Episode 3 Pet School

This is Pet School. Two unforgettable weeks..

Nine pet-crazy kids...

I'd like a dog.

I'd like a scorpion or a snake.

I would like a rabbit.

..and 51 hungry mouths to feed.

But can Pet School give our nine Pet Heads the skills to become

responsible pet owners?

Sit! Kiki, sit!

And when term's out,

will they persuade their parents to get them a pet of their own?

Is he going to get a pet?

Previously on Pet School:

Tej was buddied with the pet of his dreams.

I love Kiki more than any animal I've ever seen in my life.

Micah wouldn't go anywhere near his bunny buddies.

They're quite boring.

And Liam's lack of poo-picking caused a stink.

Best person to talk to you

would be the person who put himself in charge of the chickens.

So will Liam get over his poopy problem?

Oh! She did a poo!

Can our celeb visitor teach Tej some top dog tricks?

Guide her through the legs like that.

And will Micah hop to it and get hands-on with the rabbits?

Come on!

School's about to start, and our animal residents have got

a big day ahead of them, just like our Pet Heads.

They're off to assembly to find out their morning Pet Practice tasks.

Ahhh!

I guess you're all wondering what's going to happen in Pet Practice,

what you're going to be getting up to. I'm about to tell you.

Now, your groups are - Micah, Liam and Sophie, you're in Avery,

so you're with all the birds today.

Yeah? What was that? Look at him!

Don't you like the birds? Why not?

-They're birds.

-They're very interesting, actually.

Chris, Tej and Giulia, Cat Room.

'Moggies Layla and Misty live here.'

OK? And Ysabel, Rachel and Sam, you're in the Exotics.

That's home to Bearded Dragon, Brett, who's Rachel's pet buddy.

COCK CROWS

OK, guys, that's the sound of the beginning of the day,

and Pet Practice is about to start.

Now make like bananas and split.

Let's go.

First up, Sophie, Micah and Liam head to the birdcage to find out

what their Pet Practice involves.

Our feathery friends the budgies and the cockatiels are waiting for them.

Because there's so much to do at Pet School,

the team only has 45 minutes to complete their chores.

Their morning task is to sweep out the bird cages,

clean out the poo and change the food and water.

Oh! There's birds!

Are you scared of the birds, Micah?

No, course not. I just don't want to get my head scratched.

Sophie's not getting in a flap. She's doing a great job.

The funniest thing was watching the boys scream

as the birds flew around their cage.

Argh!

I think they thought it'd land on their head. They were screaming.

Oh, gosh! Oh, come on!

That's what I'm saying.

I was worried they might fly over and poo on my head.

Don't worry, Liam, its good luck if they do that.

This is solid poo right here!

The poo was quite nasty. Even though it was small, it was nasty.

Oh, it stinks!

So I wasn't really happy about that.

-All right, Soph?

-Hello!

-How're you doing?

-I'm good.

-So what's happening?

-I'm sweeping up this poo.

They've thrown you in here on your own!

So how are you getting on? You had a bit of a fear coming in here?

Who, us two? Not me!

They keep flying about, right in front of your face.

-Have you made any interaction yet? Do you know their names?

-No.

You don't even know their names?

So, just to help you out, Micah and Liam,

Jeff and Custard are both one-year-old male cockatiels.

They were found separately as strays

and taken in to an animal rescue centre.

And because cockatiels prefer having company,

they were buddied up together.

Same as our budgies Hobnob and Joey,

who were put together at the animal rescue centre after Joey's owner

was taken into a care home and Hobnob was found as a stray.

The two of them are now best budgie buddies!

-So you came in and started cleaning. Is that part of your task?

-Yeah.

-Change the food and water.

-We don't know where the food or water is.

You don't know where the food is? Have a think about it.

Where do they keep the food at Pet School?

-In the stock room.

-Oh, yeah, in the stock room!

Off you trot then, Liam. These birds look mighty peckish.

Over in the Reptile Room, Sam, Rachel and Ysabel

are paying a dragon with a beard

called Brett a visit.

Rachel's straight in there. Remember, Brett is her buddy!

She and the team need to clean out the tank and feed it live locusts.

Yup, I did say live locusts.

The bearded dragon had pooed in its food bowl.

We had to clean out the bowl, so we had to take it into the food area.

