The answer
It lasts if it is used, and the trainers are plain that the using is the owner's job. The program builds the baseline; 'transferring it over is going to be more up to you guys repeating that'. What the owner is asked to do is not drills. One trainer rejects forty-five minutes of daily practice outright - 'bro what was the point of this program again' - and another says 'you don't need to do drills yeah you just need to live take him on walks and play with them and have him in a house with you'. The instruction is to use the commands in the day's ordinary moments, the doors and gates and walks that happen anyway, and back them up when the dog tests.
What has to continue is enforcement. 'Depending how strict you are is how tight they behave': whatever the household stops reinforcing, the dog drops, and a dog who finds out once that something works starts trying it. The trainers use the same picture with several families: a new engine still needs its oil changed. 'If you don't reinforce the commands and penalize the things you don't like then they will come back yeah and the commands will weaken.' A short program is not a cure for a long habit - a year of the same habit, or a lifetime of reacting - and dogs test new owners in the first week home: 'They're trying to see if you're going to be as strict as we are' (Madam).
The newest go-home lessons say more than 'it holds'. Used properly, the trainers say, the commands keep improving after the dog goes home: 'if for some reason i ran into you guys a year from now it should actually be tighter than it was with me'. Properly means 'with the right word order with the right emotional affect depending on the context', with reward and pressure each used when they are best for the dog. And a command the family rarely needs still gets a small dose - 'just do like 10 15 seconds of it' on an ordinary walk - because a word nobody asks for is the one the dog forgets.
The record shows what happens when it stops. A dog back for a refresher after ten months is 'like a clean slate', though the trainer adds that feeling the collar again often brings it back. A refresher dog 'knows everything' but has decided the rules no longer apply. A dog asked to face his fear again after time away is 'day one all over again'. And the trainers say it of their own dogs: 'dog trainers dogs don't get trained as often'.
A wider reading of the session notes finds the same handover message at twenty-three more dogs' lessons. Several put the owner's role in one line: 'It's just a matter of you becoming the dog trainer now' (Clark Kent); 'this isn't a finished product', because 'he's a dog not a robot' (Drago); a follow-up is 'not so much for shadow but it's more so for you' (Shadow the husky). Penny's owner says it himself: remembering what goes first is the owner's responsibility, and 'it's perishable otherwise it just goes away'. The trainers also shape the method to what a household can keep up: food rewards would mean carrying a treat pouch all day (Josephine), and Shadow the German Shepherd puppy was trained around sniffing and rubs rather than long tug sessions most families won't do. And decay is shown in plain cases: a client who stopped using heel for a month and a half, and 'the dog just forgot how to do it' (Dory); a dog who hasn't been to a store for a month walks in excited again - 'the best dogs in the world will have that issue' (Max).
The program ends with an offer of help, not a certificate: reach out early, 'the faster you reach out and ask the better things will go', and a refresher stay if needed. Where the trainers disagree is how much structure to hand over. Some reject a practice schedule; others prescribe one - walks a day, an outing a week, homework three times a day for a week. Inferred, not stated: that ordinary use is enough for every dog. The prescribed schedules appear with nervous or reactive dogs, which may be the difference; one trainer also gives age and breed as a reason, saying a young Labrador's training 'can like get lost really fast' without daily use until he is about two.
Angier K9 is a family-owned, play-based Board & Train serving Angier, Raleigh and the Triangle, with three full owner lessons.
What to do
Use the commands every day in ordinary moments - doors, gates, walks, meals - rather than setting aside drill time. Back every command up the way you were shown, especially in the first week home when the dog tests you. Don't let breaks slide and don't mix in other methods. Give even a command you rarely need a few seconds on an ordinary walk, so the word stays alive. If your trainer gave your dog a schedule (walks, weekly outings, homework), keep to it. Ask for help early, and say 'I need help'.
What the trainers say
by using it not by like alright so if you want to maintain your dog training you must do 45 minutes of drills every day you'd be like bro what was the point of this program again like that that's a lot right we only do that for personal trainers
just use it just use it so take them on walks on a regular basis um use it in the house just use Use all the commands, use the communication tools we've given you, and use them however you need to use them, right?
he will live within in that that rule set whatever you put in there right so you can maintain it as tight as you want
you don't need to do drills yeah you just need to live take him on walks and play with them and have him in a house with you
to do is use it properly if you know how to use it properly it will never go away
that doesn't mean yeah that he can't revert to the old behaviors if it's not maintained properly
what life should be right and that that's my job part is getting that baseline where it's like hey he has that base for everything and now transferring it over is going to be more up to you guys repeating that
so if i show duchess like hey we gotta do it exactly this way and that's how it is with me but then she's looser with you guys because she's gonna test you for that like first week she's home whatever you don't reinforce
but it's similar to like a truck. You buy a truck, it's got a new engine, you still got to change your oil, right? Um, and if you've never driven a car before, you buy a car, you still got to learn how to drive it and you're probably going to struggle a little bit.
