Rex’s Mom (aka “Hudson & Rex” Lead Dog Trainer Sherri Davis)

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1:10I am the person I am today and I have the skills I have today because of the animals. You know, they're the ones who have taught me compassion. They're the ones who have taught me sorrow. They're the ones who have taught me. They've taught me everything. I'm Jen Moroz and this is Furball Confidential There are dog whisperers and then there's Sherry Davis Sherry's been training animals for film and TV for 25 years and as you'll hear she's had this uncanny ability to communicate with animals ever since she was a kid Today she wears many hats but her main gig is executive producer and lead dog trainer for Hudson and Rex the police drama set in St.

1:54John's, Newfoundland. It features a crime-solving German shepherd named Rex, and it's in its eighth season now. Sherry trains and owns all the dogs on the show, including Rex and all his stunt couples. Rex was originally played by Sherry's beloved dog, Diesel, who was diagnosed with late-stage cancer when they were shooting season seven. He died shortly after. And as you can imagine, that loss was incredibly hard for Sherry. She hasn't talked about it publicly too much before the conversation you're about to hear today. Rex is currently played by Diesel's nephew Dylan, who had some big paw prints to fill, but seems to be having a grand old time.

2:33When we started this interview, Dylan was lying calmly right behind Sherry, tongue hanging out. Since Sherry does so many things day to day, I started by asking how she describes what she does for a living.

2:50You know what, in all honesty, when people say, so what do you do for a living? I'm like, I pick up poop. I'm a pooper scooper. I'm a professional pooper scooper. Yeah, it's funny because people don't know what an animal master is or a dog master, which is what I go by. And then if you say, well, I'm a trainer, and then they just think it's just training where they don't understand the vast knowledge of what I do. So a lot of times, like on an average level, like so when I do teach, I teach to the public. So I have a training facility and a boarding facility and a daycare facility. And I do grooming and I have groomers that groom with us.

3:33So we have that facility. And then I have my film career, which I train for film and television and stills. So, and in that aspect, it's training for film, television, tricks, and all of that kind of stuff. I also do search and rescue. So I train search and rescue dogs. And then we have agility classes that we teach. Woof, you'd be right to ask if there is an animal-related training job that Cherry hasn't done. But she actually wanted to be a vet in the beginning and even started training to become one. I got really in like really taken by the medical side of things and then um I worked in a placement and you know 30 plus years ago it's a little different than now right so 30 plus years ago if you didn't have the money to pay up front I'm sorry but we don't have a choice we can't touch your dog.

4:34But most importantly was people would bring in dogs that were very young, like six months, eight months, like under a year, perfectly healthy dogs. And they'd want them euthanized because they bit their kids. They destroyed their house while they were at work. They did this and they'd bring them in and I'm like, okay, hold on. This is a behavior issue. it's not a healthy hold on we're we need to change this wow and I I couldn't do it and I was just like you know back then you could go down the the farmer street and go and it would say free kittens free puppies puppies five dollars and exactly you know it was a totally different world and yeah so I kind of would switch course out the back door and I was like I can't do this I it's too stressful for me I just can't yeah went into studying behavior and methodology and came up with my own methods of training I mean just listening to you talk it just strikes me how attuned you are to animals and I know you work mostly with dogs but I know you've you've worked with lots of other animals too and rats cats skunks horses uh goats like you name it if it's if it's like are you literally an animal whisperer where did that that sense of connection that sense of attunement with animals where did it start for you or do you know i think i was born with it to be honest like you know when we were younger again going back I'm not going to age myself but going back a long time you know kids weren't allowed in the house until the street lights came on so you know everybody else was playing whatever I was down at the creek you know saving frogs and looking for minnows and you know I'd come home and bring home a stray cat or a kitten and I'm like mom and they're like no not another one yeah and then they'd open up my closet to put my laundry where i was five and a cat would run out and they'd be like sherry oh my goodness i love it you know it's just a it's a it's a connection like out here in newfoundland where where we film hudson and rex uh we go out uh whale watching and stuff and they're like guaranteed have whale sherry's on the boat today because she the whales just know when she's here like it's crazy and i've got some of the most incredible humpback experiences where like they're coming up and almost touching my hand yeah wow yeah it's it's incredible sherry never expected that connection would lead her to where she is today after she realized that becoming a vet wasn't quite the right fit sherry decided to use her talents connecting with animals in a different way she became a trainer and then one day they were filming a show in Toronto and they needed a hundred dogs to to run as a pack and do this and do that and blah blah blah and they had said well there's nobody that can do it and then unbeknownst to me somebody in the industry was taking classes and they said go check out my trainer and these people were from Los Angeles so um they came out and I I was in the middle of teaching.

