Who Hattie is
As the trainers describe her
A people dog. Every handler who describes her with humans says the same thing, and she is repeatedly offered to strangers to hold and pet.
On film
yeah she's very sweet and docile with humans
hello oh hello oh my goodness yeah she loves people
yeah she wants she always wants more if if she's not on the place cut because about 50% of the time when she's in with me she's on the cot the other 50% of the time she's uh hanging out with me on the couch
Socially sensitive: she 'crumples' if she thinks her handler is upset, which is the stated reason her pressure is kept low. Two handlers independently call her sensitive - one of the prong and leash pressure in January, one of the e-collar in April.
On film
that works great not even that hard honestly I don't just mostly just like a soft no like hey like but it because dogs like her bully breeds Shepard Shepard's they're really like socially sensitive because they're so socially sensitive you can just use social pressure with them like if I go and she thinks I'm like upset with her she just like crumples
as you can see she's very sensitive to the prong collar
She's a very sensitive girl.
Sometimes shy - a tail 'a little tucked sometimes', depending on mood. It is said once, early, by the handler of the March walk, and not repeated later.
On film
her tail's a little tucked sometimes but she's just a little bit shy sometimes
High energy that comes in bursts and then stops. Described as a hyper dog who can get into trouble when overstimulated, and at the handover as maxing out after about fifteen minutes.
On film
hyper dog and so then she can get herself into a little bit of trouble if she gets a little overstimulated
between spurts of lots of energy then she's really lazy and she's done so she she maxes out after like 15 minutes
she's a really good dog she's got pretty good energy and she gets zoomies
Choosy about dogs, and specifically about big pushy ones. This is the one behavioural caveat anyone attaches to her, it is described the same way by three speakers across five months, and it comes with the trainer's own account that she will bite at a dog that tries to mount her.
On film
family dog she just the only thing that she has at all is like i said it's just if another dog is pushy that's it
are like taller than her if they try to mount her and get on top of her she will she's very patient because she just likes to play but she will bite at them she'll bite them
it seems like the only thing that i've really nailed down she has a problem is large dogs who push her hard
Does not work for food. Play, toys and release to freedom are her rewards; treats are given free and never earned.
On film
Oh, I almost never trained with treats unless they that's my only option for a dog Instead I'll use play. I'll use play and I'll use a release to freedom Yeah, cuz like for her that right there. She cares about that about 50 times more than she cares about treats
because I I don't give her any treats that's a me I give her toys we play a lot by well I do I don't I give her free treats randomly but that's basically it but like sitting won't get her a treat
Physically, 'yoked': muscular, guessed at 45 pounds, called a tank. Breed is a staff guess.
On film
some kind of random pit mix she's just a random rescue pit
are leaning harder than that that's good i bet you can make what are you 45 pounds
and she's just she's like a tank she is she's a tank she's a unit
As her adopters describe her
At home she sleeps through most of the day and ramps up when the family is around, with zoomies late in the evening. During the zoomies she sometimes nips at heels and ankles, and the owner uses the collar on that.
On film
all day yeah and then you know in the afternoon as the kids come home she gets very excited then by like 9 or 10 o'clock at night she's just doing she's running like a she got zoomies
gets the zoomies she will on occasion come over and try to nip at your your heels and your ankles
She will not go for walks in the daytime, fighting on the driveway, but goes out at night.
On film
she does not like going for a walk during the day really okay she will fight me tooth and nail but she will she go for a walk at night
She licks everyone and everything.
On film
I mean, she loves to lick people.
She can be left alone, and she settles by herself at bedtime.
On film
i left her alone here for four hours today she's fine
she does a good job of like you know when it's time for bed it's time for bed
She knows the house rules and tests them: one couch is hers, the others are not.
On film
not allowed on these couches she knows that but she pushes her luck
Since the incidents with the cat she has grown skittish with the family, backing away, startling and running, while still cuddling.
On film
she has become kind of skittish around us she's grown skittish
she's still cuddling everything like that
Facts as stated and where they conflict
On film
telling you about the one that like is like that she's actually like that too that's why we have her she's been with the rescue for a couple years with foster and yeah she just had like some dog reactivity and stuff like that and that's why we just got her a couple days ago
On film
house or wherever you might go or your local park so yeah I think she's only several months old she's under a year for sure I believe
how old is Patty she's two okay yeah I was like I thought she was like a year and a half but I was wrong
Twice a day, normally. But because she's, I mean, how old is she now? Two.
On film
She's up for adoption if you want her. She's currently being held by a shelter, and I'm a dog trainer, and they hired us to get her ready for adoption by a family.
it's a rescue organization that we're partnered with
Okay, because that's where I'm heading to, because she's with them.
On film
But, yeah, she can't eat chicken at all. She's severely allergic.
like chicken byproduct and stuff in it and she hasn't had any kind of major uh like allergic reactions
she's either allergic to chicken or beef i think it's chicken
On film
i haven't seen any issues with cats at all
And with Hattie, Phil was like, oh, hi.
She didn't do anything, so if you watch how she looked, she didn't freeze up and fixate,
Grabbed the cat, shook her. We got them separated.
The program, stage by stage
Before the camera: two years with a rescue, and 'some dog reactivity'
Up to about the start of January 2026.
All of this is reported, in passing, by the trainer in a Murphy clip: a rescue dog, a couple of years in foster, taken on because of some dog reactivity, arrived a couple of days earlier, and allergic to chicken. At the handover a voice on uncertain audio adds that she had lived with two cats and chickens 'at the other trainers' before; that cannot carry a claim.
On film
Yeah, we have one dog right now in our kennel that we're training. It's a rescue dog named Hattie.
telling you about the one that like is like that she's actually like that too that's why we have her she's been with the rescue for a couple years with foster and yeah she just had like some dog reactivity and stuff like that and that's why we just got her a couple days ago
January foundation: pressure she is sensitive to, turned down to fit
January 2026 (four clips uploaded 2026-01-21; their filming order within the month is unknown).
Four short narrated clips by an unnamed handler. The recall is built on a flexi by what the handler calls forward conditioning - the cue first, the pressure a half-second later only if she has not complied - on top of an 'okay' release, a 'nope' marker and leash-pressure yielding already in place. The down is being moved onto the e-collar: after five or six reps she is 'starting to get it' and a little stubborn; a bigger-than-expected reaction at 20 is read as surprise, the level is dropped to about 10, and she 'powers into' the down just the same. A let's go she ignored gets a prong tap, with the stated plan to move that backup to the e-collar 'as that's how we start preparing them to be without any kind of leash'. She goes back on the prong for a day to fix details and then onto a flat collar; on a bridge she resists the heel, and the handler reads it as wanting to sniff, not fear. She is already being pitched to viewers for adoption, and her training is 'not done obviously yet'.
On film
so it's like a half second difference so we give them a chance tell them to come um and then we use it only afterwards um if they haven't uh complied with the command right um so they very quickly learn to avoid it um after they've learned to escape it
so that can differ also along which commands you're doing so like that was only on like a 20 so i'll probably knock it down a little bit to about a to about a 10
powering into the down actually um so uh she was giving me a very very similar on the 20 uh the 20 that i had it set on as she is on the 10. so it's having the correct effect
not done obviously yet but it's getting there you can see i just did like a little bit of reinforcement on the let's go because she kind of ignored it
so sometimes you got to try to figure out like what are they trying to do right because that could look like okay i'm just suppressing her right and so she's just scared but if you look at her posture now she's totally good now she just wanted to sniff really badly on the bridge
February and March: public outings, a long line, and selling her to strangers
Uploads 2026-02-23 (watch) and 2026-03-09 (watch); the March walk's 'a couple months' is on uncertain audio.