so if you don't reinforce the commands and penalize the things you don't like then they will come back yeah and the commands will weaken
Imagine having the same habit every single day for 365 days.
way but it does um because she was only with us for four weeks it's not enough to completely
So, think about it in terms of like a battery. Okay. That has to be charged on a regular basis. However, the how regular of a basis is decided by by him
like a clean slate with her a lot of her training wasn't maintained um so
if anything comes up at all the faster you reach out and ask the better things will go because I can't I can't help you but I don't know
this is the kind of thing that you maintain through use you use the command and you use them properly use it with the right word order with the right emotional affect depending on the context
Like, you just decided to drill them one day, which I wouldn't do. Just do it organically, right? That's all you got to do to maintain it.
if for some reason i ran into you guys a year from now it should actually be tighter than it was with me
the important thing is that you still may be on a walk right just do like 10 15 seconds of it
labs in particular if you don't maintain the training like every day until they're about two it can like get lost really fast once they're two and it's set in it's actually really good
you got to make them right um because otherwise it becomes optional
improving their training right because they can get better when they go home they don't have to stay at the same place or regress
most of the time um they feel the stimulation once and that's all you need to refresh them right but if you don't keep it up then obviously they start acting out
Eso es como tú puedes usar los juegos para entrenar y mantener estos mandos.
It's just a matter of you becoming the dog trainer now. You were in charge and proofing that over the rest of Clark Kent's life.
have to do like 30 minutes of drills every day like ew um no not necessary just use the training properly
And you just integrate random little challenges every once in a while, and that will maintain the training better than anything else
i think the dog never comes back perfect until you reinforce it right because it it has to carry over
you got to maintain it though or else if you don't it's only gonna get worse
if i give you a fully charged phone battery um you can use the phone for a while but if you don't put it on the charger it gets weaker and weaker and weaker and then it dies
How it looks, dog by dog
Zeus
Zeus's lessons carry the clearest statement of the idea and its opposite. Kelton rejects a daily drill obligation at the first owner lesson; at go-home the owner is told to just use it - walks, the house, all the commands - and that the dog will live within whatever rule set she keeps, as tight as she wants. The handover ends with a standing offer - reach out early, the same number for problems and for a refresher stay - and a return date.
On film
by using it not by like alright so if you want to maintain your dog training you must do 45 minutes of drills every day
So, what I typically do I get about 5 chances to practice it every day.
he will behave whichever way you expect him to, right? So if you enforce something and you're like, nah, we're not doing this, or you allow something, like, yeah, that's totally fine.
please reach out if you need anything okay you guys reach out to the same number right same number yep and if you need uh at any point for him to come stay for a refresher same number everything's that number
King
At King's go-home Kelton uses a battery: a correction has to be recharged regularly, and the dog decides how regularly. A look that is followed by nothing ten times in two weeks stops meaning anything, as with children. The trainer's advice for King is fewer passes, because he learns fast and will learn the loophole fast; and he admits giving his own dog passes he should not. Used in daily life, the training does not fade - it improves and fits the family.
On film
So, like if you tell your kids like one, two, three, or you just give them a look and then they go back and do it again and nothing happens, right?
but with him i probably would err on the side of less passes um just because he tends to if he's if he he learns quick
because I do it unfortunately like I sometimes even do it with my dog I get her a pass and I shouldn't
Right. If they use it, the dog won't lose it at all. Right. They'll keep it and it'll improve over time
Dutchess
Dutchess's family gets the decay model as a rule rather than a warning: how strict the household is, is how tight she will be; she will test them in her first week home; and whatever they do not reinforce disappears. The same file gives how a behaviour arrives - it worked once in a while and got labelled as available - which is why the correction has to be every single time.
On film
so if i show duchess like hey we gotta do it exactly this way and that's how it is with me but then she's looser with you guys
happened is like it happened once in a while and then it kind of got labeled in her mind it's like
i punish the behavior with each dollar so you guys have to do it every single time and she tries to
Roxy
Roxy and Ramsey's lessons put practice inside the household's life: the competition is life, how often is up to the owners, and ten minutes of backyard drills followed by nothing all day is 'very narrow'. The oil-change picture appears with a second half - you still have to learn to drive the car. The marker 'will die a horrible death' if it is not backed up. The handover warns the dogs take about a week to settle at home, and ends with an instruction on asking for help: text early, and say 'I need help', not 'you guys'.
On film
because they're not training for competition. They're training for being a dog in your house.
Uh, how often? That's up to you. Um, because what makes the most difference is using them in an actual life situation
It will die a horrible death. They will think it does not mean anything.
it's about a week it takes them to like simmer down like there's like a where they're like kind of worked up there's a transitionary period
the sooner you send us a text about like something you need help with. Um, and the more I need help, you phrase it, not you guys.
