Family film
An edited film from Stormi’s owner lessons and go-home lesson. The case record continues below.
- Stormi: Learning Each Other · owner testimonial · 2:21
Who Stormi is
As the trainers describe her
Nervous on arrival, more than the staff expected - the reason her first outing had no commands in it at all. Looking back on 2026-09-15, the trainer softens it: never 'deadly afraid of anything', only 'a little iffy'.
On film
with me her nerves were a little worse than we thought
We're not, we need to be comfortable for this to work. Maybe we're a little nervous, but it's not the end of the world.
for a dog like stormy she's already kind of like nervous if i overwhelm her she'll just shut down
she was never like deadly afraid of anything but she was a little yeah it's a little iffy
Shut down at first, then opening up: no sniffing at the start, 'the most open she'd been' on 2026-09-09, 'nerves doing a lot better' on 2026-09-15, 'doing really good' on 2026-09-20, galloping and prancing on 2026-09-21, and at the handover on 2026-09-27 no nerves the trainer can see. He reads her nerves as environmental rather than genetic, and specifically as being about people, and restates that model at the handover.
On film
when i first started working with her she like didn't sniff anything she was very much like i'm here for business
she's been a little shut down today Today she's, I'd say the most open she'd been the whole time she'd been here, which is good.
so like hers is pretty much all like just i think she just had something probably that made her nervous like and it's just more environmental
her nerves are doing a lot better and her leash yielding is pretty nice
a lot more alive too like she's you know she's galloping places i like to gallop it's really cute um you know she's she's prancing around sniffing stuff
I I don't see any nerves with her at all anymore
Well she has more confidence now too which is really good.
Her nerves show as locking up, not as reactivity - which the trainer says is unlike most shepherds, and the reason he cannot simply work her the way he would work one.
On film
most shepherds, funny enough, their nerves are interesting. They might be nervous around new people, but they don't usually lock up. They usually take the nerves, and it comes in some form of, like, reactivity.
but with her she locks up a little bit so i can't do exactly what i would do with a shepherd because some shepherds like you could just work them work and work them she'll lock up so i'm trying to balance it out well for her
Very smart and a fast learner, said in most of her recordings - once with the trainer catching himself saying it every time and standing by it. At the handover he adds the other side: smart dogs look for ways not to listen.
On film
because she is definitely mostly shepherd she is smart like all good shepherds are
Definitely one of the smarter dogs I've met in a minute.
getting the commands probably quicker than most dogs i've ever worked with
the story is a really smart dog so she's already getting it really fast
I think I say that like every time, just she's very impressive in terms of her ability to learn, so.
she's really smart uh sometimes that comes at a disadvantage because dogs are so smart they'll try to figure out how to not listen
High energy - named as a trait of hers, not a problem, and paired with the nerves as the reason a busy street is 'a lot' for her.
On film
she does the high energy drive
is actually a fairly high like energy drive
which high energy and slightly nervous dog is a lot for her
Breed: a shepherd, probably mixed in the trainers' eyes - retriever by the trainer's and a colleague's guess, 'German Shepherd mixed with something' to a stranger, and at the second lesson 'almost all shepherd' with 'a little something' in her build and face, not bully. The owner says the friend she got Stormi from told her she is full-blooded. A husky comparison in the earliest recording is about noise, not ancestry. There is no paperwork to settle it, so her breed is left open here.
On film
quite possibly he could be or she could be mixed with a retriever or something
I think she's a retriever mix with the Shepherd
she's a german shepherd i think she's like mixed with something though because her snouts a little bit like
i don't think she's mixed with the bully breed at all but i do think that she's just like we'll say like almost all shepherd but there's just like a little something in there to spice it up
i honestly i don't know because i got it from a friend i got her oh and he said that she's full-blooded
Not the way that a husky is. A husky is loud. It doesn't have to be loud.
Pressure: the trainer's statements move over the program and do not line up neatly. On the first night she 'doesn't know how to handle pressure extremely well' and does not register the collar until about 40-45. A week later he tells the owner she was not one of the dogs who have to be taught what the collar means. On 2026-09-15 she still reacts to pressure 'just a smidgen' and has become more collar-sensitive as she opened up; on 2026-09-20 he says her level has risen because she is more confident; on 2026-09-21 she locks up where most shepherds would react, so he balances the work; at the handover he calls her sensitive enough that, in heel, a little leash pressure should come before the collar. Read in order, they describe a dog the trainer kept recalibrating for rather than a fixed profile.
On film
So my assessment so far, she actually doesn't know how to handle pressure extremely well.
And sometimes, and this isn't the case with Stormy, but some dogs you have to teach them what the e-collar means.
only thing is she handles pressure in a way she does still freak out just just like a smidgen
she actually sits on a 40 which is way higher than when she started but that's because she's a lot more confident now she doesn't feel something and be like oh my god i'm gonna die
honestly with her i think that because of her her nerves and how like sensitive she is hitting the e-collar every time she gets out of it it can work but i think that you could probably work her up when all you really have to do is just add a little leash pressure
Sensitised to the leash, strong in the body, heat-limited to about fifteen minutes a day in the hot weeks, and a looper who wraps around her handler when excited - which the trainer calls anxious behaviour. By the go-home, he says, she doesn't pull anymore.
On film
the reason for that is that she's very sensitized to leash pressure
she's pretty strong dogs do hit 40 though that's not a rare thing i just for some reason did not expect her to be a 40
stormy gets hot really fast so i i really haven't been able to do more than 15 minutes with her a day
and the better her impulse control is the more or the less she'll like stop doing the the wraparound thing because that's an anxious behavior
I mean she doesn't pull anymore
Close and attached: 'very attached' to the trainer and wanting to be emotionally attached to him, and at home wanting to be pressed against whoever is handling her. He treats both as things to manage - strictness with him, forced distance with the owner - not to reward.
On film
So I'm being really strict with her because she's very, wants to be really emotionally attached to me.
she wants to be really like like close to somebody
A good match for this trainer, and his favourite of the set by his own account. He says she works more for him than for others and may be the only one who has played with her; at the second lesson he counts her, with Mazi, as one of the two easiest dogs in his set.
On film
me and stormy are like a perfect match like train your personality
you're doing better just with me too yeah she likes me more
actually probably I think she might be my favorite dog of the set actually
and then stormy those two they're they're like the the easiest dogs to work with they're just smart
Tests a new handler. In front of the owner she made a dramatic display the trainer calls something shepherds do on purpose; at home she tried the crate, the owner's legs and a belly roll to get out of a command - 'classic shepherd testing', in his words, that fades fast under strictness.
On film
she's a shepherd that's funny so shepherds do this thing okay where they will actually intentionally be dramatic in front of you
Yeah, this is very, like, classic, like, Shepard testing. So don't worry. Like, as long as you stay, like, strict with it, but this kind of weird stuff goes away really fast. If you're not strict with it, then it won't go away.
Not a dog with bite in her, in the trainer's judgement at the handover - said while explaining why heel grinding raises bite risk in other dogs, and meant as a compliment.
On film
so for her she's not gonna bite anybody she don't got that dog in her but I'm sorry it's just the truth it's not a bad thing it makes you a great pet dog
As her family describe her
Always hyped up, with no impulse control - and, the reason it matters, she has run down the street with cars coming. This is the owner's first and main goal.
On film
to work with her was that i was never able to do was impulse control
we've had a couple incidents where she would run stormy let's go good job where she would like run run down the street like yeah cars coming and stuff like that
Reactive to people and to unfamiliar dogs: she plants and barks. The owner's example is a July beach trip. Dogs she knows at home are not the problem. At the door, though, she waits, and barks only at people she does not know.
