Meet the Hosts of CBS Lucky Dog

IT’S BEEN A YEAR SINCE WE LAST SPOKE WITH HUSBAND-AND-WIFE TEAM ERIC AND RASHI Wiese and we wanted to catch up with them to find out if the dust had settled from their new roles on Lucky Dog.

FIDO Friendly: How has being part of Lucky Dog changed your lives?

Eric and Rashi Wiese: It has been an absolute honor to join the Lucky Dog platform. Lucky Dog has given us an opportunity to pursue what we love to do on a much larger scale. We get to meet so many wonderful people with incredible life stories and of course, amazing, resilient dogs that have so much love to give.

In particular, Rashi has been able to reach many more individuals and help get dogs adopted from local rescues and shelters outside of the show through our foundation, the WRARE Foundation. She’s also had students and social workers contact her, whether about career advice or simply to share pride for social work degrees and spreading the word about the valuable work social workers do for the community. It’s been an amazing experience to showcase our passion for helping people and animals and inspire others to do the same.

Eric has seen an increase in individuals reaching out to to learn more about positive reinforcement training. It’s exciting to know that more humane ways of working with animals are being recognized and sought out. We hope to continue educating the public on positive reinforcement training and create significant changes in the world of animal care and behavior training.

FF: Any downside?

ERW: The major downside is our lack of time. There are so many things we want to do, and we find ourselves juggling responsibilities with the demands of filming the show, running our business and rescue foundation, and spending quality family time with our fur family and our new (human) baby girl, Asara. Luckily, we do get time off between seasons and we are getting better about priorities and time management.

FF: During filming an episode, how much time does it take before we see the finished product?

ERW: It can take about six weeks for us to rescue a dog and film an entire episode. When a rescued dog goes to their forever home, the dog is not necessarily 100% acclimated yet– it can take time for a dog to build trust and feel comfortable in their new space, but our production team and team of animal handlers and trainers continue to work with families after filming to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible.

FF: How do you choose the candidates to appear on the show?

ERW: We have a wonderful team that helps review family applications. When we receive applications, we look for stories that truly reveal a love for dogs and how a new shelter dog could

potentially change their life for the better. A background check as well as a home check (whether in-person or virtual) is required, and our team works with the families through several interviews to ensure they are ready and prepared to welcome a new family member into their home.

FF: If you can choose an episode so far, which one or two dogs did you fall in love with?

ERW: This is a tough question! Every single dog has won over our heart in one way or another. Some dogs that we have special memories of include Zoe and Wolf (a dog featured in an upcoming episode) for Rashi. Blue and Cookie were two dogs Eric really bonded with while they were at the Ranch.

FF: Which dog was easiest and hardest to train and why?

ERW: Some dogs come to us with more challenging back stories and circumstances. One of the most challenging dogs to train was a young, energetic lab named Boomer (upcoming episode). Trying to harness his energy and gain his focus required a little extra time and patience. Another pup that was challenging was Benji – because of his poor eyesight, lack of hearing, absence of teeth, and the fact that he never saw the outside world for the majority of his life, there wasn’t much training we could do with him. It was most important that he went to a loving home that could embrace his circumstance and accept him as he was.

The easiest dog was Choo Choo. The reason we consider him the easiest is because he really took to the cues quickly. He was already wellsocialized with both humans and dogs and was just an absolute pleasure to be around.

FF: Do you stay in touch with the new adoptees to check in and see how everything is going?

ERW: Yes, our team checks in with the families to make sure their newly adopted dog is settling in. We provide them with resources including a training video as well as access to our trainers for a certain amount of time. It can take about six months to one year for a newly adopted dog to acclimate so we try to set expectations and reiterate to the families that it may take some time for their dog to build trust and show their true personality.

FF: What do you do when not filming for Lucky Dog?

ERW: We own and operate a boarding & training facility called Happy Puppy L.A. in Los Angeles. We also help animals in need, whether through financial resources or helping to foster and/or adopt dogs out via our 501c3 organization, the WRARE foundation. In our free time, we enjoy hanging with our pup squad and family and friends. Now that our daughter Asara is almost eight months old, we are really enjoying little getaways and outdoor activities with her.

FF: What would you like your viewers to know about adopting a new dog?

ERW: We spend so much time encouraging the public to adopt dogs but when doing so, we should also set expectations that adopting a dog is not necessarily a quick or easy process. Shelters have certain protocol they must follow, especially since the pandemic, and rescue organizations, understandably so, hold very high standards for the families they are adopting dogs to.

If you aren’t hearing back or the dogs you are interested in are no longer available, be patient and don’t give up. It can be a frustrating process but it’s important to keep an open heart and mind. The right dog for you will come along! In fact, you may find yourself falling in love with multiple dogs (especially ones that you originally may not have been interested in) if you get the opportunity to interact with them in person. It’s worth going through the process knowing you saved a life and are providing an amazing home for a dog that will love you unconditionally.

Lastly, we want to thank our viewers and followers for their continued support of Lucky Dog. We love when people reach out to us and share stories of how much their rescue dog has changed their life for the better. We are so grateful for our platform, and we hope we can continue to inspire others to adopt dogs and spread our #adoptdontshop mission.

Eric and Rashi are co-owners of Happy Puppy L.A., a Los Angeles based company that provides personalized dog care as well as in-home private dog training and canine behavior consulting for veterinary practices. Throughout the process of building Happy Puppy L.A., Eric and Rashi always knew they wanted to create an organization that allowed them to give back to animals. In 2018, the WRARE foundation was created as a tribute to their rescue dogs. Given the impact their rescues have made, they wanted to make sure they give back to the same organizations that have brought so much joy into their lives. With the foundation, Eric and Rashi hope to not only provide for animals in need but also hope to educate the public on humane ways to interact and care for animals. https://www.wrare.org https://www.happypuppyla.com