Lola
Lola's family is given the oil-change contract in its plainest form: stop reinforcing the commands and penalising what you do not want, and the old behaviour comes back and the commands weaken. The trainer adds one more condition: mixing in other training methods, because then nobody can tell what the dog is responding to. The owners say it back: the program taught them what to do so as not to mess it up.
On film
so if you don't reinforce the commands and penalize the things you don't like then they will come back yeah and the commands will weaken
you start like blending other things with the training then we're like we don't know what's going on in their head
so you teaching us what to do to not mess it up that's the idea so helpful yeah yeah good i did i trust the process
Max (Goldendoodle)
Max's go-home opens and closes on the engine: the program installs it, the owner changes the oil. The trainer's condition is understanding - if you know how it works you can maintain it, and if you use it properly it will never go away - with the honest limit that he can revert if it is not maintained.
On film
understand how it works then you can maintain it if you don't understand how
that doesn't mean yeah that he can't revert to the old behaviors if it's not maintained properly
Change the oil.
Marvin (Giant Schnauzer)
At Marvin's go-home the maintenance instruction is to live with him - walks, play, the house - not drills.
On film
you don't need to do drills yeah you just need to live take him on walks and play with them and have him in a house with you
Thor
Thor is the case of it happening, in the trainers' words, about a month after going home. At the refresher he 'knows everything', but he has decided the rules of the game no longer apply, and the implied stay just needs kicking back in. At the refresher drop-off the family is told dogs test like this all the time - even during training - and to keep the remote in a pocket for the first week back.
On film
Yeah, so really, he knows everything. It just needs to get reinforced pretty well,
he just thinks that right now he doesn't have to listen to the rules of the game
that happens all the time yeah that even happens while i'm training
the first week they're back just keep it in your pocket
Reba
The trainer's assessment is that her training was not maintained - 'like a clean slate' - and in the same session that dogs who feel the collar again after a long gap often remember it all.
On film
like a clean slate with her a lot of her training wasn't maintained um so
so the first normally what happens is when dogs feel it again for the first time in a long time they're like oh it's like everything comes flooding back into their mind and they remember
Thumper
At a follow-up on the owner's land, the four-wheeler that Thumper had learned to ride is 'day one all over again', and the trainer generalises: the further a dog gets from the program without practice, the less likely the command. The owner's account of the same fact: each bad moment resets it. His recall, practised at home, is good.
On film
physically put him up there it was like day one all over again because he absolutely did not want
but once he gets one of those yeah but that like resets every time that resets
such a good boy have you been practicing his recall oh good yeah i can tell a lot
Fiona
Refresher stays are offered for exactly this.
On film
14 days isn't going to change that habit completely, right?
staring at them yeah well that's because you're here she's behaving the teacher's way yeah
can do it. And so now we have to bring her back to baseline and be like, nope, you can't get off of
We do refreshers and we do train her the whole week.
Peque (PK)
PK's adopters are told four weeks is not enough to erase a habit, that the corrections have to be constant because the reactivity is a habit, and that without continued practice she will revert. Unlike the no-drills households, they get a schedule: homework about three times a day for the next week, and a meet-up at the park where the trainers train.
On film
middle, I'm not sure if he like corrected that because this is something that has to be constant.
i mean she had it good with me but you know sometimes if you don't continue to put it in practice for sure she'll um she'll revert
Yeah, the command should be non-negotiable and you should follow through.
Apollo (the Bully)
For a formerly nervous dog, Christian prescribes outings as maintenance: a few walks a day and at least one busy outing a week, because a month without them would probably bring the nerves back and the first busy outing after the gap could find him reactive. The heel itself needs only a couple of minutes every couple of walks.
On film
and so maintenance wise like you know once he comes home um he should have a few walks a day and like to keep his socialization up at least at least one outing a week
right but say he went like a month without going in yeah his nerves would probably come back a little bit
this is something that I will randomly practice, like, every couple walks, I'll do a couple minutes a heel
Louie
The trainer draws the line between his job and the family's: he builds the baseline, and the daily repetition that transfers it is theirs. Where he sees problems after go-home, it is usually a break in continuity - a random daycare for a week - rather than who keeps the dog.
On film
what life should be right and that that's my job part is getting that baseline
When I see problems, it's usually, like, they go home,
Major
At a follow-up the owner is told reactivity may need keeping up on a regular basis - possibly for good.
On film
this is something that you might have to keep up with on a regular basis
Zuri-chan
The trainer says it of his own dog without defending it: dog trainers' dogs do not get trained as often; she chases squirrels now in a way she did not when her training was fresh; and he never taught her an entry. In September 2026 the same is said of Reba, the household's other staff dog, on a walk with Zuri: Reba knows sit but is out of practice because nobody asks her for it, and the remedy is a tune-up through use rather than reteaching.
On film
you know how it is dog trainers dogs don't get trained as often as
You know how it is, dog train is dog, you don't get trained as often as the dogs they're training is.
i never i never taught her an entry oh no not originally i mean that was a few years ago
she knows it but she's probably like nah she doesn't get asked to sit that often so she's just out of practice
Louie
At Louie's handover to his new owner the known commands are listed plainly - sit, down, heel, come - so he knows the vocabulary he is inheriting. The list leaves out place, 'let's go', the radius and the release word, all of which the program built.
