Who Penny is
As the trainers describe her
Hostile to strangers at first contact, including the trainer. He met her in a park before the program, where she would not let him near.
On film
I met her for the first time like right over there
Yeah, she she wouldn't even let me get near or she was really growly and wanted to she tried to bite me a couple times
Bit, or tried to, when taken out of the crate in her first days, and was handled for a while in bite gloves. The trainer reads it as reactivity to new people plus disorientation.
On film
she uh she did try to bite us pretty hard the first couple of days that we that we took her out
crate um i was wearing like uh the kevlar bite gloves for a while because she was trying to bite
all right so normally normally i would just reach in there and grab it off her most dogs but not with her because i think she'd bite me
Stressed on arrival and slow to open up; the trainer twice names the time it took.
On film
little stressed initially and that's gotten better but she's still a little stressy
she was very suspicious of me at first
need to do now because it took me a little bit of time to get her opened up originally
Very sensitive to the e-collar. It is said in five sessions by at least one handler, and the level is cut on the spot each time.
On film
So she's very sensitive to e-collar.
She's a little bit more sensitive to it than Apollo is
too much I'm sorry baby come on come on I forgot how sensitive you are
I think that I made a mistake on one session and she's very sensitive so that can come sometimes send a dog backwards
Her reactivity is fear, not arousal - the trainer's diagnosis, given to the owners with the reassurance that they did not cause it.
On film
has only ever had a little bit of fear-based reactivity. It's not really arousal or excitement reactivity. Her reactivity was all based in a little bit of fear and nervousness.
And this is not your fault, by the way. You did not cause her to have fear of any kind.
Suspicious rather than aggressive: at the first owner lesson the trainer says she means nothing by the barking, and names children as a particular trigger.
On film
i just punished it and then said okay and let her go back because what i've learned about her she's not actually intending to do anything she's just like like why are you here she's a little suspicious of them
i've noticed that a little bit with kids
Not shy enough to be spared correction. The trainer's decision to punish her barking turns on exactly that reading.
On film
If she was overly shy, or really a strong nervous case, then I wouldn't punish that.
because she's dogging just fine she's being a dog uh and a little bit of barking is okay like a little bit of alert barking but um it's one of the things that's been very disruptive for her
Uneasy under pressure, with a habit of running back unsure - named in the last week as the one thing between her and off-leash.
On film
only thing that sometimes she's a little she's not like a fearful a super fearful dog but she gets a little uneasy sometimes and then sometimes she'll kind of like run back and be unsure
A contact dog. Personal play and wrestling, not the toy, became the main reward; she would take a toy from strangers but not readily from the trainer.
On film
preferred play yeah personal plays almost all i've been using with her
she doesn't like to grab it from me oh oh see she'll grab it from you that's good
Striking to look at. Strangers and staff comment on her appearance in several recordings; one staff member says her coat is neither a shepherd nor an Akita colour.
On film
I've never seen a German Shepherd Akita cross,
has is not a shepherd color right i don't know but that's not an akita color either
As her family describe her
Reactive at the vet and headed for trouble with a groomer, which the family give as one of the reasons for training. She had an aversion to things going over her head.
On film
That's one of the reasons, too, we wanted to make sure we got her in good training, too, because there was no way we were going to get her to a groomer and not be reactive.
aversion to things going over her head yeah oh yeah i know i noticed that um she's pretty much good with it now
She chases the household cats, and the family had discussed it with Christian before the lesson.
On film
right she loves to chase our cats when i was talking to christian about it
At the paw trim she pulls away out of annoyance, not aggression, by the owner's account.
On film
We were just helping her a bit
The program, stage by stage
Before the program: a park meeting and an intake form
Before 2026-02-06. Not filmed.
The trainer met Penny in a park, by his account, while he and his business partner were training other dogs; she would not let him near, growled and tried to bite him. The family's form says they met a trainer in public (source: intake). The family asked for structured commands and a dog that is not reactive or a liability, and named children, travel and family gatherings as the situations that matter (source: intake). The same park, near the family's home, is used for the session where strangers pet her and for the second owner lesson.
