Acting Dogs, Hollywood Don't Blame the Dog

Our 15,000 year old partnership with man's best friend is breaking down.

No! Ah, no!

Sit!

Britain has more badly behaved dogs than ever before.

No, go away, go.

Dog bites alone have tripled in the last seven years.

Chica, come here!

DOGS SNARL

But don't blame the dogs...

because experts agree their owners are to blame.

Instead of controlling them, I'd rather just play with them.

Chico, oi!

In this series, 12 out of control dog owners...

He does not listen to a word that I say, it's just a nightmare.

..who have reached breaking point...

Supposed to be one of my best friends and I don't feel like he is.

..are leaving their dogs behind...

I didn't even know stuff like that existed.

Wow!

..to be flown across the globe to meet the toughest

working dog professionals.

You are going to be the pack leader, you are going to be the dog's boss.

They will live and work alongside dogs...

It stinks in here!

..that herd...

Spice, to me!

..race...

Don't ever, ever let that go! Those are MY dogs.

..act...

Hold it.

..and track.

Come on, good boy!

Have they got what it takes to master these dogs...

It's too heavy!

Do not swear at me!

Look out, look out!

..and their own lives?

Because it's not just their dogs that need to change.

Meet 29-year-old sales executive Ronnie Ahmed.

His 16-month-old pug Bella is in control of every aspect of his life.

Bella might be tiny, but she's ruling Ronnie

and girlfriend Hayley's life.

Bella, naughty!

This dog doesn't do anything she's told.

Bella, come on, pack it in, please.

She constantly seeks attention...

Bella!

..and is destroying the house.

Constant chewing, biting, weeing on the sofa.

There's a big one under there.

She is generally the complete nightmare of a dog.

The couple got Bella over a year ago.

We decided to get a dog as we felt that we needed something extra in our relationship,

and wanted to go to the next level but we weren't ready for kids.

But having kids might have been easier.

It's hard to get a good night's sleep.

Physically, you've gotta keep running around after her,

you've got to be on your guard, and emotionally, it just totally

and utterly drains every bit of life out of you.

-I'll be up in six hours, Ronnie.

-I know.

-Bella!

Bella's bad behaviour isn't winning her any friends in Ronnie's family.

What can we do with her? Something's going to have to be done.

His dad has banned the dog from his house for being a nuisance.

But he thinks he knows who's responsible for creating this little monster.

I think a lot of Bella's misbehaviour's caused through Ronnie

and Hayley. They treat her like a little child

instead of her being a dog.

She's really spoilt, yeah, but can't help it.

It's me baby, me little dog, so I've got to do it for her really.

Ronnie's treating Bella like a kid but she's stopping the couple

from taking the next step in their relationship.

It's the time now that's right for us to have kids

but Bella's too much of a handful and wouldn't allow us

to have that sort of freedom in our life to have kids.

Ronnie got Bella to create the family unit

he missed out on as a child.

He was 12 when his parents divorced and he hasn't seen his mum since.

I do feel that it's the affection that he had for his mother

that he's now giving to the dog.

But instead of giving the love back, Bella is driving a wedge

between Ronnie and Hayley.

Out! Get out!

It's tearing a hole in mine and Hayley's relationship.

You're absolutely destroying everything!

Get at her, don't keep telling me to get her all the time!

'We have got to the point where it's been sort of breaking point.

where we have talked about splitting up.

-You do something.

-It's me, I always do!

-You don't at all.

-I do.

I don't know how I'd be able to look at the dog every day

knowing that it was the dog's fault that my relationship finished.

Over in Oxfordshire, meet Holly Gallienne-Schmidt.

This 24-year-old beauty therapist should be in full control

of her two-year-old toy dog, Alfie...

Alfie, Alfie!

..but she's not.

I don't know how to train a dog. He can be an absolute nightmare.

This way.

This small dog is causing big problems.

Alfie, come, come. Alfie!

He doesn't listen to a word Holly says.

I think he can't hear me, maybe he's deaf.

Holly spoils Alfie like he's a little human.

Alfie sits on my lap every time I get in the car,

I don't know if it's legal or not.

But he has no respect for Holly who hasn't even toilet trained him.

Why bother when he can use the family home?

He poos in the house as well as weeing everywhere.

There's one, two, three, four...

..eleven, twelve that I can see alone here.

So my poor mum, she's going to have to eventually...

Well, re-carpet her room.

Holly still lives at her mum and stepdad's country pile.

Mum's not impressed with Holly's dog training.

I said to you, "Are you doing puppy classes?" How many did you go to?

Holly's quite irresponsible when it comes to dog ownership,

I don't think she's ever really thought it through.

Mum never wanted Holly to get a dog of her own.

I said, "You are joking, aren't you?"

I said, "I'm telling you for now, you get that dog, you do not

"live with us, we do not want another dog in the house."

No, back.

She did say, "You can't live here if you get him."

I didn't think she'd do it but she did.

It was a slap in the face for me cos I knew what the outcome would be.

And she was right. Holly's let Alfie run amok in her life.

Holly's friends blame her for Alfie's unruly behaviour too.

She should be a lot more stricter with him, and I think

if she was stricter at the beginning then he wouldn't be like this.

Alfie's getting older and he's getting worse.

Holly's gotta sort it out.

I'd love to have a well-trained dog but I let him

get away with most things just because he's, like, so cute.

Two years of Alfie's mischief

have piled pressure onto this family's relationships.

The other day, he'd done a poo behind Jeremy's chair again.

My mum is kind of in-between me and my stepdad.

He'll be angry at my mum, my mum'll be angry at me - it's, like, chaos.

So what will you do, Holly... before I end up getting a divorce?

It's created a rift and it's carried on being bad.

I mean, there's tension always because of Alfie.

Holly's refusing to take things seriously

and it's turning everyone against her.

It's me and Alfie against the world.

There's much debate about how to control dogs,

but experts agree that the majority of problems are caused by the owner.

To break this destructive cycle, Ronnie and Holly

need dealing with first.

