From the training
Read the response
These lessons discuss two decisions: checking with the family before offering one more heel, and praising a dog already making the right choice after a marker. Both focus on how the dog is responding in that moment.
Kali & Kane · Training lesson
Beo · Training lesson
The answer
On film the trainers do not read a dog's feelings from general impressions. They watch a few small, specific things, and each one changes what they do next.
The things they name are these. How the dog sniffs: a curved, arcing investigation means a fearful dog is exploring, while frantic sniffing or none means he is coping or scanning (Finn). 'If he's sniffing, he's comfortable', and a dog with his tail up waiting for the next car is about to max out (Louie). The tail against that dog's own normal: Luna's handler sees her tail 'lower than usual', stops the exercise, walks her until it comes back, and only then carries on. The shake-off: one instructor teaches students that shaking off is a coping mechanism, and that freezing, heavy suppression and 'weird stuff' are fallout that means 'you've made mistakes' (Phoebe); another handler calls a shake-off 'what we're looking for' (Stormie; Nash), and in September 2026 Kali's trainer calls it 'a recovery sign'. The pause: a dog visibly weighing whether to break a command and then holding it is read as the pressure having been right (Stormie). The freeze and the look: with a dog who has bitten, the trainer watches facial expressions 'really hard' and treats the same freeze at the same moment as the warning it was last time (Irwin). Even growls are told apart: a shaking, threatened growl earlier and a play growl now (Egg).
Sessions filmed in September 2026 add a second kind of read: telling interest from intent. Looking is allowed; what the trainers watch is how the dog looks. Whiskey may look at dogs and people because 'her ears aren't like pinning forward she's not fixating'. Narrating in Spanish as a strange dog passes Sofia, Kelton names what is missing (no barking, no fear, no surprise) and what is there: 'Vigilante sí, pero reactivo no' (watchful yes, reactive no). Nikki's handlers grade a cat test in degrees: a little lunge, 'But not like heavy fixation.' Kelton (Reaper's trainer) teaches the owners the tell that comes before trouble: hackles up, the tongue going back, and 'what we call a hard face', with 'really hard eyes'. Kane's trainer gives the reason the trainers watch at all: a dog cannot say how he feels, 'so the only thing that you can do is observe what kind of positive or negative affect you you can see'.
The read has a job. Every trainer on film uses it to decide whether to go on, make it easier, rest, change the place or stop. Bullet's trainer puts it most strongly: 'the emotional state of the dog is like God', and training a dog in a negative state is 'a useless endeavor', so he aborts a session and spends the evening on the couch with the dog instead. In one program the read is written down: every dog gets an emotional-state score each session, and the weekly data showed Sage was worse indoors than out, which changed how her indoor sessions were run. The same logic sets the start of a session. A nervous dog is warmed up or allowed to acclimate before the first command (Sage), and a dog is tuned up in a quiet corner before the busy part of a hard place (Deuce). New dogs show it on the first day: Muna's trainer reads her raised hackles at a dog behind a fence, and her recovery, as a confidence problem, and holds back all obedience because adding it now 'will just make it worse'. Hattie's trainer tells the adopting family that what to punish around the cat 'would involve reading the dog', so he would rather run that set-up himself.
A wider reading across 49 more dogs finds the same reads all through the record and makes two uses explicit. First, the read is how the trainers judge their own consequences: 'You only know if it worked by their reaction' (Penny); was the dog penalised? 'Does it look like it?' (Roxy); a dog who could go straight back to it was not punished (Milo); and the eye shift, or the eyes going back and forth, says a correction has landed and it is time to make up (Peque, Murphy). Collar levels are set the same way - by a small twitch, or lowered when the dog vocalises - not by the number (Baxter, King, Penny, Teddy). Second, the read decides the response to a failure: a dog who looks suppressed is encouraged, not pushed (Oscar), a dog who looks unsure rather than wilful is not punished (Drago), and missed commands are checked against tiredness and confusion first (Bun). The nose stays the commonest gauge: dogs 'terrified of everything' never use their nose (Ozzy), and Kodak's open mouth with no sniffing on his first walk, then his sniffing the trees later, mark stress and its end.
Two cautions come from the trainers themselves. One sign is not a translation: Finn's pupils are 'always dilated', so they tell his trainer nothing, and a short slip lead can look like pulling when it is not (Deuce). And the strength of the rule is disputed on film: Bullet's trainer says a dog in a negative state learns nothing, while Egg's trainer says such a dog 'can still learn', only much more slowly. Kelton settled it on 23 Sep 2026: it depends on the state and how the dog copes with it - it could be literally nothing, very little, the wrong lesson, or it could be learned slowly; it all depends on the dog in front of you.
Two trainers now say it on film. Boog's handler knows Boog's usual answer to the collar is a small head tilt, so 'his ears didn't pop' told him the owners' collar had not registered. Mazi's trainer says the same collar input breaks one dog out of a fixation and feeds it in another, 'so you gotta know what you're looking for to see how each dog responds'. It remains our inference, not said on film, that a read which changes nothing is only a description.
Angier K9 is a family-owned, play-based Board & Train serving Angier, Raleigh and the Triangle, with three full owner lessons.
What to do
Learn your dog's normal tail, sniffing and body, and act when it changes: if the tail drops or he stops sniffing, stop asking and walk him until he opens back up, as Luna's handler does (watch 10:48). Warm a nervous dog up before the first command (watch 00:12), and if he is flat or shut down, do not push the session (watch 00:45). Let him look at dogs and people, but watch how he looks: ears pinned forward and a fixed stare, or a hard face and hard eyes, are the signs to act on before he does (watch 06:21; watch 12:00).
What the trainers say
Yeah, the emotional state of the dog is like God. It is all important. I worship
the altar of emotional state. If the dog has a negative emotional state, if they're not feeling
That's one thing that you learn is, hey, don't go crazy pushing it if the dog's not really feeling it, you know?
And like, what kind of sniffing are we looking at here? And we'll only know that by what's opened up afterwards. Does he sniff in kind of like a curved arc and go and sniff things? Or does he look kind of panicked the whole time and kind of look freaked out, right? And sniff in a frantic way?
what I've been really just trying to get him to do is just sniff everything. Because if he's sniffing, he's comfortable.
their tail's a little low right now so we need to wind down because she thinks out here means sucky experience every time it's not good
So, it's like a coping mechanism where they shake the stress off.