On film
I met her for the first time like right over there
i'm at the same place where we met
Arrival: biting from the crate, bite gloves, a dog in a trainers' class
About 2026-02-07 onward. Not filmed; known from later retrospectives.
In her first days she bit hard enough when being taken out of the crate that the trainer wore Kevlar bite gloves for a while.
On film
one of my class dogs.
I've been doing the heel entry with Penny.
First filmed work: the cot without a word, the down from nothing
Before 2026-02-23. watch, then watch.
At a park, narrated to camera: the collar fitted on the left of the neck and immediately cut from 15 to 10 because she is very sensitive; recall straightened with light pressure; barking met with 'nope', a low stimulation and 'let's go'; the tug she guards from him replaced by a cooperative ball game and then running, which lifts her; the cot introduced with leash pressure and no word because she is not yet positive about it. He will not reach into the crate for her because she might bite. In the next place session she comes happily into the crate and tolerates handling; tug is better than the day before; and he starts the down, expecting her to bite at his hand under pressure, which she does, and praises the first try. He also clarifies the release against the place cue by letting her be wrong first.
On film
That was only on a 15, so I'm going to back that down.
She's not feeling very positive about it.
but you can see now she lets me touch her right out of the gate and i can manipulate her and touch her and stuff like that without her getting really um upset about it
See how you do see if you bite my hand.
Play sessions: she warms upTurning point
The handler says she now gives up the toy cleanly and shows less hesitation 'in her face' than in the former play sessions; place is done on the e-collar alone at 12; the release word is tested with his back turned and needs a little body language; downs still take many cues and frustrate her; and within the session she moves from being briefly 'freaked out' to play-fighting with him. Heel entry starts here. The later explanation of why the program alternates play sessions and walks: teach through play because it is efficient, then proof at low arousal in real places.
On film
You can see a lot less like hesitation in her in her face where she's kind of like oh Like she was in the former play sessions.
Took you a minute, but you warmed up to me, huh?
sessions we do so what i like to do is i tend to teach a lot of stuff if i can if i can get them
Public work, and the first owner lesson
Late February to early March.
Stores and parks. In Lowe's she is 'just a pet dog' with 'a little bit of like nervousness'; strangers greet her; the receiver turns out to be dead, which explains why she seemed unresponsive. At the park where he met her, a group of young adults pet and play with her for over twenty minutes and he calls people 'one of the main things we had a lot of work to do on'. At the first owner lesson, on a walk, she barks or growls at passers-by twice and is corrected and let go back to look; the trainer reads her as suspicious, not intending harm, and says he has noticed it with children. The family describe the vet, the groomer problem and her aversion to things over her head. Most of that hour is principle: judge a reward or punishment by the dog's reaction, keep punishment momentary and reconcile, restraint breeds frustration reactivity, jumping put on cue.
On film
The collar is dead. No wonder it hasn't seemed super responsive.
this was one of the main things we had a lot of work to do on is getting her to be okay with people and she's slowly gotten better and better with people where she'll greet people because she used to growl at anybody that walked by
hey nope nope don't do that
i've noticed that a little bit with kids
The setback: the cot goes bad, and the repairTurning point
The one clear regression in the case, and the handler owns it. In a semi-secure area a level of about 35 has sensitised her; he cuts to 25, then 15 when she vocalises; she starts jumping on him as appeasement, which he calls fallout, and he runs with her to reopen her as he had to at the start. In the repair session she freaks out about the cot; he blames an earlier off-leash session in a fenced area and non-contingent punishment, apologises when 15 proves too much and cuts to 7, and closes with 'a step forward today'. A short clip afterwards reports the mistake fixed and a minute and a half of duration held through a jump and his back turned. At go-home he recalls three days in which she avoided or got under the cot and says he never found why.
