The answer
Because seeing his people again is the most exciting thing that has happened to him in weeks, and excitement is the hardest distraction there is. Three dogs show it. At a mid-program visit, Neo cannot produce the down he knows in front of his owners; his trainer puts it down to excitement at seeing them and says labs, in his experience, lose it the second they see their people. Marvin, at pickup, is 'the most amped that he's ever been' - and his trainer's first words at the go-home are that he lets the dog lose his mind, because 'why try to control that?', and the second that this is 'probably the worst possible learning environment for you' too.
The trainers' answers follow from that. Let the reunion happen, and still ask for simple things through it: Marvin is put back into downs with the owners standing there. Don't ask the dog to prove everything at the handover: at Oscar's go-home Kelton says he gives the dog 'a little bit of grace' because 'my person's here oh my god' is more distracting than most things, and that he doesn't turn the lesson into a demo, because the program videos are already posted. Record the lesson, because a reunited owner will not remember most of what is said; offer to meet again once the high has worn off and the real questions arrive.
What is stated is the trainers' experience, repeated. Not on film: how long the reunion effect lasts after the dog is home.
What to do
Expect your dog to be wild when you collect him, and don't judge the training by that moment. Ask him for a simple command or two through it; save the proofs for later.
What the trainers say
Uh, two things. One is that I let the dog do that, what he just did, lose their mind.
Happens every time. Let it happen, right? He's gonna pant like a, like a raving lunatic.
The second thing that I tell people is that this is probably the worst possible learning environment for you.
That's why we take videos throughout the program.
he is really excited to see you guys too labs are in my opinion some of the most excitable
and i say that because every lab i've trained the second they like see me or they see one of
your buddy and be like oh my god yay and that's expected so like i don't expect a ton of the dog
into like a demo session if that makes sense because that's why we that's why i post all
How it looks, dog by dog
Marvin (Giant Schnauzer)
Filmed from both sides. In a group session Marvin at first does not notice his owners arrive, then greets them in what staff call the most amped they have ever seen him; he is still put back in downs through it and the trainer says he did really good. The go-home lesson then opens with the trainer's two rules - let it happen; this is the worst place to learn anything - and a standing offer to meet again in a few days when the questions come.
On film
amped that he's ever been in my entire history of seeing him they have a bond it's been since
Good boy. So how'd he do?
The high is gonna go down and then you're gonna be like, hmm. What about this? Yeah, what about that?
Neo
A lab at a mid-program owner visit, not a pickup, but the same effect: the down will not come in front of his people, and the trainer says he will try again once Neo has calmed down.
On film
i'm gonna try the down again in a little bit once he's calmed down what i'm gonna go over now
Oscar
The go-home is run as questions, not a demo: grace for the dog, recording for the family, the family's biggest concerns first (for Oscar, running out the door and reacting to dogs).
On film
either um on the go home lesson because again they're like my person's here oh my god right so
the videos before right so instead i like to take it as an opportunity to field questions
Why it works
Neo's trainer's lab claim is his experience, stated as opinion. Inferred: excitement at the reunion is a distraction at the top of the scale, so performance drops for the same reason it drops anywhere new.
Common owner mistakes
- Judging the program by the dog's behaviour in the first minutes of pickup.
On film
This is a bad environment to demonstrate anything.
Watch at 0:38 ↗
Questions owners ask
My dog went crazy when he saw me. Did the training not work?
The trainers expect it - 'Happens every time. Let it happen' - and say the pickup is a bad place to demonstrate anything. The program videos are the demonstration.
On film
Happens every time. Let it happen, right? He's gonna pant like a, like a raving lunatic.
Should I record the go-home lesson?
The trainers record it themselves for that reason: you won't remember half of what is said. Both go-homes here offer the recording or a follow-up meeting.
On film
that's why i record it so you guys can remember everything that i say yeah um and it'll
The lesson
The goal
Set expectations for pickup: let the reunion happen, keep asks simple, and move learning to recordings and follow-ups.
Learn first
Watch out for
- Asking the dog to prove every skill at pickup
- Trying to calm the reunion instead of letting it pass
Check yourself
Why do the trainers film the whole program rather than demonstrate everything at pickup?