Who Lunna is
As the trainers describe her
Not mischievous. Her impulse control was naturally poor, and that is what the program was about.
On film
like she's not really a bad dog
her impulse control is just like naturally was not great so we had to work with
especially with a dog like luna who you know upon like first arrival very much exhibit exhibited like no impulse control right
A dog who can listen but cannot hold herself. The trainer names this as a different kind of problem from a dog that will not listen.
On film
I mean that's a big thing with dogs but I would say some dogs the challenge is
getting them listen other dogs challenge is not getting them to listen it's
getting them to be able to like hold their self-control
High energy, not nervous. The trainer first calls her leaning an anxiety habit, then corrects himself on camera.
On film
stop it she's doing an anxiety thing where because doodles can get a little anxious sometimes so
me high energy dogs that are like i just can't hold it she's not a nervous dog but she's a little
in the fear cycle but no that is not luna she's just spazzy so she's kind of doing that to like
Very friendly and very people-directed, which is why the redirect matters for her.
On film
they're a really friendly dog like Luna right yeah like they love to go up and
naturally she's just very engaged with people
Her responsiveness to the collar changes with her arousal from day to day.
On film
depending on the day funny enough anywhere from like a 25 to like a 50 she's very dynamic
the thing with luna and this is a funny thing about her is that the e-collar level is very
She can freeze if rushed, and can lock up when confused. Neither is read as fear.
On film
if you go at her too fast she's like you're like luna and she's like she'll just like
And when a dog like Luna does lock up, out of confusion, how to get her out of that state.
Animated and 'cartoony', grouped by her trainer with the two retrievers in his set.
On film
she's she's a very animated dog like even for a doodle she's very cartoony
Not a dog to drill. She tires and goes flat if commands come too fast.
On film
So if I try to put Luna into a sit like every 30 seconds,
she would tire out and get repressed
As the owner describes her
Easily distracted at home, where she has open wooded land.
On film
we have like a nine acre it's like in the woods thing every little sound she gets distracted
Used to running free, with no collar training before the program.
On film
you had an e-collar before
no no you just had her like just running free
The program, stage by stage
Intake, off camera
Form submitted 2026-05-05; preferred pickup 2026-05-07. Nothing filmed.
The owner, who lives alone with Lunna on wooded land, described a ten-month-old golden doodle who had never been walked or collar-trained, jumped, destroyed shoes, played by mouthing, had once followed a car to the road, and knew sit, come and let's go only in low distraction (source: intake). What the owner wanted was obedience, walking without a leash, and safety around children, with family gatherings off leash as the picture of success (source: intake, paraphrased).
On film
Christian did the consult with you right
Day 1: sit, a first down, and the couch
About 2026-05-07/08, by the title's 'Day 1' and the lesson arithmetic. Uploaded 2026-05-19.
A 41-minute recording, most of it near-silent. The handler has been working her for twenty or thirty minutes when it starts, repeats sit with praise, and introduces down as something new ('let me show you'). How she was shown the down cannot be recovered from the audio. She is then invited onto the practice-room couch to hang out, mouths the handler's microphone and is redirected to a toy. A colleague is called in to watch her sit and down and take photographs. The recording ends with sit cues answered by 'uh-uh' until a sit is praised and released. No collar, leash or food is mentioned. Separately, at the go-home the lead trainer remembers his first time with her: the last dog of his set, she tripped him, and he stopped after twenty minutes. Whether that was the same day is not said.
On film
I've been working with her for like
Let me show you, let me show you, let me show you.
I just saw her down.
Sit.
Uh-uh.
on the last dog of my set that day and I was like really exhausted
I only worked for like 20 minutes
Weeks 1 to 3, barely filmed: the collar arrives, the trainer is injured
About 2026-05-08 to 2026-05-28. watch uploaded 2026-05-25; watch uploaded 2026-05-24.
Three weeks of in-house work leave almost nothing on film. One staff exchange (watch, her name never spoken) sets the equipment rule for 'her': black button only, never the red boost, because a big jump is only fair to a dog already conditioned to go into the command under pressure. The collar then turns out to be uncharged, and place is proofed on social pressure alone, which the speaker calls slow and inefficient. watch is unrecoverable. At the lesson the lead trainer says that because of his arms Claudia has been doing much of the handling. FLAG: the trainer's injury is a staff medical detail, used only because it explains who handled her.
On film
name, so, but I would say, just for her, my main thing is, please don't use the red button,
because if you do it to a dog that you've only had for like yeah like your first session you
That just means that you
proved a place without an e-collar, which
wish my arms worked i could do it a lot better
First owner lesson, Friday 29 MayTurning point
2026-05-29, spoken. Uploaded 2026-06-12.
