Poseidon
Who Poseidon is
As the trainer describes him
The trainer calls him a reactivity case with prey drive who stalked another dog at a park, and says he had a bite on his record from California.
By the end of the program, the trainer describes his recall and let's-go redirect as reliable, and says his heel has improved.
On film
But since he's very good on the recall, his recall is great, super responsive, as well as his let's go redirect, and his heal has gotten a lot better, I don't worry too much about what he's doing.
As the family describes him
The owners list their main concerns as over-excitement, barking and the bite. It is not cited here, and who the fighting was with is never said.
On film
like over excitement and um uh like some of the the barking um and then the bite
Separation barking: the owners say he barked whenever they left, and that a second dog reduced it but did not stop it. They also say it caused serious trouble with their housing. That detail is household matter and is not repeated here.
On film
To have a friend to calm him down. Something to do. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And how did that, did that help? It helped a little bit, but he was still barking every night.
It was like maybe an hour, maybe like 30 minutes, but it was a lot less than what he was doing when he didn't have anything.
The owners say he was returned to a shelter three times, went through a prison program in California (San Quentin), and bonded with one of them straight away.
On film
like he's already been brought back three times I'm not gonna be the fourth person like brought back to the shelter or something
When I met him, he instantly just sat in my lap.
there's a similar program they did for him it's uh the st quentin prison
An owner says he ran and cowered when she was cleaning with a shoe in one hand and a rag in the other. The trainer offers two possible causes: a bad experience, or temperament plus experience.
On film
I had a shoe in one hand and I had a rag in the other and he ran and cowered from me
that can happen if they've had some bad experience and it can also be temperament plus experience
The child. The owners say he does not do well with children in general and tolerates their own child. They also say he keeps an eye on the child. When the child gets into his face, he has 'corrected' the child, and the owners say it was never a hard bite. The speakers overlap in this stretch.
On film
I think he does love the kid from a distance
he has corrected him like he hasn't bit him hard
The owners say people urged them to put him down. They say that a near-incident after they moved is what led them to training.
On film
i've had many people tell me to get rid of him and put him down
And then we got out here, and there was almost an incident, and I was like, I can't do it anymore.
The owners say he gets anxious when the group is separated on a walk. He waits for whoever lags behind, or chases after them.
On film
anytime if one of us lagged behind him he would sit there and wait until what until we caught up
He doesn't like when people are separated from him. He likes it with the group.
What the recordings show
On the Cabela's recordings: he waits at doors on a sit (one 'No, sit' is repeated at 04:07), walks loose through the store, takes a treat from a staff member after a 'yes', and heels with a small leash cue to finish in a sit. In the go-home lesson he is walked calmly enough for a 22-minute conversation. None of these recordings shows a dog encounter or a reaction to one. Body language cannot be checked from the audio.
The program, stage by stage
The program, mostly off camera
About eight weeks, ending around 2025-11-12
Nothing from the first weeks was filmed. The trainer reports that the barking all but stopped after the first two days.
On film
So, and he did, honestly, after the first like two days, he barely, he didn't really bark at all.
i always take dogs with me everywhere i go so dogs came along i had sign with me and andy and um and doja we were out
Cabela's, near the end (Pt.1 and Pt.2, one trip)
Early November 2025, on or before 2025-11-03
The trainer brings him along on his own errand. Poseidon sits at every door, wanders the store on a loose lead, gets one tap for an ignored let's-go, takes a treat politely from a staff member, and heels with a leash nudge into a sit. He also uses Poseidon to demonstrate a prong pop for two shoppers, then worries aloud that he has unsettled him.
On film
he's in training yeah yeah he's he's about at the end he's doing really good
But yeah, a successful trip with Poseidon to Cabela's.
Go-home lesson, both dogsTurning point
On or before 2025-11-12
A walk with both owners and their young child. Most of it is conversation. The owners go through their concerns. The trainer treats the child problem as management rather than training, sets out a household choice on jumping, shows Poseidon and then Hades on sit, down, recall and release, and ends with a hesitant sit that one 'nope' resolved, calling it negative reinforcement. There is a follow-up 'as needed'.
On film
that's another example where I asked him to sit and he was kind of like, and I asked him to sit again and he was kind of, and then I said no, but he sat. So that's another way you can use it as like a negative reinforcement.
Skills
Sit at doors (threshold routine)
How it was taught
Stated as a standing routine for every door, kennel and crate.
On film
I always make them sit before we go in through the doors.
We do that every time in and out of the kennel and every time in and out of the crate.
Recall and let's-go redirect, with freedom to wander
How it was taught
Not filmed. On the recording: loose handling, 'here' and 'let's go', and a tap when a let's-go is ignored.