When they're under unhealthy stress, you see a bunch of, like, bad fallout signs where they freeze up and they're, like, suppressed really over much and they're doing a bunch of weird stuff.
that shake was really good that's what we're looking for
so you can see she's kind of like thinking about it all right you're good yeah she's thinking about it she's like should i get up
we tracked the emotional state across every session to see how their emotional state is in each session and that was one of the things I noticed in the data was that the emotional state was lower inside than outside she was more likely to freeze up or get kind of like scared inside than she was outside
else how they're feeling their emotional state dictates how well they're going to be able to
really hard at the dog's facial expressions make sure you're reading them properly
he's kind of locked in a little bit he's panting so and eyes his eyes are always dilated i can never tell when he's actually nervous because the pupils stay dilated all the time because he's just scared all the time
the dog's emotional state and the only real way to access the dog's emotional state since you can't ask them you can't talk to them right they don't have that ability to talk back and tell you oh i'm feeling this way i'm feeling that way so the only thing that you can do is observe what kind of positive or negative affect you you can see
and it's funny some dogs it breaks them out of it and some dogs actually like will encourage it so you gotta know what you're looking for to see how each dog responds
i was like you should like his ears didn't pop because like the more you train with dogs sometimes you'll notice like these subtle body language cues
what we call a hard face is what it's called it's where they get they they switch from to yep that and they get really hard eyes um that's when yeah your dog's about to do something dumb right
Tú puedes ver que ella puede, no ladra, no hace nada y no está asustada, no está sorpresada, está contenta. Vigilante sí, pero reactivo no.
but the issue is that confidence right she gets really excited and then she loses confidence so we're gonna work on that next couple days before we get into any obedience because if I try to do obedience now it will just make it worse
you see that shake that's uh something dogs do when they shake off if they feel a little stress
everything walking up staring like a whole bunch and now like she'll look you know like dogs and people it's fine she can look but her ears aren't like pinning forward she's not fixating
you look at his face um for a good portion of this walk um he has not been sniffing right his mouth has been kind of open um not because he's hot or panting right because it's not that bad out here but uh because he's he's stressed right he's stressed just being out here on a walk and
baseline be neutral and like right there that was a really good sign like what did he do well he went and sniffed the trees right he stopped and sniffed trees um he stopped and walked along the ground
extremely anxious like nervous like terrified of everything dogs never use their nose yep that's very consistent that they don't use their nose um what they end up doing is they just stare and use their eyes um and they just listen they're just hearing things but you won't see them sniff so
You only know if it worked by their reaction. If you don't get the reaction you want, it didn't work, right? It's the same thing with rewards.
all right, was the dog penalized or not, you need to think uh about only one factor. Does it look like it? Yeah.
behavior um and then you just observe their emotional state and you work within that so
i noticed his emotion there what was the emotion you saw he suppressed okay so then the proper response to that is not to go harder and be like why didn't you come yet instead it's to encourage
you noticed hopefully you did did he look like he was willfully non-compliant like non-compliant like he didn't want to listen to me that is not what i saw at all to be very frank with you i saw a little bit of like oh what's gonna happen now right that's what i saw right um so when i see
Really zoned in on Duchess. Looking at her body language. Maybe like we're just walking, but it's like, you know, I'm still trying to look at her and be like, is she fighting impulses? Is she just chilling? That kind of
reinforcement how hard do you do it well that all depends on what he needs yeah the dog will tell you right um they'll tell you if it's too much and they'll tell you if it's not enough nope yeah right
so what i do here is because her tail is a little down um part of the training process is knowing how to maintain a good mental state for the dog because once the mental state for the dog goes
that's beautiful what was that that's a coping mechanism right they're shaking off a little bit of the stress up until that point he never sniffed tail never went anywhere and he was completely frozen up right now we just saw him sniff a whole bunch start to feel a little bit
when you stop and not pulling into it but the thing you'll look for there is like okay did she brace into it or did she feel it and then go oh and kind of like come back over to you if she did
dog look if they look like they could go right back to it at any moment they did not get punished or if they're just like they did not get punished if they look like this and they look like a kind of little bit scared and they're like oh my god yeah they were punished right it's as simple as
Shake it off. That's a way for them to deal with stress. So it's coping with a stressful situation that they have It's actually a good thing you want to see it happen. Yeah
about like the sensation of the e-collar i always do what i just did with you which is i start low right um and then i check i just watch them so like i do it for no reason i'll just tap it and see if they feel it right yeah i just look for like that yeah exactly yeah and if i get that
How it looks, dog by dog
Finn
A fearful dog whose progress is reported through one observable: the shape of his sniffing. Early on the trainer says he will only know what kind of sniffing it is by what opens up afterwards; later, 'really active sniffing' is read as walks changing from something scary into exploration. The same trainer notes the limit of another sign: Finn's pupils are always dilated, so they cannot tell him when Finn is actually nervous. In the September 2026 Shorts the handler reads Finn aloud on each outing: as Zuri-chan tries to play, 'He's telling you to back off'; at a store he asks Finn which it is, 'Exciting? Terrifying?'; and Kelton reads Finn's readiness for more freedom from a habit nobody cued: 'he's starting to check in every time and come back'.
On film
And like, what kind of sniffing are we looking at here? And we'll only know that by what's opened up afterwards.
I'm liking this really active sniffing good he's starting to see walks I can tell as much more of an exploratory saying that's fun instead of a thing that's that's scary that is very good thing
he's kind of locked in a little bit he's panting so and eyes his eyes are always dilated i can never tell when he's actually nervous
He's telling you to back off.
Exciting? Terrifying? Which one?
Yeah, he's starting to check in every time and come back.
Louie
Explained to the owners on a walk near the end of the program: the target state for a nervous dog is sniffing, because a sniffing dog is comfortable; the dog the trainer saw at the family's house, tail up and waiting for the next car, is a dog who will max out.
On film
what I've been really just trying to get him to do is just sniff everything. Because if he's sniffing, he's comfortable.
And so then he maxes out.
Luna
The tail, judged against Luna's own normal, is the decisive readout twice in one session: once to abandon a down and start walking, once to confirm she has opened back up before anything else is asked.
On film
their tail's a little low right now so we need to wind down because she thinks out here means sucky experience every time it's not good
you see the tail is a lot more like she her tail kind of flops down but for a second it was like lower than usual so i wanted to make sure we open her back up
Phoebe
Used at a trainer school to teach students the line between ordinary and harmful stress. Shaking off and rolling are coping; freezing, heavy suppression and odd behaviour are fallout, and they mean the handler has made mistakes.
On film
So, it's like a coping mechanism where they shake the stress off.
When they're under unhealthy stress, you see a bunch of, like, bad fallout signs where they freeze up and they're, like, suppressed really over much and they're doing a bunch of weird stuff.
That's, you've done, you've made mistakes.
Stormie
Two observables are used as feedback on the handler's own input on the morning of her go-home day: the shake-off as confirmation that the pressure was right, and the visible pause in which she weighs getting up and then does not. The day before, she deliberates and complies without the button being pressed.
On film
that shake was really good that's what we're looking for
so you can see she's kind of like thinking about it all right you're good yeah she's thinking about it she's like should i get up
She thought about it. I didn't hit the button that time though.
Nash
In a public park the trainer points out a shake-off to a second person as the dog comes out of a suppressed state after a correction and a strong release.
On film
There we go, saw the shake?
Sage
The read is written down. Every dog is scored on an emotional state each session, and the weekly data showed Sage was more likely to freeze or get scared inside than outside, which is why her indoor sessions became long gaps with a few repetitions. Before asking anything of her, she is hyped up or allowed to acclimate.
On film
we tracked the emotional state across every session to see how their emotional state is in each session and that was one of the things I noticed in the data was that the emotional state was lower inside than outside she was more likely to freeze up or get kind of like scared inside than she was outside
So, um, I like to just hype them up a little bit so they're in a good mental state.
So I'm just going to kind of let her acclimate first, and then once she's acclimated a little bit, then maybe I'll try and command her to...
