Monster German Shepherd: Ben | Full Episode | It's Me or the Dog

dogs man's best friend been loyal loving and devoted but not been he's a growling snarling barking beast and he's holding the whole house to ransom Ben's aggression is dividing the whole family and - and things have come to a head if anyone can help its Victoria still she's been training uncontrollable canines for over ten years and she knows a thing or two about dominant dogs but getting lightweight lends to take charge so stood already might pose more of a problem I want you to look like that [Music] this is the heart family from Stevenage there's grandma pan mum Yvonne dadless and their four children Carly's Daryl Claire and Lacey and this is Ben a four year old German Shepherd a Christmas gift from Yvonne to her husband puppy dog couldn't have been cuter it's actually really show I didn't do anything didn't move so we did sort of fall in love because we thought it was very very timid but unbeknown to the family Ben came with problems and he soon developed a split personality perfectly behaved when layers is at work but when his master gets home he turns into an aggressive monster daughters Carly and Claire are literally running scared and have become prisoners in their own home I've got a common solution to overly aggressive dogs is castration but in Ben's case it's made no difference his fearsome behavior means guests have been driven away and when Claire's boyfriend Andrew Braves a visit really edgy because everywhere you go you can guarantee he's gonna be standing there watching you but it's not just a case of Ben's bark being worse than his bite we was having a bit of a row and he was getting a bit excited and barking a net and she was pointing a finger at me and he actually nipped her on them on the backside I was very frightened because I've never been bitten by a dog and to have our own dog bite me it was a bit Oh could he do this to one of the children or could he do it to somebody outside despite his unfriendly welcome granny is one of the few visitors who's not intimidated I get on very well with Ben he has his moods some days he's okay and another day shall be all over the place and lays and his dog have an unbreakable bond he loves me to bits and he's he wants to be with me all the while he gets upset if I go out sorry I think we have we have a good relationship German Shepherds do have a very strong protective instinct and can be prone to over guarding they're ranked in the top three most intelligent breeds so they make excellent police dogs and guide dogs for the blind the breed is over a hundred years old and originated from German herding dogs they're known for their tremendous courage and loyalty and with proper training and strong leadership they make ideal family pets but Ben is far from ideal his hostility has split the Hart family right down the middle those for him and those against they do need a family dog not a dog that's going to be biting them the one says if he actually did do any damage to someone then she wouldn't make it make sure he was put down if anyone can help its Victoria still no she's turned even the most ferocious of dogs around [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] as soon as Victoria arrives she's on the receiving end of Ben's aggression so I bet you have a lot of visitors coming to your house when granny pops round Ben still doesn't let up nanny that's quite a greeting can we just see what liz is doing right now giving him a nice stroke Liz yes telling him granny good boy oh love you and I I'm gonna be watching every single movement you do upstairs Victoria sees how Ben blocks Carly's every move around the house to you all the time you come up I could not live in an environment like this what is life like living with Ben do you have a shout at him do you ever run away from him do you ever scream at him run I scream I shall I do oh okay I spend all time in my room never downstairs yeah come in straight from where I come Shay up here when les goes out Ben reveals the gentler side to his Jekyll and Hyde personality okay do you mind getting up and just no around for me to see there with this hmm normal dog something you'll come up so you know not to be aggressive at you right so I've got the perfect solution let's move out les moves it is but when les returns Ben is back to his bad old self I think the situation is more out of control layers resorts to shutting Ben in his cage it's much too big for cage this size much too big he's cramped in there and so this confined feeling obviously affects their ability to act naturally and it makes them more anxious can you let him out the cage now get him out I didn't like seeing I don't like seeing Victoria needs to find out more about how less controls been she pulls Yvonne to one side to try to get a clearer picture because he isn't an aggressive person himself and he doesn't he just doesn't have the power to sort of like be really firm with him and I the dog like sense is that maybe he's protecting the weaker one in the household I can't believe that this man has let the situation go on for as long as it has without dealing with it when is he going to wake up and see that he is a major part of the problem it's time for Victoria to give layers and evolve a few home truths why do you think Ben is behaving in the way that he does I think it's just protective of my only enemy I see and why do you think he's protective of you the thing is if you look at his body language he spends a lot of the time crouched head down yeah that is not the stance of a confident dog that is the stance of a defensive dog why is he being defensive is he defending his most powerful resource his most valuable resource which is less is he defending I think that he is defending but it's also because less does everything that he feels he does have to protect him yeah less you have to behave more like a number one you now have to become much tougher but at the same time if on you now have to step in and take a much bigger role yeah in Ben's life yeah it's extremely serious I have some photographs here of what can happen when a dog bites now the bikes that happened here the people didn't think that their dogs were capable of biting like this and that's why the situation is scary you can't tell we've been worried he would actually go further and I obviously hope you wouldn't what just can't take that child or not lie to myself and think to myself no you'd never do that because know something you never know the next morning Victoria takes layers and Devon to a police dog training centre to show them how obedient German Shepherds can be when properly trained first pit this is a perfect example of how wonderful these dogs are you can stroke it now but then when it's working you'll see how this aggressive response is turned on leave Ben Ben's like that now but he's got no control no you've got no control each officer has total 100% control over this dog this kind of training boundaries structure this is what Ben needs before training begins Victoria gathers the divided family together new house rules rule number one don't stare at them if I'm staring at you that's threatening it's threatening for humans to stare at each other but it's also threatening for dogs to be stared at number two don't run near him he's a predator he's predisposed to chase number three keep your movements slow and fluid if you react slowly and you move slowly he has less to react against number four keep your voices down number five if Ben is still aggressive send out pacifying signals stop whatever you're doing turn your back a little bit fold your arms look away from