Who Oscar is
As the trainers describe him
A small terrier-type mix with a great deal of energy. Introduced on a shop outing as a Chihuahua-Terrier mix; 'that Jack Russell energy' at the go-home; a Short in his playlist is titled 'Another Cracked Out Terrier Chihuahua'. The intake says only 'Mixed up' (source: intake).
On film
He's a Chihuahua-Terrier mix.
that Jack Russell energy
He's so cute and tiny.
Social with people from the first hours. The go-home trainer says he was 'chill' within a couple of hours of arriving; strangers in a store are told he is friendly.
On film
like like which he was not he was like hello i'm oscar you want to hang out yeah and i was like
all right sure let's hang out um he was chill like after like the first like couple hours he was
He's friendly.
A sniffer and a marker. Every walk recording spends time on it, and the trainers treat it as his reward rather than a nuisance.
On film
you got enough pee left in you you've been peeing everywhere this is what we call a happy walk
oscar let's go come on buddy you barely have any urine left in your bladder and you're still peeing
Driven by the ball, not by food. The go-home trainer says play motivates him far more than treats and that half the time he does not like treats at all.
On film
he learns faster and better and it's more motivating to him way more than treats treats
And half the time he doesn't like treats anyway.
and was squeaking it yeah and you saw how much yeah he like leapt out of your arms yeah i know
Friendly with dogs, in the trainer's reading; loud about them, in the client's. The trainer's reframe is the centre of the go-home lesson: the barking and pulling are a dog who wants to play.
On film
trying to get over to the dog yeah yeah well good thing fortunately just fyi he's very friendly
yeah with other dogs yeah he wants to play he wants to play yeah and that's all i think he
As the family describes him
The client, at the go-home: usually very reactive to other dogs; at the vet he went 'ballistic' at other dogs, so hard the client thought he might be bitten while Oscar tried to get loose. This is the family's report, not something on film.
On film
because usually he's like very reactive he goes well you'll see in the videos that we walk by
Yeah, he would, I mean, when I had to take him to the vet, for example, and he would see other dogs, he would go ballistic.
I mean, almost to the point where I thought he was going to bite me trying to get a loose.
On walks 'all over', and keeping him on the path was 'always a fight'.
On film
he didn't do that at all right okay so it was always a fight with them sometimes where it was
The program, stage by stage
Intake, off camera
About 1 December 2025. Nothing filmed that was read.
The family want manners and no jumping, a recall that works off leash and into his crate, and an end to indoor soiling, and they name barking at other dogs and a leash habit of lunging at dogs he then only wants to play with. He knew a low-distraction sit, a food-lured come and let's go, and nothing else. He had never worn an e-collar (source: intake).
The first two and a half weeks - filmed but unread
About 1-18 December 2025.
The playlist has three Shorts uploaded in it (3, 7 and 15 December). At the go-home the trainer mentions a chicken-bone video from 'one of the first videos' and a video 'specifically about' let's go; neither has been identified among the uploads. What was taught first, and when the e-collar was introduced, cannot be told from what was read.
On film
is yeah that's that's a good one yeah yeah it's it's very useful because the idea is and i do have
a video up with him i think actually specifically about this is that the leash um in most places
Out and about: novel places, the release, a first 'nope', a first 'out'
On or before 19 December 2025 (upload date).
At a shop in Durham, after what the trainer calls a dance party, Oscar is introduced as a Chihuahua-Terrier mix and the trainer explains to camera that the program does ninety-plus percent of its training in novel places. The release is called one of the most important parts of the philosophy. In a parking lot the implied stay is worked with 'nope', which the trainer says Oscar is starting to understand, and an 'out' is introduced inside a ball game. The trainer is not named; someone leaving says 'Nice to meet you, Connor'.
On film
inside or only outside in the yard at the facility instead we do like 90 plus
right and so there we're just using the release command and the release is one
We're working on the implied stay. Nope, and he's good at starting to get the meaning of the note.
And so I'm teaching him an out command, which is very similar to like leave it or drop it
Park work: recall proofing, let's go, the implied stay, and play as the paycheckTurning point
Probably the third week (uploaded 23-24 December; the trainer's 'last portion of the training'). Internal order unknown.
