Call home. Today one dog will be saved, and one family will have a new best friend. This is lucky dog. Narrator over the course of his life, Brandon Mcmillan has rescued many shelter dogs, giving them a Second Chance and a forever home, but preparing them for their new family rarely follows a set training path. More often than not, its a dogs personal obstacles that dictate the course. In coras case, that obstacle was age. At eight years old, this dobey mix was being overlooked in favor of younger dogs. Luckily, brandon saw her potential and found a promising owner in nikki, a paddleboard enthusiast specifically looking for a senior dog. Nikki i just feel like those dogs are the ones that get passed up the most, and just my heart kind of goes out to them. Brandon she lives right by the beach, and she loves standup paddleboarding. When she told me this, the first thing that clicked in my head was wouldnt that be awesome if i can train her a dog to standup paddleboard with her. Normally, i wouldnt even think about training most dogs for standup paddleboarding, especially a senior dog, but cora is much different. She has a heavy work drive. Shes eager to please. Narrator coras training starts off at the canine gym and rehabilitation center. Brandon the first thing i want to do is just get her used to the board. So i put the board on the ground right by the pool. Then i rock it slowly. Just a little bit of rocking motion, see . She understands the rocks are not going to hurt her. Its just the way the board moves. Nothing frightens you, huh . The next step in the process was to put the board in the pool. Narrator brandon starts off by securing the board to the edge of the pool. Brandon i want her to feel like that board is on solid ground. There you go. Look at that, nice all the way. All the way, good you get one of these, good, good. Narrator once cora gets stable, brandon guides the board through the water. Brandon this is the trickiest part to teach her, because i had to teach her not to fight the water, but go with it. She has to feel the rocks, feel the motion. Watch, were going to turn. Were going to turn, see . Cora did great at the pool, but thats a very controlled environment. Now its time to take it up another level. Im taking her to a lake, which is an openwater environment, a lot more elements to deal with, and to top it all off, were going to be on the board together. This will be her ultimate test. If she can prove to me that she can handle this, shes ready to go paddleboarding with nikki. Narrator brandon starts by securing the board to the dock. Brandon and as i was stabilizing the board, she just decides to jump right on the board. That told me everything. It told me that shes a little adventure seeker. She wanted to do this. She wants to have fun. So paddleboarding we go. Narrator before they push off, brandon puts cora through a quick review. Brandon i rock the board a little bit, and it didnt even faze her. She stood her ground, so thats it. We set sail. I started paddling the board right to the middle of the lake. I was doing very slow paddles, watching her the whole time, seeing what her body language is. Again, i dont want her to be afraid of this, and then when the moment was right, i decided to stand up; and as i started standing up, the board starts wobbling, and instantly cora dropped her body posture. She corrected herself. That told me everything i needed to know right there. Cora understands the whole theory of stabilizing herself now. Narrator while some dogs master the doggy paddle, few get a chance at the paddleboard, and for cora, the helm is exactly where she was born to be. Brandon i could tell she loved it for two reasons, number one, the smile on her face, and number two, the wag on her tail. The best part about this whole scenario, it wasnt the paddleboarding. It was the fact that when we got back to the dock, she literally tackled me with kisses. That right there showed her gratitude. That made me happy. Was that fun . In fact, it made me so happy, that i gave her, her green collar. Come on, youve got a new mom waiting for you. Come on. Narrator coming up. Brandon this dog has absolutely zero training. Narrator . How inexperience leads one schnauzer puppys training off the beaten path. Brandon taking a dog camping is a big responsibility. Narrator puppies never fail to turn on the charm. Their youthful exuberance is infectious, and because they lack the complex history of older dogs, prospective owners find them desirable, but youth often translates into inexperience. Such was the case with cleo. Brandon cleos lack of training is obviously a testament to her age. Shes a fivemonthold puppy. The one thing you can always guarantee with puppies is they have a lot of energy. Do you know a down . Narrator and rarely any obedience. Brandon im starting pretty much ground zero