The answer
Probably not yet, and the way to find out is to take away everything except the word. Between a dog who does not know a command and a dog who owns it there is a long stretch in which something other than the word is doing the work: the hand going to your pocket, the hand moving to the e-collar remote, a point at the floor, the leash, a light tug, a foot on the cot, the ball in view, the fact that you are in the room. Kelton explains it to a family with their own dog (and asks it again of Bandit's sit: the word, or the body language and the lure?): do it fifty times with a treat and the dog sits when you reach into your pocket, and on the day your hands are empty he does not, because 'the first thing in the chain has to be the one that you want to mean something'. So the discipline is on the handler: say the word first, before any movement, and keep your body quiet.
The test is cheap, and it is the same across some seventy dogs. Hands in pockets, say the word once, see what happens: 'it's supposed to be verbal only like my hands in my pockets'. Carry the reward on the far side of your body (Kodak). Take the leash out of it, because a dog trained on leash pressure is lost off leash (Stormi, Mazi, Louie, Chunk). Boog's trainer gives the household reason: most of a dog's life is off leash in the house, so a dog who only listens when he hits the end of the leash 'is gonna be terrible in the house' (watch 16:46); Kane's handler checks it directly, running a recall on leash against the reps without it (watch 02:24). Grade each rep by how much help it needed and do not count a helped one (Sage's six grades, Dolce's count of corrections, Phoebe's redone 'smoke and mirrored' down). Then take yourself out: leave the room, close the door, and check through a window or a door hole (Bullet, Roxy, Bo).
Two things to know before you run it. Help is not cheating: the trainers call it training wheels and say so while using it. And when the last of it comes off, the behaviour usually looks worse before it looks better: ugly, smoother with help, ugly again as help is removed (Kodak, Piglet, Bun). One trainer calls that second ugly stretch an extinction burst, the dog trying the old exits, and warns owners not to read it as harm. What counts as finished is stated in several places and agrees: the word alone, quickly, with no gesture, leash or tool, done several sessions running before go-home, and in the strongest version with the dog looking happy while he does it. A last stage has its own name: a dog can know the word perfectly and still treat it as a suggestion. Until the response is instantaneous and not optional, it is not yet a command.
Angier K9 is a family-owned, play-based Board & Train serving Angier, Raleigh and the Triangle, with three full owner lessons.
What to do
Audit it behaviour by behaviour. Hands in your pockets, stand still, say the word once. If you carry a reward, keep it on the side away from the dog. Take the leash out of it. Then leave the room and check. Expect it to look worse while help comes off, and don't read that as harm. And say the word before you move: 'verbal first … so verbals always' (Kelton, watch 11:50).
What the trainers say
do that 50 times over a couple of days when you go to reach in your pocket they'll sit and then if you're over here and you don't have anything and you're not paying attention
no don't look at me like that uh but yeah so um really the question is do they know the word or do they know something else right
you have to do the first thing in the chain has to be the one that you want to mean something okay right so you have to kind of discipline your body to not do other stuff
that's not good it's supposed to be verbal only like my hands in my pockets I say sit and she's supposed to say you know
with a toy or something like that um if they need guidance every time they don't know how to do the command on their own and that means that they don't know it right
uh didn't use the ball as a lure or anything like that it was in my pocket um uh on the opposite side of my body so if he was looking for the ball he would have come across my body
that would be help because all of those indicate to her that she needs to do the thing And some of those actually guide her into doing this thing.
she knows the word but she's not confident that she knows the word she still needs escape yeah to get on she's not in an avoidance paradigm yet
sometimes it looks ugly at first and then it looks smoother as you add help. And then sometimes you give less help and it looks ugly again,
and it's important that you don't give up at that point or think that you're hurting him or or that, you know, you're scarring him or something like that because really all you're doing is clarifying it
And then you start to slowly remove that help and all of a sudden they look like they don't know it, and it looks terrible, like it looks sloppy.
you just keep doing it until the action gets quicker and quicker and then eventually it becomes instantaneous and then you know they know it
Well and maybe they know what the word means but they don't think that the word has the effect.
I'm going to go out because the boy stares at me, but I'm going to leave my mic right here. Don't. That's not yours. What I worry sometimes is that maybe people listen to you because I'm here. So I want to test that for you. I want to make sure.
