Field Notes · An evolving learning library from Angier K9

Cases · One household, two dogs

Sputnik & Astra

Two dogs from the same household, trained in the same program. Each has its own section below, so nothing one dog did is read onto the other.

Sputnik

Who Sputnik is

As the trainers describe him

A blue heeler (a 'cattle dog' in Kelton's words to another family), strong on the leash and fun to work.
On film

This guy especially will take you right off.

Watch at 1:42 ↗

He's a super fun dog.

Watch at 1:47 ↗

He's a blue heeler, dude.

Watch at 1:50 ↗

doorways i just last night another cattle dog named sputnik um two other dogs living in there

Watch at 9:00 ↗
Ball-fixated to the point of running into fences, but driven more by possession than by fetch. The trainer recommends a tug toy for that reason.
On film

sputnik he likes that too but he likes he likes the ball and he likes playing tug and stuff like

Watch at 10:33 ↗

that right so yeah he's a freak for the ball

Watch at 10:37 ↗

and i was like you didn't he will run straight into the fence into the fence yeah just to get

Watch at 18:38 ↗

job good job good job good job he would be well served by a tug toy he will yeah he

Watch at 20:48 ↗

likes possession more than he likes fetch

Watch at 20:53 ↗
Outdoors he is more interested in his surroundings than in a toy.
On film

He's got a lot of environmental and for

Watch at 2:12 ↗

Motivation he likes stuff. He wants to see things.

Watch at 2:15 ↗
Age is an estimate only. Kelton talks himself from 'two or three' to 'three to five' in one breath.
On film

he's actually probably about wiley's age um what three four years old i think he might be two

Watch at 9:33 ↗

or three like no four or five like four somewhere in there three to five um he has lots of energy

Watch at 9:39 ↗
Sensitive to social correction, by Kelton's reading of the private-lesson footage. He calls him visibly suppressed for about twenty minutes after the correction.
On film

So, and then he was abnormal for about 20 minutes afterwards.

Watch at 49:54 ↗

Not super, but he was like a little, he was visibly suppressed, right?

Watch at 49:59 ↗

Because he's pretty sensitive to social corrections, that dog is.

Watch at 50:04 ↗
Emotionally ordinary. The trainer says all three dogs are within the normal range for resilience, so the problem is clarity, not temperament.
On film

all three of your dogs are very like normal dogs for the most part they're well within like

Watch at 41:52 ↗

As his family describe him

The presenting problem is him controlling Bear: pushing him away from people, herding him off the bowls and watching his movements. He does it more to Bear than to Astra.
On film

So the biggest concern is really just him picking on Bear and kind of just like

Watch at 2:54 ↗

He just cares that bear doesn't or so. He tries to basically control bears movements. It's almost like he's

Watch at 3:38 ↗

The thing is he just does it way worse with Bear than he does Astra.

Watch at 3:49 ↗
Two scuffles before the program, one of them in the yard when Bear tried to join Sputnik and Astra's play. The family report no punctures, and they already separate the dogs when nobody is home.
On film

outside him and astro playing bear walked up and wanted to play with them and sputnik does not like

Watch at 15:05 ↗

They ever puncture each other?

Watch at 6:13 ↗

It's usually just a little brawl and then we'll break it up.

Watch at 6:17 ↗

And then after we started noticing at a time or two, like if we're gone, we're not around, we'll just separate them.

Watch at 6:25 ↗
He is the male owner's dog from puppyhood, a 'terrorist' as a puppy, and answers the male owner better than the female owner, who is home with him all day.
On film

tape um yeah i'm at home with him all day yeah and he does that kind of crap yeah all day all

Watch at 12:36 ↗

day it's more so with me specifically yeah he doesn't listen to me yeah yeah i mean to your

Watch at 12:43 ↗

point like he grew up with me yeah so like i'm hard on him like i don't have to be hard on him

Watch at 12:49 ↗

anymore but when he was a puppy he was a terrorist so yeah i gave him a lot of stern

Watch at 12:55 ↗
He was the last to join the household. Bear and Astra lived together first.
On film

And then you brought Sputnik and Sputnik was like, what's up?

