Who Nikki is
As the trainers describe her
A ten-month-old female, referred for aggression in specific situations. She is part of the rescue program the company is working with.
On film
So originally we got a call saying that she was showing aggression in very specific situations.
she's 10 months old
By a second-hand account a handler gives on 28 Sep, an earlier family returned her to the rescue because she growled and bit. She is now being prepared to be re-adopted.
On film
Nikki is here with us because she had a family and she would growl and bite. So they returned her back to the rescue and they said no thank you.
and like doing all of that stuff that's annoying to a dog, especially because she's going to get readopted.
Not, in the trainer's reading, aggressive: she has learned that barking, growling and planting make people stop - stop guiding her, stop taking things from her. The trainer says the pattern was learned with two different people and does not say who they were.
On film
I'm not seeing anything that's like full-on aggression.
the dog knows that there's a certain pattern and it's learned dealing with two different people
lead pressure or anything like that at all then she thinks if she barks and kind of plants herself
Reported to have bitten in some situations and to have bitten through leashes; with this trainer she tries to bite the leash when irritated, not him.
On film
of barked and but she wasn't lashing out for like an initial bite now she has from what I was told
and then like I was able to get her to kind of follow me and walk away and she did not try to
They did say that she bit through a couple of leashes because she got irritated and she wanted to, like, go do something else, so she flipped around and, like, bit off a few leashes.
Also reported second-hand: the vet said she bit, or tried to, when she was given an injection. The handler who relays it is unsure ('we don't know') and reads it as her not liking the feeling.
On film
apparently the vet said that she bit her tried to or something like that so we got gloves
the vet went to go give her an injection or something and she didn't like the feeling
'She doesn't seem aggressive at all', says the handler of the 21 Sep test, who calls her 'a puppy'; on 28 Sep a handler expects her to be 'all barking no bite'.
On film
we don't know but she doesn't seem aggressive at all she's a puppy
I think she's all all growling no what do they call it all barking no bite
On 28 Sep the problem named is a growl, with no teeth shown, when she was taken by the collar to go back into her kennel. The handler tells it as the first time 'that behavior' had been seen; on 17 Sep the evaluating trainer had already described growling and barking when he guided her on a harness.
On film
yeah it's when i went to go grab her collar and put her in the crate in her kennel
so she didn't show any teeth though right she just growled
we didn't see any of that behavior earlier
she didn't react she growled she kind of barked
Knows sit well; does not know place.
On film
Good place. As far as I know she doesn't know the place command so we're teaching that.
She does know sit pretty solid.
Lively: early on the 28 Sep evening she would not keep still for a video. She has had no accidents indoors.
On film
now i can take you a nice peaceful picture earlier you were running around like a chicken
She hasn't had any inside accidents like at all.
The program, stage by stage
Referral and the outdoor part of the evaluation (described)
On or just before 2026-09-17.
A call reported aggression in specific situations. Outside, on a harness, she growled, barked, sat and planted whenever the trainer guided her against where she wanted to go, but did not try to bite him, and came round to verbal 'uh-uhs' and being asked to look, then followed him away.
On film
So we recorded the first part of this evaluation that we did outside and you are able to see
pressure to the harness and guide she would growl a little bit and bark and like sit down and not
want to leave. But she responded very well to just some verbal like uh-uhs and having her look
Indoors: the hypothesis, and place as the test
2026-09-17.
The trainer states his working hypothesis - a learned pattern, not aggression - and the goal: reset it so the behaviour stops working, before she is placed in a home. He introduces place with light leash guidance and 'eh' markers and adds a little social pressure by stepping in, as someone she does not know well. She handles the pressure, then twice tries to roll over and bite the leash, without growling or barking. He links that to the leash-biting report. She then takes place and is praised, and he plans to try different setups over the next sessions to see whether the reactions happen here or were about the environment.
On film
here is most likely we should be able to just kind of like reset those patterns
things that she may try to do in a home so we are working on that before she's placed
adding a little bit of pressure a little bit of like social pressure with that and stepping in
She was trying to roll over and bite the leash off, because she doesn't want me guiding her with the leash.
Oh, that's a good place.
A gloved handling test, set by the home she is going to
2026-09-21 (title stamp 16:27; published 2026-09-24).
