.
You're not going to force her to face the fear.
You don't want to say, "Hey, come on, get on with it."
Let her take the world in.
Just sit with her and just say, "I got you."
If you sit there for 20 minutes, half an hour,
that's you starting to build her confidence up.
And, each day, she's going to start to believe in you that bit more.
Right. She's going to start to go, "They've got my back.”
Right, yeah, yeah, yeah. I see that.
Now I know exactly what's going on,
I actually feel really sorry for her. Yeah.
Really sorry for her. Yeah, yeah. I do feel guilty.
And then we probably made it worse. She doesn't trust us.
SHE SNIFFS
You OK, Marco?
Well, you're nearly here.
Oh, finally.
Right, I need to concentrate.
Oh, God. I'm quite nervous now.
Right, we have Beth and Marco now.
Watching on, eagle-eyed trainers Victoria and Adam.
Thank you. Bye, Marco.
Say bye-bye.
No, walk nicely.
Are you ready to be trained?
They won't stand for your nonsense.
Hi! Hello. Welcome to the Dog Academy. Thank you.
This is Marco and I'm Beth.
Marco! Hello.
He's quite a plucky little fellow, isn't he? Mm.
OK, now he's exploring. Good. Yeah, good.
Let the lead... No, don't pull him back.
Let him sniff. Let him go off and have an investigation.
RECEPTIONIST: He's got a gorgeous hairstyle. What's he like?
He's...he's just a delight. Oh! He's no bother in the house.
Yeah, I'm not seeing much problems. It's outside. It's outside.
OK...
VIDEO: Marco!
Oh, yeah. Oh!
Oh. "No, thanks. I'm going to go this way."
Marco!
It's like the anti-recall.
He even looked back and then thinks, "Nope."
Marco?
He just totally ignores me.
She's getting quite... .frustrated. Yeah.
Marco!
He's like, he can go where he wants. Yeah.
And he doesn't listen to her. Yeah.
Marco!
I bet she's over-used that word. I bet she has.
I bet she's over-used that recall word.
Marco! No, we're not going that way.
Look, he's gone off now. He's not even checking where I am.
Have you ever lost him? Yeah.
He's argumentative and incredibly self-confident.
when he's run off and I'm kind of trying to get him back
and I've got the dog biscuits and he turns around
and he's...he"s just looking at me like,
"Well, I'm not going to swap your little dry dog biscuits
"for the cheese to as tie that I've just found.”
And he almost laughs at you when he's running off.
He's out of control.
I want him to get help.
You've come to the right place. You're in safe hands, Beth.
I think she feels disconnected from him... Yeah.
...because he's not listening to her.
I really want to meet these two now. Yeah, let's do it. Let's do it.
Let's try again. CLICKER
Good girl. Well done.
Yes! Good man!
Hello!
Big softie Ruby finally reunites with her parents
after a two-hour deadlock with Sean.
Hello, big girl.
Good girl!
It's time for Plan B, and Kamal has a wild card up his sleeve
to bring Ruby out of her shell.
What we've really been working on is confidence, OK?
That was the big, big, big, big thing with Ruby,
and we need to get that back.
So a great way that dogs get confidence is from other dogs.
And it's not for you to go out and rush out and get a dog -
that's not the answer to the problem.
This is about getting Ruby to feel confident enough
so she can trust again, first with another dog and then with you.
Does that make sense to you? Yeah, it makes total sense. Yeah.
So I'm going to get Ruby a dog friend.
Yeah, that sounds good. Yeah. All right? Yeah, great. Yeah.
This is Sugar. Aww.
She's a trained killer. THEY LAUGH
How old is she? She's six. Hello, hello.
She's super confident.
And what we're aiming for is for her confidence
to start rubbing off on Ruby.
Right. Yeah.
SEAN: Sometimes we all need a little helping hand,
so Sugar can be that helping hand for Ruby.
Don't they look funny? Ruby's massive and Sugar's tiny.
She could go in between her legs!
Let's start off nice and easy. Let's see how the dogs go.
A new environment, another dog.
This is only the second time she's been in a situation
with a dog close to her like this. Yeah.
It doesn't happen, does it? That's OK.
She's not being intrusive. She's not being overbearing.
She's just like, "Look, if you clearly need your space,
"I'm going to give you space.” Right, OK.
Sugar is absolutely my secret weapon.
She has a brilliant temperament,
so she's able to give other dogs some of her magic.
Dogs communicate via body language.
Her tail, her ears, her demeanour, her posture
can all be green lights to the dog that lacks confidence
to investigate, to approach.