Two outings by handlers other than Kelton, both thin on training and rich in what is said to passers-by. In February she walks a park on a 50-foot line through kids and fire-department equipment on a day both she and the handler are low on energy, so belly rubs stand in for play; the handler tells a stranger the business was hired to get her ready for adoption and explains why dogs are taken to parks and hardware stores. In March a stranger's long conversation carries the first description of her one problem - pushy dogs - framed as normal variation with a gas-station analogy, and the first 'out', which she is 'just' starting to learn. The March handler names the partnered rescue.
On film
this baseball field, but what I plan to do is actually take her to actually, you know, outside in an open field, a more open field that she's got more distractions because she's obviously doing really good overall with her.
She's up for adoption if you want her. She's currently being held by a shelter, and I'm a dog trainer, and they hired us to get her ready for adoption by a family.
to have a good time yeah she's a good girl oh yeah the only problems that she ever has are she seems to not have a knowledge of how to play well with other dogs
people are like that and some people aren't but so it's the same thing with dogs so just because the dog doesn't fit your stereotype doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with them
I've been teaching her an out. I just started teaching her the out.
April: the long stay, home-context settling, and dog testingTurning point
Uploads 2026-04-22 (watch, watch), 2026-05-01 (watch) and 2026-05-04 (watch).
The point at which she stops being a board-and-train and becomes a long-stay dog waiting for a home. In another dog's session the trainer calls her one of the dogs he works with 'on a little bit longer term basis' because they have no place to go, says she is ready to be adopted, and says he has been testing her with different dogs. In her own hour-long home-context recording the stated goal is a full settle in a house, 'the key is not management' but behaviour change, obedience is to be refreshed and extended, and dog testing is to be more extensive than before so she can go to a home with dogs and children. She takes, by his estimate, twenty to thirty minutes to lie down on the cot, then holds it. A second-dog test and a 'door test' are planned. An evening with Rocky sets up the one filmed dog-socialisation attempt - exposure with nobody 'all up in your business' - and the audio becomes unusable after two and a half minutes.
On film
just incredibly happy with all of these that I'm working with. There's a couple of other dogs that I've been working with on a little bit longer term basis due to different issues that they've had or them not having a place to go. I've been working with Hattie.
to play. She's very energetic. She's really, really sweet. Um, I've been testing her out with different dogs and I think she's getting good at it.
but we're going to be expanding her training to a whole new list of commands and we're also doing even more extensive dog testing than we did before to make sure that she's good to go to a home with a variety of dogs as well as children and other things without becoming you know overstimulated or getting herself into trouble
Look at Hattie Pattie. She's finally settled down. I think it took her like probably 20-30
As well, we're letting Hattie Pattie get used to being around other dogs in a relatively relaxed setting and just letting her chill out, right, with another dog nearby and letting her see that, hey, look, they're not going to jump on you.
The spring fair: the most people and dogs she has met, and the case put into wordsTurning point
watch, uploaded 2026-05-19. watch (uploaded 2026-05-05) is another long public outing that may belong here.
Kelton takes her to a crowded spring fair to find the partnered rescue's booth and to expose her to more people and dogs than she has met. By his running report she greets several adults and children and has dogs sniff her without reacting; her ears are slightly back at first. The recording's value is his account of the case. She needed two or three things: to be told no a couple of times with a soft social no, a Flexi and lots of play, and room to make choices. Her e-collar sits at about 15 of 100 because 'for her it's all just social'. He says three years ago he would have band-aided behaviour problems with the place cot. On dogs he is specific: she is dog selective, ignores small dogs, dislikes very large pushy dogs that stand over or mount her and will bite at them, and he has 'narrowed it down'; she does not have to be an only dog; criterion one for a home is somebody who likes her. For an adopter he would do at least two, probably three, in-program lessons of an hour and a half to two hours. The Echo bite story he tells here is not about Hattie: Christian's dog Echo bit his own dog Zuri (heard as 'Zutty') through the lip after Zuri kept jumping on her through five or six warnings. Much of the rest is sarcastic banter that inverts his serious statements and is not evidence.
On film
no she hasn't been in a place with this many people and dogs before yeah she does good she's a happy girl
yeah she's doing good out here she's greeted maybe three or four people so far yeah she said hi to maybe three or four people and she's had a couple of dogs come up and like sniff her randomly and she didn't do anything she was fine
with her so like for like the e-collar she sits really low um if you like dialed the e-collar up at all it would be it would just be really unnecessary um she sits at like a 15 out of 100 to be honest for like almost all contexts because like primarily for her it's all just social
with people at all she is very excited sometimes but randomly she does fine with kids I've tested her like she has greeted several kids here and she doesn't care she's just a little dog selective but I did kind of narrow it down to what she likes and doesn't like
you yeah how do you think she would do if she transfers over to like a new human right new human um what i like to do it's the same thing i do for all the boarding trains um and really anybody that i work with um we do i'll do at least two but probably with hattie i'd do three in-program lessons that last like maybe an hour and a half to two hours
Summer at the kennel: still waiting
Heard in other dogs' recordings uploaded 2026-05-22 to 2026-07-07.
Her name is called among kennelled dogs in several sessions, and in two of Louie's she is being moved around the building. The only things said about her are on uncertain audio and cannot carry claims: that she cannot come out when other dogs are out, and that she is 'very triggered by' one staff member. Both are left as open questions. A home, by the handler of the last staff hang-out, 'took this long' to find.
On film
Wait, what about Hattie? Hattie's in the crate in there
It's really hard to find you a really good home. Okay? She took this long to find you a perfect one.
The meet-and-greet at the training propertyTurning point
watch, uploaded 2026-08-08. Before the handover by content.
The prospective adopters and a rescue representative meet her at the property. One adopter is nervous about her training and his not knowing anything, and is told they will be helped. The trainer - by his own dog, very probably Kelton - answers in depth. Dogs: fine with space, ignores dogs on walks, and the one thing he has 'nailed down' is large dogs pushing her hard; her 'dude go away' looks like aggression to an untrained eye but is a warning, not an attack. Cats and children: no issues seen. Skills: sit, down, heel, place, a good recall, 'out'. The e-collar is framed by what makes a dog's world small, and he places it in proportion: for most things in the house a collar grab or a spray bottle will do, and it is only 'the only good option' off leash in unfenced public places or at a distance. The rescue then sets out its requirements.
On film
he's a little nervous he said uh he's nervous about the training that she had and him not knowing anything
do anything she does nothing um it's uh the only time i've had her do anything is a big dog that's also being pushy whether it's trying to like push hard to play or do something else and then she did not attack the other dog right so she's not trying to do any of that it looks like it a little bit to an untrained eye but all she's actually doing is being like dude go away stop it get away from me
again okay to avoid that penalty thing so basically what I'm saying is like the eco is not the only option for most things like in the house especially the only place where it is the only good option is if you go off leash in a public area without fences right or any time that you want to be able to like make something non-optional and she's not close to you
The last days at the kennel
watch, uploaded 2026-08-05. After a home has been found (it speaks of her 'new home'); probably between the meet-and-greet and the handover, though the order is not certain.