On film
a walk and there's just like random dogs like she'll kind of do the same where she like plants
i went to the beach and i took her with me for the first time which i was really you know scared about because i she was she's reactive yeah with people and that's exactly what she did like she was barking at
honestly that really isn't an issue with her either oh really yeah she usually just waits until they open it and if she doesn't know them that's when she barks
Plays with balls and tugs with the owner's socks; is crated when the owner is out because of the socks; used to be walked off leash and sniff everything; had never worn an e-collar before the evaluation and was not frightened of it there.
On film
she likes to play with balls especially with balls okay and she does do tug of war but she usually likes to play tug of war with my socks
so i don't want to put her in the cage but i put i leave her in there because she tends to play with my socks
And I guess he showed her, and I guess he tried to figure out, you know, what number to put it on. So she wasn't initially scared either, so that was also surprising.
Because she's never been in one before, so.
On walks: she pulled hard on morning bathroom trips, roams when the owner stops to talk to a friend, and did not come when called - though the owner likes her sniffing. Before the program the owner tried to teach heel herself.
On film
usually when I had to take her out to use the bathroom in the morning, she would really pull on me,
but when let's say i'm talking to a friend she usually roams around
I really like when she goes on walks and she smells yeah like around and everything but I just don't like that she doesn't listen when I tell her to come
i was teaching i was trying to teach her that before i sent her to you
At home she treats the crate as her way out: she leaves it when the owner goes to another room, and runs into it when she knows she is in trouble.
On film
like she usually does like when we go to a different room that's how she gets out
she usually goes in there because when she doesn't listen she knows she's in trouble so she goes to the cage
The program, stage by stage
The evaluation, off camera
Before drop-off; undated.
Kelton evaluated her at the family's, by the owner's account (and the trainer's confirmation of who it was from her description). He showed her the e-collar and tried to find her number; she had never worn one and was not frightened of it. At the go-home lesson the owner describes the person who came for the consult again and the trainer identifies him as Kelton; Christian, who does most consults, was the one who picked her up. That is the whole of what is known about her before the program.
On film
when he came for like the evaluation was it kristin or kelton
And I guess he showed her, and I guess he tried to figure out, you know, what number to put it on.
oh yeah okay that was kelton
kelton does some consults christian does most of them though kelton does a few
he just picked her up
Indoors, first days: place, and a down that does not happen
2026-09-03 by title only. Handler unknown.
Five minutes indoors with a loud laptop or TV nearby. Sits, a run of down cues that cannot be heard reliably, and a place onto a raised surface that she resists more than the floor and then does. The handler's closing remark sets the tone for the whole case: comfort first, a little nervousness is workable.
On film
You have more resistance getting on top than if you were on that floor.
Yes, it's definitely what we want to see.
We're not, we need to be comfortable for this to work. Maybe we're a little nervous, but it's not the end of the world.
The first night out: no commands, a high collar number, and the markers startedTurning point
2026-09-06, Sunday night.
Her first outing with the field trainer, chosen for night because her nerves were worse than expected. The stated plan is just to get her out of the dog room, explore, leash-yield and keep her on track. She does not register the collar at about 20 and tries to avoid; it goes to 40 and then 45 - 'the magic number' - and he is surprised she is 'a 40'. His assessment is that she has to be taught to handle pressure, which he says is unusual in a shepherd and puts down to her probably being mixed. He conditions the reinforcement marker from the start, begins a leash radius but deliberately does not enforce it because she is worked up and new to him, separates sit from the down she keeps offering, teaches the release without pressure, and ends on a high note. The same evening he tells a colleague he means to try tug with her.
On film
letting her run around explore do her thing and like just hanging out and uh just being out of the dog room
we're going to mark the e-collar up to 45 here because she really didn't respond to my pressure
i'm now conditioning her reinforcement marker so the important that you start that as early as possible
she's pretty worked up so i'm not necessarily enforcing a hurry for like radius and everything yet i just kind of starting it since it's his first time she's been out with me
i want to leave it on a high note because she did really really good
No play, and the fastest down in a long timeTurning point
2026-09-08, evening, a crowded park.
He looks for play drive with running, a ball and a flirt pole and gets very little - she is more inclined to hide under his car. Then the down. The first attempt is almost all leash pressure and she yelps; he explains his model of pressure as a blend of social, physical and collar pressure plus aids, gets the position at roughly 65/35 physical-to-aids, and when she stalls adds only about five per cent more, because a nervous dog overwhelmed will shut down. By the end she is going down on cue, he calls it the quickest down he has taught in a long time, and he has barely used the collar. The percentages are his illustration, not measurements.
On film
Yeah, I figured I wasn't gonna get a ton of play out here,
that first time i uh she did the yelp that was like pretty much all leash pressure nothing else
so i didn't change much i just applied a teeny bit of extra pressure it would be a very bad idea to go from like 65 to 85 you would overwhelm a dog
This is the quickest though. I've taught it down in a long time.
And I really haven't barely used the e-collar this whole time.
Beach Bluff: no leash, light collar, personal play - then fixation and heat
2026-09-09, early afternoon; two recordings of one outing.
A colleague who has not seen her for a couple of days comes to watch. The trainer points out that he has given every command with no leash pressure, uses the collar 'very lightly because she doesn't know the words', sits her on gravel with light pressure around 20, and says she knows every command but heel at a basic level that still has to be proved. The colleague asks whether she is further along than expected; he says she is what he hoped. He has found that high-energy personal play works with her where toys did not, and means to raise it with the owners. After a break the same walk continues: she fixates, he bumps the collar to 25 because a fixated dog feels less, says she is the most open she has been, predicts the stronger fixation is a phase of opening up, and when she tires in the heat he asks for one more sit so the session does not end on a skipped command.
On film
I actually don't know if you've noticed every command of or anything I've said there I put no leaf pressure on
literally like she knows all the commands except heel like basic understanding we gotta like prove it and stuff
did you expect her to be this far along or a little behind i mean i was hoping she would look like this is what i was hoping
But you know, she's opening up her fixations become like a little more like strong, a little stronger, a little more strong.
that is not how i would want to end the session at all it's a bad idea and honestly that's how
Down without creeping; heel postponed
2026-09-11, a hot day with no shade.
A short, sparse session: let's go and downs, with 'no' when she inches toward him in the down. He starts heel expecting her to pick it up fast, then after a stretch of her misbehaving concludes she is not ready. He wanted twenty minutes and stops early because she is done in the heat.
On film
no you cannot no you can't inch over to me i'm sorry
not good at the end but she's not ready for heal yet though not quite
she's already pretty hot so we're just gonna chill off i wanted to try to get like 20 minutes with with her but I'm be honest it's I think she's already pretty done
The first owner lesson - the family's goals arrive at the midpointTurning point
2026-09-13, Sunday morning, a park with a trail.
The owner sees her for the first time since drop-off; Stormi pulls toward her and yelps when she hits the end of the leash and the collar, which the trainer explains as the radius. This is where the family's goals are first stated: impulse control after incidents of running into the street with cars coming, reactivity to people and unfamiliar dogs (the July beach trip), off-leash parks, and not crating her when out. The trainer's report: she knows every command but heel, not foolproof; he is now getting strict; her main work is impulse control, because she gets up before release. Then the theory: implied stay and 'okay'; two markers against commands; the four quadrants; the one rule he asks her to keep if she keeps nothing else - the collar follows the marker, never the command; 'let's go' as the reactivity reset, with the correction for ignoring the command rather than for seeing the dog; no treats, release to sniff as the reward; the strict first week; an off-leash program so commands are never maintained with the leash; say it once. He reads her sniffing as nerves improving, her looping as anxiety, her reactivity as mild and more about dogs than people, and predicts it fixed within about a week. On the walk she fixates on a passer-by and backs off, stands next to another dog without fuss, and still ignores the radius a little. Next: the house session, then recall and heel.
