At Roxy and Ramsey's go-home lesson, Kelton tells the owners what usually breaks a program: not the quality of the training, but how well the family remembers what to do. Both lines are in the record, and the rest of the handover is built between them. In another family's handover the proof arrives from the other side: a family who used to plan their walks around when nobody else would be out describe a hike they did on their own, and the trainer's only contribution is to say who did it.
the number one um roadblock for like long-term success for most of our clients uh is not like the quality of the dog training
not reading a transcript, man. Are you crazy? I have a life. I have a job.
It was like we have to plan our walks around when there aren't people around.
you guys did that on your own yeah no trainer no trainer involved on that one
The chapter in one paragraph
After a board-and-train the dog usually knows the job; what fails, in the trainers' experience, is the owner remembering what to do. So the lessons train the owner as a handler while it is still easy, with the dog refusing in front of the trainer on purpose, and the trainers show that authority passes to anyone who follows through the same way. They say the hard part bluntly and early, aimed at the few things that undo a program. The pickup is the worst moment to judge anything, so the reunion is allowed to happen, the lesson is recorded, and the family learns from its own dog's footage, which is also the evidence the business asks to be judged by. For the first week home the dog finds out whether the rules exist in this house, and the family is asked to be as strict then as they want him to be for life. The standard is set by what the family's life needs, not by perfection. What a board-and-train sells is a shared language and a floor to build on: the training lasts if the commands are used in ordinary life and kept backed, and fades if they stop. Commands can be given a count of sessions; nerves and courage cannot. And the record stops where the footage stops: for most families the story after go-home is not on film.
Principles
What fails after a board-and-train is usually not the dog but the owner remembering what to do, so the lessons train the owner as a handler while it is still easy: backing every marker with a tap for the owner's own habit, practising while the dog already knows the word so a fumble costs little, and letting the dog refuse in front of the trainer because that is the most instructive thing that can happen.
Said as a rule on filmOn film
the number one um roadblock for like long-term success for most of our clients uh is not like the quality of the dog training or um or like the health or anything else. It's always how well do they remember what to do with the dogs.
every time you say uh, you should tap the eco, even if it's on a relatively low level, not for him. his charged for you, right? Because you need to develop a habit and you need to develop muscle memory that you back up your penalties
it's better if you do that now right when it's already charged right because then if you're a little late it's okay if you fumble around with it it's okay because it's already charged it already worked
do it because the and I hope that he at least a few times doesn't listen to you right now I'm hoping for it because that's the most instructive thing
Concepts: Build the handler's timing while it is easy
Exceptions
- The "number one roadblock" line is one trainer's assessment from experience, not a measured result.
- A demonstration hides the button: Baxter's owner stopped practising rather than punish her dog for her own errors, and the remedy was the trainer wearing the collar and playing the dog (watch 02:28; watch 04:32).
Authority is not a feeling the dog has about one person; it is built by whoever enforces, and it passes to anyone who follows through the same way. At the end of a program compliance often belongs to the trainer, so the owner must take the leash and do it herself, and whoever holds the leash is the handler.
Said as a rule on filmOn film
and so once we generalize that to different people like we've done here we've generalized it to two other people then it becomes very easy to transfer that
She does, like she respects me more because like I reinforce everything with her. So the thing with respect though is that it's not like a permanent thing. Once you reinforce it, then the authority goes up.
he's a little cranked up with you guys i've noticed that's a pattern with him because you've seen the videos right super tight and then you got like you came around and he like loosened up
right um because whoever reinforces is going to be the one he sees as like listening in the moment
so anybody who has the leash the respect needs to be whoever is walking them
like right now he's a great dog, but if my wife was here, he probably would not listen. That's why we do the home lesson.
Concepts: The dog is a different dog for his owner - and authority transfers
Exceptions
- Some dogs are one-person dogs, and the handling is built around that person (Louie, watch 14:03): see conflicts.