Watch at 17:00 ↗

Bear, the household's older dog

Established

The household's older male dog, 'almost 10' by the family's count. Kelton tells another family he is 'a year or two older than murphy'. Nobody states his breed. Kelton calls him 'the tan colored dog' while pointing him out on screen.

On film

He's almost 10, I want him to live a peaceful life

Watch at 35:00 ↗

her name's astra and then another dog bear who's older um about actually he's about he's probably

Watch at 9:12 ↗

a year or two older than murphy um uh same kind of stuff that you you guys were having trouble with

Watch at 9:18 ↗

Yeah, right there. So watch Bear, that dog, the tan colored dog,

Watch at 46:42 ↗
Old in manner but still athletic. The family say he has been 'an old man' since he was a year old.
On film

Bear's old self is spry.

Watch at 9:20 ↗

Yeah, no, he's still got, he's pretty athletic still, actually.

Watch at 9:31 ↗

Yeah he's just an old man at heart

Watch at 9:53 ↗

Once he turned a year old he was just an old man

Watch at 9:58 ↗
Nervous, and he avoids Sputnik. At a doorway he circles rather than pass him. The trainer thinks Bear's nervousness is probably part of what sets Sputnik off.
On film

what what i saw was like if i if he was near the door and bear would actually avoid it so i noticed

Watch at 15:48 ↗

bear avoid stinks bear it's very nervous and so like when christian was here i think the first

Watch at 15:53 ↗

circle the whole time and sputnik will circle around and watch him and not let him come through

Watch at 16:06 ↗

share was kind of like evaluatory is he's very like you said nervous

Watch at 31:11 ↗
He likes to lick the empty bowls, and that is when Sputnik herds him off. He likes play and hogs the ball, but he does not play well with the other two, so the family throw a separate toy for him.
On film

And then Bear will want to go lick his bowl.

Watch at 5:02 ↗

And then Sputter will immediately go to trying to herd him and keep him away from the bowl.

Watch at 5:06 ↗

bear usually i'll grab another toy and throw in a different direction and then just play with

Watch at 13:05 ↗

them separate because he didn't go after what they were playing no bear enjoys the play they

Watch at 13:12 ↗

Bear is definitely a ball hog.

Watch at 13:42 ↗
He is attached to the female owner and, by the trainer's account, not much interested in the trainer.
On film

Alright, so bear doesn't care about me

Watch at 35:11 ↗

Bear likes her, bear doesn't actually care for me

Watch at 35:14 ↗
He lived with Astra before Sputnik arrived. Asked how long Bear has been 'with them', someone answers 'A year'. The question does not make clear whether it means the other dogs or the family.
On film

So how long has Bear been with them?

Watch at 16:48 ↗

A year.

Watch at 16:51 ↗

then I had Bear and Asher together because

Watch at 16:52 ↗
Spatial pressure is shown on him once at the go-home lesson, to demonstrate the idea to the owners. It is not a correction.
On film

from me um so dogs feel that too so if i go up to bear and i go hey hey you see how his whole face

Watch at 25:04 ↗

The program, stage by stage

The household before the program, and the evaluation (off camera)

Before about October 2025. Nothing filmed.

A blended household. Bear and Astra lived together first, and Sputnik, the male owner's dog, joined later. The family describe Sputnik as controlling Bear's movements, pushing him away from people, herding him off the bowls, and guarding the door. There were two scuffles, one in the yard when Bear tried to join Sputnik and Astra's play. The family report no punctures, and they already keep the dogs on separate floors when out. Christian evaluated the dogs at the house. His account reaches the film only through Kelton: Sputnik holding a doorway and Bear circling to avoid him. None of this stage is on camera.

On film

outside one was upstairs okay where was it outside right at the door okay that's what christian told

Watch at 14:51 ↗

circle the whole time and sputnik will circle around and watch him and not let him come through

Watch at 16:06 ↗

In the program: kennel life, and a handful of Kelton sessions at the end

About October to late November 2025, around eight weeks.