7:57So I made them wait and they're like, do you know who, who we are? And I'm like, do you know who I am? Like, sorry, these people are paying me to teach. I can't stop my business because you've walked in my door. You'll have to wait. So then I came out and they're like, okay. And they had, you know, all this paperwork, blah, blah. And I said, just tell me what you want. So they said, well, we need a hundred dogs to run A to Bs and do this and do that and run through jump stuff. And I said, okay. and they're like what's being okay and I said when do you need it by and they're like well in a couple months I said oh come back and talk to me and they're like no no we need to see this so it was like on a on a Wednesday or something that they had come by or a Thursday and I said okay come out on Saturday and they were like what Saturday I said like in two days and they're like you're gonna have a hundred dogs do this I said yeah so they came out and I had 140 dogs or 132 dogs or something like that.

8:55And I had like almost 300 people because I was doing a catch and a release and we read them through the industrial park and like around buildings and, and they were on the rooftop. I'm like, what is with these, these people are crazy. And they're sitting there going, this woman is not, how could she do that? And so it was quite the, it was quite the experience. And then they're like, what if we hid somebody in the, in the trash bin? Could you get them all to run there? I said, yeah. And so I'll never forget. Andrew Curry was my assistant. I said, Andrew, get in the dumpster. He's like, what? I said, get in the dumpster.

9:35I said, so I closed it. And then I said, okay, three, two, one. And of course all the dogs came, they were jumping on top of it, jumping around and swarming it. And, and they were like, where are you from? lady. I'd like to get into your work at Hudson and Rex because I know you do all of these other things but I know this is sort of a central part of your life is your work on Hudson and Rex and so we just were introduced to Dylan but there's we were just talking about this before we started this conversation it's not just Dylan when we're watching Hudson and Rex right now we're seeing Dylan, who else might we be seeing in what scenarios?

10:18So any of the stunts, so anything that is jumping over 32 inches is going to be a stunt dog. Okay. So crashing through the windows, biting the bad guys, knocking them down, all that is a stunt dog. Now, what I don't want to do is I don't want to say that they are not as important as Dylan. They are actually more important because they're the ones that give us all the action in the show. Right. However, Dylan is the face of the show. So we don't want to risk injury. Right. Yeah. It's even like people don't think, but even on like a wooden deck or something, we cover in all the slats because his nail could go down and he could break a toe.

11:07He could cut a nail off. So Dylan is the face of the show. Yeah. And he does like 98 % of the show. Right. And then the stunts, what we'll do is we'll throw in a stunt dog just to do the hits or the going through glass windows. And you can go. You can go. Go play. You can go play. Yes, it's okay. You can go play. Oh, look. Is that what you want? Yeah? Okay. You can go get your ball. Oh, he's such a good boy. And I also read that Dylan, and I don't know about the other dogs, but Dylan knows when he's nailed a scene or nailed a shot. Oh, yeah. So this year he really has come in tune. We can say back to ones and he, okay, goes.

