Scales Of Success Podcast

#20 - The Dog Training Myth: Why You’re Getting It Wrong with Brandon Fouché

• Marcus Arredondo

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Why do some dogs become aggressive while others stay calm? Is it training or something more profound? In today’s episode, host Marcus Arredondo talks with dog rehabilitator Brandon Fouché, who challenges common beliefs about dog behavior. Brandon shares how a childhood dog attack shaped his views, why traditional training often fails, and how human fear affects pets. Together, they explore leadership, instinct, and the lessons nature teaches through wolves, horses, and dogs. Whether you’re a dog owner or just curious, this episode will change how you see your pet.

Brandon Fouché is a canine behavior specialist who helps aggressive and misunderstood dogs find balance. His Fouché Way focuses on instinct, emotion, and pack dynamics—moving beyond obedience training. For nearly 30 years, he’s rehabilitated “dead dogs walking” at his Los Angeles center, proving no dog is beyond help. Through his “Brandon Speaks Dog” series and consultations, he teaches owners to lead with confidence, keeping more dogs out of shelters and in loving homes.

Reach out to Brandon Fouché:
Website: https://www.brandonfouche.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FoucheWay
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foucheway/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BrandonFouche 

Episode highlights:
(0:00) Intro
(1:33) Nature Vs. Nurture in dog aggression
(8:42) The truth about dog training
(10:36) Dogs Vs. Humans: Emotional differences
(12:41) Why aggression is a natural form of communication
(16:43) They say what they don’t like
(20:05) How human fears create aggressive dogs
(24:13) Common training mistakes
(29:42) We are all self-made
(33:09) Genetic and learned behaviors
(37:41) Dominance hierarchy
(47:34) The myth of training: What actually works
(53:43) Brandon’s work with wolves and horses
(1:03:56) Teaching people, not just dogs
(1:13:19) Embracing truth and living in the moment
(1:17:06) Outro

Connect with Marcus


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Note: The transcript was generated by AI and may contain errors.

Brandon Fouché: 0:00

but we've gotten bamboozled and tricked in this whole society of working with dogs because we think that we need to tell them that they're a good dog and you're a good boy, but they're not in pursuit of that. So we're off, right, there, right. And most of the behavioral issues that we have with dog have to do with hormones, pheromones, testosterone, not sit, stay, come, heal down.

Marcus Arredondo: 0:23

Today's guest is Brandon Foucher, a lifelong entrepreneur who found his calling rehabilitating aggressive canines which emerged after being attacked by a police dog in his youth. Brandon specializes in saving what many refer to as dead dogs walking from euthanasia. By placing a focus on both dogs and owners, he disabuses the misconception that dogs are either good or bad, but instead operate in their nature, craving structure over affection. Brandon explains how our fears directly influence our dog's behavior, while canine connections offer insights into human psychology. Having worked with Brandon personally after adopting an aggressive rescue, I've witnessed his transformative methods firsthand. Experience the Fouché way and you'll never see relationships with dogs or people the same way again. Let's start the show, brandon Fouché. Thank you so much for being on Welcome.

Brandon Fouché: 1:11

Very exciting to be here.

Marcus Arredondo: 1:13

I want to dive in because, as a dog rehabilitator a two-decade-plus successful dog rehabilitator you got into it because you got mauled and I just want to dive right into that and if you can share what that experience was like. And then I've got a bunch of questions about it.

Brandon Fouché: 1:33

Right? Yeah, I actually got involved with this. When you get to a point in your life when you try to decide what it is you want to do, which direction you want to go, after you've been going in one direction. So I chose something that I remembered as a child that I loved. It just so happens that I got bit during that time. But that's not actually how I got involved with this. It's just that I love dogs. Okay, I love dogs, and I went back to something that I love. But how can I become successful at it? Well, I didn't worry about that. I said I just want to do something that I love. I want dogs because I hadn't had a dog since then.

Marcus Arredondo: 2:15

How old were you when this happened?

Brandon Fouché: 2:17

Probably around nine, eight, and when I thought about that I said, okay, I'm going to go back into dogs. And what is it that I was most familiar with dogs, other than love, was the bite. There's a reason that dogs bite, right, we call this nature versus nurture, genetic behaviors versus learned behaviors. And that particular dog that bit me was a well-trained I don't know if we could say well-trained, but I was in the wrong but it was a police dog. What happened? Well, my father had gotten me a little dog. In the beginning I had a little copper spaniel and I loved that little dog. First dog I ever had, you know, especially me a little dog. I, in the beginning I had a little copper Spaniel and I loved that little dog. First daughter ever had, you know, especially for a little kid a dog jumping up, licking you. Sure, it's almost like you're an adult when you have a dog, because it's something you have to take care of.

Brandon Fouché: 3:17

But my, I was staying with my grandfather at the time and they didn't believe in having dogs. So they told me that my dog had ran away. They got rid of the dog and I was devastated. But one of my friends said that we have a dog and I said really I want to see the dog. So he takes me over to his house and we go to the backyard and I'm like what is this thing? I had never seen a German shepherd before right, a big dog like that. And he said that's a German shepherd and I froze and they pushed me in the yard and he did what he was supposed to do he grabbed me, shook me, drug me around that yard. He broke his tooth off in my leg and that's how it happened. Just kids fooling around, kids being kids.

Brandon Fouché: 4:06

Now, the beautiful thing about it, when we talk about nature versus nurture, is that this was a trained attack dog. So what they do is they bite and they hold on and shake. But when you stop moving, that's when they stop biting. But I stopped moving after he had drugged me around. I passed out. That's when he stopped. So I don't even know what happened after. You know, I just remember looking up through the trees and I could see the sun shining through the trees, right, the light coming through, and that's all I remember. Yeah, so what was?

Marcus Arredondo: 4:48

what was your take on dogs after that? I mean, is it fair to say that you were terrorized?

Brandon Fouché: 4:53

Well, you know, I remember. I remember getting into the ambulance and it seems like I passed out again. And then we got in, we're in the doctor's office and I remember him talking to my auntie because she's the one who brought me and he said he's probably always be afraid of dogs and you should probably get him some therapy. That's the part I remember. And they said, well, what's going to happen with this dog? And they said, well, I don't know. Usually they probably put the dog down, and that's what they did. They put the dog down, but that's all I really remember. They're going to put him down and I felt bad because I was the one who went there, right? So I'm looking how can I help this dog? This is what I'm thinking and that's what happened. They put him down and that was the end of that and life went on.

Marcus Arredondo: 5:47

How long were you afraid of dogs after that?

Brandon Fouché: 5:50

I can't say that I was really afraid of dogs because you have to remember, my first experience was the love, the love of the pond. That's what connected me to dogs. And then I got bit by a dog. So I'm confused between the love and the fear, right, but the love was so great that it covered the fear, so I wasn't afraid. I just didn't seek out dogs anymore until I became an adult.

Marcus Arredondo: 6:22

So did you not have a dog until you were an adult?

Brandon Fouché: 6:25

Yeah, I didn't have one.

Marcus Arredondo: 6:26

When was the next time you ended up getting a dog?