She's saying, "We've got this. I've got your back.”
They're both sniffing.
It shows that she's picking up on the other dog's behaviour
and starting to mirror and mimic, which is fantastic. Yeah.
SEAN: She's getting that guidance from Sugar.
Tail's up.
Look, she's starting to liven up there now.
The anxiety's coming down, which means she isn't thinking
about all these scary noises in this scary place. Yeah.
Nose to nose, both wagging their tails.
She's thinking about playing. That's great.
Good girl! Good girl! Yes! Nice. Flying now, look at her.
Good girl. She's confident, she's bouncing around.
I can't believe that. How good's that?
Amazing.
KAMAL: Is it nice to see her start to relax?
Yeah, great. Yeah, really good. Yeah.
So this is her, now, coming more and more out of our shell.
Yeah, it is.
That's the Ruby we want to see, isn't it? That Ruby, in life? Yeah.
Sugar's creating confidence for her. She has trust in Sugar.
And that's what we need to work on with you guys.
Is in having trust in you guys, all right? Yeah.
We're going to take away Sugar. Right.
And we're going to add some little challenges.
You guys now are going to be her rock
when these scary things come in. Yeah.
You're a good boy.
Gosh, it's a very posh place, this, isn't it?
Hello. Hi! Who's this little cutie?
This is Marco. Marco! Lovely.
Tell us a little bit about why you're here.
I inherited him at the age of three and a half. OK.
I've never had a dog.
He was my late father's dog. Right. And...
...my dad was already 82 when he bought him as a puppy. Yeah.
And everyone said, "You'll end up with the dog."
I was like, "No, no." But obviously, how can you give him away?
Yeah. It looks like butter wouldn't melt now.
Oh, everyone says that. Yeah.
He was better behaved for my dad, I think.
I love letting him off and him playing with other dogs,
but his recall is appalling.
And then before I know it, he's run a mile and a half across busy roads,
runs in front of motorbikes.
It's dangerous.
I don't know how much of it is that I'm not a dog person. Right.
I don't have the skills to turn him around.
OK. It's getting very hard. I'm worn down with it.
I'm struggling.
My biggest fear is that he would get run over.
And it's going to happen if I don't get help.
So I need to have help.
BIRDSONG
Thanks to Sugar,
Ruby is feeling more confident, but she's about to face her fear.
We're actually going to expose her to her biggest nemesis - noise.
Then your job is just to reassure her,
let her know that you're going to back her up.
That's going to rebuild that trust.
Yeah? OK.
You've got this. You can smash this, all right?
Yeah. Right? Yeah. Right, let's go.
OK. Come on, Sugar. Let's go. Good girl.
To help a dog overcome its fear is a really delicate process,
but you can do it as long as you build that trust with them.
It requires patience, and if you rush it,
you can find yourself back at square one.
OK, guys, can you hear me OK? Yes. Yes. OK.
In the real world, you're not going to have Sugar
and you're not going to have us, OK? You can do this.
Little bit apprehensive.
Remember - go at her pace. OK.
Read her. If she needs time, she needs space, you can do that.
We're going to bring in this noise.
Not sure how she's going to react.
# La-dee-dee-dee-dee... # SCOOTER ENGINE STARTS
There's the bike.
ENGINE PUTTERS
Come on. Oh, here we go.
Come on. Oh... Ruby, come here.
Come on. Don't push it.
See how different she is without the dog?
Ruby, come here. Hey, Ruby. Come on, Rube.
She's OK. Don't panic.
Right, Rubes, let's go.
Don't force her. Don't force her. Don't force her.
Slacken off the lead.
Ah, she's shut down again, hasn't she?
Stick with it.
Tell me a little bit about his personality. What's he like?
Posh. Ah! THEY LAUGH
He's just a bit of a lad.
If he was a human, he'd just be up the pub on a Friday night
with all his mates, and he would be like the one cracking all the jokes.
So many people come to us for training
and they're putting human characteristics on the dog.
He can be a bit of a diva.
Is he a Beyonce? Bit more of a Mariah Carey.
So... A true diva! Yeah.
He has to be in charge. He has to be the boss.
In reality, dogs don't have that cognitive ability
to plan and to plot against us.
Oh, look!
Dogs are a lot more innocent and a lot more pure
than most people I know.
And when you do understand your dog a lot better,
you can see them for who they are and then you can help them.
Come! Yes! Well done.
Feeling in an agreeable mood, Marco turns his attention to Adam...
Come.
Yeah, well done.
...whilst Victoria turns hers to Beth.