The owner's goals and house rules reach the camera here. The lesson is mostly talk. The owner says her main concern is that Lunna listens around a toddler and an elderly relative, for whom jumping would be dangerous. The owner says Lunna is not allowed on the couch, and the trainer explains that a jumping boundary does not transfer between people, so she will have to set her own with 'nope'.
On film
the way that we have it is that i can walk away me and claudia can have our own conversation
e-collar now the e-collar always comes after the word the reason for that is that when you have a
like doodles in general is impulse control so we're working on that a ton
yeah my main concern is that um i want her to listen to me
a localized thing so i can get luna to not jump on me and claudia can get luna to not jump on her
The last week in-house: guided down, heel not liked, then the collar on the down
Two recordings, two handling styles. In watch an unnamed handler, with no collar audible, runs a short circuit with praise: recalls away from a set-up distraction, a sit praised as 'a very good implied stay', a guided down she holds once in but dislikes going into (guidance to be faded before the end), place, which she likes, a heel she still rushes, and a sit held at a gate door she always wants to go through. He enforces a strict rule against bumping, circling and walking in front of him, says her impulse control has improved over the session, finds her confused on a recall and reading for which command he wants, and ends because she is tired and hot.
On film
Once she's in it, she is staying in the position. But going to the position
isn't her favorite, so we're still guiding a little bit. We're going to fade off that
like the heel yet, she still wants to rush ahead, so we're taking it slow
She's wrapping up her program
so we're on about um a 20 with the mini educator
too much for her now so we're gonna jump it up about to 30
also she's not allowed to like bump into me here because that's a bad habit she has
Last day, first half: the Lake Benson tune-up
The program's last day, by the audio; 2026-06-05 by the plan.
A new, busy park chosen as the final test, with the lead trainer teaching a junior colleague as he works her. He calls it a tune-up: 'she knows all her demands' (commands), and only her impulse needs work. Breaks are met with marker then collar, and she is put back roughly where she was; the handler steps back so she cannot lean on him; commands are spaced a minute to a minute and a half apart because she cannot be drilled; 'let's go' is used on passers-by, fought once at a level he judges 'really too high', then done without a fight or a collar. He finds the collar too loose from how she is responding. In the continuation, because she now 'knows the word', the down moves to continuous tapping until she goes in, which he calls a careful stage; she fights it once, gives in, and goes down quicker. He argues that recall is the most important command, and that the collar must follow the marker nearly every time or the marker becomes a bluff.
On film
like honestly like this is just our tune up before she leaves she's doing really good like her
she knows all her demands
So for Luna, I try to time about maybe between like minute,
i think she knows the words so we're gonna go into this stage
uh it's where you continually add pressure so i just tap tap tap tap tap tap tap
She gave in to the pressure.
Last day, second half: the go-home at the owner's houseTurning point
The same day, after the park.
Handover, and the owner's first time with a remote. The trainer warns she will test in her own excited house and says she will 'kick back in really quick' if the owner is strict. He recommends a more secure collar than her breakaway one for the first week. He teaches the owner's new collar: black button at about 30 for everyday use, higher in busy places; the red boost for serious 'nope' behaviour only; no relying on the vibrate button. He warns against putting the collar on only when she misbehaves, which makes a dog collar-aware, and asks the family to give her a week to settle. He shows how to fit it firmly through a doodle coat, on the side away from the walking side. The owner's unit is flat, so he fetches his own. In Part 2 the owner practises: Lunna, excited, breaks sits she would not break for him in a store; the owner is coached to mark and press about half a second after she gets up, never before. The trainer lays down the rule that only a commanded sit binds, coaches a punchy 'okay', says 35 is probably too low today, and demonstrates continuous tapping for the down. The rest of the commands will be sent by text. Paperwork is signed.
On film
she will kick back in really quick if you're strict with
a safe starting point for luna anytime you take her out is just leave it on a 30.
then be like oh e-collar is going on because a dog what we call becoming collar aware right
But in this particular environment, excited with you, she's going to do it.
need to go and then hit that black button like literally like half a second after just make sure
boom so for the down that kind of thing is more of a continuous tap because with the sit you can
specified commands um we will send you in a text
After the go-home: nothing
After 2026-06-05.
The first week the trainer prepared the owner for, the jumping around the family, the off-leash goal and the store proofing all go unrecorded.