I just happen to be looking through the little door hole this time when she went to get off Now she thinks that I'm all seeing just what we want
Now when we go off leash, of course We're not actively like only using leaf pressure Because you can't really go off leash if you use the leaf to
whereas a dog like mozzie i genuinely could if i didn't know what i was doing accidentally train him off leash pressure
because like ideally before they go home it's been verbal only for like the last five to eight
okay again, but I said it first, right? Verbal first.
so i'm not going to teach you a training move at all just to get started with no training would you do it that way or would you you use the training wheels right but then pretty soon what happens you take trainers off
the down command to see if she would work it out um because i really the main thing i wanted to see is like i wanted to test clarity there
what ends up happening is if you train your dog to have to feel like the leash pressure i think i talked about this before then like when he's off the leash just in the house because let's be honest like 99.9 of the time he's in the house i don't think you're gonna be like walking him around in the house like let's go to the table right you're gonna have him off leash so if he kind of learns like oh once I hit the end like I'll like listen that's my punishment yeah then he's gonna be terrible in the house
because if you do want to use the collar primarily because if you only use the pressure from the leash you will end up accidentally teaching chunk like retraining him to listen for least pressure or feel for least pressure and then if the dog operates off least pressure can you have an off-leash dog that listens to the least pressure you really can't
Kane, come. I want to see if on leash matters. So he might be a little dependent on feeling the pressure of the leash.
if you use the leash to encourage a lot of behavior and reinforce what happens is that the dog gets used to the leash pressure right and it becomes like i need my leash pressure to do the right thing which is all cool but we turn all of our dogs to go off leash
Like, she's not depending on me touching those for any of that stuff, so I'll just drop it. But, you know, I can just kind of do it without me having any physical connection to my hand with her. She still pays attention.
he know the word sit or does he know body language um has he been lured into the set
if you just repeat in your mind verbal first verbal first because whatever the first thing
to do this specific command, I need to see the hand go on the controller.
you're doing this kind of stuff anything visual will always override what a dog
and start to remove and fade away the helps um and the helps are like uh the body movements and
there you go it was the leash pressure let's check it out there's no leash pressure
How it looks, dog by dog
Bo
The audit and the absent trainer. On one walk the trainer inventories Bo behaviour by behaviour: loose-leash, sit and down need nothing at all, and place is the one thing still needing negative reinforcement. At the boarding-kennel test he leaves the room, twice, once leaving only his microphone, because he worries people only get compliance while he is there.
On film
but his place caught I was having to work a little bit in the negative reinforcement range there.
What I worry sometimes is that maybe people listen to you because I'm here.
Bubba Gum
The go-home's central warning: markers and releases come before any movement or reach, because 'they track whatever you do first'.
On film
they track whatever you do first.
Bullet
Two sides. The trainer objects to lures because a lured dog stares at the toy instead of attending to his own body, and grants that luring works. And he fades himself: out of the dog's line of sight, out of the building, checking through a window. Bullet passes in one setting and fails the same test in another.
On film
They'll use the toy and the dog's just staring at the toy the whole time,
I'm gonna try going out of his line of sight
Bun
The fading lesson made into a video: a dog who needs guidance every time knows the guidance, not the word, and the only way to 'hands in pockets' verbal fluency is to remove help and let him struggle. Heard on his walk: a command should be verbal-only for several sessions before go-home.
On film
with a toy or something like that um if they need guidance every time they don't know how to do the
because like ideally before they go home it's been verbal only for like the last five to eight
Daisy
A place rep with no leash pressure is taken as proof she knows the word; at Tractor Supply the handler admits guidance is still needed and the aim is full verbal.
On film
pressure on the leash that last one. So that means that she knows the word.
that not terrible just guidance is needed and we want to get it off full verbal
Dolce
Progress counted in corrections: many, then a couple, then none. The way to none is to say the word and wait a second before touching the leash so she can choose right. The bar is no leash needed, tested on purpose with a thrown toy or a toy swung past her face.
On film
so that's how I didn't do any least pressure just said it and gave her a minute to give her a second to kind of process it
So, I did do a little test and she kind of failed it, but understand.
Finn
A dog knows a word when the response has become instantaneous, and only then is correcting a refusal fair. Physically placing him teaches that the position is unavoidable, not what the word means.
On film
you just keep doing it until the action gets quicker and quicker and then eventually it becomes instantaneous
What I'm doing is I'm not doing the butt push to teach the command. That won't teach you anything.
Kane
Every piece of help on the down named and removed in turn to the word alone, and a handler catching his own foot as the help on place. Later, fluency is defined as compliance with no pointing, no pull and no showing, and only then are distractions added. In a protection session near the end of the program the handler suspects the leash on the recall: 'I want to see if on leash matters' - he might be a little dependent on feeling its pressure - so a rep on leash is run against the reps without it.
On film
come place okay we gotta figure out how to get you up here without me putting my foot on it first
without any kind of other cues i don't have to point i don't have to pull on a leash
Kane, come. I want to see if on leash matters. So he might be a little dependent on feeling the pressure of the leash.