How long has he lived with you? Two years.
And I always struggled to try and train him
because I wasn't really his owner.
OK, be honest with me -
did...did you want a dog?
Absolutely not. I've never wanted a dog.
OK.
I'm actually quite scared of a lot of dogs. You are? OK.
I'm really glad you told me.
Do you think, then, he's picking up on that?
Yeah. OK.
What was his bond like with your father?
They had a really close relationship.
My dad was a very gentle...soul. Mm.
He absolutely adored Marco.
They were so close. They went everywhere together.
He never left my dad.
He definitely searches for him on walks.
He tries and returns to the house where my dad and mum used to live.
So I can tell he wants to go back there...
...and I'm sure he misses him.
When my dad had a major heart attack...
...he was very concerned about Marco, and I was always saying to him,
"Don"t worry, I'm going to look after him."
I said, "Oh, he's only coming to live with me temporarily
"until you get better.”
And I said, "Don't worry, we're walking him all the time."
He, um...
Sorry.
About an hour before he passed away,
we had a final conversation about Marco,
and he looked at me and smiled when I said...
...that he would be living with us.
He really, truly has left me his treasure.
I think he's the only dog I've ever loved.
Marco is the last connection to your father. Mm.
I have to look after him.
Because you made a promise to your dad.
He was just a wonderful dad that gave me the very best life.
And he didn't want much of me at all.
And I know that he would want me to look after Marco.
I think if your father was here now, I think he'd say,
"Beth, I'm proud of you."
And even though you weren't a dog person, you took him on
and you're loving him and you're trying to do your best.
Yes. So here we go.
You have made what is quite a bold step to come here.
You are here with people that can understand dogs
and want to see you succeed and want to see Marco succeed.
You say you're not a dog person,
but when you talk about Marco, your face lights up.
We need to arm you with skills
because I think you're feeling insecure with him. Right.
Dogs really feed off confidence.
There's no way when you call him, he's going to come back to you,
especially when there's something more exciting.
So I need to work on your confidence,
get you to a better place for Marco,
cos I think you are a dog person. All right? Yeah.
Thank you.
Ruby.
Still frozen and refusing to move, Newfador Ruby.
How do you get her out of this now?
Remember, she's not being stubborn.
This is the dog that won't move when she's scared.
You guys have got to make her feel safe. Yeah. OK.
She's looking at you for reassurance. OK.
Good girl. Yes, you are.
Good chicken. Good girl. What a clever girl.
Do you want to come with us?
Come on, then. Come on. Good girl. Yeah, come on.
Well done, Rubes. Hey! Brilliant. There we go. Yes! Nice.
Come on. Good girl. Good girl. Clever girl.
Could you just see her go... soften,
and she just was like, "I can do this."
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Brilliant.
She wouldn't do that before, would she? No.
It's all about that trust.
You're doing so well, aren't you?
We're going to up the ante, OK?
We're going to have the motorbike and a car. All right?
Right. OK. So that's a lot, OK? It is a lot. But you've got this.
You're going to reassure her, OK? Yep, OK. All right.
CAR ENGINE STARTS Oh, good girl.
Shall we go?
Let's just see how they handle it. This is going to be hard.
Shall we go for a walk?
She's going again, in't she?
This way.
Come on, Rubes.
Cautious, looking around.
This is going to be a test.
Ruby, let's go.
Normally they would want to push her through this, wouldn't they? Yeah.
So let's see what they do.
Ruby.
Come on!
Just give her a minute.
Come on.
Do you want to come with us?
Does she trust them?
Ruby.
Oh, you're amazing.
That's a really good girl.
You're doing great.
Do you want to go?
Come on, then.
It's OK. Come on, Rubes.
Let's go. Come on.
Good girl, Ruby.
Come on. Good girl. Yay! Beautiful.
Well done.
Perfect. Reassured her. Good girl!
Come on! I'm so pumped up now.
Yes. Good girl! Smashing it. What a difference. Clever girl.
OK, guys, that was amazing. You handled it beautifully.
I love the fact that you just said, "Let's give her a minute.”
You recognised that she was concerned
and you were patient, compassionate, you were kind,
and you're building that trust again.
I can't believe that she actually came out from behind the bench.
Normally she wouldn't have moved.
That would have been her, stuck there.
You've overcome it with her as a team.
Smashed it. Absolutely beautiful.
What a clever girl, Ruby. Ruby, well done.
I couldn't believe it. It was just the best feeling ever,
because I never... we never thought we'd see the day. No.
You're rebuilding that trust. Yes. You're doing that. Yeah.