On film
He knows sit, he knows down, he knows heel, he knows come.
Wiley
Wiley's down at every door, where the crowding with his housemates happens, doubles as the daily maintenance of the down.
On film
then we should easily be able to use the condition punisher, do an emergency down, right?
Bandit
At the go-home lesson the trainer sums up what is left as upkeep: the training is good, and the owner's part is keeping it up so the dog does not slack - the word first, then the collar, and if the dog does not do it, make him, because otherwise the command becomes optional. The owner ends Part 2 saying he will do great as long as the trainer thinks he can keep up with it; the trainer's answer is to watch the videos and reach out.
On film
the training's great he's doing good i mean more or less it's just keeping it up and make sure and he doesn't slack on it
you got to make them right um because otherwise it becomes optional
Definitely watch through the videos if you have any thoughts.
Beo
Narrating a session to camera, the trainer frames go-home as the start of further improvement, not a plateau: a dog does not have to stay where he was at pick-up or regress, and the owner can take the commands further if they understand the ideas behind them.
On film
improving their training right because they can get better when they go home they don't have to stay at the same place or regress they can get better you can improve their commands you can prove them further you the owner can do that if you understand all of this
Boog
In program, a dog who still tries the table at mealtimes keeps the rule only while the family keeps enforcing it - give him an inch and he takes more. At go-home he prescribes a small dose of a command the family will rarely need: ten or fifteen seconds of heel on an ordinary walk, because a word nobody asks for for months is a word the dog no longer answers. He tells it as a story about another client's smart dog who was 'really rusty' on a heel she had stopped using. He adds an age rule for this breed: a Labrador's training is not set until about two, so it needs daily use until then.
On film
with the table thing a lot of this too is like how you maintain it right
he's gonna start jumping on the table again because if you give him an inch
the important thing is that you still may be on a walk right just do like 10 15 seconds of it
when you go and say that word he's gonna be like dog i don't know what that means and i'm not gonna do it
labs in particular if you don't maintain the training like every day until they're about two it can like get lost really fast
Bun
On a long park walk the trainer, talking to camera, states the maintenance rule in full: it is kept by use, not practice - the commands used properly, in the right word order, with the emotional tone the moment calls for, and with positive and negative reinforcement each used when it is effective and best for the dog. Done that way, he says, it holds over the long term and the dog can be trusted.
On film
this is the kind of thing that you maintain through use you use the command and you use them properly use it with the right word order with the right emotional affect depending on the context
and you use both positive and negative reinforcement when it's called for when it will be good right when it's effective and it's the best thing for the dog at that moment
Chunk
At the go-home lesson Chunk's heel is already a little looser with one owner than the other, and the trainer's answer is practice by both. His claim goes further than holding steady: if the family does everything right, the heel should be tighter a year from now than it was with him - the way a speech given every week for years ends up as easy as taking a breath.
On film
the more both of you do it the more tighter it gets
if for some reason i ran into you guys a year from now it should actually be tighter than it was with me
but if you gave the speech like once a week for three years at some point giving that speech would just be like taking a breath
Hattie
Hattie's follow-up visit, after her adoption and prompted by the family's trouble with their cat, turns maintenance into a reporting loop. Between now and the next visit the family runs the first stage of the plan themselves and texts the trainer how it went - what they saw, what they used and what each attempt did - and then keeps it up as needed.
On film
what we could do is like between now and then you do what i was describing right and then you text us follow up on like how it went
let me know. And then maintain that as necessary.
Kali
At an in-program lesson for Kali and Kane the trainer tells the family not to drill. A dog that seems done after a run of commands is usually a dog someone decided to drill that day, which he would not do; doing it organically is all it takes to maintain it.
On film
Like, you just decided to drill them one day, which I wouldn't do. Just do it organically, right? That's all you got to do to maintain it.
Lunna
Lunna is back after go-home for what the trainer calls a refresher, holding place while the trainer works at the desk. The trainer's account is the quick-recovery side of the refresher question: most of the time a dog feels the stimulation once and that is all it takes - but if it is not kept up at home, the dog starts acting out again.
On film
hello i'm here with luna chanel she's here for our refresher program
most of the time um they feel the stimulation once and that's all you need to refresh them right but if you don't keep it up then obviously they start acting out they're like kids
Pepper
At the second in-program lesson the trainer points to the patterns Pepper has on her own street. The rules she walks by there are the ones to keep reinforcing, because a route she walks every day builds whatever pattern the walk allows.
