Who Lucia is
As the trainers describe her
High energy and high drive, named on the first day as the reason she would be easy to train rather than as a problem.
On film
i can't even baby talk because she gets all crazy
I think she's gonna be easy to train because of that yeah because she's so like and I love dogs like that I love dogs with high energy it'll be easy you can do a lot with high drive
Scattered attention: interested in everything except the handler. Two different handlers say it on two different days.
On film
gotta fix it mama so this is lucia's first day of training and we're just walking around getting to know each other she's getting to know me i'm getting to know her she's more interested in everything else but me but that's fine
But with a dog like Lucia, who's like literally just all over the place, teaching them a let's go command can completely change their life, right?
Her dog problem is framed as low-grade and excitement-based. The one reported reaction - hackles up and barking at a dog on day 1 - is second-hand; no reaction of that kind is heard on any of her own recordings.
On film
beautiful i love taking dogs out here come on lucia she has had some you know like really low grade reactivity with dogs but as long as it's excitement
a kind of really low grade what you might call behavior modification but it's nothing super serious it's more just over excitement
i worked with her yesterday um i noticed that she reacted on a walk while we were on a walk she reacted to a another dog like her shackles were raised and she was just like barking and
Friendly with people; wants to greet everyone.
On film
sorry lucia let's go she won't say hi to everybody she wants you to say hi to everybody
i think this is her first time at a store she's loving it look at her
A rescue, trained alongside PK, and in that trainer's recollection slower to pick things up than PK but with much more energy; described as 'like a whippet mix'. This is one person's retrospective description, months later, and the breed is a guess.
On film
training Lucia the other rescue at the same time that I was training her but she was like this she was on it I think she I think she was picking it up a little faster than Lucia was but Lucia has a lot more energy she's like a whippet mix
Lucia was super amped up Lucia I miss Lucia I think PK was actually she learned a lot more and faster
The program, stage by stage
Day 1: getting to know each other, and no pressure before teaching
About 24 December 2025. watch; probably also watch.
A park walk on a long retractable with two staff. The handler calls it her first day and a getting-to-know-you walk; Lucia is more interested in everything than in the handler. The other staff member uses the opening to coach a principle: with a dog who knows nothing yet, do not lock the leash and apply pressure she has not been taught to answer; treat her choice to wander as the chance to teach 'let's go' or the recall. She comes on the second 'let's go', which is read as learning from the first. Three recall reps are counted and finished with a sit. A passing dog is avoided because the handler does not know how she would react. watch is a lightly narrated walk by a handler who is not Kelton, heading toward Kelton and Drago and turning away because Lucia keeps trying to get into Drago's face; the same pairing and the day-1 mention of Drago make the same day likely, not certain. The Oscar handler's later report that Lucia reacted to a dog 'yesterday', hackles up and barking, is the only account of a reaction and is not on any recording read.
On film
especially if they don't know anything yet is To make sure that you don't like artificially like arbitrarily just lock the leash and
let's go when i said let's go she came because she learned something from the first time yeah
Lucia! Come! Come! Oh, that was her second come command.
just great oh there's a dog see ya let's go i don't know how she would react with that dog but
she's gonna try to keep trying to get into Drago's face and I don't know what they're working on so
Day 2, Christmas Day at Bass Lake: freedom on a 33-foot line, and the case for itTurning point
25 December 2025 (speaker's recollection). watch, watch, and probably watch, watch, watch, watch, watch and watch.
The most narrated day of her file and the only one with a stated method. On a crowded trail and a 33-foot Flexi Giant, the handler lets her explore and sniff at a distance and puts only 'a few really small rules' on it: let's go as a redirection, come as the recall, 'okay' as the release, 'easy' as a relaxation cue, and giving to leash pressure. The stated reason is frustration: restriction on a short leash with pops builds frustration until an over-stimulated dog barks and reacts, and punishing that only buys generalised suppression. Within the outing the narrator records a first good recall rep, accepts imperfect recalls as successive approximations, requires one thing extra - a sit facing him with a second of eye contact before the release - and lets her choose first when dogs pass. A German Shepherd passes and she makes 'a good choice'; near the truck she leaves a dog alone without a cue and answers 'let's go' at once when she drifts closer. By the later clips the narrator says she has 'a much calmer attitude' and that he did not get it by suppression. The day ends with a muddy dog, a relaxation cue while she watches another dog, and a struggle to load her into the truck kennel.