Bullet
Not a frightened dog and not a pushed one, just flat. The trainer reads him as more suppressed than he would like, aborts the session, and books an evening of couch time as training because the next session depends on the state the dog brings to it.
On film
but he also seems like he's a little bit more suppressed than i'd like to see him
to push it when when there's not anything there for him at that moment it's just a bad idea to
where you spend some time together and see if you can get them to be in a different mind state
Deuce
A happy dog, where the reads are about the start of a session and about the equipment. Before a crowded town centre he is tuned up in a quiet corner, because the first command of the day may not come; and the handler reminds himself that a short slip lead can look like pulling.
On film
just hi deuce hi buddy hey so we're gonna have to tune him up so he may
This slip lead's a little short, too. So, I have to be very mindful of what's a pull versus just like This leash is short.
His emotional state's really good, though. He's a really happy dog.
Irwin
A dog capable of biting, whose file is a catalogue of warning signs read in real time: a look during a down, a freeze when touched, and 'the same freeze' at the same moment in a later session. Each changes what the trainer does next.
On film
really hard at the dog's facial expressions make sure you're reading them properly
and he did the same freeze,
Egg
A shy dog whose trainer tells two growls apart, a shaking, threatened one in an earlier session and a play growl now, and then argues at length that how a dog feels governs how well he learns.
On film
when he growled at me uh you know that wasn't exactly like fun he wasn't enjoying himself
else how they're feeling their emotional state dictates how well they're going to be able to
Cosmo
A confident puppy who locks up around people is read as being in a fear period rather than as a nervous dog, and is routed around people rather than labelled.
On film
we're out here at the park so cosmo is in i believe he is in his fear cycle so he is a little he's not a nervous dog but he's just figuring out what's bad what's good
Angus
Two dogs on one walk, two different reads: Angus gets 'sketched out' by things he is not used to, while Teddy gets 'amped'.
On film
it just gets like really like like that when he hears things or sees things and not used to he's just like he gets sketched out teddy gets amped
Boog
On place, the handler distinguishes a dog who is 'zoned in' from the ears-down settle that comes after a while there, and later remarks that he did not twitch when people came through the door. At the go-home lesson (28 Sep 2026) the owners' collar seems to do nothing, and the trainer reads it from Boog's body against his own normal: 'his ears didn't pop', and the small head tilt that is his usual answer to the collar was missing. Why the collar did nothing is not settled on the audio.
On film
Right now he's very zoned in, but once he's there for a while he's kind of like... The ears like flop. They flop down.
He didn't even, like, twitch when you and Jayden came through the door.
i was like you should like his ears didn't pop because like the more you train with dogs sometimes you'll notice like these subtle body language cues
just because i know his reaction to the e-collar it's usually like kind of a like he kind of does like a little um like a head tilt
Neo
In a session made almost entirely of cues and praise, the tail is the one readout mentioned: carried up again between sets as his mood recovers.
On film
That tail is nice and up again.
Phoebe (the Rottweiler)
On a public outing, offered downs and drifting towards the truck are read as fatigue, and the session ends.
On film
Heel no come on. Heel. I think she's about done with this train session
Roofus
The read is reported rather than shown: the trainer says he can quickly tell curiosity about an animal from wanting to kill it, and reads Roofus as curious about cats.
On film
i can quickly tell the difference between i want to go like see what that is like oh interesting and like i want to to kill that yeah he doesn't want to kill cats
Anna
The read sets the equipment: a big reaction to a small input means the level comes down; a dog who flinches at her usual setting gets her strap checked first.
On film
That was a big reaction for such a small input.
flinching at her normal one so i was like maybe let me tighten the thing yep that's always the first check
Lola
The handler limits the number of intense repetitions in a walk and stops when she looks finished.
On film
normally i don't look for more than like like definitely i don't want to have more than like two
You're about done, huh, mama? She is done, dog. Yeah, see, I think she's done.
Zeus
In a case update filmed for the owners, the trainer names the dog's standoffishness and explains that behaving differently at the facility than at home is the point of the facility.
On film
hey dude you can see he's pretty standoffish he doesn't really want to be over towards me
he doesn't act like that at home all the time right or he doesn't act like that with everybody
Chaparro
At an initial evaluation filmed on 18 Sep 2026, with much of the talk interpreted into Spanish for the family, the evaluator reads avoidance from the body rather than from any one act: the dog turns his back, then turns side-on, sniffs the hand with his eyes 'really big', and is plainly uncomfortable. The evaluator is not named on the audio.
On film
So what should happen is, like, this right here, he's avoiding me, and he turns his back to me, and then he kind of turns it to the side, and he'll, like, sniff my hand, but his eyes get really big, and he gets very uncomfortable, right?
Chunk
In a late in-program session the trainer narrates Chunk's state as it changes: 'really amped' as he looks up, then 'that avoidance down' with 'crazy eyes' after a correction, and underneath it 'a little bit of natural nerves'.
On film
you can see he's kind of he looks up really amped right now because he doesn't
no uh-uh that's that avoidance down making those crazy eyes at me isn't he
that's a case of like chunk it does have a little little bit of natural nerves
Hattie
At a follow-up lesson with the adopting family, the question is what to punish when Hattie looks at the cat. The trainer says he could give an answer, 'but it would involve reading the dog', and proposes running the cat set-up himself: the read, not a rule, decides what is corrected and when.
On film
i could tell you the answer but it would involve reading the dog
Kali
Kali's trainer reads her all through the September sessions: a 'happy tail wag' on a walk, and, when she breaks a heel towards a passer-by with a dog, a read from where she went that she wanted the person who had praised her, not the dog. At the owner lesson he explains the shake-off as stress being shaken off, 'a recovery sign', and turns the read on the lesson itself: a lesson is more for the owners than for the dog, so he asks how the dog is experiencing it.
On film
okay let's go look at that happy tail wag
but i think that she was actually more primarily interested in the person the person made happy
and then you see them kind of shake it off that's a good sign right that's like a recovery sign right
the lesson's more for you than it is for the dog so then it's like but how's the dog's experience of that lesson
Kane
Narrating a public session, Kane's trainer states the method behind every read on film: a dog cannot tell you how he feels, so the only access to his emotional state is to watch for positive or negative affect.
On film
so the only thing that you can do is observe what kind of positive or negative affect you you can see
Mazi
At the second owner lesson the trainer gives the owner a small vocabulary: a head shake or a body shake means the dog is processing, while 'if a dog yawns at you it means that they didn't want to do something'. Downtown he reads what a collar tap did to a fixation ('it kind of broke him out') and says the same input breaks some dogs out and encourages others, so the handler has to know what to look for in each dog.
On film
if a dog yawns at you it means that they didn't want to do something and if they go like that kind of thing shake their body it means they're processing info
he was very fixated and he felt that and it kind of broke him out and he was like
so you gotta know what you're looking for to see how each dog responds
Muna
On Muna's first day the trainer reads a confidence problem rather than aggression: when a dog came round the corner behind a fence her hair went up, then she came to him, calmed and went back to sniffing. Because she 'gets really excited and then she loses confidence', he postpones all obedience; doing it now, he says, 'will just make it worse'.