A handler wearing gloves deliberately does the handling that annoys dogs - pulling on her again and again, grabbing her paw ('hand' on the audio) - to give her the chance to bite. Two reasons are given. By a second-hand account, the vet said she bit, or tried to, when she was given an injection; the handler is unsure ('we don't know') and reads it as her not liking the feeling. And she is going to be re-adopted, so she has to be safe with small children who tug on her. By the handler's account neither the handler nor a man who has also tried has been bitten, and she 'doesn't seem aggressive at all'. Still to test, the handler says: her food (putting her around food and trying to touch it), cats (a video is planned) and possibly other dogs, with an update promised.
On film
apparently the vet said that she bit her tried to or something like that so we got gloves
so we got gloves and I'm just messing with her because he hasn't been able to have her bite him and I haven't gotten bit
pulling on her pulling on her grabbing her hand
So we wanna make sure that she's okay with kids tugging on her.
So we wanna make sure that she won't bite any kids.
we don't know but she doesn't seem aggressive at all she's a puppy
she hasn't wanted to bite me so probably got to put her around food and like try to touch the food and see what she does
A growl at her kennel, and trying to catch it on cameraTurning point
2026-09-28, evening (part one; title stamp 20:54, published 2026-09-29). The growl it describes happened 'earlier', before this recording.
The handler sets out her story, second-hand: she had a family, she would growl and bite, and they returned her to the rescue. The handler says the team had seen none of that until earlier, when she growled as the handler put her back in her kennel after cleaning her area; the 17 Sep evaluation had in fact already described growling and barking when she was guided on a harness. She had no e-collar on, so the handler gave a social correction: getting really close and saying 'nope, nope' and 'that's not right'. So this video is set up to see whether she growls again, so that it can be corrected and, in the handler's words, 'nip that in the bud' before she goes to a new family. The handler expects her to be 'all barking no bite' but keeps a hand protected anyway. Asked what she looks like before a growl, the handler names the moment: going to grab her collar to put her in her kennel. An adoption applicant reportedly has cats, so cat work has become urgent. Near the end the handler sends her to her kennel with 'Let's go home' and, on uncertain audio, says 'Oh, big growl. Great.', reading it as coming when the fun stopped. No correction is heard before the recording ends with 'We'll be back.'
From here the work centres on one moment, the collar grab at her kennel, rather than open evaluation. The handler tells this growl as the first time the team had seen 'that behavior'; growling and barking under harness pressure had already been described on 17 Sep, so what is new is the setting and the trigger.
On film
Nikki is here with us because she had a family and she would growl and bite. So they returned her back to the rescue and they said no thank you.
we didn't see any of that behavior earlier when i was um taking her out cleaning out her area whatever i went to go put her back in her kennel which is right here and she growled at me
i didn't have an e-collar on her anything um so i just did like like, social correction, I said, nope, nope, you know, and I got really close to her, and I said, that's not right,
that's what we want we want to see the behavior so we can correct it like and nip that in the bud so she can have a good and happy long life with her new family
all barking no bite um so we'll see i'm still gonna protect my hand
yeah it's when i went to go grab her collar and put her in the crate in her kennel
apparently there's an applicant for her yeah with cats so you really have to get that cat thing going
She might growl here. Let's go home. Oh, big growl. Great.
The collar grab, a cat test with Willow, and a calm walk back to the kennel
2026-09-28, evening (part two; title stamp 21:11, published 2026-09-29; 'we are back with part two').
The speakers go back over the growl: no teeth, just a growl. Told to 'go home', a cue she may not know yet, she was loose, so the handler took her collar and walked her. She resisted ('she was gonna try to fight me and she did'), and the social pressure did not seem to faze her, but she went in and did not try to run out. They think the collar grab, when she did not want to go in, is the likely trigger; the second handler wonders whether it is about control ('she's smart'). The handler asks her for a warning rather than a bite: 'just give me a warning don't open the face'. After a long quiet stretch they bring out Willow, a cat who is 'used to the dog', and put Nikki on a regular leash. By their account she lunged a little, 'not like heavy fixation'; a moment later one of them says she is 'so fixated', but excited and 'not like prey driving'. By their reading Willow mostly did not care and even tried to get her to sniff him. Their verdict: she 'could learn to coexist with the cats' (uncertain audio), and 'cat stuff I think is fine'. Last they make the kennel test harder: with the cat out and her more excited, will she resist going back and growl? She is walked 'home' with 'no problem'. They plan to keep testing for a growl over the next couple of days, and the handler thinks she will be fine.
