Who Doja is
As the family describes her
On her first day home she cowered when an umbrella opened.
On film
because we got her from the shelter
Because when I popped open that umbrella and she cowered
Before training she pulled and bolted. She had to be on a locking rope lead, and she pulled an owner down a flight of stairs after rabbits. That owner stopped walking her.
On film
fact that she's on this retractable leash is impressive as hell to me because when you picked picked her up she was on a thick rope type of leash with a d-ring that we had that it had like this screw piece to lock it because she would get away yeah and she would haul ass on you
I've taken her out a couple of times, and she'll see them damn bunnies downstairs, and she'll pull me down the flight of stairs.
She escapes. She backed out of a harness on a dog walker and bolted across a courtyard, and she has broken out of her crate. The owner prefers a choke chain.
On film
She put Doja in a harness and I told her don't do it. She's an escape artist. Yeah. She backed over the harness and bolted.
get her a new crate. Because she's busted out of her so bad.
She jumps on visitors, so she is crated when company comes. The owners have not taken her to dog parks or out in public because of how people read her.
On film
and so then it's like okay i have to create her every time i have company yes because she wants to be all over them
i've been afraid to take her places because not because she's naughty yeah but because other people don't know how to perceive her yeah you know like she wants to she was wanting to jump on everybody
Other animals: she gets on extremely well with the family's other dog, Cornelius. She used to harass a household cat without hurting it. At home she has occasional spikes of anxiety that the owners cannot explain.
On film
she does extremely well with cornelius
because we had a cat and oh my gosh she used to terrorize the cat
she's typically done good with it but it's only been lately that once in a while Now, she'll hit like this anxiety point and we'll go bonkers
As the trainer describes her
A shelter dog he enjoyed working out, 'eager to learn' and keen to please (said in conversation; the speaker of 'aims to please' is uncertain). She resisted the down at first, and he has never seen her bark at dogs that bark at her.
On film
their kind of history and so you just have to like deal with the dog that you're looking at
she definitely aims to please
now i haven't had her like barking any other dogs um when they bark at her
What the recording shows
A dog who greets her family in a spinning frenzy and is allowed to 'go nuts' first. She then walks loose on a flexi, sniffing. She answers sit, down, break, let's go and here for the trainer. Once, 'enough' and pops calm her down, going by the trainer's narration. She ignores a passing runner, shows interest in ducks and dachshunds, and comes when the owners call her, though not every first call works. Body language cannot be checked from the audio.
The program, stage by stage
Before the program (reported)
Unknown
Shelter adoption, the umbrella cowering, pulling and bolting, harness escapes, and the cat. A phone call with the trainer, where he says he gave his three essential behaviours.
On film
I think I told you over the phone, like if I only had like three things I could teach a dog, I would teach them like a, a punishment marker, like a condition punishment, like a note. And then I would teach them, uh, like, like a recall. And then I would teach them a redirection cue, like, let's go.
Drop-off lesson, parts 1 and 2Turning point
On or before 2025-11-13
About 53 minutes on a walk near the owners' home. In part 1: the reunion, the walk style, let's-go as a redirect, the four windows, place not used as a band-aid, 'enough' with pops, the three essential behaviours for Cornelius, the no-treats heel demonstration, and an owner's first recall. In part 2: heel for passing dogs, barking at dogs, choice points on the retractable, the owners' priorities, recall-building on the flexi, owner practice of recall, sit and down, when to use the e-collar, and the equipment handed over. It ends with the owner saying she feels confident taking Doja to the pet store.
On film
as of right now I feel confident to take her with me to the pet store as opposed to taking her home
Skills
Recall, including owner recall on a retractable
How it was taught
Let her get absorbed in a scent at the end of the flexi, then call once without grabbing the lead. Use 'nope' if she ignores it, retry, praise and release. The progression is flexi, then long line, then off lead.
On film
take her out on the retractable for a little bit and practice the recall like where what i like to do is that's how i start the recall before i go to the long line and then fully off leash
i was gonna say yeah because yeah my last knowledge of with her is right your last memory goes that way she bolts and she gone
We'll try calling her over real quick. Doja! Doja! And say, here? Here! That's close.
doja here doja here doja here all right tell her nope no she's like wait we're kind of doing a triangle thing right now we're freaking her out try again doja here good girl yes my baby
Let's go (redirect)
How it was taught
Used as a way to move her on without locking the flexi or recalling her. A recall would bring her back to sit and wait for a command.