Feeling great, honestly.
Like, the whole thing just makes sense now to me.
I love it. Yous are a team again.
Dude. Pow!
That was a big one, that.
This is a dog we couldn't get out the front doors. Yeah.
It's been an eye-opener, really,
for us to find out exactly what's going on with her.
She's not being a diva at all. She's...she's just scared.
I think our relationship with Ruby is going to be so much better. Yeah.
Cos I feel like...
...we finally understand her and so we can start helping her.
Good girl.
Come on. Whoosh!
She's a good girl.
I'd say lead work is done with this one. Yeah. Recall next?
Good lad.
Who's this? HE LAUGHS
All of these exercises are really simple. OK.
It's back to basics for Beth.
The first step in learning recall
is getting Marco to pay her attention.
What I think is happening
is that his name isn't that exciting for him.
Over time, when you use the word over and over again
and there's no connection to that word,
it soon becomes a boring word for him. OK.
So all I'm going to get you to do
is think of a sound that will get his attention.
That little sound will hopefully help to bring him back to you.
So we use novel sounds to start with,
just to get the dog's attention.
We really just want them to prick their ears up,
turn back to the owner and go,
"Actually, that sounds like something
"I'd want to come in and investigate.”
As soon as you've got an engagement from the dog,
your training can start from that point
and it becomes a lot easier.
So it could be like a... HE CLICKS HIS TONGUE
Or it could be a... HE WHISTLES
Oh, gosh.
Do it again, the choice. You look wary of it.
The choice...
So all I want you to do is just practise any sound.
SHE SIGHS
If I go, sort of... SHE CLICKS HER TONGUE
Yeah. Is that too loud? Perfect. Is that too quiet?
No, it's good. As long as he can hear it,
and he's got better hearing than we have. Right.
Good. So stand still.
Little sound of encouragement, try and get him to you.
SHE CLICKS HER TONGUE Come on.
Now wait. This way. Now wait.
It might take him a few minutes. It might take him a few seconds.
But just wait.
Do I keep talking? Yeah.
You can keep using, like, a sound of encouragement towards him.
SHE CLICKS HER TONGUE
Yes! Yes. Treat down. Good boy.
Brilliant. Now move forward.
SHE CLICKS HER TONGUE
He's starting to take notice. He didn't come straight away.
Yeah, but he doesn't have to. It is like a dance.
And once you both know the steps, it works.
But to begin with, you might tread on each other's toes a little bit.
So the next exercise that we put in was the recall,
which was actually the bit that brings him into you.
What recall word do you want to use? "Here." "Here."
Now that "here" becomes consistent - don't use any other word.
Right. A training line, so we've got a little bit more distance.
OK. OK, good.
What you're going to aim for is...
Here! And then you move.
Oh, well done.
And then treat.
So notice I'm moving and the voice is... LIGHT TONE: ..here,
rather than... RASPY TONE: ..here.
OK. Keep it nice and light, cos if you do it really tense,
he's going to think, "No way am I coming in there."
OK. Come on.
Oh... Remem... Yeah.
And I say his name first? Nope, just the "here".
Here.
Now, a little bit of extra lead for him.
Here.
Go, go, go, go, go, go. That's it. Go. Nice. Now treat down.
Look at this! Oh, nice. Brilliant.
Perfect. He's responding. That's really, really good.
Now you're being really clear with your communication.
We're increasing that bond between you.
"I feel good when I come back to her."
And, in fact, it's not just him. You... It's me.
I can see your confidence growing.
I just have to keep going. Yeah, you do.
Oh, Beth, we're going to make you a dog person.
There are plenty of people that are not dog people.
And when I work with people that are very uncomfortable around dogs
or have a fear with them...
Here.
...I don't like to pressurise them, but I do want to empower them,
because I don't think there's anything better
than that relationship between dog and human.
When it works, it is so beautiful.
Keep going. Just keep going, keep going, keep going. Here. That's it.
But then there are some times when it doesn't.
Right.
We have a test for you.
OK. Don't embarrass me, Marco.
We're going to pull all of those skills together.
We're going to watch you remotely. All right? Are you ready?
Beth, in front of you, you see a load of orange cones,
and on some of those cones, you see your instructions.
It's the final challenge of the day,
and Victoria and Adam have set up an obstacle course
to test how well Marco responds to Beth.
There's some weaves, that you need to go around the cones.
Yes, got the weaves. Then it's a sit, and then recall him.
If Beth manages to complete each stage,
she'll be faced with the ultimate challenge - to recall Marco.