On film
so she didn't show any teeth though right she just growled
well I told her go home but I don't know if she knows that yet
because she's so loose I grabbed her collar and I and I'm walking her
and then like I just did social pressure but it didn't seem to face at all she didn't care
but she went she went in yeah she i mean yeah because i like put her in close the door she didn't try to like run out or anything
Yeah, she kind of didn't want to go in there, so I grabbed her collar.
hey girl are you gonna bite me if you do just give me a warning don't open the face
You want a zippy? No, just a regular one.
She did like, lunge a little bit. But not like heavy fixation.
She's so fixated on her. I mean, she's excited. But she's not like prey driving like right now.
well clearly he don't care because look at him he's trying to get her to sniff his butt i mean he's used to the dog but i mean it was just a little like normal mildly not like aggressive
Yeah, she could learn to coexist with the cats.
Yeah, cat stuff I think is fine.
Now, I'm curious, because there's something else going on, and she is more excited about it, if, um, if she will resist going back to the house and brawling.
hand me willow's leash i'll hand you her her leash because then i don't want him like trying to climb in there or anything come on nicky let's go let's go home no problem no problem
No, we'll keep testing to see if we can get a growl again like over the next couple of days, but yeah, I think she'll be fine.
Skills
Place
How it was taught
Light leash guidance, 'eh' markers, re-cue, praise on the place.
On film
So she's handling that pressure fine. We're just doing a little
Yeah, I don't care if it's like perfect right now,
I didn't have a video of her, like, being all goofy on the cot, and I'm trying to get a video, and she can't sit still.
Would you guys stay on place?
Sit
How it was taught
Not taught; checked.
On film
Yeah, like I said, she knows sit really well.
Rough, child-like handling without biting (a gloved test)
How it was taught
Not taught: tested. The handler wears gloves and deliberately does annoying handling - pulling on her again and again, grabbing her paw - so that she has the chance to bite in a protected setup.
On film
so we got gloves and I'm just messing with her because he hasn't been able to have her bite him and I haven't gotten bit
pulling on her pulling on her grabbing her hand
she hasn't wanted to bite me
Going into her kennel when taken by the collar, without growling
How it was taught
Re-stage the moment on camera so that the growl can be seen and corrected; the correction given was social (stepping in close, 'nope, nope', 'that's not right'), with no e-collar on. Then repeat the kennel return under more excitement before calling it passed.
On film
Anyway, this is a video to see if she growls at me again so that we can correct it.
well I told her go home but I don't know if she knows that yet
Now, I'm curious, because there's something else going on, and she is more excited about it, if, um, if she will resist going back to the house and brawling.
come on nicky let's go let's go home no problem no problem
Calm around a cat (a test with Willow)
How it was taught
Not taught: tested. Nikki on a regular leash; Willow, a cat who is 'used to the dog', on his own leash; the two brought together and watched.
On film
And we also have to do a video with her and cats.
She did like, lunge a little bit. But not like heavy fixation.
She's so fixated on her. I mean, she's excited. But she's not like prey driving like right now.
Yeah, cat stuff I think is fine.
How the method adapted
The first session is the method's assessment step applied to a referral, rather than training proper. The later sessions keep testing rather than teaching: each test is chosen from the home she is meant to go to (children's hands, food, cats), and the growl a handler saw at her kennel is re-staged on camera so that it can be corrected.
The referral's word 'aggression' is not taken at face value; the pressure that produced it is recreated in small doses to see what she actually does.
To find her thresholds and to tell a learned escape pattern from aggression before deciding the work.
On film
right now, so we're still kind of in the evaluation part and just trying to figure out what those thresholds are.
testing and evaluation to see if she gives us any of those reactions in our area our environment
The target is the payoff, not the dog: the barking and planting must stop producing anything.
If the behaviour is learned because it works, it goes when it stops working.
On film
and teach her that, hey, that action doesn't work, doesn't result in anything.
The tests come from the home she is going to: small children pulling on her, her food, cats.
She is going to be re-adopted. The risk the handler names is a child tugging on her: 'we wanna make sure that she won't bite any kids'.
On film
and like doing all of that stuff that's annoying to a dog, especially because she's going to get readopted.
So we wanna make sure that she's okay with kids tugging on her.
probably got to put her around food and like try to touch the food and see what she does
A reported bite is tested, with the handler protected, rather than assumed or dismissed.
The vet's account reached the team second-hand and hedged. Gloves let her have the chance to bite without anyone getting hurt, and the result is what counts.