On film
then she's like looking for a command but if i say let's go then she just goes and does it
Sit and down, with the stay implied, released on 'okay'/'break'
How it was taught
Cue once, give no stay cue, say 'nope' if she gets up early, then release.
On film
All right, try another sit. Doja, sit. All right, and now just walk away a little bit. Tell her nope. Nope. There you go. And then give her the okay again. Okay.
she'll down you don't have to point but if she like hesitates or doesn't do it right away or seems confused then just point
Pet-dog heel
How it was taught
Heel cue, small pops when she leaves position, then 'break', a step away and play. Taught on the left only. No treats.
On film
it's a pet dog heel so it's just in the area and then they're supposed to follow you on the turn
basically all i'm doing is just doing some like little pops if they get out of position and then just going all right break and i'll kind of like step away
they don't know so then i just recall them and then put them in a heel for a second and then okay break go go go right and then i can let them out and they're doing their thing but that's what i normally that's normally the basically the only thing i use the heel for
Place on the couch spot, including out of sight
How it was taught
Mark her spot on the sectional with a blanket. If she gets up, 'no', a pop, and put her back.
On film
i mean she'll stay for a few minutes
to do it where you can leave and go out of sight just do it and just something yeah just do it and then if if she gets up then just go over tell her no pop and then put her up there and if you do that a few times she'll figure it out
Calm in the house ('enough')
How it was taught
Set the tone. If she amps herself up for no reason, say 'enough'. If she does not settle, put the leash on, say 'enough' again, and pop.
On film
what I would do is just make it clear that like she needs to chill out so you put a leash on her and then come over and be like hey enough chill right chill out you see how her whole vibe changed
so you can see she took that seriously when I was like and then like I popped a couple of times she was right okay I'll just chill out
Barking at dogs, and dogs and people passing
How it was taught
First decide whether the barking is a problem at all. If it is: 'no', a pop if needed, then let's go. On the retractable, wait to see what she chooses.
On film
like people have different reactions to it um and so those feelings don't go away just like dog the feeling doesn't go away and they might still do that same action for a minute the difference is whether or not you can tell them to stop
a lot of times the instinct is to go right and make sure she doesn't go over to the guy on the leash right but instead i just waited to see what what is she gonna do yeah and she didn't do it she didn't even look at the guy she didn't care
How the method adapted
Doja's handover shows the trainer's method in mid-change more than it shows adaptations to her. He says he is two weeks into dropping constant treats, and her handover is built around release and play. The adaptations specific to her are the retractable lead for a dog who used to bolt, and advice on crates and gear for a dog who escapes.
A retractable lead for a dog whose family knew her as a bolter. It gives her choice points instead of constant management.
A dog that is always managed never shows you what she would choose, and then 'goes boom' when let loose. The owner offers a compressed-spring comparison, and the trainer agrees.
On film
that's why i like using the retractable because you allow for something that that's uh called it's called choice points right
point and uh and then you get to see what choice they make right right um but if you're constantly managing then they never get to make the decision right and then when they're let loose they're gonna go they might do something stupid
No treats. The handover sits and downs are rewarded with release and play, and the trainer points out that she is happy and engaged without food.
The trainer's recent experience is that constant treats make dogs subdued and food-fixated, and that some ignore the treat altogether.
On film
And I found that I actually like the dog's vibe better when I'm not, like, pez dispensering the treats.
Or I realized that a lot of the time I'd have a dog completely ignore the treat.
but then you can see like she looks super happy she's really engaged she's listening and i haven't given her any treats
The e-collar was kept in reserve. It was not used during the handover, the owners are told to ask more than once before escalating, and it is described as mainly a recall tool. At the pet store that day, the prong is enough.
Give the dog a chance. Escalate only when she tests hard or makes a habit of slow sits.
On film
And, and also you can see like how I use the e-collar. Like, I don't, I don't think I've used it yet.
I'll give them a chance. Right. Yeah. Um, I'll give them a chance. I'll tell them sit more than once.
But honestly, the main thing I use the e-collar for is just the recall.
Heel is used only for passing unknown dogs and crowds, not as the default way to walk.