On film
and she got a little nervous and she reacted right hair went up okay but then she came to me and she calmed down now she's sniffing around
but the issue is that confidence right she gets really excited and then she loses confidence
Nikki
In a behaviour-modification session the handlers grade a cat test in degrees rather than as pass or fail: a little lunge, but not heavy fixation; then 'so fixated on her', but excited and not prey driving. The speakers are not marked on the audio.
On film
She did like, lunge a little bit.
But not like heavy fixation.
But she's not like prey driving like right now.
Pepper
At the second owner lesson the trainer shows the owner what to watch for: Pepper held it together after a squirrel, then looked at the other dog, her ears went forward for a long time and she did a little bounce - play mode, which he corrects at that anticipation stage because the bounce leads to play on the walk. Meeting a reactive dog, he reads her as 'really confident': she would stand her ground, which he prefers to a dog that runs.
On film
you to like kind of see like what to look for is she saw the squirrel she got really excited
she kind of went to a little bit of a play mode a little bit and her ears like went forward for like a long time and she did that little bounce thing
like yeah she's just really confident she just which is good i mean she's not gonna you know if a dog did rush up on you or something she would stand her ground
Reaper
Kelton (Reaper's trainer) teaches the owners the tell that comes before trouble. Looking is allowed - 'they can look' - but hackles up, the tongue going back and 'what we call a hard face', with 'really hard eyes', is when the dog is about to do something. On a trail he reads a confrontation starting from a changed stance.
On film
well yeah i mean they can look um if they like ramp up then that's different right
what we call a hard face is what it's called it's where they get they they switch from to yep that and they get really hard eyes
his whole stance changed so he was starting a confrontation with this guy
Sofia
Narrating in Spanish as an unfamiliar dog passes, Kelton separates interest from reactivity by naming what is absent and what is present: she does not bark or do anything, she is not scared or surprised, she is happy - 'Vigilante sí, pero reactivo no' (watchful yes, but reactive no).
On film
Tú puedes ver que ella puede, no ladra, no hace nada y no está asustada, no está sorpresada, está contenta. Vigilante sí, pero reactivo no.
Stormi
Narrating a session, Stormi's trainer lists what tells him she is managing her nerves around an unfamiliar dog: she gallops and prances, sniffs, is interested in the dog without reacting, and when told 'let's go' she does it and does not lock up.
On film
she's prancing around sniffing stuff she didn't freak out of that dog
she didn't lock up that's all kind of behaviors that you really want to see they tell you that this dog is managing their nerves and actually like choosing to make a good decision
Tesla
On Tesla's first day the trainer reads her preference from what she does rather than from a set test: a toy dangled in front of her gets 'not so much', but thrown in the air she wants to grab it, play with it and roll it around, so her game is the chase.
On film
if i dangle in front of her and like try to get her to bite it not so much but if i throw it in the air she wants to grab it right there she wants to play with it she wants to roll it around
and so like her game is definitely more of the actual chase part of it right
Whiskey
At the family's first in-program lesson the trainer shows them what changed: she now air-sniffs and sniffs the ground, and she may look at dogs and people because her ears are not pinning forward and she is not fixating. Later he reads her coping with a noisy spot from her ears, which she turns away from the noise instead of fixing them on it.
On film
everything walking up staring like a whole bunch and now like she'll look you know like dogs and people it's fine she can look but her ears aren't like pinning forward she's not fixating
she's learning to manage the noise better by like if you watch her ears she instead of like fixating her ears on the high noise she'll kind of turn her ears opposite ways
Ace (Chihuahua-terrier mix)
Ace (the Chihuahua mix) is read against his own normal: when a release produces a sit instead of his usual sprint, 'That's not what he normally does', and the trainer looks for the cause in the distant barking. A startle at a noise is treated as a reflex rather than disobedience, and in a busy restaurant a slow response is put down to the environment - keep working until he complies, and 'don't worry about it'.
On film
Well, I guess he knew he was free, so that's good. That's not what he normally does. He normally takes off like a psycho.
The one thing to keep in mind here is that sometimes Ace or whatever dog you're working with might get freaked out by something in the environment. That's fine, right? And so then if it takes them a little bit longer to comply with the command because of that, don't worry about it.
Akira
On Akira's second day the trainer stops between repetitions to check her state aloud - does she seem scared of him, shut down, not having a good time? - and answers from what she is doing: 'she seems like she's romping just fine'.
On film
go come on does she seem like she's shut down not having a good time anymore i don't see that she seems like she's romping just fine so emotional status emotional state can be
Apollo (the Bully)
At Apollo the Bully's first in-program lesson Christian grades his response to a dog with the family present: more interested than when he is alone with the trainer, but 'it's mostly excitement now he's not getting nervous' - and looking is fine as long as he is not lunging, pulling or freaking out.
On film
yeah that's okay but it's mostly excitement now he's not getting nervous but he is getting excited right which is okay as long as he's not lunging pulling and like freaking out right as if he's looking that's fine I don't care if he
Apollo (the Sharkie)
In a rough-housing Short the trainer reads Apollo the Sharkie's grab at his hand during a toy game as guardiness over the toy rather than aggression - the competition the possession games are built to work with.
On film
He's a little guardy He just went for my hand. He's not aggressive. He just
Astro
In Astro's bite-suit behaviour modification the trainer narrates the change as it happens: until then Astro 'never sniffed', his tail never moved and he was 'completely frozen up'; then he sniffs, wags and shakes off - 'that's a coping mechanism'. At a later evaluation he says what he looks for after a correction: 'a recognition' in the face and body.
On film
that's beautiful what was that that's a coping mechanism right they're shaking off a little bit of the stress up until that point he never sniffed tail never went anywhere and he was completely frozen up right now we just saw him sniff a whole bunch start to feel a little bit
reaction in his facial and body language like a recognition i want him to go i want to see this
Bandit
The trainer (not named on that recording) reads Bandit's temperament from how he takes pressure: stable, not skittish, a 'reasonable reaction' to negative reinforcement, and he 'looks for the way out of the pressure' - signs, he says, that the obedience will go smoothly. In a later owner lesson Kelton, who introduces himself on that recording, separates Bandit's past reactivity from his temperament: 'he's not nervy he's not afraid'.
On film
reasonable reaction and um he looks for the way out right he looks for the way out of the pressure so those are all really good signs that his training will be smooth and efficient on the
as a stable animal yeah um he's not nervy he's not afraid um he's not uh he's not like jumping
Bane
Bane's protection sessions show the read deciding what comes next: the trainer weighs whether switching the bite work back on would cost the lesson that not everybody is a threat, and after an e-collar tap his head movement is pointed out and compared with how he normally responds.
On film
um i'm wondering if in this case i was trying to read him like do we go i don't want to go do that
You saw how he did, like, that head movement thing?
Is that how he normally responds to the e-collar, or was it a little bit more?
Baxter
At Baxter's first private session the trainer explains how he finds a working collar level: start low, tap 'for no reason' and watch for the small sign that the dog felt it - the dog's response, not the number, sets the level.
On film
about like the sensation of the e-collar i always do what i just did with you which is i start low right um and then i check i just watch them so like i do it for no reason i'll just tap it and see if they feel it right yeah i just look for like that yeah exactly yeah and if i get that
Beo
In a September session the trainer narrows Beo's bracing on the leash to one situation: on bare concrete he comes straight off the pressure, but when he is 'deep in the smell' he braces instead of yielding - a read that locates the problem rather than labelling the dog.