On film
those are things you want to like keep reinforcing for like around here right because again if she walks around here every day yeah and she builds a new pattern well that's gonna be her pattern
Sofia
Kelton's second in-program lesson with Sofia's family, held in Spanish, closes on maintenance. Ball games are shown as a way to train and keep the commands - 'Eso es como tú puedes usar los juegos para entrenar y mantener estos mandos' (that is how you can use games to train and maintain these commands) - and he asks for the family's questions on keeping the commands once she is home: '¿Tienen más preguntas sobre cómo mantener estos mandos, los mandos cuando ella regresa?' (any more questions about how to maintain these commands when she comes back?).
On film
Eso es como tú puedes usar los juegos para entrenar y mantener estos mandos.
¿Tienen más preguntas sobre cómo mantener estos mandos, los mandos cuando ella regresa?
Stormi
Stormi's file has both halves of the handover. A week before go-home the trainer says her nerves are doing well but will drift back without regular time out among people and dogs - the outings schedule other formerly nervous dogs were given. At go-home he holds back from fixing a loose rep himself because the owner has to learn to do it, and frames the first weeks home as re-teaching the house rules: some dogs come home doing it all, others assume the old rules still apply.
On film
her nerves are doing really good, but if she doesn't have time to come out here, exercise, be around people and other dogs, eventually she'll start to get kind of sketched out again
i have the urge to correct it myself but i'm trying to show you how how to do it because if you don't know how to do it
sometimes when they come home you have to teach them the new rules of the house that they thought still had the old rules
Akira
Not a map member; added from the session notes. At the evaluation the trainer heads off the homework question before it is asked: the best way to train a dog and to keep the training is to take her on walks and use it; thirty minutes of drills a day is 'not necessary'.
On film
i think that the best way to one train a dog and number two maintain the dog's training is really just two things take them on walks and use the training
have to do like 30 minutes of drills every day like ew um no not necessary just use the training properly
Apollo (the Sharkie)
Not a map member; added from the session notes. Near the end of his stay the trainer tells camera that what is left is maintaining it and using it every day; at the go-home he names his two ways of maintaining training - play and walks.
On film
so all that's going to be left is just maintaining it and using it every day
so the two ways i maintain the training are either playing or walking those are my two primary ones
Astro
Not a map member; added from the session notes. At Astro's go-home the trainer uses the battery picture: a fully charged phone works for a while, but never put on the charger it gets weaker and dies - the owner ends up saying 'uh' more and more while the dog goes right back to it.
On film
if i give you a fully charged phone battery um you can use the phone for a while but if you don't put it on the charger it gets weaker and weaker and weaker and then it dies
Bernie
Not a map member; added from the session notes. At the second go-home lesson the trainer asks to book a quick follow-up, because questions always come up, and the sooner they are dealt with the easier it is for the family to keep the result rather than see it fade.
On film
Because the quicker that I get it out of the way, the easier it is for you guys to maintain it and keep things nice for like forever, instead of it just being like, okay, like he was doing good for like a minute and then like it kind of died.
Bo
Not a map member; added from the session notes. On a store outing the trainer tells Bo's owner why the lessons are recorded: this is not a car that just works after the shop, unless you skip the oil - and unlike a car, he has feelings and needs to be understood.
On film
this is not like a car where if we tune it up and take it to the repair shop and then it just works unless uh unless you don't put oil in it right um so it's the same thing here um but unlike a car he has feelings and emotions
Clark Kent
Not a map member; added from the session notes. The trainer describes training as two steps - teach the dog, then teach the owners to keep reinforcing until it is habit - and closes the go-home video by handing the job over for the rest of Clark Kent's life.
On film
Step two, we hand it back to its owners, and we teach the owners how to continue reinforcing the things that the dog has already learned so they become habitual.
It's just a matter of you becoming the dog trainer now. You were in charge and proofing that over the rest of Clark Kent's life.
Dory
Not a map member; added from the session notes. An owner session is spent on using the markers correctly so the family can maintain it, with the warning that Dory will try more with them than with the trainer. In a private lesson the trainer tells of a client whose dog forgot heel after a month and a half without it.
On film
this session is just using the markers correctly that way you can maintain the training properly so like now that now that she knows you're handling her she's probably gonna try a little more stuff than with me
she looked at me and she's like what's heel so she just like forgot about it and didn't use it for like a month and a half and then like the dog just forgot how to do it
Drago
Not a map member; added from the session notes. Drago's go-home video gives maintenance as its 'last and very important point', and the go-home lesson tells the family he is not a finished product, because he is a dog, not a robot.
On film
So, last and very important point is that we also have to understand how to maintain these commands, right?
like look this isn't a finished product yeah exactly right because he's a dog not a robot
Josephine
Not a map member; added from the session notes. At the go-home lesson Kelton gives maintenance as one reason he does not build the program on food: at home the family would have to carry a treat pouch all day, which is hard to get people to keep doing.
On film
and so then they get back home and then i have to look you and at you and go all right so here's what you got to do you got to get a treat pouch and you got to carry food with you 24 7
Kodak
Not a map member; added from the session notes. At the Kodak and Rocko go-home Kelton names the family's interrupter as 'item number one' and 'a pass or fail': if it is not backed up when it needs to be, it will fail.