Other owners let 'friendly' dogs approach on flexies, so a short heel, then 'break', gets her past them.
On film
they don't know so then i just recall them and then put them in a heel for a second and then okay break go go go
Predatory interest is redirected, not treated as a fault.
It is genetic.
On film
genetically they were literally like that's their thing um uh they're predators and so i don't like get bad at that i just redirect them
What the family was told
Walks: mostly her time
notice that like kind of how we're doing the walk is it's very she's i'm not telling her to do anything um and that's like probably a good 90 of every walk will just be like her doing stuff
the the commands you have them for when you need them.
The windows of a dog's life, and place is not a band-aid
kind of different windows or aspects of a dog's life one window is definitely like the work window
they play like that so so then like that's acceptable but then it wouldn't be time and place in the break yeah context and so then another one is like okay just enough right where you just want them to be calm at the house
And one of the things, like, with the place command, a lot of times what trainers will ask people to do is basically to use place as a band-aid over the column at the house window.
none I don't want that I want her to feel free yeah I see her as a two-year-old three-year-old child
Cornelius: the three essential behaviours
with him, because he hasn't had any training, um, you'll just have to like introduce it.
I think I told you over the phone, like if I only had like three things I could teach a dog, I would teach them like a, a punishment marker, like a condition punishment, like a note. And then I would teach them, uh, like, like a recall. And then I would teach them a redirection cue, like, let's go.
Priorities
And I tell all my trainers that. I'm like, look, you need to prioritize those things. You need to prioritize that you can tell the dog to stop doing stuff, knock it off. You need to prioritize that the dog always recalls.
And you need to prioritize that you can take a walk, and it's not a terrible time.
Recall: why the release matters
that's why it's good to take them out on walks to proof it because to get them to to practice a recall they got to go away right that's why we do the release command so that they actually feel free to leave
try to recall no you don't have to grab the leash just call her over dojo here there you go
Exercise
it can help it can be useful it's not like honestly the best thing is to do this okay this will be like 95 of like everything
just chuck the ball as far as you can and just let her run back and forth um so even if there's not a fence you don't actually like need you don't need the fence
Supervision and the crate
so like i can train the dog all day but that doesn't mean that it works unsupervised
Equipment and practice
and that collar is yours the the prong collar the e-collar for you guys i have in there um and the flexi as well
just use the phone collar right um so if you need to correct it all you can say no and just pop it
you'll have to get used to like like saying the right things at the right times
i'll probably put this video up on youtube if it doesn't bother you um that way you can watch it back
In the family's own words
Goals: to take her to a dog park with confidence, and to have her pay attention.
On film
To be able to take her to the dog park. Seeing that she can be around other dogs and not have a problem. And seeing that she's going to actually pay attention to what I got to say.
Satisfaction at the handover.
On film
so the fact that she's just chilling like this
So now I feel comfortable with the thought of taking her to the pet store to go get another crate.
Outcomes
What the trainers reported
She walks calmly on a retractable lead, which the owners had not thought possible.
An owner, at the drop-off
On film
fact that she's on this retractable leash is impressive as hell to me because when you picked picked her up she was on a thick rope type of leash with a d-ring that we had that it had like this screw piece to lock it because she would get away yeah and she would haul ass on you
The owner feels confident taking her into a pet store.
An owner, end of part 2
On film
as of right now I feel confident to take her with me to the pet store as opposed to taking her home
Heel already fine. Sit and down proofed around distractions.
The trainer
On film
heel now she already does fine with the deal but then if she goes out of it
What the footage shows
The trainer cues her on a flexi walk: sit, down, break, let's go, here and heel. She responds, going by the praise and narration.
The owners get recalls, each after one miss or near-miss and a retry. The owner's sit-and-walk-away needs one 'nope'. The down works, with a point as an option.
She passes a runner without reacting, by the trainer's account. The e-collar was not used during the handover, by the trainer's account.
The ideas Doja's case runs on
- Build the handler's timing while it is easy
- Control is not obedience
- Food facilitates calm, it cannot create it
- Freedom is given in measured steps
- Give him time to answer
- Honest limits, and reliability is not permission
- Release to freedom
- Start with freedom
- Sticking close is not attachment
- The four windows, and calm liberty
- The standard is set by the job