On film
like right here as an example if i put leash pressure on he comes right off because there's nothing that interesting here on the concrete however if he's like deep in the smell that's when i'm seeing that he's having a hard time coming off of the smell good boy that's when
Bo
Bo's sessions are full of small live reads that steer the next repetition: in a down 'He's wanting to relax in that position', moments later 'he looks a little depressed' and the work turns to praise, and a dog who is curious but not 'pumped' is not yet worth a recall. In his crate-aggression work the criterion is read off the dog: when he looked away from Connor instead of growling, the door could be closed.
On film
He's wanting to relax in that position.
Oh, he looks a little depressed.
really interested because he's just kind of like curious about things right now but he's not like
good so that time he actually looked away from Connor so go ahead and close
Bubba Gum
At Michael's the trainer reads Bubba Gum's nose in the air as the strong paint and chemical smells of that aisle rather than defiance on the recall.
On film
that motion by coming to me and sitting now you see she's got her nose in the air it's because we're in michael's so there's like a pretty strong scent around here on this side because of some of
Bun
Bun's trainer names his tell - he 'hides on my right side when he sees things' - and decides whether to try the stairs by his tail carry when they get there. At an owner lesson the family is told to rule out tiredness and confusion before treating a missed command as refusal.
On film
See he kind of hides on my right side when he sees things, good boy, good boy, hi sweetie
of I guess I'll gauge his behavior I'll look at his tail carry and everything else when we get up
he knows how to do and you can't detect another reason, right? Like you didn't drill him for an hour beforehand, so he's just tired and doesn't want to do more. Or, you know, like he isn't confused, right? Make sure he knows what you're trying to get him to do. Like as long as it's
Callie
Callie's handlers act on what they see: hackles rising as she heads toward a dog mean she is recalled away before any greeting. When a collar level she had taken calmly many times produced a yelp, the trainer reads it as context - she was focused elsewhere and it startled her - and calls it 'very context dependent'.
On film
Oh, yeah, she was going towards the dog, and her hackles were raising, so I had to recall her over.
like whoa and freaked her out a little bit so yeah I have no idea why sometimes it produces a yelp and sometimes it's like they barely felt it so it's very context dependent just like with
Daisy
On Daisy's store trips the handler reads her heavy panting as 'the anxiety response' - the reason she is out there - and later counts calm, non-intrusive friendliness with people as progress for a nervous dog: 'I'm happy that she's socializing'.
On film
but you're doing really good she's panting a lot and that's uh just the anxiety response. That's why we're out here and it's really important that
For, you know, since we're working with nervous dogs, even though I don't want her to go socialize, I'm happy that she's socializing
Dolce
With Dolce in protection training the read is whether bite work is bleeding into ordinary life: in Home Depot she is 'checking things out properly and she's not fixating or trying to be overly defensive'. On the sleeve the read is commitment - the trainer waits for her full shake before acting. (An earlier coaching exchange on shutdown versus panic is on uncertain audio and is not quoted.)
On film
but she's not she's checking things out properly and she's not fixating or trying to be overly defensive or reactive just because there's people around so all
because I want that kind of like commitment, right?
Drago
Drago's trainer reads before he corrects: on a failed down he asks whether Drago looked 'willfully non-compliant' and answers that he saw uncertainty instead - 'oh what's gonna happen now' - so the conditioned punisher is held back. Given freedom on the flexi, Drago shows the state wanted for training: 'ears up, curious, looking around'.
On film
you noticed hopefully you did did he look like he was willfully non-compliant like non-compliant like he didn't want to listen to me that is not what i saw at all to be very frank with you i saw a little bit of like oh what's gonna happen now right that's what i saw right um so when i see
state. See ears up, curious, looking around. That's the kind of state we want for training.
Dutchess
Dutchess's trainer explains his silences on a walk: he is 'zoned in' on her body language, asking whether she is fighting impulses or just chilling. Her family is taught two tells - the shaking motion after a well-given correction, which means she is processing, and the 'anxious stare' on place, which means she has not settled and should not be released yet.
On film
Really zoned in on Duchess. Looking at her body language. Maybe like we're just walking, but it's like, you know, I'm still trying to look at her and be like, is she fighting impulses? Is she just chilling? That kind of
different and when you give a prediction error correctly you see the dog kind of do this like shaking motion right and that's like the body language is i'm learning something like i'm
Look at the eyes. If you see her staring at you, there's like an anxious stare,
Fiona
Fiona's walks are planned from a read - 'It seems that she's afraid of a lot of things', so the walk becomes exposure - and her lunging at Major is read as wanting to greet: 'for her it's not aggression she wants to go see the dog'.
On film
It seems that she's afraid of a lot of things. So this walk is a nice way to expose her to a lot of things.
yeah that wasn't that bad and for her it's not aggression she wants to go see the dog
Jack
Jack's first day opens with a full fearful-body read - head down, tail tucked, circling, mouth open, panting - and his progress is reported in the same terms: ears up, more interest, sniffing, before any obedience pressure is added. The trainer also notes how hesitant he is to turn his back on anyone, and lets him sniff and take as long as he wants.
On film
it wasn't connected before you can see even by the way he's standing with his head down tail tail tucked a little bit and the way he's kind of circling me his mouth's open he's kind of panting
So, ears up. A little more interested here and there. Sniffing.
Boy, he's very hesitant to turn his back on someone.
Kalypso
Kalypso's family is taught to read the leash before they pop it: did she brace into it, or feel it and come back? Only the brace earns a pop. Her shake-off on a walk is read as coping - 'a good sign' - and on day one her going between the trainer's legs is read as a submissive way of handling pressure, which changes how the down will be taught.
On film
when you stop and not pulling into it but the thing you'll look for there is like okay did she brace into it or did she feel it and then go oh and kind of like come back over to you if she did
spam call so that shake off dogs normally do that when they're coping with a little bit of stress Right, which but it's a good sign because that's it means that they're doing fine
of that like submissive behavior and that's how she's deciding to handle the pressure um
King
King's trainer catalogues his 'weird little fear points' - not people but random objects, tall or rickety things, tight spots - and admits he cannot yet predict them. His collar level was found by his response rather than a preset: because of his thick fur it went up until he twitched a little, around 75 on that collar.
On film
have noticed that he has he has weird little fear points I've noticed they're not of people they are of random objects and it's somewhat I haven't fully figured out how to predict exactly what it is but anything that's kind of
So because of his fur I knew like I had to crank up the e-collar to find where it was good. It was good around 75 Yeah, so that's where he feels like he like twitches a little bit
Kodak
Kelton reads Kodak's state from what is missing and what comes back: on his first public walk an open mouth without heat and no sniffing mean stress; later, stopping to sniff the trees and the ground is 'a really good sign' that he has returned to baseline. On the first pack walk with Rocko the check is run aloud - no lunging, no reactivity, no whale eyes or fixation from either dog.
On film
you look at his face um for a good portion of this walk um he has not been sniffing right his mouth has been kind of open um not because he's hot or panting right because it's not that bad out here but uh because he's he's stressed right he's stressed just being out here on a walk and
baseline be neutral and like right there that was a really good sign like what did he do well he went and sniffed the trees right he stopped and sniffed trees um he stopped and walked along the ground
getting any real eyes no no whale eyes and fixation from either of them they're kind of just
Levi
On Levi's early sits the trainer reads the failures as excitability rather than ignorance - 'he kind of knows what to do, but he's very excitable' - so the work becomes impulse control rather than re-teaching the sit.