On film
ah yeah yeah that is probably going to be item number one that will be a pass or fail for this
like isn't backed up by anything when it needs to be
Levi
Not a map member; added from the session notes. At a private lesson Connor tells the family to be really strict when Levi comes home, because letting things slide teaches him he is 'back home with mom' and can be bad again.
On film
Like when he comes home though, so like really use the collar and to be really strict with everything. So like, for example, um, some people will kind of start to let stuff slide.
But what's happening with that is that, yeah, he's learning. It's like, I'm back home with mom.
Madam
Not a map member; added from the session notes. Madam's owner is shown how to keep all her commands going through play, and at the go-home lesson is warned about the first week: dogs test whether you will be as strict as the trainers were.
On film
Yeah, the biggest thing, too, is, like, when they go home, there's a lot of testing that goes on. They're trying to see if you're going to be as strict as we are.
i kind of want to go over how to maintain all of her commands in the play
Max
Not a map member; added from the session notes. At the evaluations Max's owner is told the first couple of weeks home matter most, and that regular outings with distraction keep the training up, because a dog who has not been to a store for a month walks in excited again.
On film
the transition you'll have to use it like this to reinforce like those first couple weeks are most important right you'll have to reinforce these things in the house and out of the house
any uh extra distraction that can regularly be done is always best um because basically like you know say it goes a month and he hasn't gone to a store right
Milo
Not a map member; added from the session notes. The go-home lesson for Milo and Josi is laid out as maintenance: how to keep loose-leash walking, sit, down and place going by building them into daily life rather than training sessions.
On film
how to integrate some training into their daily life so that it's not something that you're doing uh that you're training the dogs on your own right it's but it's something where you're introducing like maintenance stuff into it
Murphy
Not a map member; added from the session notes. At the go-home the trainer asks the family to switch the door routine from a sit to a down 'for maintenance', since a down is asked for less often in daily life; his fuller reasoning is on uncertain audio and is not quoted.
On film
switch to it down yeah i normally use down mostly just because um for maintenance
Oscar
Not a map member; added from the session notes. At the go-home the family is told Oscar's recall will keep improving if they maintain it: he should get better, not worse, and that depends on them.
On film
but you'll have to maintain it and it'll keep improving right
it's not going to be as good as it will be for the rest of his life right he should get better not worse but that's going to be dependent on you guys
Penny
Not a map member; added from the session notes. Kelton frames a mid-program lesson as giving the owners 'a clear idea of how to maintain it', and at the go-home Penny's owner says it himself: it is the owner's responsibility to remember the order, and the skill is perishable.
On film
i'll show you a couple of things that we've been working on and how to do it and that way you'll have a clear idea of how to maintain it
thing is again it's their responsibility the owner to like remember the you know what goes first and when and how to maintain everything and how to do everything it's perishable otherwise it just goes away
Phoebe
Not a map member; added from the session notes. At Phoebe's go-home Kelton tells the family the big thing is to stay on top of the pulling, because over time she will work out what she can get away with.
On film
yeah she has a tendency but yeah the big thing is just staying like on top of that so like over time if you don't like she'll kind of like figure out what you can get away with
Rocky
Not a map member; added from the session notes. At an in-program lesson the trainer rejects drill homework for Rocky's family: work random little challenges into ordinary outings and play, make them progressively harder as in the gym, and the training will improve rather than atrophy.
On film
And you just integrate random little challenges every once in a while, and that will maintain the training better than anything else
if you do that on a regular basis instead of his training atrophying it will will improve over time
Samson
Not a map member; added from the session notes. At Samson's go-home the owner is told the commands stay good only if the collar keeps backing them, and that his guarding has improved but 'has to be maintained' - punished whenever he starts it.
On film
If you want to keep his commands good, you'll need to use an e-powder.
He's gotten much better, but it has to be maintained if you want to keep it that way.
Shadow (German Shepherd puppy)
Not a map member; added from the session notes. Connor trains Shadow in a way the family can keep up - sniffing and rubs rather than long tug sessions - and at the handover warns that she is in a good spot at eight months, but without maintenance it only gets worse, especially as a Shepherd reaches adolescence.
On film
i also try to train the dogs in a way where i know that it'll work with a person's lifestyle
you got to maintain it though or else if you don't it's only gonna get worse
Shadow (Siberian Husky)
Not a map member; added from the session notes. At a follow-up with the owners the trainer says the session is less for Shadow than for them, so that they can maintain the training.
On film
so mainly what this session is for is actually not so much for shadow but it's more so for you too yeah so so we can't so you guys can learn how to maintain the training
Titan
Not a map member; added from the session notes. At Titan's go-home Connor tells the family that no dog comes back perfect until the owners reinforce it, and with Titan's temperament a lot will not carry over unless they do.