Two unnamed staff sit with her in a quiet room. The first six minutes are quiet time with the dog. What concerns her: she will not eat the chicken offered and is thought to be allergic to chicken or beef; she is going to a new home that took a long time to find.
On film
No, she's going to be a snuggle buddy. You are going to be so happy in your new home.
The handover at the adopters' homeTurning point
watch, uploaded 2026-08-08; spoken as hot summer.
'We found you a home.' The trainer - not named; 'my trainers' and 'my youtube' fit Kelton - delivers her to the family, who have a cat and who say they found her by filtering adoption websites for dogs good with cats. The fifty-minute visit is a go-home lesson in all but name: care (about two, fed twice a day, never soiled indoors, allergy-prone skin, fly-bitten ears in hot wet weather); barrier reactivity behind fences, named and set in proportion; the four windows with calm liberty as the one most owners miss; a conditioned 'uh-uh', then 'enough', kept 'charged' like a battery; social pressure first, then something meaningful, judged by her face; the e-collar as safe and useful at a distance, with the advice to try it on yourself. The cat introduction is run on a retractable lead so she is not held back; she does not freeze or fixate, and later chases the cat in the yard, which he uses to show why a collar helps at a distance. The recall lesson in the yard: don't poison 'come', keep it apart from 'let's go', release with 'okay', say the word first, set the collar level by her reaction on the day. He leaves a leash he uses when dogs are almost off leash, and asks them to reach out.
On film
We found you a home.
God, I was just, I was looking across all the websites. Filter by food with cats. That's the first step. That's good. That was priority number one.
yeah so that calm liberty window is the one that a lot of people are just completely missing
She didn't do anything, so if you watch how she looked, she didn't freeze up and fixate, So you don't want to see any fixation, right?
guys need help with anything please reach out okay yeah please reach out
After the adoption: a follow-up visit about the family's catTurning point
The evening of 22 September 2026 by the title's filming stamp; uploaded 2026-09-24. The trainer refers back to an earlier visit, most likely the handover.
The trainer, who is not named on the recording, comes back to the adopters' home after the family wrote to him about their cat. Hattie is still living with them. Apart from the cat, they say, everything is 'pretty good', just 'weird habits'; the cat is 'the deal breaker'. By their account there have been two incidents since the adoption. In the first, the cat jumped out of a carrier and Hattie grabbed and shook it, and the cat was hurt; the family gave her 'some grace' because of how it happened. In the second, on a quiet evening, the two locked eyes, the cat ran, Hattie went after it, and the family had to separate them physically; she did not reach the cat. The cat has been kept apart since. They also say she has grown skittish with them, though she still cuddles; the trainer offers a tentative reading, that she may be anticipating correction, and says it is hard to say without seeing it. The family now have an e-collar and use it at 15, mostly for her evening zoomies, where it works only 'intermittently'. Most of the hour is teaching by conversation: switching the collar from momentary to continuous, letting the owner feel the levels on his own arm, setting the level by whether it worked rather than by a number, starting a little high and coming down instead of creeping up, and charging 'enough' by pairing it with something she feels. The plan has two stages. First the family use the low-stakes moments when she is most worked up, the evening zoomies and the couch rule, to make 'enough' work, and text the trainer the levels and results. Then, roughly in mid-October, the trainer plans to come back and run a set-up with the cat himself. On a quick check she sits and downs for him, and he ends by renewing his promise of lifetime support.
On film
Alright, so I did read you guys' message.
The deal breaker is the cat.
Grabbed the cat, shook her. We got them separated.
We had to physically separate them. Did Hattie get to her this time? Hattie did not get to her.
Intermittently effective.
just let her see the cat and see what she does okay if she goes after the cat i'll do it for you
when i said lifetime before i'm in it i'll show up i want to help yeah because she's a good girl
Skills
Down (on the e-collar)
How it was taught
Cue with 'nope' and 'all the way' until the body position is right; the collar as backup once 'she knows exactly what I want', at the lowest level that has the same effect. A down she seemed to be trying to give got help rather than a correction.
On film
And she's starting to get it, and I'm starting to keep it on the knee collar. She's being a little stubborn with it,
All the way. Down. Good girl. Yeah. So I'm seeing that in this case, she knows exactly what I want
nope down down so i gave her that one really easily because it looked like she was trying to comply right good girl so i didn't punish it all there
so okay so that's interesting so i'm seeing like okay like she'll sit and she'll down
Yeah, and then like when I said and clearly it means something there still so you guys have been using it
Recall, and the road toward off leash
How it was taught
Let her explore on the flexi; name and 'come'; if no response, brief pressure after the cue; finish in a sit; release with 'okay'; make the return exciting. Then the same on the long line. A run-past earns 'nope' and an e-collar tap.
On film
sensitive to leash pressure it becomes very easy to teach them a recall and so our recall initially is going to be on leash and we do what's called forwards conditioning not backwards conditioning
scratching howdy come come nope come so i get a little neat collar tap there because she ran by me
good job that's about it we just do that rinse wash repeat with the flexi rinse wash repeat with the long line
a space yeah she likes little circles yeah yeah very cute um but she knows sit she goes down she knows he'll uh she has a good recall
Yeah, yeah, I use this when they're almost off leash. It's the last one I use before I take all the leashes off But it's not for holding
Heel and let's go
How it was taught
'Nope' to bring the head up, pressure off after four or five good steps; the backup moved from prong to e-collar in preparation for working without a leash.
On film
collar uh not the e collar just the prong collar next time i'll probably just use the e collar for that as that's how we start preparing them to be without any kind of leash
right so that's why I just like nope nope I made her go head up and then as soon as she was head up and she was walking with me right for four or five steps then I took the pressure off
Place, and settling in a house
How it was taught
Put her on the cot with the collar low and wait, without releasing, until she fully settles and lies down; re-cue when she breaks.
On film
there's my mic magnet this must sound crazy i apologize y'all but i'm gonna let her chill out to see how long it takes her to settle on the place cot because she needs to learn to settle down a little bit.
about laying down. She's laid down. Very beautiful.
she does a good job of like you know when it's time for bed it's time for bed
i left her alone here for four hours today she's fine
Out (release a toy)
How it was taught
Not narrated.
On film
treats good girl let me have it out oh out there you go good girl oh she just knows out
Living alongside other dogs (the presenting problem)
How it was taught
Exposure without pressure (an evening with Rocky, a crowded fair), testing with a range of dogs, and - the decisive move - defining the home she needs rather than training the preference out of her.
On film
She does good with all dogs except very large, pushy dogs.
Just because there's no dog there. That is called barrier reactivity. It's normally not super problematic, unless they're constantly in that scenario.
And Hattie didn't do nothing.
Living with the family's cat
How it was taught
At the handover: introduced on a retractable lead so she was not held back, with fixation as the sign to watch. After the incidents, the plan: authority built on low-stakes moments first, then a set-up with a dragging leash and the e-collar in which she is allowed to go after the cat so that the trainer can correct it. Looking is allowed; fixating and going after the cat are not.
On film
i haven't seen any issues with cats at all
She didn't do anything, so if you watch how she looked, she didn't freeze up and fixate,
Grabbed the cat, shook her. We got them separated.
We had to physically separate them. Did Hattie get to her this time? Hattie did not get to her.
you can't correct her for looking right yeah i mean she's not doing anything wrong
'Enough' at home: the family's word to stop
How it was taught
By explanation at both visits: the battery analogy, social and physical pressure as what is 'real' to a dog, and the word given first so she has a warning.