Sputnik and Astra shared a kennel for the first several weeks. Astra annoyed him and he snapped at her 'get off'. They were separated when the facility changed its policy on shared kennels after an unrelated injury between two other dogs. Christian did the early training. Kelton says he did about four or five sessions with each of Sputnik and Astra and helped out in the last week. The doorway scenario was rehearsed at the facility with all three dogs on long lines. Down was reliable from about ten feet there. Astra's mild leash reactivity is said to have been fixed within a week.

On film

like several weeks we had them in the same kennel together in like a five by 15 and yeah i we ended

Watch at 4:29 ↗

up separating them because we just changed our policy where we don't want to have any dogs

Watch at 4:37 ↗

maybe probably four sessions with Sputnik maybe four or five and four or

Watch at 28:54 ↗

five with Astra Christian did some in the beginning I helped out for the last

Watch at 28:59 ↗

there right because we practiced that at the house specifically we practiced that scenario

Watch at 15:32 ↗

at the house i could say down from like 10 feet away and then down um so uh you'll just have to

Watch at 12:15 ↗

Field session: downtown Cary Park (watch)

About a week before the go-home lesson, by the trainer's 'just last week'.

Ball at the parking spot to check his head space, then a heel with a finish. In the parking-deck elevator, with Sputnik urgently needing to relieve himself, the trainer keeps him in a sit, accepts a down as 'sufficiently good', and makes him sit through the door before walking him to grass. After one vocalisation the trainer lowers the e-collar. Heel past passers-by, then place on rocks and other random objects. The trainer slips and calls him 'wiley'. Kelton trained Wiley, which fits Kelton as this narrator, with his own 'last week' remark.

On film

at the parking spot. Make sure he's in a good head space.

Watch at 0:25 ↗

Which means I'm going to keep him in command.

Watch at 3:31 ↗

Laying down is sufficiently good.

Watch at 4:13 ↗

Little bit of a vocalization there. Who's that? Yeah, let's put it put it down by about about

Watch at 7:29 ↗

wiley i mean uh sputnik come on bud heal heal there you go come on it's okay what are you

Watch at 7:51 ↗

Oh, you want to do a place on the rock?

Watch at 9:00 ↗

Field session: heel, recall and place in a park with passers-by (watch)

Late in the program. Its order relative to stage 3 is unknown.

Ball play with an 'out', then down, break and heel with 'nope' reminders. The trainer says he had to stim once during 'a nice little test' as people and dogs passed. He gives Sputnik freedom near other dogs so 'he gets to make a decision', and Sputnik recalls straight away despite the excitement. A heel is held longer than usual because he had 'gotten off pretty easy' a few times. The trainer says he has 'lots of control by this point', which is the only reason to place this late.

On film

Nice little test there.

Watch at 3:55 ↗

I had to stim him once there.

Watch at 3:57 ↗

With Sputnik I have lots of control by this point, but they don't know that.

Watch at 5:57 ↗

Maybe he gets to make a decision

Watch at 7:38 ↗

He recalled right away, even though he got some excitement out of the other dogs.

Watch at 8:01 ↗

The go-home lesson, in the house (watch, watch, watch)Turning point

About 2025-11-25/26. One visit of about two hours.

Kelton brings the dogs home and teaches at the house rather than at the usual park, because the problem lives in the house. Pt. 1 is the plan. He sets out five pillars (evaluation, cooperation, fulfilment, socialisation, authority) and refuses the 'band-aid' of obedience-only management. The house becomes a calm zone and play belongs outside. The penalty for Sputnik going at Bear is a 'nope' with leash pops five or six times plus spatial and social pressure, without anger, applied liberally to 'stop the first domino'. Bear is also told to knock it off in front of Sputnik. When the owners push on management versus progress, he separates the calm indoor rule from hands-off outdoor play with e-collars on, a 'nope' and a recall, and a minute out for the instigator. Pt. 2 is the test. There is an informal doorway run, and crate-feeding is advised for the bowls, openly as management. During supervised ball play in the yard Sputnik does something to Bear. It is not described in words, but it draws a long string of 'nope' and 'don't do that', then a timeout on the cot, and later a repetition in which Sputnik lets Bear have the ball. Kelton admits Sputnik has never held place while another dog plays, and says he had prayed Sputnik would 'do one thing that's dumb' so he could show the fix. Pt. 3 re-runs the doorway drill and hands over labelled leashes and prong collars, with fit and wearing time.