On film
sit, eh, good boy, so fluffy, what you see Levi, what you see, yeah, let's go, Levi, sit, eh, sit, eh, sit, you got, eh, sit, Levi, so definitely going to need to work on the impulse control with him, he kind of knows what to do, but he's very excitable, let's try it again, Levi, hey,
Louie
Louie's handlers read the moment of choice - he looked at the handler, then decided on the tree - so the recall is reinforced rather than repeated. In home-context work two of his tells are named in passing: he 'kind of fixates a little bit' and 'doesn't like hand movement very much'.
On film
He really wanted to sniff something on the tree, and he looked at me, and then he decided I want to sniff the tree instead so I just had to reinforce the command and
come here louie so see he kind of fixates a little bit he doesn't like hand movement very much louie
Lucia
Lucia's raised hackles ('bristles') are read in context: up when another dog came at her, but 'She did not start that interaction', and because she moved on she 'did really good' - hackles as information, not failure.
On film
You saw how her bristles went up there? She did not start that interaction, right?
dog because that dog is just loose lucia did really good her shackles were raised
Lucy
At Lucy's evaluation the trainer turns the family's account and her behaviour into a hypothesis - she is 'essentially trying to control movement in the house' and takes unexpected noise as threatening - and then tests it with a foot tap that brings her alert and barking.
On film
So she's trying to, she's essentially trying to control movement in the house, and then also seeing movement and like loud, like unexpected noises as threatening is probably what's happening.
So like if I tap my foot, that's a thing.
Lunna
Lunna's trainer corrects his own read on camera: her leaning and circling look like anxiety at first, then he revises it - she is 'not a nervous dog', just high energy. At the lake he reads a shake as processing: 'anytime you see a dog shake it means they're processing information'.
On film
nervous dogs do it all the time you just gotta get rid of the habit or not nervous dogs excuse me high energy dogs that are like i just can't hold it she's not a nervous dog but she's a little
is um that shakes really good anytime you see a dog shake it means they're processing information
Madam
Madam's sessions make reading a handler's skill: the trainer notes 'I think she's a little suppressed right now', and in a recall-and-play session asks the handler directly what her body language shows - 'she looked suppressed'.
On film
I think she's a little suppressed right now, too.
that dog play with that dog good girl so now now she's what is she showing you what do you see in her in her body language and the way she's responding well but right before that before you when she came over to you how did she look she looked she looked suppressed right
Marvin (Giant Schnauzer)
At Marvin's go-home lessons the owners hear the rule for pressure: the dog will tell you if it is too much and if it is not enough. Marvin's own tell is a freeze under pressure on the recall, which the trainers separate from a dog weighing whether to comply.
On film
reinforcement how hard do you do it well that all depends on what he needs yeah the dog will tell you right um they'll tell you if it's too much and they'll tell you if it's not enough nope yeah right
Cause he has a tendency to freeze, right? When there's pressure.
Max
At Max's evaluation the trainer reads his reactions to the cat and small dogs as excitement, not aggression, and explains the defensive moment at the family's house by who the trainer was to Max then - a new man in the house.
On film
the cat like i haven't seen any aggression stuff um everything i've seen is just straight excitement
a guy who didn't really know who I was and he was like defensive right so like I think in like a
Milo
Milo's family is taught that whether a punishment happened is read off the dog: if he could go straight back to it, it did not; a dog who looks a little scared was punished. At the go-home lesson they are told to watch for a dog who freezes up badly as another dog approaches, and in a store the trainer asks of Milo's shaking whether he is cold or scared.
On film
dog look if they look like they could go right back to it at any moment they did not get punished or if they're just like they did not get punished if they look like this and they look like a kind of little bit scared and they're like oh my god yeah they were punished right it's as simple as
The other thing to watch for is if they're kind of doing this if the dog is like really frozen up bad
You're either cold or scared.
Murphy
Murphy's trainers grade an error by why it happened - he came off the heel 'because he was interested in something else' - and trace a rough heel to his trouble with tight spaces and doorways. At the go-home lesson the family is shown the look that ends a penalty: the eyes going back and forth, 'oh, crap, I'm in trouble'.
On film
He came off of it because he was interested in something else
That was a little rough. I think that his issue with being in tight spaces is appearing there,
You want to see this with the eyes that look back and forth thing? Because that's him going, oh, crap, I'm in trouble.
Oscar
On a failed off-leash recall the handler stops to ask what emotion Oscar showed - suppressed - and draws the rule: 'the proper response to that is not to go harder', but to encourage; Oscar came in, to a reward.
On film
i noticed his emotion there what was the emotion you saw he suppressed okay so then the proper response to that is not to go harder and be like why didn't you come yet instead it's to encourage
Ozzy
Ozzy, one of the most fearful dogs on film, is measured by his nose: on day one the trainers note that dogs 'terrified of everything' never use their nose - they stare and listen instead - so every sniff counts. Later sessions report progress the same way: still not sniffing much, but no longer trembling.
On film
extremely anxious like nervous like terrified of everything dogs never use their nose yep that's very consistent that they don't use their nose um what they end up doing is they just stare and use their eyes um and they just listen they're just hearing things but you won't see them sniff so
anymore he was shaking earlier though so he hasn't been oh he's still not sniffing very much But he's not he's not like trembling or anything so progress
Penny
Kelton teaches Penny's owners that a punishment or a reward is judged only by the dog's reaction. Whether her barking is punished at all is a read of her confidence - she is not 'overly shy, or really a strong nervous case', so it is - and when she drifts the owners are told to read whether she is unsure or distracted before acting; vocalising on the collar means the level comes down.
On film
You only know if it worked by their reaction. If you don't get the reaction you want, it didn't work, right? It's the same thing with rewards.
If she was overly shy, or really a strong nervous case, then I wouldn't punish that. But she's not, so I will.
yeah so read her on like clarity yeah why or is she unsure does she seem like oh what's going on
she's having a little bit of vocalization with it. Okay, so I'm going to turn that down even more
Peque (PK)
Peque's family is taught three tells: the eye shift that says a correction has landed and it is time to make up; checking in with good ears - a healthy check, not a nervous one; and, at a refresher, hackles that go up while she controls herself and does nothing.
On film
immediately yeah as soon as you see that she's been punished sufficiently i like to look for the eye shift they shift their eyes back and forth and they kind of like then you go okay
But she's not like nervous about it. You know, her ears are good and all that. she's just checking with you which is what you want you want a healthy check
um because like that right there she her hackles went up yeah so she was like her but she controlled
Piglet
Piglet's trainers treat how she looks as part of the target: her heel entry 'seems kind of sad', and the aim is a dog comfortable and happy on the command. Her immobility on the recall is read from her face - not the face of a dog thinking about running - and the trainer reads the 'suppressed sad looking thing' as avoidance: 'they're not scared'.