On film
I let him wander, because that normally actually decreases problems when you're out and about,
I think then if you're just, let's go, let's go, good boy Poseidon, so I gave him a little tap there just because he ignored the let's go read right cue but to his credit he popped right out of it
Heel with a finishing sit
How it was taught
Heel cue, leash communication into a sit, then 'break'.
On film
our training Poseidon heel heel so I did a little bit of communication there through the leash to get him to finish with a sit oh yep there you go boy break but that's not always required ideally they sit without any kind of communication there
Taking food politely from a stranger
How it was taught
The marker comes before the food, even from a stranger.
On film
just say yes before you do it yes there's a good boy
Release and 'go' (break, then encourage away)
How it was taught
After 'break', a dog that sticks close is encouraged to leave with 'go go go'.
On film
go if you see your dogs kind of stuck by your side like that once you've said break and they're free to go I like to encourage them like that break go go go
say break or okay i've i used to say break every time i've uh recently started gravitating towards using okay i don't know why but you can use your one they know both
Jumping on guests
How it was taught
It is the household's choice. If jumping is fine, allow it. If it is not, 'nope', then 'nope' with a pop, three or four times. This is the same procedure the trainer had already given for Hades getting on Poseidon.
On film
if you're cool with him jumping on you let him jump if you're not cool with it tell him to stop it
tell him nope get him to stop and then if you really don't want him to ever do it again like then just like do the nope and then like pop and then nope and then pop and then nope and pop like three or four times until you feel like he got it
if you want him to be able to do it sometimes but not other times then all you got to do is respond accordingly in that moment
The child: management plus an alternative behaviour
How it was taught
The trainer declines to train tolerance of being poked. He offers a recall or other redirect instead, plus a firm rule: never leave a dog with a bite history unattended with a child.
On film
that's more of a management thing just like don't because you i can't train him to be like okay with people poking him no he shouldn't be okay yeah like that's not what he wants but um but you know like i can train like okay where you could like recall him or get him to do something else
So, and you have one with a bite history, so then that's even, like, more of a no-no, right?
Heel by negative reinforcement, rewarded with release
How it was taught
Pressure (the tool is not named), 'yeah'/'nope' markers, and 'break' into freedom.
On film
So we use negative reinforcement for the heel for a little bit there you saw and then the the reward is just a release into freedom, right?
How the method adapted
Very little of Poseidon's training is on camera, so most adaptations can be seen only in what the trainer says at the end. Two stand out: a training problem was turned into a management rule, and the trainer publicly admitted a handling mistake with this dog.
The child problem was not treated as a training target. The trainer says he cannot, and should not, train the dog to accept being poked. He gives the owners management and a redirect instead.
The bite history and, by the trainer's account, the breed raise the stakes. The dog's dislike is called fair.
On film
the only difference is that that the dog doesn't know how to deal with that like if they don't like it and so then like that leads to problems
Especially not a bully breed dog, though, right?
set them up for success and then but that doesn't mean you have to like treat them like a prisoner
Jumping is left to the family to decide. For this dog, though, the trainer points out that not everyone wants him in their face.
The trainer ties it to his breed.
On film
know like especially because of his breed not everybody wants you in their face
A self-correction about handling Poseidon. A viewer said his backward leash pressure during a greeting on Halloween night was counterproductive, and the trainer agreed on camera. He puts it down to being tired and to held tension, which he says is not a correction.
Passive tension does more harm than good, and experienced trainers slip into it too.
On film
you'll see that i put like a a little bit of backwards leash pressure and she pointed out that that was counterproductive and she was right
a lot of times I work with dog owners who get really nervous and kind of anticipate problems and will put a bunch of like passive leash pressure it's not a correction of any kind like it's not popping or no e-collars involved
here but yeah it can happen to me it can happen to any of our trainers which means it can definitely happen to you if you're just a dog owner right
No suppression of a dog with a bite record. The trainer presents Poseidon as a reactive dog who was not suppressed into calm.
The trainer says suppression does not last once the dog goes home.
On film
my my kind of my policy is like i don't do training that way
it's walking on eggshells now because the other thing is it doesn't last it goes away yeah as soon as the dog gets home
A dog in training was used for a demonstration aimed at other people. The trainer popped Poseidon on the prong to show two shoppers, then worried he had upset him. This is recorded as a flag, not as a method.
Not stated. It was a demonstration for someone else's dog.