- Transfer is tested, not assumed: Bullet is handed to somebody he has never worked for, and the handler admits he was not sure it would work (watch 41:15).
The trainers say the hard part bluntly and early, because the soft version did not work, and they aim it at the few things that undo a program: the correction word that stops being backed, the first week home, and relaxing the rules out of love. Confidence is given as a number about the owners, and promises are bounded.
Said as a rule on filmOn film
is this has happened to a lot of people i have worked with so i started mentioning it very very bluntly to people um because i found i was not blunt enough
had with almost like uh an unfortunate number of clients that I've worked with to the point where I've started going like really hard on it and telling people like you must do this, you will fail.
I give it like a seven and a half out of ten the reason but I'll tell you why I don't I'm not confident that you guys don't understand what I'm saying
possibilities in terms of like what this will end up being for you. One possibility is that you will have better management tools. The other possibility is that you will have a fuller freedom picture. We can shoot for the second one.
overexcited and jumps all over the place so what I cannot promise is that he will never ever jump on things or make noises however what I can give you is a reduction
Concepts: Say it bluntly or it will not land
Exceptions
- Connor says he tempers himself a little for the public, but will not lie (watch 39:32).
- Whether bluntness improves outcomes cannot be shown from the record.
The pickup is the worst moment to judge a dog's training or to learn it: seeing his people again is the most excited he will be. So the trainers let the reunion happen, ask only for simple things through it, give the dog grace, and record the lesson rather than turn it into a demonstration.
Said as a rule on filmOn film
Uh, two things. One is that I let the dog do that, what he just did, lose their mind.
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.
your buddy and be like oh my god yay and that's expected so like i don't expect a ton of the dog
Concepts: The reunion is the worst learning environment
Exceptions
- How long the reunion effect lasts after the dog is home is not on film.
For about a week after he comes home the dog finds out whether the trainer's rules exist in this house. The family is asked to be as strict in that week as they want him to be for life, to say a command only when they can back it, and to back every marker.
Said as a rule on filmOn film
yeah every dog that goes home has kind of like I was I was telling like a week period though where they have to realize all the rules that apply with me apply here
I tell people be as strict on the dog as you want them to be regularly so sometimes people will go easy on the dog for the first week then the training looks kind of like loose
before you hit the collar you can just decide not to hit it later on but for that first week if you say it you got to back it up right
it's like the grandkids right they come home back to the parents and then they like they're like what can i get away with
So the reason I say that is for the first week, don't give him a command unless the e-collar is on.
Concepts: The settling week
Exceptions
- Other handlers ask for a few days, or a week or two, of acclimatisation first: see conflicts (still pending with Kelton).
The standard is set by what the dog is for, not by perfection. A pet dog must be really good at the things the family's life needs (stopping on command, coming back, a walk that is not a fight), and the result is measured in the owner's hands, not the trainer's. Working dogs are held to their job's stricter bar.
Said as a rule on filmOn film
This is a pet dog. It does not have to be perfect, but it does need to be really good.
if we were in a competition we failed but we're not in a competition we're thinking about live functionality for the owners
but if he comes home and does it to you then like it doesn't matter that he doesn't do it
entirely reliant on you just like holding a treat here is to heal um and like that's not like workable at all for service dog stuff
to be very frank with you, I don't even like punishing wildlife reactivity, but this isn't about me. This isn't my dog. This is about his owners, what they're capable of doing with him,
Concepts: The standard is set by the job
The camera is the curriculum. Sessions are filmed and narrated so the family learns from its own dog's footage and can rewatch a handover it will not retain; the footage is also the evidence the business asks to be judged by, instead of reviews.