On film
apparently the vet said that she bit her tried to or something like that so we got gloves
so we got gloves and I'm just messing with her because he hasn't been able to have her bite him and I haven't gotten bit
The growl a handler saw at her kennel is re-staged on camera so that it can be corrected.
In the handler's words, 'we want to see the behavior so we can correct it', before she goes to a new family.
On film
I didn't get it on video, because I wasn't on recording or anything,
that's what we want we want to see the behavior so we can correct it like and nip that in the bud so she can have a good and happy long life with her new family
The trigger is pinned to one moment - the collar grab at her kennel - and that moment is what gets repeated.
Every account of the growl has the same setting: she does not want to go in, and her collar is taken.
On film
yeah it's when i went to go grab her collar and put her in the crate in her kennel
Yeah, she kind of didn't want to go in there, so I grabbed her collar.
The correction is social, not the e-collar.
She had no e-collar on when she growled, so the handler stepped in close with 'nope, nope' and 'that's not right'. Later the handler says the social pressure did not seem to faze her, though she went into the kennel.
On film
i didn't have an e-collar on her anything um so i just did like like, social correction, I said, nope, nope, you know, and I got really close to her, and I said, that's not right,
and then like I just did social pressure but it didn't seem to face at all she didn't care
A growl is treated as a warning, not an attack.
She showed no teeth. The handler expects 'all barking no bite' and asks her for a warning rather than a bite, while still protecting a hand.
On film
I think she's all all growling no what do they call it all barking no bite
so she didn't show any teeth though right she just growled
hey girl are you gonna bite me if you do just give me a warning don't open the face
A cat used to dogs is the test animal, because an applicant has cats.
The cat test was planned on 21 Sep and became urgent when an applicant with cats came forward. By the speakers' reading Willow does not care about her; he is praised and paid in food for doing his 'job'.
On film
apparently there's an applicant for her yeah with cats so you really have to get that cat thing going
well clearly he don't care because look at him he's trying to get her to sniff his butt
good boy willow you did your job you earned your food for today
The test is made harder before it is called passed.
With the cat out and her more excited, the kennel return is tried again; one clean repetition is not taken as the answer.
On film
Now, I'm curious, because there's something else going on, and she is more excited about it, if, um, if she will resist going back to the house and brawling.
No, we'll keep testing to see if we can get a growl again like over the next couple of days, but yeah, I think she'll be fine.
Outcomes
What the trainers reported
No full-on aggression; a learned pattern.
The evaluating trainer
On film
I'm not seeing anything that's like full-on aggression.
'She doesn't seem aggressive at all'; under the gloved test neither handler has been bitten.
The handler of the 21 Sep test
On film
we don't know but she doesn't seem aggressive at all she's a puppy
he hasn't been able to have her bite him and I haven't gotten bit
Expected to be 'all barking no bite'.
The 28 Sep handler, before re-staging the kennel return
On film
I think she's all all growling no what do they call it all barking no bite
She could live alongside cats: 'cat stuff I think is fine'.
The two 28 Sep handlers, after the test with Willow
On film
But, I mean, she could, she could co-exist as a cat for a while.
Yeah, she could learn to coexist with the cats.
Yeah, cat stuff I think is fine.
'I think she'll be fine', with more testing for a growl planned over the next couple of days.
The 28 Sep handlers, at the end of part two
On film
No, we'll keep testing to see if we can get a growl again like over the next couple of days, but yeah, I think she'll be fine.
What the footage shows
Accepts light guidance onto a place she does not know; when irritated, goes for the leash, not the handler, without growling or barking; later takes place without going for it.
On film
She was trying to bite the leash, though.
That time, but she didn't bite Felicia that time.
21 Sep: under deliberate gloved pulling and paw-grabbing, no bite is reported; this rests on the handler's account.
On film
pulling on her pulling on her grabbing her hand
she hasn't wanted to bite me
28 Sep, part one: sent to her kennel, she growls, going by the handler's reaction. Uncertain audio; no correction is heard before the recording ends.
On film
She might growl here. Let's go home. Oh, big growl. Great.
28 Sep, part two: on a leash near Willow she lunges a little, 'not like heavy fixation' by the speakers' reading, and is later walked into her kennel with 'no problem'.
On film
She did like, lunge a little bit. But not like heavy fixation.
come on nicky let's go let's go home no problem no problem