On film
i think the dog never comes back perfect until you reinforce it right because it it has to carry over but him especially if you do not reinforce it there's gonna be a lot of stuff that doesn't carry over
Why it works
The stated mechanism is that the dog lives inside whatever rules are actually enforced: 'he will live within in that that rule set whatever you put in there' (watch 58:51); 'depending how strict you are is how tight they behave' (watch 15:17). A behaviour that succeeds once becomes available to the dog (watch 15:53), and a warning that is not followed through stops meaning anything - the battery (watch 28:24). Decay is described as distance from the program without practice (watch 03:21), and a short program cannot outweigh a long habit (watch 01:39). The trainers also say recovery can be quick: a refreshed dog 'knows everything' (watch 01:12), and a dog feeling the collar after a long gap often remembers (watch 06:41). A route walked every day writes its own pattern - 'if she walks around here every day yeah and she builds a new pattern well that's gonna be her pattern' (watch 24:23) - and a dog coming home may assume the old house rules still apply until he is taught otherwise (watch 25:11). The trainers also give a reason use improves a skill rather than only keeping it: repetition makes it automatic, like a speech given every week for years (watch 29:43). Inferred, not stated: why use rather than drills is sufficient. The trainers assert that a command used in real life improves (watch 03:28; watch 29:16), but the speech is an analogy, and the record has no follow-up comparing households that drilled with households that did not. Coverage pass (1 Oct 2026): the battery picture recurs at Astro's go-home - a fully charged phone never put on the charger gets weaker and dies (watch 21:47) - and Rocky's trainer says a skill made progressively harder on ordinary outings will improve over time instead of atrophying (watch 48:01).
On film
he will live within in that that rule set whatever you put in there right so you can maintain it as tight as you want
the less likely they are to do the command if you don't practice it constantly so me having to like
those are things you want to like keep reinforcing for like around here right because again if she walks around here every day yeah and she builds a new pattern well that's gonna be her pattern
but if you gave the speech like once a week for three years at some point giving that speech would just be like taking a breath
Where the trainers differ
No practice schedule, or a prescribed one?
One view
No drills: just use the commands in daily life; how often is up to you.
On film
by using it not by like alright so if you want to maintain your dog training you must do 45 minutes of drills every day
you don't need to do drills yeah you just need to live take him on walks and play with them and have him in a house with you
Uh, how often? That's up to you.
Like, you just decided to drill them one day, which I wouldn't do. Just do it organically, right? That's all you got to do to maintain it.
this is the kind of thing that you maintain through use you use the command and you use them properly
Another view
A schedule: a few walks a day and at least one busy outing a week; homework three times a day for the next week; follow-up handler sessions.
On film
and so maintenance wise like you know once he comes home um he should have a few walks a day and like to keep his socialization up at least at least one outing a week
We have to continue to work with her, guide her, properly help her to understand that what she's doing is not okay.
the important thing is that you still may be on a walk right just do like 10 15 seconds of it
labs in particular if you don't maintain the training like every day until they're about two it can like get lost really fast
her nerves are doing really good, but if she doesn't have time to come out here, exercise, be around people and other dogs, eventually she'll start to get kind of sketched out again
How to read it
The schedules appear with formerly nervous or reactive dogs and short programs (Apollo, PK, Fiona), which may explain the difference. The record does not say so.
After a long gap - start over, or it comes back?
One view
Start over: 'like a clean slate'; 'day one all over again'.
On film
like a clean slate with her a lot of her training wasn't maintained um so
physically put him up there it was like day one all over again because he absolutely did not want
when you go and say that word he's gonna be like dog i don't know what that means and i'm not gonna do it
Another view
It comes back quickly: he 'knows everything', it just needs reinforcing; dogs feeling the collar again often remember everything.
On film
Yeah, so really, he knows everything. It just needs to get reinforced pretty well,
so the first normally what happens is when dogs feel it again for the first time in a long time
most of the time um they feel the stimulation once and that's all you need to refresh them right
How to read it
Both are said in Reba's single session. They may describe different skills (obedience comes back; fear work does not) - Thumper's 'day one' is about a feared vehicle - but the record does not draw that line.
How strict is strict enough?
One view
Every single time; no passes, especially with a quick learner.
On film
i punish the behavior with each dollar so you guys have to do it every single time and she tries to
like i don't give him any passes on getting up from the down don't give him any passes
you got to make them right um because otherwise it becomes optional
he's gonna start jumping on the table again because if you give him an inch
Another view
The household sets the standard it wants - 'as tight as you want' - and trainers admit to giving their own dogs passes.
On film
he will live within in that that rule set whatever you put in there right so you can maintain it as tight as you want
because I do it unfortunately like I sometimes even do it with my dog I get her a pass and I shouldn't
Common owner mistakes
- Treating maintenance as a drill session, then asking nothing of the dog the rest of the day.
On film
say that um you did what I just said versus every day you uh in the morning you take them outside for 10 minutes and do drills out in the backyard and then take them back inside and don't ask them to do anything else the rest of the day. Right? That's very narrow.
