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Dog owners know that their pet is one of the most important parts of their lives, and many dog owners try to incorporate their pooches in every aspect of it. On this episode of The Dog Whisperer, Cesar meets two owners with very different life styles who are trying to do right by their dogs.
Like most working musicians, Robert Schwartzman is away from home for long stretches of time touring with his band, Rooney. In addition to touring, Robert is involved with charities benefiting Tibet and travels abroad on a regular basis. In general, his schedule makes him a less than ideal dog owner, but having grown up around dogs, Robert decided that he wanted to find a pet to be his companion when he is home in Los Angeles. Robert was drawn to pit bulls, and one day a stray pit bull ran out in front of Robert’s car while he was driving. The dog was very thin and looked like she had recently nursed a litter of puppies. Robert pulled his car over and cautiously approached the dog, who seemed friendly enough. She hopped into the car and Robert drove her home. Robert named her Sandy, and quickly found out that she had some major issues with aggression. Sandy has attacked a dog that belongs to Robert’s friend as well as a stranger’s dog while on a walk. Robert now tries to avoid other dogs at all cost. But this isn’t the full extent of Sandy’s bad behaviors. There was an incident when Robert invited over a good friend of his who is loud and gregarious. As a greeting, the friend bear hugged Robert and lifted him off the ground. In the blink of an eye, Sandy had pounced and latched on to Robert’s friend’s back pocket and ripped in clean off. Robert knows that he is ill-equipped to deal with Sandy’s aggression, but he hopes that Cesar can give him the tools he needs to give his dog a good life.
Paul Dini, a successful writer and producer, and his wife Misty Lee, a voiceover actress and magician, adopted two Boston terriers named Mugsy and Deuce three years ago. The dogs were already full grown and had obvious behavioral issues. The worst problem is when Deuce and Mugsy encounter other dogs. Mugsy acts shy and seems like he’d like to meet other dogs, if only he knew how. Deuce, on the other hand, has a more severe reaction. He makes a sound like something close to a human scream and will stand on his hind legs and spin, trying to bite his leash. Paul and Misty are so concerned about Deuce’s behavior that they have never let him meet other dogs besides Mugsy. Paul had put on a lot of weight in the past few years, and one day decided that he was fed up and ready to make a change of lifestyle. He and Misty are interested in a boot camp program that meets every morning near their house. What makes the boot camp unique is that it is designed to couple physical exercise with dog obedience training. However, with Mugsy and Deuce behaving the way they do, there is no chance of the dogs passing a required behavioral assessment. As a last resort they are turning to Cesar for help in getting the dogs under control.
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Tune in to the Dog Whisperer: Anger Management tonight, August 4th at 8P et/pt.
August 9, 2012, 6:22 am
