Roxy
Who Roxy is
Breed
On film
our famous English retriever, sorry, I almost said German Shepherd, English Cream Retriever
i do have to teach him uh his his sister's name is roxy she's a just a puppy german shepherd and her name's roxy
she's like seven, eightmonth old puppy. She's a German Shepherd. Not shocking
shepherds as they get older like their for like turns all kind of colors
Yeah, she's a sweetheart. Does she stay like that? Like that color? Yeah. to be all black. Yeah, shepherds as they get older like their fur like turns all kind of colors.
As the trainers describe her
The trainer frames part of Roxy's work as learning when to settle, explore, play or hold a cue within household routines. This is his teaching interpretation, not a clinical diagnosis or proof that she initially understood no context.
On film
roxy had no idea at all of any context For her, any context could be the top left, the find your own fun level, any context. It could be in the house. It could be when you're trying to go to sleep. It could be literally any time.
ramsay is older and is a overall like really like nice dog and he has probably learned a lot about your patterns so he didn't really have much of an obedience window it was okay but the other three windows were much better right so like he could kind of read context read the room
The trainer reports high kennel activity, fatigue and weight or appetite changes, and describes managing rest. These are reports about the training period; the record does not independently measure daily energy expenditure or establish a medical cause.
On film
because she uh she's so active she just she'll like run back and forth for like six or seven hours out of the day and it feels like you can't she's gonna she tires herself out then she doesn't feel like training and their training's all flat so we've had to keep her crated sometimes so she's not like exhausting herself
that's also part of what will like even if we're feeding her more more than what was originally put on the bag. She still ends up burning so many calories that she doesn't keep up with her growth, weight-wise.
she'll probably get super fat she'll probably get a bunch of weight when she goes home because it's not all that infrequent that they like their appetite goes down a little bit too when they're at the kennel and then like their activity level is just really high they don't raise about as much
The handlers describe strong interest in people and explore petting, play and freedom as rewards. Their accounts do not establish an absence of fear or other emotional states throughout the program.
On film
she loves the peoples
You just want pets, don't you?
it looks like I'm probably going to be using mostly release to freedom here, since she's going to have more interest in the environment and she's the toy.
So we see that she's also very interested in people. She's playfully reactive.
The trainers contrast Roxy's social approach with Ramsey's reported difficulty around novelty. This comparison explains their choices in these sessions; it should not become a fixed temperament label for either dog.
On film
that's she has like the the opposite problem
He's really close he's close the only reason he's not is Roxy there was no like opening up to do with Roxy
we also don't want him to be jumping because that's the one thing about him that's a little different than roxy's he gets sometimes triggered by stuff in the environment can make him a little fearful and if the dog get spooked that can cause problems
Jumping is an owner priority. The recordings describe arranging greeting opportunities and later include positive trainer reports. The strength of any outcome claim should remain tied to those reports and examples.
On film
Um and then uh correcting jumping, uh correcting nipping and uh stopping the uh craziness, right? Mostly like in especially in the house where she's going crazy.
I'm gonna stand here, she looked like she wanted to jump on me, so, I'll give her an opportunity, good girl, good girl, Roxy, good girl, that's a good girl, oh, she didn't, good, she sat
something physical for her I Just went and then tap the e-collar when she went to jump on me, that's it and She very quickly was like no like after about like five six times She was like I don't really want to do that again, and that was it
so we've made a lot of progress there the one like the jumping has gotten way better
I'm trying to do the jumping. That's one of the big things he's done.
Nipping appears among the intake-derived priorities read at handover. The trainer reports a change in its presentation. A dedicated assessment or complete count of occurrences has not been identified in these notes.
On film
yeah, the nipping. Yeah. Um, it's more so like snappies and clappies.
In one session the handler chooses avoiding rather than stubborn as his interpretation of responses. That wording does not establish Roxy's motive or prove that two uploaded sessions occurred on the same day.
On film
She knows it, but like she just, I don't want to use this word stubborn, but kind of stubborn.
I'm not gonna use the word stubborn because dogs I'm gonna say avoiding They were avoiding a man That makes more sense because she knew what she was doing. She just wanted to go away
she tries to avoid it she tries to avoid the command she's like I already know it I've done it like two days ago let me be
The trainer uses fixation to explain some difficult responses and discusses equipment feedback in that context. Treat this as his situational interpretation rather than a measured internal state or a universal equipment-response rule.
On film
sometimes she gets them you know more interested in those things she's kind of fixated she blows off the command so that's why we're reinforcing it
She was really blowing that e-collar off. She did not care about it. I had to go up slightly.
She was getting distracted by the trash can, and so her mom was just on the trash can. And so when I sat down, she sat, because she was still thinking about the trash can.
Handlers describe Roxy as quick to learn and make positive predictions. Their comments are useful teaching context, not standardized measures of learning speed or proof of every predicted outcome.
On film
so she figured that elephant out pretty quickly she got penalized relatively severely for the uh the jumping there both both times seems like she's starting to get the picture here
You're just so good. You're so smart. she's gonna learn really fast y'all
Sit. Oh, in one session.
trying to control herself. She's a smart cookie. She's going to learn really fast.
The notes describe equipment use and particular responses, including a retrospective long-line account. Sparse captions cannot establish the absence of distress, a complete count of aversive moments, or a continuous emotional state.
On film
he's gone. He's gone. He was doing it. I was like, "Are you even doing it?" Cuz she's not responding at all. Yeah. A slight head tilt. Slight head tilt. I had to turn it up.
I think she actually yelled a little bit once cuz I had to turn the e-collar up slightly like cuz she was like I'm not coming back. Right. But then she came loping on back and she was fine.
The notes include incidents involving equipment, lines and objects in the environment. These examples do not establish a stable physical trait or a breed-wide explanation.
On film
No, cuz now you're going to stay by me now. I'm not going to let you wander free now.
That's a very common thing with driven shepherds. They actually drive you bananas with that because like we end up having like eight gallons of water in the output and we refill them like several times a day we bump them out refill them and shepherds including Roxy will just let it go and like knock like two or three of them over I'm like bro why
So we haven't been like this huge field He's already tangled up with his sister probably 10 or 15 times already with these long lines
The handlers explore several possible rewards across settings, including freedom, social interaction and play. The notes support comparing these attempts; they do not provide a controlled ranking of Roxy's preferences.
On film
we did I didn't spend as much time playing tug with her uh as I do with some dogs because she likes uh freedom on the walks more than she likes to talk. So, I use that.
that she loves the pool so that's a reward
Good girl, Rocky. Good girl. You won. Good job, mama.
I wanna try something. I wanna try something with treats. Let's see if that will motivate her more. I don't know, she's already motivated with pets, but I want to see what she needs.
The trainer distinguishes being able to settle from doing so automatically in every household situation. This is part of the owners' practice guidance, not a later home follow-up.
On film
Well, she can be. Yeah. Um she can be now. She won't be like every second by default, but she definitely can be.
The owner lesson records the trainer describing urination during the reunion and commenting on its earlier occurrence. The label and history remain attributed to him rather than independently diagnosed.
On film
She must be really excited to see you. She doesn't normally do that. I haven't seen her submissive peace since she came.
Park and handover recordings contain positive trainer assessments of off-leash work. These reports are not standardized comparisons proving it was stronger than every other skill.
On film
I need to get her healed. I need to improve her heal. That's the main thing that's left with her. There's like, she's good with being off leash. I have a lot of trust in her recall now.
So Roxy at this point is totally fine off-leash. The only reason that I have a leash on her at all is just to practice the heel.
So for for Roxy, the main stuff was off leash, which I think she's done stunningly well. Stunningly well on the off leash thing. Um, like I've I trust her to go wherever we need to go off leash.
The first owner lesson says heel began later than other cues, and park notes describe ongoing refinement. Upload dates do not establish the final filming order or the final state of the skill.
On film
the one that I'm still working on that's but this is not all an infrequent that is a little like it lags a little behind is the heel just cuz a lot of times I started slightly later
The only thing I'm still working on is her off-leash heal. Because that's what she still needs a lot of work on.
so the real thing that we're trying to do here is just prove to heel.
An early note describes difficulty creating distance for recall practice because Roxy stays near the handler. This is a particular exercise setup, not a contradiction of all later behavior.
On film
How can I train her to come if she won't leave my side?
And who ramsey is
Points
The recordings describe Ramsey as an English Cream Retriever and give approximate age information. Confirmed intake ages are needed before calculating an exact age difference between the dogs.
On film
our famous English retriever, sorry, I almost said German Shepherd, English Cream Retriever
That one, Ranji's like six or seven years old, and she's like six or seven months old.
The trainer reports first concentrating on Ramsey's comfort and willingness to engage before emphasizing obedience. His explanation of that choice is attributed teaching, not a demonstrated rule about all anxious dogs.
On film
probably one of the more nervous retrievers I've ever met
he's opened up a lot
if a dog's got any form of like anxiety or anything and you're trying to do standard obedience like is it doable yeah is it like really weird and you can accidentally build like a ton of weird like random associations like you know now i'm scared of this particular shape of grass
The owners and trainer describe difficulty around particular unfamiliar objects and locations, including corners and household items. Keep each reported or demonstrated response attached to its setting.
On film
and then um what I saw as his uh primary response is to kind of flee. He just kind of like try and look back. Yeah. Um or like kind of like put the brakes on.
he avoids them or something. He's an aversion to them. He's afraid of them. He's scared of it. Is he scared of the noise that they make or just the sight of them? Yeah. He's scared of a lot of new things. So that's one of them.
that's pretty rough. He had some kind of really weird thing with that.
The household recounts an earlier escape and recovery. That history informs the discussion of freedom and management, but the incident is not independently documented in this reviewed set.
On film
just ran ran that down that way behind the wheelhouse down there. There's just like a pipeline ement and the only reason I was able to get to it is cuz he got stuck in mud.
Handlers report limited interest in some play attempts and discuss affection as a reward. These sessions do not establish that Ramsey will never play with toys or a permanent hierarchy of rewards.
On film
you're not a big fan of playing I figured not tell you not fetch and that's what it said on the board it's like try fetch try tugging like it so I think likes to walk around
it's not a big fan of playing I think it's just cause too hot so pool party again
One thing I would do is, like, every time he does something good or, like, if he tried to run away, I'd rub him. And, like, he'd be about to take off. He'd look behind me, and he'd slowly walk up to me. Why do you do that? Because he's still a retriever, and he just needs that, like, personal connection and the loveys.
The trainer discusses Ramsey's responses to equipment and adjusts settings within the recorded work. Numeric settings are specific to the dog, equipment and moment; they are not a transferable scale or proof of a measured change in sensitivity.
On film
when he hit the end of the leash there he just freaked out and he was like i don't like that so i'm going to turn down a lot for this yeah see and that's so we went down about half what he was doing i'm going to go down even more like a five i mean so this needs to be like barely anything right
he was fairly sensitive to the e-collar though so like you know any kind of reinforcement that you make when he goes home i wouldn't recommend turning that mini educator up over like honestly 12th and since he's learned everything and he has better impulse control which means like he's feeling a little like the e-collar to him is now stronger than the impulse i've actually turned it down a little bit so now we're on like a 10.
The handover describes established household routines and strengths for Ramsey. These are trainer and household reports, not continuous observation proving the absence of every earlier accident or difficulty.
On film
That's essentially what he does all day, every day. He just chills out
But yeah, he's never had an accident one time ever.
he didn't really have much of an obedience window it was okay but the other three windows were much better right so like he could kind of read context read the room
The handover includes positive trainer reports about cues, off-leash work and unfamiliar places. Distinguish those retrospective reports from demonstrations within the handover itself.
On film
Um so uh Ramsay off leash capability which he did great with. Uh you guys can see there's a few videos up now uh with uh him being off leash in different areas. Um uh so that all went really well. All of his, uh commands got a lot sharper.
place i didn't point i didn't do anything i just said the word so i feel like he's fully verbal now
he's doing fantastic across the board, I think. Yeah, they both are doing great, so I'm proud of them.
The third part of the second owner lesson includes practice around a blind corner and discussion of particular attempts. This record alone does not establish either lasting resolution or lasting non-resolution.
On film
that's pretty rough. He had some kind of really weird thing with that.
Um but he doesn't seem to be afraid of the crate anymore. Um sometimes he just doesn't want to get over to the truck.
The pair
The owners report one dog responding to requests meant for the other. The lessons discuss using names and distinct releases to help address each dog.
On film
Yeah, so so when she came to the house Ramsey was essentially He would do all of it get in the way respond. He still responds to rocks.
Even every time I would eat her, I would tell her to sit and he would, every time he'd sit right behind her.
anytime you say roxy come then he does too roxy come yeah see he'll do it too so i gotta we're gonna bring roxy out here either today or sometime this weekend
The paired place note records Roxy leaving the target during practice involving the other dog. It does not establish whether eagerness, misunderstanding or another factor explains every response.
On film
it fell apart, it fell apart and the water didn't function, I was like she was not getting that
Alright, they did good this time.
The first owner lesson discusses difficulty responding when the dogs stand close together and explores giving them more room.
On film
i did notice that like both of them have this thing where if they're like right near each other they have like a weird thing about like doing the command like if they're out of space or something i don't know what that is
no it's like if they're right next to each other like ramsey i'll I'll be like, I'll give him a down and he'll look at me and be like, doc, I don't have room right now. I can't do it now. And I'm like, that ended up like he moves a couple of steps and I'll tell him again and he goes into it.