him and then began to concentrate on other things and move slowly away from him Victoria's first challenge is to put the new rules into practice armed with small pieces of chicken she begins with a softly softly approach say I want to move over there I'm going to get this treat and throw it over there and then move that gives them a good distraction and doesn't make him react to me so get up off the sofa this technique will give them more fearful family members the confidence to move freely around the house now he's seen you Carly Chuck the piece of treat don't look in that's it and move very good then we'll learn to associate their movements with something positive and leave them alone that's alright don't be scared right Claire I want you to do exactly the same thing okay that's it just very slowly that's it get up he wasn't looking at you anyway so that's good all right now throw a piece low throw a piece of thing to him now he's interested in you but not because of being aggressive because he wants food very good class eventually you'll be able to move around without giving him treats and that's what you've got to achieve you look like a scared rabbit but it's brilliant for the girls it's a small but significant step in the right direction but for training to commence in earnest shut the door right now liz is gonna have to shape up and get with the program [Music] getting Ben to obey the girls commands will mean no more hiding out in their rooms but he's it is worse when les is around so to give the girls a fighting chance dad gets his marching orders good boy stay Victoria has shown the girls how to distract Ben from bullying them now that they're more confident it's time to make them obey them I want you to be quite authoritative stay move back don't keep your eyes on him don't back away like a Frightened Rabbit sit stay stay you've got to be more assertive with your voice very non emotional but direct stay stay lovely alright does it feel stupid doing that really yeah when I tell you it really makes a difference stay good that's it keeps reinforcing this day the quite sort of a that's it good boy very good girls have you noticed a change in him yeah why do you think it's come about the whole attitude obviously everything that we've been doing with him wasn't for Carlene Claire need to realise that they're making progress and once they believe the training works that will make them more confident with eventually Victoria allows layers back inside but as soon as he's back Ben returns to his aggressive wings amazing it is a different dog when les is in the house okay then leave it Victoria needs to break this overprotective relationship between layers and Ben get up out the room shut the door right now move move shut the door go out go out and shut the door yep by sending less out whilst Ben is still barking he'll get the message that les doesn't approve of this aggressive behavior Kailas come back in don't say anything to him to greet him nothing just ignore him get up go to the other sofa ignore him don't look at him his behavior when you're not here is exemplary he does hardly aggressors at anybody then as soon as you come back it's out the window the more he's values your attention the less he's gonna respond to everybody around you so you are gonna take a step right back what I'm doing here is I am devaluing you now how do you feel about what I've just said demoted trust me okay yeah get out out the room with lares relegated to the back seat Victoria wants to strengthen Yvonne's position by giving her control of Ben's main source of pleasure in life from now on I want you to feed him he's more likely to respect you and therefore he's more likely to respond to you yeah good the reason why you become the main feeder is that we have to raise you in value in Ben's eyes [Music] there's this lack of control over them is seriously unimpressive Victoria needs to toughen him up this time it's Ben's turn to leave the room your vocal commands and your physical commands need to be very very clear this is how it is you ask him to sit sit doesn't do it oh sit sit good boy good boy down down dand good boy stand confuse him go back and excite him good boy that's it takes him a lot it's an effort yeah more excitement more excitement that's it Stanley I think you're going to have to work extra special hard to energize him sit good boy down after just an hour with Victoria les has been obeying a string of four commands for the very first time good boy stand good boy yes des he's on a roll finally Victoria can tackle Ben's frightening displays of aggression if he goes for somebody you put your body right in the way with an AH you get his eye contact and I want you to look like that my contact break that eye contact by getting Ben to look it in layers is able to take back control of the situation and assert his newfound Authority for the next couple of days you're the person that is going to take control of this dog but we need him to have a confident leader too exhausted already mm-hmm Victoria wants to put lasers control to the test she gets benzyl enemy Claire's boyfriend Andrew to come to the door I want you to make him sit and stay in the sitting room whilst you go all the way down the hallway open the door and let the person in stai come stai die die go back to him put him into a sickness day again six using an authoritative tone and a clear command layers it's working hard at keeping them at bay stai ven is no longer your protector you are Ben's protector and you say who comes in the house and not Ben and by the time granny comes round less his practice pays off he's got the upper hand and Ben knows it stai there's a good boy good boy good boy wow wow wow wow wow how did that feel this good Ben's role in this house is slowly changing and as it does he will become less protective of less however the family have to keep on with the techniques that I've given them otherwise things will never change if you've got a dog and think seriously roost be confident and authoritative at all times stay stay good if your dog displays aggression use distraction to refocus his attention your body right in the way with an and finally never let your dog forget who's the boss leave it if it's clear who's number one in the relationship he'll be a happier and more relaxed member of the family two weeks later Victoria's back to see how the hearts are getting on it's immediately clear that Nez is in control good boy very good honey Tennyson no he actually getting more forceful with him granny used to get a rough reception but now a docile Ben doesn't even react to her movements very good the girls were being terrorized but a more confident approach from Carly and Claire has put an end to Ben's bullying very good brilliant boy the way things have been going I think he probably could be a nice pet he's a lot more obedient now to what he was things are a lot better it's taking a lot of bravery to get here you know but you've done it I'm really proud Ben is responding to letters newfound Authority suit okay let's just letting his voice be known a bit more around the house a bit more stronger voiced it was before stand that was much more assertive [Music] it's really wonderful to see the family playing with been like this and this is what their needs they've made real progress but they need to continue to work really hard to keep them going in the right direction [Music]

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Rating: 4.8834586 out of 5

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Id: UIgUAw_EXvU

Length: 22min 55sec (1375 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 15 2019