The answer
In this footage, usually the handler's, and the trainers say so out loud, on camera, often with the client standing there. When a repetition fails, the first explanation they reach for is their own.
The errors they name are ordinary and specific. Criteria set too high in a busy store: 'I might have been a little bit too high on the criteria end there' (Bo). A dog asked straight out of the truck on the wrong collar with no warm-up (Bo). An arm cocked to throw the ball before the release word, which the dog read as the release (Wiley). A hand reaching for the pocket too early, so the dog thought he was done: 'that wasn't really fair to him' (Wiley). The wrong word used, and no response to it (Dolce). A cue given badly, apologised for, and the rule held anyway (Stormie) - and, in September, a wrong word put down to the handler's own body language and then enforced because it was said: 'Now I have to make him do it' (Chunk). Pressure mechanics gone rusty (Deuce). An e-collar fitted too loose for the dog's comfort, so it slid round and stopped making contact (Kodak), or put on the wrong side (Deuce). A skill that will not stick: 'maybe it's my fault maybe i wasn't making clear enough' (Bullet). A place cot the dog grew suspicious of because of the handler's own timing, 'just confessing on camera' (Penny). A dog who froze because 'I gave him some very conflicting piece of data' (Simba). And at Murphy's lesson, when two dogs clash at a reintroduction, Kelton says at once 'That was my fault' and 'I tapped the e-collar at the wrong time', and then: 'Pros make mistakes too.'
The same habit runs the other way, as a refusal to bank what was not earned. A recall where the dog had already started moving before the cue is disowned on camera ('if I wanted to be like dishonest on the video') and called redundant (Roxy and Ramsey). A repetition is graded out loud and loses marks for having needed the collar (Dutchess). A trainer says a better-timed reinforcement would have produced more learning (Roxy and Ramsey).
What makes it a method rather than modesty is the disposition underneath it, said plainly by one handler: 'you are like kind of experimenting the whole time you train a dog' (Louie). If training is an experiment, a correction that read too hard is information, and the next one is adjusted down. Received rules are held loosely for the same reason: one session calls the rule against repeating a cue 'bogus' and 'context dependent', then qualifies it in the next breath (Bo).
Two uses of the habit stand out. Deuce's trainer turns his own mistimed cue into a message for owners: 'we're all prone to mistakes', so if the dog is perfect for the trainer and hard for you, that is normal. One line is addressed to the dog itself: 'never blame the dog it's not the dog it's you it's always you' (Penny). Fiona's trainer says the same to an owner in plainer words: better communication from your side is 'nearly always the case'.
Our inference, not said on film: the habit matters beyond fairness because it is the only way the next repetition changes, and because the same people who grade the dogs grade themselves, which is what makes their other judgements worth trusting.
A wider reading of the session record adds eleven dogs from their session notes, and it widens the habit in two ways. More of the errors are about setup and assumptions rather than mechanics: a surface the dog did not like (Oscar), a word the handler assumed the puppy knew (Shadow), duration asked for that the dog had not been set up for (Kane), an implied stay tried where a clean release-and-enforce rep was available (Drago), and talking and looking that got a dog off place (Thor). It also reaches the junior staff and the owners. A staff handler repeats on camera the head trainers' note that the handler is not quick enough to correct (Bernie). An owner who asks why Rocky listens to the trainer is told the difference is predictability: with her he gets several chances before he has to do it (Rocky). At an evaluation the core problem is traced to what the household gave the dog (Louie).
Angier K9 is a family-owned, play-based Board & Train serving Angier, Raleigh and the Triangle, with three full owner lessons.
What to do
When your dog gets it wrong, ask what you did just before: whether your hand moved before your word, whether you used the word he was taught, whether the collar fits, whether you set the bar too high for that place. Then make the next repetition easier and cleaner (watch 07:47; watch 04:25). Expect to make these mistakes; the trainers make them too (watch 08:19).