with this dog. Narrator and spoton obedience is exactly what cleo will need in her new home with the knight family. Brandon you want to take your dog hiking and camping . Brandy yeah, absolutely, because i look at the dog as an extension of our family, and so its really important to be able to bring her with us, whatever we do. Brandon it sounds easy on paper, but taking a dog camping is a big responsibility, and it also takes a lot of training. Narrator not to mention a strong stomach. Brandon a campsite is full of food, which is very attractive to a dog. If i were to take cleo to a campsite right now, its almost a guarantee she would pretty much eat everything in sight. Narrator so brandon tests cleos taste for trouble. Brandon i spread an entire buffet across a picnic table. Whats up here . When she found out the food was up there, she was trying to figure out every which way to get up there. I gave her a no command, and she respected it. She stopped, but just for a few seconds until she tries to find another way up there. Ah, ah, ah, no, no, human food, for humans only. Narrator cleo quickly loses her appetite, but confirming cleos obedience requires an ultimate challenge. Brandon ill be setting up a makeshift campsite. It will be a basic replica of all the obstacles a real campsite has to offer. See that . See that . Yeah, yeah, i know, good stuff, huh . This test will tell me if shes truly ready to go camping with her new family. Brandon you stay right there. What do we do . Narrator cleo shows restraint. Brandon shes doing very well with me right in front of her. The real test is can i walk away and be 100 sure that she will not eat that food. Narrator brandon puts cleo on a stay and backs away. Brandon first i decide im going to hold her for one minute. One minute turns into two. That goes to three, and eventually we hit the fiveminute mark. She didnt even look at that food. Cleo, come here. Come on. Come on. There you go, good, good, good, nice guess what that means . It means we are doing a wardrobe change. She earned her stripes. She got her green collar. Try it on. How does that feel . Look at that, much better, right . Come on, youve got a family waiting for you. Narrator coming up. Brandon youre a timid one, arent you . Narrator . A shy chihuahua mix steps from the shadows. Brandon you dont trust me yet, do you . Narrator . And learns the value of trust. Brandon before i start any training, i have to earn his trust. Narrator if you are 18 or older looking to adopt a dog in the l. A. Area and want to be on the show, write to us at cbsluckydog gmail. Com. An organizer of, of, like dogooders. A media mogul. Just. Rule the world. When im older, i want to be anything but the one that doesnt fit in. The one that people dont love. Everyone deserves a dream. Everyone. But some of us feel depressed, anxious, angry, and do things that others think arent normal. If thats you, say something. People people will listen. Add your voice at. Narrator the life of a shelter dog can be one of uncertainty, insecurity, and distrust. Brandon youre a timid one, arent you . Narrator . Especially in a young dog like shadow, whose short life was spent bouncing from shelter to shelter. Brandon you want that . He really had no interest in anything i offered him. I was petting him. He really didnt care. He said no to food. This right here is a trust issue. You dont trust me yet, do you . Before i start any training, i have to earn his trust. I have to show him that im his friend, not his enemy. Narrator brandon forgoes training in favor of some good Old Fashioned bonding. Brandon day after day, i would wait shadow out. Every day, he would show a little more promise, and then out of nowhere, we had the breakthrough moment. Hello there. He allowed me to pick him up. Thank you. Ive been waiting a long time for one of those. Narrator brandon is able to earn shadows trust, but getting shadow to extend that trust to potential owner gary is a bigger challenge. Luckily, brandon knows the best way to a dogs heart is through its nose. Brandon dogs, they use their nose for everything. Thats how they shake hands. I decided to go for an old technique. I call it positive Scent Association. I have the new potential owner, gary, wear a tshirt for a couple days, and what this does, it gets his scent all over the tshirt. Everything shadow does from here on out at the lucky dog ranch will be with that tshirt, whether hes sleeping, playing, eating, this tshirt will be the dogs everything. So when he does meet gary, he will have a positive experience. Trust me, youre going to like this tshirt pretty soon. Narrator when training is complete, brandon puts shadows Scent Association to the test. Brandon im bringing shadow over to garys house so they can meet each other for the first time, and its either going to go really well or really bad. Gary