On film
but I'm just gonna put a few really small rules on it really small rules on it good girl but I'm gonna try not to increase her frustration by having like too many barriers put on it
just put a bunch of you know restriction and so you can see what that does to the dog when i'm always restricting it it builds frustration and then they end up freaking out and barking right
easy easy you are a good girl you are a good girl okay there we go that's the first really good rep
she handles seeing that dog you can see there's a german shepherd over there with his people who's pulling the hell out of them in a harness by the way well that's a good choice wow good girl
resisted the urge i had i had an urge to recall her right away but instead i gave her a chance to kind of like see what she would do and she just left it alone it was amazing
You can see she's got a much calmer attitude, and I didn't achieve it by suppression.
Day 4: the first store, and first heel attempts
Day four by the handler's count. watch.
A Home Depot parking lot and store. Recall with 'nope' and a re-cue, a sit before a stranger greets her, and the first heel attempts, which do not get far because 'she has so much energy'; inside she is mostly walked on 'let's go'. The handler thinks it is her first time in a store and that she is loving it. Little narration; no stated method.
On film
not maybe we should heal this is day four of training and we're here at Home Depot let's see how it goes heal nope she has so much energy heal fourth day of training for Lucia
Hello. Sit.
you're doing so good let's go she's having the time of her life i love her already
Day 6: the park with ducks, and the first downs counted
'Downs/Heels at the Park!' pts 2 and 4 (watch, watch) are placed here by title series only, and wave 1's pts 5 and 6 the same way; their audio speaks no day.
A park walk toward ducks with let's go, come, sit and heel; the handler's progress remark; and, in the other parts, the first downs counted aloud with leash tugging, side-lying, and the down withheld near a distraction.
On film
i can't believe it's day six of training and she's already so good
let's go see how you react to the ducks
because you're not about to kill the duck on my watch she used to lunge at them she did so much better this time
Day 7: heel past ducks and loose dogs, and a calmer walkTurning point
Day seven by the handler's count. watch.
The handler reports change against earlier behaviour: she used to lunge at ducks and now heels past them, and her energy on walks has come down a lot - she used to pull and try to run. A loose dog appears; with let's go, heel and nope she passes it, hackles up but moving on. A second loose dog is handled the same way. The walk is on a 16-foot flexi because the handler left the 26-foot one behind. Despite the title, no off-leash work is heard.
On film
lucia let's go heal uh-uh we're gonna heal this one heal because you're not about to kill the duck on my watch she used to lunge at them she did so much better this time
uh good girl lucia you you doing so good mamita her energy level on a walk has gone down by a lot um she used to want to like make a run for it and just like pull pull pull but surprisingly the more you walk them the more they get used to walking not dragging you
dog because that dog is just loose lucia did really good her shackles were raised but she moved on and she she did good
After the program: what other dogs' sessions say about her
February to June 2026, second-hand.
Lucia is not filmed again in the library. Three later recordings of other dogs remember her. PK's trainer, at PK's home visit, says she trained Lucia 'the other rescue' alongside PK. At PK's refresher in June two staff remember her as 'super amped up', say PK learned faster, and ask whether anyone has reached out to 'Lucia's people' - so by then she had people. At Phoebe's go-home lesson in March the owner says the family got 'Lucia' to keep Phoebe company, and the trainer says the company 'only had her a little bit', that she 'seemed pretty fearless' when being trained, and that her people used 'come' for the recall. If that Lucia is this Lucia, she was adopted into Phoebe's household. That identity is not decided here.