They're going to leave their dogs and cross the world

to spend a week learning specialist tips from some of the world's best dog handlers.

Bye, Alfie!

If they can fix themselves, perhaps they can fix the canine crisis at home.

-Hi, are you all right?

-Hi, I'm all right.

-Hi, I'm Ronnie, nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

The Brits don't know it but they're off to work

in one of the most competitive places on Earth.

Hollywood.

Meet Joe Timko and Randy Neece, owners of the most exclusive

training and boarding facility in LA.

It may look like a high-end spa retreat,

but this place is just for dogs,

and not just anyone's dogs!

We have people like Harrison Ford, Sylvester Stallone...

J Lo, Pierce Brosnan.

..Christina Aguilera.

You know, the list goes on

but regardless of whether they're famous or not,

we really have the same exacting standards for every single dog.

Randy and Joe have worked with dogs for over 12 years.

Joe can knock even the naughtiest pup into shape.

Down, stay. Heel!

Here at Canyon View Ranch, we have one of the best training programmes in the world.

With celebrities clambering to get their pooches trained

at this Disneyland for dogs, Randy and Joe must run a very tight ship.

It's a lot of work around here and it's relentless.

It starts very early in the morning and goes very late at night.

While Joe is the dog trainer...

Bella, heel. Come.

..Randy is the task master.

First of all I want to get the pool cleaned up a little bit...

Joe tells me that a lot of the staff are sort of afraid of me.

I don't generally ask people to do stuff, I tell them to do it

and I expect them to do it.

They've gotta get water, also.

Randy and Joe can teach the A-list to train a dog,

but will the Brits be more Z-list when it comes to Hollywood high expectations?

I'm going to need all the focus I can possibly get from the Brits.

We're dealing with famous people's animals and we want to make sure

that our reputation is intact when they leave here.

The Brits have arrived on the west coast of America,

in sunny California.

But they don't know where they're heading yet.

I'm really scared now. All of a sudden, it's hit me.

I'm like, "Oh, my God, what am I doing?!"

What are you hoping for?

I want a Chihuahua to train or something.

They're off to the ranch where only the rich and famous

bring their precious pooches, tucked away in the Santa Monica hills.

We're going in.

Oh, my God.

There's dogs.

Oh, my god. They're fake, they're fake dogs!

I'm scared!

There they are. How you doing?

OK, I'm really nervous.

Nervous already, you just got here!

How you doing? Hi, nice to meet you.

-I'm Joe Timko.

-I'm Ronnie.

Randy quickly gets niceties out of the way and lays down the law.

OK, guys, one of the things you have to understand here is that

because of our location so close to Hollywood and Malibu,

we've got a lot of high-end people, a lot of famous people

bring their dogs here so we have a huge responsibility

in watching and making sure that dog has a great time here

and goes home happy and healthy and raring to come back again sometime.

Do we get to meet the celebrities?

Well, if they happen to show up, you will, but one of the things

we ask our staff to do is not to make a big deal about it, OK?

The Brits will be training all week in Hollywood

and working behind the scenes at the ranch, but that's not all.

This is not just about poop scooping stuff.

At the end of the week we're shooting a commercial,

and we need you guys to work with the dogs

throughout the week cos we'll need you to get them

to do certain things on camera, on cue.

So, you guys getting ready to start?

-Yep.

-All right, let me give you your hats. Here's a hat.

The Brits have only one week to become expert dog handlers,

but they're more concerned with meeting celebrities.

If there's a famous dog we could put a note on the collar

so when it goes home the owner reads it.

And it doesn't take them long to spot a celebrity's dog.

Mia - Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters' miniature Pinscher.

That's a famous dog.

A little starstruck, the Brits think this week's going to be easy.

See, they said it's going to be hard work but I don't find dogs...

Apart from my dog obviously,

these dogs seem trained so I don't think they'll be hard work.

It'll be a walk in the park compared to Bella.

But Randy and Joe are putting them straight to work in separate yards

to see how they handle dogs.

I don't think these Brits have any idea what they're in for here.

This is a lot of work.

I think they're in for a very, very tough week.

Ronnie's in Wonderland with the big dogs under the watchful eye of Joe.

They are big and I think you have a pug?

Yeah, she's quite small.

So the dogs you'll be dealing with are going to be nice big guys.

They want to see the basics, how the Brits act around dogs

and if they can look after them.

I am pretty scared right now, I didn't want to work with big dogs.

I was snapped at a few times by bigger dogs when I was younger

and I need to pretend that I'm really, really brave,

even though I'm not, I'm shaking like mad.

But...I've got to go for it and got to do it I suppose.

BARKING

Yikes!

The Brits have their hands full with one dog at home.

Here they have dozens to contend with.

Over in Munchkinland, Holly's with the little dogs

being watched over by Randy.

Get away.

OK, don't be afraid to like walk around with them, have fun.

Yeah, come on, guys! Come on, guys.

She should be in her element with the small dogs.

Ah, that dog keeps biting me!

No... Cona!

Just like at home, the dogs have sensed a soft touch

and before long, Holly has them walking all over her... Literally.

Randy!

-OK, just pull her off, don't let...

-Every time I...

Holly, that is a good example of a top dog.

-That dog is trying to be dominant with you.

-It's pulling my...

Take him off your shoulders right now. Pull him off.

Good, OK, put him down on the ground.

You got some humping going on, tell her stop it right now.

Say, "Leave it."

No!

In the big yard, Ronnie is trying to keep things running smoothly

despite his fears.

They're all over the place, they're jumping, they're biting my hand

and I don't know what to do.

I'm still pretty nervous but I'm trying to do what Joe said

and be strong and show that I'm not afraid of them.

Ronnie, if you see any dog just off by themselves

and not having a good time, go over to them and pet them

and, you know, try getting them into the mix.

Right.

Ronnie has to break up dog fights, stop humping and barking

and entertain the dogs while keeping the place looking immaculate.

I don't know where to turn cos there's poop everywhere

and he's telling us there's humping everywhere.