Four park recordings on a retractable leash or long line build the recall against distractions (a passing dog, a person, ducks), with the e-collar used 'a few times' for the recall and only the leash for the sit. Let's go is separated from come: a move-along cue with no finish and no release, reinforced by a split-second lock of the flexi rather than the collar. One recall comes 'straight' with no collar or leash help; the finish still needs help because he jumps, and the correction is explained in learning-theory terms and aimed at the next rep. The implied stay is built in the sit with 'nope' and returned to the spot. Play grows into the main reward: fetch is allowed to be messy, keep-away is let happen on a long line, then the ball is converted into payment for a sit with distance and duration, and rules are added to the game.
On film
implied stay good job so i got a proof in on the recall i did have to use the e-collar a few times
Let's go is just a
was just tap this thing not the e-collar just the leash so that it locked up for
were working on that getting him to come straight and there was no e-collar or any kind of leash
Okay, now we're gonna use it,
So might as well remove the attachment to me
And okay is completely free so he can go where he wants. He did not have to come to me there because the reward is the freedom.
Christmas Eve with a relief handler: the happy walk and heel before the word
24 December 2025 (spoken).
A different handler - the one who starts PK the same day - walks Oscar on a 26-foot flexi. Part 1 is a 'happy walk' with a command only here and there, and she gives the rule 'less is more'. Part 2 puts him in heel position without the command, so he practises the position before the word means anything. She says he has not learned heel yet.
On film
him walk walk walk walk walk and then a command here and there because less is more got to learn
So I'm going to put him in a heel position without giving him the command yet.
Christmas Day: the swap, 'going home next week', and a verbal down
25 December 2025.
The same relief handler has Oscar again because she and Kelton have swapped dogs for the day: Kelton has Lucia. On a trail she notes that Oscar goes home next week and that he was trained to 'come' where she says 'here'. At Bass Lake at dusk she works recall and the down, which he knows but needs 'nope' for, until at the end he downs on the word alone.
On film
has come and uh and so that just rolls me off when i have to train or hold one of his dogs
Down. Nope. Down. Oscar, I know you know down.
her down oh he didn't need any cue to do that it was all verbal good boy you such a smart boy
A store field trip
Undated; uploaded 28 December 2025. Placed here only because the down is at the same stage as on Christmas Day.
The trainer - who gives his name as Kelton to two shoppers - walks Oscar through a store on let's go, explaining that commands replace constant leash pressure, lets strangers greet him, and does three reps of down, the first a near-miss.
On film
So instead of using these pressure all the time you can use commands like let's go
Kelton.
All right, so we've done three reps of the down so far.
The go-home lesson, run as questions and answersTurning point
About 29 December 2025 to 2 January 2026 (uploaded 2026-01-02). Re-cut as watch (2026-08-16); probably also the source of the unread testimonial Short watch (2026-08-23).
Sixty-nine minutes in a park the program uses often. The trainer declines to demo - the demos are in the posted videos - and takes the family's concerns one at a time. The door: a leash before the door is opened (management), plus the recall and doorway manners to maintain (training). Other dogs: the client reports 'ballistic' at the vet; the trainer says Oscar is friendly and wants to play, and that pulling a dog in when another appears manufactures pulling and reactivity. The walk: a flexi, ninety-five percent his, commands only when the environment needs one or for practice, framed as cooperation rather than transaction. Then the cue system: okay, ready, enough, easy - and the view that cues matter more than commands for living with a dog. He leaves them an e-collar at the very end, with no fitting or level instruction in the recording. A third concern the family came with is forgotten and never recovered.
On film
the videos before right so instead i like to take it as an opportunity to field questions
So a lot of times we artificially create pulling
i almost feel like the cues are way more important than the commands oh yeah because the cues are
and then i have an e-collar for you huh i have the uh e-collar that i'll send you guys home with
yeah so that's like the walking what was the third item on our little list there from the beginning
Skills
Recall (come), with a sit finish and a release
How it was taught
Name and 'come' on a retractable leash or long line, with distractions used deliberately. Missed recalls get 'nope' and a re-cue, then the smallest pressure that works - a flexi lock, a leash pop, or a tap of the e-collar - which stops the instant he comes. The finish is kept loose until the recall itself is good, then shaped: a jump at the finish gets 'nope' and pressure into the sit without the word. One handler's 'here' against the trained 'come' is caught and corrected.
