The answer
First find out which of several different things you are looking at, because the trainers treat them very differently.
A panicking dog can't act. Finn, when he froze, 'would just eat whatever the penalty was … instead of doing anything'. The goal there is to get him from freezing to thinking about what makes the pressure go away. Coco's trainer names the same split: she 'panic avoids as opposed to like double down avoids'.
A dog may not feel it. Before judging the level, Irwin's collar is tightened because 'it's not making' contact. Hattie's trainer reads a big reaction as surprise, not pain: 'if it surprises the dog they may have a bigger reaction even though it's not an increased level'. The level has no fixed number: 'it can change from day to day … it's just how the dog reacts'.
Sensitivity is not resilience. Stormie is 'not super tough' voltage-wise, but in 'resilience of like you can take one and not really care' she needs a couple of taps before she concedes. So the answer is a repeat, not a higher level. Phoebe is the opposite case: 'a little bit of pressure goes a long way', and the risk is locking a nervous dog back up.
The third category, beside knowing and not knowing, is the dog who has learned avoidance as a skill. Luna 'knows how to not do it'; her trainer admits it 'sounds like a really weird copout' and argues it anyway. Stormie 'can but … won't'. The trainers read her tactics as a list: pretend not to know, go slow, yelp, roll onto her belly, 'maybe if i don't look at them … they won't know i'm here'. The family's whole job for the first week is 'not letting her avoid'. The answer is to remove the exit by hand, not to raise the level, and the trainer says 'i don't love doing this part'. Titan's program, by Connor's summary, was mostly this: 'hey i know you know it you're not gonna trick me'. Coco's trainer reads her slow, contested downs the same way five days after calling her a panic avoider: 'she's trying to figure out if i'm gonna make her do it or not the answer is yes i am', and the answer is follow-through until she lies down, then praise. Irwin 'ate' four taps on a recall he had blown off, and the trainer moved to a level he would avoid, because 'if we want him to have a reliable recall he can't just eat the e-collar'.
Some dogs aim the noise at the audience. Stormie yelps and looks pitiful when people are watching and not when it's just the trainer: 'you don't make that noise when it's just me'. So the procedure is to warn the family in advance that she will cry, and to check the dial and the body before believing the scream: 'the color is not even high'. At one handover the trainer points to relaxed ears: 'she's just looking at me like man freak you like that's all it is'.
A test for whether it landed. Two go-home lessons give owners the same check - not whether the dog stopped, but how he looks. Astro's trainer: a dog can stop and still be 'blowing you off', and stopping a serious lunge while still amped up is 'not good enough'. Kelton, at Thor's: owners say they punished the dog while the dog stayed happy, and 'the message was received not if they stopped doing it ... but if they look like they got punished'. Major's trainer adds why a tool fades: a beeper he merely disliked lost to barking he loved - 'that don't do nothing to me' - so the correction has to be at least as strong as what the dog wants.
Inferred, not said in these words: the trainers' safeguard against misreading distress is procedural. Check fit, level and body before deciding the dog is avoiding, and treat a dog who answers pressure with a fight (Deuce's story of another dog) or with panic (Finn, Coco) as a different case entirely.
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What to do
Before you decide he 'doesn't care', check the collar fits and touches skin, and check the level. Then look at his body: panic and freezing mean stop and make it easier; relaxed ears and a slow, sideways refusal mean he is testing. For a dog who needs a couple of prompts, repeat rather than raise. For a dog who avoids, calmly remove the exit and don't give up. Expect a crier to cry in front of you. 'there's no set number it's just how the dog reacts' (Hattie, watch 45:00).
What the trainers say
Yeah, because I can do lots of other stuff through, like, concepts, because one of the things that he struggles with is, um, is that when he freezes and panics like that, all of the thoughts go out the window, and so then I'm asking him to do a thing, and at first he would just eat whatever the penalty was.
so getting him from that place where instead of freezing he goes oh and then like thinks about what to do to make the pressure go away and then goes and does the thing and then he's happy again
like avoidance is kind of but the funny thing is she she panic avoids as opposed to like double down avoids
And he was just eating it for the first four times.