Skills
Impulse control: holding a commanded position when excited
How it was taught
On film: a strict hold of any commanded position until 'okay'; breaks met with a marker and then the collar; the dog put back roughly where she was, not allowed to come to the handler; the handler stepping away so she cannot lean; no repeated cues, because the command window stays open; commands spaced for her; proofing at a gate door, a busy park and passing traffic.
On film
think when you first when you first put her in a sit she was like it's like walking around
now you can see that she's definitely impulse is already better from the start of this session
these people she's having a really hard time holding the position so we're gonna make her
yeah impulse has also improved over the span of like our session
you need to like put them in a sit and then move them back where they were roughly right
is active and the command window is active which is basically once i say the words you are in it
All right, so right there, she got up.
Down
How it was taught
Four steps across the program. Day 1: shown by a handler, method not audible. Late program: guided into it, with the guidance to be faded; she holds it once in but dislikes getting there. Then the collar, one tap per cue at about 20 and then 30. Last day: once the trainer judges she knows the word, continuous tapping until she goes down, which he calls a careful stage and not how he would work in everyday life. He explains why the collar waits for the word: a dog collared before it knows the word learns to fear the word. He tells the owner the down gets continuous pressure because a dog cannot be stepped into it as it can into a sit.
On film
Good girl, do you wanna learn to down?
Still working on the down.
down down so she's got to learn there's no choice with that
this is a careful stage with the down you have to make sure the dog knows the word because if
in regular life you don't do that but for this kind of thing where she knows down she doesn't
she's going into it a lot quicker too
but she knows the word she's just kind of like trying to slink
can just like step into it you can't really step a dog into a down you know what I mean
Sit, the implied stay and the release
How it was taught
No stay cue: any command holds until the release. Praised as 'a very good implied stay' in-house; shown to the owner with Claudia; tested with the handler walking away and people passing. The owner is taught that only a commanded sit binds, a sit Lunna offers does not, and that a slow sit may be corrected after a reasonable window.
On film
good that's a good sit good girl a very good implied stay
and she won't get up until i go okay oh and that's the release command
I was good like 30 seconds that was about to me it felt about like a minute
because the rule is if she goes in a sit by herself she can't get up it's only if i you have to when you put her in the command that's the rule
Recall
How it was taught
Defined as come and sit, held until release. Practised by sending her to investigate something, then calling her off it; called away from a person she wanted to follow. The trainer ranks recall as the most important command because every other problem can be managed if the dog comes back.
On film
Ooh, we just want her to get distracted
there you go try it again luna come all the way come on there you go good good girl
makes sense luna come you can see she came up and sat next to me after we did the recall
luna come wrong person again
your recall you won't leave my side here
that has all these problems but you have a solid recall that they will come back to you every
Let's go
How it was taught
A redirect meaning 'move my way', kept distinct from recall. For a friendly dog who wants to greet everyone, used each time she heads for a person, with a marker and the collar if she does not follow, until she checks in on her own.
On film
so let's go is just kind of like going my direction so it's really useful if the dog
eventually they learn every time i see a person i need to follow you and then you don't end up using
she didn't try to fight me that time so i said let's go and she was like oh
anytime your dog's pretty much like fixated on something store park fixated on a person fixated
Heel
How it was taught
Small, slow steps. The lead trainer says heel should wait until impulse control is good, because teaching it to an unfocused dog is miserable for both.
On film
like the heel yet, she still wants to rush ahead, so we're taking it slow
to do is teach a dog a heel while it's like not focused on you it's one of the most miserable
Place
How it was taught
Cue and praise; place only on cue. Otherwise not described.
On film
Place. There you go. I know you like the place, huh?
luna no i didn't say i didn't say place
Personal space: no bumping, leaning, circling or walking in front
How it was taught
Stopped every time. The trainer reads the leaning as a high-energy dog regulating herself, not as nerves, and says it cannot be allowed.
On film
so i'm keeping it very strict she tries to circle around me or do anything of that nature it's not
regulate herself and we can't have that cannot have that at all
all right so i'm gonna have you just stay there that way she can't like hang out like lean on you
Leash manners
How it was taught
Hitting the end of the leash is not allowed, and the collar is used at the end of the leash. The trainer says the company fixes pulling in the first one or two sessions. How it was fixed for her is not filmed.
On film
The polling is pretty much not happening at this point.
because like with me she'll never pull like she doesn't pull me at all
to show her that like well you have to like there's no option so in this case she smacked
Jumping on people
How it was taught
Explained, not filmed: 'nope' and the collar every time, strictly, by each person she lives with.