Ysabel was doing that.

Me and Rachel were cleaning out bits of chewed-up food and bits of dirt,

of dead skin.

Steady, Rachel, steady, Rachel...oops!

Someone get a mop, please.

It's a good pet, but you've got to feed it live locusts and mealworms.

It'll probably gross me out a bit.

That's not all it eats. Salad's on the menu too!

OK. I think I'll put the food in.

-Someone's hungry.

-Looks like he likes carrots.

That's two of your five a day, Brett. Good lad.

Giulia, Chris and Tej have been tasked with looking after the cats.

Getting close to the moggies isn't going to be easy.

Misty and Layla are pretty shy because they've been

staying at an animal rescue centre.

Layla and Misty have been in our care for some time now.

They came in to us because their owner passed away.

Layla is quite cheeky sometimes. She'll find places to hide in.

She'll come to you when she wants to, but she's quite a bold cat.

Misty is a bit more shy and cautious.

She likes people being there, but she does like people

to keep their distance at first and be introduced slowly.

Layla and Misty are four years old. Cats can live 15 plus.

They can live quite a long time,

so having a cat is a long-term commitment,

so think carefully before you take a cat home.

I think Layla and Misty will have a really good time at Pet School.

It'll take a few days to settle in, but they'll enjoy the company there.

Hopefully, it will make them grow in confidence.

It's nice and warm in here.

-Found it?

-Where?

-Under the sofa.

Our Pet Heads have only 45 minutes to clean out the litter trays

and check the cats for fleas, if they can get near them!

-Tej, how're you getting on?

-I love this cat.

-Do you?

-She's so sweet.

He falls in love with all the animals. You're like Dr Doolittle!

We got into the Cat Room, and obviously Mr Tej had to go,

"Come on, little kitty!"

I wasn't there.

In my opinion, he forced them to come.

Don't jump off again, please!

-Leave him alone!

-No!

He's too cute.

Looks like the cats have left a little pressie.

-I could smell it.

-How're we going to clean this out?

One of you's got to get over to the stock room. Who's going to do that?

I know you've been there before. He's a bit of an expert.

One of you go over there.

You go and I'll get the litter afterwards.

You get one bit, then you come back and then I'll go.

OK.

Well, I'm glad that's sorted then.

Who's a good kitty?

-Tej.

-Yeah?

This is just one of the activities,

making sure the cats are played with,

but also, that's very important. Cat litter tray - got to be done, OK?

Not sure Tej is listening!

Let's fly back to the birds.

This cheeky chap's being nosy, or is that beaky?

When I was cleaning the bottom of the cage,

the cockatiel kept following my hand around.

So everywhere my hand went,

the cockatiel would go, and it was really funny.

Yeah, he's watching what I'm doing.

-Oh!

-Hello!

SHE WHISTLES

Think he's making sure I get rid of all the poo!

Liam's back. Now let's see if the boys can feed the birds properly.

Oh, my gosh!

I spilt all the food.

How did you manage that?

That was frustrating.

I'd finished sweeping and I had to sweep up lots more.

Right, let's see if they do better with the water.

Ah, stupid gate.

I'll just put it through here.

-Liam, don't do that!

-It'll work...somehow.

What a mess! I think the boys are winging it a bit now.

Look, I'm feeding.

There, yeah. Can you see?

You've done a good job.

It's harder than I expected.

Task complete with ten minutes to spare.

There's no bird brains in this team.

And cleaning the cage has got rid of all the nasty bacteria

that could affect the birds' health.

Top pet care.

Back with Brett, Rachel's grabbing

a nice packet of fresh bearded dragon food for her buddy.

Bag of locusts and three pairs of tongs.

Grab your locust, little dunk in the calcium supplement

and then up for Brett.

When I was told what we had to do with the locusts,

I was petrified because I hate the animals like the stick insects,

and anything that looks like a stick insect.

They're not going to hurt you!

Come on, locust, back out.

Well done, Rachel. Really well done.

Oh, they're horrible.

Reptiles like Brett need their food to be alive as it replicates

how they hunt in the wild.

Come on, Ysabel.

Dunk it in.

And now, put it down on the ground. Brett!

-Gone, nearly.

-Oh, it's dropped!

Locust on the loose. This really is fast food.