Brandon Fouché: 6:29

That's when I a part of my life, when I decided that I'm going to do something different in life. I want to do something different, right? And everyone, I think, goes through that they say, well, what is it that I love doing? You know, because they say that 75% of people hate what they do, right? So what is it that I want to do? And I said, well, the only thing I could think of that I love the most was that unconditional love that I have for dogs, right? So I decided that that's what it was going to be animals. I wasn't sure how I was going to do the dog thing because, you know, when you think of dogs, you think of dog training, sit, stay and heal, right. But that was not my first connection. I hadn't gotten to that point with dogs, trying to train them yet. It was just the love, so just being natural with them, right. And I just decided that's what I was going to do. So first thing I did I went and got a dog. Okay, and the dog that I got, what?

Marcus Arredondo: 7:34

age. Are you at this point?

Brandon Fouché: 7:35

Oh, as an adult I must have been, maybe in my twenties.

Marcus Arredondo: 7:40

Okay.

Brandon Fouché: 7:41

Yeah, I got a Sharpay Wrinkled. At that time they were uh very popular for the big, big ones with the wrinkle and the soft fur right not the prickly right and so I got, I got one and uh, uh, one led to another and then they bred, so now I've got a pack of sharp haze and uh, that was quite an experience, you know, uh, starting to breed. Now, since it was a very popular dog, a lot of people wanted them, so I kind of got into the breeding aspect of working with dogs.

Marcus Arredondo: 8:24

So at what point and I want to dive into the transition into sort of where you were, because you were an entrepreneur for many years as well but for the benefit of the audience, can you just share what your rehabilitation center is like? So that way we sort of have a destination and where we're going here, a destination and where we're going here.

Brandon Fouché: 8:43

Right, you know most dogs that come to me. They come for aggressive issues.

Marcus Arredondo: 8:53

Either they're aggressive to people or they're aggressive to other dogs.

Brandon Fouché: 8:54

They've been known as dead dog walking. Dead dogs walking right. People have, organizations have given up on them. And what are we going to do with the dogs? Right? And what are we going to do with the dogs Right, Right? And so in my facility I have found that most aggressive issues have to do with the lack of socialization. Just like with people, If we can't sit down and talk about our problems, Sure. Become aggressive also.

Marcus Arredondo: 9:23

We're seeing that more now than ever.

Brandon Fouché: 9:25

Exactly so with animals. If you can relieve the stress, you can relieve the aggression, just like with people. If you can relieve the stress, we can relieve the aggression. And so I found that the most important thing with working with dogs was to be able to manipulate them hormonally. Okay, the same thing with people. If we are together, it's because of how you make me feel. If we break up, it's because of how you make me feel, it makes you laugh, it makes you cry, right? But if you know how to push those buttons, the hormonal buttons we call this hormonal manipulation If we can push these buttons, then we can get what we want from the animal as well as from the person, right? So dogs, very interesting creatures.

Brandon Fouché: 10:24

We tend to look at them as humans because we live with them, but they are different from people in that they look out but they don't look inward. Human beings can look in and out, and this is where we get in trouble with our dogs, because they are responding to the emotional feelings that they have in the environment, whatever that might be, whereas the human being is also looking out that way, but in the reflect inward, to decide what they, by rewarding them for behaviors that we think are good. But the dog is not in pursuit of being a good dog. Only the human being is in pursuit, and this is where the dog ends up coming to me, because the human being rewards them for the negative as well as the positive things.

Marcus Arredondo: 11:28

So this is what I find the Fouché way most fascinating, what I find most fascinating about it. It is counter to almost every other and it is not dog training, to be fair, right, but I think it is an ingredient of coexisting, of cohabitating with dogs, of informing how the environment that they're going to be in with you is going to take shape. And you know, from what I've gathered and this is a very rude interpretation, so correct me if I'm wrong but the way I've interpreted this would be akin to how a gorilla might operate in the wilderness where the alpha gorilla will never really. Now I guess I. You know, in the there are chimps that demonstrate some caring among some, some of the males, but they really demonstrate disagreement vehemently, but they don't really, or disapproval. They start slamming things, they start yelling, but they're not really saying great job.

Brandon Fouché: 12:36

Right.

Marcus Arredondo: 12:37

Is that parallel to sort of the pursuit that you have?

Brandon Fouché: 12:41

Yes, because aggression in nature the aggression is the highest form of communication for animals. It may not be the best, but it's understood in the animal kingdom right, because they're reacting to how they feel about something rather than looking inward like a person deciding that I'm not going to do that, you understand, and a lot of.

Marcus Arredondo: 13:05

If I have to ask you why were you acting aggressively?

Brandon Fouché: 13:08

You can reflect inward and explain to me why you were doing it right. Right, then I can help you resolve that and we can get over it. Whereas the animal? Why are you acting aggressive? Because of how I feel.

Marcus Arredondo: 13:23

Sure.

Brandon Fouché: 13:23

Right, and because I'm not in pursuit of being a good gorilla I'm not in pursuit of being a good dog, right, I'm just in pursuit of being the best gorilla that I can be.

Marcus Arredondo: 13:33

They're operating in their nature.

Brandon Fouché: 13:35

Exactly it's impulse.

Marcus Arredondo: 13:37

Yeah.

Brandon Fouché: 13:38

Right, impulsive behavior. So it makes sense that they would be this way. We saw this with the big cat, siegfried and Freud, right, I mean, he got bit, he fell. The animal instinctively did what tigers do. We can't say a bad tiger, they just or a tiger, you see.

Brandon Fouché: 14:00

So, human beings, we have this love affair with our animals, thinking that somehow we have this special animal right and all we need to do is give them love, which is this unconditional love that we give them? But, interestingly, the animal is not in pursuit of that kind of love. Only the human being is in pursuit of that kind of love. It's not that they don't accept it, because you're doting on them so they will show you that they like it. But they will use it to climb to become the leader of your human pack, because that's what they're in pursuit of hierarchy. And once they get the hierarchy, then we could say that's love and that's what the movies were about, the Lion King and what have you. That's what it was about. It wasn't, until he became what his father was the alpha of the Serengeti, and he held his baby out and the Serengeti bowed to his baby. That's power, that's what they love.

Brandon Fouché: 15:07

So they need the leadership and they do not believe in equality. If animals believed in equality, a pack could never exist. There'd be no need for leadership. The ecosystem would be totally different. In fact, when they took the wolf off the land, it began to change. They have documentaries about this where even the river began to run differently because the beavers cut in a different direction. Animals that were not producing in the beginning are now producing over and above what they should be. But when the wolf came back, the beavers cut a different way and those animals that were overproducing were no longer overproducing, and the wolf brought back the balance.

Marcus Arredondo: 15:55

So I want to. I do want to talk about wolves, by the way, because I know that you've had some experience working with wolves and horses, because I think that's very interesting and I know very little about and I will get into this. But I remember being in your office and seeing the Barry Lopez of Wolves and Men book, which had a profound effect on sort of how I view general companionships, cooperation among humans. I think there's something to be taken about that. So, before we get into that, I'm curious if you could just highlight, for the benefit of the audience, maybe in an example of how you implement some of the strategies you're referring to relative to sort of negative corrective behavior rather than positive reinforcement.

Brandon Fouché: 16:38

Look, I tell my clients this is the formula. We tell our dogs what we don't like, only what we like. We say nothing unless we're in the game room. Now the game room, to me, represents training. Training is supposed to be fun. The reason I train my dog is to have fun, not control. That's where we get mixed up right. That's not the control. That should be fun. Roll over, play dead, bang bang, give daddy a kiss, give mommy a hug right, I love you. And all the baby talk and everything revolves around training.