On film
i use that as like an opportunity to reinforce it more so that's why she did a little yelp is because she was she didn't like that i like hit the collar when she hit the end of her leash
we're kind of in the phase now I'm starting to get more strict with her too because she knows every command minus heel already yeah it's not like you know foolproof like every single time
if you can only take away one thing, one thing from this whole thing, it is that you use the e-collar after the marker.
i would expect i'll probably have her reactivity fixed within like a week like a week or less i think because she's already doing better
didn't even like sniff it or anything she just like kind of stood next to him
be at your house so you don't have to bring it but the third session is when i show you how to reinforce like the recall and the heel
Downtown, the busy side
2026-09-15, a cooler start to the day; the first of two recordings of one outing.
Downtown again - by the owner lesson, downtown Angier, used for her trouble with people - and this time deliberately on the busy side, to tighten her radius under higher energy. Her nerves are 'a lot better' and her leash yielding 'pretty nice'. The goal of the radius is stated as engagement, not just compliance at the far end. After one reaction he lowers the collar from about 25 to 20 for the calmest reaction that still works. A passer-by stops to ask about her and nothing on the audio suggests any trouble. The cooler start lets him keep her out beyond the fifteen minutes a day her heat tolerance has allowed. The walk continues in the next recording (8b).
On film
we're actually going to go and walk over on the busy side of things
i don't want to get to that point where like she's hitting the you know far end and it's like she listens off leash but she's not engaged with me off leash
that level was not high it was on like a 25 so we're going to mark it down to 20 because i don't want that kind of reaction i want as chill of a reaction as possible with the most results that way it's enjoyable for me and her
i'm actually out here to try to see like her energy with like all this busy stuff going around so yeah she's doing pretty good
The walk back: calmer nerves, a more collar-sensitive dog, and pressure still a little frightening
2026-09-15, straight after stage 8, walking back to the car from downtown.
The trainer walks Stormi back to the car from downtown as she tires. Most of the recording is his assessment. Her nerves are 'pretty chill' now and she has opened up. Since opening up she is more sensitive to the e-collar, which he puts down to her being more in tune with her surroundings. She was never 'deadly afraid', he says, only 'a little iffy'. He says the day's aim was leash yielding that 'looks nice', because he builds on commands only once he can trust a dog further into the city. The limit he names is pressure: she still reacts to it 'just a smidgen', which he does not want. He reviews one moment where he pulled the leash over when the e-collar alone would have been more efficient, 'not the end of the world'. A few downs are mentioned, not described. There is a three-minute stretch with no speech. He ends because it got hot, after what he says was a long walk.
On film
We're doing good though the beginning with her is like her nerves are pretty chill out now
She's opened up more
so but actually she's more sensitive to the eco now that she's opened up um i think because she is just a lot more in tune with her environment
she was never like deadly afraid of anything but she was a little yeah it's a little iffy
did a few downs, things like that, but
But, really what I wanted to do was just work on her leash, her yee, I hate saying, leash yielding a little bit more.
Now, when I know I can trust the dog to go a little more into the city, then it's something that I'm like, okay.
only thing is she handles pressure in a way she does still freak out just just like a smidgen um which i don't really want
i could handle that slightly more efficiently by just e-collar only in the moment i just kind of pulled the leash over um not the end of the world
it did get hot but I think we walked for a while
The second owner lesson: the owner takes the leashTurning point
2026-09-20, Sunday morning, outdoors near the owner's home.
The trainer has worked her for twenty to thirty minutes before the owner comes out. He explains that the end of the leash now means the collar to her, so she backs off it at once, and that the radius is the 'more advanced version': a zone she keeps on her own, so that off leash she stays near rather than drifting. In a new area it took three or four reinforcements before she 'snapped into it', which he reads as the knowledge being there and the only question being whether it applies here too. In front of the owner she does not sit for him at first; because of her nerves he resets rather than corrects. He lends the owner his controller - she 'sits on a 40' on it now, higher than when she started, which he puts down to her being more confident - and explains the buttons: the red one jumps about ten levels and is only for a real emergency, vibrate is never used, the black one is the set level, and every press follows a marker except at the edge of the radius and when she pulls at the end of the leash. With the owner handling, Stormi breaks a sit and is put back without being allowed to creep closer, and on a down after the owner's first press she makes a dramatic display that he calls something shepherds do in front of their people; next time, he says, follow through so that screaming does not get her out of the command. Then a very long line is clipped on and left to drag as a trial run of off leash, and she stays by the owner with nothing held. Around this he gives the owner his positions: a dog you can walk matters more than its commands; 'let's go' and 'come' are never interchangeable; sniffing is her reward; regular time around people and dogs keeps her nerves from creeping back; a radius enforced hip-tight would build them back up. In-house work and heel are put off to the next visit.
On film
whenever she feels at least she backs off immediately because she kind of equates like the e-collar feeling because every time she would hit the end i would hit the e-collar
I hit the collar like three or four times, and she like snapped into it immediately
i'm gonna reset here because also because of her nerves i don't want to like build bad like reactions towards so i usually will reset
she actually sits on a 40 which is way higher than when she started but that's because she's a lot more confident now she doesn't feel something and be like oh my god i'm gonna die
the main thing i want to stress is just before you hit that button make sure that you use a marker so you can communicate what you want to the dog
she's a shepherd that's funny so shepherds do this thing okay where they will actually intentionally be dramatic in front of you
i would say next time you use the e-collar you have to double down the reason i say that is she'll start to be like if i scream every time i don't have to do anything
you can see she's sticking by you even with no leash
her nerves are doing really good, but if she doesn't have time to come out here, exercise, be around people and other dogs, eventually she'll start to get kind of sketched out again
when i come back i'll show you how to use the heel how to reinforce the heel
Heel begins, and the stay is testedTurning point
2026-09-21, late morning, a park; the day after the second lesson.
The trainer starts 'the last command', heel, and proofs the ones she already knows. Heel goes in short drills with rest between them, because being held close is intense for any dog and she has nerves; by his account she is learning it fast. Speaking to the owners as likely viewers, he says she is having a hard time with the implied stay after the lesson, and that drilling is already helping. He keeps it strict because she wants to be emotionally attached to him. He explains why she cannot be worked like a typical shepherd: most shepherds turn nerves into reactivity, while she locks up, so he balances the pressure. On the radius she now has a range she keeps, and one tap on a low setting at its edge sets her right - about 22, chosen to avoid a yelp or a lock-up. A down left to her own choice holds until release. She passes a dog she has not seen before with interest, no reaction and an immediate 'let's go', which he reads as a dog managing her nerves. Heat ends it on one more sit, which he uses to try to bait her into reading his body as a release; she holds.
On film
we're gonna start work on the last command And then be like proofing some other commands that she already knows
giving her lots of rest and breaks in between each each like heel session session or like heel drill
stormy's owners probably watching this video and we actually had a session what's today yesterday yeah we had a session yesterday and um she's having a hard time with implied stay but just a little bit of drilling we're doing here it's already making it a whole lot better
but with her she locks up a little bit so i can't do exactly what i would do with a shepherd
she's got her range that she hangs out and like she's about to hit the end of it right here and you can see I tapped the e-collar on the lower stimulation setting and she was like oh my bad right
I think it might turn up about 22 just because I don't want to get a yelp and I don't want her to be uncomfortable and I don't want her to lock up
i gave her a choice i was waiting to see what she was gonna do
she didn't freak out of that dog right now that she hadn't seen reactivity with other dogs but she kind of was like interested but she when I said let's go like she did it she didn't lock up that's all kind of behaviors that you really want to see they tell you that this dog is managing their nerves and actually like choosing to make a good decision
i'm trying to like bait her into like using visual cues to think she can get up
The last park session: heel tightened, and clarity for her nerves
2026-09-23, evening, a park after a day of rain.