oh, brandon, hello. Brandon hey, gary. Gary this must be shadow. Brandon this is shadow. Usually when a family meets a dog for the first time, and they can pet the dog and hug it and do whatever they want, but in the case of shadow and gary, its a little bit different. Narrator this union requires a more formal introduction. Brandon shadow doesnt realize that hes right in front of one of the most positive experiences hes ever had. He just has to simply make the connection between his nose and the scent. So gary, what i want you to do is just put your hand out. Let him sniff you. He needs to recognize your scent. Its going to click in any minute. He knows your scent. Hes been smelling it for a long time now. He just has to make the connection. At first, shadow was simply looking at me. He wasnt relying on his nose. Narrator and then the moment of recognition. Gary hey, there. Brandon shadow turned around and started kissing gary right on the nose. Gary he did seem to recognize me, so i was excited about that. Good boy. Brandon what took me a long time to gain shadows trust, it took gary only minutes. Bet you didnt think a shirt could do that, huh . Gary i had no idea. Brandon thats the power of a dogs nose. Narrator coming up. Woman come on, jasmine. Narrator . A subtle limp leads to a devastating diagnosis. Dr. Clark its a torn acl. She definitely needs surgery. College, oh my goodness. I like discovering new things. You get to see what works for you and what doesnt. That helps you evolve as a person. And you get to make like a supernova of skill or talent or whatever it is. Ive always wanted to go to college. I just feel like that is my destiny. My name is queen, and i am your dividend. Narrator after suffering a leg injury, jasmine was surrendered to the shelter by her former owner. Despite her sweet disposition, her leg injury was handicapping her ability to get adopted until brandon stepped in. Dr. Nardi come on, jasmine. We definitely have a cruciate injury. I believe the ligament is torn. Typically what we do in these instances is the pets require surgery. So im going to send you to our specialist for sure, but before that, i think we should take some xrays. I just want to assess to make sure her hips are in line, her knees look okay, theres no fluid building up around the joint. Brandon okay. Narrator the next morning, brandon meets with Board Certified general practitioner dr. David clark to go over jasmines test results. Dr. Clark so her xrays pretty well confirm that its a torn acl. Cruciate ligaments, i dont know if you know about them, but theyre ligaments inside the knee, and what they do is they keep those bones from moving back and forth. When the dog stands, keeps them steady. That joint is unstable, and when she bears weight, those bones are moving in an abnormal way. Brandon so whats the next step in the process . Dr. Clark she definitely needs surgery. We can get her in tomorrow morning. We need to get this done just as soon as we can, because she is in pain. Brandon absolutely, if its got to be done. Dr. Clark okay. Brandon i wish she didnt have to go into surgery, but at least we caught the problem in time for us to fix it. Narrator the next day, brandon arrives for jasmines surgery. Woman well go ahead and have you wait out here. Its going to be a couple hours. Brandon see you soon, jasmine. Woman lets go, mama. Brandon so now jasmine is in surgery, and i know shes getting the best care possible, but still, things like this are never easy with a dog you care about. Dr. Clark so jasmine is waking up, and i think everything went really well. She was a good patient. Surgery went as expected. I think that the joint felt really stable when we got done. Brandon yeah. Dr. Clark these first two weeks, i want you to just she needs to hang out in the house. The next two days, i want you to use an icepack, and then after that for about four or five days, put a put a hot pack on it. Give it a few minutes, and then gently flex and extend the leg so that we keep that joint loose. Brandon how long is the whole recovery . Dr. Clark probably six to eight weeks. Narrator eight weeks later, jasmine is as good as new. Not only does she excel at the common commands, but she proves to brandon that she is the perfect companion for jake, a young man who had spent his own life overcoming physical adversity. Brandon it was a long wait for jake to get jasmine. There were a lot of hurdles along the way. Brandon hi, there. Jill hi, there, how are you . Brandon how are you . Jill im doing great. Brandon somebody wants to meet jake. Jill oh, look. Hey. Brandon when jake first saw jasmine, he ran up to her and just said the words princess jasmine. Jake princess jasmine. Brandon say hi to your dog, jake. Jake hi. Jill hi, sweetie. Jake princess jasmine. Brandon we were all sitting on the living room floor, and jake