On film
she's showing this appeasement behavior which can happen sometimes it's just a little piece of fallout
it was that one session that you guys are going to see where I took the leash off in a fenced in area so it was safe but I don't think she was ready and then she got in her mind non-contingently punished by me
well sometimes you take a couple steps back but we took a step forward today
Don't know what exactly
Layering and proofing: the collar goes onto everything
About 2026-03-02 to 2026-03-09. watch, watch, watch, watch, watch, watch, watch; approximate order.
At Tractor Supply the week before go-home he tells a stranger she came in reactive to people, especially kids, and has 'chilled out a lot'. On evening walks the leash end, a leash tap, the collar and the word are all recall cues; a known down is obligated; barking is to be punished because she is not a shy dog. On a trail by a road he recalls her off a passer-by without the collar and leaves her in downs as people pass. On the Fuquay trail, with sore paws, the collar is conditioned to the heel for the first time, at 5 after 10 proves 'a lot', and she recalls off a squirrel mid-run. The next day is short and soft for her paws. A 49-minute place hold on the trainers' property with ducks, a cat, chicks, cars and his nephew. Then an unfamiliar park at dusk with all obedience on the collar, ending with her bolting for the truck, which he reads as panic and works her back to baseline before loading.
On film
But now she's chilled out a lot.
if i if i just tap it she recalls okay even if i haven't said come
and to the place command as well so the recall but not to the heel
Only two mistakes that I can remember,
Because, you know, that was a little bit panicky for her.
The second owner lesson: 'basically gone'Turning point
Tuesday 2026-03-10. watch.
Kelton's report to the owners in the park near their home: her reactivity is basically gone apart from alert-barking from the truck crate, and she has been chill with basically everybody. He explains the three phases (lure and leash, low-level layering, proofing at 30 to 45 for obligation), gives heel criteria, starts road boundaries 'right at the end of the program', and names two coping habits proofing must erase: downing to get out of trouble, and running to the truck. The owners handle the collar and struggle for contact through her fur. She is recalled off a person she likes who is petting her, never tried before, and on the second attempt the owner gets it. The owners ask about the cats and are given a choice between a reinforced recall and a no-command 'rattlesnake' aversion. He says the thing he is happiest with is trusting her around people; the owners say that was one of their biggest worries.
On film
her reactivity is basically not all there anymore yeah it's basically gone
she wants to be with you guys good girl good yeah so she does that um that's one of her like coping mechanisms
because i've never recalled her while she was with somebody she really really liked
the things that i was the happiest with with penny is like i can like not watch the flexing not be worried she's going to be like yeah with those people she can just like i trust that she's not going to do anything to them
The flexi test
Wednesday 2026-03-11. watch, Bass Lake.
A two-mile trail with the flexi deliberately left unlocked and every correction by collar, which he treats as the measure of off-leash readiness. She holds place while bikes pass, heels past groups of people, rubbernecks when a passing dog reacts to her and puts herself back, and is 'not reacting to people at all'. He locks the flexi once, over a sit that became a down, and says he will not fail her on that. He tells the owners on camera that her reactivity was fear-based and not their fault. No pass or fail is announced.
On film
e-collar only if you have to constantly use the leash still to correct anything whether it's the heel or the sit or the down or the place or the recall then you are definitely not ready to go off leash
see she's not reacting to people at all
She's been having a little trouble on distinguishing the sit and the down.
Go-home lesson in the rain
Thursday 2026-03-12, inside Lowe's. watch.
Kept short because the owners had two in-program lessons and watched the videos. She downs when asked to sit, which is corrected at 'a mistake level' and blamed on too many downs. The owner feels the collar and is told to read her reaction, not the number. The trainer confesses his own timing errors, including the place-cot spell, and explains how a late release can teach the wrong thing. He shows how an e-collar tap alone now returns her to heel. Off leash only after the flexi test is passed at home; kitchen begging solved by banning the begging, which the owner chooses; nails trimmed with a down and 'nope'. A stranger feeds her in the aisle and someone says four weeks ago that would not have gone well. He calls the owners ideal clients.