On film
Lucia was super amped up Lucia I miss Lucia I think PK was actually she learned a lot more and faster have you reached out to Lucia's people lately
she was so anxious to be left alone which is why we got lucia to have another dog to try to help her which it has
at all nice okay so i mean so i think with lucia she didn't do it we only had her a little bit
interesting yeah i mean i know when i saw lucia getting trained she seemed pretty fearless
Skills
Let's go (redirection)
How it was taught
Let her make the choice to go, then say 'let's go'; if she does not respond right away, a light tap (leash or e-collar), then she comes along. Explained as agreeing a direction with a friend on a walk. Not a demand for constant focus: she need not look at the handler, but her focus must be redirectable at will.
On film
you haven't taught them anything so i look at it as a learning opportunity instead so like
and maybe in this one that she's like all over the place with her focus which is fine she doesn't need to be focused on me the whole time but i do need to be able to redirect her focus at will
to cooperate and communicate where it's like hey if you're walking with your friend what do you tell them you say oh well uh hey can we go this way and they go oh yeah yeah we can go that way
pressure right so if i put pressure on for her to recall or put pressure on for her to come with me which is just going to be a light tap when i if i if i say let's go and she doesn't pay attention right away
And then I was able to use the let's go cue when she was starting to go a little closer and She listened to it right away.
Recall ('come', sometimes 'here') with a finish
How it was taught
On the long line, with leash pressure and, by day 2, the e-collar; release 'okay' back to freedom as soon as she comes. Criteria kept low enough that she can win. The one criterion held firm is the finish.
On film
Lucia! Come! Come! Oh, that was her second come command.
but hey get out of that don't drink that come on that recall was not perfect because she did not come straight to me but that's okay because she's just starting to learn the recall
And so, because her focus is so all over the place, the only thing that I am doing that's a little bit extra is that I am requiring that she finish correctly, which is that she sits and i want like one second of eye contact
And then I was able to use the let's go cue when she was starting to go a little closer and She listened to it right away. So I'm gonna proof the recall now.
Giving to leash pressure
How it was taught
Let her reach the end of a long line, feel the pressure and come off it; the handler keeps walking to the end of the 33-foot line so she notices the distance herself and chooses to follow. The correct response to pressure is always to give to it.
On film
But I want her to start feeling the leash pressure and coming off of it and responding to a let's go and to a recall.
for good job good girl mama i wanted her to to notice that i was farther away on her own and make the choice to come with me
she's just starting to learn the recall so i'm not going to have the criteria so high that she loses every time and gets huge punishments or not huge punishments but that i have to force too much and you can see she's giving to the end of the leash a lot better than she was at first
Release ('okay') and 'easy' as relaxation
How it was taught
'Okay' given the moment she comes and gives attention, returning her to freedom. 'Easy' repeated calmly, named as conditioned relaxation; she may look at the other dog as much as she likes.
On film
Okay, go, go, go. Okay, this is a good opportunity to teach the release command here.
So I'm teaching her here that if she comes to me and gets her attention on me just for a second, then she gets to enjoy a lot of freedom again.
Easy. Easy. Easy. Do a little conditioning relaxation with the easy command. She sees that other dog, which is fine.
Passing dogs and ducks
How it was taught
Let her see the dog and choose before any cue; use 'let's go' only if she drifts closer; distance from busy areas on the long line. On day 7 heel and 'nope' as well.
On film
let's go let's see how she does experiencing this and then i'm going to use it to prove her fledgling recall but i'm going to let her make a choice first
if you give a dog an opportunity one she made really good choices right there but also number two i mean just look at the difference in how she's interacting with the dog now
dog because that dog is just loose lucia did really good her shackles were raised but she moved on and she she did good
Heel
How it was taught
Cue 'heel', 'nope' on errors, 'let's go' to redirect. No method explained.