Brandon Fouché: 17:16

You can be silly, that's the purpose of having the dog. But tell the dog what you don't like only Now. That's not something that I made up. The dog, what you don't like only now. That's not something that I made up. That's something that I was able to view by watching nature, because I've had so many animals right in nature. They say what they don't like. They do not reward for good behavior. That's a human quality, you see. Yeah, so if we tell our dogs what we don't like, all the things that we don't like, then that means we're going to get what we like and when the dog is doing what we like, say nothing, because that's the way it's supposed to be. You see, that's the formula. You see that's the formula.

Brandon Fouché: 18:11

But we've gotten bamboozled and tricked in this whole society of working with dogs because we think that we need to tell them that they're a good dog and you're a good boy, but they're not in pursuit of that. So we're off right there, right. And most of the behavioral issues that we have with dog have to do with hormones, pheromones, testosterone not sit, stay, come, heal down, because I never met a dog, actually, that didn't know how to sit or didn't know how to down. There's a dog right now sitting and lying down, right. So we don't need to focus on teaching them how to do that. But I get it, that's a billion-dollar industry, right? But I get it, that's a billion dollar industry, right. And it works for pets. If you just want to love a dog, then have fun and train them.

Brandon Fouché: 18:54

But for control we have to look back at nature. Nature knew how to raise its creatures and we can't look at a lion or a tiger or a monkey or whatever and say that's a bad mom for what she did, right. We can't pass judgment based on that, because they're doing what nature is telling them to do and they can have babies without us and without help from anybody else and the human being. We need help just to have a baby, yeah, right. And once the baby is there, we have to take care of it. In nature, they jump up and start running within a very short period of time Right. And once the baby is there, we have to take care of it. In nature, they jump up and start running within a very short period of time Right. So I get why we think like that, but we're doing the animal a disservice, because when we look into our dog's eyes, that's our reflection looking back at us, but that is not what the animal is thinking.

Marcus Arredondo: 19:46

Well, on that note you had written I help people overcome their insecurities by teaching them how to understand and connect with complex personalities of dogs. Through this process they build confidence, patience and trust, both with dogs and within themselves. I want to give you an opportunity to sort of expand on that, because I think there's a lot of depth in it.

Brandon Fouché: 20:05

Yeah, you know, look on that, because I think there's a lot of depth in it. Yeah, you know, look, most of the aggressive issues that we're having with dogs have to do with the human's fear, not the animal's fear fear of what?

Brandon Fouché: 20:17

well, the fear. This is human beings. We fear our memory and our imagination, what happened in the past and what could happen in the future. So we're not living in the moment like the animal. The animal is living in the moment. I've seen animals bite people and then five minutes later they're licking them because they're living in the moment right.

Brandon Fouché: 20:39

The problem is the human being won't allow the dog to live in the moment. So they keep reminding them of the past. And that's why they keep having the same problem, because we think it allow the dog to live in the moment. So they keep reminding them of the past. And that's why they keep having the same problem, because we think it's the dog that's having the problem, when it's really us. Yeah, so it's our fear that we imprint on the dog so he can't forget it. He has to keep repeating the same thing that we don't like. So every time you see that dog on the leash and you grab the leash and pull back, he starts to look around for the dog because we keep reminding him. So we won't let him live in the moment.

Brandon Fouché: 21:21

But when the human being becomes blessed enough to understand what I'm talking about and now they're living in the moment, and I think everybody will agree that we are our best when we are living in the moment Sure, when we're in that moment, then we're one with our dogs, and that's what I try to teach people by telling them look, this is nature and this is what the human being is. Your job is to be trained how to think like a dog, but not to train the dog how to think like a person, you see. So the more we are trained to understand nature, the better dogs we can get so in full disclosure to the audience.

Marcus Arredondo: 22:03

I have sought Brandon's assistance on a dog that we had and I want to say I think the most poignant thing is exactly that, which was meeting the dog where he was. He was an aggressive dog, he was a rescue, and there are two very standout takeaways that I had from that experience. One no training mechanism had resulted in a quicker change in behavior, Right. And number two, by meeting the dog where he was at, I never felt more connected to almost anyone else in my life.

Brandon Fouché: 22:40

It's unconditional love.

Marcus Arredondo: 22:41

So it is. It's an amazing thing, and I don't know how to. I'm wondering if you have better words than I do, because you have so many that you're taking care of and that you're so intuitively in touch with. Never mind, I'm sure you have personal dogs, but the dog was always checking with me and I could almost sense he was going to do something before he did it and when he did it he would look at me, sense he was going to do something before he did it and when he did it he would look at me. So because he was checking in repeatedly and we sort of knew exactly, we knew each other, we knew where he were. If I moved in another room, if I did something outside, he sort of somehow would sense it.

Marcus Arredondo: 23:24

And it is that when people would see it and so for the benefit of the audience. For example, we had crumpled up New Yorker magazines and newspapers at every corner of the room. We never touched the dog, to be clear, never touched. The dog didn't want him to do. We'd slam the wall with the paper, we'd slam our thigh or something to create a sound and that sound was jarring enough to snap him from what he was doing. I wouldn't say a word, I'd look at him and then he would just back off and that was an aggressive thing for people to see and I think they were thrown off by it. But the results were astounding in how quickly they were translated and how effective they were.

Brandon Fouché: 24:13

I want to explain something there, because that's where a lot of people get confused. First of all, I want people to understand that there are two fears that human beings and animals are born with and absolutely every other fear in life is learned there's only two, and that's the fear of loud noises and the fear of falling. Everything else we have to experience to know this right. So and, by the way, that's why the 4th of July, we lose a lot of dogs because of loud noises. So animals were designed that way. That's the way nature designed us human beings. We're an animal too, you know, and it's going back to nature and looking at it for what it really is, because, truly, nature is a serial killer Sure.

Brandon Fouché: 25:07

It really is when you look at it. Some of the most beautiful flowers are the most poisonous ones. So we just have to see things for what they really are. We've been trying to connect to the dog through his neck Prong collars, shock collars, choke chains Anything around the dog's neck is an attack. You must understand that.

Marcus Arredondo: 25:31

That's an attack.

Brandon Fouché: 25:33

When animals face each other. That's when they fight. Okay, disciplines come from the rear. When you watch your animal, whether they're a wild animal, when they eat, they drop their tail. They drop their tail so that they can see behind them and feel behind them a predator coming. So when we talk about hormones, pheromones, testosterone and we're talking about manipulating hormones, there is a hormone within the rear of the animal that is different than the hormone in the front of the animal and when you see two dogs meet and they start to interact and smell, they will go to the rear.

Marcus Arredondo: 26:20

Sure.

Brandon Fouché: 26:20

In those areas, all around up into the front, the ear and then the face. That is a very calculated process that nature has placed in them that they don't have to learn. It's just there. The reason that they mess up is because the human being won't allow for them to do what nature told them to do, because of our fear again. You see, no, no, no. I've heard people say no, don't smell him like that. That's rude, it's an animal, right. So we have to be taught how to understand the animal, the way nature created it, and then take what we understand and use it with the animal, and that's how we get success. That is the Fouché way.