On film
that is just like when she goes to down instead of sit just yeah that's literally it just kind of pop her up and but at more of like a mistake level instead of like a you did something horrible
the video is older when i have to use the leash to get her back into the heel um you can tell the video is newer when i just tap the e-collar and then she comes back into the heel
four weeks ago this probably would not have gone that great
guys pay attention you watch all the videos
Afterwards: a re-cut, and nothing else
2026-08-16.
watch re-edits the two owner lessons into a four-minute piece about the owners learning the maintenance system.
On film
I love you, I'm going to miss you.
Skills
Accepting people - the presenting problem
How it was taught
Exposure in public with strangers invited to greet; barking or growling met with a brief 'nope' and then let go back to look, rather than being pulled away; no command while she only looks; the trainer's rule that she may feel wary but may not act on it.
On film
i just punished it and then said okay and let her go back because what i've learned about her she's not actually intending to do anything
you're trying to make the behavior not happen again she may still she may still feel whatever
She'll, like, stop, look at them, and bark at them a bunch.
her reactivity is basically not all there anymore yeah it's basically gone
Place
How it was taught
Pressure on, pressure off at arrival, no word until smooth; then named; then on the e-collar alone; the release clarified by letting her be wrong; a regression repaired slowly; duration built with the handler passive, 'look but don't go'.
On film
So I'm not gonna attach a word to this yet.
And we're able to do this with the e-collar only now.
and penny is about to get off place and place and she can look but she cannot go
just means get on top of that thing stay there until i ask you to get off that's literally it
Down
How it was taught
Pressure into position with 'nope' and praise for tries; later obligated with the collar once she did it consistently; duration with the handler walking away and returning to release.
On film
it fast huh down oh so you don't like it you're gonna bite at my hand
It's because she does no down, she does it consistently.
yeah she didn't have it before i think it's because i practiced down a whole bunch
make sure that I try to get a full down from a distance before her programs
Sit, and the sit-down confusion
How it was taught
Verbal; sit as a recall finish from the first session.
On film
She's really, really great at the down.
issue that's happened but i think it's because i did down way more than i did sit okay because down is more important
Recall
How it was taught
'Come all the way'; leash end, leash tap, collar and word layered so each alone means come; sniffs let go so there are real things to call her off; hard situations recreated deliberately.
On film
So I don't want her to get in the habit of thinking that come means to go only that far.
recall her off of that mid mid run without having to use the e-collar or the um or the leash
she doesn't tend to go very far i'm gonna be honest
okay, that's how you prove things,
Heel
How it was taught
Heel entry (walk backwards then forwards if she is confused), pace and turn changes, exaggerating a drift, collar layered over leash guidance.
On film
All right, I'm gonna teach her a heel entry.
so that was only on a 10 i'm gonna put it down to a five and see if i can correct on the turn
show you penny heel come on so looking up like that that's fine okay right but think about it this way if i took a right turn would she still be in the heel
kind of the idea is you layer the e-collar on so that then they know okay wait a minute e-collar
Off leash - the flexi test
How it was taught
Flexi unlocked, every correction by the collar, in a public place.
On film
but i'm not 100 confident in her recall and that's an important thing until you're confident
Yeah, but for the off leash, um, I would, I would use the flexi for a while and to see if you can like only use the e-collar basically and never use the flexi
Jumping - put on cue
How it was taught
Name the jump and invite it with a chest tap; uninvited jumps get 'nope' and social and spatial pressure.
On film
i'm making it a command so up up up up and then that makes it where if you didn't invite it you can punish it
for your dog, put it on cue, use it as a reward. Instead of just suppressing it
Handling, crate, grooming
How it was taught
Not described for the crate; the slip collar over the head daily; nails by giving her a down to hold and correcting the down, not the paw.
On film
she's really happy to come up into the crate now as well as she's letting me take her out of the
I have to slide that over her face every day, so she's gotten a lot better with that now
no down no and you see now she's letting me do it
The truck - bolting and waiting
How it was taught
Return to baseline after the bolt; open the door and call her away; wait in a down; collar raised on the line so the truck stops working as an escape.