On film
but if you don't establish the boundary with luna she'll jump on you
climbing on the counter is jumping on people that's a nope
How the method adapted
Lunna's case is a standard program with a few fittings made for her. Most of them follow from two readings the trainer gives on camera: she can listen but cannot hold herself when excited, and her arousal changes from day to day.
The collar level moved with her excitement rather than sitting at one number.
When she is excited she stops registering it. So the everyday setting is about 30, with room to go up in busy places, and 20 was raised to 30 mid-session when it stopped working.
On film
depending because her brain just like naturally when she gets really excited she's really good
i like getting distracted and not registering it so i have to turn it up a little bit
subject to change with her so 35 right now might just slow her down but i've had days where i hit
No red boost for her.
A staff member judges her a dog a big jump would frighten, and says a boost is only fair once a dog is conditioned to go into the command under pressure. At the handover the owner is told not to hit the red button. Minutes earlier, in Part 1, the trainer had described the red button as reserved for serious 'nope' behaviour. The two instructions are not reconciled on camera.
On film
to when they feel pressure to go into the command where there is if they've already been conditioned
please don't hit the red button
behavior which she thankfully doesn't do that's like a stop it like jumping on a baby like stuff
Commands spaced a minute or more apart, sessions under half an hour, and training stopped when she is spent.
She is not a sporty dog and drilling her flattens the rest of the session.
On film
minute and a half between each one that way she has time to kind of decompress
yeah for luna i really almost never exceed 30 minutes with her uninterrupted
but luna's a great doggy and she'll be even better when she goes home and we're not drilling her all
The down was helped by hand before the collar, and got continuous pressure only once she knew the word.
Going into it was what she disliked, and the trainer's rule is that a collar before the word attaches fear to the word.
On film
isn't her favorite, so we're still guiding a little bit. We're going to fade off that
If you e-collar before the dog knows the word, they can associate the e-collar to the word.
love it so she's gonna kind of stand there for her i need the pressure to just remain continuous
The handler moves out of reach so she cannot hold a position by leaning on a person.
Leaning and crowding is how she regulates herself, and holding position against a leg is not holding position.
On film
Luna, sit, sit, alright, back up so she can't touch you,
just back up a little bit for that way she can't use you as like a crutch
A stern moment, then fun as soon as she complies.
The trainer says the tone has to be stern in the moment, and her reward is his switching straight to happiness and play.
On film
was very intense you know the tone was very like you know stern because it has to be
I'm gonna make you really happy and fun
A confused lock-up is broken, not waited out.
The trainer does not want her left in a locked-up state. On a recall in the woods he reads her guessing at commands as confusion rather than refusal.
On film
Because the last thing you want to do is encourage her to stay in a locked up state.
because she got a little confused there
A firm fit through a doodle coat, and the collar on the far side.
Thick, coarse fur keeps the contacts off the skin, and a loose fit reads as an unresponsive dog. Stimulation on the side away from the handler pushes the dog toward the handler.
On film
you really have to get it on pretty pretty firmly for a doodle.
the left put the e-collar on the right side of the neck it'll actually push them into you
shows me i kind of know like what her resting base is and she's really not very responsive to
What the family was told
Commands, markers and the release
you have your commands and you have your markers commands are obviously the action that the dog
command that you put her in she knows that she needs to hold that position until she gets the
of like okay just that kind of thing just punchy fast punchy and fast
Two correction words, one follow-through, and the word before the collar
so the ant is for like if you're trying to reinforce a behavior
that you're like we're not doing this ever again it's a nope and both of those are followed by the
if you just e-collar out of the blue they'll
like what did i do and then it becomes more of a traumatic event
the nope is for unwanted behavior
Use the program's words, not your own
sometimes people will be like no don't do that and they'll use all these words the most important
thing is to use those specific words that way she knows what you're talking about
fine like she probably knew the tone but the word didn't have any like real power
Jumping is yours to stop
but if you don't establish the boundary with luna she'll jump on you yeah so the really important
thing is when she does get home you gotta be really really strict on all the commands
jumping's one of those things that it doesn't carry ochre the carryover as well as like the
Expect testing, and be strict
she'll probably honestly in the house get up at some point
she will kick back in really quick if you're strict with
yeah okay i would recommend if you have something a little more secure just for like the first week
Running the collar
a safe starting point for luna anytime you take her out is just leave it on a 30.
i think stock this button when you hit it will take whatever number is here and i think it adds like 10 to 15.
when luna eventually realizes every time she uses that that marker all i get is a beep like it doesn't hurt like i don't care and she's smart
for Luna like you should be leaving the e-collar on her most of the day not
Never make the collar a reaction
don't come home and wait for her to act up and
and you know it doesn't happen she's gonna learn oh i only have to listen to you when the collar
Unassociating something is way trickier than if you just never build the association in the first place.