Brandon Fouché: 27:06

The training was not designed for control. In fact, the concept of training when we have a behavioral problem. It's like if I were a doctor and you were having a problem with your head but I was operating on your foot. That's training when we're dealing with behavioral issues. Because the concept of training and toys and what have you and I know I'm going to get some feedback on this, but that's what it is when we use toys, we must understand that we are raising the prey drive of our dog. It is not happiness. If I asked you why are you throwing the ball? You're going to give me reasons like exercise and fun and all the things that you're going to go inward to explain to me, but if I pull your dog aside and say why do you think your owner is throwing the ball, he will not say what you're saying. He will say to raise my prey, drive Right, because it's a hormone that you're tapping into. But no animal chases, an inanimate object, but a stupid dog and cat who have been imprinted on to do that Sure.

Brandon Fouché: 28:22

So what we're doing is he's chasing an inanimate object with no nutritional value. We're just making him neurotic.

Marcus Arredondo: 28:31

Right. There's two themes that seem to intertwine with both of these. One is that we're personifying the dog, making them more people-like, and number two, we're operating out of an ego world, where they're operating out of an id world, where they are 100% in their nature and being present, and so I guess my question is you know insecurities? I want to go back to this statement that you made about insecurities, because there really are. The basis of fear in humans is, or stress is, related to the future or to the past. You're not having stress when you're being present, because you're just evaluating the current state. So what insecurities do you think like? What have you seen from your clients exhibited that form some of these behaviors? Besides negative training behaviors or counterproductive training mechanisms, what do you see more common among those owners that they're missing?

Brandon Fouché: 29:41

First of all, let me say and I said this many times if I could thank my dogs a thousand times a day, it will never be enough for what I have learned from them. Okay, so, people, as I said, we suffer our memory and our imagination. We can't help that. That's who we are. Our job is to be trained to understand that. That's what we do, right, that's what we do. You can't stop the mind from being like that, but the more that you understand that that's the way your mind works, the more in the present you become. You see, yeah, so that's the biggest thing.

Brandon Fouché: 30:20

We believe that, because the dog is doing something that we don't like, that it's his fault. Yet we're the leaders, right? So how can we blame them for something that we're not doing? You see, so most people are not looking at life laid out like a puzzle, putting the pieces together. They think that it's just supposed to happen because you're there. We all have this energy, this power, this ability to be this and that, but it's those who have been able to lay the puzzle out and start putting the pieces together that are successful. There's a thing I've heard before. It says we're all self-made, but only the successful ones will admit it.

Marcus Arredondo: 31:22

So just that we're all self-made, but only the successful ones will admit that I'm a self-made man, meaning meaning specifically what? That they didn't get any help. Well, whatever the case, may be.

Brandon Fouché: 31:32

We can blame it on whatever. I didn't grow up with a mom, or I didn't grow up with a dad, or I didn't get a grant, or I didn't. Whatever that case may be. Right, we're self-made, that's who you are. So if you didn't get it, this is who you become. But the only ones that are bragging about it are the ones who became successful, right, you see. So I believe that we all get what we want at some point. We get what we want. No one here doesn't get what they want. Yes, what did you do with what you got? Right? Did you take this problem? I'll use me as an example, because my grandmother says you should always use yourself as an example.

Brandon Fouché: 32:10

When I got bit by this dog, I remember how I felt. I remember how it felt when he bit me and drugged me, and I remember the pain. I remembered that, right, right. But what did I end up doing? I took that pain and went directly into the business of working with animals or dogs that did the same thing to me, right? So I trained myself to understand why that happened. But if you don't want to hear it, you can say oh no, I don't want to hear it, don't talk to me, then you're lost.

Marcus Arredondo: 32:51

Yes.

Brandon Fouché: 32:52

What do I got to do? You got to put one foot in front of the other every day, when you're tired and when you're not tired, and when you don't want to do it, and when you do want to do it. One step at a time, every day, seven days a week.

Marcus Arredondo: 33:09

So let's dig into this. This is fascinating because, first of all, what happened to you? What was the flame that got lit that said I'm going to focus on this and I am going to find a solution? What was that drive? How did you overcome it? What were the steps you took? Is that something that just came in inside, or is that something you think you can it? What were the steps you took? Is that something that just came in inside or is that something you think you can replicate or teach your younger self?

Brandon Fouché: 33:33

well, it came it came inside of me. One day, someone said something that, for whatever reason, it shocked me and it hit me. They said all dogs love me. That's what I thought until I was bit. Right, right.

Brandon Fouché: 33:50

Everybody thinks that that woke me up? Sure, I said no, that's not true. Right, that's not true. So I went in search and this is when I found that there are genetic behaviors and learned behaviors, and this dog was taught to bite me. So I started thinking what else is happening with people who own dogs that are producing the same thing, but they don't know what they're doing or that is producing it? And that's when I went down to investigate the toys and what type of toys, and what I found was the toys were designed for working dogs.

Brandon Fouché: 34:35

So let's say I'm a hunter and I use my dog to hunt, hunting season's over now, but I don't want him to lose that drive. So I go home and I start throwing the ball and the Frisbee and you see people throwing the stick and the frisbee. And you see people throwing the stick for the lab in the water and he's retreating. We're really, that's a bird, that's mimicking the bird. So when we go hunting, you're going to be on your game now. But when we throw these inanimate objects we can make this dog so neurotic that when we go back to hunting he's right on point. Sure, okay. So this product got trickled down to the lay person where we start buying these things for our dog, not knowing that we're taking a pet and turning him into a working dog by talking to a very specific hormone that produces prey-driven activity. So now we've got this dog that's chasing after little kids or snipping at people from the back or nipping your hand because you're playing tug of war. We could just go down the rabbit hole with this thing, right. And then we turn around and say, well, he's a bad dog. It's like a potter who makes a pot and then curses the pot. You break the pot, yeah.

Brandon Fouché: 35:51

And so my job is to teach people, to educate people that what is it that you want? Do you want a pet or do you want a working dog? Sure, right, because they're different dogs. I used to work with people that were blind and seeing-eyed dogs my opinion, best dog in the world. Why? Because every door is open to that dog in person, every single door, right. So that dog's job is to take you from point A to point Z Bypass the rabbit, bypass the squirrel, bypass the bird, bypass the dog, bypass the cat, right. And what does that person do with that dog? Love them, they can't live without them. So they're constantly hugging and kissing and loving, and that's why you get a dog.

Brandon Fouché: 36:40

So I used to interview people why do you want a dog? They have these fantastic stories about saving lives and love and blah, and then they go home and they produce the opposite thing. They never once said that that's what they wanted to do, because they've been misinformed. This is not what they want, but they think that this is what they should be doing. But that's making a working dog. You see it in every facet of working dogs the police dogs, the bomb sniffing dogs, the drug sniffing dogs. They throw the ball afterwards, he catches it and we go through this whole routine and then pretty soon they have to retire him because the neurosis of that drains him so much he's no good anymore yeah we just wear him out.

Marcus Arredondo: 37:25

Well, how much of this do you think is just a result of their natural state being in the wilderness, coming from wolves being inserted into an urban environment?

Brandon Fouché: 37:35

Right, right right.

Marcus Arredondo: 37:38

Are those reconcilable I? Mean is that a reconcilable issue?