What the trainers say
I'm dumb I messed it up not you never blame the dog good girl never blame the
Come on talk about timing. That was an error that I just did there. I went
little mistake right there. So we're all prone to mistakes. So if
That was my fault.
I pressed the e-collar at the wrong time.
Pros make mistakes too.
I might have been a little bit too high on the criteria end there.
a handler error there see how i reach for the pocket see what happens to his eyes when i reach for it i'll have it um i reached too early before i gave him the the okay so then he thought he was done so that's why he pulled out wiley that wasn't really fair to him
for some reason um maybe it's my fault maybe i wasn't making clear enough uh when i was first practicing it i don't know
the last thing I want to do I think about like dog training is that you are like kind of experimenting the whole time you train a dog
better communication from your side no doubt that's nearly always the case so i want to teach
got a little confused there I confused him that's why he kind of like froze up
to it, such that it's no longer very effective. So, you know, it's always a judgment call where
It might have already been a heel. You guys let me know So, when you watch this, if I improperly correct it in there, it's kind of hard to see because sometimes it's just slightly, maybe if I put my arms down.
Actually, funny enough, I must put something in my body language because I meant to say sit and sit down.
I went for an implied stay and I messed it up. I could have given him the release cue and enforced
that um but what it is is just like predictability so if they are predictably like they hear me do it and they're like yeah i should listen to that right
So I should have used it then.
How it looks, dog by dog
Bo
Three versions in three sessions. A run of failed heels in a store produces a diagnosis of the handler's own criteria, a break, a repair and a lowered bar, after which clean heels follow. A dog who will not settle is explained by the conditions first: flat collar, no warm-up, straight out of the truck. A dog who picks something up gets 'that was my fault' in the same breath as the interruption. Bo's file also holds the one statement that there are 'no rules in dog training', immediately qualified.
On film
Come on. Alright, I might have poisoned that a little bit.
Okay, good boy. Good heel. Good job. Lower the criteria a little bit. Let's go. Come on, Bo.
he's on the flat collar right now, and he's just gotten out of the truck, so he's a little excited. Because he's not on a prong, and he's also not warmed up at all.
find hey hey don't eat that that was my fault good boy let's go come on i guess that's what
Deuce
The trainer grades himself repeatedly in front of the client: pressure mechanics gone rusty because another trainer teaches the sits in-house, his own body language to police, a cue given too fast, a collar on the wrong side. In the second session he mistimes the order of 'let's go' and turns it straight into the case's most reassuring passage for owners.
On film
my i've gotten a little bit uh rusty on the pressure for some reason because i haven't
so with a dog like deuce um i have to now do what i tell my clients to do which is where i have to
your dog or you're a client with us and you're being disheartened because I
And actually today I accidentally put the e-collar on the wrong side because now my e-collar is gonna push him away from me, so I have to be really careful about that.
Dolce
A non-response is traced to the handler using the wrong word, and a proofing variable is admitted to be one he had not thought of.
On film
Dulce come. Oh Dulce here? I used the wrong word and she didn't respond to it.
I hadn't thought about that, proofing for, um, for downhill and uphill, or like uneven ground
Luna
A practice that runs through every session. When a repetition fails, the first hypothesis is that she did not understand, and the answer is an apology and more conditioning. He says when he cannot read a signal, names his own ambition when duration fails, audits his own claim about leash pressure, and says on camera that she has made him change the order of his method for future dogs.
On film
Thank You Luna you did good I know I'm sorry I I figured you would know let's go that's my bad we're gonna condition it more
Tried to increase a little bit of duration there. Might have been a little early, sometimes I do get a little more ambitious than I should with the dogs.
luna let's go um and so like i'm gonna have to kind of set a zone for her on the long line um for my future dogs actually i'm changing it up a little bit
i made no pressure there whatsoever is there a minuscule amount maybe we're gonna find that out aren't we
Stormie
Four instances in four sessions, three of them unflattering and none edited out: a bad cue owned and the rule held anyway; a down cued beside a smelly bin, apologised for; a flash of temper named and repaired out loud; and a household furniture rule wrongly assumed, corrected in front of the clients.