Good job, man. Yeah, if we want him to have a reliable recall he can't just eat the e-collar
arbitrary rule where i like they must always do what i say like sometimes they're not ready for it and if you discern that you need to lay off um but if they know it and they just don't want to do it then that's a completely different story
i have to tap it a couple times because she's a little bit of a voltage wise she's not super tough
Resilience of like you can take one and not really care. I Give her a couple inches like all right fine
yeah i'm like you can do it and she's like i can but i won't
to avoid so they might know what you're asking them to do and they'll still kind of like pretend like they don't know how to do it or they'll like yelp or they'll lay on their belly and try to like submit to not do it
i don't love doing this part it's not my jam but it's what it is so in this case i'm not gonna start with the collar i'm just gonna grab her out of the avoidance part
through your butt in the air um is when there's more people around she'll actually yelp and be dramatic and like try to make people feel bad for her
I know. I feel I feel I'm sorry, but the color is not even high. You're just screaming just because down.
Um, the main thing is that she does uh, you'll hear this term a lot where it's like the dog blows you off. And what that is is like she knows that I want her to come to me, but what she'll do is she'll start and then she's like, I don't really want to do it.
yeah, she won't know." Problem is, she does know. She just doesn't She knows how to not do it.
blowing you off slash avoidance which that's not good that's a lot of what titan's program was about but not so much teaching the command
hands and then for a minute showing him like hey i know you know it you're not gonna trick me to think you don't know you're not gonna like avoid so hard i'm just gonna give up
is that if it surprises the dog they may have a bigger reaction even though it's not an increased level of pain or anything like that
it's too high for that moment right yeah it can change from day to day right there's no set number it's just how the dog reacts right
a little bit of pressure goes a long way um the last thing that you'd want to do is like kind of lock her back up
because if he saw it like he looked for fights. Like, it was the kind of thing where if you told him most dogs, if you're like, "Nope, we're at Like they're like, "Okay, like let me back off."
because Rocco's a really excited dog, and he's a relatively tough dog when it comes to the e-collar, so I don't want him to be desensitized to it, such that it's no longer very effective
don't worry about doing that. Like because who decides how high the e-collar is, you every time. Yep. The dog. That makes me happy that you said the dog.
Coco, right now she thinks avoiding is her best option.
she's trying to figure out if i'm gonna make her do it or not the answer is yes i am she's kind of trying to test see how far i'm willing to go depending on how far she's willing to go right
to stop doing and the punishment didn't land okay or he could stop doing the behavior and the punishment did land and you know the difference between those two by how he looks
care about this no you're gonna run for this right and so after a while he's like man i don't care about that that don't do nothing to me
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
How it looks, dog by dog
Finn
Eating it because he is panicking. When Finn froze, 'all of the thoughts go out the window' and he would 'just eat whatever the penalty was'. The work is getting him from freezing to thinking, so that he figures out what makes the pressure go away, does it, and is happy again. The trainer does a lot of it 'through concepts' rather than pressure.
On film
Yeah, because I can do lots of other stuff through, like, concepts, because one of the things that he struggles with is, um,
so getting him from that place where instead of freezing he goes oh and then
Irwin
Fit first, then the level. Before judging anything, the collar is tightened because it isn't making contact. Irwin blows off a recall and 'ate' four taps, so the trainer moves to a level Irwin will avoid, because a dog who eats the collar will never have a reliable recall. The same session gives the other half. Sometimes a dog is not ready and you lay off, 'but if they know it and they just don't want to do it', and especially if the alternative is biting, that is 'a completely different story'.
On film
nope it needs to be tighter it's not making
Because he definitely blew me off on that recall.
it and if you discern that you need to lay off um but if they know it and they just don't want
Stormie
The fullest case. Sensitivity and resilience are named as two axes: 'not super tough' in voltage, but she needs a couple of taps before conceding, so repeat rather than raise. She 'can but … won't'. The go-home gives the family a checklist of her avoidance tactics and one job for the first week: don't let her avoid. The exit is removed by hand, and the trainer doesn't enjoy it. The yelp is read as aimed at an audience: dramatic when people are around, silent 'when it's just me'. So the family are warned she will cry, a handler checks the dial ('the color is not even high'), and at handover the trainer points to her relaxed ears.