Kodak
Two copyable self-checks: the ball in the pocket on the far side of the body, so a dog coming for it would have to cross the handler, and commands spelled aloud so talking about the plan does not cue him. And the clearest account of the extinction burst: ugly, smoother with help, ugly again as help comes off.
On film
uh didn't use the ball as a lure or anything like that it was in my pocket
it can look ugly again after it looked a little smoother due to a kind of extinction burst
Lola
Kelton teaches the family with their other dog, Archie: the treat-reach becomes the cue, so the question is whether the dog knows the word or something else. Her own file adds the later stage: a dog can know what a word means and not believe it has any effect, and once you say 'come' you are committed to backing it.
On film
you have to do the first thing in the chain has to be the one that you want to mean something
So, you can give the choice point and just let her do whatever she's doing. That's totally fine.
Louie
The leash as context rather than as a physical aid: while he could feel the end of the line he listened, and when he could not he ran all over the place. The home session's answer is to do it with no leash on before he goes home.
On film
Louie's not doing his thing where he would listen if he hit the end of the leash But as long as he didn't hit the leash, he was like running all over the place
Lunna
Guidance into the down is named as temporary help, to be faded before the program ends.
On film
isn't her favorite, so we're still guiding a little bit. We're going to fade off that
Madam
The 'first' off-cue down is qualified in the same breath: no physical help, but still a point.
On film
At least it, no physical help. I still had a point.
Marvin (Giant Schnauzer)
At the go-home the down is shown the way it was taught: pushed into position, marked, then the help removed, and the trainer names the help as the negative reinforcement.
On film
removing help okay right removing help because the help comes from the negative reinforcement
Max
At a store, the heel and down are worked without touching the leash, so he stops depending on it; once he knows the command, waiting him out is acceptable.
On film
he doesn't like doing that command so we've been practicing he avoids and he tries to avoid it but i'm not touching the leash
Max (Goldendoodle)
Verbal first: say the word and add the helper after, so the word comes to predict the helper, and test the word alone now and then to see which is doing the work.
On film
okay again, but I said it first, right? Verbal first.
Motion, so I'm just gonna say down a little bit before the hand motion
Mazi
So sensitive to the leash that the trainer says he could accidentally train him off leash pressure, which would break the off-leash promise, so for this dog he avoids leash pressure rather than fading from it. At the first owner lesson the trainer gives the owner the general version: a dog who gets used to leash pressure comes to need it to do the right thing, and since every dog is trained to go off leash, the e-collar, which is always on, carries the reinforcement instead.
On film
whereas a dog like mozzie i genuinely could if i didn't know what i was doing accidentally train him off leash pressure
if you use the leash to encourage a lot of behavior and reinforce what happens is that the dog gets used to the leash pressure right and it becomes like i need my leash pressure to do the right thing which is all cool but we turn all of our dogs to go off leash
so what happens when a dog needs a leash pressure to do a command and you're off leash now you don't have your tool to to work with the dog whereas the e-collar is always on
Neo
A kibble lure and then a finger snap, both helpers to be faded until he goes down on the word. His later handler says food luring has become her preferred way to teach positions.
On film
i'm getting it with just for like the snap and then trying to get where i can just say it
Food luring these days has kind of become my preferred way to teach them.
Peque (PK)
Two coaches found she was answering the leash, not the word, and Kelton made the family's first rule 'verbal first': the word before any movement or flexi pressure, tested with hands in pockets.
On film
so the only big thing is when you said heel she didn't like recognize she didn't look at you at all
verbal first PK come right recall with the voice first right so verbals always
Phoebe
A handler redoes a down she thinks she 'smoke and mirrored', and changes the direction of the pressure so the leash does not become part of the cue.
On film
So I feel like I accidentally smoke and mirrored right there, so I'm gonna do it again. Phoebe.
Piglet
Even slight tension on the line was keeping her close, so the trainer loosened it to see her real choice. At the in-home lesson the family is warned that removing help makes a known skill look sloppy for a while.
On film
extra freedom um and isn't staying close so it was definitely the tension on the line even though it's not a lot
And then you start to slowly remove that help and all of a sudden they look like they don't know it
Reaper
Leash pressure faded to a point, and the point is next to go. The implied stay: he may look but not move.
On film
no leash pressure or anything like that. Just a little point with it. But we're going to be able to get rid of the point pretty soon here.
Roxy
The whole ladder on one household. With Roxy the handler gives up his own pointing because she would learn the point, names the pull-down as 'training wheels', and corrects her from outside a closed door. With Ramsey a junior handler reports 'fully verbal' once place works with no point. The trainer even supplies hidden help on purpose, tapping the collar after each owner command so their word stays true.