-You got another one here.

-Coming.

Because the bottom line is, even celebrities' dogs poo,

and there's a lot of it to clear up.

Hey!

He's doing OK, but OK isn't good enough at this point.

He's intimidated, he's very intimidated by them.

I think we're just going to have to work on his confidence

and work on it quite a bit.

Hey, stop!

Not easy, not getting on too well. There's a lot of dogs

and a lot to watch. So it's really hard.

Hard work, harder than I thought it was going to be.

Ronnie, let's come on over here and sit down.

I just want to talk to you a bit.

Yeah.

Joe's spotted that Ronnie's nerves are getting the better of him.

Tell me, honestly, what's going on inside, what are you feeling inside?

Scared inside.

When they're barking and they're, they're humping

and they're going at each other, I just don't want to go near them

and I'm trying to go to them and tell them to stop

but I'm petrified of it, when they're doing that.

OK, because one of the things, and it's got to be a mindset,

and it'll take some learning on your part, but there is no room

for any type of nervousness

or feeling of being scared

because until then they're not, they're not going to respect you

and you're going to have

the same type of behaviour going on that you don't like.

You gotta pick up the pace because the longer you take

getting that poop scoop, the longer these dogs

aren't getting watched in the yard.

Back in Munchkinland, Holly's grinding almost to a halt.

Oh, my gosh, she is going so slowly.

That's right, good, quickly!

Quickly, scoop it in and then get it away from them.

It's disgusting, this is vile.

It stinks, it's unhygienic and there's flies everywhere.

Now let me see how fast you can actually walk.

That's the pace we go at here, we never ever just walk around here.

Too many things can happen in that time it takes you.

'One of the things that we'll have to work on is her speed.'

She's way too slow, she'll have to really pick up the pace

and she's got a lot to learn.

-No!

-Very quickly.

The first task is complete and not a great start for the Brits.

-It is hard to keep your eyes on all the dogs.

-Yeah.

But the thing that we're going to have the biggest challenge with,

besides confidence, is I want you to think about walking twice as fast...

Yeah.

..as you've ever walked before, not running but walk twice as fast.

Yeah.

-And we'll take it from there.

-OK.

Any other things, any thoughts?

-No.

-OK.

Not at the moment.

Thanks.

I feel like I've just been to the gym,

I feel like I've done a workout,

I mean, I didn't realise it would be this hard, and Randy's kind of mean.

The Brits are starting to realise Hollywood isn't all glamour,

and home for the week's not exactly five star either.

I've got to laugh or I'll cry so I've got to laugh.

I almost cried when I saw it.

No, this just isn't going to work.

I'm actually really shocked.

I can't believe I'm in LA

in a caravan.

In the middle of the hills.

Yeah.

Work for the Brits isn't over.

Come on, you... Good girl. Come on.

They have to start putting the dogs into their beds for the night.

Come on, in, in.

The day's not gone well but at least Holly's given Randy and Joe

something to laugh about.

She's in the yard and there's this little dog

and it was very shy, it wasn't really engaging

with the other dogs and I said "Go over and just pick this dog up."

So she did, the dog climbed right up and sat on her head.

THEY LAUGH

-What did she do?

-She let it sit on her head!

Her confidence level is way, way low,

and I think the dogs will sense that and they're just going to roll

right over her if she doesn't you know get a little more oomph to her.

So what do you think about Ronnie? Please tell me "great".

He's intimated by large dogs

and just when they were running in the yard and running at him,

he was like, "Oh, my gosh," you can just see it right then

and dogs picked up on that from the moment they came in.

He has to learn that he can be in control and not be fearful

-and if he can do that everything else will fall together.

-Yeah.

But until then, nothing will work.

Out in the yard, there's a problem.

Ronnie's found himself alone with the big dogs.

Out the way.

Unable to control his fear, he flees the yard

leaving the dogs unattended which can be dangerous.

I got a bit scared, turned round for some support

and I was by myself so I've got a bit freaked out

-and ran back in the building.

-You came to the building?

It knocked my confidence within about 10 minutes of being out there.

Yeah. So you just ran back down in and left them out there fighting?

Yeah.

Hey, no, no.

Worried about Ronnie's fear of big dogs,

Randy and Joe are meeting him at their house to dig a bit deeper.

Just a short time here has opened Ronnie's eyes.

It's sort of unearthed the fact that maybe it's not the big dogs

I'm scared of and it's maybe the fact that I can't...

I haven't got the discipline to control the dogs

because if I can't control a small dog

how am I ever going to survive with sort of 30 big dogs?

We have plenty of dogs the size of Bella and plenty of dogs like Bella,

but our feeling is if we can get you used to working with a large dog,

that's going to do two things. One, it's going to help you, hopefully,

get over whatever this sort of fear or hesitation

or, you know, lack of confidence or however you want to call it,

with large dogs.

But it's also, if you can handle a larger dog,

hopefully that'll translate into handling a smaller dog too.

Randy and Joe want to find out more about the problems at home.

The biggest problem is Bella's constant attention seeking.

Oh. Bella, no!

What strikes Joe the most is Ronnie gives into it every time.

It's amazing how dogs can make the owner do something as simple as,

"Hey, hold me."

They can lunge at the TV and if every time she lunges at the TV,

you take her and coddle her, she's learning to lunge at that TV

-even more because she's getting exactly what she wants.

-Mm-hm.

Randy and Joe can see an even bigger problem.

Ronnie treats Bella like the child he really wants.

'We were missing something in the relationship.

'We want it to go to the next level but we weren't ready for kids.

'That's where Bella came into the picture.'

I want children and I don't want to wait too much longer

to have children. I want to be quite a young parent.

I don't want to wait too long, and I know Hayley doesn't either,

but with Bella the way she is...

I couldn't bring kids into the world.

I mean, I think it goes back maybe a little bit deeper than that.

I mean, my upbringing was... sort of rocky to start with.

I mean, I haven't really had a relationship with my mum for...

since the age of 12, and maybe that's hard

because I want the perfect family

and I didn't really have it growing up which was upsetting.