On film
Resilience of like you can take one and not really care.
like but if you didn't know better and you sit down and she just stood there you'd be like this
she's gonna cry and it's open and the thing is it's okay it's just it's part of the rules
won't make me do what i what he wants me to do but you see that like if you look her ears are
Luna
Knows how to not do it. The named form is 'blowing you off': she knows, starts, decides against it and veers away. Her trainer tests the idea against himself: it 'sounds like a really weird copout', like a pianist bragging that he knows how not to play. He argues it anyway.
On film
Um, the main thing is that she does uh, you'll hear this term a lot where it's like the dog blows you off.
how to not do it. That That sounds like a really weird copout to be like, "She
Titan
The program as avoidance work. Connor sums up Titan's program as mostly not teaching commands but showing a dog who knows them that he 'can't trick me' or 'avoid so hard i'm just gonna give up'. The signs are specific: a delayed down, running off instead of downing, turning his back on place. In Coco's session the trainer contrasts Titan's 'double down' avoidance (stay put, have to be moved into position) with Coco's panic avoidance (try to get away). That distinction decides whether pressure is held or taught.
On film
hands and then for a minute showing him like hey i know you know it you're not gonna trick me to
so like he's specifically turned his back to you to me so what does that mean it means he's being
down is like like like I just finished working with Titan where he was a bully
Hattie
Social pressure is enough, and surprise is not pain. For a dog who 'crumples' if she thinks her handler is upset, a soft 'no' does most of the work (Kelton). A big reaction to the collar is read first as surprise, and the level is lowered and compared. At the handover: no set number, just how the dog reacts that day.
On film
that works great not even that hard honestly I don't just mostly just like a soft no
is that if it surprises the dog they may have a bigger reaction even though it's not an increased
Phoebe
The sensitive end. For a nervous, leash-sensitive dog, every form of pressure is turned down on purpose, with much lighter pops than for the household's other dog. The stated risk is not failure but locking her back up.
On film
a little bit of pressure goes a long way um the last thing that you'd want to do is like kind of lock her back up
used to she's gonna be like i don't know what to do she might lock up that kind of thing
Deuce
Correction as a trigger: a warning, not about Deuce. In Deuce's lesson Connor describes a facility dog for whom correction escalated things. Where most dogs back off a 'nope', he 'looked for fights'. That is the precondition the whole marker system rests on. Deuce's own refusals are mild and answered by holding him in place until he does it.
On film
because if he saw it like he looked for fights.
if I had the leash, what I'll do is when they don't listen, I just like hold them in place and I'm like you're not going to move until you do it.
Rocko
A tough, excited dog and the risk of desensitising him (Rocko's session, filed with Kodak's household). The trainer calls level-setting 'always a judgment call' and admits you sometimes get it wrong.
On film
because Rocco's a really excited dog, and he's a relatively tough dog when it comes to the e-collar
So, you know, it's always a judgment call where I'm trying to make sure that I use the right level of negative reinforcement
Louie
A correction word that doesn't bite yet. Louie is 'not really nervous of the word yet', so the punisher word hasn't 'reached its like full power' and conditioning continues. The trainer says he is 'not a huge fan' of the punisher word.
On film
because he's actually not really nervous of the word yet it means that the word doesn't have it's not reached its like full power yet
Roxy
Who sets the level? At the go-home the trainer asks the owners, and is pleased with the answer: the dog.
On film
don't worry about doing that. Like because who decides how high the e-collar is, you every time. Yep. The dog.
Lola
Context changes the dog's price. At the first lesson Kelton points out that 'context changes things … motivation changes things', which is why a correction that works in one place may be 'eaten' in another.
On film
that illustrates how context changes things yeah motivation changes things yeah so you're in the
Coco
On 16 Sep he reads her as a panic avoider rather than a double-down avoider (cited under Titan above), says that right now she thinks avoiding is her best option, and calls the over-and-over reps of a dog not listening because her instinct is to avoid his least favourite part of training, but a much needed one. On 21 Sep the reading has moved: she is testing whether he will make her do it, and how far he will go depending on how far she will go; his answer is yes, he will, and the downs come after repeated cues and praise. The same dog is read two ways five days apart; whether that is a change in the dog or in the reading is not said on film.