On film
i'm probably triggering the heck out of him he's like what the hell did i do i didn't do anything
What the family was told
Walks where he can do his thing
take them on walks um the more walks that you're able to do that are like this the better because that there's a big difference between the two walks yeah like a walk where you're having to like try to keep him with you all the time and a walk where you like let him like kind of do his thing
Child and dog: management
most dogs should never be like left unattended with a child
set people up for success set dogs up for success too
Jumping on guests
tell him nope get him to stop and then if you really don't want him to ever do it again like then just like do the nope and then like pop and then nope and then pop and then nope and pop like three or four times until you feel like he got it
Release words
say break or okay i've i used to say break every time i've uh recently started gravitating towards using okay i don't know why but you can use your one they know both
The marker as negative reinforcement, and 'the counting thing'
that's another example where I asked him to sit and he was kind of like, and I asked him to sit again and he was kind of, and then I said no, but he sat. So that's another way you can use it as like a negative reinforcement.
kind of like the counting thing that I've talked with you about.
In the family's own words
The owners do not say whether they are satisfied, and they do not state goals beyond their list of concerns. When asked for further questions at the end, one says they cannot think of any (18:41). The only other question is about teeth.
Outcomes
What the trainers reported
Nearly finished and doing well.
The trainer, to a Cabela's staff member
On film
he's in training yeah yeah he's he's about at the end he's doing really good
The prey stalking has mostly stopped, and the trainer sees nothing of the bite history now, reached without suppression.
The trainer, to shoppers
On film
but he's he's kind of stopped doing that now uh he's kind of learned to chill out a little bit bit better and then he had a bite on his record okay from back in california but um i don't see anything at this point he doesn't that's great he doesn't do anything um and i didn't have to like suppress
Recall great, let's-go reliable, heel much improved.
The trainer, to camera
On film
But since he's very good on the recall, his recall is great, super responsive, as well as his let's go redirect, and his heal has gotten a lot better, I don't worry too much about what he's doing.
What the footage shows
Poseidon: a store trip with sits at doors, loose wandering, one tap for an ignored let's-go, a heel finished with a leash nudge, and polite food-taking from a stranger. No dog encounter is recorded.
Poseidon and Hades at the go-home: sit, down, recall and release shown to the owners on a walk, plus one hesitant sit resolved by 'nope'. The recording does not always make clear which dog is being cued.
Hades: three minutes of heel with marker words. The audio cannot show how well he performed.
The ideas Poseidon's case runs on
- Breed is a checklist, not a verdict
- Calm at every threshold
- Food facilitates calm, it cannot create it
- Genetic versus environmental nerves
- Heel is a box, not a stare
- Internal emotional change, not repression
- Keep the marker charged
- Management, not training
- Nobody is at fault; it isn't personal
- Pick the place for what it contains - life is the training ground
- Release to freedom
- Restraint manufactures the reaction
- Start with freedom
- The pair is the unit of training
Hades
Who Hades is
Male ('his sit and his down'). No breed, age or history is spoken. No reason is given. The owners' later question about teeth ('they both came to me with pretty clear like white ass teeth', 19:58) is about both dogs and is not training material.
What was filmed
About three minutes of heel work that is carried almost entirely by the marker words 'yeah'/'yep' and 'nope', followed by an explanation to camera: the heel is taught by negative reinforcement, and the reward is a release into freedom on 'break'.
On film
Yeah, nope, yeah, yeah, nope
So we use negative reinforcement for the heel for a little bit there you saw and then the the reward is just a release into freedom, right?
And so then having like a strong break command can really make things clearer for the dog that they're free.
And I've had a lot more success doing the heel that style than I have had tried to like lure a heel with treats.
Go-home lesson (watch). Hades's sit, down and recall ('here') are shown after Poseidon's. The trainer hands over the release words and says both dogs know them.
On film
so you can see like same thing with hades his sit and his down yeah then his recall is still it's here
say break or okay i've i used to say break every time i've uh recently started gravitating towards using okay i don't know why but you can use your one they know both
Hades 'getting on' Poseidon. The trainer refers back to a procedure he had already described for this, off camera, and tells the owners to use the same one for Poseidon jumping on guests. The words suggest that Hades is the one who gets on Poseidon. The procedure itself is set out under Poseidon's jumping skill.
On film
so if he goes to jump on them what you're gonna do is the same thing i described for when like he's like hades is getting on him just do that
Heel standard stated on his recording
Point
A pet-dog heel: left side, not far ahead, at the handler's pace, with no competition precision. This is stated in general terms on Hades's recording, not as a grade of Hades.
On film
I'm not super like anal with how they, uh, position their heads or like exactly where their bodies are. If they're on the left side and they're not like going super far ahead of me and they're staying at my pace, then that's, that's good.