On film
And so that Punisher is just uh-uh. Right, you just tell her uh-uh, like, stop. And then after uh-uh, just say, enough.
if you if she gets zoomies in the house and you tell her like and off will she stop no no okay
Intermittently effective.
right right at almost the same time right after okay like within like half a second
Living alongside other dogs (the presenting problem)
On film
And Hattie didn't do nothing.
can see Hattie's a little shut down for playing. She was trying to get Zooty to back off, and
it's if there's a very large dog who's also very pushy like my dog she didn't like my dog at all but that's just because my dogs 120 pound Anatolian Shepherd
Heel and let's go
On film
She still to she looks like it's gotten better over the past couple of like a little over the last week
Or sometimes it just be like a clarity problem, but other than that it looks pretty good.
Down (on the e-collar)
On film
She's not fully off cue yet. She still needs a little bit help sometimes, a little bit of aid.
She's gotten pretty good on her down. She's getting there. She still needs a little help.
I did not try to get her to stay or anything like that because I was very happy with that I didn't have to put any kind of physical pressure and use any kind of aids.
Down you can see she's very responsive to her Condition punish her nope
No punishment yet.
Heel and let's go
On film
Yeah, and so that's all it is when you're first starting to do it You just show them the right position taking a few steps forward and that's about it.
There we go, that's what I wanted. Just stop when we stop, perfect.
So, once we start getting the just normal heels down, we can go back and use it as a reinforcer later.
Recall, and the road toward off leash
On film
sniff around which is okay as long as we give that command because we don't want to just have robots
Hattie come Come nope come Little bit of negative reinforcement on the flat. Good girl
so hopefully she gets distracted with these ducks and that'll give me a chance to recall her
Directional cue, recall and everything like that is getting pretty good.
Place, and settling in a house
On film
me and hattie patty are still chilling um we've just been hanging out for the last few hours probably like three hours now
She's now sleeping. She's falling asleep completely. Rocky's not asleep, but he's chilling.
Living alongside other dogs (the presenting problem)
On film
like very rambunctious high energy like to like to jump and you know do roughhousing she doesn't like that she she'll she'll get nippy with that she's a bit of an introvert that way
we're just gonna let her get used to like just being around um with other dogs
play with other dogs well and and and be good for multi-dog households hopefully
i'll let her explore freely and she has zero interest you don't care about that dog
Sit, implied stays, and doors and gates
On film
it's not important that she goes after me sometimes she goes before me but it is important that she waits in the implied stay
Yeah, do a Sit, Implied Stay, and then a Down, Implied Stay. And just, like, nice big release commands after each.
yeah she saw that one person walking by but she held on
definitely plenty of distractions for Hattie Hattie okay come good job you did so good
From the Shorts
Short clips posted from Hattie's training. They are undated, so they sit beside the program rather than inside it.
First meeting with Zuri, a big, pushy dog
The handler introduces Hattie to Zuri, a very large dog that loves to play, and narrates it. After a little growling he says Hattie 'didn't do nothing' and it was Zuri who 'escalated a little bit', so he calls Zuri away. Zuri then play-bows and tries to mount Hattie, which he stops. At the end he says Hattie is 'a little shut down for playing': she was trying to get Zuri to back off, 'and I backed Zooty off for her'. His point to viewers: if you can control one of the two dogs, you can make sure no bad interactions happen.
On film
It's going to be Hattie's first introduction to Zooty.
Little growling.
And Hattie didn't do nothing.
Zooty escalated a little bit.
don't do that zutty don't mount her leave her
So you can kind of, if you have one dog that you can control, then you can make sure no
can see Hattie's a little shut down for playing. She was trying to get Zooty to back off, and
I backed Zooty off for her.
Heel in a store: better, with one open question
In a store (Home Depot, by the title) Hattie is taken through sit, down, 'let's go' turns and heel. Afterwards the handler says the heel is 'looking pretty good' and has improved over 'a little over the last week'. What is left, he says, may be that she is 'a little suppressed' (holding back), or sometimes 'a clarity problem' (not yet sure what is being asked).
On film
Good girl, that's good. Howdy see how she's doing with her heel. Howdy heel
Yeah, it's looking pretty good
She still to she looks like it's gotten better over the past couple of like a little over the last week
I have it's a little suppressed
Or sometimes it just be like a clarity problem, but other than that it looks pretty good.
Awkward, not aggressive, with pushy dogs
Talking to strangers, staff describe the same limit several times. With calm dogs she has no problems, and when she does not feel pressured 'she doesn't actually go after dogs'. With rambunctious, high-energy dogs that jump and roughhouse, 'she doesn't like that' and will 'get nippy'; one handler says she gets 'really awkward' rather than mad or aggressive, and calls her 'a bit of an introvert that way'.
On film
she doesn't get along with all dogs uh some dogs she does if they're like really calm chill temperament
like very rambunctious high energy like to like to jump and you know do roughhousing she doesn't like that she she'll she'll get nippy with that she's a bit of an introvert that way
she doesn't even get like mad or aggressive she just uh gets really awkward
a high energy dog will often be uh too much for her
normally when she doesn't feel pressured by the other dog she does just fine she doesn't actually go after dogs I've just found that with a bigger dog that's more energetic
Evenings with other dogs around
In an evening update with the TV on, the handler says staff hang out with a few dogs at night, and that Hattie sometimes gets anxious or 'a little disturbed' when she sees other dogs, but has 'settled down a lot'. He sees no reason she can't be placed with other dogs; the aim is for her to play well and 'be good for multi-dog households'. In a second evening clip she has fallen fully asleep with Rocky awake and calm nearby.
On film
we had we always hang out with a few of the dogs when we're out here at night
and Hattie Pattie sometimes has like a little bit of anxiousness and a little bit of just she feels a little disturbed sometimes when she sees other dogs
she's not perfectly settled but she's settled down a lot and she's doing a lot better
um i don't see any reason that she can't be placed with other dogs or
play with other dogs well and and and be good for multi-dog households hopefully
She's now sleeping. She's falling asleep completely. Rocky's not asleep, but he's chilling.
The down: from helped to on her own
The trainers describe the down in stages. One says it was taught 'with just a little bit of negative reinforcement' (mild pressure that stops when she lies down) and that she is 'not fully off cue yet' and still needs some help. Another says she has 'gotten pretty good' but 'still needs a little help'. In a later part of the same series the trainer releases her straight away because he 'didn't have to put any kind of physical pressure' on her at all. On one near miss a coach tells the handler: 'No punishment yet', try again with a cue. The clips are undated, so this order comes from the trainers' own words, not from dates.
On film
We taught her down with just a little bit of negative reinforcement, and her down is getting a lot better.
She's not fully off cue yet. She still needs a little bit help sometimes, a little bit of aid.
She's gotten pretty good on her down. She's getting there. She still needs a little help.
I did not try to get her to stay or anything like that because I was very happy with that I didn't have to put any kind of physical pressure and use any kind of aids.
Almost. No punishment yet. Yeah, just try one more time, but give her a cue.
But she still has a great attitude, which is what we want
The ducks
On an outing by the water the handler walks her toward ducks on purpose, hoping she gets distracted 'and that'll give me a chance to recall her'. After he stops her going after a duck, he checks that she is not 'feeling suppressed' and still happy to look around. She then walks 'right by them just fine'. He reasons that he may have discouraged the chasing itself, and that this is fine because whoever adopts her 'probably won't want her doing that on the rocks'.