12:00And when they yell cut or when they yell action is worse because he's like, okay. And he goes, I'm like, oh, you're too much. I'm like, so, you know, the, when you're on set, they're usually like, action. And I'm like, no, no, no, you got to be quiet. So it's like, and action. Oh, that's hilarious. So what you're saying is he knows, he knows his words a little too well. So he knows when something's the scene's done. He knows. Oh yeah, he knows. And he knows it's so funny because he knows if we're in a master, a master is when you shoot this big wide shot, right? Yeah. So everybody is playing and you shoot this big wide shot and then you do like individual actors one at a time and he gets his own.

12:43But it's so funny because when we do the big wide shot, he comes in and he sits and he's like, I know you're not going to use this of me looking around. So I don't have to pay attention. It's not. Yeah, it's so funny. But when the cameras are right on him, he's like, oh, I'm here. Do you see me? Oh, he's got. Yeah, he's he's like, I got a face for this camera. That's amazing. But, you know, I know it sounds like this is a crazy amount of work for you, but also for the dogs. Like what is life on set like for them? Do they get a chance to relax and what are the conditions for them? You mentioned safety is of, you know, major priority.

13:25Just so you know, I'm here in the training facility now and our floors are all cushioned floors in the training facility. Right. Right. We also have mats like I can take you on a walkabout, but we have two inch mats. We have six inch mats. We have eight inch mats. We have 30 inch mats. We have crash mats that are like 48 inches. There are more mats. And I'm sure the production was like this. What is what this woman? She's got more mats than anything. But, you know, we've got the dogs jumping off a 10 foot high scaffolding or, you know, six foot. We always jump them into a big matted pit. Like these dogs are never touching real ground.

14:09Even on the day when we shoot, we always shoot one with the mats down as a safety. And then I'll do one take without mats. So they only ever land on ground once without mats. And that's how I have eight-year-old stunt dogs, to be honest. Right, because they're protecting their joints. Yes. And then all the dogs get massage therapy every week. They all go to a spa every week. They get a pedicure and a manicure every week. I might like to be one of your packs, Sherry. Yeah, they have the stunt dogs have their own trailer, which is all temperature controlled. They like it at around 67 degrees. Okay.

14:54And then Rex has his own trailer. They have their own cooks. We cook for the dogs every single day. So we cook roast beef, boneless chicken breasts, and then they have some turkey. And then they'll get in every now and again, they'll get like a sweet meat for doing some scent detection and stuff. So we cook for the dogs and we measure their food, their daily intake. So we know how much food they're getting. And then at the end of the day, OK, they still require two thirds of a cup of food to, you know, based on what their activity is. So Dylan plays Rex and Rex is just known as this just I'm going to say superhuman, but super dog dog who just has this uncanny sense.

15:45What about Dylan in real life? What is he like? he loves learning and he's kind of like quirky about it but when he learns something new his eyes like when you clap it's like his eyes light up and he and he like he pounces like and his tail wags and i'm like i've never had a german shepherd that wagged a tail so much in my life oh that's so beautiful what a scene you just you just painted yeah it's it is the most adorable thing because he's so proud of himself you know and again you know i believe in clapping and i believe in in showing the dog that emotion because that's how they communicate to each other is through body language and emotion they don't talk to each other per se so a lot of stuff like your your listeners aren't going to be able to see this but i'll smile and I'll clap my hand I'll put my hands together and I'm smiling like this and then like yay and I'll do this and oh my gosh they go crazy and I don't even have to speak like I just do the motion and then on the other hand if he's being silly I can just put on like a mad face remember when you were a kid and your mother used to give you that oh that evil eye oh do I him and he's like I get it mom yeah oh i'm not joking around anymore we were just talking before we actually started to press record on this conversation dylan stepped in um and you said like really became rex in such a like stand-up way like he really stepped in what was the story there and how he came into the fold it was a tragedy to be quite honest so it was a Sunday morning because our Sunday is Monday I got up and I looked at Diesel and I said something's wrong so I ran out to my assistant Victoria and I said Vic take Dylan and Dante to set something's wrong with Diesel and she said what do you mean i said i can just tell again that's that intuition right i could just look at him and i said it's not good there's it's bad and she and of course she had said okay let's go to work and he ran to the front door right diesel dead because he just wants he wants to he's that devoted right whatever you want whatever you want so i said no d's you're staying come on bud and He was kind of heartbroken.