On film
i'm sorry That was my bad. Okay, come here. I can't allow it. It's a rule.
oh no that smells no sorry my bad she was like what the
oh you could tell i'm not gonna lie i got like actually annoyed there for a second i felt bad that i got like really annoyed but i think she could tell and just walked over and did it
oh okay i'm gonna be honest i'm training a lot of dogs right now and most of the dogs i'm working with are not allowed on furniture so i for some reason thought she was too but that makes my job easier
Kodak
Kodak's panic near bicycles is charged in part to the trainer holding him close. A failed cue is traced to a collar he had loosened himself for comfort, refitted on camera before anything is said about levels. A prediction is disproved within a minute and both halves are left in. A correction that did not land is called the wrong call.
On film
that is e-collar i made it a little lit too loose because i wanted to make sure it was comfortable for him and it slid around the bottom and it's not making contact like it should
okay good boy well i was wrong i was very wrong we did in fact we didn't in fact get it
I'm trying to make sure that I use the right level of negative reinforcement and the right
Bullet
A default order of suspicion that starts with the person holding the leash: a skill that will not stick is put down first to how clearly it was taught, a broken place hold to the sound of the handler's own door, and a word said before the release to handler error.
On film
for some reason um maybe it's my fault maybe i wasn't making clear enough uh when i was first practicing it i don't know
Do not get up might have been the sound of me opening the door from over there. Oh, she's fine
release so that's a handler error i can remove that by just not saying that before
Roxy
With Roxy and Ramsey the habit takes the form of not banking what was not earned. A recall that was already under way before the cue is disowned on camera; a missed chance to reinforce a recall is graded as less learning than could have happened; a recall skipped because the dog already knew is noted with 'next time I will'.
On film
oh he's kind of unfixated so that like I mean if I wanted to be like dishonest on the video right okay because he like ran the second I said it but it was actually i could tell he started moving either way like even before
that was a nice opportunity for me to prove the recall I wish that I had been able to see it coming and reinforce it a little bit more strongly with the e-collar
I didn't even call him cause he already knew
Dutchess
A repetition graded out loud, with marks off for having needed the collar, and a standard held above the customer's: on the last day the trainer names a defect most owners would not notice and says he wants everything tight when a dog goes home. He also wonders aloud whether she can feel that he is in a rush.
On film
Not perfect because I did have to eat collar. But once you got in the command I stepped away
I you know a lot of people don't care about it but I myself want to make sure everything's just really tight when when they go home
and you know i'm sure like she can tell i'm a little bit of a rush right now trying to
Yeah. So, I had to reinforce that more than I think is a good is good for a train dog.
Louie
A correction that worked too well is softened next time, and the reason given is a standing disposition: training is an experiment from start to finish.
On film
so I'm only gonna do the actual like marker next time and if he backs off then we'll do it because I think that was a little harsh
the last thing I want to do I think about like dog training is that you are like kind of experimenting the whole time you train a dog
Ace (Chihuahua-terrier mix)
A down that fails on a slope is put down to where the handler chose to ask for it, and the handler resets somewhere better.
On film
This is not a great place for me to be doing downism anyway, so probably my fault.
A bit of a judgment call there. Laying on that hill is a little awkward.
Murphy
At a reintroduction of two household dogs during an owner lesson, the dogs clash, and Kelton blames his own mistimed collar tap at once and repeatedly. The heel series in Murphy's footage also posts a rough round on purpose, because that is how training actually goes.
On film
Yeah, that wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for me.