On film
not maybe we should heal this is day four of training and we're here at Home Depot let's see how it goes heal nope she has so much energy
lucia let's go heal uh-uh we're gonna heal this one heal because you're not about to kill the duck on my watch
Sit and down
How it was taught
'Nope' and re-cue for the sit; for the down, the handler physically placed her in position with the e-collar on until she downed properly. 'Stay' slipped out and was withdrawn: 'we don't use that'.
On film
she has a habit of nope sit she has a habit of not wanting to ignoring the command and wanting to scratch this off and we're not doing that
Stay. Oh, we don't use that.
mad cuz she knows she got this the e-collar on she'll get I have to physically put her down because she started laying on her side and acting like that's a down so now I have to like fix that right
it with the down, we fixed it, it only took three times, well, I guess we're gonna have have to prove that with the fourth and the fifth and the sixth time but she did great
Loading into the truck kennel ('go home')
How it was taught
First 'up' cues; then an item placed further into the kennel and repeated 'go home'.
On film
up is have fun she tortures me every time I have to get her in there oh well
I'm going to try the opposite approach.
Give it, put it a little further in.
Sit and down
On film
At seven, it should just be a little more effortless instead of me tugging on her like that.
she lays down instead of saying instead of the sphinx
distraction over there let's go not gonna make her down because she doesn't know the command as well
Passing dogs and ducks
On film
You saw how her bristles went up there?
but if another dog is kind of calm but interested she makes the right choice
lucia had really bad impulse and jumping on that but she's doing a lot better guys
that dog clearly does not like you come on let's go lucia let's go
Recall ('come', sometimes 'here') with a finish
On film
So I did use the e-collar there, but you saw, easy, easy.
Lucia, come. Nope. Nope. Come. Lucia, finish it. Good girl.
Heel
On film
all right we're gonna have to heal you ready heal i know so much temptation heal
Lucia, heel. Nope. Heel. Come on. Heel. Okay.
Release ('okay') and 'easy' as relaxation
On film
Easy, easy, easy, Lucia.
And you can see she's very relaxed now in her environment.
Recall ('come', sometimes 'here') with a finish
On film
So she's learning to recall but when she comes she turns around and sits and looks at whatever she wants to look at
So her attention doesn't actually come to me
Nope, you got to finish it.
Recall's pretty good.
come okay she thinks it's a sit
Sit and down
On film
that was not a down come on let's go let's go let's do it again
The place, the down, and the sit is implied stay until the release command is given, which is okay.
come sit we are practicing our stay duration
if she goes to scratch don't use the collar to interrupt just use the uh use use the easy cue
NEW (not in the arc): Place
On film
This is Lucia's first day of doing place work.
day that she is learning the command and she already knows what to do
Come on, let's go to place.
Release ('okay') and 'easy' as relaxation
On film
So we're starting also to use easy, which is the conditioned relaxation cue.
and then okay right there easy easy and just kind of interrupt it easy
okay now give her a release so she wins
Passing dogs and ducks
On film
All right, yeah easy little redirection no kind of like reactivity there that was beautiful
She's sometimes a little bit reactive.
Lucia is so interested in the little chihuahua.
Heel
On film
You have to listen. Nope. Heel. Heel.
Loading into the truck kennel ('go home')
On film
Go home good. Okay. Good girl.
From the Shorts
Short clips posted from Lucia's training. They are undated, so they sit beside the program rather than inside it.
Why she trains where other dogs are
On what the trainer calls her second session, a passing dog reacts to Lucia and her hackles go up; he calls her back with repeated 'come', using the e-collar, settles her with 'easy' and moves on, noting that she did not start it. That, he says, is why he brings her where other dogs are: she needs to respond even when another dog has her wound up, and he calls the e-collar use there negative reinforcement (pressure that stops when she responds), not punishment. He adds that when another dog is calm but interested, she now makes the right choice.
On film
But this is actually her second session.