On film

a band-aid would look like for this a band-aid for this would be to use obedience only to fix it

Watch at 9:15 ↗

who have this issue is just make that the rule in the house.

Watch at 20:22 ↗

right it's like a domino chain so you want to stop the first domino essentially

Watch at 29:39 ↗

Assuming you guys noticed what he did to bear, right? That's what we can't have happen

Watch at 16:03 ↗

Yeah, basically any time you notice something like that happened just cancel Sputnik's fun

Watch at 26:00 ↗

Please. Just do a dumb thing.

Watch at 28:21 ↗

usually never an issue it's when bear is trying to push past sputnik and become the first one

Watch at 1:15 ↗

Possible unfilmed contact

Between late November 2025 and mid-January 2026, if it happened.

At the private lesson Kelton refers to explaining the four levers 'last time i was here'. No such explanation is in the go-home footage. Nothing more is known.

On film

you need to press um which the the levers are there's four levers and i think last time i was

Watch at 34:22 ↗

StageTurning point

About 2026-01-15, a winter evening.

Kelton comes back because the harassment is still happening 'all day', mostly around the female owner. He sits and waits for it to happen once. When it does, he gives a strong e-collar correction, then a run of leash pops and 'don't do that' whose tone moves from authoritative to disappointed, and then he stops. Everything after the collar was social, he explains, and piling on would dilute the lesson. He gives a speeding-fine analogy (a $10 fine versus losing your licence), the management-versus-training distinction, and a reading of the bowl behaviour as herding rather than resource guarding. At feeding the owners say it is unusually calm. He points out a stress yawn and shake as healthy recovery, and he later notes Sputnik letting Bear pass. The owners' Garmin collars are set up, with the emphasis on contact and a two-finger fit. The four behavioural levers are re-explained. For a while, the e-collar and a prong with a dragging leash stay on all day, so the owners can do the social follow-up themselves. The close is about clarity, and follow-up by text and further visits.

On film

he'll be like okay cool and he'll be fine but the idea is that i was just waiting for one

Watch at 3:59 ↗

pops i didn't like go right i already stopped the behavior with the e-collar that all of that last

Watch at 10:35 ↗

authoritative but what did you notice towards the like last the last few little boops that i did

Watch at 11:27 ↗

Yeah, I think like his stern lesson earlier is definitely taking a toll on him.

Watch at 27:59 ↗

And that was nice. He just let him pass by. He didn't do it. Yeah. Yeah. And so that lever

Watch at 39:16 ↗

The next day, reported second-hand

About 2026-01-16, in the Murphy go-home lesson.

Kelton shows the private-lesson video to the Murphy family as the model penalty. He points out a mistake of his own: the collar came when the dogs were already apart. He also says he checked in with this family that day and they reported three or four corrections instead of about fifty a day. That is Kelton reporting the family's estimate.

On film

what happened and then you see i was quick with the e-collar but they were away from each other

Watch at 48:50 ↗

there was a mistake I made here but then you'll also see that afterwards I went

Watch at 48:54 ↗

them today because I did that last night and they told me I think they had to do

Watch at 1:25:30 ↗

immediately since yesterday drastically reduced anyway it went from 50 times a

Watch at 1:25:38 ↗

Skills

Sputnik: stopping the harassment of Bear (the penalty)

At the startConstant by the family's account: pushing, herding, doorway guarding, leg grabs, growling at the bowls.
By the endReported much reduced the day after the private lesson, as the family's estimate relayed by Kelton. Not seen on film after that evening.
How it was taught

At the go-home lesson, a 'nope' with leash pops five or six times plus spatial and social pressure, applied liberally, followed by place as a timeout and then back to play. At the private lesson, one strong e-collar correction at the moment, then leash pops and words that carry the social message and turn disappointed before they stop. The owners are to repeat it exactly, with equipment worn all day for a while so it is possible.