Pros make mistakes too.
you okay good boy so I show all this because very often that's how dog
Wiley
Five times the trainer names his own error on camera: the arm cocked before 'okay', the reach for the pocket before 'okay', a word said before the behaviour existed, duration pushed too fast, and the dog's name spoiling a choice point.
On film
small mistake but nevertheless important i cocked my arm back before i said okay i should have said okay and then cocked my arm back to throw it
i think that's probably what got him frustrated a little bit there that's why he failed a couple few more times i think i just i was trying to push the criteria a little bit too fast
a handler error there see how i reach for the pocket see what happens to his eyes when i reach for it
Penny
When a learned behaviour goes backwards, the first suspect is something the handler did: a correction the dog could not connect to anything, freedom given too early, a release given late. The trainer confesses on camera to having made the place cot suspicious, and the repair goes backwards before forwards.
On film
I'm dumb I messed it up not you never blame the dog good girl never blame the
of what i was trying to teach right i'm also i've also uh accidentally made a suspicious
Simba
Three trainers name their own mistakes on Simba's footage: conflicting information that caused a freeze, a broken sit misread, and a moment of panic in which the collar was held back.
On film
for a second it was it's not even that he's a nervous dog and then he freezes
mistake I thought he got up he kind of like got out of the position but he didn't necessarily
i actually panicked a little bit there and then like i didn't do like any form of negative
Fiona
To the owner, better communication from the owner's side is 'nearly always' the fix. On camera a trainer apologises to Fiona for an accidental stimulation she could not connect to anything.
On film
better communication from your side no doubt that's nearly always the case so i want to teach
was not on purpose that was non-contingent penalty i'm so sorry that was not on purpose
Neo
Self-corrections in plain words: a late marker, and a session in which the handler says he could have communicated better.
On film
yes i did i know i said a little late somebody was a little late on one of their markers
that I think I could have communicated with him better on this session
Bandit
Bandit (new in this update). On an off-leash walk in a large public park on his go-home day, the trainer stops mid-heel to say he may have corrected a dog who was already in heel. He asks viewers to tell him if they see an improper correction, notes that his own arms make the position hard to see, changes his arm position and takes his hand out of his pocket, and concludes that Bandit was probably in heel already.
On film
It might have already been a heel. You guys let me know So, when you watch this, if I improperly correct it in there, it's kind of hard to see because sometimes it's just slightly, maybe if I put my arms down.
Yeah, I can see better now with my arms down.
He was probably on the heel already.
Chunk
Chunk (new in this update). In a go-home-day tune-up the trainer says 'down' when he meant 'sit', and puts the slip down to something in his own body language. He then holds Chunk to the cue he actually gave: 'Now I have to make him do it.'
On film
and chun's people do like like the jumpies they like to hug him so chun down or sit excuse me
Actually, funny enough, I must put something in my body language because I meant to say sit and sit down.
Now I have to make him do it.
Anna
Explaining why Anna's down is built by successive approximation, the handler names his own communication as one possible reason she is slow to get it, alongside the chance that she simply finds it harder.
On film
for whatever reason whether maybe I'm not maybe she's communicating a way that like I'm not like on her level in terms of communication as well as it could be
Bernie
On a store outing a staff handler owns the lapse on camera: Bernie needed the e-collar when he started acting out toward people, the handler did not use it, and repeats the head trainers' standing note on her - not quick enough to correct.
On film
So I should have used it then.
well, the head trainers say that I don't, um, that I don't uh I'm not quick enough to punish or to correct
Callie
When Callie will not take up tug, the handler's first question is about the handler's own timing, not the dog.
On film
No, did I take it too soon?
Drago
Across the heel Shorts the handler grades himself aloud. A down fails because he went for an implied stay instead of giving the release and enforcing it - 'I could have gotten a clean rep' - and he shows the rep that should have happened. On another rep he calls his own last nope unnecessary and apologises to a leash-sensitive dog for too much leash.
On film
I went for an implied stay and I messed it up. I could have given him the release cue and enforced
That last nope was unnecessary.