On film
but the funny thing is she she panic avoids as opposed to like double down avoids
Coco, right now she thinks avoiding is her best option.
this is probably my least favorite thing to do with training is where you have to rep over and over of a dog not listening because their instinct is to avoid. It's not a very part of the process, but it's a much needed part of the process.
down it down hey down yep down good job that's that avoidance baby that bully breed avoidance that I talk about
she's trying to figure out if i'm gonna make her do it or not the answer is yes i am she's kind of trying to test see how far i'm willing to go depending on how far she's willing to go right
Astro
At Astro's go-home lesson the trainer gives the owners a test for whether a punishment landed: not whether the dog stopped, but how he looks. A dog can stop and still be blowing you off - and if Astro stops a serious bark-and-lunge but is still amped up, that is not good enough.
On film
to stop doing and the punishment didn't land okay or he could stop doing the behavior and the punishment did land and you know the difference between those two by how he looks
it landed right and the first one he's kind of like he's blowing you off he stopped doing it
at people or at dogs and he just kind of stops but he's still like amped up
Major
Major's owner had trained him with a beeper that worked at first and then stopped working. The trainer's explanation: barking at everything going by is something Major loves, so a sound he merely dislikes loses - after a while 'that don't do nothing to me'. The correction has to be at least as strong as what he wants.
On film
so what happened is when you said you had trained him before with the beeper
care about this no you're gonna run for this right and so after a while he's like man i don't care about that that don't do nothing to me
whatever he desires to be as strong as the correction that you give him right or higher
Thor
At Thor's go-home lesson Kelton describes owners who say they punished the dog when the dog stayed happy and kept going: no message came through. The test he gives is the same as Astro's - not whether the dog stopped, but whether he looks like he got punished.
On film
in my mind i'm like and the dog's like still all happy and stuff he didn't get it at all
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
Why it works
Stated: two properties are easily confused, how much a dog must feel to notice and how many times before he concedes (Stormie watch 12:32). Conflating them makes a handler raise the level when a repeat was needed. A panicking dog cannot think, so pressure is absorbed, not answered (Finn watch 44:41). A double-down avoider stays put and must be moved, while a panic avoider tries to escape (Coco/Titan watch 07:29). Avoidance can be a learned skill: the dog knows the answer and has learned that pretending, going slow, yelping or submitting sometimes makes the handler stop (Luna watch 18:35; Stormie watch 23:42). Noise that has made people back off before gets aimed at people (Stormie watch 41:14). Surprise inflates a reaction without more pain (Hattie watch 02:11). An unconditioned punisher word has no power yet (Louie watch). A dog repeatedly 'fed' low stimulation he ignores can desensitise (Rocko watch 11:18). Inferred, not stated: the distinctions are there so escalation is the last thing tried, after fit, clarity, repetition and body-reading, not the first.
Where the trainers differ
Raise the level, or repeat it?
One view
A dog who eats the correction gets a level he will avoid; otherwise the recall is never reliable.
On film
Good job, man. Yeah, if we want him to have a reliable recall he can't just eat the e-collar
whatever he desires to be as strong as the correction that you give him right or higher
Another view
A sensitive dog who needs a couple of prompts gets repeats, not a higher level; for a nervous dog a little pressure goes a long way.
On film
i have to tap it a couple times because she's a little bit of a voltage wise she's not super tough
a little bit of pressure goes a long way
How to read it
Not a contradiction if Stormie's two axes are applied: Irwin's case is read as not feeling it enough to avoid; Stormie's as feeling it and taking time to concede. The files never give an owner a test to tell the two apart beyond the dog's body. Coverage pass (1 Oct): Major's trainer adds a side-A reason - a correction weaker than what the dog wants stops working (watch 00:50).
Reading a cry as tactic, against reading distress honestly.
One view
The cry is not a stop signal for this dog; warn the family, check the dial and the body, and carry on.
On film
she's gonna cry and it's open and the thing is it's okay it's just it's part of the rules
won't make me do what i what he wants me to do but you see that like if you look her ears are
Another view
A dog who freezes, panics or locks up is not avoiding; stop, make it easier, teach through concepts.
On film
Yeah, because I can do lots of other stuff through, like, concepts
used to she's gonna be like i don't know what to do she might lock up that kind of thing
How to read it
The map records this as sitting uncomfortably against dont-force-into-shutdown. The safeguard on film is procedural: check fit and level, compare with and without an audience, read ears and body.
Common owner mistakes
- Raising the level without checking the collar is actually touching.
