Who Tesla is
As the trainers describe her
She had just arrived when first filmed, and came in together with Muna. By his own account, the same trainer gave both dogs the same first-day play test, Muna first.
On film
This is Tesla. So she just got here.
Her and Moon came together. Her and Moona.
I'm doing the same thing I did with muna where i'm just testing kind of what type of game does she like to play
Confident from the start, in the trainer's reading, and more confident than Muna on the same test. She knew straight away that she likes the ball.
On film
now tesla is definitely more confident and like she knew right away she she likes the ball tug
her confidence is higher, so Muna's, we had to, I had to, like, get her to really tug on it a little more
A chaser: catching, chasing and keep-away are her game. A toy dangled in front of her to bite interests her much less.
On film
if i dangle in front of her and like try to get her to bite it not so much but if i throw it in the air she wants to grab it right there
and so like her game is definitely more of the actual chase part of it right
Willing in her first obedience session, 'very eager to please' in the trainer's words, while still testing the edges of place and sit.
On film
You're very eager to please.
Uh-uh-uh, no, I didn't say get off.
The program, stage by stage
Arrival day: finding her game
Her first day ('So she just got here'). No filming date in the title; published 28 September 2026.
The trainer introduces her to camera: she has just arrived, and she came in together with Muna. He runs the same play test he says he had just run with Muna: offer a toy, dangle it, throw it, and see which game she takes up. He reads her as clearly more confident than Muna; she knew straight away that she likes the ball, and her game is catching it, chasing it and keep-away. A toy dangled in front of her to bite interests her much less, but a ball thrown in the air she grabs, plays with and rolls around. For now she is allowed to carry the ball about as her prize. He explains why there is no obedience yet: until the game is solid and her engagement high, obedience pressure risks shutting a dog down. Dogs teach each other through play, he says, so training that copies that is learned faster, the obedience ends up more solid, and the dogs enjoy it. He adds a caution he ties to her breed as he describes it: work that is not done just right can shut a dog's drive down. So on this first day he only encourages her to sniff, walk around and play with him, in short sets with breaks and time back inside to calm down. For the next couple of days the plan is this game only, with 'no big obedience'.
On film
This is Tesla. So she just got here.
I'm doing the same thing I did with muna where i'm just testing kind of what type of game does she like to play
if i dangle in front of her and like try to get her to bite it not so much but if i throw it in the air she wants to grab it right there
so we're gonna let her carry it around for right now because it's kind of like her prize she's running around with it she's having some fun
i don't want to do any obedience or put anything like on it until i know the game is really solid
We want them to use their drive. We want them to have fun. We want them to play because that's how dogs teach each other. They do it through play.
And so like if we can mimic that and do it all through play, the dogs learn a lot faster. The obedience ends up being more solid and they enjoy it, right?
I just want her to have fun I want her to sniff around and I really want her to just play with me
over the next couple days we're going to focus on this we're not going to do anything big no big obedience
Arrival day, last set: the chase becomes a contestTurning point
Later in the same recording, after a break.
After a break she wants the toy more. In the last set she tugged on it and, in the trainer's words, is 'understanding a little more about the competition': she went for the toy before he threw it, pulled it out of his hand and went and got it. He ends the set on that rep so that she comes out ready to compete straight away next time, the same idea he had worked on with Muna, and plans another set. His summary at the end of the recording: she is doing great, and her confidence is right there.
It is the first sign of the contest the trainer set out to build: the chase-and-carry game starts to become pulling against him.
On film
Oh, you want it more now? You took a little break and now you want it more?
Last one, she tugged on it. And so, like, she's understanding a little more about the competition.
she went for it, she didn't wait for me to throw it, she actually like pulled on it and then like pulled it out of my hand and then went and got it, right?
So we're going to end it there, and then when we come back out again for the next round, I want a little more, she should just hopefully be a little more competitive right away
but she's doing great, and her confidence is definitely kind of right there
First obedience session: place, sit and downTurning point
29 September 2026 at 17:58, by the time stamp in the video title; published 30 September.
The trainer opens on camera with 'Tesla training session one', sends her to place and asks for sit and down on it, which she gives at once: 'That works.' For most of the next eight minutes there is very little talk. The trainer's asides ('it's great that you listen') suggest she was holding place while they waited, with one sharp 'Ah, ah, ah!' about five and a half minutes in, when she seems to start to move. The trainer names what is coming: 'a lot of things', door manners among them. Just before the eight-minute mark she gets off without being released and is stopped at once: 'no, I didn't say get off.' The last two minutes are sit and down where she stands: repeated sits, a plain 'No' when she breaks or pulls away, 'Just sit right where you are', an 'Okay' to release her, then a down. The trainer's verdict: 'You're very eager to please.' How long the place hold really lasted cannot be told from the sound alone.
The work moves from play to obedience.
On film
Tesla training session one. Tesla, place. Sit. And down. That works.
I mean, it's great that you listen,
Ah, ah, ah!
We'll be working on a few things. A lot of things. We'll work on door manners.
Uh-uh-uh, no, I didn't say get off.
No, don't pull away and sit. Just sit right where you are.
Okay. All right, all right, that's enough.
You're very eager to please.
Skills
Play: finding the game she wants
How it was taught
The same test the trainer had run with Muna: offer the toy, dangle it, throw it, and watch which version she takes up.
On film
I'm doing the same thing I did with muna where i'm just testing kind of what type of game does she like to play
if i dangle in front of her and like try to get her to bite it not so much but if i throw it in the air she wants to grab it right there
and so like her game is definitely more of the actual chase part of it right
Tug: competing for the ball
How it was taught
Short sets with breaks: more ball, try to get her to tug a little more, a break, again. The game he is building towards is pull on the tug part, let her possess it, let go, and play again. The set ends on the more competitive rep.