Roxy · Watch at 39:42 ↗ Like, you just decided to drill them one day, which I wouldn't do.
Kali · Watch at 47:30 ↗ - Being looser than the trainer in the first week home, when the dog is testing.
On film
so if i show duchess like hey we gotta do it exactly this way and that's how it is with me but then she's looser with you guys
Dutchess · Watch at 15:17 ↗ - Warning without following through, until the warning means nothing.
On film
So, like if you tell your kids like one, two, three, or you just give them a look and then they go back and do it again and nothing happens, right?
King · Watch at 28:45 ↗ It will die a horrible death. They will think it does not mean anything.
Roxy · Watch at 1:01:24 ↗ you got to make them right um because otherwise it becomes optional
Bandit · Watch at 7:24 ↗ - Letting breaks slide - an implied stay that ends when the dog decides.
On film
People just need to be like very careful, like for instance, if your sit has an implied say, if they do an implied say for 30 seconds and they get up before you say okay, you're like, eh, whatever, it's all good. You're starting to generalize more of these behaviors.
Roxy · Watch at 39:52 ↗ - Blending in other training methods after the program.
On film
you start like blending other things with the training then we're like we don't know what's going on in their head
Lola · Watch at 17:29 ↗ - Stopping the outings that kept a nervous dog comfortable.
On film
right but say he went like a month without going in yeah his nerves would probably come back a little bit
Apollo (the Bully) · Watch at 9:34 ↗ - Waiting too long to ask for help.
On film
if anything comes up at all the faster you reach out and ask the better things will go
Zeus · Watch at 1:05:39 ↗ - Saving a command for when it is needed, so the first time it is asked for in months the dog no longer answers it.
On film
when you go and say that word he's gonna be like dog i don't know what that means and i'm not gonna do it
Boog · Watch at 15:18 ↗ how's the heel and she was like what's heel
Boog · Watch at 15:58 ↗
Questions owners ask
How much do I have to practise every day?
For most dogs on film, no set amount: use the commands in daily life and they are maintained. 'You don't need to do drills yeah you just need to live.' Another trainer adds: 'Just do it organically, right? One trainer also asks for a small dose of commands you rarely need - ten or fifteen seconds of heel on a walk - and daily use for a young Labrador until he is about two.
On film
you don't need to do drills yeah you just need to live take him on walks and play with them and have him in a house with you
and so maintenance wise like you know once he comes home um he should have a few walks a day
Like, you just decided to drill them one day, which I wouldn't do. Just do it organically, right? That's all you got to do to maintain it.
the important thing is that you still may be on a walk right just do like 10 15 seconds of it
Will the training wear off?
If it is not used and backed up, yes. The trainers say so plainly - the old behaviours come back and the commands weaken - and the record has examples: a dog back after ten months 'like a clean slate', a refresher dog who had decided the rules no longer applied. Used properly, one trainer says, 'it will never go away', and another says the heel should be tighter a year after go-home than it was with him. A refresher can be quick - 'they feel the stimulation once and that's all you need to refresh them' - but only lasts if it is kept up.
On film
so if you don't reinforce the commands and penalize the things you don't like then they will come back yeah and the commands will weaken
to do is use it properly if you know how to use it properly it will never go away
if for some reason i ran into you guys a year from now it should actually be tighter than it was with me
most of the time um they feel the stimulation once and that's all you need to refresh them right but if you don't keep it up then obviously they start acting out
He listens to the trainer but tests me. Why?
The trainers expect it: the dog will test the household in the first week home, and whatever the household does not reinforce, he drops. The fix is to be as consistent as the trainer was, particularly that first week.
On film
so if i show duchess like hey we gotta do it exactly this way and that's how it is with me but then she's looser with you guys because she's gonna test you for that like first week she's home whatever you don't reinforce
sometimes when they come home you have to teach them the new rules of the house that they thought still had the old rules
What should I do when something goes wrong?
Ask early. 'The faster you reach out and ask the better things will go.' One trainer coaches owners to phrase it as 'I need help' rather than 'you guys'. Refresher stays are offered.
On film
if anything comes up at all the faster you reach out and ask the better things will go
We do refreshers and we do train her the whole week.
Can I add other training methods I've seen?
The trainer who addresses it says no, because blending other inputs means nobody can tell what the dog is responding to.
On film
you start like blending other things with the training then we're like we don't know what's going on in their head
The lesson
The goal
An owner can name the commands the dog knows, find five daily moments to use them, and back each one up consistently from the first day home.
Learn first
The drill
As described on film: find the moments that happen anyway - gates, doors, the car, meals, walks - and use a command at each (the trainer counts about five chances a day at Zeus's gates). Back up every break the same way the trainer did. No separate drill session is required unless your trainer prescribed one.
Watch out for
- Ten minutes of drills then nothing all day.
- Looser than the trainer in week one.
- Warnings not followed through.
- Mixing methods.
Check yourself
Name three moments in your day where you will use a command tomorrow.