On film
nope it needs to be tighter it's not making
Irwin · Watch at 2:52 ↗ - Backing off when the dog yelps or looks pitiful in front of you, which teaches the yelp.
On film
through your butt in the air um is when there's more people around she'll actually yelp and be
Stormie · Watch at 41:14 ↗ - Reading every slow or sideways response as 'he doesn't know it'.
On film
like but if you didn't know better and you sit down and she just stood there you'd be like this
Stormie · Watch at 5:03 ↗ - Giving up when the dog out-waits you.
On film
hands and then for a minute showing him like hey i know you know it you're not gonna trick me to
Titan · Watch at 3:53 ↗ - Using a lot of pressure on a nervous dog who needed a little.
On film
a little bit of pressure goes a long way um the last thing that you'd want to do is like kind of lock her back up
Phoebe · Watch at 9:48 ↗
Questions owners ask
My dog ignores the collar. Should I turn it up?
Check the fit first: Irwin's collar wasn't making contact. Then ask whether he isn't feeling it or is feeling it and holding out. Stormie felt it and needed a couple of taps, so the answer was repeating, not raising. There is no set number; it's how the dog reacts that day.
On film
nope it needs to be tighter it's not making
Resilience of like you can take one and not really care.
He clearly knows it. Why won't he do it?
The trainers call it avoidance as a skill: the dog knows and has learned that not doing it sometimes works. Luna 'knows how to not do it'; Stormie 'can but … won't'. The answer on film is calmly removing the exit, not louder commands or a higher level. Coco's trainer puts the dog's side of it plainly: she is testing whether he will make her, and how far he will go.
On film
yeah, she won't know." Problem is, she does know.
i don't love doing this part it's not my jam but it's what it is
she's trying to figure out if i'm gonna make her do it or not the answer is yes i am she's kind of trying to test see how far i'm willing to go depending on how far she's willing to go right
She screams when I correct her. Am I hurting her?
Check first. A handler with Stormie checks the dial ('the color is not even high'), and the trainer points to her relaxed ears as the tell that she is declining, not hurting. Hattie's trainer notes that surprise alone can make a big reaction. If the dog freezes, panics or locks up, that is a different case: stop and make it easier.
On film
I know. I feel I feel I'm sorry, but the color is not even high.
is that if it surprises the dog they may have a bigger reaction
Why does my dog only cry when my family is watching?
Stormie's trainer reads it as aimed at an audience: it has made people back off before. 'You don't make that noise when it's just me.' The family were warned in advance so they wouldn't give in.
On film
said so basically said why are you you don't make that noise when it's just me
My dog freezes and takes the correction without moving. Is that stubbornness?
Not necessarily. Finn froze and panicked, and 'all of the thoughts go out the window'. The work was getting him to think his way out, not more pressure. Coco's trainer calls it panic avoidance, the opposite of Titan's double-down avoidance.
On film
Yeah, because I can do lots of other stuff through, like, concepts
like avoidance is kind of but the funny thing is she she panic avoids
The lesson
The goal
Tell apart a dog who can't feel it, can't act, needs repeats, or is avoiding, and respond to each correctly.
Learn first
- Fit before level: check the tool before you judge the dog
- Help it or press it - read which
- Reading the dog
- Stop before you shut him down
See it done
- Irwin: Fit checked before the level. Watch at 2:52 ↗
- Stormie: Repeat rather than raise. Watch at 12:32 ↗
- Stormie: Removing the avoidance by hand. Watch at 50:31 ↗
The drill
As run with Irwin, Stormie and Titan. Check fit: contacts on skin. Give the command once. If nothing happens, look before acting. Freezing, trembling or trying to flee means stop, make it easier, and come back to it (Finn, Phoebe). Relaxed ears, going slow, looking away, lying on the belly means avoidance: calmly guide the dog through it by hand, and don't give up or repeat the word. If the dog noticed the prompt but held out, repeat the same prompt a couple of times rather than raising it. Afterwards, compare the dog with and without an audience.
Watch out for
- Raising the level before checking fit.
- Backing off at a yelp you haven't checked.
- Escalating on a panicking dog.
- Repeating the verbal command endlessly instead of removing the exit.
- One level for every place and day.
Check yourself
When your dog didn't respond last time, what were his ears and body doing?