Brandon Fouché: 37:41

Yeah, you know, look, man has spent many, many, many eons of time bringing the dog out of the wolf. Right, that's how we did it. Dogs are really wolves in dogs' clothing. The more that we can water them down genetically and make them more and more subordinate, we can get the dog, okay. So man spends all that time bringing the dog out of the wolf and then the human being gets the dog, spends the rest of their life bringing the wolf out of the dog, because we don't understand the process, right, and what it was for, and because it's not a good thing to go to breeders. Now we go to the shelters and what have you? But the shelter is filled with backyard bred dogs, right, so we're getting these dogs that, whereas the breeder was breeding for specific characteristics, right, the breeder says, okay, this is going to be a working dog, this is going to be a pet, blah, blah, blah, blah. He could tell you that. But now we're going to pick dogs based on the cosmetic makeup of the dog, right. So we unlock that one because he has a blue eye and whatever that might be. But then we get them home and we treat that dog as a subordinate dog. But maybe it's not a subordinate dog.

Brandon Fouché: 39:04

Every litter has these terms and I know these terms are controversial, but I'm going to use them for the sake of people listening. Alpha, beta, subordinate and omegas right, so we got these. I call them personalities. We have different. Each one of those has a different personality, right? This one more so than the other if he's an alpha. So we have these different personalities and we bring them home and we take an alpha.

Brandon Fouché: 39:27

Let's say we get an alpha, so we have these different personalities, and we bring him home and we take an alpha. Let's say we get an alpha from the shelter but we raise him like he's a subordinate, which actually feeds the assertive, dominant behavior that's in the dogs, because there's no restraints there, there's no catalytic converter holding them down. Everything we do is to build them up. So now he believes, or she believes, that she's the leader of this human pack and we do everything our dog tells us to do. We take commands from our dogs. As simple as your dog comes to you, puts his snout under your hand and lifts it, and you rub him and you say, oh, he's so smart, he wants love. No, he's telling you what to do.

Marcus Arredondo: 40:16

So, theoretically, in your own home you need to be the alpha in order to maintain some form of order. How do you manage that with an alpha dog?

Brandon Fouché: 40:26

okay, first of all, the way we manage it. We have to understand that being an alpha is more strength of personality than brute force. So a lot of people think, if I say, oh, an alpha, that you have to be aggressive with your dog, and that's not what I'm talking about at all yeah it's the strength of your personality, it's your aura right. It's how you enter the room. This is what the dog is looking for. When you see two dogs and a dog appears, he's looking at the body language of that other dog.

Marcus Arredondo: 41:01

Right.

Brandon Fouché: 41:02

Is he carrying the tail up high? Is the tail down low? Is he acting subordinate? Is he acting aggressive? You know there's different positions, body positions. That sends a message to the other dog. That's why you can be walking down the street and a person will say he doesn't mind when he sees this dog, but when he sees that dog, he loses it Because of his body language. He's throwing off shade. You know, humans can walk down the street like that too, right? So that's what's happening, but we haven't been taught to look at it that way, we haven't been taught to think about it that way, so we have no clue what the deal is, you see.

Brandon Fouché: 41:44

So an alpha, getting back to what you said, how do we become an alpha? By leading them in the right direction, by telling them what we don't like. See, animals are looking for two things. They're looking for the danger first. That's why they're sniffing and they break out of the yard. And they're looking for danger first and then safety. But they cannot I'm going to say this again, they cannot seek safety without the danger first. So we have to provide it for them. It's like a control environment. I produce the danger for them so that they seek safety.

Brandon Fouché: 42:30

Animals that live on the Serengeti see their world as a predator. They see themselves as prey. So today an animal woke up on the Serengeti, scanned the horizon and saw danger. It went that way. It's not going to danger. Our dogs wake up today in our home and they see danger. They run to the danger. They see their world outside your door as prey. They are the predators and you're holding them back. That's how they see their world and the closest thing to the Serengeti is when we see a street dog. You can be walking your dog down the street and a dog that lives in the street will be coming in the same direction and cross the street. They will not engage with you. They will not fence fight with another dog behind their territory. They see their world as a predator. They see themselves as prey. So you can't take it out of them.

Brandon Fouché: 43:34

We take a dog out of our home and we dump them into the street which I call the Serengeti, and they behave just like the wild animals on the Serengeti. They don't want problems. You come outside, a dog is on your lawn and you say, hey, come here, boy. He runs across the street. Do you understand? Because it's there. It's a genetic code that's locked up inside the dog that no one is teaching people how to understand, and I can't believe that the scientists and the professionals don't know this. But they're not telling people because I believe it's a billion dollar industry Right, which is okay. I'm okay for them making the money. But if we can say these are toys for pets and these are toys for working dogs, right. Just tell the people and let them make a choice. I'm offering them a choice. You see, training is a choice. You have a choice to train, but most people don't know why they're training. They're training to get control, and it should never be the control it should be fun.

Marcus Arredondo: 44:43

I want to move to people, but before I do, I got one quick question Do you have any breeds, have behavioral traits that are immutable or somehow irreconcilable with living in a home?

Brandon Fouché: 45:04

Well, first it's an animal, and then it's the type of animal, which is a dog, and then it's the type of dog that it is, and then what the dog was bred for and then the dog's name. That's how we kind of look at the situation, right? So we've got dogs that have strong personalities, just like some people have strong personalities, right. I've got some friends that I would consider to be sociopaths. Maybe I know how to talk to them, right. So we're still cool. But I say, ah, there you go with the sociopathic bull that you're doing. I call them on their shit. So we've got these dogs that have these strong personalities, the ability to climb, right. All we have to do is submit to them, just like my friend I'm just talking about.

Brandon Fouché: 45:59

Now, if you say, oh, you're wonderful and you're a nice guy and you did all, he's going to take over. He's going to take over, okay, why? Because he wants to. No, that's his personality. He's going to come in, he's going to leave the room, he's going to tell everybody what to do, because everybody told him that he was the man Right. So now we've got this dog that's got the same kind of personality that we're sucking up to, right, Just doting on them, just making them feel assertive, right, assertive, right Assertive, dominant and ultimately aggressive. He has to become aggressive because you're doing all these things and then you turn around and say, no, go to your bed. Then he says, ok, now I got to up the ante. You've been telling me all along I'm the alpha by your behavior. Now I'm going to raise it, it I'm gonna growl at you or I'm gonna snap. And when he does that, the person says, oh, it shows the fear.

Marcus Arredondo: 47:06

Now the I got you, I know you are I was once told having a dog was a good training ground for having a child, and I don't think that was wrong to honest, because there's some similarities in behavior. So how is this informed? How you are with people, I cannot help but think you read people better than you used to, and probably better than the average person.

Brandon Fouché: 47:29

Yeah, because it's interesting that you said that. I'm glad you said that, because I can't help the dog if I don't know how to read the person. Sure, because or let me say it this way the person can't be successful with their dog. I may be successful with the dog, but they won't be successful with their dog Because I'm not able to reach them, I'm not able to give them this information where they're like yeah, yeah, yeah, you're right, wow, yes. And when I'm able to do that, I get calls like this hey, brandon, this is, let's just say, clarice. Hello, clarice, how are you doing? Fine, I just wanted to let you know something. What's that? Do you know? I think my dog is happier than he's ever been.