Lucia, come. Come. Come. Come.
So I did use the e-collar there, but you saw, easy, easy.
You saw how her bristles went up there?
She did not start that interaction with the dog,
But that's why I take her here, because I taught her that, that she still needs to respond even when she's really amped up by another dog.
So no punishment was involved there in the technical sense. It was actually just negative reinforcement.
but if another dog is kind of calm but interested she makes the right choice
Choices, not drills
Walking her back to the truck, the trainer says the aim of her training was never to drill sits and downs and keep her still, something he says he used to do. The aim is for Lucia to make her own choices that fit in the human world while enjoying a walk with lots of freedom: he looks for moments when she has a choice, then tells her whether it was a good or a bad one, so she chooses well on her own more often. He doesn't think a dog like her would be content heeling at someone's side for a whole walk, and says people who think otherwise aren't bad people; they were taught that.
On film
our goal has never been to teach a bunch of obedience commands
drill sit and down and make her be still and make her not be a dog and be a robot
which is what a lot of dog trainers end up doing i used to do it
but instead to teach her to make her own choices that are acceptable in the human world
but in a way that she can take a walk really enjoy it and have tons and tons of freedom
i'm looking for opportunities for her to make choices and then teach her whether or not her choice was good or bad so that she makes the right choices on her own more regularly
that that dog is the kind of dog that's just going to be totally happy and fine not have any further desires just walking lazily by your side for the entire walk in a heel
most of uh the people that have that opinion are not uh bad people
Longer outings let her relax
After an outing of about an hour, the trainer points out that Lucia is now 'very relaxed' in her surroundings and draws the lesson: take your time. Ten to thirty minutes out can achieve a lot, he says, but 45 minutes to an hour is more successful, because a dog who only ever gets short sessions never really gets to relax.
On film
so it's been about an hour, an hour and five minutes, an hour and ten minutes that we've been out here walking together.
And you can see she's very relaxed now in her environment.
take your time out with the dogs.
You know, if you only get them out for 10 minutes, for 15 minutes, 20 or 30 minutes, then, I mean, you can achieve a lot, but ultimately you're going to be more successful if you spend, you know, 45 minutes or an hour out there with them.
but if you only do a short little session every single time
then they never really get to get to relax
Day six: walking toward the ducks
On what the handler calls day six of training, Lucia is walked toward ducks on purpose 'to see how you react', and moved on with 'let's go', 'come' and a sit when she fixes on them. The handler says she 'had really bad impulse and jumping' around them but is 'doing a lot better', then asks for heel with 'so much temptation' around. On day seven, in the arc, she heels past ducks she used to lunge at.
On film
let's go see how you react to the ducks
come come nope sit let's go Lucia let's go I know they taste good I know they do
lucia had really bad impulse and jumping on that but she's doing a lot better guys
all right we're gonna have to heal you ready heal i know so much temptation heal
i can't believe it's day six of training and she's already so good
Counting the first downs
In the park series the handler counts Lucia's first downs aloud: no more than about six so far, probably the fourth or fifth, and says that by around the seventh it should take less help than the leash tugging needed now. She tends to lie over on her side rather than in an upright 'sphinx' down. When a distraction turns up, the handler does not ask for the down, because she doesn't know it well enough yet, and switches to recall and heel.
On film
i have um worked with down with her but it sure hasn't exceeded like six times
I think that was a fourth or the fifth time
At seven, it should just be a little more effortless instead of me tugging on her like that.
that was uh number six for down
she lays down instead of saying instead of the sphinx
distraction over there let's go not gonna make her down because she doesn't know the command as well
Why her recall ends with a sit and a look
While working her, the trainer explains that for a dog as excitable and curious as Lucia, the part of the recall held most firmly is the finish: a sit and a look at the handler. She had been coming back, then turning round, sitting and watching whatever had caught her interest, so her attention never came back with her. The release came only after a second of eye contact.