On film
so hopefully she gets distracted with these ducks and that'll give me a chance to recall her
i want to make sure she's not feeling suppressed or anything like that i want her to be nice and happy and go look at stuff
so she walked right right by them just fine just now
Which, in this case, is fine, because whoever ends up fostering or adopting Patty probably won't want her doing that on the rocks.
Meeting other dogs on purpose
In several clips the handler goes looking for dogs for her to meet. In one he takes her over to 'say hi to those dogs' to 'see how you do', and cheers her on: 'You're making it happen. I knew you would.' In another he picks a little dog 'so she won't be intimidated', lets her explore freely, and reports she 'has zero interest' in it. In a third she lies down on cue while 'just watching' another dog.
On film
I'm gonna find some dogs. We're gonna find some dogs for you. See what we can find.
Let's go over and say hi to those dogs, eh? See how you do. Oh, there you go.
There you go. You're making it happen. I knew you would.
and then we'll get to see how her reaction is and it's a little dog so she won't be intimidated
i'll let her explore freely and she has zero interest you don't care about that dog
Look it, Hattie's just watching Cade. Look, look. Hattie, down.
A test with a bigger dog
A clip titled as testing her with a 'bigger, pushier dog' has only a few words about her: the handler notes 'a little bit of interest from Hattie and Zooty, which is good' and that Hattie went to sniff. The rest of the cues are for the other dogs, and it ends on an unexplained 'we've got a little bit of stuff going on here'. The audio does not say which dog is the bigger one or how the meeting ended.
On film
So now we got a little bit of interest from Hattie and Zooty, which is good. Hattie went to snuff.
that's good to know, we've got a little bit of stuff going on here.
What strangers were told
Out in public, handlers introduce her to passers-by. They give her age as 'about a year', 'a year and a half at most', or 'a year and a half'. They say she is a rescue the business is 'training her up so she can go to a good home', and one says her training is already done 'so she just needs a place to go'. They also say she is great with kids and well trained.
On film
Hattie, she's a year and a half. She's already full grown. She's looking for a home.
Well we are training her on behalf of a rescue and until she you know and she's already done with her training so she just needs a place to go.
She's great with kids she's well trained
Patty Patty is, uh, about a year.
A year and a half at most.
she's a rescue yeah and uh and we're we're training her up so she can go to a good home
Doors and gates
The trainer explains a standing rule: at every door and every gate she waits where she is, without being told 'stay', until she hears the release word 'okay'. Whether she goes through before or after him does not matter, 'but it is important that she waits'. In the second part she is still holding, is released, and goes through.
On film
And we always teach door manners. She's already learned those.
she always stays at every door and every gate it's required
it's not important that she goes after me sometimes she goes before me but it is important that she waits in the implied stay
good and she's free to go through
Heel: first steps, then stopping when you stop
In the first part of the heel series the trainer says that at the start 'that's all it is': show her the right position on an ordinary six-foot leash and take a few steps. In another heel clip the goal is that she stops the moment he stops, and he reports 'that's what I wanted'. A third clip checks her heel because she is 'a very excitable dog'.
On film
So I'm just gonna hold here with my right hand and use like it's regular six the leash
Yeah, and so that's all it is when you're first starting to do it You just show them the right position taking a few steps forward and that's about it.
Trying to make sure that Hattie can can stop right when we're about to stop as well.
There we go, that's what I wanted. Just stop when we stop, perfect.
since Hattie's a very excitable dog wanted to see how the heel work is overall
Sand: the temptation that became a reward
At a sandy spot she loves rolling in the sand so much that the handler moves her off it as 'a little too tempting'. He then explains the plan: once her heel is solid, the sand can come back as a reward for heeling. In a later clip he uses it that way, calling her to come and then letting her 'play in the sand'.
On film
oh very excited it seems come on let's probably go out of the sand because this is a little too tempting for you
Alright, so we removed the temptation of the sand from earlier because she was just rolling in it, enjoying it. So, once we start getting the just normal heels down, we can go back and use it as a reinforcer later.
she loves the sand
Hattie, come, come, play in the sand.
Come when called, then back to sniffing
In recall clips the handler lets her explore, calls her, praises her, and then says 'okay' to send her back to sniffing. He explains that is fine 'as long as we give that command', because 'we don't want to just have robots'. Other clips practise the recall amid public distractions and on a retractable leash with a flat collar. One trainer sums up that her recall and direction cues are 'getting pretty good'. None of these clips says she is off leash.
On film
There you go, and we give the release command Just to allow Hattie to explore sniff around which is okay as long as we give that command because we don't want to just have robots we want to have dogs with personalities and you know as long as they can listen to us
But it's also good to see how well they do with all these kind of distractions. Hattie here.
oh you hit the end of that flexi good thing you're on a flat collar she's very excited
Directional cue, recall and everything like that is getting pretty good.
Waiting to be released
Several clips work on her holding a sit or a down until she is released, with no separate 'stay' word. A coach sets the drill ('a Sit, Implied Stay, and then a Down, Implied Stay' with 'nice big release commands after each') and then has the handler walk back and release her from right beside her, because 'she wants to run so bad'. Another handler, as she settles for a moment, says 'that is the usefulness of an implied stay'.
On film
Yeah, do a Sit, Implied Stay, and then a Down, Implied Stay. And just, like, nice big release commands after each.
It's gonna be hard to tire that dog out.
there we go okay she wants to run so bad all right and this time walk up to her and release her from right next to her
a little implied stay nope that's it okay good girl that is the usefulness of an implied stay
Holding a sit in busy places
Three clips test her sit where it is hard. In one the handler steps away to a distance, a person walks by, and 'she held on'. In another, at a store with announcements over the speakers, 'plenty of distractions', she holds until released and called. At a park the handler says real conditions like these are where training is best reinforced.
On film
yeah she saw that one person walking by but she held on
training with hattie patty seeing how well they do out in public and see how their obedience is
definitely plenty of distractions for Hattie Hattie okay come good job you did so good
It's always optimal to be in these kind of conditions so that they can really have their training reinforced.
Three hours on the couch and the cot
In an update after his camera overheated, the handler says he and Hattie have been hanging out for 'probably like three hours', first on the couch and then on her place cot (a raised dog bed she is taught to stay on) while he worked on his phone. He promises more videos, 'including ones with her interacting with other dogs', which he calls very important.
On film
me and hattie patty are still chilling um we've just been hanging out for the last few hours probably like three hours now
we were hanging out on the couch for a while and then uh put it back in the place got for a little bit i was doing some work on my phone
Including ones with her interacting with other dogs. Very important.
Meeting Phil
Hattie is introduced to Phil, and the handler calls it 'Philly and Hattie making friends' before calling her away and asking for a sit. Phil is not described in this clip; in the handover recording the trainer explains he uses Phil to find out whether a dog is good with cats.
On film
Philly and Hattie making friends.
Philly and Hattie making friends.
So I actually use him a lot of times as like, does this dog do good with cats
Places she had been
In a store, someone asks whether she has been in Cabela's before. The answer is no, but she has been to Home Depot, Tractor Supply, possibly one more hardware store, and 'maybe three different parks'.
On film
Has she been in Cabela's before? Cabela's? No.