couldnt give her enough love. He couldnt give her enough affection. It was the missing piece of the puzzle in jakes life. In the end, i couldnt really picture a more perfect pair for each other. Jake, shes your dog now. Take care of her. Jake thank you. Brandon thank you. Jake thank you. Brandon goodbye, jazz. Narrator coming up. Brandon hey, what was that . Narrator plutos Natural Instincts get him into hot water. Brandon nobody wants a marking dog. Nouncer we w be right back after this message. Brandon pluto, come on. Narrator dogs rely on their natural tendencies in social situations and for survival, but without formal training, these instincts can occasionally spiral into bad habits. Such was the case with a threeyearold tibetan terrier mix named pluto. Brandon hey, what was that . Is that you, huh . Is that the kind of manners you have in a house . To a dog, marking is 100 natural behavior outside. When they bring that territory marking indoors, now it becomes a bad habit. Narrator and alleviating it will require a bit of reverse psychology. Brandon i take the leash, and i tie it around the leg of the table right where he marked, and i leave just enough slack where he can stand up and lie down only. So if he wants to mark that area, if he likes it so much, now he gets to stand next to it. There, why dont you take some time to think about that . Narrator plutos behavior earns him a 20minute timeout. Brandon you learn your lesson . Yeah, its no fun, huh . Narrator but old habits die hard. Brandon about 15 minutes later, lo and behold, pluto once again lifts his leg, so once again i repeat the process, 20 more minutes tethered. Narrator a habit like this can be a deal breaker, especially for a deal maker like potential owner colleen. Brandon colleen is a real estate agent. She plans on taking pluto to all these open houses. If pluto has a bad marking problem, hes going to ruin deals for her left and right. Narrator brandon spends the week reinforcing plutos mark training and even tests him by leaving him alone inside the ranch. Brandon pluto did a great job. He passed the test, but the real test is to see how hell do at colleens open house. Colleen im a little bit nervous about pluto, because we are looking at a property thats close to the twomilliondollar range, so weve got a certain clientele that weve invited to this open house. Brandon go on, have a sniff, explore. Look, all kinds of stuff to mark on. Youd better not do it. Narrator it isnt long before plutos test hits critical mass. Brandon uhoh, carpet. Carpet, the game changer. As we walk into the master bedroom, i notice the floor had a lot of evidence of another dog that was once here. Yeah, i see you sniffing. If theres one reason a dog will ever mark, its to mark over another dogs old marking, and he had every opportunity to show his old bad habits, but he moved on. Narrator pluto shows remarkable restraint, and not only that, he engages the clientele. Colleen thanks for coming in. Man thank you. Colleen my dog, pluto, is here. Woman hi, pluto. Colleen he is very friendly. Man he is. Colleen yes, hes super friendly. Woman hi, there, honey. Oh, hes so sweet. Colleen isnt he . Woman 2 does he come with the house . Brandon as the day went on, colleen showed new potential buyers the house, and pluto tagged along like he owned the place. Narrator by the end of the day, everyone seems delighted by plutos charms, most importantly, colleen. Colleen i thought he was great. He really came up to a lot of the people, and they felt at ease, and thats exactly what i was hoping for. Hes a great partner. Brandon and most importantly, i didnt see him mark once. Colleen thats awesome. Brandon im so happy, i think he gets one of these. Colleen so hes graduating, fantastic. Brandon he is graduating. Colleen fantastic. Narrator like his classmates at lucky dog ranch, pluto earns his green collar, a symbol of achievement and a reminder that a dogs age, skill level, past, and physical limitations need not be obstacles in training, but rather stepping stones to a brighter future. Brandon from hopeless to a home, thats my narrator on this episode of dr. Chris, pet vet, a game of chase turns ugly for little hooligan. Sarah she immediately started crying and screaming, and it was awful. Dr. Chimes okay . Narrator lisa cant cope when her puppy becomes a patient. Dr. Chimes its quite pathetic, because i lose all sense of being a vet. I become a neurotic mother. Narrator and chris comes up with a radical treatment for squashed sydney. Chris seems to be drastic, but often the drastic works. Ive loved animals my entire life. Today im a passionate veterinarian dedicating myself to the care of all animals. Im dr. Chris, and these are the stories of my life as a pet vet. How are you doing . Sarah hello. Chris do you want to come straight through . Sarah yes, please. Thank yo