Brandon Fouché: 48:17

And I paused for a moment. I said do you say that again? She said I think he's happier than he's ever been. And I said do you ever think that you would say that to me? Because I remember her coming in right. And she says no, but I really think he's happy. And I said well, why do you think he's happy? Same reason you said he's looking up at me. Now he's paying attention to me before he does something or he thinks about doing something, and he looks at me. Just the same thing that you were saying. You feel that connection, right, you feel that connection.

Marcus Arredondo: 48:53

Absolutely.

Brandon Fouché: 48:55

And until you feel that connection, you're just. You don't have the unconditional love that we talk about. But when you, what you're talking about, that's that unconditional love, right, when you see that love. When I felt that love for the first time and I saw that I could never go backwards again. I've seen some people get involved with this. They get a little taste, and then I look at them again. They're back to the old ways again because that's what they remember, because they had to challenge themselves and they couldn't challenge themselves because they didn't want to admit that they were wrong. But it was them and this is how it is in life.

Brandon Fouché: 49:35

I don't care what business you're in, If you can laugh at yourself right, and you can say you know what? I fucked up? Not, he made me, he did this. And I've been there a lot where I could have pointed my finger to someone else as to the reason why my thing didn't work and I would have been right, but I'm wrong at the same time. No, I let that happen, I saw that happening and I didn't get on it like an alpha. So I'm telling everybody you better be an alpha in this world, because that works.

Marcus Arredondo: 50:14

That works. How do you apply that in your life?

Brandon Fouché: 50:18

Well, you know.

Marcus Arredondo: 50:20

Outside of the dog world. Okay, Fear.

Brandon Fouché: 50:24

Fear to me is a good thing.

Marcus Arredondo: 50:26

Because fear is going to, if used right, if it's harnessed correctly, right.

Brandon Fouché: 50:30

Well, yeah, If I know, if I'm afraid of something, I say because I'm afraid, I'm going to do this and I'm going to do that. This is my back door. It's like on a computer. This is the back door where you can get in. If this happens, I'm going to do that. If that happens, I'm going to do that. So I'm going to feel the fear and do it anyway, because I've already decided what I'm going to do when it happens.

Brandon Fouché: 50:49

You see, but if you just look at fear, it's like aggression. If you just look at aggression as just one big ball, oh, this is aggression. Oh, that's the bookie man, I'm scared. No, if you understand, there's many forms of aggression. There's many layers to aggression, right? Just like there's many layers to the fear that you may be having. You may fear something worse than something else, right? So if you can take the one that you feel the less fear of, but nevertheless you are afraid, and overcome that over and over again. See, that's how I did it while working with packs of dogs. Packs of dogs, 20, 30, 40 dogs at a time, because I've done it so many times with one dog and one dog and one dog, right, that I come very good at it. My personality, the strength of my personality can radiate out to the dogs and that's what they look at. So when I walk out into the pack and I've had this happen before when I had a bad day or I wasn't feeling quite off- Right.

Brandon Fouché: 51:55

The knuckleheads start acting up. They say, oh, the alpha's not on his game. They see it and turn around and look at that guy they got beef with, just like that. Yeah, oh, you're off, it's time. And I'm going to tell you why. In nature, when the alpha becomes long in the tooth and old, there's always that one in the back waiting to take that position. It's brutal, but that's the way nature made it, baby, right. So when I come out, I'm on my game. I know it, put my face on. Okay, I'm going back to these powerful guys and I got to'm on my game. I know it. Put my face on. Okay, I'm going back to these powerful guys and I got to be on my game. And when I walk out, they look at you in your eye. Every one of those dogs look right at you in your eye and they see that spark and they say we're all good today.

Marcus Arredondo: 52:49

The training, the conventional training we all read about. The best in show just got awarded, I think, last week, which is sort of insignificant. But that's where everybody goes to when they think of training, and training to me is a diet. The Fouché way seems more like a lifestyle, because you can never really lay out, I mean, you can't lay up on it. It's not something that you can, that is something you have to execute and practice and be in a lot of ways.

Brandon Fouché: 53:15

That's it. I'm glad you said that I'm not teaching people what to do, but I'm teaching you how to be.

Marcus Arredondo: 53:22

I'm going to shift subjects quickly because I know we're starting to come up on time a little bit, but I'm very curious what is your experience working with wolves and horses? You know what takeaways, and how does that apply to your understanding of humans and our species?

Brandon Fouché: 53:38

Wow, you should have started with this.

Marcus Arredondo: 53:40

I wish I had now.

Brandon Fouché: 53:43

Look first of all dogs. The wolf's brain is like 25% bigger than dogs. I mean, it's just how they figure things out, man. I mean, we think our dogs are human, but those guys? That's why man had so many problems with the wolf.

Marcus Arredondo: 54:01

Well, what capacity were you working with wolves, just for context.

Brandon Fouché: 54:05

Up close and personal I mean just like a dog.

Marcus Arredondo: 54:09

How do you find your way into this? Was this a?

Brandon Fouché: 54:12

Well, my first wolf was actually sent to me by uh animal control out of state. They found this wolf in a barn killing chickens, okay and so they sent it to your rehabilitation center right. Well, I actually sent it to a rescue first, and then the rescue said hey, we got this dog we can't control right, it's a husky it's a husky, that's what this? Yeah, because that's what it was on the paperwork. And then it came and I'm like what this is well that ain't no husky I read all about what.

Brandon Fouché: 54:47

So many wolf. I knew that's what it was right. Everything about the things that they didn't understand about it showed me that it was well sure, and I've had this happen many times, you know. Oh, we thought this was a little German shepherd or whatever. And it comes to me the the doctor wants to put him to sleep because he says there's something neurologically wrong with them. Could you take a look at this video? And I'm like so busy I said. I said can you please look at the video and tell us what you think? So I look at the video, I'm like what? Oh, that's why he's off. He thinks he's got some neurological problem. I said why do you think he has a? He doesn't pay attention to anybody. He reads your day. You come back tomorrow. He acts like it's not you. Again I said that's a wolf. So they come in different ways to me, right, but I have found that you truly cannot appreciate a dog until you understand wolf.

Marcus Arredondo: 55:44

Tell me more.

Brandon Fouché: 55:46

The wolf is perfect in every dimension. It is an anomaly. It's got the right height. It is an anomaly, it's got the right height.

Marcus Arredondo: 55:55

It has the legs, the gait the ears For what specifically Perfect for.

Brandon Fouché: 56:04

Anything. You know, wolves can climb 12, 14 feet up and over under around. I'll think, Look, you can go back in history and talk to the farmers to say we tried everything. I'll smart this guy. Why is the wolf so successful? Because he looks for danger first. Right, he comes up to something that you might have put out. He said what is this? What is this? It wasn't here yesterday. Yeah Well, he smells this way around it, right, he may even take something in his mouth and throw it on that thing If it pops. He'll never do it again. They know they're always trying to outthink because they're looking for danger first and then, once they see danger, they go to safe.

Marcus Arredondo: 57:01

Well, in that book that I read, I remember the alphas can shift from different time periods. If they're on a hunt, there might be one that sort of takes over as an alpha, in other times another might take over in his alpha let me explain that.

Brandon Fouché: 57:17

um, again, like I said this, terms alpha, beta, subordinate, omega or oh, the scientists say we shouldn't have never done that, but for the sake of talking people on, okay, um, when wolves play, or when dogs play puppies, when you get a bunch of puppies and they're playing, they're always squabbling with each other. And when they play that's why it's so important Play for each dog is very specific to that dog. So this dog may like to grab the ear where his brother grabs the hock, the back leg.