The trainer reports improvement in how the pair behaves together in the house. This adds household context to the individual skill work; it does not replace assessment of each dog.
On film
so they have pretty much learned everything they need to learn so far and the behavior together in the house is much much calmer significantly better they're still going to play they're still going to you know jump around and have a good time they're dogs right
demonstrate the difference between how they were a couple weeks ago and how they are now when it comes to being together in the house and listen to commands.
The household discussion links play, toys and activity together and sets out an indoor-play policy chosen for this home. It is not a universal rule for all two-dog homes.
On film
If they start playing with that toy, they're playing with that toy. Now they're going to be romping and they're going to be like biting each other and playing, right? So then just don't let them play with toys in the house, right?
um where if they are calmly laying down and chewing it, you can just allow that and be fine with it. But then if they go to start like Yeah. then say, "Eh."
The trainers describe practicing with the other dog present as a distraction. The source examples show how the paired setting enters the teaching plan.
On film
While she's on place, I'm going to be teaching Ramsey, which the retrievers are all recall. And that way, it'll be a pretty high-traction environment because I'll be, like, really engaged with the dog that's not her, and she's going to have to learn to just sit there and just chill out.
he's got a little bit of a nervousness going on, so if I kind of force them to like hey you can't like let your nerves get to you i'm gonna kind of like zone in on me um it'll be a growing experience for both of the dogs simultaneously
The third part of the second owner lesson changes from paired work to Ramsey-focused practice after Roxy is put away. Keep that lesson part distinct from the later handover.
On film
maybe we can just try it with Ramsay. Roxy. Sure. Yeah, I can put her up and then we can do the the walk around thing with Ramsay real quick.
At handover the trainer describes how work was shared between staff across the two dogs. This is useful attribution for the household record.
On film
I miss Roger the most. I worked with her more than I did Ramsay. Connor worked with Ramsay a lot.
I haven't taken him out as much as Connor has cuz more than anything else, Connor's working
As her family describe her
Their goals, in their own words at the handover, come off an intake sheet the trainer reads back: off-leash capability, jumping, nipping, and the craziness in the house. Off leash is the one he says he worked hardest.
On film
So, uh, this is theirs. So, we have for Roxy, those are what you guys put on your intake. So, those are the ones I focused on the hardest was off leash capability.
Um and then uh correcting jumping, uh correcting nipping and uh stopping the uh craziness, right? Mostly like in especially in the house where she's going crazy.
What they say they struggle with, asked directly at the owner lesson, is the dogs behaving inside the house - and what they want is Roxy out in the living room with them rather than crated.
On film
Because what we're really struggling with is that we're always inside with them.
So we do want to test having her out together in the living room, because before she went to training, she was essentially just kept her crazy. Yeah, she was bananas.
Um when we sit down, watch TV, and we let her out, she definitely would like jump on us, jump on Okay. Or she'll get two. She'll go very exploratory and go upstairs and run around the downstairs right now. Okay. Ideally, we want just her like a kind of chill chill chill here on the road like chill with us.
Two specific household problems they raise themselves: Roxy exploding out of the crate in the morning and sprinting for the door, and taking up to forty minutes to use the bathroom at night while Ramsey goes straight out and back.
On film
evening is we take her outside to go party before coming back in. And she just like jumps from [snorts] the crate. Like the second you open that thing, she's like, "Yeah."
Ramsey goes like he has no trouble going. He honestly like prefers to come back in in this in the house after. Yeah. Roxy will start exploring and going out and wandering back there and sniffing and we're like, "No, we should like we want you to go to bed."
They report the command bleed from home before either trainer raises it - Ramsey doing everything asked of Roxy, including sitting behind her at every meal.
On film
Yeah, so so when she came to the house Ramsey was essentially He would do all of it get in the way
An owner's honest account of his own default, offered when the trainer asks what he would have done: keep yelling louder.
On film
In the past, I probably would have just kept yelling louder.
They tell the trainer plainly that the adjustment on their side is what will make or break it.
On film
Yeah. It'll just be some work for us to let them Yeah. It'll be it'll be adjustment for us to, you know, that will make or break it. you know, start practicing that.
They describe Ramsey's fears in their own words, and distinguish ordinary wariness from the version that worries them.
On film
Okay. But but like a little bit more like like very desperate. Yeah. Cuz like if he just kind of was like that's like the like really scary. It's the desperate thing that's not good.
he avoids them or something. He's an aversion to them. He's afraid of them. He's scared of it. Is he scared of the noise that they make or just the sight of them? Yeah. He's scared of a lot of new things. So that's one of them.
They brought a written list of home-specific problems, and the second lesson is structured around testing it item by item.
On film
because I saw your list, and so I've been working on that stuff
We got both of them here, so I think I saw one of the things that you had on there was for Ramsey going around corners and trash cans and stuff like that
One household member asks about protection training for Roxy, because she likes to bite things.
On film
Christian had told me that the Cuz I'm we're interested in it for Roxy. She likes to bite stuff.
A boarding kennel had reported separation anxiety in Roxy while the owners were away. The trainer says he has not seen it and that she has got a lot better.
On film
um I haven't noticed that no yeah she's done a lot better with that
separation anxiety. Didn't see a lot of the separation anxiety, but definitely the jumping.
The program, stage by stage
The starting assessment
Introduced as the first official training-day assessment; filming date unknown.
The handler describes an assessment intended for later comparison, trying spoken cues with limited additional help and allowing pulling during the test. He reports strong interest in people and partial recognition of some cues; place has no suitable target. The record also contains markers and interaction, so the stated plan is not proof that every prompt was absent. This establishes a starting example under particular conditions, not everything Roxy had ever learned.
On film
So why don't we go for a short walk. I'm going to use some verbal commands. I'm not going to give any indication to the dog of what I want them to do just to see what she actually recognizes
Like this pulling normally we don't want her to do this I'm not going to correct that we're just gonna let her to do whatever she wants. Okay, we're just seeing where she's at
She seems to recognize nope a little bit. When I say that, she's letting off on the pulling just a wee bit. And when I say, let's go, she's heading in that direction. All right, so she's got those down.
So we see that she's also very interested in people. She's playfully reactive.
I'm looking forward to seeing how she improves over the next month.
Teaching the movement before adding the wordTurning point
Early training discussion; exact day unknown (watch).
The handler explains teaching sit with leash guidance before introducing the spoken cue. He reports reducing assistance, taking a break and checking further responses, and says he did not use the e-collar. The useful comparison is the movement, the help and the later cue. Exact response counts and independence still require inspection of the footage.
On film
The first there was like two times I had to fight her to sit down, but then I now I'm just like lightly tugging the leash and then she just sits. I'm not saying sit. I am only teaching her the move. The not the command, the move.
I'm giving her a little break from all that. So, then I can try on um I can move on to stage two.
Sit. Oh, in one session.
Try a couple more sits and see if she if it sticks. You know what I'm saying?
Not once did I use a stinking eat cotler.
Introducing down and planning duration work
The handler reports prior sit work and introduces down using assistance followed by release. He describes progress within the session and identifies duration and distance as later work. The note also records his preference about the dog standing between his legs. Trainer estimates of elapsed learning time and equipment use remain attributed; future practice is a plan, not a completed result.
On film
no idea how to do down so I'm just gonna help her I'm just gonna guide her even if I have to force her down and just release her immediately
it's only been 13 minutes and I taught her to down
trying to go between my legs and I'm not gonna allow that because when you're out in public you sit down she just stays right there before your legs which she's gonna get your way so she keeps trying to go up to my legs i'm like no
She was fighting me so I had to spam the button three times
work with her maybe tomorrow to stay more longer when i'm like two feet away i might try to let you
Reducing handler prompts during sit practice
Published July 7; exact filming date and relationship to nearby indoor recordings unknown.
The handler discusses sit practice, pool access and reducing pointing or leaning so that the spoken cue carries the request. This offers a comparison between the intended cue and the help actually visible.
On film
because of the heat we got pools like big dog pools for them so you see that blue thing can you see probably so I'm just gonna have her cool down for a bit and we can start with her sit
that she loves the pool so that's a reward
but that's not because then sometimes what happens they'll just learn like okay when he points that's when I down or that's when I sit I'm like that's how I was like that's not good
it's supposed to be verbal only like my hands in my pockets I say sit and she's supposed to say you know
all cool down she's not hot or anything she can just jump in the pool whenever she wants
Practicing with the other dog presentTurning point
Published July 13; filming date unknown (watch).
Roxy practices place while Ramsey practices recall in the same room. The trainer explains the other dog and his own attention as distractions, and describes choosing the setting in response to his impression of Ramsey. Each dog has a different task. Alternating spoken cues do not establish continuous place duration, an exact error count or general off-leash reliability.
On film
and what we're doing is we have Roxy working on plates because, you know, she's a German Shepherd, she has control, she's obviously born with them, fantastic, and never has any problems, like, you know, doing both things, so we're going to have Roxy on place.
While she's on place, I'm going to be teaching Ramsey, which the retrievers are all recall. And that way, it'll be a pretty high-traction environment because I'll be, like, really engaged with the dog that's not her, and she's going to have to learn to just sit there and just chill out.
he's got a little bit of a nervousness going on, so if I kind of force them to like hey you can't like let your nerves get to you i'm gonna kind of like zone in on me um it'll be a growing experience for both of the dogs simultaneously so i think it was pretty cool
with all the dogs barking out there, I want to keep this very like low environment for him, he does seem to have kind of a little bit of a shutdown he goes into, so let's just see.
No. Not on the couch.
Actually, Roxy's not like that neurotic, though. She's not that bad.
Comparing assistance and reward choices
Two uploads published July 17; same-day filming and morning/afternoon order are unverified.
One recording discusses assisted sit and down practice and a recall that finishes near the handler. The treat-trial recording asks whether food may be useful and explains the trainer’s concern about later owner handling. His descriptions of avoidance or stubbornness are interpretations. These recordings are not a controlled comparison of rewards and do not establish a future dependency on food.
On film
she tries to avoid it she tries to avoid the command she's like I already know it I've done it like two days ago let me be
I still have to put training wheels on her so I have to pull her down while I say it
She knows it, but like she just, I don't want to use this word stubborn, but kind of stubborn.
which you know the whole point of coming is like you come and you stay in my circle
I wanna try something. I wanna try something with treats. Let's see if that will motivate her more. I don't know, she's already motivated with pets, but I want to see what she needs.
Like, if there's one time I give her a treat, and let's say she goes back to her owners and then she just doesn't do it and she just looks at you, but she knows it, she's like, well, where's my food? I need to see my food first.
I'm not gonna use the word stubborn because dogs I'm gonna say avoiding They were avoiding a man That makes more sense because she knew what she was doing. She just wanted to go away
A working radius and the release to explore
Undated (watch); its stated plan suggests a progression, not a fixed position on the calendar.
The trainer describes recall practice within a working radius, releases to explore and a proposed progression toward a longer line. He also discusses responding to jumping and reviews his own timing. The passage helps readers follow how the task and feedback are arranged; the stated progression does not itself prove when each later step occurred.
On film
All right, so we're going to create a radius, and then we're going to work on the different commands. And it looks like I'm probably going to be using mostly release to freedom here, since she's going to have more interest in the environment and she's the toy.
we're going to start keeping a tighter radius as soon as i'm a little bit happier with how she's doing with the recall good girl from further away and then we'll start doing that with uh with a long line and then we'll do it completely off leash
I'm gonna stand here, she looked like she wanted to jump on me, so, I'll give her an opportunity, good girl, good girl, Roxy, good girl, that's a good girl, oh, she didn't, good, she sat
And now I'm gonna let her know it's okay to go out further again. You can quickly normalize wherever you want her to be based on how long the leash is. As long as you make a consequence if she pulls on the leash.
that was a nice opportunity for me to prove the recall I wish that I had been able to see it coming and reinforce it a little bit more strongly with the e-collar but you still seem to get the point there learning still occurred a little bit more learning could have occurred I I could have taken advantage of that like slightly better than I did
A retrospective account of long-line practiceTurning point
At handover the trainer recounts an earlier long-line recall incident and uses it to explain his progression toward off-leash work. It remains a retrospective account. A similar-looking long-line recording should not be declared the same incident without matching its details, and this account alone does not establish a single causal turning point for the program.
On film
There's this look in a dog's eye um uh that uh it's funny. I see I see it all the time. Um because a lot of times it's the first time that they consider that they could go somewhere.
Roxy looking. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. She's done it. Um, uh, using e-coll right now.
And they're like already 20, 30 feet away from me and I'm like, "Come." And they're like and I see them speed up and you'll see it in video with Roxy. She like speeds up and it's like right and she hits the end of the line
I think she actually yelled a little bit once cuz I had to turn the e-collar up slightly like cuz she was like I'm not coming back. Right. But then she came loping on back and she was fine.
Um, and like they need that learning experience where they go, "Whoa, that didn't work at all." Right? And that's why I don't go like, "All right, like six foot, six foot, six foot, six foot."
then I'm like all right you're good to be off now. Okay. Right. Because I trust that you're going to come back even if you really want to do something else.
Practicing familiar cues during public outingsTurning point
The long-line session discusses practicing around people and dogs, the trainer’s response to distraction, and spacing attempts. The longer walk includes heel, sit, down and place, with an explanation of asking for different cues in a shared walking context. Later comments compare assistance on walking attempts. They are useful local comparisons, not matched tests or proof of a first-ever unassisted heel. The two highlighted later comments are about seven minutes apart, not twenty.