On film
I'm not being super specific about the finish because I just want to make sure I get him recalling perfectly and
um so that was verbal only the only time that i had to involve any kind of
i'm negatively reinforcing or making it uh more likely on the next rep for him to to sit
It gives a different scenario to practice the recall in on the long line
second thing is like okay we did do the recall right so his recall command is pretty strong
then the idea is that the pressure turns off as soon as he comes back to you.
Let's go
How it was taught
Defined as move-along-together, not a recall: no finish and no release. Reinforced by pressing the flexi button for a fraction of a second, not the collar. At home: the word first, then 'nope' and a small pop only if needed.
On film
His let's go is coming along super nice, his recall's coming along nice, it's getting there.
Let's go does not mean to come to you.
So that's a perfect example.
Sit and the implied stay
How it was taught
Sit, break marked 'nope', re-cue, hold until 'okay'. Reinforced with the leash, not the collar. Paid with the ball once play has run long, and built into the game ('make rules in the game').
On film
there but not a ton um just to reinforce his recall and i didn't use it to reinforce the sit
time nope nope back here bring him back to the spot he was at sit there you go a little bit more
Gonna make rules in the game, make him work for it.
Release ('okay')
How it was taught
Only owed after a command that carried a duration expectation. It gives complete freedom: he does not have to come back, because the freedom is the reward.
On film
I only use the release if there's some expectation that he does
of the most important things in our dog training philosophy Oscar yeah good boy
Retrieve and out
How it was taught
Introduced inside a game, likened to leave it or drop it. Keep-away and guarding tolerated and even encouraged on a long line; chewing allowed. 'Out' gets 'nope' when he holds on; at home, a pop if he does not drop it rather than grabbing it from his mouth.
On film
Oh, that's good. He's getting good at it.
little more fun for you to play with him yeah yeah he's like and i taught him an out command
them okay yeah um in that case because i'm using that more like a leave it not like a sport dog
Down
How it was taught
Repeated cue, 'all the way', 'nope' on a wrong answer, praise and release when he gets there. No method beyond that is described in the recordings read.
On film
He's getting better every time.
hey down down still working on it down
Heel
How it was taught
Position before word: the dog is put in heel position and walked without the command so he practises the picture first.
On film
I'm just going to walk like this for a little bit so he can practice before he knows what this means.
Doorway manners
How it was taught
On leash, sit or down and wait while the door opens fully; 'okay' and he may go through, even ahead of the handler.
On film
doorway manners so i i do them every time i take him through doors um he still wants to try to like
The window cues: okay, ready, enough, easy
How it was taught
Only the go-home describes it. 'Easy' is paired with a rub-down until it relaxes him, and is the cue for putting a collar on or taking it off.
On film
use he knows the first cue really really well he knows the last cue the the work
yeah that is kind of like a massage is what i'm doing it's a rub down yeah and so then they're
Walking past dogs
How it was taught
By the trainer's go-home account: no shortening of the leash when a dog appears; a choice point first; then let's go; then 'nope' and a tiny pop or flexi lock, from a leash he has been deliberately sensitised to. In the park recordings, passing dogs are used as recall distractions and the long line is picked up when he wants to go and see dogs.
On film
probably another 50 after that. Right. That was like a big thing for him like he was super
So I give the option first.
back to me right so we sensitize them to the leash on purpose so that when they
opportunity to prove the recall good job bud see how it doesn't just a little bit
Recall (come), with a sit finish and a release
On film
So I want him to finish the recall in a sit, ideally.
Right, so that's his recall finish. He does that very reliably now.
right now because uh his recall has gotten just really good
oscar come nope come good sit okay good boy yeah good job dude get that ball
Let's go
On film
Quick secondary video here as we go back to the truck while I'm managing his movements off-leash with the Let's Go.
Let's go, he knows, means, all right, come on.
Sit and the implied stay
On film
oscar sit just sit and then he stays without me saying stay nope back over here reinforce it
right i don't have to say that again and then i use the release marker
Down
On film
as soon as he went into the down the pressure was off
This is a rough rep. We got it though.
Retrieve and out
On film
you won which really increases his drive which makes it easier to teach him things
I don't lock the flexi for that because that gives him too much of a correction.