On film
I want her actually to be comfortable and happy when she hears that command.
seen the face many times of a dog that's thinking about running. Pig does not have that face at all but she is resisting it you can see she's biting at it and wanting to be immobile
come come here let's go pig come on come and then they'll kind of do this suppressed sad looking thing it's okay they're not scared let's go come on I know you want belly rubs come on pig
Rocky
At Rocky's follow-up a dog encounter is read by the tail: 'the tail curl it means they're just looking', and he let it go.
On film
the the tail curl it means they're just looking yeah okay that makes me happy yeah he let it go
Rocky (the Rottweiler)
In Rocky the Rottweiler's private lesson the trainer reconstructs a growl from what he saw first - when he grabbed the dog's neck, the eyes dilated and the body went stiff - and reads it as possessiveness over the owner.
On film
neck yeah and when i grabbed his neck he he's his eyes dilated a little bit and he got really stiff
Roxy
Kelton gives Roxy and Ramsey's family the frame at the first lesson - four ways to change behaviour, 'and then you just observe their emotional state and you work within that' - and at the go-home lesson the test for any consequence: was she penalised? 'Does it look like it?' In between he points out small reads, such as the second Roxy took to process that she was being called.
On film
behavior um and then you just observe their emotional state and you work within that so
all right, was the dog penalized or not, you need to think uh about only one factor. Does it look like it? Yeah.
So, you saw the processing there. Yes.
Samson
With Samson, a dog who will push to get his way, the trainer watches his eyes before forcing a position; a hard look had not quite arrived, but close enough that he builds compliance in more neutral exercises first.
On film
to get his way, it's important that I pay attention to what his body language is telling me, what his eyes are telling me, what everything else is telling me. And he didn't go fully to like hard eyes there or anything like that.
Shadow (German Shepherd puppy)
Shadow (the German Shepherd puppy) is read by her tail: after an intense moment it lifts again but dips 'just a teeny bit', so the session ends there; with her owners watching, a low tail means she is not having fun, and Connor explains that part of training is knowing how to keep a good mental state.
On film
let's go run yeah so you can see the tail starting to lift up again because that was very intense for her and it just falling a little bit she's a pretty resilient dog but the tail just swooped down just a teeny bit so that's gonna be it for uh from this shadow today it's gonna hit the end
so what i do here is because her tail is a little down um part of the training process is knowing how to maintain a good mental state for the dog because once the mental state for the dog goes
Shadow (Siberian Husky)
With Shadow (the Siberian Husky) the trainer sees he is 'super suppressed', his tail drops, and the plan changes on the spot: walk around, have some fun, and come back to it.
On film
what's up buddy you're super suppressed all right well let's go walk around have some fun and we'll come back to it in a minute see that's a good boy yeah over your tail went down immediately
Sputnik
In the three-dog household lesson the trainer points out Sputnik's stress yawn and shake after a tense moment as recovery - coping with stress, 'a good thing you want to see'.
On film
well that's recovery by the way yeah you saw the little stress yawn and shake yeah
Shake it off. That's a way for them to deal with stress. So it's coping with a stressful situation that they have It's actually a good thing you want to see it happen. Yeah
Stormy
At Stormy's second private lesson the trainer checks her stress aloud before adding one more exercise - 'let me check again' - and only then starts teaching the down.
On film
show you one last thing just because she's doing really well and she doesn't seem super stressed out um let me check again yeah she doesn't seem super stressed out she seems like she's like all
Teddy
Teddy's handlers narrate his thinking: frustration and a yawn at the door on day one; in the woods he looked at Angus, thought about getting out of the down, then looked at the handler as if to ask. When he began sensitising to the collar, the level came down again, to half the starting level.
On film
He really wants to get out. He's really frustrated.
Teddy looked at Angus, thought about getting out of the down then looked at me and was like, can I get up?
down a lot it's a half what we started with now apparently he's sensitizing to it a little bit
Thumper
Thumper's handler changes the approach on a read: he showed 'signs of nervousness, almost even scared' under correction, so the work shifts to re-engaging through play. She asks whether his shaking is cold or fear, judges at the duck pond that he did not look like he wanted to eat them, and at the follow-up his fear of moving things is read as bigger than his wish to go out back.
On film
nervousness, almost even scared when I correct him. Thumper, this way. So what we're going to do
go let's go in the store are you shaking because you're cold or because you're scared
You didn't look like you wanted to eat them, so that's a good thing.
he's more afraid of anything that's moving than than anything like then his his him being afraid it is bigger than than his desire to go to the back yeah
Titan
Connor reads Titan for his owners: the heavy breathing when he lies down fully is self-regulation, and in a September session his circling back and forth around the handler is named as an anxious behaviour to fix.
On film
when he lays down fully right now he kind of goes into this heavy breathing thing and that's because he's like trying to regulate himself dogs do that
He's obsessed with going back and forth around me. We're gonna have to fix that. It's an anxious, it's an anxious behavior.
Wiley
In a public session Wiley's trainer points out his panting face mid-play and reads it: 'That's not from exertion. That's from like amped.'
On film
Do you see you see his face? He's like That's not from exertion. That's from like amped. Okay. Go get it while he's just dope like that
Why it works
As the trainers explain it: how a dog feels governs how well he learns ('their emotional state dictates how well they're going to be able to learn', watch 41:04), so the read comes before the command. A panicking dog's 'processing capacities are completely gone' (watch 24:09), which is why a fearful dog ignoring a known command is read as a state problem rather than disobedience. The small observables stand in for that state: sniffing means comfort (watch 15:27), a shake-off means the dog is shedding ordinary stress, and freezing and heavy suppression mean the handler has gone too far (watch 09:38). In September 2026 it is said on film: the same collar input breaks one dog out of a fixation and feeds it in another, 'so you gotta know what you're looking for to see how each dog responds' (watch 02:05), and Boog's handler reads a missing head tilt as a collar that did not register (watch 06:55). The trainers also state why they read at all: a dog cannot tell you how he feels, so 'the only thing that you can do is observe' his positive or negative affect (watch 12:37).
Where the trainers differ
Is a yawn or a shake-off a stress sign or a good sign?
One view
The shake-off is coping and is the target after a repetition; freezing and suppression are the warning. In September 2026 two more trainers read it this way: a shake-off after a run of commands is 'a recovery sign' (Kali), and a head or body shake means the dog is 'processing info', while a yawn means 'they didn't want to do something' (Mazi). A wider reading of the session record adds four more dogs read the same way (Astro, Kalypso, Sputnik - whose trainer calls the yawn-and-shake together 'recovery' - and Lunna).
On film
that shake was really good that's what we're looking for
So, it's like a coping mechanism where they shake the stress off.
and then you see them kind of shake it off that's a good sign right that's like a recovery sign right
if a dog yawns at you it means that they didn't want to do something and if they go like that kind of thing shake their body it means they're processing info
that's beautiful what was that that's a coping mechanism right they're shaking off a little bit of the stress up until that point he never sniffed tail never went anywhere and he was completely frozen up right now we just saw him sniff a whole bunch start to feel a little bit
spam call so that shake off dogs normally do that when they're coping with a little bit of stress Right, which but it's a good sign because that's it means that they're doing fine
well that's recovery by the way yeah you saw the little stress yawn and shake yeah
is um that shakes really good anytime you see a dog shake it means they're processing information
Another view
Phoebe's arc records that one handler read her yawn as enjoyment, against the instructor's reading of such signs as stress coping.