On film
sometimes she gets them you know more interested in those things she's kind of fixated she blows off the command so that's why we're reinforcing it
I tried it on a lower level, I had to turn it up, eh, okay, I really wanted to see those people. She was just blowing off the e-collar. She didn't care about that at all.
So learning, both in dogs and in humans, is not errorless, right? So they make errors, and you need to give them those choice points for them to actually make the error, like not coming back or something like that, in order for them to start learning.
you don't need to do it too many times in a row otherwise you end up with problems
What I'm trying to do is create some clarity around the H-E-E-L command command by doing um doing a uh dow in command while in motion because doing it in motion makes her it's in the same context as when i would ask for a heel so she thinks i'm asking for that and tries to go into that when i'm actually asking for it down so it makes her distinguish more clearly between the two so it clarifies the criteria for each command
because I don't want her just anticipating purely through context, I want her to actually respond to verbal command properly every time
Well, I remember the first time I tried to have her in the heel earlier on while we were walking by distraction like that and she failed miserably, she wasn't even close. That time she did it and she didn't even need any kind of negative reinforcement, no guidance from the leash, nothing. She just cleanly went into the heel, stayed in it for a minute and then went out of it once she was cued to go out of it, once she was released.
She was looking. But, uh, she stayed in the heel. We were looking dicey there for a second.
The first owner lesson - the program explained, and the pair's problem surfaced by the owners themselves
First labeled owner lesson (watch).
The first owner lesson combines a trainer progress report, explanations of cue and release meanings, and demonstrations with the pair. The owners describe one dog answering cues intended for the other. The trainer discusses allowing processing time and predicts declining responsiveness if many requests continue. This is a reported explanation, not a measured diagnosis of each response. Weight and appetite remarks remain trainer reports without a clinical conclusion.
On film
her sitting her down are great and then her recalls really good
so she'll heal pretty well for me on leash and she's not pulling or anything like that but awfully she won't heal for me very well yet so I'm still working on that
and then i have another one that i took earlier today with uh some training with her and randy together out at um lake benson park and she did really good there um i had her off leash there the whole time
same thing with dogs if they understand why they don't mind they're like they're not afraid to be around you or to do anything else
Yeah, so so when she came to the house Ramsey was essentially He would do all of it get in the way respond. He still responds to rocks.
what you're gonna see here is if we keep going uh her listening skills are going to take a sharp down turn the reason is because uh how many commands have i asked her to do within like the last like 40 minutes
Addressing the dogs by name during place practice
Published July 26; relationship to the separately reported living-room drill remains unverified.
The trainer introduces name discrimination as additional work he is exploring, describes difficulty during the exercise and later gives a positive assessment. One dog waits on place while the other is addressed. The source supports examining this practice sequence, but not a complete success rate or durable mastery. The reported living-room drill remains a separate account until its recording is identified.
On film
It is not something that we always do, nor is it something that I can promise is going to be 100 perfect um however i am working on i'm not promising that it will be perfect or that it will be this way because there's a lot of work that goes into it
so they have pretty much learned everything they need to learn so far and the behavior together in the house is much much calmer significantly better they're still going to play they're still going to you know jump around and have a good time they're dogs right
so you can have two dogs in the house together and you can utilize the place command to make things a lot simpler for them but you can also just use cues and tell them to knock it off if they're being too much so you got both options
it fell apart, it fell apart and the water didn't function, I was like she was not getting that
Alright, they did good this time.
I just happen to be looking through the little door hole this time when she went to get off Now she thinks that I'm all seeing just what we want
The park outing with her housemate - the inventory, and the heel named as the last gap
The park notes describe two handlers working the pair, a spoken skill inventory, leash tangles, and discussion of answering both handlers. Heel remains an explicit practice topic. Matching dialogue supports probable overlap, but the exact shared boundaries are unverified. The earlier discussion of leash conditions does not establish that both dogs remain leashed throughout; the later walk-back passage needs its own footage check.
On film
All right, we have Roxy and Ramsey trying to see how they interact with each other now that their training is going really really well
this is going well yeah well two long lines together can sometimes do this one long line by itself i've never had this issue
yeah i'm really happy with her sit i'm really happy with her down with the duration for her stuff
The only thing I'm still working on is her off-leash heal. Because that's what she still needs a lot of work on.
like when they go home they're not going to be one person dogs they need to listen to both yeah at least mom and dad and whoever else
The big problem with heel is that it's kind of gray, and so you have to reinforce something something that's as clear as possible from the dog. And using negative reinforcement in the heel, if it's unclear, can cause a real problem.
i mean are we cleared to take them off at least like that
The second owner lesson - the equipment, the four windows, and the argument that obedience is not the deliverableTurning point
The three labeled parts of the second owner lesson; exact filming date unknown (watch, watch, watch).
The home lesson connects the owners' priorities to equipment familiarization, the trainer's four-windows framework, marker meanings and processing time. Part 2 discusses settling without a command and proposes household and bathroom routines. Those proposals are not later outcomes. Part 3 describes trainer assistance during earlier owner handling, a doorway exercise for Roxy, and work around environmental concerns for Ramsey. Keep the assistance and the dog being handled explicit when comparing performances.
On film
For them, it depends on context, so don't get stuck on a number. More what matters is their reaction.
so calm Liberty is this You're not in command. I Didn't ask you to sit. I didn't ask you to down. I didn't ask you to place. I didn't actually do anything but you got to be chilled out you can't be you got to be like settled right which is what most people would love to have with their dogs is that they have them in house but they don't have to crate them or put them on place for like seven hours in a row just so that they can like function in the house and have their dog out
roxy had no idea at all of any context For her, any context could be the top left, the find your own fun level, any context. It could be in the house. It could be when you're trying to go to sleep. It could be literally any time.
This thing. This is what does it. Not me. This. So then, where's the power? Here. Not here. You need it to be not this, but you.
All right. So, uh, Marcos, uh, touch the doororknob, dude. Touch the door. Touch it. Touch it. All right. And now take it out. All right. Could you touch the doororknob? Good job. See the difference?
So that's what people do most of the time and a lot of dog trainers teach people to do that. They use the work window as a band-aid for everything. So they band-aid that work window across Yes. every problem. Every problem they ask them to do a command and immobilize them. they say sit or they say down or they say come or they say do this or do that or do this. Well, instead of doing that, tell them nothing.
So, what I did there was I attached the e-collar for both. Once for Roxy, then once for Ramsey, then once for Roxy again.
it's not something I can really do for you in my in my context. It's something that will have to be done here with you guys. Yeah. But you have the tools to do it cuz she understands the language now.
Cuz if they're right there, you have no recourse. If the door opens and they you can't like put them back. They were already gone. But if you put them in a down a little bit away from the door, you can close on them, right? Um they're they're not going to make it through. So they don't get to complete the behavior, right?
the reason I prefer it is because it makes a more um uh responsible dog instead of a more micromanaged dog. Because ideally you just like the best thing like that you could possibly have is that you just don't ever have to ask them to do that many things because they don't do dumb things.
A separate heel-practice recording
watch was published 28 July 2026.
The handler concentrates on heel and discusses entering and maintaining position with assistance. The recording is a separate practice example rather than the missing part of an owner lesson. It does not establish the final state of heel or a completed program chronology.
On film
So Roxy at this point is totally fine off-leash. The only reason that I have a leash on her at all is just to practice the heel.
But you guys know that, because at the first and the second in-program lesson, she was already off-leash. There's already a bunch of off-leash videos with her
Roxy, heel, heel, come on, right here, heel, heel, you got it, heel, come on, heel, come on girl, come on, good, come on baby, heel, okay, good girl, smart girlie
Store practice and the go-home lesson
Store recordings and handover are undated; matching the reported same-day outings to these particular videos remains open.
The store recordings provide examples of handling the pair and practicing heel in a retail setting. The go-home lesson separately revisits intake priorities, reports progress, explains recall maintenance and includes coached owner practice with both leashes. It also discusses ways for the owners to revisit the instruction and request support. These sources contribute different evidence; they do not establish that all three were filmed on one day or that handover performance persisted independently afterward.
On film
Thank you, Roxy, okay, say hi, as long as you don't go, all right, well, maybe you hold that for me for a minute and I'll come right back.
Alright, Roxy, Ramsey, come on. Roxy, come on. Let's go. Let's go. Roxy, come. That's it. Roxy. That's it.
So the idea is that she needs to learn that it's her job to keep the position.
her walking in the actual heel like staying in it are much much better than they were last time that we worked on it she seems to have a good understanding of where the position is so she can come into it from far away.
So for for Roxy, the main stuff was off leash, which I think she's done stunningly well. Stunningly well on the off leash thing. Um, like I've I trust her to go wherever we need to go off leash.
with my body and like make sure it doesn't happen, let it happen because either number one will happen, which is she won't do it, and you go, "Oh, good job." Right? um or they will do it, right? And then if she does it, then you have an opportunity to give a consequence for the choice she made and then she'll make a better choice next time, right?
you, you cannot be mad at her when she gets to you ever. Um because if you are mad at her when she finally does come to you Yeah. she will remember that. She'll think I won't come back next time.
of think like leashes should be a prop, not your main source of control here. Um because if they become your main source of control, it gets frustrating.
the sooner you send us a text about like something you need help with. Um, and the more I need help, you phrase it, not you guys. Always easier to do the first one than the second one.
Skills
Sit
How it was taught
The handler explains guiding the sit movement, then adding the word and revisiting the response after a break. He reports not using the e-collar in that lesson. Other recordings discuss reducing pointing and leaning, while some later attempts retain physical assistance. Compare the visible help on each attempt rather than assuming it was completely removed.
On film
All right, so I'm working with her to sit. I don't think she knows how to sit. So, we'll work with it for about 20 minutes.
I'm not saying sit. I am only teaching her the move. The not the command, the move.
Oh, she knows the words.
so yesterday I was just teaching her to move it but by the time I was done I would say sit and she would sit so I'm gonna try again just a verbal sit sit she knows a verbal
it's supposed to be verbal only like my hands in my pockets I say sit and she's supposed to say you know
I kept tapping the e-collar saying, because she kept looking at me like, I'm not doing it. And then like when I reset it there and I said sit again and I tapped it, she like slowly and surely sat.
Let me help you. Let me help you with the leash. Come here. Let me get you a winch. you're not quite comprehending it come on Roxy yeah yeah okay good girl
Sit okay Good girl Roxy sit, okay? Good girl. That's better
So, in that case, that second one, I was like a little more clear like, no, like I mean sit. Right. So, if you let it go, then she'll just kind of lay down cuz it's more comfortable.
Down
How it was taught
The handler describes assisting the position and releasing when it is reached. Later sessions discuss reducing help and distinguishing down from another familiar cue, including during movement. These are accounts of the training choices, not proof that errors themselves caused learning.
On film
no idea how to do down so I'm just gonna help her I'm just gonna guide her even if I have to force her down and just release her immediately
it's only been 13 minutes and I taught her to down
I'm working with her with downers she did pretty good I still have to put training wheels on her so I have to pull her down while I say it
I'm gonna tighten up that down as well she has worked on down and she's learned it to a relatively good extent so this is a different environment proofing it out here in public smoother more quick on verbal only
Much smoother that time.
doing it in motion makes her it's in the same context as when i would ask for a heel so she thinks i'm asking for that and tries to go into that when i'm actually asking for it down so it makes her distinguish more clearly between the two so it clarifies the criteria for each command
That was perfect. That was perfect. You did so good.
to be honest, I use down in everyday life with my dog way more than I use sit. um way more um because down is if you're going to have them stay there for longer than you know 45 seconds down is way more comfortable for the dog. It's easier on their body
go or not let it go. For me, I'm almost always going to let it go because that's sufficient. She did the She did a thing that's okay, right? That's a lawful answer.
Come - the recall, and the finishing criterion
How it was taught
The recordings describe practicing at different distances and around distractions, followed by release and positive interaction. Owner lessons distinguish a formal recall from an informal invitation and explain the finishing position. A long-line incident recounted at handover remains an unmatched retrospective example, not an established causal pivot.
On film
How can I train her to come if she won't leave my side?
which you know the whole point of coming is like you come and you stay in my circle
I think she's getting freedom right away, but I'm using those opportunities to reinforce The training off she goes and the check-in
Yeah, Roxy will be off-leash soon
Spending a little bit of time improving the recall first here before I start to build a tighter radius.
So like Roxy come that's formal, right? right that and I'm gonna like enforce that like really hard but like that's informal right
Um, and like they need that learning experience where they go, "Whoa, that didn't work at all."
you, you cannot be mad at her when she gets to you ever. Um because if you are mad at her when she finally does come to you Yeah. she will remember that. She'll think I won't come back next time.
Off leash
How it was taught
The trainer describes a progression from shorter-distance practice to longer lines and off-leash work. The notes supply examples and reports of those conditions, not a complete dated record of every transition. Venue permission and secure management are separate from the dog’s training performance.
On film
we're going to start keeping a tighter radius as soon as i'm a little bit happier with how she's doing with the recall good girl from further away and then we'll start doing that with uh with a long line and then we'll do it completely off leash
um i had her off leash there the whole time
i mean are we cleared to take them off at least like that
So Roxy at this point is totally fine off-leash. The only reason that I have a leash on her at all is just to practice the heel.
So for for Roxy, the main stuff was off leash, which I think she's done stunningly well. Stunningly well on the off leash thing. Um, like I've I trust her to go wherever we need to go off leash.
then I'm like all right you're good to be off now. Okay. Right. Because I trust that you're going to come back even if you really want to do something else.