On film

have to freak out you don't have to be angry it's just pop right you say nope and you pop

Watch at 28:55 ↗

you say nope and you pop and say nope you pop five six times and you put spatial and social

Watch at 29:00 ↗

and it's always connected to that particular thing that he does that event he'll be like

Watch at 8:23 ↗

and then it'll basically be for you just like catch it again do exactly the same thing um

Watch at 12:12 ↗

Sputnik: down, and the command structure

At the startDown from about ten feet at the facility (trainer's account).
By the endNeeds repeated cues on the excited homecoming. The trainer expects this to smooth out as it generalises.
How it was taught

Command, then 'nope', then negative reinforcement, with the e-collar only after the verbal. Duration is implied and ends at the release.

On film

though down so the way the the commands work is you give the command and then if

Watch at 10:24 ↗

So the duration of the command, whether it's heal, sit, down, whatever it is, or place,

Watch at 11:05 ↗

so you could see like the timing yeah um it was after the nope so verbal always first then whatever

Watch at 12:34 ↗

Sputnik: heel and recall in public

At the startGood in watch ('this is a nice heel').
By the endRecalls straight away from excitement near other dogs. A heel is held longer because he had been getting released easily.
How it was taught

Heel with 'nope' reminders and a finish. Freedom near other dogs so he can choose to come.

On film

All right, this is a nice heel.

Watch at 1:52 ↗

Gave him he's gotten gotten off pretty easy up a few times. So there you go

Watch at 9:24 ↗

He recalled right away, even though he got some excitement out of the other dogs.

Watch at 8:01 ↗

Sputnik: place, including as a timeout

At the startPlace known. Generalised to rocks and random objects in public.
By the endUsed as a timeout at home. The trainer admits he was never asked to hold place while another dog plays.
How it was taught

Place on novel objects in the field. At home, place after the penalty, then release back to play.

On film

The place is good for this kind of exercise because it's very the boundaries are clear

Watch at 17:54 ↗

full transparency we haven't had him stay on place while playing with another

Watch at 20:29 ↗

The doorway (Sputnik and Bear)

At the startSputnik guards doorways, and trouble comes when Bear tries to push past him to be first.
By the endDrilled at the facility and re-run at home with nothing reported.
How it was taught

Sputnik kept near the door while Bear is sent out and in repeatedly.

On film

maybe she should come over too yeah or maybe they'll do it bear because that's the drill i

Watch at 1:34 ↗

ran is i had splatnik be near the door and then i just had bear go out in and out in and out in and

Watch at 1:41 ↗

How the method adapted

Sputnik is not a fear case or a bite case. He is a confident, fulfilled working-breed dog bullying an older, nervous housemate. The adaptations are therefore about where and when the problem is met, how big the consequence is, and who delivers it. The most visible change across the case is between the go-home lesson and the private lesson: the penalty grows from a leash sequence into a single e-collar correction with the leash kept for the social message.

The go-home lesson was taught at the house, not at the usual park.

The problem lives in the house dynamics, and a park five minutes from the facility would not reproduce them.

On film

like five minutes from our house basically every time but in this scenario that doesn't make sense

Watch at 27:31 ↗

right because this has some more complicated like dynamics in the house that make the most

Watch at 27:36 ↗

Both home visits waited for the problem to happen so the fix could be shown live.

By Kelton's account, dogs who behave during the visit then do it the next day, when he cannot demonstrate anything.

On film

go home lesson, it'll be that Sputnik does one thing that's dumb.

Watch at 28:15 ↗

and then I got a call the next day

Watch at 28:31 ↗

he'll be like okay cool and he'll be fine but the idea is that i was just waiting for one

Watch at 3:59 ↗

The penalty changed shape between visits: from a leash sequence repeated five or six times to one big e-collar correction, followed by pops and words that carry the social message. Kelton warns that overdoing the aftermath dilutes it. Screening the clip later, he names his own timing error.

The '$10 fine' argument: a small consequence repeated stops the behaviour only in the moment, and a meaningful one tied to the event makes the dog decide it is not worth it.

On film

well it stopped the behavior right then um so it's like oh that's but that's a ten dollar fine

Watch at 7:38 ↗

nope. Nope. I wasn't like, nope. Because doing like that whole thing afterwards, that can actually

Watch at 10:49 ↗

dilute the lesson that he learns.