Okay, bring it to me. There you go. There you go
Heel
On film
we've been working on the recall good job good job okay okay good boy and we're gonna start working on heel as well
Place (not an arc skill)
On film
we haven't started this yet, so you're getting to see it live
nope, place, come on, there you go, good, place, okay, okay, good job
Walking past dogs
On film
Super Amp, he wants to say hello.
with a dog walking by he's fully capable of doing
you can see how you can use the redirection cue even under very highly distracting circumstance
i'm going to walk over towards pk let's go bud so we got pk right there
Recall (come), with a sit finish and a release
On film
i'm glad that happened because it gave me a good opportunity to prove his recall completely off the leash and then have a big reward once he came back
recall is really nice
response to that is not to go harder and be like why didn't you come yet instead it's to encourage
Sit and the implied stay
On film
But I can go. This is a full 30 feet away.
way over there nope sit he did really good
pressure was turned off as soon as he sat
Down
On film
so oscar's down is doing really well
That netting does feel weird.
So he did get the e-collar there on a 25.
Heel
On film
Should be able to get some nice little heel here Oscar. Come on. He'll he stops when I stop
Retrieve and out
Let's go
On film
I'm going to have him with a little bit more of a radius now.
He's been getting lots of freedom.
Ooh. Respect the leash pressure.
From the Shorts
Short clips posted from Oscar's training. They are undated, so they sit beside the program rather than inside it.
The long line comes off
The trainer takes Oscar's long line off, saying his recall 'has gotten just really good' and he doesn't think Oscar needs the leash any more; the e-collar stays on so he can still be reinforced at a distance, and they start in a quieter area. In another clip, walking back to the truck, Oscar is off leash and steered with 'let's go'; called from a distance, he comes running back, sits and waits until released. The trainer describes both as low-distraction settings.
On film
we've been playing chase and catch out here with the long line on but i'm actually going to take um i think i'm just going to go ahead and take his leash completely off right now because uh his recall has gotten just really good
and i don't think he actually needs the leash anymore so we're going to test it out good thing is we have an e-filer on so we can reinforce from afar without any issues
we're going to do this in a little bit lower distraction area
Quick secondary video here as we go back to the truck while I'm managing his movements off-leash with the Let's Go.
And this is a fairly low-pressure situation, low stakes, not a lot of distractions.
Oscar come so he's coming on back so you can see he can get all the way over there and he'll come running back to me
now he's in the implied stay okay good boy I'm gonna give him a ball
'Giving access' and 'pressure off', in plain words
The trainer explains in plain words how Oscar learns. Getting something he wants, like the toy, is 'giving access', which makes the behaviour that earned it more likely; 'pressure off' is his name for what trainers call negative reinforcement, which he says does not mean punishment. With a down, a few very light e-collar taps and the pressure of the trainer's presence stop the moment Oscar lies down, then he gets the toy too, which the trainer calls the most powerful combination.
On film
found that it's very confusing so what i'm doing is in more plain english i'm giving access to something he wants giving access so when i give access it makes it more likely that next time he'll do the thing that gained him access
Very often people hear the word negative and they think that it means that you correct them or that you punish them.
In plain English, you could call it, pressure off, is what the real deal is.
bit of pressure with the e-collar, very light tap, Oscar, nope, down, Oscar, come, come, so I tapped with the e-collar twice there
one i used the e-collar a few times super light pressure there was also some social pressure right like um some some spatial pressure
he turned it off by finding the right solution
as soon as he went into the down the pressure was off
he gained access as well so you can use both and that's the most powerful
The first days: play before obedience
In an early clip the trainer says the first few days were spent just walking, playing and getting to know each other, that Oscar is now comfortable, and that obedience starts now, adding 'we learn most everything through play'. Oscar's first time on a raised place is filmed live: coaxed up with 'up here' before the word 'place' is used. The trainer calls him very smart, with good drive and lots of energy, and expects him to learn everything and 'look happy doing it'.