Heel is 'looking pretty nice' after only a few sessions, with tightening still to do; he says she knows all her commands and expects this to be her last park outing, with a store next. He keeps her away from droppings so nothing goes wrong a couple of days before she goes home, and checks that her collars are tight enough to work but never choking. With the leash locked at a set length he shows the radius, and admits he 'cheated a little bit' with leash pressure on one 'let's go' - she gave in without a fight. She may sniff freely unless she fixates, when she gets a 'let's go'; a down comes from his body presence over her rather than the leash. Most of the talk is one argument: keeping sit and down distinct gives her clarity, and since nerves come from uncertainty and confusion, clarity is what lets her comply without locking up or freezing. He calls this proofing stage his favourite part - fine-tuning on a foundation already laid - and closes on 'amazing progress'. A store and a bigger field are planned before she goes home.
On film
at this point the heel for stormy is looking pretty nice
um tighten it up of course but she knows all her commands
it's probably gonna be the last time we go out to the park um probably go out to the store with her next time
i made sure that they were like nice like not too tight not too loose he collars tight enough to work but not by any means choking her out
i did do a little leash pressure there so it wasn't a 100 verbal only right there right i cheated a little bit but that was good she gave in she didn't give me any fight
she's still allowed to sniff unless of course i give her a let's go command like right there because she got a little fixated um but assuming she doesn't get fixated she's allowed to sniff
stormy down nope i'm just social pressure so i'm just like kind of exerting a lot of like presence over top her body right there
so we add clarity the nerves actually end up getting a lot better because the dog understands what's to be expected
now we're just proving things with her she knows all the commands hey come on and this is like my favorite part because i just get to like kind of tighten everything up the foundation's already there so i just get to fine-tune everything
he's making amazing progress
The go-home lesson, at homeTurning point
2026-09-27, Sunday morning, at the owner's home and then outside it.
The visit promised at the second lesson - heel and in-house behaviours - and the handover itself: 'she's home today', and the trainer does the in-house work so everything is tight before he leaves her. He tells the owner he no longer sees nerves in her, and restates his model: environmental nerves are taught away, genetic ones managed, and both are doable. Indoors, the family's crate becomes a place spot under the same rules - first reps on leash, then off leash with the handler out of sight; she comes out once and sits on the floor, is put back, and the next rep is good. He explains first-week strictness, correcting a break within seconds, and shortening an exercise after repeated breaks 'to give her a win'. Then sit and down in the house, where she has never had to obey: she runs into the crate, goes between the owner's legs and rolls onto her belly. He reads the roll as submission used to get out of the command and coaches the owner to pull her out of it, close the crate door, be a little authoritative, force some distance, and stay strict, because this 'shepherd testing' goes away fast under strictness and not otherwise. When Stormi gets worked up, the owner waits thirty seconds and is just happy with her. He fits the owner's own clip-style e-collar with the two-finger rule - her usual level on his is about 25, so the owner's starts at 22 - and talks through harnesses, prong collars, slip leads and flat collars. Outside, heel: pressure only when she leaves position, so she learns the no-pressure zone; for her, a little leash pressure first and the collar only if she does not yield; one side; no halfway sits; and never ground for a whole walk, which for her would crank the nerves back up. With the owner's collar turned up to about 30 she heels tightly for him, looser for the owner on a first try in a new area, and he expects a week or two of the owner's tuning to bring it up. He ends: 'that's all the commands really'.
On film
Yeah, she's home today.
she's home yeah that's why I'm doing like the in-house stuff here because I want to make sure everything's like nice and tight before I like leave her here
I I don't see any nerves with her at all anymore
and both are doable the only difference is environmental you just teach them like hey there's no reason to be scared and then they're not scared whereas a genetic one you teach them how to manage the nerves
to anything that's like different from like your average place cop which in that case it is but the rules are the same
she does that and then she comes out and then she's just like sitting on the floor you see
so right now she's using this as like an avoidance thing where she's like oh maybe if i go in the crate i won't have to do it
What she's doing is she's submitting to you because she's like rolling on her belly. And she's like, maybe if I submit, then I won't have to do what she's asking me. So what you do is you just pull her out of that immediately because right now she thinks she's kind of like bypassed it a little bit.
I'm gonna give her just like 30 seconds and just like, just be happy with her.
usually she sits on about like on my e-collar it's about like 25. i don't know how strong this is so we'll do like 22. and then she doesn't listen then you know you can turn it up a little bit
i only apply pressure from the leash or from the e-collar when she gets out of position that way she learns that the no pressure zone
stormy heel okay good job so that's what it should look like right you saw how like tight
give it a week or two when you've tuned it up with her she's like you know used to doing it with you it'll probably look really really good
that's all the commands really
Skills
Leash yielding
How it was taught
Leash held short; she has to respond to pressure immediately; the collar layered in and raised until it registered. From 2026-09-09 the leash is taken out of the commands; at the end of the leash the collar, not a pull. Leash yielding that 'looks nice' is the gate for taking her further into the city.
On film
she's also learning what leash pressure means yep she's given in good job
Yeah, she gives him the least pressure immediately, too.
the reason for that is that she's very sensitized to leash pressure
her nerves are doing a lot better and her leash yielding is pretty nice
only thing is she handles pressure in a way she does still freak out just just like a smidgen
whenever she feels at least she backs off immediately because she kind of equates like the e-collar feeling
That's why, if you ever see, like, how I train, when she hits the end of it, you don't see me, like, trying to pull her back into it. It's always just e-collar tap because that tension encourages a dog to pull more.
Down
How it was taught
A graded blend of physical (leash) pressure, some collar, social pressure and aids, adjusted in small steps; a first all-leash rep produced a yelp and was not repeated in that form. Then conditioned by repetition, which he says her shepherd tolerance allows. For the owner, a pointed hand as a halfway aid only while reinforcing, faded to the word alone within a couple of days of her being home.
On film
the second time where she went into it and did it pretty well that was like 65% physical pressure, 35% mixed with like the eight, right?
so she doesn't love down she doesn't hate it she's just kind of like i don't feel like doing it but within a couple sessions it'll be super tight
because she's a shepherd she has a pretty high tolerance to like command those
hey she's trying to inch over to me
but by the end we don't do that it's just all verbal she's kind of in the phase where like she still needs some visual help but you can see I didn't use any pressure from the leash
it should only be like that when you're like reinforcing so like after a couple days of her being home it should just be like you say it and she goes
stormy down nope i'm just social pressure
And she's a little confused, so why don't you go ahead and give her the release now to let her know, like, this is what I want you to do.
Sit, kept distinct from down
How it was taught
Repetition, then the two positions differentiated; one more sit insisted on before ending. When she breaks: put her back in the same general spot without letting her creep closer, or walk a couple of feet and ask again if she seems confused.
On film
okay good job so i just needed to differentiate the two positions first
so what's interesting is the gravel you'll think a dog knows the community you take them with the gravel and i know that sounds like cope but genuinely like it's a thing
so I'm gonna try to make her sit one more time, just because I don't want to end the session on a note where she feels like, oh, I don't gotta sit, right?
So, put her right back where she was and then tell her to sit again. Now, the important part is that you don't let her, like, itch closer to you.
she just has to know the difference between the two commands it's really important that we differentiate it
that's a halfway we don't do halfways
Release ('okay') and the implied stay
How it was taught
'Okay' taught with no pressure at all, sometimes repeated when the dog is unsure; no 'stay' word; getting up is corrected with a marker and the collar, within seconds. The stay is tested against the handler's own body cues, out of sight, and in the house.