Home Depot, Tractor Supply,
A couple of, like, maybe three different parks.
Why dogs are given room to roam
In a clip titled for Hattie (she is not named in the audio, which is probably a voice-over), a trainer explains why dogs are allowed further away: a dog that has never been out of its handler's 'bubble' may freeze when it realises it got away, and then bolt. 'The only cure for that is experience.'
On film
So, part of the deal with this is that if you don't want your dog running off, you need to get your dog and yourself used to letting them go a little further away from you
so that when you do go to recall them, they're not just like standing there doing that deer in the headlights thing
The only cure for that is experience.
How the method adapted
Hattie was not in a normal program. She was a rescue's dog being prepared for strangers, she lived with the business until a home could be found, and her presenting problem was never really a training target. What changes for her is dosage and definition: pressure was turned down to fit a soft dog, rewards were fitted to a dog who ignores food, and the dog problem was redefined - from 'dog reactivity' to 'dog selective, normal' - and answered by choosing the home. After the adoption the question of dosage came back from the other side: with the family's cat at stake, the advice at the follow-up was to raise the collar until it works and to practise on low-stakes moments first, and the trainer offered to take the first correction around the cat himself.
During her training, the collar was set by her sensitivity, repeatedly downward, and the stated ceiling was low.
Because the handlers read her as soft and socially sensitive: a surprise reaction at 20 was treated as a reason to drop to 10, a level of 30 was cut to 15 'Cause I don't want you to get suppressed', and Kelton says 15 of 100 is enough for almost everything because 'for her it's all just social'.
On film
but sometimes one thing that you'll if you're involved with training dogs at all you'll find is that if it surprises the dog they may have a bigger reaction even though it's not an increased
Set pretty low. Let me set it even lower. I'll put it on a 15. Cause I don't want you to get suppressed. Cause you're a happy, sweet girl.
That was only on a 30 But we're going to put it on a 10
Help, not a correction, when she looked as if she was trying; and a read of motive before a read of fear.
The handler states both in one January clip: a down she seemed to be attempting got aid, and a resisted heel was read from posture as a wish to sniff rather than suppression.
On film
nope down down so i gave her that one really easily because it looked like she was trying to comply right good girl so i didn't punish it all there
so sometimes you got to try to figure out like what are they trying to do right because that could look like okay i'm just suppressing her right and so she's just scared
Rewards fitted to what she wants that day: play, freedom and affection, never food for work; belly rubs when neither dog nor handler could run.
She does not work for treats, and the February handler says so plainly about the day's substitute.
On film
So I'm using the belly rubs as an award for today.
Oh, I almost never trained with treats unless they that's my only option for a dog Instead I'll use play. I'll use play and I'll use a release to freedom
The dog issue was answered with exposure without pressure, testing, and a definition of the right home - not with a training plan to make her like pushy dogs.
Kelton's stated position is that her response to large pushy dogs is normal dog behaviour and people are unrealistic about what a dog is. So the work narrows down what she likes, and the placement criteria follow: somebody who likes her, not necessarily an only-dog home.
On film
take yeah she's not dog like she's not completely with all dogs she's dog dog selective sometimes yeah honestly what are we looking for so somebody that likes likes her that would be good that's like criteria one
get off me and then zutty like knocked it off dogs do that all the time um so it's like normal behavior it's just people aren't very realistic about like what a dog is to be honest
We're not going to be all up in your business and let this be in kind of a controlled setting.
What she needed, in Kelton's retrospective: a soft no, a Flexi, a lot of play, many places, and room to make choices - and not a work-window band-aid.
His stated diagnosis of a 'crazy girl' who needed two or three things, set inside his wider view that managed dogs never learn.
On film
though and then she needed to like play a whole bunch um and like go places um and like be given a lot more room to go do stuff and figure like make choices
and more lately what i've been telling people is like i think one of the main problems is people don't let their dog actually make any choices um yeah they manage them and if you manage the dog all the time they never learn anything
The handover was built around the adopters' cat: introduction on a retractable lead, with the property cat's earlier verdict as evidence.
The family chose her because she was listed as good with cats. Holding a dog back would make her reactive and give false information, so she was left free to show her intentions; Phil the property cat, who leaves dogs that give off bad intent, had rubbed on her.
On film
if you hold dogs back on leashes that makes them be reactive and then you get the wrong information
And with Hattie, Phil was like, oh, hi. And started rubbing on Hattie,
After the adoption, the level was set by the stakes: higher for the cat, starting a little high and coming down.
The family's 15 worked for small things but only 'intermittently' when she was worked up; it is not reported as used in either incident with the cat. The trainer's rule at the follow-up is that the right level is the one that worked; that when a correction is clear to the dog, too high is the lower risk; and that a few corrections a little high followed by a much lower level keep a low level effective, where creeping up a few points at a time teaches the dog to put up with it. For a blown-off 'enough' during zoomies he suggests about 80 on the family's collar, which by his comparison is a weaker model, about 30% weaker than his own at the same number. This runs the opposite way from her training, when the level was kept low because 'for her it's all just social'; what changed is the stakes, and the collar is a different model.
On film
Intermittently effective.
If it's marked and understandable to the dog, going too high is much lower risk than going too low.
whereas if you start out a little high and they're like whoa and it works really well then if you do that for even just like a few times then you can back it way down and it's effective
This one's a little smaller than this one. So this one's about 30% less strength for the same number.
um since it's less than this one what i would do is have a circumstance where she is like zoomies
so then immediately enough again and then decolor and and I put it on like an 80.
Low-stakes moments first: the evening zoomies and the couch rule as practice for the cat.
Nothing bad happens if she keeps her zoomies going or tests the couch rule, but those are the moments she is most worked up, so a word that works then is the best test of whether it will work with the cat. The trainer calls the zoomies 'the best route in'.
On film
So like for the zoomies thing, that's I think actually probably the best route in to solving the cat problem is to take her at her highest crazy.
easy low stakes same thing with the zoomings like what's the consequences if she keeps having the zoomies it's annoying yeah but nothing bad happens stakes are low right but she's ramped up
so you can use those lower stakes times for like until we do the cat thing we can use the lower stakes ones to prepare for the higher state one
The trainer takes the first correction around the cat, in a set-up where she is allowed to go after it.
Deciding what to correct around the cat depends on reading the dog, which he says is not the family's job; his reaction will be quicker; looking is not correctable, but fixating and going after the cat are; and there has to be a behaviour to correct. With the groundwork done, he says, that first correction often 'darn near takes care of' it.
On film
i could tell you the answer but it would involve reading the dog yeah really like oh maybe better than what you would be able to just do natively since it's not your job
because then it'll be my my reaction's gonna be quicker i'm gonna be watching for the right things and the benefit of doing that is that if you've already laid that groundwork and then i do that first one for you that first one a lot of times like darn near takes care of
what i would be hoping for is that she goes after the cat i want her to go after the cat right yeah because if she doesn't if she's like oh there's a cat and she does nothing uh yeah right we need we need we need an opportunity we need it to happen behavior
you can't correct her for looking right yeah i mean she's not doing anything wrong
What the family was told
Other dogs: a warning is not an attack
um and like she she can be like nearby other dogs fine right if that makes sense like if she's got a little bit of space she doesn't care about it like on a walk she'll ignore the other dogs
like dude like yeah back up but that's a normal response and very different from you being like
The only thing that I have seen her do, but it's been a while, is I have seen her get a little weird with food, but like with other dogs sometimes, she's like, hey, get away from my food.