On film
for a dog that gets really hyper and overstimulated like Lucia,
So I want her to finish in a sit and I want her to look at me.
So she's learning to recall but when she comes she turns around and sits and looks at whatever she wants to look at
so as soon as she's looked at me for a second Lucia Lucia hey okay then she gets the release
Holding a sit when she wants to scratch
She tends to break it by scratching or getting up. The advice: tell her no and ask for the sit again; if she starts to scratch, interrupt with the calm word 'easy' rather than the collar; help her back into a still sit, then release her 'so she wins'. In a park clip the handler practises the same sit for longer while Lucia watches a man nearby.
On film
We're doing the sit the implied stay with Lucia here
she'll like scratch and little scratchy scratch
if she goes to scratch don't use the collar to interrupt just use the uh use use the easy cue
all right and now kind of aid her back into the sit make sure she's sitting still
okay now give her a release so she wins
come sit we are practicing our stay duration she is looking at some dude over there good girl
Her first day of place
Two clips from what the handlers call her first day of place work (a raised spot the dog is sent to and stays on). She needs a few 'nope' markers and some pointing at first, then gets on the place, sits and lies down. The handler states the rule: on the place, in a sit or in a down, she stays put until she hears the release word 'okay'. The other clip says that ten minutes in she already knew what to do.
On film
This is Lucia's first day of doing place work. Lucia, place. Nope. This way, this way. Place.
The place, the down, and the sit is implied stay until the release command is given, which is okay.
10 minutes into our training session for place this is the first
day that she is learning the command and she already knows what to do
'Let's go' steers her without stopping her
Once she had calmed a little, the trainer took her toward more people and dogs and explained, while working, that 'let's go' is not the recall: she is allowed to run right past on it. It lets the handler change her direction cleanly without holding her back all the time, which builds control by voice so the long retractable lead is a backup rather than the brake. The same clip names 'easy' as her calming word, in use for the past couple of days.
On film
and let's go she can blow right past me now it's not like the the
so let's go just gives me an opportunity to manipulate her behavior in a
clean way without me restricting her all the time and that's how we start building verbal control
and that's what makes the flexi and it is the prop instead of something that you're constantly using
So we're starting also to use easy, which is the conditioned relaxation cue.
Day seven: a progress check
On what the handler calls day seven, the handler says her recall is 'pretty good' and that she has been learning well, some days with two sessions, but that off-leash recall has not started: the recall on the leash has to be reliable first. Another day-seven clip finds her at a new park, probably in Fuquay-Varina, on her second session of the day, allowed to walk and sniff before sit and stay practice.
On film
This is day seven of obedience and off-leash recall training.
We're not on the off-leash recall yet, but I'm hoping next week we will start working on that.
We just need to make sure that her recall is good.
Recall's pretty good.
park today new smells new urine to sniff new things this is day seven day seven
to target the sitting and the stay duration but for now i'm just gonna let her decompress walk
A planned walk-past with Murphy
The coach's verdict, which the set-up points at Lucia, is an easy redirection and no reactivity. In another clip a handler calls her 'sometimes a little bit reactive' and says seeing Murphy and other dogs on the trail will be a good test for her.
On film
you want to use Murphy for Lucia real quick
No, just walk by me right now. That's all you're not doing anything special to see how Lucia does
All right, yeah easy little redirection no kind of like reactivity there that was beautiful
She's a good girl. This would be good test for her. She's sometimes a little bit reactive. So we'll see how she does
Near strangers' dogs in public
Out in public, Lucia is heeled past a stranger's large grey dog. When she answered 'come' with a sit, the handler read it as a mix-up ('she thinks it's a sit') and asked again; afterwards she is recalled, sat and heeled on. In another clip she is sent to place and asked to sit, with two 'nope' corrections, beside a stranger's small Chihuahua that the handler says she is very interested in. No reaction beyond interest is described in either.