On film
The thing is we don't use pressure at all when we teach you okay, because well, if you you do then you teach them okay means something entirely different
right now because you're talking about the impulse control that's really what I'm working on with her because she'll go into the position of a command but she gets up before I release her
to have them like hold position for like a minute and a half two minutes right now i'm not like making her do that yet
when i was teaching her to sit and to lay down and stuff like that i never said a word for her to get up
she kind of has to just hang out there right until we release her
i'm trying to like bait her into like using visual cues to think she can get up
like in the house she hasn't really had to do any of these commands before so her initial reaction is gonna be like bump that no i'm good
if she breaks it like five times do a shorter one and i say that because you want to give her like a win
Radius
How it was taught
Collar at the end of the leash or past a set point, with no marker - the one exception to the marker rule - so the end of the leash and the stimulation become one thing. Lowered from 25 to 20 in the busy street; about 22 at the edge on 2026-09-21 to avoid a yelp or lock-up; leash locked at a set length on 2026-09-23. Each handler sets her own distance, but a radius enforced hip-tight 'will build nerves back up'.
On film
She gave in to leaf pressure, that's good. The radius isn't amazing yet, but that's okay.
Her radius is not great,
it's actually the only time you can e-collar and not use a marker so if she hits the end of the leash i hit the e-collar and i don't have to marker it
it's holding a good radius for the most part
Yeah, she's doing good on the radius.
you're just gonna like reinforce and they have to be like touching your hip 24 7 or else they're in trouble that will like actually build nerves back up so you do want to give her space to be her
she's got her range that she hangs out and like she's about to hit the end of it right here and you can see I tapped the e-collar on the lower stimulation setting and she was like oh my bad right
i'm gonna lock the leash and so if she'd hit the end i would have just the e-collar
'Let's go' and reactivity
How it was taught
'Let's go' is directional, not a recall. When she fixates, pulls toward, or barks at a dog or a child, she gets 'let's go', and only ignoring that is corrected - never the sight of the dog. The owner is told to use 'let's go' rather than a pull on the leash, and never to use 'come' for a direction.
On film
so she may have not learned her let's
leash right just trying to get closer and closer or like in her case starting to like bark their head off a little bit you give them the let's go and you punish if they don't listen to the let's go
she's more reactive towards dogs i've noticed
oh are you a little fixated on something yeah good job see she just kind of backed off
not using the let's go and then like the recall interchangeably
she didn't freak out of that dog right now that she hadn't seen reactivity with other dogs but she kind of was like interested but she when I said let's go like she did it she didn't lock up
But the long-term benefits from Let's Go are great because you do end up conditioning and making the dog go like, hey, every time I do this, he said, let's go. So like I'm gonna sniff and then we'll keep him moving as opposed to like, I'm gonna sniff and fixate and make him have to come get me.
Recall ('come')
How it was taught
A drag line as the trial stage before real off-leash work - if a dog bolts on it, it is not taken off leash yet. 'Come' kept as the recall, 'let's go' as the direction; off leash only where it is legal or in stores the company is cleared to train in.
On film
I really like when she goes on walks and she smells yeah like around and everything but I just don't like that she doesn't listen when I tell her to come
you don't actually hold anything so it's just a line they kind of drag around so you get to kind of it's almost like uh it lets you kind of have a trial run of if they're gonna act the fool off leash or not
you can see she's sticking by you even with no leash
stormy come here sit nope sit
Heel
How it was taught
Short drills with breaks, because being held close is intense for a dog and she has nerves. Pressure only when she leaves position, so the heel becomes the no-pressure zone; for her, a little leash pressure first and the collar only if she does not yield, with the marker alone sometimes instead of repeated presses. One side; sit when the handler stops; speed matched; no sniffing in heel. Taught last because it rests on everything else; trained rigid because some looseness comes back at home; used for minutes when needed and never ground for a whole walk.
On film
not good at the end but she's not ready for heal yet though not quite
because it can be kind of intense in general for a dog to learn that because it is like oh what's going on right like i have my freedom and he just said this magic word and now he's like making me stick super close
yeah she's learning fast
at this point the heel for stormy is looking pretty nice
stormy heel okay good job so that's what it should look like right you saw how like tight
i think it's that she's done here with me and she hasn't done it with you and so she's kind of like do i have to listen
that's important too that it's got like a designated side because if not it's just like kind of confusing
she's not allowed to sniff it's a very like she has to be alert
Place
How it was taught
Cue and encouragement on 2026-09-03. At the go-home, the same rules on any defined spot: the first reps on leash so that leaving is not an option, then off leash with the handler out of sight; a break corrected within seconds by putting her back.
On film
You have more resistance getting on top than if you were on that floor.
the first three I'm gonna have her on leash because in case she decides to run away I want to show her like hey when I say this this is not an option
she does that and then she comes out and then she's just like sitting on the floor you see
good job come here good job well that's good
Play
How it was taught
Tried, not built; the trainer's reading is that she had not opened up enough.
On film
Oh, she's not, I don't know, I feel like I could bring that drive out.
she's good with uh with personal play so and if it changes it changes but yeah personal play for now but i'm you know i'm gonna talk to the owners
i even had a ball and she was like yeah no i think it was mainly because she's not comfortable yet probably she's probably not opened up enough
I use that as a reward right like whenever she does good I like encourage her like go out sniff something
The owner's handling, and her own e-collar
How it was taught
Buttons one by one (black at the set level; red only for a real emergency; vibrate never); a marker before every press except at the edge of the radius and when she pulls; two fingers flat under the strap but not standing up; start a little below the known level on an unfamiliar unit and raise it if she does not respond. The trainer holds back from correcting so that the owner learns to.
On film
we use this button the black button it's over top the red button it just whatever level is here it just does that
apart from just like the radius and the pulling everything else needs a marker
i think you you understand like how to correct it
you want to make sure that you can fit like two fingers
i have the urge to correct it myself but i'm trying to show you how how to do it because if you don't know how to do it then
How the method adapted
Stormi is a nervous-dog case run by a trainer who says nervous dogs are his speciality, and almost every adaptation is about how much, how fast, and where. Two things pull against each other and are left standing: the physical pressure on her is dosed in five-per-cent steps because she would shut down, while the collar on her first night went to 45 because nothing lower registered. In the second half the same balancing shows in heel (short drills; a little leash pressure before the collar, for her), in resets rather than corrections when her nerves are up, in a radius that must not be hip-tight, and in clarity offered as the treatment for her nerves.
The first outing had no commands in it.
Her nerves were worse than expected, so the aim was exploring and being out of the dog room, plus leash yielding.
On film
i'm not gonna be doing any like fancy commands with her or anything
letting her run around explore do her thing and like just hanging out and uh just being out of the dog room
The radius was started but not enforced, and then postponed - and later, not enforced hip-tight.
She was worked up and it was her first time out with him; later, she had been too shut down for it. Once she had it, the trainer warned the owner that a radius enforced so tightly that she must touch the handler's hip would build her nerves back up.
On film
The radius isn't amazing yet, but that's okay.
She was a little too shut down to do it at first, though. Yeah. So, she's good now.
that will like actually build nerves back up so you do want to give her space to be her
Physical pressure in the down raised by five per cent at a time, never by twenty.
Some dogs give in under a lot of pressure; a nervous dog like her would shut down instead.
On film
Because some dogs, they feel a ton of pressure and they're like, all right, fine, I'll give in. in but for a dog like stormy she's already kind of like nervous if i overwhelm her she'll just shut down
so right so i threw in like five percent more physical pressure in there because she was like not going into it
Not worked like a typical shepherd: she locks up, so the work is balanced.
Most shepherds, he says, turn nerves into reactivity and can be worked and worked; she locks up instead, so the pressure is balanced for her.
On film
but with her she locks up a little bit so i can't do exactly what i would do with a shepherd because some shepherds like you could just work them work and work them she'll lock up so i'm trying to balance it out well for her
A reset, a pause or a release instead of another correction when her nerves are up.