Kane
After a string of downs the trainer tells Kane he did it right the first time, and puts the extra reps on himself: he should not have gone for any duration.
On film
down down down you're so close you did it or you did it right the first time
i shouldn't have gone for any duration
Louie
At the evaluation the core problem is located in the household rather than the dog: the dog thought he was doing the right thing, because when he did it the person gave him what he wanted, without realising it.
On film
right thing right because when I did that thing when I did that thing the person gave me what I wanted
Oscar
In a recall Short two downs fail on a netted surface; the handler puts it on his setup - it is weird for Oscar to down on that, and he did not take it into account - and moves to the mulch for the next try.
On film
I think it's a little weird for him to down on this thing.
I didn't take that into account.
Rocky
At a follow-up the owner wonders why Rocky listens to the trainer and not to her. The trainer says it is not because he is a man but predictability: with him the word is always followed through, while with her Rocky has learned he will get several chances, a vibration, or sometimes nothing, before he actually has to do it.
On film
that um but what it is is just like predictability so if they are predictably like they hear me do it and they're like yeah i should listen to that right
like well i'm just going to get like she's going to say come more times and then she's going to say ah and then she's going to vibrate she's going to give me a bunch of chances before she
Shadow (German Shepherd puppy)
A failed down on a young puppy is put down to the handler's assumption that she already knew the word; he drops back to sit and gives her a break.
On film
She got confused because I was like, I thought she knew down
Thor
In a home-context place session the trainer notices on the spot that his own talking and glances got Thor up, then re-places him and lets him resettle.
On film
while i have it paused i see because i'm talking and i've looked at him a few times he has
Thumper
At the go-home, a yard recall that does not work is traced to the equipment before the dog: the e-collar is probably switched off. The speaker is not clear on the audio.
On film
oh to turn it on i might have turned it off that may be what it is
Why it works
As stated on film: the dog learns from what actually happened, not from what the handler meant, so a movement before the word becomes the cue (watch 02:49), a reach for the pocket reads as the end of the exercise (watch 04:25), and a correction the dog cannot connect to anything teaches suspicion of the place rather than the lesson (watch 35:37; watch 12:18). Calibration is a judgement call that is sometimes wrong (watch 11:30), so training is treated as an experiment and adjusted rep by rep (watch 00:47). Inferred, not stated: suspecting the handler first is the fastest route to a better next repetition because the handler is the only variable he can change on the spot; suspecting the dog first tends to lead to more pressure.
Where the trainers differ
Which handler error is the likely one: being too hard, or quitting too soon?
One view
Too hard or too fast.
On film
I might have been a little bit too high on the criteria end there.
Tried to increase a little bit of duration there. Might have been a little early
He was probably on the heel already.
Another view
Quitting. In one of Dolce's sessions a handler names his own habit as giving up on a repetition too early, and the coach's answer is neither push nor quit: make the ask smaller, so that just being next to the handler counts, then restore the dog's mood with the tug before going back to it.
On film
but do like put a little bit like what I did
And even, you didn't really heal,
How to read it
Two opposite failure modes named by the same practice; the record gives no rule for telling which one you are committing in the moment. Not resolved here.
Do the received rules of dog training bind?
One view
Some famous rules are context-dependent or wrong: the rule against repeating a cue is called 'bogus', and 'there's no rules in dog training'.
On film
depending on which one we get him to do so we're gonna say it a bunch of times um they tell you not to do that but that's bogus it's all context dependent there's no rules in dog training um so
Another view
The same speaker qualifies it in the next breath: there are some rules, and contingency matters most of the time.
On film
i'm not gonna start for this random there are some rules like it should be contingent most of the time but um yeah and we we this time we have a
How to read it
The occasion is a handler with his arm inside a crate with a growling dog, told to say the cue as often as it takes. The stance is about which situation you are in, not an argument against rules.