Heel — entering and maintaining position
How it was taught
The trainer discusses entering heel, maintaining position, and clarifying the response while alternating with other cues and free walking. Assistance varies across attempts. The Michaels note explicitly discusses returning to position; the long-walk note compares down and heel in a similar moving context.
On film
the one that I'm still working on that's but this is not all an infrequent that is a little like it lags a little behind is the heel just cuz a lot of times I started slightly later
I'm just teaching her the position first I believe she's already worked on it once or twice but you need to really start solidifying that now
so the heel entry is just her coming from wherever she's at and coming into the heel right here good girl and so it's just her walking if today she's up there coming straight back and coming into the heel like that
so she's doing pretty good, and like when it comes to just like the recall and the sit and the down and stuff like that, I think Like she's fine for like walking around on bleach now But I want to use the plexi to brush up on her heel a little bit and get that improved.
Well, I remember the first time I tried to have her in the heel earlier on while we were walking by distraction like that and she failed miserably, she wasn't even close. That time she did it and she didn't even need any kind of negative reinforcement, no guidance from the leash, nothing.
You have to kind of have it in a way where you push them into the window, but while they're in that box, the pressure goes away. Well, they've got to be released from the right position, yeah.
This is why I need to work on the heel off-leash. Because to keep her around me, I have to keep calling her back.
So the idea is that she needs to learn that it's her job to keep the position.
so i'm gonna let her go out ahead and then i'm gonna call her back into it
so the real thing that we're trying to do here is just prove to heel.
Place, and place with duration
How it was taught
The notes describe place on cots or other targets, returning after breaks, waiting while another dog works and practice as the handler steps away. Planned duration should be distinguished from measured duration, and stepping away does not establish that no assistance remains.
On film
roxy close well there's no place here see if she wanted to sit down okay that's fine
She's still working on it a bit, so I might not have her there for the whole ten minutes or something.
Roxy place what place all the way okay come on come good place okay okay good girl roxy good face good girl let's go we're about done huh
I'm glad I heard her the first time. Because I went into another room and closed the door. So I heard her get up, so I came back and corrected it, but she stayed this time
I just happen to be looking through the little door hole this time when she went to get off Now she thinks that I'm all seeing just what we want
and reinforce it. If they get off, you go. You go and tap it and you point back at the place. Or if they don't get up there, you go and you grab your collar and you make sure they get up there, right? Um and you leave them on place for 15, 20 minutes while they're doing it, right, while you're cooking something.
you know, she can walk around, she can be of calm liberty, but she needs to settle on her own and not require being put on a play-style, right?
Not jumping on people
How it was taught
The trainer describes arranging greeting opportunities, responding to jumping and allowing another choice. Estimated repetition counts are his reports. The learning question is how the greeting is arranged and what follows, rather than a general instruction to allow risky behavior.
On film
You're not supposed to play with her. Come on.
you can see I didn't get it on video but the other day I was working just primarily on her jumping let's go come on and she was getting better with that and you saw I had an opportunity to work it again I penalized it with the e-collar just now in this session so we're definitely working on the jumping
so she figured that elephant out pretty quickly she got penalized relatively severely for the uh the jumping there both both times seems like she's starting to get the picture here
something physical for her I Just went and then tap the e-collar when she went to jump on me, that's it and She very quickly was like no like after about like five six times She was like I don't really want to do that again, and that was it
that was too much for her she's like oh my god oh my god oh my god look at the person oh my god it's a kid oh god but she didn't jump on her
you did good Roxy definitely good girl you didn't jump on anybody Roxy did you yeah not even the kids good girl
And you're not jumping on me, that's nice. Thank you.
Thank you, Roxy, okay, say hi, as long as you don't go
Um, and then like the jumping like 100% better. Um, will she never ever try it? Unlikely. She'll probably try it here and there.
Um so, yeah, with jumping, with nipping, it's the same protocol, right? You just penalize it. Tell them, "Don't do that again." And then you say, Okay? And you let them make choices again. So, it's all about like you have that choice point.
Calm in the house - calm liberty and the two house rules
How it was taught
The trainer explains the household’s furniture and jumping rules and distinguishes settling freely from holding a place command. Home-lesson examples connect that distinction to ordinary activities. The proposed routines are case-specific teaching, not documented long-term household outcomes.
On film
So we do want to test having her out together in the living room, because before she went to training, she was essentially just kept her crazy. Yeah, she was bananas.
you know, she can walk around, she can be of calm liberty, but she needs to settle on her own and not require being put on a play-style, right?
She needs to be able to walk around and make her choices, but one of those choices is not jumping on me or jumping on the couch while I'm up here and getting all involved.
that's literally that's like the key to like having a calm liberty window in the house is you over time you're in the house with them. You have the eco eyes on them, right? And you teach them doing certain things. Mhm. Nothing happens, right? Like right now doing what they're doing right now.
that's that's the the key is just pre-shaping and punishment, right? So anything that like is not okay in the house, you say. You tap the eco or you tell them not to do it, but then you don't give any commands after that. You don't tell them sit down, place, or anything else.
she's been doing a lot better with it, but she's, you know, she still has like an urge to do it. But that's all you're going to do is go and tell her to stop it if she puts a ball up there.
You're free. You have no leash. Do whatever you want. I won't stop.
Don't jump on people and don't get on furniture.
Leash manners and the radius
How it was taught
The trainer describes a working radius, responses to leash tension and varying the available distance. At handover the owners practice coordinating both leashes with coaching. Each setup and form of assistance should remain explicit when comparing responses.
On film
Quite the puller.
she's also respecting the end of the leaf very well watch all right so all this is like one little tap she felt it and stopped and you can see it doesn't matter where I make the end of the leaf she stops
so where she walks is entirely depending on where you let her walk
She also seems to understand if there's a pop back on the collar, she should make her way back towards me. It's a good thing for her to know.
Roxy come come good you just really want to run over run over those people don't you there you go good job there you go stay in the radius there you go
the way that you're going to address if they do start like yanking on the leash or something like that is anytime they go to like put a lot of pressure on the leash, you're just going to want to tap the dog. Um, you're going to go, right? Tap and so you're going to enforce the end of that leash being loose. You don't say a command.
If he braces into it that you definitely don't want to ever let them brace. Yeah. If they brace into the leash, big no no.
Because if they pull you up the stairs and like the room's full, then they'll do it every single time and it'll get worse. They'll pull you harder and harder to get to the door.
Public neutrality - greeting people and children without incident
How it was taught
The notes describe supervised encounters, permission to greet and practice in different public settings. Compare the people, distance, equipment and handler actions in each example; a change of venue is not an isolated test of generalization.
On film
Good girl, there you go. You did good. You did good. Let's go. Come on.
you did good Roxy definitely good girl you didn't jump on anybody Roxy did you yeah not even the kids good girl
You can say hi. Okay.
Thank you, Roxy, okay, say hi, as long as you don't go, all right, well, maybe you hold that for me for a minute and I'll come right back.
posted a video with her today day where she met up with like a group of kids I don't know walk she didn't jump on it's great I was like
Name discrimination - answering only her own commands
How it was taught
The paired exercises use a name before a cue or release while the other dog waits. The trainer comments on both his own handling and the dogs’ responses. The place drill, store handling and reported living-room work are related examples with different evidence status.
On film
but i will attempt now to pull one off at a time and work one right and then i will use the place tot as a way to help them to discriminate between who is being called and who's not right by using their name and by using the place tot is where they're supposed to be if they're not being worked with right now
working on like getting them to distinguish like commands between like hearing their name first right not promising that that will be done but I am working on it because I think that it is a useful skill although it is not included right
ramsey okay see i keep forgetting that i trained that okay to be a ramsey okay not just okay which is good
um and i really should be teaching it in the ramsey heel error on my part i started working on the heel and i'm just channeling just transferring everything over to ramsey
I'm going to give him a release, because they'll probably both get up.
Roxy. Ramsey. Roxy, down.
Door manners
How it was taught
The trainer explains setting the dog back from the doorway and practicing as the door opens. A separate conversation proposes slower movement from crate to door and acknowledges the morning context, including possible bathroom urgency. The proposal is not a filmed sequence of subsequent home practice.
On film
Uh on the floor. I would never do a sit cuz they slide. They're going to slide. They're going to go on down. Yeah. So, down.
Cuz if they're right there, you have no recourse. If the door opens and they you can't like put them back. They were already gone. But if you put them in a down a little bit away from the door, you can close on them, right? Um they're they're not going to make it through. So they don't get to complete the behavior, right? And you can watch their body language if they go to get up.
All right. So she wants it and then I can go. Good job, Roxy. Like that, right?
And then you can do the same thing here, right? You can leash her up before you take her out and just like be like, "Hey, like jump." Right? And like don't let her make progress until she starts doing progress slowly. Right? So she makes no progress towards the door until she does it slowly.
if you want it to stick quickly, um it's better to like not let her practice it. So if she goes to do it and then you tap the econ just kind of like goals, not know like what you want because there's no desired behavior that she understands. Um, which is why like the gate thing where you close it is really clear and easy to the dog because like access is denied every time they go to do it.
Play, tug, and finding what she works for
How it was taught
The handlers offer activities and rewards and describe what they think interests Roxy in that setting. The treat trial is exploratory rather than controlled. Study what is offered and what happens next without assuming a universal preference.
On film
You just want pets, don't you?
it looks like I'm probably going to be using mostly release to freedom here, since she's going to have more interest in the environment and she's the toy.
I didn't need to use the e-cog. Down. Good girl. Oh, good girl. I think that's enough treats. Treats can be a good thing, but treats can also be a bad thing.
Too strong. Roxy, good girl. You won. Good girl. Out. Good.
we did I didn't spend as much time playing tug with her uh as I do with some dogs because she likes uh freedom on the walks more than she likes to talk. So, I use that.
It's called a Euro Tug. I like these a lot. They're kind of soft, especially since she's still kind of young.
From the Shorts
Short clips posted from Roxy's training. They are undated, so they sit beside the program rather than inside it.
Ramsey: playing with a toy
Ramsey finds a toy and plays with it while another dog in the program, Simba (named in the title), is loose with him. When Simba takes the toy, the handler says, 'I cannot explain how happy I am right now', and that Ramsey loves it. In a second clip the two start on place and then play, and Ramsey is praised for wanting to play.
On film
Ramsey good job Ramsey Ramsey found this toy Ramsey.
He stole his toy.
I cannot explain how happy I am right now.
Ramsey loves it.
Ramsey do you like your toy? Yeah, you like that toy?
Oh, he wants to play. Oh, he wants to play.
Ramsey: holding place next to another dog
Two staff members put Ramsey and Simba on place side by side. The dogs keep getting up and are put back each time; one is told 'you know the word'. Ramsey then gets a turn with an 'eh-eh' (a no-marker) before the place cue. Both are released together with 'okay' and praised, twice.
On film
Ramsey and Simba here put them put them both in a command
Oh, he got off place.
You know the word, dude.
All right, all right, Ramsey's turn.
Tell him an eh-eh.
Okay!
Now they're on place
Ramsey: the end of an off-leash session
Picking up after his camera cut out, the trainer says Ramsey had drifted a little far but will always listen to a command. He calls him with 'let's go' and 'come', and calls holding the dogs at the car before they are released a big test. Ramsey is released with 'okay' and the trainer says he did absolutely wonderfully.
On film
Watching my camera only takes a certain length before the videos turn off
Yeah, I mean he he was a little far still he will always listen to a command
Directionally, you know fantastic, but we call Ramsey come
So the dogs will break. I think that's a big test for me.
Ramsey, okay.
He did absolutely wonderful.
Roxy and Ramsey: before and after, in one clip
An edited recap made from recordings already on the case page. Roxy walks on leash without jumping on the people present, and at the handover the trainer says she has done stunningly well off leash. Another clip says the two dogs are much calmer together in the house. Ramsey's day-one verdict (a basic understanding of come, a good sit, little else) is set beside the handover report that he listened to every command on a store trip.
On film
we're excited she's doing so good without jumping
well she didn't jump on any of you guys
So for for Roxy, the main stuff was off leash, which I think she's done stunningly well.
so they have pretty much learned everything they need to learn so far and the behavior together in the house is much much calmer significantly better
all right so ramsey seems to have a basic understanding of come and he's pretty good
He listened to all the commands in the store.
How the method adapted
The trainer contrasts Roxy’s early cue work with the initial engagement work he describes for Ramsey.
This is his explanation of different starting priorities, not proof that Roxy needed no adjustment period or that one factor caused their different progress.
false
On film
He's really close he's close the only reason he's not is Roxy there was no like opening up to do with Roxy So the first couple of sessions that I had with Ramsey was just spent trying to get him the dog You know, I just trying to get him to open up and do his thing
that's she has like the the opposite problem
Handlers use exploration and release among the rewards discussed in Roxy’s sessions, with line length affecting the space available.
The teaching emphasizes what becomes available after the task; the notes do not establish a fixed preference over every toy or food reward.
false
On film
it looks like I'm probably going to be using mostly release to freedom here, since she's going to have more interest in the environment and she's the toy.
like that's no good right and so that's one of the problems with like those short leashes um i don't use them that often because of that like i can't reward them the same way that i can with this
I think she's getting freedom right away, but I'm using those opportunities to reinforce The training off she goes and the check-in
A handler tries food and explains a concern about visible food becoming important to later owner handling.
The concern is his prediction, not an observed later dependency or a controlled comparison of reward methods.
false
On film
I wanna try something. I wanna try something with treats. Let's see if that will motivate her more. I don't know, she's already motivated with pets, but I want to see what she needs.
Like, if there's one time I give her a treat, and let's say she goes back to her owners and then she just doesn't do it and she just looks at you, but she knows it, she's like, well, where's my food? I need to see my food first.
that's just a straight mechanical clicker I never use them because we just use verbal markers but they're for right see if they like sit and you get a treat but we don't really do that at all because it's inconvenient it's one more thing you have to carry
Several passages discuss arranging an opportunity for the dog to respond rather than preventing every possible action.
The trainer explains his rationale in those situations. This is not evidence that errors must be manufactured or that every arrangement is appropriate in another case.
false
On film
I'm gonna stand here, she looked like she wanted to jump on me, so, I'll give her an opportunity
So learning, both in dogs and in humans, is not errorless, right? So they make errors, and you need to give them those choice points for them to actually make the error, like not coming back or something like that, in order for them to start learning.
with my body and like make sure it doesn't happen, let it happen because either number one will happen, which is she won't do it, and you go, "Oh, good job."
One trainer cautions against repeating a difficult setup too many times consecutively.
The statement limits his own explanation in that passage; the notes do not establish a universal dose or repetition schedule.
false
On film
you don't need to do it too many times in a row otherwise you end up with problems
Okay. Good girl. Let's go. Good girl. You'll do better next time.
In watch the handler comments on an earlier attempt and gives a positive assessment of a later one.
The two local assessments can be compared with their surrounding footage. They do not isolate the cause of any difference or prove that all relevant conditions stayed the same.
false
On film
Down. I thought so.
down let's try again hi much better Roxy good job okay let's go good girl you did much better that time you let it go right by you that was perfect
The trainer uses fixation as an explanation for some responses around distractions.
This is an interpretation to compare with visible attention, cues and assistance, rather than a diagnosis or proof that knowledge was never part of the difficulty.
false
On film
sometimes she gets them you know more interested in those things she's kind of fixated she blows off the command so that's why we're reinforcing it
she sat, because she was still thinking about the trash can
I'm not gonna use the word stubborn because dogs I'm gonna say avoiding
The trainer discusses varying equipment feedback in relation to what he sees during particular attempts.
Numeric settings belong to the specific dog, equipment and situation. They are not measurements of internal state or a transferable scale of sensitivity.
false
On film
And then for Roxy, it's wildly vary depending on the situation. So like it could be anywhere from like a 20 to like a 60. It totally depends on the context for her. Ramsey it's like pretty steady in that range like 15 to 20. Roxy it's like depends on what she's thinking about.
whatever then like if you did a 60 she'd be like and you like that's completely unnecessary right. but if she's like looking over there and then like running over there and looking at stuff and then you did a 20 she'd probably blow it off um if she wasn't listening
I tried it on a lower level, I had to turn it up, eh, okay, I really wanted to see those people. She was just blowing off the e-collar. She didn't care about that at all.
he's gone. He's gone. He was doing it. I was like, "Are you even doing it?" Cuz she's not responding at all. Yeah. A slight head tilt. Slight head tilt. I had to turn it up.
Handlers discuss breaks, play and rest, and report managing Roxy’s kennel activity.
Their explanations guide the described session choices. The record does not independently establish the best work-rest ratio or the cause of every change in response.
false
On film
Now we've done a lot in these 10 minutes, I'm going to let her wander around and do her thing.
And I might take take a second and let them kind of just like do stuff. Um even if they're kind of hamp because we've just done a bunch of stuff in a row and they're going to start to get flat.
because she uh she's so active she just she'll like run back and forth for like six or seven hours out of the day and it feels like you can't she's gonna she tires herself out then she doesn't feel like training and their training's all flat so we've had to keep her crated sometimes so she's not like exhausting herself
Some sessions discuss heat, access to water, cooling and changes in activity.
These are relevant recorded conditions. The captions alone do not establish a continuous physiological or emotional assessment.
false
On film
because of the heat we got pools like big dog pools for them so you see that blue thing can you see probably so I'm just gonna have her cool down for a bit and we can start with her sit
all cool down she's not hot or anything she can just jump in the pool whenever she wants
The long-walk note discusses distinguishing a down request from a context that could suggest heel.
The example supports studying cue discrimination; it does not prove that producing an error is necessary or that context reading is generally undesirable.
false
On film
So, what I'm trying to do there is create some clarity for her around the HWL command. How's it going man? Roxy, come on. And the way I'm trying to create that is by giving her a command that feels, you know, like she should be doing.
because I don't want her just anticipating purely through context, I want her to actually respond to verbal command properly every time
and so the way to get them to distinguish cleanly between the two is to do them one after the other and then reset them until they get the right one
The notes discuss gestures, posture, line guidance and the handler’s presence as possible assistance.
Track what changes and what the dog does in each example. Less visible help in one attempt does not establish that only the spoken word controls the response.
false
On film
then sometimes what happens they'll just learn like okay when he points that's when I down or that's when I sit I'm like that's how I was like that's not good
Because they're used to you standing and giving commands.
I just happen to be looking through the little door hole this time when she went to get off Now she thinks that I'm all seeing just what we want
The only reason that I have a leash on her at all is just to practice the heel.
no other important thing is that whatever the um first thing is in the chain that's the only thing they know that's what means something. So, as an example, if every time I say like okay for them to get up, I start walking first and I do that for uh two weeks.
The collection includes several handlers and references to more than one session in a day.
The notes do not establish a complete daily schedule or isolate handler identity as the cause of differences in teaching or response.
false
On film
okay, well, that is it for today for my session at least with her, some other trainers are going to train her today, but she's going to have a couple hours of break
so be working with her for like 20 minutes and then next to the next dog
like when they go home they're not going to be one person dogs they need to listen to both yeah at least mom and dad and whoever else
The household lessons distinguish held cues from settling while free to move.
The trainer presents these as different ways to organize daily life. This does not establish that obedience was abandoned or that Roxy initially understood no household context.
false
On film
roxy had no idea at all of any context For her, any context could be the top left, the find your own fun level, any context.
They use the work window as a band-aid for everything. So they band-aid that work window across Yes. every problem. Every problem they ask them to do a command and immobilize them.
if you then go all right come sit down place da da da you will need to do come sit down place every time throughout the day for the rest of your life with these dogs. It will make you bananas and you will wonder why you called me
But then if you don't put any commands right after that, they don't think of you doing that as you taking away their freedom completely, right?
Paired sessions use the other dog as part of the practice setting.
Trainers explain reasons for the arrangement; the notes do not independently establish its relative difficulty or an effect on anxiety.
true
On film
While she's on place, I'm going to be teaching Ramsey, which the retrievers are all recall. And that way, it'll be a pretty high-traction environment because I'll be, like, really engaged with the dog that's not her, and she's going to have to learn to just sit there and just chill out.
it'll be a growing experience for both of the dogs simultaneously so i think it was pretty cool
The park discussion and owner lessons include responding to different people.
This connects practice with a multi-person household, without proving complete transfer to every handler.
true
On film
you can't make it voice specific but then you you tend to like e-collar like
you can't make it voice specific but then you you tend to like e-collar like well maybe that's your voice and generalize automatically to the people so yeah it does not really work no
Because, like, when they go home, they're not going to be one-person dogs. They need to listen to both. Yeah. at least mom and dad and whoever else just lives there
The lessons discuss using names before cues and separate releases for each dog.
This is intended to clarify who is addressed. Record the actual response of each dog rather than assuming the addressing rule always succeeds.
true
On film
he usually responds better if i say his name first funny enough so i don't know if i i think i might have conditioned him to need the name and the word
and actually for them it's not a bad thing because maybe they want one of them to do it not the other one
ramsey okay see i keep forgetting that i trained that okay to be a ramsey okay not just okay which is good
I'm going to give him a release, because they'll probably both get up.
The dogs appear together in home-context work, outings and owner practice.
Shared examples reflect the household’s intended routines, while each dog’s response and assistance still need individual attribution.
true
On film
but it's important to like proof this kind of stuff out in public and then also in um in the house because they need to be able to function together
this is going well yeah well two long lines together can sometimes do this one long line by itself i've never had this issue
uh I did walk them both in like six foot leashes and I don't I haven't walked from one of those very often and so like they uh they got you know they they get them tangled a little bit and like they're looking at stuff.
The trainer gives different guidance for the dogs within the same household.
Those differences are case-specific instructions; numeric settings should not be compared as a stable ratio or copied into another case.
true
On film
Roxy does too, but she needs reinforcement every once in a while, especially with you guys, she's gonna need it. So just have her, I would have her wear it throughout the day, every day for a while.
i wouldn't recommend turning that mini educator up over like honestly 12th and since he's learned everything and he has better impulse control which means like he's feeling a little like the e-collar to him is now stronger than the impulse i've actually turned it down a little bit so now we're on like a 10.
But Roxy, you go to a particular place in the yard every time that same spot and you just stand there and do nothing and you don't let her go anywhere. You just stand there until she uses it and then she uses it and you go, "Okay."
Um, the only reason I don't normally do it that way is because your dog's going that way. You need to turn the collar up to get your dog come back. Do you want to go your dog got hit by a truck?
The owners and trainer discuss an indoor-play policy, calm chewing and activity elsewhere.
These are household preferences and proposed routines, not proof that the policy is universally easier to learn or that a specified exercise duration guarantees settling.
true
On film
now, so another thing to make it easier for them is I'll ask, do you want them to play in the house at all? No. All right. So then like they can play with their toys on their own. So that's what I would say is if you don't want them to play in the house, it's much easier for them to separate the context.
Because it's going to be frustrating for them if you like let them play with a toy by themselves, but then as soon as the other one joins in, then it's like
Doesn't have to be 6 hours. It could be like 40 minutes, 30, 40 minutes if you let them out, let them run around together, let them play, have a good time.
One lesson describes delivering feedback to each dog in sequence using a shared remote.
The spoken account identifies the intended recipient; audiovisual review is needed to confirm exact actions and responses.
true
On film
So, what I did there was I attached the e-collar for both. Once for Roxy, then once for Ramsey, then once for Roxy again.
I'm going to go and then I'm going to tap these. I'm going to tap one and then the other, right? Or whichever one needs it, right? Um on whatever level is sufficiently necessary for them to come back.
The equipment lesson explains two-dog remote controls and the trainer’s preferred configuration.
true
On film
I'll need to show you exactly how to use it yeah no yeah that's that's something included in every program because if you don't know how to use the equipment
but then um if I needed to turn it up or down for either dog, I just turn it and then I can use it for either dog. And then if I know, okay, it's on 60, I turn it back down.
that's that's something included in every program because if you don't know how to use the equipment it's kind of like I taught your dog Spanish right and you didn't speak Spanish at all
In the third part of the second owner lesson, Roxy is put away and the remaining practice focuses on Ramsey.
This illustrates different work within the shared case. Keep this episode separate from the final handover and its description of staff responsibilities.
true
On film
maybe we can just try it with Ramsay. Roxy. Sure. Yeah, I can put her up and then we can do the the walk around thing with Ramsay real quick.
I miss Roger the most. I worked with her more than I did Ramsay. Connor worked with Ramsay a lot.
I haven't taken him out as much as Connor has cuz more than anything else, Connor's working
The handover includes owner practice walking both dogs and coaching on lines, cues and tangles.
This shows a particular handling lesson. It does not establish that one person cannot manage two leashes or that lines are merely props in every setting.
true
On film
like what I would actually do is just instead of trying to keep a like a really tight hold on these, since they both do respond off leash, is instead of caring too much about these leashes um, being like firmly grasped in your hand, like wrapping it and all that stuff
of think like leashes should be a prop, not your main source of control here. Um because if they become your main source of control, it gets frustrating.
going to have to like really get on top of when it especially when it comes to two dogs is just never ever ever ever allow them to pull on the leash at all.
What the family was told
Owner learning and supported practice
Cause that's the most important thing, right? You guys don't need to become professional dog trainers. that's unnecessary right otherwise why hire me but you do need to have a good like solid understanding of how to maintain the training
because that's important for you guys to get a little bit of muscle memory and like have us there to like watch and be like hey you did that wrong or you did that right
I'll need to show you exactly how to use it yeah no yeah that's that's something included in every program because if you don't know how to use the equipment
it's not something I can really do for you in my in my context. It's something that will have to be done here with you guys. Yeah. But you have the tools to do it cuz she understands the language now.
But if they don't like maintain the ah properly and you guys don't use it and like back it up with the e-collar when needed, you'll start having problems really fast. Yeah, it'll come back. The old behaviors that maybe cause in the first place will return and it will be a problem.
the number one um roadblock for like long-term success for most of our clients uh is not like the quality of the dog training or um or like the health or anything else. It's always how well do they remember what to do with the dogs. That's always the the breaking point.
The markers: eh, good, okay
that's something you should like drill into your head. You don't like something she's doing, say, "Eh, get her stop." Right? If you like something she's eh, come figure out. If you like something she's doing, good. Good job. And then like if she's going to command her, okay, to release her, right?
So all good is is what's called a duration marker. So good and said like good, not good job, right? Because then they're like and they're going to get up, right? Um but just straight like good, right? What that means is um you're you did it. You did good. You did the right thing. However, you still need to continue to do the thing.
Um you're not free yet. That's That's only okay, right?
so though you make it clear use the conditional punisher ah ah you probably heard me say it a few times in videos is uh-huh right
So there's a sound making button and a vibrate button and the answer is no I almost never use them
The trainer’s marker-maintenance explanation
and then if they respond to that great um if they like do it multiple times in a row and you say uh-huh and like they stop for a second well you're gonna need to back it up with something because otherwise it'll lose charge like a bomb
last time is that the ant is like a phone battery. Um, if you get a brand new phone and you charge it up and you go out about and you go about your day and oh, there's a new new phone and it's got better battery life than your last one. This is awesome. And then like two days later, your battery will die, right? Um, your will die a horrible death if you don't back it up regularly.
And so, you must uh you must follow it up with a prop if they if they do full. Um, what I would lean towards for you is do it every single time, right?
that will like train you. Um you'll have good mechanics. you'll know you'll you'll say eh and you'll have it and tap it and you'll get faster at being able to tap it right after you say eh.
And then a week from now, they've heard now maybe 50 times in the past week and it never got followed up with an e-collar.
That's the other thing. If you if you beep her without any word before, you haven't even You're not keeping the uh charge.
Allowing time after a cue
the easiest way to avoid needing to repeat the command is to say it loud the first, like say it loud enough, right? And that's going to depend on how far they are from you and how distracted they are. Say it loud enough the first time. Uh, you don't have to shout at your dogs. Um, uh, and then to allow time for them to process and do the thing, right?
All right. So, uh, Marcos, uh, touch the doororknob, dude. Touch the door. Touch it. Touch it. All right. And now take it out. All right. Could you touch the doororknob? Good job. See the difference?
Um the second one I gave you plenty of time to process and you were like oh did it right? So that's the the other thing. Um you'll avoid repeating the commands if you allow processing time. So if it takes them a little longer. They're not a sport dog. We're not in competition here.
you'll just say come and then if she doesn't you'll say ah as long as you give some time in between for her to like hear you process and then recall right
that's the other thing you might have seen some of the videos is is the way that like stay works. We don't say stay, it's implied.
yeah cuz actually psychologically for the dog if you have to say the word over and over and say stay over and over it they learn that it's more of like a temporary thing
The commands themselves, and how they differ
sit down place heel come let's go
So like Roxy come that's formal, right? right that and I'm gonna like enforce that like really hard but like that's informal right
like every now and then I'll have to go on a follow-up and they're like oh it's not listening and I'll watch them and they're like interchangeably using the command I'm like
so come as they come to you and then they stay in this area they're right here with you and you have to release them for them to leave
Um, but it so that like whether she maintains a distinction between the two is going to depend on whether or not you care about it basically.
to be honest, I use down in everyday life with my dog way more than I use sit. um way more um because down is if you're going to have them stay there for longer than you know 45 seconds down is way more comfortable for the dog. It's easier on their body
Discussion of feedback choices
same thing with dogs if they understand why they don't mind they're like they're not afraid to be around you or to do anything else
there's a big difference between me going like hey like louder and like being like hey like I'm mad like what the heck guys and saying that one sentence and then that's it. Versus, have you ever had somebody like yell at you for more than like 20 seconds? Have you ever had anybody yell at you for like two or three minutes?
then yeah, I would have probably used the e-collar on the first, right? Why? Well, there is a safety concern. They need to respond immediately.
you might um temper yourselves towards being quick to do the ant and an e color um just because you're most people's default setting is to allow more than
uh, there's, uh, like probably three major constraints on how you might choose to penalize one of your dogs. One is your comfort level. How you feel about doing the thing? Does it make you feel awful? Don't do it. Right? Um, uh, uh, the second one is, could it cause injury to the dog? Definitely don't do it. Right? Um and then uh the third one is uh to think about if you don't do it versus if you do it which one works.
Um, essentially, if you want to know, all right, was the dog penalized or not, you need to think uh about only one factor. Does it look like it?
If it does, success. If it does not, it it didn't work. Right. So, if you go, don't you ever do and and Roxy's like, right? while you're holding her by the collar. Yeah, it didn't work at all.
Arranging an opportunity and ending the task
Um so, yeah, with jumping, with nipping, it's the same protocol, right? You just penalize it. Tell them, "Don't do that again." And then you say, Okay? And you let them make choices again. So, it's all about like you have that choice point.
all right, like let me like manage her with the leash or with other things or with my body and like make sure it doesn't happen, let it happen because either number one will happen, which is she won't do it, and you go, "Oh, good job."
you don't like um that they shouldn't be doing. Um they're off limits for some reason. you penalize it and then you allow them to go back to freedom and choose what they're going to do next.
give them choice points. Let them choose. Um like the first time that dog walked by, I just put them in both in a down so they wouldn't go. Now I'm just like no command. Let's see what they do.
instead of saying come first is because I want them to think that running over to that dog is bad. Mhm. Not just that they need to recall.
And so the cool thing is here I have a choice, right? Um, choice number one is I can put him in a command, right? That's an option. Choice number two is I can just call him over to me and then like he's standing there and then I can let him see what he's going to do. I always default to the second one uh for the most part.
Household settling and everyday interaction
so calm Liberty is this You're not in command. I Didn't ask you to sit. I didn't ask you to down. I didn't ask you to place. I didn't actually do anything but you got to be chilled out you can't be you got to be like settled right which is what most people would love to have with their dogs
so you're basically like free shaping so as life goes roxy does things you don't like in the house you go don't do that i don't know and if she kind of like and then she kind of chills out and like walks around and maybe she goes and goes down or something like that great because she's still free she's not a command you didn't give her a command but she's she's chilled out and then if she doesn't chill out at all right after you go then you might have to put put her on place and like wait until she settles
But like one thing is that um in the house if you want to like not be frustrated with the dogs and you don't want to have to micromanage the dogs, what I just did is all you're going to
that's that's the the key is just pre-shaping and punishment, right? So anything that like is not okay in the house, you say. You tap the eco or you tell them not to do it, but then you don't give any commands after that. You don't tell them sit down, place, or anything else.
because one of the things is if you like go, "Oh my good, you ramp her up and now like, okay, why do that, right? Let her chill."
whereas if you didn't go like, "All right, let go like you're good." And then you pet them and you're like, "Good job." Then they're going to think of you as like, "Oh, like hey, like don't do that. everything else is okay. Um, so you have a lot of lawful options. Walking around, sniffing things, laying down, chewing on their bone.
She needs to be able to walk around and make her choices, but one of those choices is not jumping on me or jumping on the couch while I'm up here and getting all involved.
Don't jump on people and don't get on furniture.
Integrating practice into routines
Uh, how often? That's up to you. Um, because what makes the most difference is using them in an actual life situation and having this on to reinforce whatever the command is and doing it right.
and reinforce it. If they get off, you go. You go and tap it and you point back at the place. Or if they don't get up there, you go and you grab your collar and you make sure they get up there, right? Um and you leave them on place for 15, 20 minutes while they're doing it, right, while you're cooking something.
So then they're going to start learning, hey, 8 a.m. we go outside, we do drills. I need to listen. Very important that I listen. Otherwise, bad things happen, right?
But if you just kind of do it throughout the day, you just toss it in. Um then that's what's going to be the most effective and the most real life. Life is the Yeah. is the training ground.
what you're gonna see here is if we keep going uh her listening skills are going to take a sharp down turn the reason is because uh how many commands have i asked her to do within like the last like 40 minutes
Case-specific equipment settings
For them, it depends on context, so don't get stuck on a number. More what matters is their reaction.
If they do feel it and it's effective, they either reorient towards you and look for you to give them command if they've not listened to something.
for Ramsey, like a 15. Yeah, maybe a little higher, but it just depends on the circumstance, but not normally. That's very low, you'll barely feel a 15. And then for Roxy, it's wildly vary depending on the situation. So like it could be anywhere from like a 20 to like a 60.
and then it says high. Which you will never, ever, ever use. Neither of them use that.
don't worry about doing that. Like because who decides how high the e-collar is, you every time. Yep. The dog. That makes me happy that you said the dog.
Um, the only reason I don't normally do it that way is because your dog's going that way. You need to turn the collar up to get your dog come back. Do you want to go your dog got hit by a truck?
Equipment setup and handler cues
Yeah, so the reason is because these need to make contact in order for it to work properly and if you have lots of hair you have one of two the problems one of two problems either they don't make contact until it doesn't work or they do make contact but you're choking the life out of your dog
because when you are walking in a heel if you press this right if it is on the the right do you think like say like like you're feeling for me and you have it here if I press this and you feel something here where are you gonna move into it or away from it yeah so from the left will they move away from you or toward you towards you yeah and so you want them to come in closer so you don't want them to have to not only go into the position but also fight the e-collar
And so what I'll do is I'll walk it up for you. If you scream, I'll laugh at you, so don't scream. My wife did, and it was funny. so I do it with everybody that's gonna use it so that's a five you guys let me know when you guys feel it
Roxy does too, but she needs reinforcement every once in a while, especially with you guys, she's gonna need it. So just have her, I would have her wear it throughout the day, every day for a while.
color doesn't mean anything it has no correlation with the event right this is on all the time right so like this doesn't mean anything they're not what's called color wise it doesn't mean anything to them.
That's why another really important thing is, because this is a really bad habit a lot of people have, don't do this. Rock take. Grand take. Grand take. Don't do that, right? Because this, now now you're taking the power that should be you and giving it to this
That's why I have it clipped here on the carabiner, or I have it in a pocket like this, and then I say eh, and I tap this, because they don't even know this thing exists, ideally.
Until you're confident that like, if you get to a point where like, you haven't been using this, like if like you're using this like once every two or three days if you don't have to use this at all and she's just listening to you like out of habit then you might start testing like hey like maybe I just won't put it on her today and see how she's like and she does fine great
Maintaining a welcoming recall
need uh two factors. One you will need to consistently reinforce it in a positive way. Right? So she comes back to you. Yay. Good job.
Um but you do want coming back to be rewarding because it's so important.
recall is that no matter how mad she makes you, because there will be some time or other, my dog does it to me sometimes, she will blow you off and not come back right away. If you say, tap the eco collar and say come, you go come on and then she comes to you, you cannot be mad at her when she gets to you ever.
Right. Um so if you punish her when she gets back, think of it as you are punishing her for doing the right thing. She finally came back.
I'll say come and if she doesn't come I'm going to have to eat that right um and then if she like say like she went and like hit or something like that and was like acting like no no I'm not I'm not gonna let her get away with that I'm gonna go grab her by the collar and be like let's go
maybe try the backyard a little bit and like recall her. Um and like when you feel like okay like she comes back every time like I and she she doesn't come back sometimes, right? And you like know what to do.
Walking two dogs, one person
like what I would actually do is just instead of trying to keep a like a really tight hold on these, since they both do respond off leash, is instead of caring too much about these leashes um, being like firmly grasped in your hand, like wrapping it and all that stuff
of think like leashes should be a prop, not your main source of control here. Um because if they become your main source of control, it gets frustrating.
the way that you're going to address if they do start like yanking on the leash or something like that is anytime they go to like put a lot of pressure on the leash, you're just going to want to tap the dog. Um, you're going to go, right? Tap and so you're going to enforce the end of that leash being loose. You don't say a command.
If he braces into it that you definitely don't want to ever let them brace. Yeah. If they brace into the leash, big no no. Right. you go and you tap e on that dog, right? Um because otherwise they will start resisting leash pressure and then a lot of your teaching opportunities go out the window because you can't guide them, right?
So, since she's awfully strained, nice part about that is you can just drop the leash. Roxy, come here. And you can pick it back up when it's not tangled anymore.
Yeah. Um so that's just an I'm we're an e-collar both of them. And then what I would normally do is like I would walk back like, "All right, come on back. Let's go." And then I'd do it again.
so there are a few ways to do it. Um, uh, the first way to do it is, um, is to use flexis for both of them. Um, uh, and all that is, it just takes a little bit of getting used to like how to do it, right? Um, uh, the other way is to do them both on six foot lines. Uh, I hate it personally.
Two dogs in one house
but you should be able to tell them okay like place place hadn't chill out or tell them like hey like knock it off stop being crazy and they'll knock it off and stop being crazy and if they don't you penalize it right you punish it
so you can have two dogs in the house together and you can utilize the place command to make things a lot simpler for them but you can also just use cues and tell them to knock it off if they're being too much so you got both options
I feel like that's probably more helpful when you do have two dogs I noticed if I say come he doesn't do it as fast so I figured that might be helpful for it
no it's like if they're right next to each other like ramsey i'll I'll be like, I'll give him a down and he'll look at me and be like, doc, I don't have room right now. I can't do it now. And I'm like, that ended up like he moves a couple of steps and I'll tell him again and he goes into it.
now, so another thing to make it easier for them is I'll ask, do you want them to play in the house at all? No. All right. So then like they can play with their toys on their own. So that's what I would say is if you don't want them to play in the house, it's much easier for them to separate the context.
Doesn't have to be 6 hours. It could be like 40 minutes, 30, 40 minutes if you let them out, let them run around together, let them play, have a good time.
um where if they are calmly laying down and chewing it, you can just allow that and be fine with it. But then if they go to start like Yeah. then say, "Eh."
Household routines discussed for Roxy
Um, so the first thing that I'll say about it is that that is hard. It's a big ask for her. Now, I'm not saying it's impossible. That's certainly possible. I just want to make sure that you guys like understand it's a big ask, right? Because she's young. She's a puppy. She's been in the crate overnight. And maybe she needs to go to the bathroom real bad.
And then you can do the same thing here, right? You can leash her up before you take her out and just like be like, "Hey, like jump." Right? And like don't let her make progress until she starts doing progress slowly. Right? So she makes no progress towards the door until she does it slowly. That is going to be annoying the first time you do it.
and just rinse, wash, repeat until she takes from there to there and she walks calmly all the way to the door. As soon as she does that, you're good.
now for Roxy, the idea is that you probably need to help her develop that habit of doing it at a particular time every time. That's just basically how potty training works cuz I can't like command them like evacuate your bowels, do it now.
But Roxy, you go to a particular place in the yard every time that same spot and you just stand there and do nothing and you don't let her go anywhere. You just stand there until she uses it and then she uses it and you go, "Okay." And then you let her run around for a minute and then you guys go inside.
but she will learn that lesson very quickly. The first time I can't guarantee how long it's going to take. You might be standing in that one boring spot for 45 minutes. It's possible.
Doors
Uh on the floor. I would never do a sit cuz they slide. They're going to slide. They're going to go on down. Yeah. So, down.
So, for the door, the way I would do it is I would instead of to sit right in front of the door, if you want to have them where they don't do anything, do you lay it down further back. So, put her in a down right there. And then you go here.
Cuz if they're right there, you have no recourse. If the door opens and they you can't like put them back. They were already gone. But if you put them in a down a little bit away from the door, you can close on them, right?
It can be if you don't want them to ever bolt through the door. Um, the other way to do it though is just to like if they go to bolt through the door, just like prevent
Ramsey-focused discussion of unfamiliar situations
Yeah. Now, if he does like try to put the brakes on and does not do anything, don't let him do it. Like if he tries to freeze, um I mean like even like so far as like tap the eco- collar, like no, dude. Like tap the eco and be like, "Let's go."
just like see what he does. Just wait. Don't walk away yet. Just like wait for like 45 seconds and just see what happens.
It's okay. Do you tell him it's okay, or you just let him? Nada. Give him no input. Yeah. Because if you Oh, it's okay, buddy. He's gonna think big deal.
kind of like treat him like a bro and be like, "Dude, look at this awesome box." Right. Um, instead of like, oh, look, it's okay. Why the box?
Like they have a choice and the choice matters. if they feel like they have a choice to like go away from it very often. They will then not feel the urge to flee.
So, you have two options. Option number one is you can force the blind corner and then like he did pretty good with it there, right? Um that's and that's that's that's one option. The other option is let him see around the corner. That's what I did the first time.
so like that's my normally my preferred option because the expanded context just makes it makes it a non-issue.
One thing I would do is, like, every time he does something good or, like, if he tried to run away, I'd rub him. And, like, he'd be about to take off. He'd look behind me, and he'd slowly walk up to me.
i can't say having a grind heel because uh there's a specific term called heel grinding and that's terrible for your dog if your dog is nervous you'll make them more nervous
Expectations for the first weeks at home
it's about a week it takes them to like simmer down like there's like a where they're like kind of worked up there's a transitionary period
you do need to maintain the training and generalize it make sure that they know that the same rules apply with you as they do with us but the rules People just need to be like very careful,
but it's similar to like a truck. You buy a truck, it's got a new engine, you still got to change your oil, right? Um, and if you've never driven a car before, you buy a car, you still got to learn how to drive it and you're probably going to struggle a little bit.
because then you're like five days from now and days from now after they come home they'll be like, if I don't have your thing, you don't listen, you'll be frustrated.
Well, this is already a relatively calm environment, which is good. Um and you guys are like mellow people it seems like, right? So, um that already kind of starts to create the right environment for her.
What the program is, and what it is not
And so, dog training isn't about programming like a computer, because they're biological organisms. They're going to do dumb things. They're going to make mistakes. They're going to try stuff that doesn't work, or shouldn't let it work for them. They're going to do things, but the big difference between an untrained and a trained dog is you have a language now.
It is not something that we always do, nor is it something that I can promise is going to be 100 perfect um however i am working on i'm not promising that it will be perfect or that it will be this way because there's a lot of work that goes into it
Um, which is not something I'm set up to do with like the way that the schedule works. That's why we don't normally like offer like straight body training. I charge like $10,000 cuz I'd have to only work with that dog
and say all right let's try it see how it looks and then worst case scenario I say all right on the go-home lesson we'll work on it again if they don't do well and worst worst case scenario well all this other training happened they're doing great across the board if they have an issue with one thing here I tell you exactly what to do about it.
But the second in-program lesson, like, where are Roxanne going to spend the majority of her time? Right here, yeah. Not at the park, not at the store. It's important they be able to go to all those places and that they learn to, like, live everywhere. But they're going to spend, like, 95% of their life right here, right?
we actually didn't used to have the two in programs lessons just today. Like if you go back like two years ago, it was just now this. You wouldn't have seen them really and you wouldn't have like done anything. I wouldn't have taught you anything yet.
Public outings and follow-up support
can, it all comes down to is your dog under control for 99.99% of the population. If your dog is clearly under control, no one will say anything or be upset with you.
Cuz when they're this young, like they're not really about that life. They don't know anything, you know. Um earliest that they start to like kind of like maybe like maybe you're like, "Oh yeah, they might do it." Um is like 10 months.
unsupervised like completely unsupervised experiment with it. You can I feel free to try it but your results may vary. I have no clue.
the sooner you send us a text about like something you need help with. Um, and the more I need help, you phrase it, not you guys. Always easier to do the first one than the second one.
will that stay up in perpetuity? Yep. It'll be up there forever. Yeah. Unless you contact me later and are like, "Hey, take this part down or something like that."
We're gonna do that. Yeah. We only we we only do it for dogs we train. Yeah. Because we're not a boarding company, so we don't board dogs.
In the family's own words
On what they want, which is not obedience: Roxy out in the living room with them rather than crated, chilling with them rather than going crazy in the house.
On film
Because what we're really struggling with is that we're always inside with them.
So we do want to test having her out together in the living room, because before she went to training, she was essentially just kept her crazy. Yeah, she was bananas.
Um when we sit down, watch TV, and we let her out, she definitely would like jump on us, jump on Okay. Or she'll get two. She'll go very exploratory and go upstairs and run around the downstairs right now. Okay. Ideally, we want just her like a kind of chill chill chill here on the road like chill with us.
On the two-dog problem, which they describe before either trainer raises it - including the detail that stays in the case, the second dog sitting behind the first at every meal.
On film
Yeah, so so when she came to the house Ramsey was essentially He would do all of it get in the way respond. He still responds to rocks.
Even every time I would eat her, I would tell her to sit and he would, every time he'd sit right behind her.
On the morning routine, which they have already half-solved themselves and want finishing.
On film
evening is we take her outside to go party before coming back in. And she just like jumps from [snorts] the crate. Like the second you open that thing, she's like, "Yeah."
And we've like kind of got her to the place where she knows that we're not opening this gate until she gets down. Yes.
And so she does that, but then she like I I'm still trying to find like how do we get her to like don't sprint because one, you're like she's going to tear up the floors all the time, but two, like just go calmly to the door
On the bathroom routine, and the contrast between the two dogs.
On film
Ramsey goes like he has no trouble going. He honestly like prefers to come back in in this in the house after. Yeah. Roxy will start exploring and going out and wandering back there and sniffing and we're like, "No, we should like we want you to go to bed."
Yeah. Go to bed. Like sometimes it'll take her five minutes. Sometimes it'll take her 40 minutes.
On Ramsey's fears, in their own words - and the distinction they draw between ordinary wariness and the version that worries them, which is the most useful thing either owner says.
On film
he avoids them or something. He's an aversion to them. He's afraid of them. He's scared of it.
Yeah. He's scared of a lot of new things. So that's one of them.
Okay. But but like a little bit more like like very desperate. Yeah. Cuz like if he just kind of was like that's like the like really scary. It's the desperate thing that's not good.
Okay. Or if we had like a big Amazon box like get delivered, he would be like he's sketched out by it.
On his escape at six months, told as a story with an ending nobody could have planned for.
On film
just ran ran that down that way behind the wheelhouse down there. There's just like a pipeline ement and the only reason I was able to get to it is cuz he got stuck in mud.
It was like this deep. Holy cow.
On his own habits, asked directly and answered honestly - which is the moment the processing-time lesson lands.
On film
In the past, I probably would have just kept yelling louder.
Like the first one, you're like, dude, like, is this guy like like kind of an a-hole? Like, what was that? That was really like like in my own house. Get out of here.
On what they will and will not actually use.
On film
not reading a transcript, man. Are you crazy? I have a life. I have a job.
watch minute two, watch five
On where the risk now sits, said to the trainer's face at the end of the last lesson before the handover.
On film
Yeah. It'll just be some work for us to let them Yeah. It'll be it'll be adjustment for us to, you know, that will make or break it. you know, start practicing that.
On what they hope for next. One household member asks about protection training for Roxy at the handover, because she likes to bite things.
On film
Do you also are you experiencing protection training?
Christian had told me that the Cuz I'm we're interested in it for Roxy. She likes to bite stuff.
One owner's answer to the trainer's own test question, which he says makes him happy: who decides how high the e-collar goes.
On film
Yep. The dog. That makes me happy that you said the dog. Yeah, that just means that I I talked enough the last few times.
Outcomes
What the trainers reported
Off leash is the program's headline result for Roxy, and the trainer's confidence in it is unqualified.
On film
So for for Roxy, the main stuff was off leash, which I think she's done stunningly well. Stunningly well on the off leash thing. Um, like I've I trust her to go wherever we need to go off leash.
So Roxy at this point is totally fine off-leash. The only reason that I have a leash on her at all is just to practice the heel.
Jumping - the behaviour she was sent for - is a hundred per cent better, with a stated rider that she will still try it.
The lead trainer at the handover
On film
Um, and then like the jumping like 100% better. Um, will she never ever try it? Unlikely. She'll probably try it here and there.
but it's it's much much better and it's easy for you to like nip it in the bud and be like dude don't do that right.
Nipping has reduced to hand play.
The lead trainer at the handover, reading the intake sheet back
On film
yeah, the nipping. Yeah. Um, it's more so like snappies and clappies. It's like hand play. That's mostly when I saw anything.
The pair behaves much better together in the house - which is the claim the owners actually bought.
The trainer in the paired place recording; exact timing relative to the home lesson is unknown.
On film
so they have pretty much learned everything they need to learn so far and the behavior together in the house is much much calmer significantly better they're still going to play they're still going to you know jump around and have a good time they're dogs right
Sit, down, recall and place are all where the trainers want them by the last third of the program; only heel is not.
Two different trainers, at In-Program Lesson #1 and at the park outing
On film
her sitting her down are great and then her recalls really good
i'm really happy with her sit i'm really happy with
The only thing I'm still working on is her off-leash heal. Because that's what she still needs a lot of work on.
No new fears developed during the program, and separation anxiety was not seen.
The lead trainer at the handover, against two items the owners had raised
On film
Yeah. Um so yeah, the main concern is jumping, separation anxiety. Didn't see a lot of the separation anxiety, but definitely the jumping. It's good.
Um curious and brave. Definitely. Uh didn't see any fears develop while she was with us, so that's good.
The name-discrimination work is deliberately not claimed. It is said three times to be not promised, not always done, and not included.
The trainer to camera before demonstrating it
On film
working on like getting them to distinguish like commands between like hearing their name first right not promising that that will be done but I am working on it because I think that it is a useful skill although it is not included right
so trying to help them learn to discriminate i'll keep working on that a little bit here and there and we'll see how they do
Sit was taught in one session with no e-collar, and down in thirteen minutes. Both are handler claims about their own work.
The junior handler who did them
On film
Sit. Oh, in one session.
Not once did I use a stinking eat cotler.
it's only been 13 minutes and I taught her to down
Both dogs are doing well and the trainer is proud of them - the closing line of the last lesson before the handover.
The lead trainer to the owners
On film
he's doing fantastic across the board, I think. Yeah, they both are doing great, so I'm proud of them.
What the footage shows
The long-walk note contains the trainer’s positive assessment of a heel attempt and a comparison with earlier assistance. A new visual review is needed before assigning an exact uninterrupted duration or claiming no help of any kind.
On film
Well, I remember the first time I tried to have her in the heel earlier on while we were walking by distraction like that and she failed miserably, she wasn't even close. That time she did it and she didn't even need any kind of negative reinforcement, no guidance from the leash, nothing. She just cleanly went into the heel, stayed in it for a minute and then went out of it once she was cued to go out of it, once she was released.
The notes include greetings during a lake walk and retail outings, with trainer comments about jumping. The store recordings have not been uniquely matched to the visits reported on handover day.
On film
you did good Roxy definitely good girl you didn't jump on anybody Roxy did you yeah not even the kids good girl
Thank you, Roxy, okay, say hi, as long as you don't go
The Bass Pro recording contains alternating named cues while a handler works the pair. Sparse narration does not establish that every cue was name-first, that no correction occurred, or that every moment of the visit met the same standard.
On film
Good job, guys. Hey, hey. Easy. Roxy, come. Roxy. Sit.
Alright, Roxy, Ramsey, come on. Roxy, come on. Let's go. Let's go. Roxy, come. That's it. Roxy. That's it.
The paired place note describes the handler stepping away, a break and subsequent practice. Exact duration and assistance require examination of the full sequence.
On film
I'm glad I heard her the first time. Because I went into another room and closed the door. So I heard her get up, so I came back and corrected it, but she stayed this time
The name-discrimination recording includes the trainer describing difficulty and later reporting a successful attempt. This is a within-session teaching sequence, not proof of durable mastery.