Watch at 10:58 ↗

there was a mistake I made here but then you'll also see that afterwards I went

Watch at 48:54 ↗

The other dog is corrected too. Bear is told to leave Sputnik's space, in front of Sputnik.

Sputnik should see that the owners handle Bear, so he does not have to.

On film

of him tell Bear to knock it off, or if you punish him like I just described, and then tell Bear also

Watch at 32:20 ↗

right he lets it happen that's the best time to step in is if he's letting it go and bear's kind

Watch at 32:58 ↗

The bowl problem was reframed between visits. At the go-home lesson it is 'food guarding even if the bowls empty', ingrained, and best handled by crate feeding as management. At the private lesson it is herding, 'not true resources', and the same correction exercise should handle it.

Not stated as a change of mind. The second visit simply classifies the behaviour differently.

On film

tell them to knock it off food guarding even if the bowls empty food guarding is

Watch at 5:36 ↗

is what i would do that's the easiest way to fix it and the easiest way to do that is whichever

Watch at 7:13 ↗

you yeah yeah then that's that's that's not like true resources at the most he'll go over push bear

Watch at 15:49 ↗

but yes i think you can do the same practical exercise in that and that will probably take

Watch at 16:03 ↗

Indoors calm, outdoors free. After a penalty in play, a short timeout (on the cot, or a minute out) and then back to the game.

The goal is normal interaction, and Sputnik should decompress rather than learn that everything shuts down.

On film

at that minute right um and then you can let him go back out to it because you want him to

Watch at 34:54 ↗

His fun ends he gets punished the way I punished him the first time and then he gets put on the place cut

Watch at 26:05 ↗

And he has to wait, but then you let him back out

Watch at 26:10 ↗

Obedience trained in play, so it holds at his arousal level.

Low-arousal obedience does not transfer to a high-arousal street.

On film

not at all close to doing it in high arousal so that's why I prefer to do all

Watch at 30:43 ↗

the training and play because if you do the majority of the training and play

Watch at 30:47 ↗

The social weight is moved to the owners, especially the male owner, whose dog he was first. The female owner is warned it will take several repetitions before it transfers to her.

Social pressure matters more coming from the person with the tightest relationship.

On film

powerful if it comes from you guys probably especially you um whichever one of you has like

Watch at 11:47 ↗

the tightest relationship which i assume is you because he was your dog before um whoever has the

Watch at 11:52 ↗

yeah and that's kind of my point like i think it's gonna take several times of her doing it

Watch at 39:43 ↗

What the family was told

The house is a calm zone; play is outside

In the house is chill time.

Watch at 20:26 ↗

Where I just told him, like, hey, dude, chill.

Watch at 22:10 ↗

The penalty for going at Bear, applied early

if you don't make it bad enough and you don't have to yell you don't have to scream you don't

Watch at 28:51 ↗

right it's like a domino chain so you want to stop the first domino essentially

Watch at 29:39 ↗

and then what you'll also want to do is because like and for you um like use the power that you

Watch at 13:18 ↗

Tell Bear off too

of him tell Bear to knock it off, or if you punish him like I just described, and then tell Bear also

Watch at 32:20 ↗

Outdoor play: e-collars on, 'nope' and a recall, a minute out

just have the e-collars on them when they go out to play

Watch at 36:01 ↗

recall that they know is here okay yeah so you would just yell their name and then say here

Watch at 36:18 ↗

Walks: let him sniff, don't heel-grind

heel grind them yeah if i if i if i hear that you guys have been like here like heel grinding the

Watch at 35:19 ↗

Food bowls

is what i would do that's the easiest way to fix it and the easiest way to do that is whichever

Watch at 7:13 ↗

little extra step and it is management but i think it's the it's not that hard to do it's not that

Watch at 7:32 ↗

Toys in a box, not loose

i have since toys in box are good toys in box excellent change

Watch at 32:40 ↗

Equipment: prong fit and wearing time; e-collar contact and fit

back here yeah it doesn't make sense they shouldn't wear e-collars or prong collars

Watch at 3:07 ↗

But most of the time you can see it's loose like a necklace

Watch at 3:49 ↗

And that's a consistent thing with e-collars is about keeping contact.

Watch at 32:27 ↗

my normal rule is like i can stick two fingers in there pretty easily

Watch at 33:04 ↗

For a while, gear on all day so the follow-up is possible

you the opportunity to do exactly what I did that's why I put the leash on because the social

Watch at 41:22 ↗

The four behavioural levers, judged on the next repetition

works a little better is if you think about the four behavioral levers there's four one you add

Watch at 35:03 ↗

So it's always the next rep.

Watch at 37:14 ↗

they came to you which was the desired behavior that's what you wanted them to do and they got

Watch at 38:39 ↗

Management versus training

okay, what I just described is a management-style solution,

Watch at 34:16 ↗

to stop doing a behavior you don't want them to do so what this solution is is

Watch at 17:21 ↗

that in a way that will not be uh managing a jailhouse because that's that's the that's a

Watch at 14:09 ↗

Clarity, and the resentment that comes without it

mind it's not like the only thing that like people do that messes their dogs up and messes

Watch at 42:12 ↗

them but then on the other end and they don't even know on the other end you're like this dog

Watch at 42:48 ↗

Report back: text, video, write it down; watch the recording

you're like what that at that point call us yeah send us a text let us know send a video

Watch at 38:27 ↗

that's why i play this because then it's like all right i'll upload it for you and you can watch it

Watch at 7:55 ↗

how about you call me whenever something significant happens okay yeah if you guys

Watch at 43:37 ↗
In the family's own words
Their goal is Bear's comfort, stated at both halves of the go-home lesson.
On film

them really sputnik making bear not feel comfortable okay well then let's what it

Watch at 31:41 ↗

He's almost 10, I want him to live a peaceful life

Watch at 35:00 ↗
They push the trainer on progression: at what point does stopping everything prevent the dogs from ever learning to play together? He praises the question and separates management from training.
On film

because i totally agree with everything up to like a certain point we would like them to be

Watch at 33:22 ↗

You should be a dog trainer.

Watch at 34:10 ↗
At the private lesson they ask for a longer-term fix because managing it is exhausting. The female owner says she is hard on him, but not to the degree he needs.
On film

care of something like that yeah so do my question is do you think that this will be a longer term

Watch at 16:09 ↗

it's hard because i feel like i am really mean to him but it's just not in the degree that he needs it

Watch at 43:24 ↗

Outcomes

What the trainers reported

The dogs' demeanour at the homecoming is much better and they settled faster.

The family, at the go-home lesson

On film

much better they settled a little faster okay yeah yeah and like I said the other

Watch at 38:11 ↗
The push they had just seen was far milder than it used to be.

An owner, agreed by the trainer, at the start of the go-home lesson (speakers run together)

On film

Like, what I just saw, but much worse is what it used to be, where he would just continuously push Bear and try to get him away from either, like, Bear just coming up to me, saying hello.

Watch at 3:01 ↗

Yeah, that is a huge improvement.

Watch at 3:20 ↗
Within the private lesson, 'a world of a difference already'. Feeding is calmer than usual, and the cat walked past without incident.

The family, during the private lesson

On film

but um this is already like normally it's not this chill okay at all like it's a consistent

Watch at 25:14 ↗

that hand like it's a world of a difference already yeah it can happen pretty quickly yeah

Watch at 34:07 ↗
The next day, corrections were down from about fifty a day to three or four.

Kelton, relaying the family's check-in, in the Murphy go-home lesson

On film

them today because I did that last night and they told me I think they had to do

Watch at 1:25:30 ↗

immediately since yesterday drastically reduced anyway it went from 50 times a

Watch at 1:25:38 ↗
'Lots of control' of Sputnik in public by late in the program.

The field trainer, watch

On film

With Sputnik I have lots of control by this point, but they don't know that.

Watch at 5:57 ↗

What the footage shows

At the go-home lesson a correction in the yard is audible, as a long string of 'nope' and 'don't do that' followed by the explanation that Bear had been starting to enjoy playing. Later there is one repetition in which Bear got the ball and Sputnik let him. What Sputnik did is not described in words.
On film

Don't do that.