On film
nope i said come
come okay she thinks it's a sit okay heel let's go heel oh that's a big dog
Come on, let's go to place.
Lucia is so interested in the little chihuahua.
Working on the down
The handler works on her down while she mouths things, the camera included. Near-misses are named ('that's not a down') and the repetition is started again rather than accepted. The clip does not show a clean down.
On film
all right let's work on your down
hey lucia down no lucia that's not a down put this whole camera in your mouth
that was not a down come on let's go let's go let's do it again
A lot of energy on walks
Two walk clips show how much energy she brought. At the start of one she is so excited that the handler steers her away and asks for a sit ('I know you're excited'). In a park the handler warns her she will hit the end of the leash and tells her that however much she wants to run around, she has to listen, then goes back to heel with 'nope' when she drifts.
On film
you don't want to lucia let's this way nope lucia come no hey sit i know you're excited mamita
wait lucia you're gonna get to the end of the of the leash oh you want to play mama
let's go heel i know you got so much energy you want to go run around everywhere but you have to
You have to listen. Nope. Heel. Heel.
Into the kennel on 'go home'
She is sent into her kennel with a repeated 'go home' and calmed with 'easy'. The handler remarks that she would rather keep walking; she goes in at the end and is praised. Which kennel (the truck's or the facility's) is not said.
On film
Go home. Go home. Go home.
Easy, easy, easy.
She's like, I'm trying to keep walking.
Go home good. Okay. Good girl.
How the method adapted
Lucia is an over-excitement case, not a fear or bite case, and the method applied to her is the program's freedom-first walk in its plainest form. What adapts is how little is asked: few rules, low criteria on the recall, one firm criterion on the finish, and a deliberate refusal to restrict. The handlers say why each time, and the reasons are all about her energy and her scattered focus.
No leash pressure before she had been taught what it meant.
On day 1 she knew nothing, so locking the leash would teach nothing or the wrong lesson - that she may not go there. Her wandering became the teaching moment instead.
On film
away and you don't put pressure on them without giving them a chance first yeah because when you reinforce it you're reinforcing it for the next round
A very long line instead of a short one, chosen for her energy.
Both handlers say a six-foot leash would leave her pulling and frustrated; the long retractable lets them teach release from pressure without her being right up in the environment.
On film
Can you imagine trying to walk this dog on a six foot leash?
Yeah, I feel like she'd probably pull really hard and be really frustrated.
You could punish them and get a generalized suppression out of the dog. But ultimately that's not what we actually want. We want for them to be able to have freedom and make the right choices.
Few rules, on purpose, to keep an excitable dog's frustration down.
Too many barriers raise her frustration; free roaming is said to solve much of the behaviour on its own, by the trainer's estimate about 80 percent.
On film
but I'm just gonna put a few really small rules on it really small rules on it good girl but I'm gonna try not to increase her frustration by having like too many barriers put on it
commentary because um with a dog like lucia a lot of what i'm doing is just letting her free roam because believe it or not that solves a lot of behavioral problems um like 80 of the way
Low criteria on the recall, one firm criterion on the finish.
Her recall was new, so imperfect reps were accepted; but because her focus was 'all over the place' and amped-up dogs face away, she had to sit facing the handler and give a second of eye contact to earn the release.
On film
All the way. Come. Come. Come. Lucia. Okay. So what I wanted to give her there is, one, it's a successive approximation, so I'm not forcing her to do, you know, like a straight to me recall right away
and not facing away from me because that's very common with dogs who get really like amped up is that they will face away from me um so i want her to face me and that way i can teach her that engaging with me is how she gets to go again
Choice before cue around other dogs.
Letting her see the dog and decide, and cueing only if she drifts, gives her the chance to make the right choice herself.
On film
resisted the urge i had i had an urge to recall her right away but instead i gave her a chance to kind of like see what she would do and she just left it alone it was amazing
But give her the opportunity to make good choices.
Play deferred to a quieter place.