Oh, wow. It's on the ground.

He's found him.

In the Cat Room, Tej is doing well bonding with Layla,

or is he just trying to keep away from the poo?

It's out with the old and in with the new.

Top cat care, Chris.

It stinks.

Nice one, Guilia. Tej?

The task was to groom and check her for fleas, and it was hard.

Whilst we were grooming, she would keep running off.

She's enjoying this - she's enjoying me grooming her.

She's calm when I do it.

Looks like Tej has resorted to bribery.

Not a good idea to feed cats on the sofa, though!

Misty's finally settled. Could be a good time to give her a groom, lads.

Where's the comb? Chris, where's the comb? I've got her.

Hello!

Misty's spotted that Tej isn't paying attention, and she's gone.

Time's up and our pet keepers in practice have failed

to check our moggies properly for fleas - a cat-care must.

In the Reptile Room, Brett still hasn't had his fill of locusts.

Something's definitely bugging Sam.

-One jumped on my hand.

-Eurgh!

Sam, it's your turn now.

I did get involved. I just didn't really feed it.

I held the bag and opened the bag up for them.

Oh, freaky!

They'll probably think I'm afraid, and a bit of a wimp,

but it's just what I don't like.

Why are you scared to do it?

I don't like insects. I don't like stick insects, crickets, nothing.

I don't. I'm still doing it.

No, seriously, I don't.

Sam wouldn't try it at all, not even once.

-There's one right there.

-I know.

-Grab it.

-Everyone else has done it.

-I don't like it. Woah!

-Come on, buddy.

Task complete, thanks to Rachel and Ysabel.

Bearded Dragons need specialist care,

and they're not for everyone, including Sam!

Bye, Brett.

Pet Practice over for today, but who's on the way to convincing

their parents they've got what it takes to have a pet of their own?

I've been catching up with the families to give them the low-down.

I'll let you know a bit about what's happening.

She's doing things that... Some kids don't even make their bed.

She's making animals' beds!

He's been doing so well.

He just gets stuck in and is up for everything,

whatever animal you give him.

She wants to work hard to change my mind, my point of view.

The ball's in your court.

So yeah, fingers crossed. Big decision to make.

Coming up:

Einstein and Kitts stretch their legs, all eight of them.

It's different than walking a dog!

Liam's in for a stinky surprise.

Oh, my gosh!

And Tej and Kiki get some top Ashley tips.

There it is. Good girl!

Here at Pet School,

all our Pet Heads have their own personal buddy to feed,

care for and generally hang out with.

So, with half the week gone, how are they coping?

Liam and Molly have become best of buddies.

This could be a friendship for life!

Oh, my gosh!

Maybe not, then.

Oh! She did a poo!

She did a poo!

I am not picking that up!

Oh, my gosh!

This isn't the first time Liam's had problems with poo.

I really can't look at that poo.

Not cleaning that up then, Liam?

I can't stand it!

I thought she was going to just lie down,

but then she did a poo!

Please, no. I can't do poo.

But if you're not, who's going to, then, Liam?

Someone will come and clean it up.

Bad pet practice, Liam. Very bad.

Now I'll have to find someone else to clean that up.

Yesterday, Sam had some tough news. His perfect pet, the corn snake,

was shedding its skin, so he's not allowed to touch it at all.

Now he's decided to buddy up with Layla and Misty, the cats,

and Reena's checking in on his progress.

She's a good girl, isn't she?

How do you think a cat compares to a snake as a pet?

Really nice, but it's a bit common for people to have a cat as a pet.

Were you hoping they had something more special,

-you want something more unusual?

-I wouldn't mind having a cat.

-Yeah.

These two are lovely cats. They really enjoy a cuddle.

-They've made a bit of a mess of their food area, haven't they?

-Yeah.

We'll give that a clean whilst we're here, tidy up for them. Yeah?

Hm-mm.

Over at the rabbit enclosure,

our most huggable pets haven't had any actual contact at all

with their buddy.

Come on!

In fact, after three days,

Micah's contact with the Pet School animals has been minimal.

Ah, so cute!

Come on!

That will need to change if he wants a pet of his own at home.

Talking of life at home,

this is his mum, dad and sister, Jadah.

Micah likes hip-hop dancing...

I can do that!

..playing computer games,

and dipping his chips in milk shake.