On film
it fell apart, it fell apart and the water didn't function, I was like she was not getting that
Alright, they did good this time.
It does not isolate the taps as the cause or establish an uninterrupted emotional state.
On film
So, what I did there was I attached the e-collar for both. Once for Roxy, then once for Ramsey, then once for Roxy again.
The third home-lesson part describes a down set back from the doorway and practice as the door opens. The exercise is specific to that recorded setup.
On film
All right. So she wants it and then I can go. Good job, Roxy. Like that, right?
The kennel account at handover is reported history, not that kennel event shown in the handover recording.
On film
She was really blowing that e-collar off. She did not care about it. I had to go up slightly.
he's gone. He's gone. He was doing it. I was like, "Are you even doing it?" Cuz she's not responding at all. Yeah. A slight head tilt.
It's more effective when you turn the color on.
The trainer comments on pulling at the steps during owner handling and gives feedback. This documents coached practice at handover rather than independent performance after the program.
On film
Because if they pull you up the stairs and like the room's full, then they'll do it every single time and it'll get worse. They'll pull you harder and harder to get to the door.
The go-home lesson includes owners practicing and the trainer checking cue, marker and remote-channel mechanics. Keep that supervision visible when interpreting the result.
On film
There we go. Right. Um, did you tap it that time? Yeah. Yeah. Well, you did.
What did you have? 20.
The baseline is an intentionally recorded starting assessment. Its stated plan to limit help is not proof that all hints or corrections were absent, nor that it covers all prior learning.
On film
So we see that she's also very interested in people. She's playfully reactive.
The ideas Roxy's case runs on
- 'Let's go' is not 'Come' - and the recall has an ending
- A correction has length as well as force
- Another dog as helper, tester or draw
- Assess before you ask
- Attitude is the leading indicator
- Build the handler's timing while it is easy
- Clarity is the kindness
- Collar awareness: the collar is a paperweight
- Contingent, avoidable, and the right size
- Control is not obedience
- Don't heel grind
- Don't poison the command
- Eating the correction, and avoidance as a tactic
- False reps: the dog reads the chain, not the word
- Fixation is the failure mode
- Food facilitates calm, it cannot create it
- Freedom is given in measured steps
- Give him time to answer
- He has to be allowed to get it wrong
- Heel entry versus heel in motion
- Help it or press it - read which
- Hidden help
- Honest limits, and reliability is not permission
- Internal emotional change, not repression
- Keep the marker charged
- Maintenance is use, not practice
- Management, not training
- Meaningful release
- Name, then cue, in a voice that stands out
- Never punish the return
- Pick the place for what it contains - life is the training ground
- Pressure, release, reward
- Punish the act, not the feeling: he may look
- Release to freedom
- Say it bluntly or it will not land
- Show what not to do, allow everything else
- Social pressure
- Space to retreat, obligation to return
- Start with freedom
- Sticking close is not attachment
- Stop before you shut him down
- Swapped commands: keep sit and down distinct
- Teach the move, then the word
- The camera is part of the method
- The correction that did not work
- The dog is a different dog for his owner - and authority transfers
- The dog tells you the reward
- The dose of a session
- The flight-risk protocol, and the one command that matters
- The four windows, and calm liberty
- The handler is the first suspect
- The leash is a prop
- The level is not a number
- The marker vocabulary: eh, good, okay - and two corrections
- The pair is the unit of training
- The program is reinforcement, not teaching
- The radius
- The settle criterion
- The standard is set by the job
- The three Ds, and the variables nobody counts
- The three stress reducers
- There is no stay, only the release
- Two events, not one - and what the handler does in between
- You have to be able to reward him at all
Ramsey
Who Ramsey is
On film
Handlers call him an English Cream Retriever and read him as nervous for a retriever.
On film
our famous English retriever, sorry, I almost said German Shepherd, English Cream Retriever
probably one of the more nervous retrievers I've ever met
Two staff remarks put his age at six or seven; the intake says four. The intake should govern unless Kelton says otherwise.
On film
That one, Ranji's like six or seven years old, and she's like six or seven months old.
I'm glad he's like six, seven years old.
At the handover the trainer reads his response to new places as flight or putting the brakes on, matching the intake's fear of new places and objects.
On film
and then um what I saw as his uh primary response is to kind of flee. He just kind of like try and look back. Yeah. Um or like kind of like put the brakes on.
The program, stage by stage
Day zero
Published 2026-06-29; the trainer calls it day zero.
A before video at a park new to him: verbal-only cues, no hints, pulling allowed. The trainer's verdict is a basic understanding of come, a pretty good sit and little else, in a deliberately hard setting chosen so the after video a month later can be compared.
On film
I'm going to say some commands. I'm not going to try and give any hints to the dog what I want them to do.
all right so ramsey seems to have a basic understanding of come and he's pretty good
Early down work with junior handlers
Down, sit and come practised with long unnarrated stretches. The handler's informal estimate is sit at about 100% and down at about 75%, and fetch has not taken. These are her estimates, not counts.
On film
I got confused, I'm not working sit with him, I'm working down with him, so that makes sense
he's like 75% of down
you're not a big fan of playing I figured not tell you not fetch and that's what it said on the board it's like try fetch try tugging like it so I think likes to walk around
Opening him up before obedience
Described retrospectively at Lesson #1 and at the park outing.
The trainer who worked him first says those sessions went on getting him to open up rather than on obedience, because drilling an anxious dog can build strange associations. By the park outing both trainers say he has opened up a lot.
On film
He's really close he's close the only reason he's not is Roxy there was no like opening up to do with Roxy So the first couple of sessions that I had with Ramsey was just spent trying to get him the dog
if a dog's got any form of like anxiety or anything and you're trying to do standard obedience like is it doable yeah is it like really weird and you can accidentally build like a ton of weird like random associations
he's opened up a lot
Recall in the shared room, and a park recall with a coached junior handler
Published 2026-07-13 (watch), 2026-07-16 (watch) and 2026-07-17 (watch).
In the paired room session Ramsey learns a recall he did not know at the start and is off leash by the end, while Roxy practises place. At a park a junior handler reports him confusing come with sit, a failed first recall toward Sage that needed guidance, and then a coached reset for separating sit from down.
On film
not you not you ready come good boy sit that's really good you let it really fast he actually did not know that when you started up today so i'm actually quite impressed hey don't do that okay come so actually he's already doing a recall he did not know when we started
Cuz when he ran up to sage and I said Ramsey come the first time he didn't come so I had to guide him
And then as soon as his butt hits the ground, before he has a canceling down,
Public neutrality: park, then downtown
Undated; before Lesson #1, where the downtown video is referred to as already posted.
A park walk judged largely indifferent to people, then a downtown outing where the trainer revises his view of Ramsey's readiness, keeps a short leash against bolting and withholds a command while his load is high. At Lesson #1 the same downtown video is recalled: he started to lock up a couple of times and was backed off. The downtown place is Angier by the Lesson #1 account.
On film
with this like just really just not caring just kind of like being indifferent to everything
well i thought he was ready he's on a little bit of a sensory overload just a tad bit
All right, so right now he's worked up, so I'm not gonna put him in a command because his load is already insanely high.
It's the one, I took him in downtown Angier. Yeah, those are up, yeah. And there were a couple times where, like, he started to lock up, and so, like, I backed off a little bit,
Name discrimination with Roxy
Published 2026-07-26; the pair on the cots at home-like quarters.
Both dogs are parked on place cots and released or called one at a time by name, so that only the named dog moves. The trainer frames it as a useful extra he is working on, not a promise. Ramsey had been answering Roxy's cues: the owners report it at Lesson #1 and a handler says so in watch.
On film
the place tot as a way to help them to discriminate between who is being called
Yeah, so so when she came to the house Ramsey was essentially He would do all of it get in the way
his his sister's name is roxy she's a just a puppy german shepherd and her name's roxy and anytime you say roxy come then he does too
Lesson #1 and the Lake Benson outing (one day)
Same day by the Lesson #1 account; calendar date unknown.
He was taken off leash that morning. At the lesson the report is that he is close to off-leash reliability but not there, and that heel is the one command not yet started because of his nerves. At the park the same day his handler calls the heel 'not very great', says he is slightly behind Roxy because the time went into opening him up, praises his public neutrality and ends calling him nearly off-leash ready.
On film
we've already like he said like this morning we took him off leash together so he's doing good
like so like the heel he's still working on like I just with the nerves and stuff like that's the one command that I haven't gotten around to
okay it's not very great I only just started on it I spent I spent you remember to I spent more time opening him up to so like commands wise he's slightly behind roxy
was a good session he's looking really nice and should be awfully ready
Late proofing: off leash, heel, and a collar reaction
watch published 2026-07-27 - 'going home in a couple days'; watch undated, 'a little thing before he goes home'.
Heel tightened and off-leash work in a park. When he hits the end of the line on a stimulation level he reacts strongly to, the handler says he did not know Ramsey would be so sensitive, apologises and turns the level well down; he later notes Ramsey would not have approached an object a week or two before. In watch a handler calls his place fully verbal.
On film
hitting the um the latter part of this program so he'll be uh going home in a couple days here
i didn't know he was going to be so sensitive i'm sorry
he wouldn't have come up to this a week or two ago he had very weird aversive behaviors to just things corners tall things objects
place i didn't point i didn't do anything i just said the word so i feel like he's fully verbal now
Lesson #2 at home: trash cans and the blind corner
In-Program Lesson #2 (the Friday), Part 3.
The owners' list items are tested at the house. Connor had taken both dogs off leash that morning. The trash-can walk is judged good, and a trainer sees no fear as Ramsey jumps up onto something nearby; at the blind corner the trainer lets him choose to walk wide enough to see round it, and teaches the owners to think about what he can and cannot see.
On film
yeah yeah yeah because we have taken them off leash like that morning that we met up with you guys before and Connor took them off leash again this morning
I mean, how was that with the trash cans? That's good. Good.
Come on. Come on. Good boy. He kind of got up a little bit of speed to jump onto the thing, but I didn't see any kind of crazy like fear there or anything like that.
think um think dog thoughts. Uh think Ramsay. What's Ramsey thinking? Why might that freak him out? It's blind corner, right? He can't see what's behind it.
Handover
The go-home lesson (the Tuesday).
He had been to Bass Pro Shops that day without issues. The trainer reviews the intake with the owners: off leash went well, his flight response to new places is much better, and for startles the owners are told to wait and give no input, and to treat new objects casually ('treat him like a bro'). The owners recount his escape at six months; the trainer explains it as the confidence young dogs gain at five or six months.
On film
Um so uh Ramsay off leash capability which he did great with.
he did he has done way better with that. We've taken him to a bunch of places. I took him to Bass Pro Shops today. He didn't have any issues.
if he jumps, if and you have him on a retractable, just like see what he does. Just wait. Don't walk away yet. Just like wait for like 45 seconds and just see what happens.
kind of like treat him like a bro and be like, "Dude, look at this awesome box."
Um so yeah but it sounds like that's what Ramsay did to you and you just had no prep for it.
How the method adapted
Opening him up came before obedience.
The trainer's stated reason: obedience drilled into an anxious dog can attach fear to arbitrary things.
On film
if a dog's got any form of like anxiety or anything and you're trying to do standard obedience like is it doable yeah is it like really weird and you can accidentally build like a ton of weird like random associations
Affection used as his reward.
Handlers read him as a retriever who works for touch and connection rather than toys.
On film
One thing I would do is, like, every time he does something good or, like, if he tried to run away, I'd rub him. And, like, he'd be about to take off. He'd look behind me, and he'd slowly walk up to me. Why do you do that? Because he's still a retriever, and he just needs that, like, personal connection and the loveys.
concrete either so okay and then we're gonna rub on him because that's he's a retriever and he needs to have the loveys that's what motivate him to motivate him to do good
Demands reduced under environmental load, and exposure backed off near his threshold.
The trainers' accounts of the downtown work: productive becomes unproductive fast if you do not know what to look for.
On film
All right, so right now he's worked up, so I'm not gonna put him in a command because his load is already insanely high.
Well, the other thing too is like just knowing how to push, but like push to where it's like, if there's like a threshold, if you get like near where they're like close, but they're not like, they don't shut down, right?
A lower stimulation level for him than for Roxy, lowered further after he reacted.
Handlers describe him as sensitive to the collar; the level is read off his reaction.
On film
when he hit the end of the leash there he just freaked out and he was like i don't like that
It totally depends on the context for her. Ramsey it's like pretty steady in that range
Blind corners handled by letting him choose to see round them.
The trainer prefers giving the dog the choice and the expanded context to forcing him past the thing he fears.
On film
so like that's my normally my preferred option because the expanded context just makes it makes it a non-issue.
Outcomes
What the trainers reported
Off leash went well; his flight response to new places is much better; no issues at Bass Pro Shops.
The trainer at handover.
On film
Um so uh Ramsay off leash capability which he did great with.
he did he has done way better with that. We've taken him to a bunch of places. I took him to Bass Pro Shops today. He didn't have any issues.
Doing fantastic across the board.
A trainer at the end of Lesson #2.
On film
Yeah, he's doing fantastic across the board, I think.
What the footage shows
Recall acquired within the paired room session and off leash by its end, by the handler's account (watch 04:43, 09:50).
Downtown: hesitation, rising load, a revised readiness call and a short leash retained (watch).
Late in the program: heel still being tightened and a strong reaction to the collar at the end of a line, handled by lowering the level (watch).
Place on the word alone, by the handler's account (watch 12:20).