On film
build a little more competition with it again a little more like i want to be able to pull on the tug part with the ball and have her possess it a little bit and then and then release it and then like play the game again
i'm going to do a little more ball and try to get her to tug a little bit more on it
she went for it, she didn't wait for me to throw it, she actually like pulled on it and then like pulled it out of my hand and then went and got it, right?
So she got a little more competitive with it.
Place: going to place, taking sit and down on it, and staying until released
How it was taught
Cue place, then sit and down on it, and wait. When she starts to move, a sharp 'Ah, ah, ah!' or 'Uh-uh-uh'. She comes off only on the trainer's word.
On film
Tesla training session one. Tesla, place. Sit. And down. That works.
I mean, it's great that you listen,
Ah, ah, ah!
Uh-uh-uh, no, I didn't say get off.
Sit and down where she stands
How it was taught
Repeated 'Sit'; a plain 'No' when she breaks or pulls away; 'There we go' when she holds; 'Okay' as the release.
On film
Sit. Down.
There we go. Sit.
No, don't pull away and sit. Just sit right where you are.
Okay. All right, all right, that's enough.
That's it, you can just, like, all right, down.
You're very eager to please.
How the method adapted
Both recordings follow the house order of work: find the dog's game first, obedience after. What was adjusted for Tesla is the reading of her. Because she arrived confident and keen to chase, the trainer expected to bring the play into obedience sooner than with Muna, while still letting her show when she was ready.
Her game was picked from what she showed: the thrown ball and the chase, not a toy dangled for her to bite.
The first-day test exists to find which game a dog likes before anything is built on it. Hers was the chase.
On film
if i dangle in front of her and like try to get her to bite it not so much but if i throw it in the air she wants to grab it right there
and so like her game is definitely more of the actual chase part of it right
She got the ball as her prize to carry before any contest for it.
For now, the trainer says, running about with it is part of her having fun. The contest for it comes next.
On film
so we're gonna let her carry it around for right now because it's kind of like her prize she's running around with it she's having some fun
Play only at first, with no obedience pressure.
Pressure applied too early can shut a dog down. The trainer also names a caution he ties to her breed as he describes it: work that is not done just right can shut a dog's drive down. So on the first day he only encourages her.
On film
because you don't want to add pressure of any type of obedience too early because then you can accidentally shut the dog down
you don't do it just right sometimes you can accidentally shut their drives like down and like suppress the drives so that's why I like right now I'm just encouraging
Expected to move faster than Muna, but at her own pace.
Because she already wants to chase, the trainer reads her confidence as higher and expects her to catch on faster, so the play can be used for obedience sooner. He still waits for the dog to show she is ready, because it is easy to suppress something by not watching what a dog wants or needs to do.
On film
with Tesla here, she wants to chase the ball already, she wants to do those things, and so, like, with that, her confidence is already a little higher, and so she should catch on to it a little faster
we kind of let the dog show us when they're ready for those things
we don't accidentally suppress anything right it's really easy to do that if you if you're not paying attention to what the dog really wants to do or like needs to do right
Short sets, and the last one ends on the better rep.
Sets with breaks and time inside to calm down keep the game fresh; ending on the rep where she pulled the toy out of his hand is meant to have her competing straight away next time.
On film
give her a couple another break and then do it again and then and then she and then she want to go back inside like calm down and like relax and we're going to do a couple more sets
So we're going to end it there, and then when we come back out again for the next round, I want a little more, she should just hopefully be a little more competitive right away
In her first obedience session the release belongs to the trainer.
Said to her directly: she comes off place when told, not before, and a sit is taken where she is, not after pulling away.
On film
Uh-uh-uh, no, I didn't say get off.
No, don't pull away and sit. Just sit right where you are.
Outcomes
What the trainers reported
More confident than Muna on the same first-day test, and sure from the start that she likes the ball.
The day-one trainer, on her arrival day
On film
now tesla is definitely more confident and like she knew right away she she likes the ball tug
More competitive by the end of the first day: she tugged, went for the toy before the throw and pulled it from his hand.
The day-one trainer, recapping the last set
On film
Last one, she tugged on it. And so, like, she's understanding a little more about the competition.
So she got a little more competitive with it.
Doing great, with her confidence right there.
The day-one trainer, closing the recording
On film
but she's doing great, and her confidence is definitely kind of right there
Very eager to please.
The trainer in her first numbered obedience session, 29 September 2026
On film
You're very eager to please.
What the footage shows
Her arrival day is play only: the toy test, short sets with breaks, and a stated plan of no obedience for the next couple of days.
On film
I'm doing the same thing I did with muna where i'm just testing kind of what type of game does she like to play
over the next couple days we're going to focus on this we're not going to do anything big no big obedience
In her first numbered obedience session she takes place, sit and down at once, is stopped when she leaves place without a release, and works sit and down where she stands until released.
On film
Tesla training session one. Tesla, place. Sit. And down. That works.
Uh-uh-uh, no, I didn't say get off.
No, don't pull away and sit. Just sit right where you are.
Okay. All right, all right, that's enough.
The ideas Tesla's case runs on
- Assess before you ask
- Breed is a checklist, not a verdict
- Don't accept the almost
- Evaluate, cooperate, socialise, fulfil - then authority
- Meaningful release
- Play becomes the reward - and play is a contest
- Quit on the good rep
- Reading the dog
- Start with freedom
- Stop before you shut him down
- The dog tells you the reward
- The dose of a session
- The marker vocabulary: eh, good, okay - and two corrections