18:27Like he was like, why aren't we going? It's, it's a work day, you know, after two days of training, like to learn new behaviors, they're ready to go set. They are the happiest people on a Monday morning. It's not even funny. They're the happiest crew members. um so you know uh everybody was like he seems fine he wants to go to the trailer he wants to work and I said there's something wrong anyways uh you know I went to the vet same thing they thought I was crazy and uh it ended up uh we did emergency surgery his spleen burst so poor baby yeah so we had done emergency surgery and uh it was about two in the morning when he got out of surgery from like uh 6 30 in the morning when we discovered something but you know they're like oh no blood works fine i'm like listen i know my i'm not leaving this hospital i know my dog is dying there's something in the meantime poor vick is on set with dylan dylan and dante and she's like oh listen there is an emergency and thank goodness it was a it was a studio day yeah and our cast is just the most fabulous cast you could ever ask for like kevin justin and mako got us through season seven and without them we wouldn't have had a season seven because they really pitched in and helping us get dylan into um the rex into being rex you Because he hadn't played Rex at all at that point.

20:10It had been Diesel. So he had to step in cold and learn his lines. Yeah, everything. It was all new to him. Wow. And so they were phenomenal. And then season eight, I couldn't be prouder of the cast with Luke Roberts joining us. And oh, my gosh, he has put in so much time with Dylan. you know he's been to the house and he's been in the backyard playing with the dog and he you know he has that bond like no other it's remarkable and they all like they all pet him and interact and they all pay him and they're all like okay Dylan no you're gonna look at me now and they have helped immensely without that cast we wouldn't have a show right he wouldn't be the dog that he is now you know I can do so much training but at the end of the day if you're going to work and the and you aren't being reciprocated yeah you're not going to go to work anymore regardless of how good you are and they he gets so excited he goes in in the morning and wags and gives them kisses and you know they have been incredible that and the crew has been incredible so you know I'm very blessed that way yeah but it sounds like Dylan also just did a like it sounds like you were a pretty proud I'm so proud like he went in not knowing anything got thrown into this and then we were doing the oyster episode actually uh which was I think uh 703 and my gosh he'd never been on a boat he'd never been on a wharf he was scared of everything And, you know, you got a robotic camera coming at him and he's like, what's that?

21:59And God bless our camera operator, Matt. You know, it was a dedication of, you know, the camera operator to to spend that extra time working with us, even though we were rolling and we used extra film and extra time. But we got a season out of it. And yeah, remarkable dog. Yeah, it sounds like it. It sounds like it. And you said you were saying before that Dylan and Diesel were very different, different personalities. And I know you lost Diesel last August. And I'm I'm so sorry for your loss. I know he was such a huge piece of your heart. But can you tell us a little bit about his personality and what he was like as a co-worker and also as a family member or a PAC member?

22:46You know, I went to get a mobility service dog. I have a bad right leg. And I have been on a waiting list at this breeders for a couple years. He called and said, I got a couple puppies. So I went up with my assistant, Vic, and we looked at the puppies. And we were in the kennel. Dogs are going nuts. And this dog was just sitting so quietly down in the kennel. And I said, what's the story behind that guy? And he goes, oh, well, that's this dog's uncle. His sister had these pups and blah, blah, blah. He was returned and the guy couldn't handle him or whatever. and I said well what would happen if you let him out he goes let's see and he let out this 120 pound shepherd to come charging down and I was like oh boy I'm in trouble anyways I went home with the two puppies and that dog that night and and just the next day I was having meetings with with the production with the producers and my staff had brought him up to train because they were supposed to be gone and Adam hate was the producer and he turned around and said that's Rex and I was like oh no I haven't even had that dog like 12 hours I just brought that dog home blah blah blah and he said well you train all these other dogs I said yeah he goes train that one I'll be back next week with camera crew to do a come on yep so I had one week and I'm like oh buddy no pressure no pressure but he was he was uh you know if you went near his back end he would he would turn on you like yeah you know he had he but the nicest the sweetest guy but more dominant right where it where he if if he wasn't sure he would stand up or I don't know about this where Dylan is like oh shit I'm hiding mom okay yeah yeah so it was like okay you're definitely not Uncle Diesel because he was so confident.