She liked the ball on its first appearance but was too excited by the busy trail; the handler said play might have to be built in a lower-distraction place.
On film
you go good girl good girl there you go hey lucia look at that oh we're gonna try to play the first time oh she likes it
What the family was told
Why a 'let's go' cue matters for a scattered dog (to viewers)
and she's able to do that otherwise we end up with a bit of a problem where she's all over the place and i'm frustrated right or you as the dog owner are super frustrated
But with a dog like Lucia, who's like literally just all over the place, teaching them a let's go command can completely change their life, right?
How dogs get off leash (to viewers)
supposed to be doing so our main tactic here is to make this leash a prop and eventually the leash becomes completely unnecessary
the leash that's how we get dogs off leash it's not by uh you know doing a bunch of recall drills in our backyard or doing a bunch of recall drills in one of the fields at the facility at home,
it's by taking them out into public areas, allowing them to experience the world, and then teaching them how to communicate with us in a clear way, in a contingent way, in a way that they can control.
In the family's own words
None on Lucia's own recordings. The only owner words about a 'Lucia' come from Phoebe's go-home lesson: the household got her so that Phoebe would not be alone, and she is afraid of nothing except the shower and dog poop outside.
Outcomes
What the trainers reported
A much calmer attitude by the later part of the Christmas Day outing, achieved through freedom and habituation, not suppression.
The narrating trainer, day 2 (watch)
On film
You can see she's got a much calmer attitude, and I didn't achieve it by suppression.
She now heels past ducks she used to lunge at, and her energy on walks has gone down a lot.
The day-count handler, day 7 (watch)
On film
lucia let's go heal uh-uh we're gonna heal this one heal because you're not about to kill the duck on my watch she used to lunge at them she did so much better this time
uh good girl lucia you you doing so good mamita her energy level on a walk has gone down by a lot um she used to want to like make a run for it and just like pull pull pull but surprisingly the more you walk them the more they get used to walking not dragging you
The down was fixed in three repetitions.
The handler of the unplaced session (watch), with proofing still to do
On film
it with the down, we fixed it, it only took three times, well, I guess we're gonna have have to prove that with the fourth and the fifth and the sixth time but she did great
Later recollections: she was 'super amped up' and learned more slowly than PK; she 'probably calmed down'; she 'seemed pretty fearless' in training.
Staff in PK's June 2026 refresher and PK's home visit; none of them had seen her since.
On film
She probably calmed down a little bit.
lucia probably calmed down a lot after that week
What the footage shows
Across day 1 and day 2 the recall is taught from nothing to a 'fledgling' recall, with counted and re-cued reps and a required finish. Re-cues with 'nope' are still present on every later day.
On film
She listened to it right away. So I'm gonna proof the recall now. Lucia come
Lucia, come.
Dogs are passed without any heard incident on day 2 and day 7. The one reported reaction (day 1) is not on any recording read. On day 7 the handler notes raised hackles at a loose dog, so arousal around dogs was still present.
On film
she handles seeing that dog you can see there's a german shepherd over there with his people who's pulling the hell out of them in a harness by the way well that's a good choice wow good girl
dog because that dog is just loose lucia did really good her shackles were raised but she moved on and she she did good
Heel is attempted on day 4 and in use on day 7; it is never described as reliable.
On film
not maybe we should heal this is day four of training and we're here at Home Depot let's see how it goes heal nope she has so much energy
The ideas Lucia's case runs on
- 'Easy': the conditioned relaxer
- 'Let's go' is not 'Come' - and the recall has an ending
- Control is not obedience
- Escape before avoidance: the collar backs a word the dog already knows
- Pick the place for what it contains - life is the training ground
- Pressure, release, reward
- Raise the criterion in steps
- Restraint manufactures the reaction
- Start with freedom
- The board, the scenes and the grades - and every trainer works every dog
- The four windows, and calm liberty
- The leash is a prop
- The outlet comes first
- There is no stay, only the release