Common owner mistakes
- Tightening the leash and fussing over a nervous dog, which tells him his fear was right.
On film
Like, if I, like, tighten the leash there, if he's not on a long line and I have a six foot line on him and I kind of, like, rein him in and tell him, oh, no, no, no, like, he's scared
Watch at 20:33 ↗ - Starting a walk with the dog already on alert, tail up and waiting for the next car.
On film
If his tail's up and he's staying and he's like doing this, right, like what I saw at your guys' house
Watch at 15:34 ↗ - Reading one sign as a translation, such as a short lead's tension as pulling.
On film
This slip lead's a little short, too. So, I have to be very mindful of what's a pull versus just like This leash is short.
Watch at 4:13 ↗ - Judging a correction by how hard you gave it, rather than by how the dog looks afterwards.
On film
all right, was the dog penalized or not, you need to think uh about only one factor. Does it look like it? Yeah.
Watch at 11:38 ↗ dog look if they look like they could go right back to it at any moment they did not get punished or if they're just like they did not get punished if they look like this and they look like a kind of little bit scared and they're like oh my god yeah they were punished right it's as simple as
Watch at 26:30 ↗ You only know if it worked by their reaction. If you don't get the reaction you want, it didn't work, right? It's the same thing with rewards.
Watch at 8:36 ↗ - Going harder on a dog who looks suppressed or unsure, instead of encouraging him.
On film
i noticed his emotion there what was the emotion you saw he suppressed okay so then the proper response to that is not to go harder and be like why didn't you come yet instead it's to encourage
Watch at 0:40 ↗ you noticed hopefully you did did he look like he was willfully non-compliant like non-compliant like he didn't want to listen to me that is not what i saw at all to be very frank with you i saw a little bit of like oh what's gonna happen now right that's what i saw right um so when i see
Watch at 1:11 ↗
Questions owners ask
What should I actually watch?
The trainers name a few specific things rather than a general mood: how the dog sniffs (a curved, exploring sniff against a frantic one or none), where the tail sits compared with his usual, whether he shakes off after something hard, and whether he freezes or goes still. Louie's trainer sums up the first: 'if he's sniffing, he's comfortable'.
On film
what I've been really just trying to get him to do is just sniff everything. Because if he's sniffing, he's comfortable.
Does he sniff in kind of like a curved arc and go and sniff things? Or does he look kind of panicked the whole time
Is a shake-off a bad sign?
Not as the trainers teach it. One instructor calls it a coping mechanism, a way of shaking off stress, and another handler calls it what he is looking for after a repetition. The signs they treat as warnings are freezing, heavy suppression and odd behaviour.
On film
So, it's like a coping mechanism where they shake the stress off.
that shake was really good that's what we're looking for
and then you see them kind of shake it off that's a good sign right that's like a recovery sign right
spam call so that shake off dogs normally do that when they're coping with a little bit of stress Right, which but it's a good sign because that's it means that they're doing fine
Shake it off. That's a way for them to deal with stress. So it's coping with a stressful situation that they have It's actually a good thing you want to see it happen. Yeah
Can I tell from one sign?
The trainers warn against it. Finn's pupils are always dilated, so his trainer cannot use them; a short slip lead can make a dog look as if he is pulling. Each read is compared with that dog's own normal. Boog's handler knows Boog's usual answer to the collar is a small head tilt, and Mazi's trainer says the same collar tap breaks one dog out of a fixation and feeds it in another.
On film
he's kind of locked in a little bit he's panting so and eyes his eyes are always dilated i can never tell when he's actually nervous
This slip lead's a little short, too. So, I have to be very mindful of what's a pull versus just like This leash is short.
just because i know his reaction to the e-collar it's usually like kind of a like he kind of does like a little um like a head tilt
and it's funny some dogs it breaks them out of it and some dogs actually like will encourage it
What do I do when I see it?
On film the read always changes the plan: Luna's handler stops the exercise and walks her until her tail comes back; Bullet's trainer aborts the session and spends the evening with the dog; Sage is warmed up before the first command. Stop asking, change the place or the pace, and let the dog recover before you try again. If he looks suppressed after a missed command, encourage rather than push (Oscar); if his tail drops, change the activity and come back to it (Shadow the Husky).
On film
their tail's a little low right now so we need to wind down
That's one thing that you learn is, hey, don't go crazy pushing it if the dog's not really feeling it, you know?
i noticed his emotion there what was the emotion you saw he suppressed okay so then the proper response to that is not to go harder and be like why didn't you come yet instead it's to encourage
what's up buddy you're super suppressed all right well let's go walk around have some fun and we'll come back to it in a minute see that's a good boy yeah over your tail went down immediately
How do I tell whether he is just looking or about to react?
The trainers let dogs look; what they watch is how. Whiskey's trainer allows her to look at dogs and people because her ears are not pinning forward and she is not fixating. Kelton, narrating Sofia in Spanish, names what is missing (no barking, no fear, no surprise) and what is there: watchful yes, reactive no. Kelton (Reaper's trainer) teaches his owners the tell before an act: hackles up, the tongue going back, a hard face and really hard eyes.
On film
everything walking up staring like a whole bunch and now like she'll look you know like dogs and people it's fine she can look but her ears aren't like pinning forward she's not fixating
Tú puedes ver que ella puede, no ladra, no hace nada y no está asustada, no está sorpresada, está contenta. Vigilante sí, pero reactivo no.
what we call a hard face is what it's called it's where they get they they switch from to yep that and they get really hard eyes
How do I know if a correction actually worked?
Look at the dog, not at what you did. Kelton tells owners that you only know a punishment or a reward worked by the dog's reaction, and that the only question is 'does it look like it?'. A dog who could go straight back to what he was doing was not punished; one who looks a little worried was. Handlers watch for the eye shift - the eyes going back and forth - as the sign it landed, and then make up with the dog straight away.
On film
You only know if it worked by their reaction. If you don't get the reaction you want, it didn't work, right? It's the same thing with rewards.
all right, was the dog penalized or not, you need to think uh about only one factor. Does it look like it? Yeah.
dog look if they look like they could go right back to it at any moment they did not get punished or if they're just like they did not get punished if they look like this and they look like a kind of little bit scared and they're like oh my god yeah they were punished right it's as simple as
immediately yeah as soon as you see that she's been punished sufficiently i like to look for the eye shift they shift their eyes back and forth and they kind of like then you go okay
The lesson
The goal
Recognise the few observables the trainers use (sniff, tail against baseline, shake-off, freeze, pause) and turn each into a decision to continue, ease off or stop.
Learn first
The drill
As run on Luna: during a session, watch the tail against its usual carriage; when it drops, stop the exercise, walk and let the dog sniff, and confirm the tail has come back before asking again (watch 10:48). On a walk with a nervous dog, note whether the sniffing is curved and exploring or frantic (watch 01:53).
Watch out for
- Treating one sign as a translation without comparing it with the dog's normal (watch 16:05).
- Reading freezing or suppression as calm compliance (watch 09:38).
- Reading a short lead's tension as pulling (watch 04:13).
Check yourself
Your dog stops sniffing and his tail drops halfway through a walk. What do you stop doing, and what do you wait for before you ask again?