I think that's maybe part of the problem with Bella is

because of the way that my mam was with me.

Right, well knowing now a little bit of this back story

and particularly the relationship stress,

for us, I think it's even more important that we send you back home

really having learned a lot here and going home and not only

transforming Bella and you and your relationship but the relationship

you have with Hayley and the relationship Hayley has with Bella.

-Mm-hm.

-We'll make this work, OK?

-Yeah, good going.

Tonight's been tough for Ronnie.

Top of the morning to ya. What's up?

-Are you upset?

-I'm all right.

I cooked dinner.

Thanks.

Are you annoyed?

No, I'm just a bit...

Don't be sad.

Did you watch a video?

Was it really sad?

No, they just talked lots of stuff that makes us sad, that's all.

Are you hungry?

No. I'll eat a little bit of this, in a bit.

It's 6am. Things start early at Canyon View Ranch.

Why don't you guys come over here and let's get these big guys out?

Before their first training session, Ronnie and Holly

are put to work doing the morning chores.

Oh, my God! There is poop everywhere!

It stinks in here, like stinks.

But a night's rest has given Ronnie time to reflect.

Come on, let's go, guys!

I think maybe the DVD got us a little bit upset

cos when you're being spoken to by Joe and Randy

and then memories surface, you start to realise that the bad things

in your mind do affect the way that your dog behaves

and it affects my life and the way I'm treating the dog

which makes the dog the way she is really.

Today Joe's giving the Brits their first chance to train.

See, now, these dogs are a bit on the strong side. Ah, ah!

Look at you, come here, baby! Come here.

All right, so I'm just going to tell the dog to sit.

Joe's unique technique involves gently tucking the dog into a sit.

Sit. Then you pet him.

Hans, come on Hans.

Volto.

Now it's the Brits' turn.

-Volto, Volto!

-Come on, Hans.

Sit.

Why d'you do that?

It's probably cos you pushed him down and hurt him.

Think of tucking the dog in.

I don't like this dog any more.

Randy and Joe decide it's time for the Brits' first taste of film work.

They're taking Ronnie and Holly to top Hollywood training facility,

Gentle Jungle.

Gentle Jungle has provided animals for films including Gladiator

and The Chronicles Of Narnia, and it's not just dogs they work with.

How do you train a camel?

They're meeting Eadie Chassie who's worked in the movie industry

for over 15 years...

Cover, hold it.

..and Dart who starred in the blockbuster hit Cowboys & Aliens.

Good shake, all right!

Eadie is one of the best in the business

and the Brits are here to pick up some tips.

Eadie is one of the top Hollywood dog trainers for TV and film

and she'll show you a few things that, you know, things that

you may apply and see where all this is ending up, so watch and learn.

-OK.

-OK? Good, have fun. See you later, guys.

Eadie starts by showing the Brits what correct training can do.

Dart, on your feet, stay, back up.

-Good, speak, speak.

-DOG BARKS

Good, stay. Dart, sit.

OK, now on your feet, back up, back, back, back, stay, sit.

Speak. DOG BARKS

So what I can do, I can do without saying anything.

Good, speak, speak. So he knows it both ways.

-That's really cool.

-That's amazing.

-That is cool.

-Pretty sharp.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

It's like...he can speak English cos you're saying speak

and he does it straight away.

Eadie lets them into one of the tricks of the trade -

reward based training.

He works for anybody cos he just wants this,

he's not doing it for you he wants this.

-Mm-hm.

-So when it's all about this anybody almost can do it.

It's just you got to make sure he's paying attention to you.

-Want to try?

-Yeah, I'll give it a go.

Good, make sure...

Ronnie is meant to communicate to Dart to go to another mark

and bark on command.

Stop. On your mark.

No, back, on your mark.

No, stop. Back up, back up, stop.

On your mark. He won't go on his mark.

-Go, go, go.

-On your mark.

I mean, just say the words. Do you use the word "go" first?

-Just because it might help him take... "Go mark".

-OK.

Go mark, go mark.

At home with Bella, Ronnie has exactly the same problem.

Sit, sit down, come on.

She doesn't listen to me, she doesn't listen to anybody really.

She'll do something when she wants to do it,

not when you want her to do it.

But the fact is his dog doesn't speak English, or Geordie.

Stay, good.

What I'm going to have you do, and this is tricky,

I'm just going to have... Come with me, just...

Eadie explains that to get a dog to do what you want,

it needs to understand exactly what your command means.

-Then that's a reminder of his mark.

-Right.

-So now that you've shown that to him it might help him...

-OK.

-..actually go over to that mark.

-Dart, on your mark.

Good, stay.

They've clicked and Dart's responding to Ronnie perfectly.

Good boy. Speak.

DOG BARKS

-Tell him to stay.

-Speak. Stay. Good boy.

Wow, absolutely amazing, I didn't think he would listen to us.

Obviously, you've trained him for hours and hours,

but I didn't think he'd listen to me. No dog seems to listen to me at all.

You want to give it a try?

OK.

Keeping in mind he really wants that toy,

so the hardest thing really is to keep him away from you.

Cool. I'm nervous.

Just like Ronnie, Holly shows Dart what mark she wants him to go to.

Shall I tap it?

Yep, go ahead, now tell him to get on his mark and tell him to stay.

Go to your mark. Go to your mark.

Go to your mark.

Go to your mark! I'm really rubbish.

Sit. How do you tell him to sit?

Just like you did.

Sit.

Go to your mark, go to your mark.

I'm rubbish.

That's OK.

Dart knows his mark so there's clearly another problem.

Look here, hey!

He wants this, good. Get on your mark. Good, stay. Go ahead, speak...

Eadie demonstrates that your voice needs to be confident to get

a dog to respond.

-It's tough when you don't know the dog...

-Yeah.

..but even if I don't know the dog I still kind of...

If you're sure what you're asking him to do,

they'll figure out what you want.

Tell him to get back on his mark.