On film
I still have to put training wheels on her so I have to pull her down while I say it
place i didn't point i didn't do anything i just said the word so i feel like he's fully verbal now
Yeah. I heard you say and I was like, that's Roxy. So, I tap the eco after you said each time.
Sage
The measuring instrument: every skill graded each session on six steps from 'doesn't know it' to 'verbal and reliable', and anything that indicates or guides counts as help. The stage before ownership is named too: she knows the word but still needs a little pressure, escape rather than avoidance. The finish is the word alone with nothing behind it, and a dog who looks upbeat doing it.
On film
she knows the word but she's not confident that she knows the word she still needs escape
that was it so I didn't have to use the e-collar I didn't have to test the leash or do anything else she did perfectly fine
Sofia
Progress described, in Spanish, as fewer tools in use: hands and leash gone, the collar still on, and the collar itself at the minimum that still works.
On film
mis manos o con este flexi es mejor y tú puedes ver que hay progreso cuando no estás usando todos
Stormi
Every command backed with the collar and voice, not the leash, because the program ends off leash, and the trainer has seen a leash-dependent dog look lost when the leash came off.
On film
Now when we go off leash, of course We're not actively like only using leaf pressure
like I don't know like I've had it where like I used too much leash pressure took the dog off
Teddy
The trainer keeps pointing out the rep that happened with nothing attached: a recall off a bird with no leash tension and no collar, a heel entry with no pressure.
On film
So he was chasing a bird right there. Teddy, sit. Okay. Okay. But he recalled right off of it with no leash tension and no e-collar.
Thumper
A dog following a treat with his face will do anything; that does not translate into a down.
On film
following the treat with his face you could get him to do anything with it
Whiskey
To learn whether she knew the down, the trainer stopped helping: no marker, time and several chances, 'to test clarity'.
On film
the down command to see if she would work it out um because i really the main thing i wanted to see is like i wanted to test clarity there
Zeus
Help graded rep by rep (picked up the line but did nothing with it; then verbal only), and the stage after that named: he knew sit and treated it as optional, and in the heel he knew the position and simply did not want to hold it, which is a reinforcement problem, not a teaching one.
On film
That right there was was verbal only. Um, I didn't have to do much of nothing and he figured it out real quick.
he does know like where it is and he knows he has to stay in it um he just needed some negative reinforcement because he didn't really want to
Boog
At Boog's in-program owner lesson a place rep works, and Connor's first question to the owner is what did the work: did he press the button, or did Boog hit the end of the leash and come back? The owner pressed it. Connor explains why it matters: the dog spends most of his life off leash in the house, so a dog who only listens once he hits the end of the leash will be good on walks and terrible at home.
On film
all right so did you hit it or did did he hit the leash and then come back
what ends up happening is if you train your dog to have to feel like the leash pressure i think i talked about this before then like when he's off the leash just in the house because let's be honest like 99.9 of the time he's in the house i don't think you're gonna be like walking him around in the house like let's go to the table right you're gonna have him off leash so if he kind of learns like oh once I hit the end like I'll like listen that's my punishment yeah then he's gonna be terrible in the house
Chunk
At Chunk's in-program owner lesson the trainer has Chunk on a leash inside the house, and tells the family it is only for now: once the reinforcement is good he can have nothing on him. The collar is meant to carry the command because leash pressure alone would teach Chunk to listen for the leash, and a dog who works off leash pressure cannot be an off-leash dog.
On film
when he first comes home you'll have to reinforce it but then once the reinforcement is good you can start to like can actually just have nothing on him and he'll do it
because if you do want to use the collar primarily because if you only use the pressure from the leash you will end up accidentally teaching chunk like retraining him to listen for least pressure or feel for least pressure and then if the dog operates off least pressure can you have an off-leash dog that listens to the least pressure you really can't
Pepper
On a busy outing late in Pepper's program the trainer checks the leash as help: he touches it, stops touching it, and finally drops it, because she is not depending on it; with no physical connection she still pays attention.
On film
Like, she's not depending on me touching those for any of that stuff, so I'll just drop it. But, you know, I can just kind of do it without me having any physical connection to my hand with her. She still pays attention.
Akira
At Akira's in-person evaluation the trainer explains word order to the family: verbal first, always, because if a hand goes to the pocket before the release word she will start watching for the reach and release on it. On day one the stated aim is the same: soon she will do these off any kind of help.
On film
order you do things so the most important one is always verbal first always verbal first
she's gonna like say i put her in place or i tell her to down and then every time i reach for this
off uh oh off any kind of help so i won't have to use any negative reinforcement yeah out good girl
Apollo (the Bully)
On a store outing Christian proofs Apollo's heel without touching the leash, so that Apollo does not come to rely on feeling the leash for the turns.