In front of the owner a missed sit got a reset rather than a correction, so as not to build bad reactions; one press that brings a lock-up means move on and come back; worked up at home, she gets thirty seconds of the owner just being happy with her, because a nervous dog who thinks she is in trouble and sees no way out locks up; confused, she is released the moment she gets it right.
On film
i'm gonna reset here because also because of her nerves i don't want to like build bad like reactions towards so i usually will reset
if i hit the button like once and i hate i see her do like a thing and she's like still there i'm like okay she's locked up so we'll like move on for like a couple seconds and then i'll go back and do a sit
I'm gonna give her just like 30 seconds and just like, just be happy with her. just hey that's the big thing about nerves it's just like if you're in like a session like this where you're trying to reinforce it and like she thinks she's in trouble and she feels like there's no resolution she'll get like she'll lock up
A high collar number found on the first night, then the collar barely used; later levels chosen for the calmest reaction.
She did not register about 20 and avoided him. Once she was working, he says she did not yet know the words, so the collar went on very lightly; fixation raises tolerance, so 25; a strong reaction in a busy street, so down to 20. On the walk back he says she is more sensitive to the collar since opening up. At the second lesson he says she now 'sits on a 40', higher than when she started, because she is more confident; the next day he picks about 22 at the radius edge to avoid a yelp or a lock-up; at the go-home her usual level on his collar is about 25, the owner's unfamiliar unit starts at 22 and goes to about 30 outside when she does not respond.
On film
so she's not really registering that e-collar hit at all i'm gonna take it up to about 20 here
So I'm going to e-collar very lightly because she doesn't know the words.
cuz she seems to be like it's more of a fixated mode 25
that level was not high it was on like a 25 so we're going to mark it down to 20 because i don't want that kind of reaction
so but actually she's more sensitive to the eco now that she's opened up
I think it might turn up about 22 just because I don't want to get a yelp and I don't want her to be uncomfortable and I don't want her to lock up
she does not seem to be responding to like the e-collar much so i would turn it up a little bit might be just a weaker e-collar
The leash was taken out of the cue - with one deliberate exception in heel.
She is sensitised to leash pressure, and a dog taught to need it does not know what is wanted off leash - every program is an off-leash program. The trainer flags his own lapses on camera (a leash pulled over on 2026-09-15, 'i cheated a little bit' on 2026-09-23). At the go-home, though, he advises that in heel, because of her nerves and sensitivity, a little leash pressure should come first and the collar only if she does not yield to it.
On film
I actually don't know if you've noticed every command of or anything I've said there I put no leaf pressure on
so I didn't use the leash at all there
like I don't know like I've had it where like I used too much leash pressure took the dog off
i did do a little leash pressure there so it wasn't a 100 verbal only right there right i cheated a little bit
the dog should yield when they hit the end of the leash right or they feel the leash pressure so if everything's in working order i put the pressure on she backs off and she stays in but if i put the pressure on and she doesn't listen then now she's pulling
Heel in short drills, taught last, and never ground.
Being held close is intense for any dog, more so for a nervous one, so heel came in drills with rest between them and only once everything else was in place. Kept in heel for a whole walk, she would get frustrated and lose the exposure that helped her nerves.
On film
giving her lots of rest and breaks in between each each like heel session session or like heel drill
So, yeah, so that's the don't heel grind because for her, it would probably crank up her nerves, right? So if you keep her in this spot the whole time and she's getting frustrated, she's like, why can't I go anywhere? where she's going to be like, should I be scared of everything? And she's not having that exposure like she did have.
Clarity as the treatment for her nerves.
In the last week the trainer explains why he keeps sit and down so distinct: nerves come from uncertainty and confusion, so a dog who knows exactly what each word means can comply without locking up or freezing.
On film
it also creates clarity for the dog right and in stormy's case she's got some nerves right so what fixes nerve right when you think about it like with people what fixes nerves or actually we'll go to the root cause what causes them right uncertainty confusion right those are big two ones
she doesn't have to like worry like oh right there's no locking up or or freezing up it really is just she understands what i want she does it and we have a good walk
Strict with an attached dog; distance forced at home.
She wants to be emotionally attached to the trainer, so he keeps it strict; at home she wants to be pressed against the owner, so the owner is told to force some distance, because on a walk she cannot comply only from the end of the owner's foot.
On film
So I'm being really strict with her because she's very, wants to be really emotionally attached to me.
she's really really close to you which is fine but i want to see how she does if you like walk back for a second just because on a walk that's pretty realistic that she can't be like on like the the the end of your foot or something
making sure that you force some distance so she doesn't learn like hey i can
The reward was searched for rather than assumed: toys failed, personal play worked, and sniffing became the reward he teaches the owner.
No treats on principle; the reward for obedience has to beat the reward for disobedience; her own favourite thing is to sniff.
On film
i don't know if anybody else has played with her like how i because she was so shut down yeah it took a little bit i don't know if anybody else like really has ever done like that high energy personal play with her
the way that I reward her is I let her go and like sniff around
I use that as a reward right like whenever she does good I like encourage her like go out sniff something
Session length set by heat and by her, not the plan.
She gets hot fast; tired, she starts giving in to impulse and the window for new commands closes; and learning a new command tires a dog faster than a walk does.
On film
She's giving in to her impulse a little more now. They're subtle, but I'm noticing them, which means she is getting tired, which means the window for reinforcing newer commands,
with her but I'm be honest it's I think she's already pretty done so it's a fairly hot day so gotta be reasonable
stormy gets hot really fast so i i really haven't been able to do more than 15 minutes with her a day
And of course, when you're like learning a new command, it does tire out the dog at an accelerated rate as if you were to compare it to like a normal walk
Venues chosen for her people problem: downtown Angier, its busy side, and then the owner's own area, with exposure prescribed after go-home.
She has 'weird stuff with people', and downtown makes her be around people and hold it in. At the second lesson the trainer welcomes the people and dogs passing in the owner's area, because her nerves will creep back without regular exposure.
On film
And then we've done a lot of downtown Angier as well, actually. Um, especially cause she's got like some weird stuff with people sometimes like going downtown. It's really good for her.
we're actually going to go and walk over on the busy side of things
she does need to be around other people and around other dogs randomly to like make sure her nerves don't creep back in
Reactivity corrected through the command, never at the trigger.
She is not scared of dogs but not comfortable with them either; a correction at the sight of a dog would teach her that dogs are bad.
On film
in her case I'm not gonna say she's scared of dogs but like she's not entirely comfortable with the idea of other dogs either
barking at a dog just was like hit the e-collar she would learn like oh dogs are bad
What the family was told
The implied stay and the release - no 'stay' word
command because if you if you make stay like a word you teach the dog that like to sit right down or whatever is like a temporary command and it kind of it's very confusing for the dog
stormy down and so she'll hold that position until okay good job
Commands and markers; reinforcement and punishment
two markers that we use right so you have your commands and you have your markers
funny enough that's where most people go wrong in maintaining the training though because they don't know which one is which
and then like a nope is our punishment right
The collar follows the marker - the one thing to keep
the e-collar comes into play so whenever you say one of those markers whether it's the ant or the nope then you use the e-collar you don't ever use the e-collar without a marker
if you can only take away one thing, one thing from this whole thing, it is that you use the e-collar after the marker.