Common owner mistakes
- Reading the gap between how the dog behaves for the trainer and how he behaves for you as your own failure.
On film
your dog or you're a client with us and you're being disheartened because I
Watch at 8:27 ↗ - Letting a hand or arm movement come before the word, so the movement becomes the cue.
On film
small mistake but nevertheless important i cocked my arm back before i said okay
Watch at 2:49 ↗ Actually, funny enough, I must put something in my body language because I meant to say sit and sit down.
Watch at 0:52 ↗ - Using a word the dog was never taught and reading the non-response as disobedience.
On film
Dulce come. Oh Dulce here? I used the wrong word and she didn't respond to it.
Watch at 3:18 ↗ - Blaming the collar level when the collar is not making contact.
On film
that is e-collar i made it a little lit too loose because i wanted to make sure it was comfortable for him
Watch at 39:37 ↗ - Counting a repetition the dog gave before you asked.
On film
oh he's kind of unfixated so that like I mean if I wanted to be like dishonest on the video right
Watch at 3:17 ↗ - Asking a dog straight out of the car, on the wrong equipment, with no warm-up, and judging the answer.
On film
he's on the flat collar right now, and he's just gotten out of the truck, so he's a little excited.
Watch at 3:02 ↗
Questions owners ask
My dog does it for the trainer but not for me. Is it me?
The trainers say that gap is normal and that they make the same mistakes. Deuce's trainer mistimes a cue on camera and tells owners who feel disheartened that 'we're all prone to mistakes'. Fiona's trainer tells an owner that better communication from her side is 'nearly always' the fix, and then teaches her how.
On film
little mistake right there. So we're all prone to mistakes. So if
better communication from your side no doubt that's nearly always the case so i want to teach
What should I check first when a command fails?
The order the trainers use on film: your timing (did a hand move before the word?), the word itself (is it the one he was taught?), the equipment (does the collar fit and make contact?), the setting (is this a hard place to ask, a slope, a noise?), and your criteria (did you ask for too much, too soon?). Only then the dog.
On film
small mistake but nevertheless important i cocked my arm back before i said okay
that is e-collar i made it a little lit too loose because i wanted to make sure it was comfortable for him
This is not a great place for me to be doing downism anyway, so probably my fault.
I might have been a little bit too high on the criteria end there.
It might have already been a heel. You guys let me know So, when you watch this, if I improperly correct it in there, it's kind of hard to see because sometimes it's just slightly, maybe if I put my arms down.
What do I do after I realise it was my mistake?
On film the next repetition is made easier and cleaner: the criteria come down, the dog's mood is restored, and the handler tries again. Bo's trainer lowers the bar and gets clean heels; Louie's handler softens his next correction; Luna's trainer goes back to conditioning. If the mistake was the word itself, the trainers still follow through on what was actually said: Chunk's trainer said 'down' when he meant 'sit', owned it, and made him do the down.
On film
Okay, good boy. Good heel. Good job. Lower the criteria a little bit. Let's go. Come on, Bo.
so I'm only gonna do the actual like marker next time and if he backs off then we'll do it because I think that was a little harsh
Now I have to make him do it.
The lesson
The goal
Diagnose a failed repetition by checking the handler's timing, word, equipment, setting and criteria before the dog, and adjust the next repetition accordingly.
Learn first
The drill
As run on Bo in the store: after two or three failed repetitions in a row, stop, name what you did (criteria too high), break, repair the dog's mood, lower the criteria, and re-enter; count the clean repetitions that follow (watch 07:28). Film a short session and watch it back for any hand or arm movement that comes before your word (watch 02:49).
Watch out for
- Answering a run of failures with another, identical repetition.
- Crediting a response that started before the cue (watch 03:17).
- Adjusting the collar level when the fit is the problem (watch 39:37).
Check yourself
Your dog broke his sit the moment you reached for the treat. Whose error was it, and what do you change on the next repetition?