On film
boy and again we are gonna practice not touching the leash as well so we're proofing both sides
well so that's really important because he could become reliant simply on healing by feeling that
Apollo (the Sharkie)
Apollo had first learned the trainer's small step back, not the word, as his release. The trainer names it while testing ('he still needs just a little visible aid there') and works to stand stock still; a later session shows the release given with no gesture before the throw, and at go-home the trainer tells the family the word had to be separated from the movement.
On film
So he still needs just a little visible aid there.
Because I want to be able to stand stock still.
it. I didn't even make any physical gestures before throwing it. When I said okay, he jumped
then he would start thinking that me doing this,
Astro
Once leash pressure is gone from Astro's down, the trainer names body language as the help still left and expects a verbal-only down soon. At the go-home lesson he shows the family the same trap with the release: walk away before 'okay' and the dog learns that the walking releases him.
On film
either he still needs a little bit of help with my body language but he's getting there and he's
k right after yeah wrong order wrong order right confusing so then he thinks that the cue for him
Bandit
Kelton gets a sit from Bandit with very little pressure and then asks the question this concept turns on: does he know the word, or the body language and the hand he has been lured with? At an owner lesson he tells the family to say the word with their hands still before showing any hand signal, so it holds when Bandit is off leash and they cannot point.
On film
he know the word sit or does he know body language um has he been lured into the set
that where it's verbal so that if you're over here and he's off leash and you're not able to point
Baxter
In Baxter's first private session the trainer gives the owner a phrase to repeat, 'verbal first', because whatever comes first in the chain is what the dog attaches meaning to; if the throwing hand moves before 'okay', the dog stops caring about the word.
On film
if you just repeat in your mind verbal first verbal first because whatever the first thing
in the chain is that's the thing they attach meaning to so if the first thing in the chain is
Bernie
At Bernie's go-home lesson the trainer calls it the most important thing: say 'okay' before doing anything else, or Bernie will take the turning and walking as the signal. On an earlier walk his down needed 'a couple little guidance things', with the prediction that it would soon need none.
On film
the most important thing is that you say okay first before you do something else because as
and start walking and then say okay then he's going to think that's the signal instead of
reinforcement there just a couple little guidance things so you watch next walk
Callie
On a long-line recall the trainer lets go of the line on purpose, because dogs can see whether the leash is being held.
On film
line mm-hmm see how you doing I'm not holding the leash let's go cuz they know
if you're holding it every time they know they are not dumb they can see if you're away from it
Cosmo
Connor keeps a finger on the e-collar button the whole time so Cosmo cannot learn the hand moving to the remote as the signal, and warns that a tug on the leash with every 'okay' teaches a dog to wait for the tug.
On film
if the dog notices it every single time you touch the collar then if something bad
and not the actual work whereas if I just have my finger here all the time the dog's not
they have to feel a slight leash pull with the okay.
Dory
Working downs in a park, the trainer moves the treat into a closed hand while Dory is not looking before asking again, so the visible food is no longer part of the cue; she downs.
On film
all right i'm gonna put this in my hand while she's not looking i'm gonna try to do another
Drago
Across short clips from one public session the trainer works out that Drago's shaky implied stay was being driven by the leash: Drago had been taught to give to leash pressure, so tension read as a cue to move. With the tension taken off, the stay holds through distance, duration and distraction, and heel entries and exits are then run on a loose leash.
On film
Because he's used to giving to the leash tension because we've taught him about leash pressure.
there you go it was the leash pressure let's check it out there's no leash pressure
And we're gonna do it without tightening the leash
Egg
On a store walk Egg heads for a shopper and turns back on 'Egg, let's go' alone; the trainer points out that he needed no e-collar, flat collar or leash.
On film
running up towards that lady and all i did was say egg let's go i didn't have to use the e-collar
didn't have to use the flat collar the leash or anything like that whoa egg come good boy exit
Hattie
In a short focus session in the sand the trainer is pleased with Hattie's down precisely because it needed no physical pressure and no aids.
On film
I didn't have to put any kind of physical pressure and use any kind of aids. Oh, she lost the sand. She loves the sand
Irwin
Irwin's short skills showcase is run on purpose with no negative reinforcement and as little body language as possible, so the recall, sit, release and redirection are shown on the word.
On film
without having to use any kind of negative reinforcement
and as little body language as possible.
Josephine
During a public sit-and-stay the trainer tells the handler to stop using the leash to manipulate Josephine's position all the time and to steer her with verbal control instead.