Back on your mark, go to your mark.

Go to your mark. No.

But there's uncertainty in Holly's voice

and her tendency to give up isn't helping.

-He's wandering, tell him "no".

-No.

No, go to your mark.

Holly keeps failing so Eadie calls a time-out.

Dart.

This dog usually works for anyone.

Out, good, mark.

This is just bullshit now, I'm actually really pissed off.

Don't get upset about it.

It can't be helped. That's why we're here, to get help,

so you shouldn't let it upset you.

Come on, you're all right.

He probably just doesn't understand your accent as well,

-I think that's a big...

-You're from Newcastle.

Yeah, but mine's a lot... I don't know, I don't know,

but I just think it was hard to understand your accent sometimes.

Minutes later Holly gives up.

She's starting to question everything.

I just feel crap because I can't do anything we're supposed to be doing.

And I feel really stupid crying over it.

This is dog training, but...

And I haven't...

I can't do any of it.

I'm just...I don't know, Maybe I just don't get dogs,

maybe I shouldn't have one.

I don't know.

Holly's shown a lack of staying power,

but it's making her realise her problems are down to her,

and not her dog.

At the ranch, Randy and Joe want to find out

how much this is a problem back home.

So, shall we watch some of this and get an idea

what's going on, then talk through it a little bit? OK.

-ALFIE BARKS

-'Alfie, come here!'

'I think he can't hear me. Maybe he's deaf.'

He poos in the house,

'as well as weeing everywhere.'

It doesn't take them long to see that Alfie's spoilt

and Holly has no command over him.

This way! Alfie!

Do you see some of the things you're doing

that might be encouraging him to act that way?

Watching that back, that seemed ridiculous. It's like a joke.

I can't believe that's what I look like around him.

It looks like a comedy sketch, quite frankly.

My feeling is, all of this comes together as a neat little package.

It's not just a matter of working on the come when called,

or working on the pottying,

or working on jumping up on the table.

It's the whole relationship you have with this dog

and changing that dynamic

and, and, and getting Alfie to start respecting you as the leader.

But there's an even bigger problem.

'I said, you are joking. You get that dog, you do not live with us.

'We do not want another dog in the house.

'And it's created a rift and it's carried on being bad.

'I mean, he...there's tension, always, because of Alfie.'

I wanted to ask you before, do you feel like you're spoiled,

or do you think you've been spoiled in life?

I probably have been spoilt. I've got everything I wanted.

That may tie into your lack of sticking to it

and giving up a little too quickly.

There's a major problem going on in the household

that the dog is causing.

Yeah, I mean, it's not fair,

it's not fair on anybody, it's not fair on me and Alfie.

It's not fair on my mum and her husband, it's...

But it does, it just creates major issues,

and I just, I need to sort it, I need to...

..I don't want to create that for them.

Holly's realising that giving up doesn't work.

I guess what Randy was saying is true,

that's what I've been like and I don't want to be.

That's why Alfie is the way he is, because I've probably...

..I haven't kept up, you know,

there's no...I haven't kept up, like, hard work trying to train him.

I've just been...I let things go and I'm like,

"Oh, too hard. I won't train him."

Randy and Joe know

that if Holly is ever going to turn things around at home,

they have to work on her determination.

They've come to Universal Studios,

where movies such as The Bourne Identity have been made,

and home to one of the first movie theme parks in America.

Welcome to Universal's Animal Actors. How's everybody doing?

This is a hugely popular live show seen by over 5,000 people every day.

And there's no room for mistakes in front of a live audience.

Randy and Joe have a surprise in store for Holly

and there's no wriggling out.

Well, you know, your confidence has been really low

on everything you've been doing,

so we've made arrangements for you to meet the trainer...

-Really?

-..of the dogs and you're going to be part of the show.

In less than an hour, Holly has to take to the stage

as one of the show's main dog handlers.

Holly's working with celebrity dog Jack, star of Hotel For Dogs,

and Beverley Hills Chihuahua.

He's a really smart dog...

Trainer John doesn't have much time to teach her the part.

..and he knows what you're asking for, so don't feel like,

-"Hey, Jack, please pick it up." It's more like, "Jack, pick it up!"

-Yeah.

And be excited, the more excited you are and the more lively you are

and the better you feel about doing it, he's going to pick up on that.

John explains Holly must have confidence in her voice.

When you bring him over here, like, "Jack, come here! Good boy! Ready?

"Good, get in there. Pick it up!

"Good boy!" Just talk and talk and have fun with it.

Now, if you want to give him a treat so his attention's on you.

-Good boy.

-Now take him with you, walk this way.

-Let's go. Jack!

-Bring him over, call his name.

-Just be, like, "Jack, come on."

-Come on, Jack. Let's go.

-Good boy.

-There you go.

-Jack!

-Bring him all the way over.

-Jack!

He really likes Charlotte, so...

-Come on, Jack, let's go!

-We'll have Charlotte get off the stage.

-Jack!

Holly's still a pushover.

-Go ahead and call him. Wait till she gets off.

-Jack! Jack!

At home, her problems are exactly the same.

With no authority in her voice, dogs just don't bother listening to her.

Alfie. Alfie. Alfie.

And she always gives up.

He does his own thing and I let him do it.

In 30 minutes, 1,500 people will fill the auditorium,

Holly has to believe she can do this.

-Shall I try and get him?

-Just go, yeah, bring him back.

-Jack! What's this?

-Bring him all the way back.

-Come on, let's go.

Jack! Doesn't like me.

Come on, let's go! Up here! Jack! Come on!

-Good boy!

-There you go. Now he's watching you.

-Come on, then.

-Bring him back over.

-This way. Good boy, good boy.

-There you go.

-Good boy. Sit.

-Keep his attention.

-Sit. Good boy.

His attention's on you now. Took a little bit there, that was fine.

You brought him back. That's what you need to do.

She sticks at it and there's a new tone in Holly's voice

that engages the dog.

Let's go, Jack. Come on. Jack! Jack! Good boy, good boy. Sit.