Fit
But if there's a bunch of fur and everything,
so like if you can fit like two finger is too loose
your dog on don't put the e-collar on that side and the reason for that is that if they're on
Timing a correction
like it's gonna be fast because your timing is really important for this when she gets up you
it's not before that is the only important thing just can't be before
You can punish it if she doesn't do it within a specific time window.
The down at home
trainer and my dog had just got back to me and was going to test me out a little bit
when she got home that's what i would be doing is each time with the down like pointing down like
Handling is a skill you learn
think people don't realize part of dog training is just like learning how to be a trainer like
i would not discourage you from that it might help like once your muscle memory is there and
no you're good you're good no it's there's a learning process to it
Give her a week
think the dog had been home for four hours and he was like i have to sell the dog and i was like i
told you it takes a week
Play and the walk
that um that that for her is just how she's gonna get like her drive out because the two ways that
we train dogs are through the play and the walk
In the family's own words
The goal: that Lunna listens around a small child and an elderly relative.
On film
yeah my main concern is that um i want her to listen to me
The house rule the staff had not been following.
On film
The only thing, she's not allowed is couch.
The owner has watched the company's store videos.
On film
I've been watching your videos on YouTube
The owner had already told her family not to expect a robot, and the trainer agreed.
On film
i told them don't expect her to be like a robot
The owner's plan to say her steps out loud all week, which the trainer encourages.
On film
i'm gonna call out the whole week
A marker word from a training app, which the trainer says carried no meaning for Lunna. Whether 'my marker is yes' is the owner's line or the trainer's is not clear.
On film
just make sure you use your marker before okay my marker is yes and I can tell that that word
I heard that from a training app
Outcomes
What the trainers reported
She knows her commands; only her impulse needed a last tune-up.
The lead trainer, last day, at the park
On film
like honestly like this is just our tune up before she leaves she's doing really good like her
she knows all her demands
Impulse control improved within single sessions.
The lead trainer, in the woods session and at the park
On film
now you can see that she's definitely impulse is already better
yeah impulse has also improved over the span of like our session
Pulling is solved.
The lead trainer, last day
On film
The polling is pretty much not happening at this point.
because like with me she'll never pull like she doesn't pull me at all
She holds commands in public with him and would not break a sit in a store.
The lead trainer to the owner, at the handover
On film
That's not allowed when she's with me and we're at the store or whatever.
She is doing great, and will be better at home once she is not drilled all day.
The lead trainer, at the first lesson and in the woods session
On film
but she's doing great she's doing great
but luna's a great doggy and she'll be even better when she goes home and we're not drilling her all
The down is known and getting quicker under pressure.
The lead trainer, last day
On film
she's going into it a lot quicker too
What the footage shows
At the handover, with her excited owner in her own house, she broke commanded sits repeatedly and once for the trainer, as he predicted. The owner's first corrections were late at times. The trainer asked to see it a few more times and called her basics adequate once she had done so. Whether she did is not said on the track.
On film
all right so with this she got up so she has to know like i put her in this spot okay
i want to see you do this a couple times
On the last day she went into a down under continuous tapping, resisted once and gave in, and held it about a minute before release, by the trainer's narration.
On film
She gave in to the pressure.
but now that she's done it for a minute
At the park she came and sat on a recall, and followed a 'let's go' without a fight after an earlier correction, by the trainer's narration to his colleague.
On film
makes sense luna come you can see she came up and sat next to me after we did the recall
she didn't try to fight me that time so i said let's go and she was like oh
At the start of the woods session she got up from a sit repeatedly and the trainer chose not to correct it.
On film
If I put her in a command and truthfully, I really should have corrected what she got up there
But I was like, it's not worth the fight.
All of the above is narration, and none of it has been checked against the video.
The ideas Lunna's case runs on
- 'Let's go' is not 'Come' - and the recall has an ending
- Build the handler's timing while it is easy
- Collar awareness: the collar is a paperweight
- Command, marker, collar - in that order
- Don't poison the command
- Fit before level: check the tool before you judge the dog
- Give him time to answer
- Help it or press it - read which
- Hidden help
- One layer at a time: the order is part of the method
- Pick the place for what it contains - life is the training ground
- Switch him on, then ask for off
- The dog is a different dog for his owner - and authority transfers
- The dose of a session
- The level is not a number
- There is no stay, only the release