24:40And if he if he got like unsure about something, his reaction was fight. Yeah, let's go bring it on where Dylan's reaction is, OK, that's fine. My mom will take you on.

24:59Diesel, amongst other things, was an actor. And I know your team advocated to have him remembered this past year at the Canadian Screen Awards. Yes. And why was it important for you and the team? Because it sounds like you have a great team to rally behind you and the dogs. But why was it so important? I'm so proud of all my dogs. But at the end of the day, the reason the recognition was so important to me is they don't get recognized. They are actors, you know, they're not background performers, you know, and and the amount of work that these animals work to the amount that we we all do to make this happen.

25:46Yeah, I think it's a sin that they they can't get awarded, you know, an Academy Award for their performances or they don't get recognized as an actor. it's just oh yeah it's an animal in the background or it's a dog it's not he's a cast member he's number one on the on the call sheet he's number one cast member so i and you know we do meet and greets and i do charity um or i i do things for charity with the dog and diesel was always and same with dylan he was always willing to go and greet his fans and the fans are what really touch home because they appreciate it and they see and then you hear their stories about how the dog has helped them get through a situation or how the dog has helped them do this or that or the other thing there's so many things yeah and you know I think the recognition in film and television is lacking and I really think it's something that we have to um we have to fight to get them back into recognition so having him on that big screen I I cried that's amazing and to think that he came from the beginning where it was like the breeders like no you don't want this one he's been returned yeah to to that yeah it's beautiful and you you also like what you saw in in diesel I feel like you've sort of transported into another program another one of your hats called death row dogs and you just tell us a little bit about that because I think it really speaks to your ability to see something in dogs that maybe some other people can't yeah so there is no dog should be on death row there's no animal I think in in 30 plus years there's been three animals and I can tell you exactly who they are one was an akita one was a german shepherd and one was a great dane and these dogs those are the only three dogs that i could not train i could not figure it out and unfortunately and it broke my heart and i will i will stake claim to this i had to order them down because they were that dangerous one had a brain tumor because we didn't need crops afterwards two had were full of cancer right so you know i i i kind of felt justified in a in in a sense that okay there was something that was making this trigger like you know you could just be sitting there and the dog would just turn and attack you like a like unprovoked but then you understand pain and you understand what's been going on and it was undiagnosed so but other than that that that's it for me like in over 30 years there's been three dogs and they all had medical issues yeah um but you know i'll take dogs off a death row all the time i've had so many people you know they're euthanizing their dog or i've had vets call me and say share like can you help this is a young dog blah blah blah and you know and you know i yeah i'll take them yeah and and if they have high trigger points they will live on on the ranch with me and they'll enjoy life for the rest of their life yeah they don't have high trigger points i will place them in homes yeah you know i just placed a little boston terrier with my parents oh i placed a basset hounds with my brother.

29:33Everybody who knows me gets a dog. It's like, okay, if you're my friend, guess what? You don't have a dog, but you're going to get one. Oh, that's amazing. But it's a fully trained dog. So, you know, you're, you're going to be all good. If you're okay, I'd love to ask, just going back to Diesel for a second, how, how would you like to remember him? I know you were so proud with that in memoriam but that's a very public display for you what will you remember my son my son who was with me 24 hours a day seven days a week for the eight years that i had him and the devotion and the dedication he never left my side never left my side and i never So, you know, if there was a time where like the morning I woke up, I just knew something's wrong.