Urgh, really, Micah? Any pets at home?

When I was younger, I had a budgie, but that died, sadly.

I looked after my cousin's Staffordshire bull terrier,

and that was quite cool. I would like a dog.

All right. How do Mum and Dad feel about that?

I think it's the type of dog he wants, I don't... They're too big.

Flat's fairly big, but obviously, he'll need more space.

I think it's quite big. We've got quite a big living room,

quite a big corridor, so I think it will have a lot of places to settle.

Maybe he can get a hamster or a rabbit.

A rabbit? I wouldn't want a rabbit.

Rabbits are just boring, like, they don't do anything.

You can't teach them tricks. All they do is hop around.

Micah may not realise it,

but rabbits are a great pet to get started with.

But if he can't look after a rabbit, how will Mum and Dad

even think about giving him a dog?

We think that we're a nation of pet lovers,

but how much do we actually know what it's like to be a pet?

The Cage is Pet School's way of teaching the Pet Heads

what it's really like to be one of man's best friends.

All right, Micah, you've been dressed up like a hamster,

you're going to go through the experiences of an animal

that's got a bad pet owner. OK?

You can come out any time. Just shout, "Cage fright!"

-Are you ready?

-Yeah.

It's going to be tough. I'll see you in a bit.

To complete his task in the Cage,

Micah must learn the no-nos of keeping a pet.

The BPO, or Bad Pet Owner, has kindly offered to show them to him.

Oh dear, he's going to make Micah wear a pink tutu.

Big no-no number one. Your pet isn't a toy! Don't dress it up.

He came in and he gave me this to put on.

He kept scruffing up my head, which was really annoying!

Animals have coped without fancy dress for years. Why start now?

MUSIC: "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham

This is bad. Not just the dancing.

It's big no-no number two. Loud noises.

Most pets have sensitive ears,

and loud noises will not only frighten your pet,

they could harm them too.

Big no-no number three.

Don't pester your pet.

Pets like your company, but they also need time to chill.

Remember point number one - pets aren't a toy.

You all right, mate? How're you feeling?

Really annoyed!

Micah's annoyed because he was made to experience these pet no-nos.

He was treated like a toy.

He was made to listen to loud noises, and he was pestered.

No wonder.

Definitely had an experience of what some animals go through

when they're in cages, so I know if I get my dream animal,

a dog, I'll not do what's just happened to me,

because that was just awful.

Pet no-no's learnt.

All the celebs want to be a part of Pet School and when Ashley

and Pudsey came to visit, they showed us some amazing tricks,

took the grand tour, and met Giulia's rats.

-She's not going to poo on me, is she?

-No!

And lucky Tej got to practise his dog training tips

with the most famous dog in the world!

Now, Ashley, Tej is getting on really well with Kiki.

Tej has been happily buddied up with Kiki the border terrier

and has been trying to train her...

Sit, Kiki, sit!

..with little success!

He's about to learn from the best!

OK, we're going to do a down.

So you've got to sit on the floor with this one.

You're going to lift your knees up slightly off the ground,

just high enough that if she does go underneath your legs,

she's got to creep down, OK?

So you're going to hold your treat in your right hand

and guide her through the legs like that, and when she gets into the

middle, you're going to stop her and give her loads of praise for that.

She's going to do that a good few times.

Then you start bringing in the command, down, OK?

Then you can slowly bring your legs away like so. Good boy. Well done.

OK, so now I've shown you with Pudsey, do you want to have a go?

-Definitely.

-Puds, up. Good boy!

-He knows!

-What a professional.

Good boy!

Let's try this way, then.

-Show him where it is. Good boy.

-Well done.

Give him the treat. Good.

Good boy.

So that's exactly what you've got to do with Kiki.

Unlike most of the animals here, Kiki already has a loving home,

and as a retired vet, Kiki's owner enrolled her at Pet School

so he could help our Pet Heads learn some top pet caring skills.

When we first got Kiki as a puppy, she was delightful.

We just fell in love with her.

She has done nothing wrong, basically all her life.

Aw! Now, come on, Kiki can't be perfect.

Well, she's a pig. Any food anywhere, she will pinch if she can.

-She loves carrots.

-She'll do anything for a carrot, or a biscuit.

I think the children will love her,

and I think she'll love the children.