Barrier reactivity at the fence
is you said the neighbors have dogs yeah yeah so she gets ramped up behind fences with other dogs okay right but that's about it
Just because there's no dog there. That is called barrier reactivity. It's normally not super problematic, unless they're constantly in that scenario.
The four windows and calm liberty
Yeah so another thing is I like to think about like the life of a dog in like a
Created by people and that's the obedience window right that's work work window work window should be much narrower in a dog's life
yeah yeah yeah and so commands are good but you can have and lots of people do have have dogs that know zero commands.
were asked to do or not so if you want to keep calm Liberty because she's totally capable of doing it all you have to do is penalize when she's doing something you don't want her to do
Interrupting: 'uh-uh', 'enough', and keeping it charged
And so that Punisher is just uh-uh. Right, you just tell her uh-uh, like, stop. And then after uh-uh, just say, enough.
Because she's coming with a fully charged uh-uh. Because it's like a battery.
happens after that next time you say hey don't do that right so you know actions have to have consequences, good or bad, right? For them to be meaningful.
and then back it up if you need to right okay um it's just that simple you just penalize it
How to back it up: social pressure first, then something physical and meaningful
then just tell her enough and then tell her and then if you like if she doesn't stop then like make her sound right and all that means is like just you can grab the collar and just go and like honestly for Hattie like most of the time that'll be sufficient
like to like help people understand that will make your life way easier with any dog is that like we can talk they're physical communicators and social communicators
even something that works for a lot of people is like a spray bottle
You just move towards them, and you get in their space, and you go, don't do that.
it's not about physical pain right like most corrections are not about like holy
It shows on their face and their body language.
The e-collar: what it is for, and trying it yourself
if you have um you know a dog that has different issues whether it's with like hey like they they won't recall well that like cuts off a whole huge number of activities
have those lawful options and so they're like well I'll just choose these other things that are just as fun and not worry about it
Why would I ever do it? If I have lots of other options that have zero potential
um but yeah i always recommend you try them on yourself
You were nice to the kitty. But that is why e-collars are useful,
Recall
like like sit right away really fast it down right away really fast or like heal or like if the dog knows nothing but they know to like come back life is good your dog doesn't get away from you
hasn't come back to you what the heck if you then get mad at her when she does get to you yeah she thinks coming back to that thing right so don't do that
getting the pools so she does she does fine in water but the other thing is um uh when you tell her to come back um uh make sure you don't use come as like a let's go
it's too high for that moment right yeah it can change from day to day right there's no set number it's just how the dog reacts right
then the timing there the other major thing is that um you just you have to say the thing first
The house: crate, zoomies, couch
uh i haven't spent like a lot of time leaving her unsupervised in the house she hasn't done that very much
what she does but she'll do it in the house right so if she and it's it's a lot of fun like sometimes i let her do it and sometimes they don't right so yeah and that's kind of the point
So that is one thing is I've noticed she doesn't tear things up on purpose
Care (feeding, house training, skin, ears)
Twice a day, normally. But because she's, I mean, how old is she now? Two.
actually she's never peed or pooped inside the whole time she's been with us
my dogs have it so you know that's more likely wiping their feet down when they come inside that helps a lot you know yeah okay i think just outdoor allergies a lot of bully breeds have them
bully breeds are very prone to skin irritation very very prone to skin
that happened to her one time when she was with us they bit her ears up
After the adoption: set the collar level by whether it worked, and in an emergency do not think about the number
and the answer to that question is totally depends right so it depends on two things um first thing it depends on is uh did it work was it effective
the quickest way to figure it out is to move up and see what makes a dent like what makes her go
If it's marked and understandable to the dog, going too high is much lower risk than going too low.
And then in an emergency situation like that, where I'm like, uh-uh, I'm not gonna be caring about what level.
right and like because like i don't care what it's on there like i'll turn it all the way up
After the adoption: start a little high, then come down
But then the elephant gets bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger. But early on, it learned it can't.
okay 15 that's not working very good i'll try 20 all right well i'll try 22 or 25 or 28 well then it's like um gradual desensitization
whereas if you start out a little high and they're like whoa and it works really well then if you do that for even just like a few times then you can back it way down and it's effective
later on like most of the time i'm just using verbal only anyway i don't have to use this at all
After the adoption: know the collar (continuous or momentary, which model, how it feels)
The only major difference between the two is the momentary, if you press it, it's so brief that you can kind of miss it.
um but that can make the difference for the dog whether or not they feel it
This one's a little smaller than this one. So this one's about 30% less strength for the same number.
Still kind of tickled. I feel that a little bit more, but it's not. It's not harsh. So the 15 is really light.
After the adoption: charge 'enough' by pairing it
the battery is weak on the end okay right so like it works sometimes for some things but the battery's not charged up enough to work for the like some major stuff where it matters
so how do you charge it you pair it because that's that's the only way has in power and it only has power insofar as it is paired with a punishment of some kind that is just real to them and for them real is social and physical
right right at almost the same time right after okay like within like half a second
After the adoption, stage one: the zoomies and the couch
So like for the zoomies thing, that's I think actually probably the best route in to solving the cat problem is to take her at her highest crazy.
i guess i should make that distinction actually so if you've given her a command and she blows it off
so then immediately enough again and then decolor and and I put it on like an 80.
I mean like max it out if you have to, right?
so you can use those lower stakes times for like until we do the cat thing we can use the lower stakes ones to prepare for the higher state one
After the adoption: the collar on through the day, off at night
so 24 7 no but like all day while she's out yeah okay and then like she but she shouldn't sleep with it on
have her wear it throughout the day i normally just charge it at night
After the adoption: what counts as a reward or a punishment is what happens next time
if getting that good or bad consequence makes it more likely that they do the thing that they were doing again next time it's reinforcing
I've had dogs that it would have been a punishment for them if I was like, good job, and pet them.
the consequence of that whatever penalty you use is sufficient and the proof is in the pudding you'll be able to see instantly one do they look like they got punished and number two are they less likely to do it next time
After the adoption: with the cat, the goal is to leave it alone; looking is allowed
because it's like what's the end outcome that's required um not oh they're best friends now they like to cuddle together that'd be great
what is required is you leave that cow right yeah that's like minimum standard you have to do that
you can't correct her for looking right yeah i mean she's not doing anything wrong
you probably saw was she was like oh she like fixated and locked in on it right
After the adoption: why a hard correction is worth it here
but you can't tell her right she has to learn right you can't tell her
when i look at total outcome and i look at okay like what is the like what are like the two things i'm weighing out like either i make the dog feel really bad temporarily or all this really bad stuff happens for everybody involved including the dog
you know what the dog would be fine later on they'll come crawl on the couch yeah you'll pet them and they won't they they won't think about it twice later the only thing they'll do is they'll look at the cat and go not worth it
it sounds like you're trying to do the right things at the right times and it's just like you almost kind of need somebody like to tell you like hey like up the pressure there like make the penalty harsher
After the adoption, stage two: the trainer runs the cat set-up
i'd rather spend more of my time helping with it okay then let it fail potentially
i could tell you the answer but it would involve reading the dog yeah really like oh maybe better than what you would be able to just do natively since it's not your job
difference number one is um i want to have some kind of leash on her but not i won't be holding it i'll just have it on her dragon okay so that if i have to physically restrain her i can right i can grab a leech
because then it'll be my my reaction's gonna be quicker i'm gonna be watching for the right things and the benefit of doing that is that if you've already laid that groundwork and then i do that first one for you that first one a lot of times like darn near takes care of
and then you do what i was describing right and then you text us follow up on like how it went
Support after the adoption
guys need help with anything please reach out okay yeah please reach out
when i said lifetime before i'm in it i'll show up i want to help yeah because she's a good girl
let us know how it goes right away
In the family's own words
How they found her: searching adoption websites, filtering for dogs good with cats, which was their first priority. Speakers are merged in these cues.
On film
God, I was just, I was looking across all the websites. Filter by food with cats. That's the first step. That's good. That was priority number one.
Their household, as they state it: a cat as their only other animal.
On film
one of them is more concerning than the other i think you would agree yes agreed and uh i mean we don't we we have a cat that's the only yeah other animal
After the adoption: what they want fixed, in their words.
Their account of the first incident with the cat, and why they gave her some grace.
On film
Grabbed the cat, shook her. We got them separated.
give her some grace because the cat was we were putting her in the carrier and the cat jumped out of the carrier before we could secure it
How they had been using the e-collar.
On film
And then I'll just use the e-collar and...
Yeah, but if she gets so worked up, I have to use the red button to get her to pay attention.
Outcomes
What the trainers reported
She was adopted: a home was found and she was delivered to it.
The handover trainer, 2026 summer; the titles 'Finds Her Family' and 'Finds Her New Home'; a staff member in the last kennel recording.
On film
We found you a home.
You are going to be so happy in your new home.
She does well with all dogs except very large, pushy dogs; with those she warns rather than attacks.
Kelton at the fair; the meet-and-greet trainer to the adopters.
On film
She does good with all dogs except very large, pushy dogs.
and then she did not attack the other dog right so she's not trying to do any of that
No issues seen with cats or with children, including smaller children.
The meet-and-greet trainer; Kelton at the fair on children.
On film
got thin fur so it just kind of like soaks in but i haven't seen any issues with like kids at all um even smaller kids
with people at all she is very excited sometimes but randomly she does fine with kids I've tested her like she has greeted several kids here and she doesn't care
i haven't seen any issues with cats at all
Obedience: sit, down, recall, heel, place, out; 'come along really well'.
The April handler to camera; the meet-and-greet trainer.
On film
Her obedience has come along really well. We're refreshing a couple of things right now. But she sits, she downs, she recalls, she heals.
Dog testing was working: 'getting good at it'.
The trainer in another dog's session, by April.
On film
to play. She's very energetic. She's really, really sweet. Um, I've been testing her out with different dogs and I think she's getting good at it.
The collar is almost redundant for her: about 15 of 100 for nearly every context.
Kelton at the fair.
On film
with her so like for like the e-collar she sits really low um if you like dialed the e-collar up at all it would be it would just be really unnecessary um she sits at like a 15 out of 100 to be honest for like almost all contexts because like primarily for her it's all just social
House-trained: never soiled indoors while with the business.
The handover trainer.
On film
actually she's never peed or pooped inside the whole time she's been with us
After the adoption, apart from the cat, everything is 'pretty good'.
The adopters at the follow-up, late September 2026.
On film
Everything else is pretty good.
Since the adoption, two incidents with the family's cat: once she grabbed and shook it, and once a chase that ended with the family separating them.
The adopters at the follow-up. Reported, not filmed.
On film
Grabbed the cat, shook her. We got them separated.
We had to physically separate them. Did Hattie get to her this time? Hattie did not get to her.
The family have kept her cues meaningful and are 'doing all the right stuff' with the collar; at 15 it was too weak when she was most worked up, as with her heel-nipping during the zoomies.
The trainer at the follow-up.
On film
And you guys have been backing up the e-card, which is all you're doing all the right stuff.
gets the zoomies she will on occasion come over and try to nip at your your heels and your ankles
clearly it was underpowered
What the footage shows
The handover happened: she was brought to the adopters' home, briefed on, introduced to their cat and left with them. This and the later follow-up visit at the same home are the outcomes the recordings establish directly.
On film
So should we see if she likes the cat?
She didn't do anything, so if you watch how she looked, she didn't freeze up and fixate,
In January, the same down response at about 10 as at 20 - narrated live by the handler as it happened.
On film
powering into the down actually um so uh she was giving me a very very similar on the 20 uh the 20 that i had it set on as she is on the 10. so it's having the correct effect
In April, a full settle on the place cot in a house, reached after a long wait and narrated as it happened ('She's laid down').
On film
about laying down. She's laid down. Very beautiful.
At the fair, several greetings with adults and children and dogs sniffing her without incident, reported live by Kelton during the event.
On film
yeah she's doing good out here she's greeted maybe three or four people so far yeah she said hi to maybe three or four people and she's had a couple of dogs come up and like sniff her randomly and she didn't do anything she was fine
At the handover, she chased the adopters' cat in the yard; the trainer calls it nice and uses it to argue for a collar at a distance.
On film
Did you like chasing that cat?
In late September, after the adoption, she is still living with the family; on a quick check at their home she sits and downs for the trainer, and stays behind when he leaves.
On film
so okay so that's interesting so i'm seeing like okay like she'll sit and she'll down
you Hattie Patty I'm gonna go outside you gotta stay you gotta stay here
By then the family have an e-collar of their own; the trainer changes its setting from momentary to continuous, and the owner feels it on his own arm and calls 15 'not harsh'.
On film
So I just changed one setting that will probably help just a little bit in terms of its usefulness.
Still kind of tickled. I feel that a little bit more, but it's not. It's not harsh. So the 15 is really light.
The ideas Hattie's case runs on
- 'Let's go' is not 'Come' - and the recall has an ending
- A life that gets smaller, and the bargain
- Another dog as helper, tester or draw
- Assess before you ask
- Attitude is the leading indicator
- Collar awareness: the collar is a paperweight
- Command, marker, collar - in that order
- Contingent, avoidable, and the right size
- Control is not obedience
- Don't poison the command
- Drilling is what represses a dog
- Eating the correction, and avoidance as a tactic
- Fit before level: check the tool before you judge the dog
- Fixation is the failure mode
- Freedom is given in measured steps
- Freeze, flee or fight
- Generalisation is the whole job
- Go and look at the scary thing
- He has to be allowed to get it wrong
- Heel entry versus heel in motion
- Help it or press it - read which
- Hidden help
- Honest limits, and reliability is not permission
- Integration is a gated procedure
- Keep the marker charged
- Maintenance is use, not practice
- Meaningful release
- Neutrality is the goal, friendship is optional
- Pick the place for what it contains - life is the training ground
- Placement as the intervention
- Play becomes the reward - and play is a contest
- Pressure, release, reward
- Proof it against his own currency
- Quit on the good rep
- Reading the dog
- Release to freedom
- Restraint manufactures the reaction
- Say it bluntly or it will not land
- Say the criterion out loud before the rep
- Social pressure
- Start with freedom
- Stop before you shut him down
- The correction that did not work
- The flight-risk protocol, and the one command that matters
- The four windows, and calm liberty
- The gear list, and the reasons for each piece
- The handler wears the collar
- The leash is a prop
- The level is not a number
- The lifetime pressure budget
- The standard is set by the job
- The three Ds, and the variables nobody counts
- There is no stay, only the release
- Warning versus attack