On film
So she has a tendency where she wants to run to the truck.
she thought well the truck's safe i'll just go to the truck and so i just turned the e-collar up
Road boundaries and the cats
How it was taught
Explained only.
On film
going to have you guys continue doing is something called i i'm just starting it today
an aversion where she just doesn't mess with the cats at all you go the rattlesnake aversion route
Down
On film
i don't know why you are struggling with those reps
Recall
On film
at the threshold and she ignored the come so she's a very sensitive dog so i have it a pretty low
Accepting people - the presenting problem
On film
This Lowe's is dead penny
From the Shorts
Short clips posted from Penny's training. They are undated, so they sit beside the program rather than inside it.
A low level for a sensitive dog
Leaving a store, Penny ignores a 'come' at the doorway. The trainer explains that she is a very sensitive dog, so he keeps the level low and would turn it up only slightly if she ignored him again; he calls her again and she comes.
On film
so just teaching manners there at the threshold and she ignored the come so she's a very sensitive dog so i have it a pretty low level for her if she did ignore me again there i would turn it up slightly
does with this one penny come good penny come puppies good girl okay let's go back to the truck
How the method adapted
Penny's case is a nervous-dog program run with an e-collar on a very sensitive dog. The adaptations are mostly about pressure: how much, when, and what to do when it went wrong. The trainer says more than once that he got it wrong with her, and the record shows him correcting course inside sessions.
The collar level was cut the moment she showed it was too much, in five separate sessions, and the level rule was taught to the owners as 'read the reaction, not the number'.
Because she is very sensitive; because a level that is too high sensitised her and produced vocalising and appeasement.
On film
So she's very sensitive to e-collar.
she's having a little bit of vocalization with it.
and then just adjust the levels based off her reaction to it exactly yeah don't get caught up on numbers because numbers literally just don't mean anything
When she would not play hard, running replaced the toy; when pressure produced appeasement, running together was used again to reopen her.
Play is the reward he wants; running is rewarding in itself for a dog who will not yet play, and it is what 'helped the most' the first time.
On film
if you can't get the play yet, one way to get there is to use this physical activity more generally because it's rewarding.
fallout last time the thing that helped me the most with her because she does have a tendency to do that every once in a while um is we just ran together
Barking was punished for her specifically because she was judged not to be a shy dog, and early in the program she was allowed to 'just be a dog' so she would open up.
The trainer makes the decision on temperament: for an overly shy or strongly nervous dog he would not punish it.
On film
If she was overly shy, or really a strong nervous case, then I wouldn't punish that.
dog then i'm gonna start out by trying to tell them not to do it but like penny i just want her to be a dog even if she does something that i you know eventually want her to not do
The place regression was repaired by going backwards: short leash, calming talk, food and personal play because she would not tug, and an attempt without any pressure.
He believed his own mistake had set a sensitive dog back, and a problem is fixed by working slowly through it.
On film
got in her mind non-contingently punished by me good girl come on and that messed her up a little bit oh no so I'm having to work back through it
now let's see if i can get her to go up there without having to use any pressure
After the truck bolt, the next rep waited until she was back to baseline.
She had been nervous about the possibility of pressure; a dog that learns the truck turns pressure off learns something dangerous.
On film
So I'm going to try to get her to return to baseline before we leave.
truck this is why you don't take the leash off too early
Her suspicion of passers-by was corrected in the act and then left alone: she was not pulled away and was allowed to go back and look.
Pulling a barking dog away rewards the barking; she does not intend harm; the target is the action, not the feeling.
On film
i just punished it and then said okay and let her go back because what i've learned about her she's not actually intending to do anything
And so then this here, right, when you're walking by this, I want them to teach, I want to teach them to make those decisions on their own.