Right, Tej, let's see if you can do those tricks with Kiki.

-Look how interested she is in that carrot.

-I know. Healthy dog.

I've never got her to go down under my legs, so I'll try that. Kiki.

-Come on.

-Nearly.

Maybe if I leave it there.

-Put the carrot in the other hand.

-Kiki, Kiki.

There it is. Yes.

Good girl!

Good girl. Lots of praise.

-Such a good girl.

-Well done.

How long do you think it will take for me to train Kiki?

Well, I think it depends how much time you spend with Kiki.

-I can see you've got a great bond going on there.

-I'm attached to her.

Yes, you are.

Just doing that down there, she did it straightaway,

so I think if you put loads of effort into her and time,

it won't be very long at all.

I think what I've done with Ashley

and Pudsey will really help me with my work with Kiki,

so I'll be able to get her to jump over my legs a bit more,

go under my legs and sit down,

which is one of the first tasks you've got to teach a dog.

On the other side of the school,

Reena's checking in with Sophie, who's hoping her pet buddies,

the ferrets, aren't in the land of nod for a change.

-See what your buddies are up to today.

-Probably asleep again.

-Yeah, they're under there.

-Both of them?

-Ah! They're curled up with each other.

-Hello.

This guy doesn't even know we're here.

-Is this the one that's always sleeping?

-Yes.

Ferrets sleep for 18 hours a day, so if humans slept for 18 hours

a day, then kids would just wake up, go to school, come back, sleep.

You wouldn't really have time to eat anything, apart from lunch

and maybe breakfast.

His buddy's out. I'll show you how to get the harness on,

then you can take them for a cruise around the block.

Let's get hold of him first, then we'll pop the harness on.

So this is his harness. I'll just pop it on. Click, click, click.

There. This bit round behind his arms.

Cool.

So if I pop him down on the floor, you've got the end of the lead.

-Shall we go take him for a walk outside?

-Yes.

-Go for it.

So it's day three and the first time Sophie's been able to do

anything with the ferrets other than watch them sleep.

It's different. It's different than walking a dog.

They go all wriggly, all round everywhere.

-Do you think he's enjoying it?

-Yeah, I think he is. He's very curious.

Sit. No, sit, Kiki. Sit, sit. Kiki, sit. Kiki, sit.

Tej has always had his heart set on a dog

even before arriving at Pet School.

My ideal pet would be a Maltese puppy,

so to show my parents that, I did a PowerPoint presentation on it.

The results were conclusive. A dog is the best pet for me.

Dad isn't so keen on canines, though.

I don't think they should have a pet, because to be honest,

I don't like them.

I just don't feel comfortable with animals.

And then, of course,

the responsibility part that goes with it,

it's not an easy task, to look after a pet, whether it be a dog or a cat.

I want you sitting. I want you to sit.

Tej has just seven Pet School days left to change his dad's mind

and prove that he's responsible enough to have a dog of his own.

It's not going to be easy.

Sit, Kiki. Wait, Kiki. No, stay. Stay.

Come on, Kiki. Kiki! Treat, treat, treat!

Come on, Kiki. Go on, Kiki.

Oh, no. Doesn't do that.

I'll try leaving it there this time.

Kiki! Treat! Treat!

Come get it.

Good girl!

I really like Pudsey, but I definitely prefer Kiki to Pudsey.

Good girl! Nice staying under the legs.

Tej has persuaded Kiki to do a trick,

but can he convince his dad to get him a dog of his own?

Sophie's been grafting away,

and finally walked one ferret.

Rachel's getting properly stuck in.

And the rest of the Pet Heads are taking steps towards

getting a pet of their very own.

That's the end of another day here at Pet School.

Tell you what, hang around because things will get more exciting.

Next time on Pet School:

Tej quizzes Rachel on parental pet persuasion.

-Get the parent who's keener on dogs on your side.

-I've got my mum.

But Rachel's got her own pet probs with Brett.

Interesting as it is, it's just as interesting to look at a photo.

Sam tackles a sticky situation.

I ain't touching one!

And it's crunch time for Liam when Mum pops in for a chat.

You now need to pick it up.

If you've got a pet at home, are you looking after it properly

and being a responsible Pet Head?

Check out our pet school website for all the essential advice

you need on pet care.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd