The answer
No. On film, intensity is only one of the dials. The other is how long the correction lasts, and most of that length is carried by the handler's voice, not the tool.
Kelton says it in almost the same words to five families. 'I don't only have the option of raising the intensity i can also make it last longer' (Max). 'Punishment's not just about the intensity it can also be about the length' (Rocky). 'Punishment isn't only about intensity ... that's not the only way to increase the severity of it okay right another is duration' (Thor). To Roxy's owners: 'there's more than one way to increase the amount of like uh punishment that you get for it ... they are physical but they are also social.'
What the length consists of is shown on film. There's a tap or a leash pop at the same level as before, then words: 'ah, I said no. Why did you do that? No. You don't do that again.' Then the tone changes: 'I can even change my tone into like a disappointed tone.
Two rules go with it. First, no command straight after the punishment. 'I don't even tell him a command because then it switches ... now his brain switches from i'm being punished to i have to do this thing and then you're using negative reinforcement to keep him there right instead you basically just like let him sit in it' (Thor). Second, don't blunt it with instant praise. 'A lot of times that's a mistake people have make they just kind of like we'll get on them and then immediately go but you're a good boy ... and then that just blunts the whole thing' (Rocky). Then comes the release, 'okay', and they make up, so the dog learns 'don't do that thing again but everything's fine ... they don't hate me now'.
The test of whether it worked isn't whether the dog stopped: 'the message was received not if they stopped doing it okay but if they look like they got punished' (Thor). The lengths named on film run from 'a few seconds' (Rocky, first lesson) to 'maybe 30, 40 seconds' (Max) and about 45 seconds (Rocky, follow-up). The analogies Kelton uses also mark the ceiling: a partner's three-day silent treatment 'would be evil um and completely unhelpful'. Our inference: length is a dial to set, not to maximise, and the release and making up are part of the correction, not an afterthought.
What to do
When you correct, don't reach for a higher level first. Give the same correction, then stay with it for a few seconds in words: firm, then disappointed ('Why did you do that? No.', watch 59:59). Then say 'okay' and make up.
What the trainers say
anything else right um and then even like um if i punish and then uh i want to make it more meaningful i don't only have the option of raising the intensity i can also make it last longer but not raise the intensity
I can tap it at the same level, but then I can drag it out where I can go, ah, I said no.
an event so it's punishment's not just about the intensity it can also be about the length okay
and then the other thing that i did was i made it last a few seconds yeah so a lot of times that's a mistake people have make they just kind of like we'll get on them and then immediately go but you're a good boy did you do and then that just blunts the whole thing right
oh no i let him sit in like discomfort for a second and then i go okay and we reconcile and everything's cool because then he learns okay like don't do that thing again but everything's fine
the only way to increase the severity of it okay right another is duration not duration of holding the e-collar down no just how long does the punishment event take right he has to stay there right right and i don't even tell him a command because then it switches
that might be the problem right so the way that you know that you penalize the dog you know you punish them properly like they the message was received not if they stopped doing it okay but if they look like they got punished
authoritative but what did you notice towards the like last the last few little boops that i did my tone changed i started sounding disappointed
you the opportunity to do exactly what I did that's why I put the leash on because the social pressure afterwards is just as important as using the e-collar
there's more than one way to increase the amount of like uh punishment that you get for it. like to make us feel too light. There's more than one way. So they are physical but they are also social.
How it looks, dog by dog
Max (Goldendoodle)
At Max's go-home lesson, Kelton acts the dial out in his voice as he explains it. There's a tap at the same level, then 'ah, I said no. Why did you do that? No. You don't do that again.' Then the tone shifts to disappointment ('dude, why?') while the dog's eyes go back and forth, and after 'maybe 30, 40 seconds' comes 'okay'. The point is that he doesn't have to tap at a much higher level to make it mean more.
On film
meaningful i don't only have the option of raising the intensity i can also make it last longer
But then I don't have to tap it at a way higher level to make it more meaningful.
Rocky
At the first owner lesson, after a live correction for jumping, Kelton breaks down why it worked: it came right away, it was contingent on what Rocky did so he can avoid it, and 'i made it last a few seconds'. The common mistake is to get on the dog and then immediately say 'good boy', which blunts it. Instead he lets Rocky 'sit in like discomfort for a second', then 'okay', and they reconcile so the dog isn't scared of them. At the follow-up, he gives the owner the same rule for a dog who goes at another dog: pull him off, tap, let him 'sit in it', make it 'an event'. His analogy is a partner's silence, and he adds that three days of it 'would be evil um and completely unhelpful'.
On film
right but did that look meaningful to him yeah it did right because um one it was clear why
and then the other thing that i did was i made it last a few seconds
oh no i let him sit in like discomfort for a second and then i go okay and we reconcile and everything's cool
you tap the e-collar right you go ah you never do that and you tap the e-collar and then you kind of like let him sit in it you let him sit in it
right so like as an example um if someone gave you like say you're like significant other gave you the like silent treatment for like three days which would be evil um and completely unhelpful
Thor
At Thor's go-home, Kelton adds the rule that keeps the length a punishment: no command straight after. A 'sit' or 'down' switches the dog's brain from being punished to doing a job, and then 'you're using negative reinforcement to keep him there'. Instead, let him sit in it and keep talking to him. He also gives the family the test: a punishment is received when the dog looks punished, not just when he stops. Then comes the reconciliation.