You have to be someone or something that the animal wants to be with

and if you don't have that, then they don't want to hang out with you,

they want to find something more exciting.

She's starting to understand that Jack wants to be with her

if she's animated and fun and having a good time.

At first I couldn't get into it cos I was nervous.

I was thinking "He's not going to do it,"

and as soon as he did it the first time,

you kind of forget everything and you just get into it.

So I still, literally, want to kill myself, I'm so scared,

but it's fine. I'm more excited now.

It's show time.

Paying customers want to see a professional performance

and Holly can't let anyone down, including Randy and Joe.

Welcome to Universal's Animal Actors. How's everybody doing?

As the show begins, John tries to ram home what Holly's learnt.

Some of the important things to remember when you're on stage

is just your body posture,

that you're confident in what you're doing,

you believe in what you're doing,

and that you're able to portray it through your voice.

Yeah. I want to be able to do it.

I've got to leave those negative thoughts behind.

To be honest, I can't back out now, anyway,

so that's probably part of it, otherwise maybe I would have,

but I don't know, I'm nervous, but I'm excited for the end outcome.

Right, you ready? Ready? Off you go.

Let's have a big cheer for Jack and Holly!

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

With so much riding on this moment,

Randy and Joe are hoping it goes well.

Sit, sit, sit, Jack. Sit.

Yeah. Come on, then. Come on, then. Good boy.

..by jumping over our human hurdle,

racing through the slalom, through the tunnel,

jumping over our human hurdle and ringing the bell!

-Team Jack is in position. Ready, Holly?

-Stay.

-Yeah.

-Team Jack. On your marks, get set, go!

Come on, Jack! Up, up, up!

Here, here! Here, there, here, there, here.

Go through the tunnel! Up!

Good boy!

Holly's cracked it.

Good boy.

It couldn't have gone better. She did really well.

She did everything we talked about, and she had a good time,

so that was great, and he did it the first time perfectly.

I'm going to go back and meet her. I'll be right back.

Let's have another big round of applause

for our special guest trainer, Holly.

-That went fantastic.

-That was amazing.

It couldn't have gone any smoother. Exactly like you had practised.

I didn't look at the audience, I wasn't paying any attention.

-I'm like, really shaking...

-He watched you the whole time.

He did everything you asked. You did a great job.

Thank you.

John's not the only one who's thrilled with Holly.

-Well done!

-Wow!

Looking back at yesterday,

I mean, even looking back at what? An hour ago?

I felt sick, I couldn't even smile. He was like, "Are you ready?"

And I was like, "Yeah." Thinking, "No, I'm not ready!

"Why are you making me do this?"

But now it's kind of, like, I feel so good for doing that.

At the ranch, Joe's teaching Ronnie some tricks

to help him get control of his own dog.

Slam your hand down on it.

Leave it.

Leave it.

Good leave it, take it.

And Holly's making progress.

No. Sit.

These are the kind of days we, you know, really look forward to

because it starts out so frustrating at the beginning of the week

and you just want to say, you know, you just want to say,

"Don't you understand what we're trying to tell ya?!"

But, but man, when we see this kind of progress,

I mean, it makes us feel like, you know, we're doing our job,

we're doing it right and we're getting the results we're hoping for.

Joe and Randy are sending the Brits on one final trip.

It's the commercial shoot tomorrow

and the Brits need all the advice they can get.

They're off to the legendary Paramount Studios,

birthplace of films such as Mission Impossible and Iron Man.

This is the set of America's favourite TV show, NCIS Los Angeles.

-Wow.

-God.

They've seen dogs behind the scenes and on stage.

Now they're meeting an animal trainer

to try their hand at working dogs on an actual Hollywood set.

-Hi.

-Hi.

-I'm Chrissie, I'm with Studio Animal Service.

-Holly, nice to meet you.

-I'm Ronnie.

-Nice to meet you...

Holly's up first, and Ronnie is stepping in to play the part

of Special Agent Sam Hanna.

-So who would normally be the actor on this scene?

-LL Cool J.

So this is where LL Cool J would be sat during the scene?

That's where he's going to be sitting during the scene.

-Wow.

-That's cool.

Holly has to keep the dog's attention.

It's her chance to use that new found voice to full effect.

OK, go ahead.

Mugsy, on your mark!

Good boy...

Movie dogs or pet dog, it seems the principles of training

aren't a million miles apart.

The difference between training your pet dog and a movie dog is

we spend every moment specifically working towards a goal

that the dog, you know, what the dog has to do on set.

Go mark! Mugsy, go mark!

In the end, they're both still dogs and they both still want one thing.

They want to please you.

Good boy.

So I think it's very achievable to get your dog

to play their role at home

just like our movie dogs play their role on set.

Bring him back to this mark and try again.

Come to your mark. Go to your mark.

OK.

Watch.

Pay the dog.

Good boy!

Good boy.

Ronnie's up next. He's rehearsing a different scene for today's shoot.

And action.

Head down. Leave.

Head down! Stay.

Ronnie looks like a seasoned pro. It's made him realise

training a dog isn't a chore.

It can be really fun. I mean, it's not all boring, dog training.

I hope when I get back with Bella, I can have a good time with her

and that she will learn because I am happy.

All right. Good boy!

At Paramount, you never know who you might bump into.

As Ronnie and Holly take a break on the lot,

the show's star, Eric Olsen, turns up for rehearsals.

He plays the dog's owner in the show and knows a thing or two about dogs.

I think one of the things that's so amazing about it

is that the structure that you bring to an animal

when you're in control and giving them set rules and guidelines

makes them more comfortable cos they understand where they,

what role they play in your life and in their own, which is great

cos if, you have, your dog has no understanding of your leadership,

it's, like, fending for itself. It becomes, like, a nomad of emotion.

I think that's the thing.

Everything is, like, slowly fitting into place for me.

I'm somebody that if I don't know where I stand, I can't handle that.