She's like, every time I hear the word sit, then the e-collar hits me.
make a dog scared of grass if you don't know how to use the collar
the main thing i want to stress is just before you hit that button make sure that you use a marker so you can communicate what you want to the dog
apart from just like the radius and the pulling everything else needs a marker
The controller's buttons
don't hit this button the red button will crank it up by like 10.
we don't use this button because if you only use the vibrate on the e-collar the dog eventually learns like there's not really a consequence to their actions
we use this button the black button it's over top the red button it just whatever level is here it just does that
The first week: be deliberate, and be strict
that's really weird but that's how i think for the first like week that's how you should think about
with the dogs tend to take a lot of adjustment time and their training seems very loose and you got to stay really strict with it or else it'll stay loose
then within that week they settle in really well but if you're too loose then the training's never
because the commands like look good but like i said for that first week you have to reinforce everything
sometimes when they come home they do it really well sometimes when they come home you have to teach them the new rules of the house that they thought still had the old rules
When she breaks a position: put her back, quickly, and follow through
So, put her right back where she was and then tell her to sit again. Now, the important part is that you don't let her, like, itch closer to you.
so i would say like reset like maybe walk just like just a couple feet right um because she's probably a little confused right now
i would say next time you use the e-collar you have to double down the reason i say that is she'll start to be like if i scream every time i don't have to do anything
you would need to know has she been out for two minutes because she's been out for two minutes she's gonna be like i don't know what this means versus like if you know she walked out maybe like 15 seconds ago and you go and then you move her back in it's a little bit might click with her better and if you can get in like two seconds that's like perfect
grab her and put her right back where she was before and don't be scared to get just a little authoritative with her
if she breaks it like five times do a shorter one and i say that because you want to give her like a win so it's like but still she still has to play by the rules
When she tests you at home: the crate, the legs, the belly roll
reinforcing it to make your life easier i might just like you know what i'm saying just close the door when you're reinforcing it
So what you do is you just pull her out of that immediately because right now she thinks she's kind of like bypassed it a little bit.
Yeah, no, you didn't hurt her. She's being dramatic.
Yeah, this is very, like, classic, like, Shepard testing. So don't worry. Like, as long as you stay, like, strict with it, but this kind of weird stuff goes away really fast. If you're not strict with it, then it won't go away.
making sure that you force some distance so she doesn't learn like hey i can
When she gets worked up
I'm gonna give her just like 30 seconds and just like, just be happy with her.
so in the house you have to wait for it to be compressed outside is a lot easier actually
Place, on your own crate
you don't necessarily have to like close her off to society you can just put her in there for a little bit she stays in there yeah so the place command you can work exactly the same
the first three I'm gonna have her on leash because in case she decides to run away I want to show her like hey when I say this this is not an option
Equipment
it's like a 40 foot leash that we send everybody to get it's like a long line yeah i got a message with what to get her
there's like a 50 50 on that because some of them the way the clip is it won't actually let the e-collar get tight enough
You know, the e-collar is one of those things where you have to, like, it's not just, like, a be good button.
the e-collar is too loose then obviously it's not gonna be effective if it's too tight then you're gonna choke her out and she's not gonna want to do anything and when you hit the button she'll probably yelp
usually she sits on about like on my e-collar it's about like 25. i don't know how strong this is so we'll do like 22. and then she doesn't listen then you know you can turn it up a little bit
harnesses encourage specifically like pulling which for her she wants to pull already
if you know what you're doing they're the safest and the most effective collar to use as a trainer but you have to know what you're doing
No, the prong, well, the slip lead is like, to me, the second best.
Reactivity: 'let's go', and correct the command, not the dog
if we say come right that's the recall dog comes up to me plops right here and then they wait for me to release them um a let's go is like a directional this way
know that I'm hitting the button she just sees the dog and goes oh man this is bad versus if you do the let's go and correct it then they're focused on the fact that they disobeyed a command not that they got e-collared for for a dog
what i want to get to is where it's like she can she can stare at the dog all she wants she's not like bothering anyone
not using the let's go and then like the recall interchangeably like some people kind of use like both so like maybe they want to like go a direction they're like come and they just start walking this direction and i'm like that is not how you use that command
let's go is like the directional thing and then like the recall is like come
The walk matters more than the commands
most important part of of dog training is like you can teach commands and they're really nice But if you can't walk your dog, like, let's say when you tell them to sit, they sit, right? Or you tell them to down, they down. But whenever you walk them, they pull like nobody's business, and you really can't enjoy your walk at all. You won't really care about the commands.
you can either give her a let's go or you can just pull on the leash i think let's go is more effective because you get to communicate better
Reward: no treats; release to sniff; keep her exercised
we don't train with
So, because they realize, like, the reward for being disobedient is greater than the reward for being obedient.
if you cooped her up in a crate for 12 hours a day and then made her sit and watch tv with you in the evening she would be not happy
I use that as a reward right like whenever she does good I like encourage her like go out sniff something
Keep her around people and dogs
her nerves are doing really good, but if she doesn't have time to come out here, exercise, be around people and other dogs, eventually she'll start to get kind of sketched out again
The radius: hers to keep, but not hip-tight
if I only rely on leash pressure to like get her to be a certain distance from me what happens is when we go off leash there's no way for me to actually like keep her within a certain range
But I would guess probably just because me and you are different people that we're going to hit the button probably at different lengths of distance.
you're just gonna like reinforce and they have to be like touching your hip 24 7 or else they're in trouble that will like actually build nerves back up so you do want to give her space to be her
Off leash: never maintain with the leash; say it once; why it is trained at all
yeah every dog that we train is an off-leash program
good but I also teach the dogs like when they go home don't only use the leash to maintain the command because that's how you mess up the off leash part
say a command I only say the word once and then if they get up don't listen I use the collar you don't ever say the command twice because then you start to confuse them
the main reason that we advertise and that we do the off leash training is if you can get a dog like as a trainer if I can get a dog to listen to me reliably off leash then when I hand the dog to somebody on leash I'm pretty confident they'll listen
Heel: the no-pressure zone, used for minutes, never ground
i only apply pressure from the leash or from the e-collar when she gets out of position that way she learns that the no pressure zone right and when she learns like oh this is like the area where i don't get any pressure this is where i need to be
they'll resort to just like i'm gonna put my dog in heel for 20 minutes whole walk just you just you're gonna stay by me for 20 minutes and that's your walk for the day and what ends up happening the dog gets really frustrated
same thing with heel it's like if you're walking by somebody maybe a dog's being aggressive maybe you're like walking on the edge of the road right you need her to stay really by you then that's perfect you know maybe five to ten minutes
you can just use the marker too sometimes like if you don't want to like continuously e-collar over and over and over especially with a temperament like her
i think she thought i was gonna back off and i didn't that's kind of like a thing that you have to do with dogs though because if not if you back off then you teach them that they're in charge
give it a week or two when you've tuned it up with her she's like you know used to doing it with you it'll probably look really really good
One language for everyone who handles her
as long as you guys are speaking the same language and like obviously with the video so he can like go back and watch everything you're doing
The crate, the socks, and what cannot be promised
she could probably I would say she could probably be off like out of the crate well you're not home I can't promise that
it's kind of hard to discipline a dog to listen when nobody's there
we also train like an out
What progress looks like
when a dog starts sniffing and like doing their thing that means like their nerves are a lot better because they're like willing to be open and explore
like they just don't care and they're magically obedient but it's not really
the knowledge of the command is there the dogs just kind of like do I have to do it here too
In the family's own words
The owner had watched the videos and came with a question from them - why nobody says 'stay'.
On film
that was that was a question because i was looking at the videos and i saw like you guys were just where you would just say you know sit and then you would expect her to stay but in my head i was like don't you have to tell her to stay
Jumping is fine with her if Stormi listens - a choice the trainer offers and she makes.
On film
i don't i don't mind it okay but as long as i can tell her you know yeah you can and she'll listen i think that should be okay
What she wants at the end: the beach without the barking, and parks off leash.
On film
i i really would like that to stop because i want to take her to like the beach
whenever she's trained i wanted to take her to like parks right okay yeah and stuff like that and i want to do it without her on the leash
She reads Stormi turning back to her as checking in, and asks whether that is normal.
On film
i feel like that's her way of checking in
She likes Stormi's sniffing on walks, but not that she does not come when called; and she owns up to using 'come' as a direction.