On film
I've been playing with Oscar today. Good job. He's learning real fast
Okay, so we learn most everything through play.
we're gonna start on all the different obedience commands uh because we've just been spending the last few days just walking and playing and uh and getting to know each other
he's very comfy here now so he's really enjoying himself
we haven't started this yet, so you're getting to see it live
oh, up here, up here, up here, good, place,
who's got really good drive lots of energy uh super smart so he'll he'll learn everything uh really really well and he'll uh he'll look happy doing it
A recall that ends in a sit
On a walk in Durham the recall still takes several 'come's and a couple of 'nope's, and the trainer says he is teaching a finish: ideally Oscar ends every recall sitting in front of him. In another clip, looking for distractions to test the recall against, the trainer points out that Oscar now comes back and sits without being asked, and says he does it 'very reliably now'.
On film
come come nope good that's it good boy he's just working on his recall improving it
I'm trying to teach a finish with the recall.
So I want him to finish the recall in a sit, ideally.
And we're just looking for stuff to use as distractions for recall proofing.
So you can see that when I say come, he comes back and he knows to sit.
Right, so that's his recall finish. He does that very reliably now.
Tug to build drive
Oscar tugs with the trainer rather than only chasing the toy, and is sometimes allowed to win; the trainer says these 'possession games' raise his drive, which makes him easier to teach. After a long stretch of play with nothing asked of him, the trainer wins the toy, puts it away, and from then on Oscar has to earn it.
On film
oh oscar he'll do possession games with me so not just chasing to catch
you won which really increases his drive which makes it easier to teach him things
now for him to get it which i've just been playing with him for about 30
Oh, I'm going to put it away.
A park he had never visited
Back on the long line at a park Oscar had never been to, most of the clip is sniffing and marking trees. The trainer thinks the new place may be distracting him; one recall takes a 'nope' before Oscar comes, sits and is released to his ball.
On film
we're back on the long line mr oscar here
interested in playing and sniffing so he might just be distracted he's never been to this park before
oscar come nope come good sit okay good boy yeah good job dude get that ball
The flexi left unlocked on the retrieve
Oscar doesn't like to bring the ball back. The trainer calls him in with 'come on' but deliberately leaves the retractable lead unlocked during the retrieve, because locking it would be 'too much of a correction' for this.
On film
Oscar, he doesn't like to bring it back.
I don't lock the flexi for that because that gives him too much of a correction.
Called off another dog's mess
On the Durham walk the trainer calls Oscar away from another dog's mess and gives the rule plainly: he doesn't want dogs touching other dogs' waste.
On film
Hey, hey, hey. Get away from that.
I don't want dogs touching other dogs' dookie.
Holding still while other dogs go by
In a series of park clips the handler uses passing dogs as the distraction, which the family's main concern (his reactions to other dogs) makes the heart of his case. Oscar is sat as dogs approach, with the retractable lead deliberately left unlocked so that leaving is a real choice; the handler says his tail is going and he wants to say hello, and releases him with praise. In another part he is called and sat as a dog walks by, which the handler calls a nice proof and says he is fully capable of.
On film
I'm just going to try an implied stay with this as a distraction.
So we've got these doggies coming up.
And I'm not locking the Flexi.
If he chooses to go, he'll go, but I'll stop him.
You can see that tail going.
okay so that was a nice little proofing of his recall and to sit with a dog walking by he's fully capable of doing
Pressure he can switch off, then the ball
In one clip the ball is put away and comes back only when Oscar lies down. He takes several cues; the handler says he got the e-collar 'on a 25' (the setting used for that correction), first calls it a penalty, then corrects himself: Oscar learned he could turn the pressure off by lying down, and then he got the ball. In another, walked toward PK, a dog also in training, Oscar is recalled and sat, and the handler says the pressure went off as soon as he sat and he then gained the ball.
On film
Come on, he's gonna gain access as soon as he downs.
So he did get the e-collar there on a 25.
So he learned he could release the pressure. He didn't get penalized actually.
He learned that he can get rid of the pressure. So he got rid of the pressure, pressure off, because he did the down. Good job. And then he gained access to the ball.
so we're going to use this if we need to as an opportunity to do recall proofing
pressure was turned off as soon as he sat
A hesitant recall gets encouragement, not more pressure
On a windy recall Oscar hangs back. The handler asks someone watching what emotion they saw, accepts 'suppressed', and explains that the right answer is not to push harder but to encourage him in, then reward him when he arrives.