Watch at 15:30 ↗

because bear was

Watch at 16:13 ↗

Okay, the only thing I saw was that they let bear go get it. Yeah

Watch at 24:17 ↗

Okay. Well, I'm glad we got at least one good punishment in and then we got time out.

Watch at 26:46 ↗
At the private lesson there is one correction. The trainer points to the dog's eyes and then his recovery, and later remarks that Sputnik let another dog pass.
On film

that okay buddy you don't like me you do that it's not good it's not good you see his eyes

Watch at 3:29 ↗

well that's recovery by the way yeah you saw the little stress yawn and shake yeah

Watch at 25:37 ↗

And that was nice. He just let him pass by. He didn't do it. Yeah. Yeah. And so that lever

Watch at 39:16 ↗
Field sessions: an elevator sit held under toilet urgency, place on rocks, and a recall straight off other dogs.
On film

Which means I'm going to keep him in command.

Watch at 3:31 ↗

Sputnik, here. Good job. Good decision.

Watch at 7:53 ↗
How it ended. Sputnik went home.

The ideas Sputnik's case runs on

Astra

Who Astra is

A female husky mix. The family say half boxer and half husky. Kelton, to another family, says she doesn't look like a husky. At home she is 'the goofiest dog of the three'. In the kennel she was the instigator with Sputnik, annoying him until he snapped.

On film

Yeah, she's the goofiest dog of the three.

Watch at 6:38 ↗

Half boxer and husky.

Watch at 6:43 ↗

uh one's like a mix with a husky uh but doesn't look like one it's like a husky mix of some kind

Watch at 9:06 ↗

yeah instigates yeah she's just like oh and then they're like dude get stop it you know um and so

Watch at 4:15 ↗

annoy him and he has very little patience for it and he will and so he would be like get off

Watch at 5:12 ↗
She prefers personal play to the ball, noted independently at the go-home lesson and in her own session. She chases a ball only when it moves.
On film

play where it's that's what astra loves that right i just bounce back and forth and i'll buy her so

Watch at 10:24 ↗

I know she likes personal play.

Watch at 3:30 ↗

It needs to be moving for you, huh?

Watch at 3:37 ↗
In the household she sometimes joins in on Sputnik's side when he and Bear clash. Sputnik also guards food from her and growls at her at the bowls.
On film

a thing astro will sometimes join and on sputnik side yes which they grew up together uh that we

Watch at 16:32 ↗

Sputnik also does that to Astra.

Watch at 6:56 ↗

Sputnik will go on this side, Bear and Ash will be on this side and then Sputnik will just growl at her

Watch at 24:37 ↗

What was worked

She stops a couple of feet short. The trainer 'nope's and re-cues until she arrives.
Skill. Full recall on a long line
On film

She has a habit of coming part of the way.

Watch at 2:05 ↗

She comes up until a couple of feet.

Watch at 2:08 ↗
She breaks once when a dog passes. The trainer says the e-collar needs to go up 'just a little bit, not a lot'.
Skill. Down and implied stay under distraction
On film

nope sit i'm gonna work her implied stay here

Watch at 2:38 ↗

See, she picked up from her down.

Watch at 5:32 ↗

A little bit bigger of a distraction for her down stay.

Watch at 5:42 ↗
Needs repeated cues on the excited homecoming, then released with 'break' as the model of implied duration.
Skill. Down and release at home
On film

thank you nip down she's real excited around she's calmed down a little bit

Watch at 10:16 ↗

So then you can go, okay, break.

Watch at 11:12 ↗
Not on film.
Skill. Leash reactivity
On film

think the only one that was when we took them was like astra a little bit yeah um she was kind of

Watch at 19:48 ↗

reactive on leash but like we fixed that like within a week to be honest like that's not super

Watch at 19:54 ↗

Outcomes

What the trainers reported

'She's so smart' and 'doing great' on the long line (field trainer, watch).

What the footage shows

Full recalls after re-cues, one broken down-stay, and a recall off a scent at a fence (watch).

How it ended. Astra went home.