So you put all of those skills that you've just learned
into practice and you don't get tense
and you don't get yourself worried and stressed about what's happening.
OK. I have to remember everything.
You look nervous, Beth.
Just relax. You're going to be great. OK.
And remember - be consistent with the words you use.
To start, Beth must use the clicking sound to keep Marco engaged enough
to reach the next stage.
Ready? Yep. You're doing this by yourself.
Good luck.
Marco.
Here.
Wonderful.
So here, instead of the little click. The recall. It's OK, though.
It's going to take a while. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SHE CLICKS HER TONGUE
Yes! Clicking sound. Well done.
Good boy. Very nice, Beth. Wow.
BUZZING
Marco.
Oh, he's distracted by a fly or a bee or something.
Yeah, there you go. BETH CLICKS HER TONGUE
There you go. So she's moving him, letting him release the tension
off the lead without pulling him, which is good. Good.
Right, sit.
Sit.
Right.
Sit.
No, no, no. Don't push. Don't push his bottom.
Oh, dear.
So when we ask a dog to sit, you don't press down on their back.
He doesn't really notice it.
Ah. So all you're going to do, then, in that case
is just put the food in front of his nose
and then lift it gently over his head.
His head will look up and his bum will hit the floor.
Sit.
Good boy!
Oh, he did it! But it's really delayed. He sat.
Well done. Wow.
I've just got him to sit for the first ever time!
SHE LAUGHS You're doing really well, Beth.
All right, go for it. Right.
Good boy. Very nice.
Come down.
Oh, that's good. Putting skills into practice. Brilliant.
And he's following her, and he's looking at her.
BETH CLICKS HER TONGUE Yeah, yeah, yeah. OK.
Here we go now, a little bit of an upbeat pace. Here we go.
Come on. Let's see if we can nail this recall.
Drop the treat and, as soon as you drop the treat,
you're going to drop the lead as well.
And then walk into the middle where it says recall
and then recall him from there.
Right.
Here.
Oh, he's seen something.
Right. Oh, I can't...
Don't panic.
Keep your cool. MARCO BARKS
Marco!
Marco. Marco! Oh...
Remember, "here" is your recall cue.
Remember what you've learned, Beth.
MARCO CONTINUES BARKING
Here. Here.
Here, Marco.
Oh, he's coming! He's going. That's it. Oh! Yes! Nice!
Here! That's it. Yes! You did it! Yes!
Nice work. That's how you do it.
That was poetry in motion. Celebrate that, Beth. Celebrate.
Shocking.
SHE LAUGHS
Talk about ending on a high. Unbelievable.
You're like magicians. SHE LAUGHS
Brilliant. That was amazing. What do you feel like now?
Oh, my word. I feel much, much brighter,
much more confident. It's special.
Yeah, it's just... He's a special dog.
I think my dad would be incredibly impressed with his little Marco.
He'd be happy that I'm looking after him...
...and it's going well.
What a result!
I think you are amazing.
I'd be lying if I said I'm a dog person,
but I'm getting a lot better. THEY LAUGH
I hope you're proud of yourself.
You are the best person for this dog.
Oh, don't you get emotional,
cos you're going to get me all emotional. And me.
I'm feeling very relieved. Very happy.
I have achieved what I needed to do for him, and that's so important.
I just have to keep going because he is my treasure.
You are now free to leave the Dog Academy.
Well done.
BETH CLICKS HER TONGUE
Perfect. Good boy.
Thank you! Bye!
It's definitely a work in progress.
Um, you know, she's always going to be an anxious dog,
but because we're taking our time and not rushing anything,
it's like it's giving her more confidence.
Ruby!
Sometimes I come to get her out of the boot
and she won't get out.
I'll sit with her for a few minutes,
then she gives you a lick on the cheek and then jumps out.
If she sees another dog, she'll run half a mile to get to the dogs.
She is the happiest when she's playing with other dogs.
Well, things have dramatically improved.
I have really become much more confident as a dog owner.
Here!
I take him with the long lead every day.
Let's go.
Soon, he's going to be off the lead completely.
He's a different dog, and it's wonderful to see that.
Next time at the Dog Academy...
He's never been able to see anything.
Oh! Bless his heart.
He's going to run out, get hit by a car,
or he's going to hurt himself.
He will not give me and Charlotte alone time.
DOG SNARLS Dexter!
We can't have a baby AND Dexter - that baby would be in danger.
That's really hard.
If your dog needs the help of the Dog Academy trainers,
please visit the Take Part page on the Channel 4 website
for more information.
Subtitles by Red Bee Media