On film
he's like good lord i'm getting blown away
i noticed his emotion there what was the emotion you saw he suppressed okay so then the proper
response to that is not to go harder and be like why didn't you come yet instead it's to encourage
so I encouraged him said it's okay come on over here bud and then he came and then now I'm giving him a nice reward
Staying put at 30 feet, with the handler's back turned
The handler sits Oscar, corrects two early breaks with 'nope', walks about 30 feet away while another dog runs around nearby, and turns away; Oscar waits for the release word and is paid with the ball. In another part the same is done with a down, which the handler says he knows how to hold, and the handler turns away before releasing him. In a third, Oscar is left sitting while the handler walks off to fetch the ball, needing one 'nope' from a distance.
On film
He can do it from a distance. I can also correct it from a distance.
But I can go. This is a full 30 feet away.
But I can turn my back on him.
Okay, good boy, and he's waiting for his release cue.
he knows the implied stay in the down
Do the implied stay again.
and i'm gonna leave him here and see if he stays in the implied stay for me
'Let's go' past people and dogs
On a walk past people and dogs the handler greets, Oscar is moved along with 'let's go' and praised. The handler points out that this redirection cue works even with a lot going on.
On film
oscar let's go hi good how are you hi puppies oscar let's go
you can see how you can use the redirection cue even under very highly distracting circumstance
A down that failed because of the surface
With a dog coming up, Oscar needs many cues to lie down on a netting surface. The handler says it probably feels weird to him, admits not having taken that into account, and moves to mulch, where the down comes on two cues.
On film
Got a dog coming up here.
I think it's a little weird for him to down on this thing.
I didn't take that into account.
We're gonna try up there on the mulch. I know that'll be easier for him
Dropping the ball on 'out'
Oscar brings the ball back and drops it straight away. The handler says he does it because he knows he will get it back, that his 'out' is really good, and that the same word can be used whenever you want him to leave something.
On film
See how he drops the ball right away.
He knows he's gonna get it back
his out command is really good. So you can use out for like when you want him to leave it
A heel where he stops when the handler stops
At the end of a round the handler asks for 'a nice little heel' and points out that Oscar stops when the handler stops, before releasing him with 'okay'.
On film
Should be able to get some nice little heel here Oscar. Come on. He'll he stops when I stop
How the method adapted
Oscar's case is less about adaptation under difficulty than about a method that fits a dog who already had what it needs. The trainer says as much: the ball drive was already there and could be built on in four weeks. The adaptations below are the choices that follow from that, and from his size.
No food at all; play and freedom as the whole economy.
Play can be amped up and given twenty times; a treat is transactional and capped.
On film
far right in his case he already had it yeah like at a place where I could like
I can give him the ball 20 times.
uh so when we're playing fetch chase and catch you don't have to do that perfect sequence every time
The reactive label was not treated as reactivity. The dog was walked on a long flexi with a loose line and given the choice first.
The trainer's reading is that Oscar wants to play, and that tightening the leash at the sight of a dog tells a dog the dog is a threat or a prize and triggers the opposition reflex.
On film
So if you pull against them,
where like I was like oh like they told me like hey this dog's super reactive and stuff like that
The smallest pressure that works, and the leash before the collar where possible.
Leash sensitivity was trained on purpose so a millisecond lock of the flexi is enough; the collar level was turned down in one session because he responded to less.
On film
locked it for like a millisecond yeah he felt a tiny bit of pressure and came
nope sit turn that down just a tad
Jumping on the handler tolerated a little, because he is small.
The trainer says he normally stops dogs jumping on him but does not worry about it with Oscar unless it is persistent - while the family, who listed jumping as a top priority, are told that sitting must always work and jumping never.
On film
come to jump on me uh i'll normally kind of stop them from doing it but okay he is very small so
But if he jumps on you, it has to never work.
His energy was left intact.
Stated to the family: nothing was done to suppress it; calm is to be put on cue instead.