Marcus Arredondo: 57:56

Yeah.

Brandon Fouché: 57:56

His sister grabs the neck, and they're always grabbing the neck, and he's always grabbing the ear and he's always grabbing the leg. Okay, now we're very good at our skills. Now we got skills, so we go out hunting. You do your neck thing, I do my ear thing, you do your leg thing. We bring down game.

Marcus Arredondo: 58:17

Yeah, yeah, that's the shifting, I got it. What about horses? What's your experience there?

Brandon Fouché: 58:21

oh, my gosh horses. You know I used to ride with my, with wolves and horses together. People couldn't believe it. The predator and I laid them down together, right.

Marcus Arredondo: 58:35

I couldn't believe it. How did that happen?

Brandon Fouché: 58:37

Well, you know, I used to have, you know, horses and wolves way back and I used to just raise them along with them. You know, Look, a wolf is going to kill something because he's hungry.

Marcus Arredondo: 58:52

Right.

Brandon Fouché: 58:53

Everybody in nature, all the animals or the rodents or whatever in your yard. They're just looking for a meal. They just want to eat something, right, but they want to live. So if they got food and you do the correct introduction during the time period, the growth time period, you can put an animal with anything right See that was nature's way of separating the species.

Brandon Fouché: 59:19

If we took a wolf pup and we only had him around wolves, right then he's only going to want wolves. That's how nature is. But if you take that pup and you introduce him to other animals during a specific time period usually during the fear period and the socialization period then they will grow up and having friends.

Marcus Arredondo: 59:41

Right, but nature says no no, no, we don't.

Brandon Fouché: 59:43

We don't want that. So your mother and father grew up without anybody. They're going to keep you sequestered where you're not going to see any other animals other than the ones that we kill. So the Serengeti is one piece of land that no fences are there, just chemical warfare. They mark their territory for miles right, but everybody's separated from each other because of that law. All the animals that group is over there, they're over there, they're over there. All the animals that group is over there, they're over there, they're over there. That's where they are, and the only time they cross that line, that chemical warfare line, is when it's time to eat, and then, when they eat, they go back home.

Marcus Arredondo: 1:00:25

Right? Well, if I'm taking this away correctly, they're better served if being introduced at a younger age, but at a later age there's more challenges in introducing them in more social environments. Is that a fair assessment from what you're saying?

Brandon Fouché: 1:00:38

Because nature, that's nature's fail safe, to keep the species intact.

Marcus Arredondo: 1:00:46

That makes sense. So, specific to you how do you bring in, like, say, for example, a dog who's five or six, who's exhibited these behaviors, into the pack that you have where there's a different lowest common denominator? Very good question.

Brandon Fouché: 1:01:04

Very rarely do I work with genetically dominant dogs. Genetically dominant dogs.

Marcus Arredondo: 1:01:12

Can you define what that is?

Brandon Fouché: 1:01:13

Well, that's a dog that's born. Let's take a wolf.

Marcus Arredondo: 1:01:16

Okay.

Brandon Fouché: 1:01:17

Let's take a wolf. A wolf, a high-content wolf, is genetically dominant. That's how they become a good wolf, right? So if we take that wolf and we introduce him as a pup to other dogs, then he will grow up and he will like those other dogs, and if they were older than him and they dominated him, then that's the way it's going to be. Okay, that's how nature wired it.

Brandon Fouché: 1:01:53

Now he can accept those dogs, but as he reaches another age, if he's still intact, he won't accept any other males, right. But he can accept dominant females. So you could bring a female to him and he's okay, because that's's uh, procreation, reproduction. He will accept the female, but he won't accept the male. But the ones that he grew up with he will accept. But he's genetically dominant. That's why we can't put him with other males. He's. I see now we get a dog in that's five you said five, six years old and he's aggressive to other dogs. Chances are he's not genetically dominant. He learned to be that way because the lack of socialization. So if we can just take a quantum leap back in time to introduce him properly, to hijack his hormones, right.

Marcus Arredondo: 1:02:56

Teaching an old dog new tricks? Huh. Teaching an old dog new tricks?

Brandon Fouché: 1:03:00

Yeah, then he can be with other dogs, with the leader standing by as a mediator, saying what it is they don't like, but a genetically dominant dog. He doesn't have control over that.

Marcus Arredondo: 1:03:13

Right.

Brandon Fouché: 1:03:15

Because now the hormone is set, it's like it's locked in, nature's doing its thing, but it accepted everything that came before that connection took place. He can still exist.

Marcus Arredondo: 1:03:29

Yeah, well, this has been awesome. I know that we're going up on time here. Is there anything you would like to share more about that? I haven't asked Because there's a wealth under here and I wanted to get more into people and I just don't know how else. You know, if there's anything on your side that you think I may not have asked, I want to make sure I give you that opportunity.

Brandon Fouché: 1:03:55

Well, I want to say that I'm reading from a later page and most people can't hear me at their stage and they will say well, who is this guy that's coming here saying these things? You know, when everybody else is saying love and affection, toys, treats, tricks, tricks and training, and is the key. And what I have to say is, if training was the key, the shelter would be empty, because all we have to teach him how to sit, stay, come, heal and take him home and lay him on silk and memory foam beds and he'd be fine. Yeah, the problem, the problem with the animals in the shelter is hormone, pheromone, testosterone imbalance, but not because they need medication. It's because they need the lessons that nature would have taught them.

Brandon Fouché: 1:04:48

That still, laying under the surface, waiting. It's like a relationship where you meet that one. You said I've been waiting for you all this time and you showed up. Now I can be the man I need to be and you can be the woman that you need to be. Right, that's what nature is always doing. It's laying in the cut. We call it laying in the cut, waiting for the opportunity, right, yeah, and then when they bring them in, usually when they bring them into me and they see that I tap into that.

Brandon Fouché: 1:05:22

Let me tell you something that really happens. So many times I got video of this happening. The person will come back to get their dog and I bring the dog out and let's say it's two dogs that they brought me. I bring the dog out and let's say it's two dogs that they brought me. I bring the dog out. They go over to say hello to the owner and they come over and lay underneath my desk. The person cries. I said why are you crying? They don't love me anymore. I said okay, let's look at that. Do you think all day long I was in the back kissing and hugging them and hugging them. I want people to understand that there is another way. But with all the information that we have out of here in the world and all the books that I have tapped into and looked at to see, sure is to keep it's like the matrix is to keep you dumbed down. Do you understand? Sure, because it's a money thing. And I'm saying it doesn't have to be a money thing because you can produce the right kind of toy. You can tell the truth and let the person make a decision. Right, the decision was made for me through the bite, but it wasn't until that person said that to me that now the recorder turned on and I was able to dig, dig deep into this thing.

Brandon Fouché: 1:06:45

I'm trying to turn on the, the, uh, the recorder to every person that I meet. Yeah, because if all the dogs at my place are dead dogs walking, that means everybody gave up on them. They wanted to destroy them, right, but they're there right now, at this moment that we're talking. They're out, some are in the rain, some are inside, they're where they want to be, but they were not supposed to be able to be with other dogs, do you understand? But they are with other dogs, do you understand? But they are. So how did that happen? There is some information that we still need to get out to people, but there's a lot of people that don't want it out because it's going to change things. But I say 2025, we got a lot of things going on and things need to change and the truth need to be told, right, and I'm just there, uh, every day, uh, I'm there to say, uh, whatever it is that I think I need to say to people.