On film
leash all the time to manipulate her position constantly all the time as your only methodology
instead just use verbal control as an example just being good girl just been
Kali
At the start of a place session the handler tests Kali's place cue without the step assist that had been helping her (what is stepped on is not said):'I think you can do it without me stepping on it today.'
On film
I think you can do it without me stepping on it today.
Kalypso
Kalypso's lessons come back to the leash three times: the come must be taught so she does not think the leash is part of the command (illustrated with a stick); a short leash can produce a 'fake heel' that is really good loose-leash walking; and on a store proofing walk the flexi is shown loose and unlocked so the heel is verbal.
On film
that the leash is part of the command right so then as an illustration if I
but it's actually a fake heel so it's not the same thing as like the smoke and mirrors but what it is
And this Flexi is loose, it's not locked.
So all of this is verbal.
Lucia
On a focus walk the trainer steers Lucia with 'let's go' so the flexi becomes a prop rather than the thing that keeps stopping her: verbal control in place of the leash.
On film
clean way without me restricting her all the time and that's how we start building verbal control
and that's what makes the flexi and it is the prop instead of something that you're constantly using
Luna
Luna's late sessions treat the leash as the help to remove: everything has to be off verbal or off leash cannot work, leash pressure is taken out and the trainer asks aloud whether a minuscule amount is still there, and at go-home the heel is e-collar only because a heel held by leash pressure is impossible off leash. He also warns the family that any arm motion or posture overrides the word.
On film
has to be off verbal or else off leash does not work because if you're off
i made no pressure there whatsoever is there a minuscule amount maybe we're gonna find that out
you don't which will teach the dog is that the leash pressure is required and when the dog learns
you're doing this kind of stuff anything visual will always override what a dog
Milo
Milo's help into the down is faded a little at a time; for off-leash work the line is dragged rather than the flexi held, because dogs can see the held leash. At go-home the trainer is frank that his downs are better on leash, where he can still be helped.
On film
a little bit less help come on buddy come on find it back we're just laid
straight from the flexi because the flexi you they can see you holding it right um they notice stuff
leash one they it is easier to get them to do it on leash because you can help them a little bit
Murphy
Teaching Murphy's release indoors, the trainer changes where he stands each time, because a dog always released from the same spot starts anticipating and goes before the word.
On film
when you're teaching him inside so you don't want to release him from the same place that
you're standing every time because he'll start anticipating it if i am about this far away or
Penny
Kelton tests Penny's release with his back turned and says aloud when he adds a little body language back. At the mid-program lesson he tells the owners the helps (body movements, physical signals, pressure) have to be faded until both cue and release are verbal only; at go-home he points to the change on film, older clips needing the leash to put her back in heel and newer ones only an e-collar tap.
On film
on. Not quite fully there. Let me help her out a little bit with a little body language. Penny.
and start to remove and fade away the helps um and the helps are like uh the body movements and
the video is older when i have to use the leash to get her back into the heel um you can tell the
Rocky
In a public focus session the trainer is candid about how much help Rocky's heel still needs: with no distractions he comes in on the word, with them the trainer still has to use a little leash.
On film
I still have to use a little bit of leash.
Roofus
Walking Roofus, the trainer avoids the leash on purpose so that everything is done verbally, and names what happens otherwise: people end up relying entirely on the leash.
On film
oh boy i'm avoiding using the leash there because i want to make sure that i can do everything
manipulate that's a very common thing that happens is people become 100 relying on the leash
Savage
Christian works Savage's commands in a busy public spot without touching the leash, adding off-leash-style focus work.
On film
working also on being able to do the commands without me touching the leash so we're adding
Shadow (German Shepherd puppy)
At Shadow's first in-program lesson Connor tells the family to keep a hand on the remote for the whole walk, because a smart dog learns to wait until the hand moves to the controller before she sits.
On film
You want to make sure that while you're walking, you have your hand on it the whole time.
She'll learn that they'll do this thing where if you say sit, they won't do it,
Stormy
Stormy's private lessons teach the owner the order of signals: reach for the pocket before 'yes' and she releases on the reach, because it comes first; walk away from the place cot with 'okay' and the walking becomes the release.
On film
and she comes and gets the treat she's not gonna release from the sit when you say yes okay she's
gonna release from the sit when you reach in your pocket because that's the reward marker for her
because you want to make it very clear that it's not you walking away from the place caught
Thor
Seeing Thor anticipate the release because the trainer always faced him, the trainer releases him while looking away so the word is the release, and proofs the down so a happy face cannot release him. The milestone he celebrates is Thor's first down with no touch and no e-collar.