On film
excited like yeah so like and there's nothing wrong with that i didn't do anything to suppress
What the family was told
Why the lesson is questions, and why it is recorded
and that's why i record it so you guys can remember everything that i say yeah um and it'll
do a go-home lesson this is why I started taking way more videos it's like I just want to have
The door: management and training
management solution is just make sure you have a leash before you open the door just have a leash
but you'll have to maintain it and it'll keep improving right this is a short board and train
but he has to wait is what i make him do for you so i put him on the leash okay and i like make him
'Nope' and pressure
he knows okay I hear that word nope and then something bad happens if I don't go
come back to you without you ever having to put pressure
The walk
when you're out walking with them walk them on a flexi which you guys already do based super based
right so with that what i would say is um the times that you use the obedience commands in the
so like as an example um things could be very cooperative and fun or things could be very
the leash should become like a prop in your training it's like okay it needs to be on
Use a verbal cue first.
House rules: being picked up, and the bed
Dogs will do whatever works for them, and so you have to make the things that you don't
just shut your door too yeah that's a management solution that works yeah you know what i mean
just a quick like hey get off the bed it has to be like an event okay where it's
Chews and dead things
make him drop it oh yeah okay right out so i say out and then if he doesn't out i'm going to pop
a big deal yeah go out right and he drops it and then tell him nope right never touch that again
Neutering
Yeah, if you want to prevent him getting another dog pregnant, by all means, get him neutered.
If you want to get him neutered because you want him to be less something or other behaviorally,
The four windows and their cues
four windows or contexts in a dog life everything fits in those four contexts um so the first
two cues for that i use enough and i use easy okay right so enough means like stop doing whatever
It's like, yeah, but now he's in work again, right?
How to give commands
so just because they can do a thing doesn't mean that they can automatically do that thing as many
Right, so the point I wanted to make is verbal first.
or something else if he looks like hey i'm not gonna do that then say nope and make him do it
In the family's own words
Their goals, stated at the start: the door recall, other dogs, and the walk.
On film
if he goes running out the door that i can say come and he'll come to me yep his behavior like
can get him back um it's like he's already going out he's usually pro you know maybe i'm getting
What they noticed first: he did not react to a dog.
On film
reactive. Yeah super reactive. Yeah. So I noticed that right away I was like oh he didn't react.
They had already been teaching a sit before being picked up, and they already walk him on a flexi.
On film
he gets the reward when he sits well i was working on with him on if he wants me to pick him up to
Outcomes
What the trainers reported
His recall is 'pretty strong' and should keep improving if maintained.
The go-home trainer, to the family
On film
second thing is like okay we did do the recall right so his recall command is pretty strong
He did not react to a dog on arrival for the lesson, though usually very reactive.
The client, at the start of the go-home
On film
around other dogs and i saw like he didn't he didn't react to that dog so that's a good thing
At least twenty walk-bys recorded and perhaps fifty more unrecorded; he had been 'super reactive'.
The go-home trainer; his own estimates
On film
probably recorded I have him walking by like at least 20. Yeah. Um and unrecorded
The list of what he knows: let's go, come, sit, down, heel, and all the cues.
On film
accordingly right um but i think that's those are the cues that's kind of like some tips on how to
He was chill within a couple of hours of arriving.
The go-home trainer
On film
all right sure let's hang out um he was chill like after like the first like couple hours he was
'lots of good training happened here' / 'he learned tons and tons'.
The park trainer at the end of an outing
On film
record um uh for for this um but he did really good the whole time he learned tons and tons
What the footage shows
Recalls answered on camera in every walking recording, sometimes after 'nope' and pressure; one described by the trainer as straight in with no collar or leash help (watch 09:05).
A walk-by past people and a dog at the go-home with a single let's go, which the trainer calls a perfect example (watch 32:22). This is the only walk-by in the eleven recordings read.
Retrieves, 'out' with 'nope', and a sit with some distance and duration paid with the ball (watch).
Strangers greeted calmly in a store; a passer-by at a park; no reaction to people anywhere.
A down on the verbal alone once, at the end of a long Christmas Day walk, by the handler's account (watch 15:47).
No reactive episode toward a dog in any recording read. Passing dogs appear in watch, watch and the go-home; none produces a described reaction.
The ideas Oscar's case runs on
- 'Easy': the conditioned relaxer
- 'Let's go' is not 'Come' - and the recall has an ending
- Food facilitates calm, it cannot create it
- Name, then cue, in a voice that stands out
- One household vocabulary
- Pick the place for what it contains - life is the training ground
- Pressure, release, reward
- Raise the criterion in steps
- Sticking close is not attachment
- The four windows, and calm liberty
- The reunion is the worst learning environment