Marcus Arredondo: 1:07:46

To wake them up, man, to get that dog out of the shelter well, and I, you know, I think there's a knee-jerk reaction because because they think this is displacing the love that they had, or it's a new form of a relationship, but they're not mutually exclusive, in my opinion. I mean, you are, you're still loving your dogs, you're still rubbing them.

Brandon Fouché: 1:08:04

You're still giving treats every day. I mean, totally, yeah, I'm just saying, look, it's like a relationship. It's like a relationship, right, it's how you make them feel yeah, because they're able to see things that other people can't see. So they know how to guide you and say, hey, don't say you always do this, because that pisses him off when you say, yeah, they know how to guide you. I'm a guide for people with their dogs. I'm the voice of the dog for people. But if you want to hear what the dog is saying, if you don't want to think that he's got something to say this animal has something to tell you, but you don't want to hear it because you want to control them Then I don't know what to say. You know, I just have to keep talking to you.

Brandon Fouché: 1:09:13

I had one guy come to me and says why didn't you do this in the beginning? And I said do what he said. Why didn't you just talk to me like an idiot in the beginning? This is what he said to me and I said OK, I understand what you're saying, but you weren't ready for that. Yeah, he wasn't ready for that. You know, it was actually his wife that told me. He says why are you not doing the things that Brandon told you to do? You keep doing the things that you want to do.

Marcus Arredondo: 1:09:39

Right.

Brandon Fouché: 1:09:39

Right. She called him on that and then he came back to me and told me why didn't you just talk to me like I did? I said you're not an idiot, but I understand what you're saying. But you can hear me now.

Marcus Arredondo: 1:09:50

Sure, have you ever encountered a dog that you couldn't rehabilitate?

Brandon Fouché: 1:09:54

No, I'm really happy. I'm glad you said that. I'm really happy that you said that, because, no, it's a universal language and there's nature's creatures and they're all trying to understand this. They just want to get a bite. They have no choice. Let me say this they have no choice. It's like the birds that fly south every year. They can't say we're not going, they got to go, whereas the human being could say, oh no, I love California, I'm not going to go back, east Only. We have the free will. So when you give the animal what he needs, is that those steps that I take? They look up at you and they say you got me. That's why I can take 30, 40, 50 dogs and put them all together because they say you understand us.

Marcus Arredondo: 1:10:49

Well, and they'll fall in line when they see you as the alpha.

Brandon Fouché: 1:10:52

That's what it's about. So I'm telling everybody we need to be that and not the negative tone of alpha, not that we need to be able to look at ourselves and look at the situation and tell the truth. I believe that we have been lying to our dogs not maliciously lying to them, just not telling them the truth because we don't know how to talk to them.

Marcus Arredondo: 1:11:18

Right.

Brandon Fouché: 1:11:19

Right, and that's how they go down this path, where they went left when they should have went right. So my job is to gather them up. The herd, you know, looks like horses and say, hey, this is the way we go. I'm the stallion when we're dealing with horses, I'm the alpha when we're dealing with dogs. Right, and that's just my job.

Brandon Fouché: 1:11:41

It's like if you go to the doctor and you've got this ailment and you could die, do you want a doctor that says he knows what to do or one that says he's not sure, right? I'm saying I know what's happening and I'm proving it every day. Right, so I'm the guy you want to talk to. But I'm not going to talk to your ego, because I'm not coming from an ego, egoic point of view. I'm saying I love dogs. This happened to me. I was knocked down. I know about the bite. I've experienced everything that you've experienced Everything.

Brandon Fouché: 1:12:23

So you don't have to make that mistake. But what you do have to do is take what I've said, analyze it, break it down and try to figure out why it's not true. And you won't be able to do that. If that were the case, then I would have people right now that would have shut it down and said no, you're lying, because this is the truth. No, and they can't do it, because this is true and you can stand on truth. It's firm and when you do it, a light bulb goes off. People say, oh my gosh it just clicked.

Marcus Arredondo: 1:13:04

I can't tell you how many times I hear that. I see that click in dogs too. Last question, second to last question has anybody said anything about your behavior being different before and after this journey commenced? Have you changed from your own perspective?

Brandon Fouché: 1:13:18

I think, yes, but it's only that I see it even clearer. Things are very, very clear, because before I tried to separate, okay, this is dogs and this is me, this is what I do and this is me. But it's not like that 's all me, right, right, because it's just one blood. We're all connected, you, me, we're all connected, sure, sure, you know. And once we realize that, then, yeah, you change man, because the egoic side of it is gone. What I can do, no, it's not about what I can do, it's what I can show you that you can do with your dog?

Marcus Arredondo: 1:14:03

Have you have any insecurities of yours burned off from this or been exposed?

Brandon Fouché: 1:14:08

Insecurities. Yes, yes, yes, yes, definitely I used to. I used to talk differently to people. Let me see how I can say this. I used to not tell the truth so profoundly. Yeah, you know, I held back. Like now, I tell people no toys, no this, and explain why. I tell them why Before I would kind of like, well, if you want to, you know, sure, but that was an insecurity on my part, you know, because I'm trying to be liked, I want you to get this and so I want to hit you so hard. And you know, but I found that's not the way to be. Animals are in your face, right? They don't. They tell the truth.

Brandon Fouché: 1:14:59

They tell the truth, man. And so when you're working with animals, especially aggression, you've got to be as sober as the judge, and so it taught me how to be truthful and how to not be ashamed of what I know and how to not be ashamed of what I know. A lot of people out here are really, really good at what they do, but they're ashamed that they're good at what they do because of what my people may think of them. But I'm here to say that when you are that way, that fear that you have that people are going to feel that way about you. They want that, they want that. They want that themselves, yeah, and you find that you have a friend that you probably never would have had them as a friend. You said why do you want to be my friend? Cause you are real, and that's what I want. We all want to be real. So that's the thing I learned.

Marcus Arredondo: 1:15:51

I learned that I I loved having you on. This was a terrific conversation. Do you have any closing thoughts before we wrap up?

Brandon Fouché: 1:15:59

Well, you know, I'd like to say this we're here for a very short period of time and life is very, very precious, and we see this with people who are involved with the fires and people who have lost everything. They say that life is a lesson or a blessing, right? So when we see that there are people who have lost everything and you think about your problems, you'll start to believe my problems are really nothing. I wouldn't want to that problem, right? So we need to live life in the moment and to be respectful and loving of our friends and neighbors and people that come around us and understand that life is a fleeting moment. I woke up this morning, you woke up this morning. Four or five people around us woke up this morning, right? Life is wonderful, but if we check the statistics, at least 250,000 people died this morning. Didn't wake up. So it's precious, yeah, everything you do.

Marcus Arredondo: 1:17:06

What a great way to end it. Thank you, Brandon. I will include in the show notes your website, brandonfouchercom, and you've got an amazing YouTube channel with some terrific tidbits and proof of what you're talking about here. Thank you so much for coming on. This has been amazing.

Brandon Fouché: 1:17:24

Thank you very much. I enjoy it, Marcus.

Marcus Arredondo: 1:17:26

Likewise.