On film
I really like when she goes on walks and she smells yeah like around and everything but I just don't like that she doesn't listen when I tell her to come
She thinks Stormi knows when she is in trouble.
On film
i feel like she knows though because when i come back out and i look at her she goes in the case
Outcomes
What the trainers reported
Gets commands quicker than most dogs the trainer has worked with.
The trainer to the owner, 2026-09-13
On film
getting the commands probably quicker than most dogs i've ever worked with
Knows every command except heel, at a basic level that is not yet proved or foolproof.
The trainer, 2026-09-09 and 2026-09-13
On film
literally like she knows all the commands except heel like basic understanding we gotta like prove it and stuff
strict with her too because she knows every command minus heel already
The down went from unknown to working in one session - the quickest he has taught in a long time.
The trainer, 2026-09-08
On film
This is the quickest though. I've taught it down in a long time.
Nerves improving: the most open she had been on 2026-09-09; 'a lot better' on 2026-09-15 - with the qualifier, later on the same walk, that pressure still made her react 'just a smidgen'; 'doing really good' on 2026-09-20, as long as she keeps getting time around people and dogs.
The trainer
On film
Today she's, I'd say the most open she'd been
her nerves are doing a lot better and her leash yielding is pretty nice
only thing is she handles pressure in a way she does still freak out just just like a smidgen
her nerves are doing really good, but if she doesn't have time to come out here, exercise, be around people and other dogs, eventually she'll start to get kind of sketched out again
Very walkable; what remains is a little reactivity and overall obedience.
The trainer to the owner, 2026-09-13
On film
but yeah that's uh pretty much it but she's very like actually she's very walkable now
Reactivity better than a week earlier; predicted fixed within a week or less.
The trainer to the owner, 2026-09-13
On film
which that's way better than she was like a week ago she would have been like barking at him and
i would expect i'll probably have her reactivity fixed within like a week like a week or less i think because she's already doing better
The fixation will fade on its own within a couple of sessions.
The trainer, 2026-09-09
On film
I think that within a couple of sessions, the fixation will disappear on its own.
Out of the crate when the owner is home is very possible; when nobody is home, a good chance but no promise.
The trainer to the owner, 2026-09-13
On film
and then there's a pretty good chance that you can leave them home
Doing good on the radius; with Mazi, one of the two easiest dogs in his set.
The trainer to the owner, 2026-09-20
On film
Yeah, she's doing good on the radius.
and then stormy those two they're they're like the the easiest dogs to work with they're just smart
Learning heel fast; by 2026-09-23 it is 'looking pretty nice', she knows all her commands, and she is making 'amazing progress'.
The trainer, 2026-09-21 and 2026-09-23
On film
yeah she's learning fast
at this point the heel for stormy is looking pretty nice
um tighten it up of course but she knows all her commands
he's making amazing progress
At the handover: no nerves he can see, more confidence, no more pulling, and all the commands covered.
The trainer, 2026-09-27
On film
I I don't see any nerves with her at all anymore
Well she has more confidence now too which is really good.
I mean she doesn't pull anymore
that's all the commands really
Her heel with the owner will look really good after a week or two of the owner tuning it.
The trainer to the owner, 2026-09-27 (prediction)
On film
give it a week or two when you've tuned it up with her she's like you know used to doing it with you it'll probably look really really good
What the footage shows
On the trainer's live narration, the down happened on cue during the 2026-09-08 session after a yelp on the first attempt, and was repeated through the rest of it.
On film
Hey, all right, so, a little bit of a dramatic reaction,
but she did not know it down we came out here so it's quite a leap in improvement
At the first owner lesson she went down with no leash pressure and held it until 'okay'.
On film
stormy down and so she'll hold that position until okay good job
so I didn't use the leash at all there
At the first owner lesson she fixated on a passer-by and backed off, and stood next to another dog without sniffing or fuss - both as narrated by the trainer while it happened.
On film
oh are you a little fixated on something yeah good job see she just kind of backed off
didn't even like sniff it or anything she just like kind of stood next to him
Not yet finished at the midpoint: she still looped around the handler, still ignored the radius a little, and yelped when she hit the end of the leash pulling toward her owner.
On film
so the tangling doesn't happen by like the second session she's still doing it because she she's learned to control her impulses enough to not go crazy yeah but not enough to not tangle you
she's like kind of ignoring the radius a little bit
On 2026-09-15 she walked the busy side of downtown and a stranger stopped to talk to the trainer about her; no reaction to him is recorded, and the one reaction in the session is to the collar at about 25.
On film
she's in training just for like high energy and stuff
At the second lesson, on a very long line left to drag with nothing held, she stayed by the owner; with the owner handling, she broke a sit and was reset into it, and made a dramatic display on a down after the owner's first collar press.
On film
you can see she's sticking by you even with no leash
stormy sit there we go
she's a shepherd that's funny so shepherds do this thing okay where they will actually intentionally be dramatic in front of you
On 2026-09-21 she passed a dog she had not seen before with interest and no reaction and moved off on 'let's go'; a down left to her own choice held until release, and a sit held while the trainer tried to bait her up - all on his live narration.
On film
she didn't freak out of that dog right now that she hadn't seen reactivity with other dogs but she kind of was like interested but she when I said let's go like she did it she didn't lock up
i gave her a choice i was waiting to see what she was gonna do
i'm trying to like bait her into like using visual cues to think she can get up
At home on 2026-09-27 she resisted sit and down with the owner - into the crate, between the owner's legs, onto her belly - until the owner pulled her out and released her on the right position; the trainer then said the owner understood how to correct it.
On film
so right now she's using this as like an avoidance thing where she's like oh maybe if i go in the crate i won't have to do it
There's the in between the legs, Shepard move.
i think you you understand like how to correct it
Place on the family's crate: off leash, she came out once and sat on the floor, was put back, and the next rep was good.
On film
she does that and then she comes out and then she's just like sitting on the floor you see
good job come here good job well that's good
Heel at the handover: tight with the trainer after the owner's collar was turned up, looser with the owner, whom she had not heeled for before.
On film
stormy heel okay good job so that's what it should look like right you saw how like tight
i think it's that she's done here with me and she hasn't done it with you and so she's kind of like do i have to listen
She stayed home with the owner from the go-home lesson on 2026-09-27.
On film
Yeah, she's home today.
she's home yeah that's why I'm doing like the in-house stuff here because I want to make sure everything's like nice and tight before I like leave her here
The ideas Stormi's case runs on
- 'Let's go' is not 'Come' - and the recall has an ending
- Breed is a checklist, not a verdict
- Build the handler's timing while it is easy
- Clarity is the kindness
- Command, marker, collar - in that order
- Cue the trigger, correct the command
- Don't accept the almost
- Don't heel grind
- Don't poison the command
- Fit before level: check the tool before you judge the dog
- Fixation is the failure mode
- Freedom is given in measured steps
- Generalisation is the whole job
- Genetic versus environmental nerves
- Give him time to answer
- Heat is a stop sign
- Help it or press it - read which
- Hidden help
- Lifting a thousand pounds
- Maintenance is use, not practice
- Meaningful release
- Opening up
- Pick the place for what it contains - life is the training ground
- Play becomes the reward - and play is a contest
- Pressure, release, reward
- Quit on the good rep
- Reading the dog
- Release to freedom
- Social pressure
- Sticking close is not attachment
- Stop before you shut him down
- Swapped commands: keep sit and down distinct
- The board, the scenes and the grades - and every trainer works every dog
- The camera is part of the method
- The dog is a different dog for his owner - and authority transfers
- The dog tells you the reward
- The dose of a session
- The gear list, and the reasons for each piece
- The handler wears the collar
- The level is not a number
- The radius
- The settling week
- The three stress reducers
- Two events, not one - and what the handler does in between