On film
released him from a different body position not looking at him looking away from him
that his release marker is the only thing that he knows means he can get up not you know a happy
down all right so you can see that was thor's first down without me touching it
Titan
At Titan's in-program lesson Connor tells the family to keep a hand on the controller, or with it in a pocket, so Titan does not learn that he must see the hand go to it; at go-home he asks them to rely on the e-collar about 95% of the time, because leash pressure and off leash cannot coexist.
On film
hands on the controller now, what can happen is that a lot of dogs can learn that for me
to do this specific command, I need to see the hand go on the controller.
95% of the time on the e-collar and the reason that I'm saying that is if you
Wiley
The trainer flags his own mistake on film: he cocked his arm to throw before saying 'okay', putting the movement ahead of the word. Around chickens Wiley's heel is shown on an unlocked flexi, locked only for a correction.
On film
small mistake but nevertheless important i cocked my arm back before i said okay
Those are some baby chickens. I can turn. Follows me in the heel. This is unlocked.
Zeus (March 2026)
At Zeus's first in-program lesson Connor warns against saying the word and then reaching to tap the e-collar: the dog learns the hand on the remote, not the word.
On film
e-collar kind of like this where their dog won't do what they want to do and
right and then the dog starts to learn that like every time your hand is on the
Why it works
Stated: a dog predicts from the earliest reliable signal in a sequence, not the one the handler intended, so the reach, the point, the step away or the leash tension becomes the cue if it comes before the word (Kelton, watch 73:08; Roxy watch 08:23; Bubba Gum watch 11:39). The fix is aimed at the handler: word first, then the helper, so the word comes to predict the helper and can then stand alone (Max watch 12:48; Peque watch 11:50). Learning is described as escape before avoidance: a dog still needing a little pressure knows the word but does not own it (Sage watch 05:29; watch 36:55). Removing the help removes the old solution, so it looks worse before better; the Kodak trainer calls the second ugly stretch an extinction burst (watch 21:56; Piglet watch 64:51; Bun watch 24:23). A lure is said to train the wrong attention, the dog tracking the food rather than his own body (Bullet watch 20:01; Thumper watch 19:51). The leash can become part of the context, so the rule seems to apply only while it is on (Louie watch 08:24; Stormi watch 27:12). Inferred: nobody on film explains why the handler's presence gets filed as part of the rule; the out-of-room tests treat it as fact. And nobody reconciles pushing through the extinction burst with stopping before a dog shuts down (see conflicts).
Where the trainers differ
The ugly stretch when help comes off: push through it, or back off?
One view
It is an extinction burst; quitting there teaches that the old exits work. Add a little pressure to clarify and do not conclude you are hurting him.
On film
and it's important that you don't give up at that point or think that you're hurting him
And then you have to add more reinforcement and you might have to add a little bit more
Another view
With some dogs, pushing risks poisoning the command; stop and come back to it in another context.
On film
I'm not going to go for any more A-T-E-L because I'm going to start recapping that and pushing that again in another play session, not here on the walk. That'll probably just poison it for him.
right there, I'm a little careful because I'm really scared to poison any command with him, especially.
How to read it
Both positions appear with the same dog (Kodak). Which to apply is left to the handler reading the dog.
Fade from the leash, or keep the leash out of the cue from the start?
One view
Teach on the leash and fade it: tiny taps, then none (Kane, Reaper, Max).
On film
job all right so like that time I didn't have to use any like a lot of leaf pressure or anything like that
Like, she's not depending on me touching those for any of that stuff, so I'll just drop it. But, you know, I can just kind of do it without me having any physical connection to my hand with her. She still pays attention.
Kane, come. I want to see if on leash matters. So he might be a little dependent on feeling the pressure of the leash.
Another view
With a very leash-sensitive dog, avoid leash pressure altogether, because the leash can quietly become the cue.
On film
whereas a dog like mozzie i genuinely could if i didn't know what i was doing accidentally train him off leash pressure
if you use the leash to encourage a lot of behavior and reinforce what happens is that the dog gets used to the leash pressure right and it becomes like i need my leash pressure to do the right thing which is all cool but we turn all of our dogs to go off leash
what ends up happening is if you train your dog to have to feel like the leash pressure i think i talked about this before then like when he's off the leash just in the house because let's be honest like 99.9 of the time he's in the house i don't think you're gonna be like walking him around in the house like let's go to the table right you're gonna have him off leash so if he kind of learns like oh once I hit the end like I'll like listen that's my punishment yeah then he's gonna be terrible in the house
because if you do want to use the collar primarily because if you only use the pressure from the leash you will end up accidentally teaching chunk like retraining him to listen for least pressure or feel for least pressure and then if the dog operates off least pressure can you have an off-leash dog that listens to the least pressure you really can't
How to read it
Mazi's own day-one method paired collar and leash (watch 02:08), so the file holds both.