30:31There were times where he got up and all of a sudden he'd come and lick my face and lie down. He just knew mom's not 100 % today. Yeah. You know, and I'll remember him as, you know, my partner, my soulmate. You know, that's what I'll remember him as. He was part of me. And, you know, when he left, every dog takes a piece of my heart, but he really hit home. Yeah. Yeah. I'm so sorry for your loss. And thank you for... I miss him dearly. You know, it's very difficult. You know, and it's very hard when, you know, I love all my kids. Don't get me wrong. And I love Dylan to bits. And he's a different dog.

31:22He's ruined my heart in a different way. Yep. And, you know, it's when I'm training, I've got to take a step back sometimes where I have to say, Sherry, stop. This isn't diesel. Right. You need to settle down. You need to think about things and you need to give them a hug now and say you're sorry and start over, you know, because it's easy to compare. Right. And especially when they look so much alike. Yes. You know. Yeah. And then you have a Dylan and you have a diesel. Now here's the, for instance, cause I'm tearing up and he is just sitting, looking at me with big eyes. Like he is locked into me.

32:05And that's, that's that emotional attachment that we have. That attunement. Yeah. And I didn't think I would ever get that with another dog. Like I, I really, you know, but it just shows like, Like he's over on his mat and he stopped everything and he's just staring at me. You got me tearing up here too, Sherry. You know, it's just, it's okay, buddy. Yeah. So it's just, it's just, yeah, it's just a thing, right? Yeah. How would you say between Dylan, Diesel, your other dogs, what have they taught? I mean. They've taught me a lot. They've taught me about, you know, they've taught me unconditional love.

32:55Yeah. They've taught me understanding. They've taught me to have more patience. Now, I am a perfectionist and I can get, you know, but they have taught me, you know, anything can be achieved. It's knowing how to stop, take a step back and think about what you're doing and we can get through this. And, you know, I think that they've taught me how to troubleshoot. They've taught me patience and love and respect and come here. Good boy. And this is what I'm taught. Yes. Dylan's coming over to comfort Sherry. I mean, I am the person I am today and I have the skills I have today because of the animals.

33:43You know, they're the ones who have taught me compassion. They're the ones who have taught me sorrow. They're the ones who have taught me. They've taught me everything, you know. I thank you so much for taking the time to not just talk to us, but to share your memories of Diesel and of your times working on set with Dylan. It has been such a beautiful conversation. Thank you. You know, I appreciate you reaching out. And, you know, this is the first time I've really talked since I've lost him. um so again therapeutic myself also yeah um but you know i appreciate you recognizing not only my son but rex as as a star that he is and um you know i think what you guys are doing is amazing thank you thanks so much to sherry davis for that conversation and since i get the last word, I'm going to say I think what she's doing is amazing.

34:48Season 8 of Hudson and Rex is out now. You can watch it on City TV or stream it on City TV+. We asked Sherry if she had an animal-related cause to tell you about, and she said Rainbow Riders. It's an organization in St. John's, Newfoundland, that provides therapy through horses and horseback riding to people with disabilities. What I've seen those horses do for the people and the community out here is just beyond, beyond any words. So, you know, if you can find it in your hearts to give a little donation to Rainbow Riders, Rex and I would really appreciate it. That's it for this episode of Furball Confidential.

35:29If you like what you hear, bark up our tree, leave us a review, tell a friend and make sure you follow us so you don't miss an episode.

35:39Furball Confidential is created and hosted by me, Jen Moroz. Our producer is Talia Schlanger. She and David Travers-Smith co-created our theme music with Brian Kobayakawa on bass. Video and sound design and editing are all done by Reza Daya. Danny Stover does our social media. Our show artwork is by Adrian Foro. And on audience development, we have Marina Hanna. And thanks, as always, to the original inspiration for this podcast, Clutch. I'm Jen Moroz. See you next time on Furball Confidential.

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