What the family was told
Pressure, punishment and the relationship
You only know if it worked by their reaction.
you mama right um so that's another thing you don't let the punishment linger right if a punishment event lasts 10 minutes that's gonna be psychologically traumatizing
like two words it's like all right make it clear what you want and what you don't want
The e-collar: levels, fit, contact
starting to proof the commands when you're proofing the commands you change and this don't get stuck on numbers never so numbers mean nothing
This is going to be a challenge for you guys to get contact.
and then check it that way but yeah the thing with e-collars is it has to contact the skin
Walking: the flexi, loose leash, the structured walk
because the it's funny the worst combination people always think it's a flexi and a prong that's the best the worst one is a harness and a six foot leash
So loose leash walking, very simple. There's three phases, and I like to use it as a warm-up.
times um that actually will sometimes like increase it uh for dogs um the thing that's best for their anxiety is just to like have the flexi out and they're not in any kind of command
Off leash, recall and the cats
that before you take her fully off leash you practice everything and get really comfortable on the flexi
it and then you go good come big dog that ain't even real you didn't do anything you did nothing
when she gets too crazy right the hard part about that is that's harder than just doing the aversion
The house: freedom with one rule
That's a band-aid, right?
but then the important part about anytime you punish a behavior like that let her release let her go back to neutral
no no i'm thinking just ban the begging
Maintenance
right so think about it this way it's like a battery all of your commands and all of your um
win might yeah funny enough might is more reinforcing than will if you have 100 certainty
wait here until you say okay exactly so then like at a crosswalk you say okay and then you guys go
In the family's own words
Their goal, in one sentence at the first lesson: to learn to communicate with her, knowing it will be maintenance afterwards.
On film
like itching to know about honestly my main thing is just is just just learning the communication to her properly
The owner states the maintenance principle himself at go-home.
On film
thing is again it's their responsibility the owner to like remember the you know what goes first and when and how to maintain everything and how to do everything it's perishable otherwise it
They confirm that trusting her around people was one of their biggest concerns.
On film
going to do anything to them see that i feel like that was her oh that was one of your biggest things right yeah yeah
Outcomes
What the trainers reported
Her reactivity is basically gone; she only alert-barks from the truck crate and stops when told.
Kelton, to the owners, 2026-03-10
On film
her reactivity is basically not all there anymore yeah it's basically gone
She has been chill with basically everybody, and he trusts her not to do anything to people.
Kelton, 2026-03-10
On film
totally chill with them um and she's been chill with basically everybody at this point
Much better with people than at intake; 'chilled out a lot'.
The trainer, to a stranger at Tractor Supply, the week before go-home
On film
But now she's chilled out a lot.
Flexi test: one lock in about an hour and eight minutes.
The trainer, at go-home
On film
I only had to lock with Flexi once
Happy with the training overall.
The trainer, at go-home
On film
she uh I'm pretty darn happy with the training I think it went well
What the footage shows
Strangers greet, pet and play with her for over twenty minutes at a park, where she used to growl at passers-by, and she is praised afterwards as having done 'so good with those people'.
On film
with this group of like 19 and 20 year olds and they were just loving on her and she was totally chill with them
heel and heel you did so good with those people's there you go good girly good
Mid-program she still barks or growls at passers-by on a walk with the owners present and is corrected.
On film
hey nope nope don't do that
A 49-minute place hold with ducks, a cat, chicks, cars and a visitor, with at least one audible break and correction when the visitor approaches.
A recall off a person she likes who is petting her, first failed and then obtained by the owner with the collar.
On film
and very hard yeah right so then were you stemming uh yeah i eventually yeah you eventually did did
Penny, come.
The sit-down confusion is live at the flexi test and at go-home.
On film
that's not a sit why do you do that she didn't used to do that
The ideas Penny's case runs on
- Build the handler's timing while it is easy
- Close the other door: the escape hatch
- Contingent, avoidable, and the right size
- Freedom is given in measured steps
- Greetings are the handler's call
- Might beats will
- Pick the place for what it contains - life is the training ground
- Pressure, release, reward
- Punish the act, not the feeling: he may look
- Put the unwanted behaviour on cue
- Show what not to do, allow everything else
- Swapped commands: keep sit and down distinct
- Teach the move, then the word
- The handler is the first suspect
- The level is not a number
- Two events, not one - and what the handler does in between