Does every visual aid have to go?
One view
Points and gestures are training wheels to be faded, because the command must be verbal only.
On film
that's not good it's supposed to be verbal only like my hands in my pockets
Another view
Place keeps its point, because the cot moves around the house.
On film
usually those are like visual aids that that we don't use um most of the time when you start training
How to read it
Stated as an exception in the same breath as the rule.
Common owner mistakes
- Reaching for the treat, pointing or stepping away before saying the word.
On film
that then what happens is the dog learns that this is part of the command okay
Deuce · Watch at 18:53 ↗ you have to do the first thing in the chain has to be the one that you want to mean something
Lola · Watch at 1:14:47 ↗ - Maintaining commands with the leash, so they collapse off leash.
On film
like I don't know like I've had it where like I used too much leash pressure took the dog off
Stormi · Watch at 27:12 ↗ what ends up happening is if you train your dog to have to feel like the leash pressure i think i talked about this before then like when he's off the leash just in the house because let's be honest like 99.9 of the time he's in the house i don't think you're gonna be like walking him around in the house like let's go to the table right you're gonna have him off leash so if he kind of learns like oh once I hit the end like I'll like listen that's my punishment yeah then he's gonna be terrible in the house
Boog · Watch at 16:46 ↗ - Saying a command you are not prepared to back up, which teaches that it is optional.
On film
And then if you want to recall, the only thing is if you do say come, got to back it up.
Lola · Watch at 50:49 ↗ - Giving up when the behaviour looks worse as help comes off.
On film
and it's important that you don't give up at that point or think that you're hurting him
Kodak · Watch at 22:21 ↗
Questions owners ask
My dog sits every time. Doesn't that mean he knows it?
Only if nothing else is telling him to. Put your hands in your pockets, stand still and say it once. If your hand usually goes to your pocket first, he may be answering the hand: Kelton's example is a dog who sits every time you reach for a treat and not when your hands are empty.
On film
do that 50 times over a couple of days when you go to reach in your pocket they'll sit
that's not good it's supposed to be verbal only like my hands in my pockets
Is it wrong to help him with the leash or a point?
No. The trainers call help training wheels and use it openly. The rule is to name it, say the word before it so the word comes to predict it, and take it away step by step, grading each rep by how much it needed.
On film
would you do it that way or would you you use the training wheels right but then pretty soon what happens you take trainers off
okay again, but I said it first, right? Verbal first.
When I stopped helping, he got worse. Did I go backwards?
That is the expected shape: ugly, smoother with help, ugly again when help comes off, then smooth. One trainer calls the second ugly stretch an extinction burst, the dog trying old exits, and says not to read it as harm.
On film
sometimes it looks ugly at first and then it looks smoother as you add help.
And then you start to slowly remove that help and all of a sudden they look like they don't know it
He knows the word but only does it when he feels like it. Why?
The trainers treat that as a separate stage: knowing the word is not believing it has an effect. Until the response is quick and not optional, it is a suggestion rather than a command, and the fix is reinforcement, not more teaching.
On film
Well and maybe they know what the word means but they don't think that the word has the effect.
Yeah, because I need to make sure that he um that he sits right away
He's perfect while I'm watching. How do I know he'll hold it when I leave?
Test it the way the trainers do: go into another room and close the door, or out of the building, and watch through a gap or a window; if he breaks, come back and correct.
On film
I'm glad I heard her the first time. Because I went into another room and closed the door.
Oh, he's still in place.
The lesson
The goal
Find out which behaviours are verbal and which still depend on help, and fade the help in order: body, reward, leash, handler.
Learn first
See it done
- Bo: A behaviour-by-behaviour audit on one walk. Watch at 5:24 ↗
- Dolce: Say the word, wait a second, let the dog choose. Watch at 5:38 ↗
- Roxy: Correcting from outside a closed door. Watch at 22:48 ↗
The drill
As run across Bo, Dolce and Roxy: list your dog's commands. For each, hands in pockets, say it once and wait a second; score it (nothing needed, a look, a point, a tug, more). For anything that needed help, say the word first and add the smallest help after it; next session, try the word alone again. For duration commands, leave the room, close the door, and check through a gap; if the dog breaks, come back and reset. Expect a sloppy patch as help comes off.
Watch out for
- Moving before speaking.
- Counting a helped rep as a success.
- Fading the leash last, or never.
- Quitting in the ugly patch.
- Testing only while standing in front of the dog.
Check yourself
Which of your dog's commands work with your hands in your pockets and you out of the room?