But it's the first time that I've actually realised it

and then my poor little dog doesn't know who its leader is,

it doesn't know not to pee on the carpet

because I don't tell it off for it. And it's kind of all slowly,

it's making me realise that how I've handled my dog is just so wrong

and I blame the dog but, actually, it's been me all the way along.

To show the Brits that small dogs like Bella and Alfie

can be just as well trained,

Chrissie introduces a famous Pomeranian.

This is Le Stat. Le Stat played a character

on a TV show, Heroes, for years. He played Mister Muggles.

And he's probably about the size of your little guys at home.

And like I said,

a lot of people think these little dogs can't be trained to do much

because they're just supposed to be little lap dogs.

But he's a wonderful... Le Stat, come here.

..wonderful little dog that knows lots and lots of stuff,

-especially where my bait bag is!

-Yeah.

-Stay.

OK, sit. On your feet. Sneeze.

Whoa! Sit. Beg.

All the way up.

Oh, my God.

Back up.

Jump, jump, jump, good!

Circle. Circle.

It is so cool to see, cos we've worked with big dogs the whole time

and a small dog kind of looks and acts completely different

although it's the same training. But it's really cool to see it

with this small... cos we've both got small dogs.

It's like, "We can do this."

It's Holly and Ronnie's last night in LA,

And they're spending it in style

with an all-American meal of corndogs.

Ah, it's wobbly, like...!

You've got to go for it! Watch out, cos it's quite warm inside.

Is it?

Do it.

I'm actually scared.

It's not long before they'll be back in the luxury of their own beds.

But until then...

Right...

-Night.

-Night.

-RONNIE BANGS HIS HEAD

-Oh, my God.

It's the Brits' final day. First, it's kennel duty.

I'm just lubing up the butt thermometer.

And just go ahead and stick it in, slowly.

Their biggest challenge of the week is coming up,

pulling together all the Hollywood dog training they've learnt so far.

A professional Hollywood cameraman is already setting up,

and in a couple of hours, the Brits will have to direct dogs

on the set of their own commercial.

So Ronnie, your job's going to be to have these dogs

get in their sit-stay as tight together as we can.

Holly, you come on over here and let him get them set, OK?

Today is going to be harder than anything they've done before

as they'll be working with untrained dogs, not highly skilled movie dogs.

-Stay, stay.

-Ah, ah. Correct him, correct him, he's...

Things are about to get a lot tougher.

Stay, stay.

It's just such a big responsibility. They're putting us in charge,

I don't want to mess it up for them.

Come on, say something, talk to him.

It is really important to get this right,

it's not just a bit of fun, it's kind of like this is serious now.

Randy was a Hollywood director

before getting into the dog business.

He's slipped back into the role very comfortably.

Can't impress upon you guys enough of how important it is

to really pull this off for us. Time to be professional.

OK, we've had some fun during this week,

but this is the time to get serious, all right?

This is the time to prove to us that you've been listening,

-you know what you're doing. OK?

-Yep.

The concept of the commercial is a tennis match

with dogs watching and catching balls.

Good, on your mark.

Rehearsal this morning was a bit,

you know, it wasn't as smooth as I was hoping it was going to be.

I'm a little nervous about it yet.

Get the shot and slate it.

Ranch spot. Scene one, take one.

-Action.

-Say watch.

-Stay, watch.

For this shot the Brits need to get the dogs

to watch a ball go back and forth as if they're watching a match.

We need to get hotter. More dead camera, dead on camera.

Ronnie has to get the dogs sitting on their marks.

-Come on, come on.

-OK, widen out again please.

-Stay.

-No, come on. Sit.

-Try the ball.

He's done it with well-trained movie dogs

but things are stepping up a gear.

Ah, ah, no! Stay.

See if you can get Whisky a little closer to the other dogs.

Whisky's too far away.

-Look at, look at Whisky and say stay.

-Stay.

Over more, Ronnie, stay closer. Pass it back and forth, play catch.

Guys, don't stop hot tossing that ball! Call their names.

Hunter, what's this?

Ah, ah, ah, ah, sit, sit.

Temperatures are soaring

and so is the pressure to get the shot in case the dogs overheat.

-Stay.

-Keep your patience.

-Watch.

Guys, let's pull 'em off for right now so it's not so hot,

and we're going to do this again, I think we got...

The dogs aren't the only ones getting hot under the collar.

Frustrated?

-Yeah.

-Really, really frustrated. It's, see...

-Ready to go, everybody?

-No.

-OK.

Erm, what happens is, every dog, every day is going to be different,

even throughout the day and that's where the frustration of movie dogs

come into play. You've got to remember, these aren't trained dogs

and part of what we need from you at home,

I think what Bella needs, is for you to be able to do these things.

And it's like, you know, "So what if it doesn't work.

-"I'm going to make it work somehow."

-Yeah. This is all...

I think it's just cos it's three dogs rather than one, and it's,

it's hard trying to watch three dogs at one time,

tell them what to do. Not only am I trying to do sit and stay,

I'm also trying to pass a ball and get them to look then sit and stay,

then pass the ball, get 'em to look,

and, sort of, three jobs in one, and three dogs in one.

Ronnie goes back for another take.

Stay. Watch.

Placement, ready and...action.

What's this?

Look. Sit. Sit.

Stay.

Finally his perseverance pays off and he gets the shot they need.

-Excellent. Excellent.

-Over here.

Perfect! Cut, that's perfect! Ronnie, good job!

Good boy.

I think I was getting a bit frustrated because there was,

or trying to do three dogs at once but I went away, cleared me head,

kept at it and even though I was getting frustrated,

I just kept thinking that I had to do it for Bella so I kept at it.

Ronnie, yay. Applause for Ronnie!

Yeah.

-Holly, guess who's up next?

-Me.

For this next sequence, Holly's on her own trying to get a dog

to catch and then drop tennis balls.

She's got to be determined to get these shots.

-You can bring him forward a little bit, that'd be great.

-Stay.

First she needs to get the dog to catch the ball.

-Ready, catch. Good boy, stay, stay.

-No problems.