On film
them and the second thing that people often don't take into consideration when
right right and i don't even tell him a command because then it switches okay right if i tell a command i say sit or down or whatever now his brain switches from i'm being punished to i have to do this thing
dog you know you punish them properly like they the message was received not if they stopped doing it okay but if they look like they got punished
Sputnik
That social part, he says, will matter more coming from the family member closest to the dog, and it is why he has them keep a leash on: so they can do what he did afterwards, because 'the social pressure afterwards is just as important as using the e-collar'.
On film
like hey you're in trouble don't do that again right um and then they are responsive to tone
authoritative but what did you notice towards the like last the last few little boops that i did
you the opportunity to do exactly what I did that's why I put the leash on because the social
Roxy
At the second owner lesson, Kelton gives the physical and social dials together, using the owners' own experience: one angry sentence is different from being yelled at for 20 seconds, or for two or three minutes. The owner calls the long version 'very disturbing'. In the same breath he adds a note on volume: Christian made him aware that he used to train loudly, so he now trains quietly and keeps loudness in reserve.
On film
there's more than one way to increase the amount of like uh punishment that you get for it.
know I was mad, right? Um there's a big difference between me going like hey
Come here. Yeah. So, one other thing is just like um I uh I used to uh Christian
Why it works
As stated on film: the severity of a punishment event is its intensity multiplied, in effect, by how long it lasts, and the length is mostly social: words, proximity, a disappointed tone (watch 59:27; watch 02:48). Instant praise blunts it (watch 52:05). The release and making up afterwards stop the dog learning to fear the people: 'they don't hate me now ... I shouldn't be scared of them' (watch 52:20). Stated benefit: the same message without raising the level (watch 59:55). Inferred, not stated: the disappointed tone at the end marks the event as closing, so the handler's words say both 'this was wrong' and 'this is over'.
Where the trainers differ
How long?
One view
A few seconds, then 'okay' (Rocky, first lesson).
On film
and then the other thing that i did was i made it last a few seconds
Another view
Around 30 to 45 seconds of talking to the dog before the release (Max; Rocky's follow-up).
On film
And then maybe 30, 40 seconds, and then I go, okay.
right if he was just like ah i'm so angry like right yeah exactly um but if it's like that and then it's like okay now we have like 45 seconds of like don't you ever do that again
How to read it
Same trainer, different dogs and situations. The ceiling is given only by analogy: days of silence would be 'evil' and 'completely unhelpful', and minutes of yelling are 'very disturbing' to a person. No rule is stated for choosing a length.
Common owner mistakes
- Getting on the dog and then immediately praising him, which blunts the correction.
On film
and then the other thing that i did was i made it last a few seconds yeah so a lot of times that's a mistake people have make
Watch at 51:58 ↗ - Giving a command straight after the punishment, which turns it into a job.
On film
right right and i don't even tell him a command because then it switches okay
Watch at 31:17 ↗ - Judging a correction by whether the dog stopped, not whether he looked like he got the message.
On film
and they're like well i don't know he just kept doing it and i was like
Watch at 18:18 ↗ - Reaching for a higher level when the same level held for longer would do.
On film
But then I don't have to tap it at a way higher level to make it more meaningful.
Watch at 59:55 ↗
Questions owners ask
If the correction isn't working, should I turn the collar up?
Not necessarily. Kelton's alternative is the same level, lasting longer: words, then a disappointed tone, then the release.
On film
I can tap it at the same level, but then I can drag it out where I can go, ah, I said no.
Should I ask for a sit after correcting him?
No. A command straight after the punishment switches the dog from being punished to doing a job. Let him 'sit in it', keep talking to him, then release.
On film
right right and i don't even tell him a command because then it switches okay right if i tell a command i say sit or down or whatever
Won't he be scared of me afterwards?
That's what the release and making up are for: 'okay', then everything's fine, so he learns not to do the thing but that nobody hates him.
On film
oh no i let him sit in like discomfort for a second and then i go okay and we reconcile and everything's cool
How do I know the correction worked?
By whether he looks like he got the message, not only whether he stopped.
On film
dog you know you punish them properly like they the message was received not if they stopped doing it okay but if they look like they got punished
The lesson
The goal
Use duration and tone as a second dial on a correction, and close it with a release and reconciliation.
Learn first
The drill
As shown for Max: correction at the working level; then, without raising it, 'ah, I said no. Why did you do that? No. You don't do that again'; shift to a disappointed tone; release with 'okay' (watch 59:59). No instant praise (watch 52:05). Reconcile after the release (52:16).
Watch out for
- Instant 'good boy'.
- A 'sit' straight after.
- Raising the level instead of the length.
- No release or reconciliation.
Check yourself
You've just corrected your dog for jumping on a guest. What do you say in the next ten seconds, and what don't you say?