Stay.

Now all she has to do is get the dog to miss the ball.

Sounds easy.

Background out, here we go, and action.

Ready, catch. Oh, sorry.

-That's great, we need that shot.

-Good boy, good boy.

-That's a wonderful shot.

-Come on then, come on then.

At first, failure is taken on the chin.

-Ready, catch.

-We got another one. You got plenty of catches here.

-Let's try and get a miss.

-I know.

But the dog continues to catch the ball.

Shoot! Catch!

Ready, catch!

Uh, fuck's sake! Good boy.

-Lob it right in front of him.

-Stay.

-Right in front of him. Here we go, and do it.

-Ready, catch.

-OK, we didn't, we didn't see it.

-You didn't see it?

-No.

The dog's out of position for the only good take

and Holly's patience runs out.

See, I can't see that so I don't know what you want me to do

and it's pissing me off.

-What's going on?

-I don't know what you want me to do, like I can't...

-Just toss it right over.

-You're doing fine, honey.

-Don't get frustrated here.

-Where's that coming from?

This is just annoying me.

-Hey.

-OK, come on over.

OK, so it's real important that you stay calm here.

I don't know what this agitation is, OK.

-I know it's frustrating...

-It's not the dog, it's you guys...

..let me finish. Look, let me finish, OK.

This is what you do at home with your dog...

-Yeah.

-..is you finally just, you get so frustrated you just give up.

You start pouting and turning into this little kid

who just doesn't get her way. OK, you've got to knock that off.

That is never going to work with your dog.

-Yeah.

-OK, that dog is going to roll you right over if you do that.

You've got to get the strength in you,

and, "I don't know what you want..." No.

"OK, I got it guys, I can do this."

OK? Let's do it, come on.

Can I have a ball? Sorry. Just one, thank you, thank you, thank you.

-Go.

-Ready.

Good, we got it. Perfect! Cut. That's it. Yay!

After regaining her determination,

Holly's succeeded, and the shot is in the can.

I guess I did go back to day one, but the difference was

it wasn't because of the dog this time, it was because of me.

I do hate that about me. Like it's cringe, it's pathetic.

That's something that I've got to change.

Slate it.

There's just one last easy scene to go.

And, action!

Both the Brits know they've come a long way in just one week.

Cut, that's perfect.

It's a wrap.

Give me a hug, you did it. You really did it.

Both of you guys. I am so proud of you guys.

That was really a lot of work.

This part of the Brits' Hollywood dogs experience is almost at an end.

I just think it's been all round, just an amazing journey.

I've came here, I've learnt so much off Randy and Joe

and I've done things that I never thought I'd do

like going to Universal Studios, Paramount Studios,

working with movie star dogs and it's just been absolutely amazing.

I guess there have been, like, complete highs and lows

and I didn't think coming out here

would make me feel like I have out here.

It's made us realise that the dog just wants love

and to have fun. And she wants a purpose, really.

It's not really the dog's fault. It's my fault as an owner

for not training her and giving her the sort of love that she needs.

This is it, I guess.

Bummer, this is what I hate.

It's taken me to come all the way out here

to see what was on my doorstep

and the fact that I had people telling me

how badly behaved Alfie was, and I knew it was creating a rift

but it's actually taken me to come out to LA

to see it and make me really want to change it.

Now remember, Bella is no longer the boss in that house. You are, OK?

-Yeah.

-All right.

And I want you to remember when you go home to Alfie,

don't get upset too easy, please.

-Yeah. I'll try.

-OK, OK. Safe trip home, OK?

-Thanks guys.

-Thank you.

-Oh, I hate saying goodbye to people.

With their Californian dream over,

they're heading home to face new challenges ahead.

Come on.

In South Shields, Ronnie and Bella finally agree on who's in charge.

Ah, ah, leave.

She's seen that, that I am a bit more strict with her,

but I am loving still.

But she knows who I am, she knows I'm the leader in the house.

Go on, then. Good girl.

And the way Bella's responded to him has been amazing.

Ah, ah, ah. No. Good sit.

It's just such a change in her this last sort of two, three weeks.

She's been so good.

Even the house is smelling fresher.

Nice. Right next to the bin, which is good.

We've only been out here two seconds and she's had a poo.

She could have done it in the house but she's chose not to.

Now Bella no longer craves constant attention

the couple are finally able to move forwards.

Because she's being good, me and Hayley are fantastic now

and we don't argue, we don't bicker

and we can see a future now and we are talking about kids.

He's changed. He's more determined and positive about the future.

It's, it's a happy household now. It's a home.

The three of us are really happy.

Good girl.

In Oxfordshire, Hollywood's rubbing off on Alfie

and Holly's training a little star in the making.

Stay. Come. Good boy!

Sit. Down. Play dead.

It's nice having a dog that actually kind of wants to be with me

cos he respects me and not because he thinks I'm an idiot

and takes me for a ride.

Alfie hanging on Holly's every word means no more headaches for Mum.

No little poo parcels underneath the pool table, nothing by the piano.

I've checked believe me, I've checked.

Stay, good boy.

I think with my mum, she can see

that I am actually for once trying to do something about Alfie.

Stay.

That helps as well cos I've got her on my side now.

Come. Good boy.

The stress that was created when she first came home with a dog

doesn't bear thinking about now. It's almost like when you've had a baby.

You forget the pain because it's gone and things are a lot calmer.

Holly's even looking with a friend for a new place to live.

-Ohh.

-Ah that's really good for Alfie.

-Yeah.

I'm excited to get my new place with Alfie

and carry on training him there cos that'll be different for him.

He'll be in a different environment but, no, things are looking up.

Alfie! Hello! Good boy.

Alfie, do you like this house? D'you want to live here, Alf?

-I think he likes it.

-Oh yeah.

Next time, two clueless British dog owners

face the deep freeze in Alaska.

They'll race some of the most powerful dogs on Earth.

That's amazing.

But will they be left out in the cold?

-Don't ever, ever let that go! Those are MY dogs!

-OK.

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