Said as a rule on filmOn film
because I want to be as transparent and document as much of his training as possible and then commentate like tell you what I'm doing while I'm doing it
best thing is like all right what's the evidence like we'll show it show this dog and I can't count the number of trainers that like dog great reviews
so i found that people who are most successful are the ones that watch as many videos as they can
However, this is probably like the single worst learning environment for you that I could possibly imagine because you're so excited to see your dog
when it's a topic that's unfamiliar to you so i started doing that for all of mine i record them so that this conversation we're having doesn't just get lost into oblivion
Concepts: The camera is part of the method
The camera is held to rules that cost the business something: a failed known command is left in rather than re-run for the camera, the unexciting work is published as it was, and handling is not changed to make the shot prettier.
Shown, not saidOn film
I won't press on that command again to prove to you that it's perfect, but he is doing well to sit.
it's not the highlight clips that you see on instagram it's not all exciting like that every time sometimes it's this but it's important
It's good because you get to see what it looks like, right? And this is why I may start having these videos where I take them in an area that's really not like another area we've been in.
Concepts: The camera is part of the method
Exceptions
- One trainer states the transparency policy outright (watch 19:40); the other rules are shown, not stated as rules.
Maintenance is the owner's job, and it is not drills. The training lasts if the commands are used in the day's ordinary moments and kept backed when the dog tests; whatever the household stops reinforcing, the dog drops.
Said as a rule on filmOn film
by using it not by like alright so if you want to maintain your dog training you must do 45 minutes of drills every day you'd be like bro what was the point of this program again
just use it just use it so take them on walks on a regular basis um use it in the house just use Use all the commands, use the communication tools we've given you, and use them however you need to use them, right?
but it's similar to like a truck. You buy a truck, it's got a new engine, you still got to change your oil, right?
so if you don't reinforce the commands and penalize the things you don't like then they will come back yeah and the commands will weaken
So, think about it in terms of like a battery. Okay. That has to be charged on a regular basis. However, the how regular of a basis is decided by by him
Concepts: Maintenance is use, not practice
Exceptions
- Formerly nervous dogs and adopters were given schedules (a few walks a day and a busy outing a week for Apollo the Bully, watch 08:12): see conflicts.
- The trainers say it of their own dogs: "dog train is dog, you don't get trained as often" (Zuri-chan, watch 41:48).
What a board-and-train sells is a shared language and a floor to build on: the dog learns the words early, most of the program reinforces them in varied scenarios, and the family's repetition afterwards turns them into the dog's default. The owner becomes a handler, and the result should look better in a year or two than on the day he goes home.
Said as a rule on filmOn film
the big difference between an untrained and a trained dog is you have a language now.
which is trainers that's what we do like most of the program is not teaching a command it's reinforcing it in random scenarios
Step two, we hand it back to its owners, and we teach the owners how to continue reinforcing the things that the dog has already learned so they become habitual.
please be patient with yourself. You have always been a dog owner up to this point, but now you're going to be a dog handler. And those are two very different responsibilities.
the training funny enough it should look good when they come home but in the grand scheme of things it should look way more messy than two years down the road
Concepts: The program is reinforcement, not teaching
Exceptions
- Dogs are "biological organisms" and will still make mistakes (watch 33:24).
- No follow-up a year or two after go-home is on film; the improve-after-handover claim is an expectation.
Commands can be given a count of sessions; nerves and courage cannot. Most commands take about one to three sessions and a tough dog four, while confidence is judged only as it comes, from many sessions stacked on top of each other. The first days are for settling, not training.
Said as a rule on filmOn film
for me with most dogs i can usually get each command okay in about one to three sessions
so for the obedience and proofing that we'll have that part done by probably next week for that stuff the chasing and for like the bite in the defense I'll know more by the end of this week for that because like I said I just I it's just based off her her confidence
so like take this walk as like a microcosm it's a small example of what you can accomplish through these methods and if you stack um 20 to 50 of these training sessions on top of each other all of a sudden you have an amazing result
every dog has to go through a you know few days of just kind of settling in the first two or three days we don't train a whole bunch of dogs because it wouldn't be fair to the dog
Concepts: Dates for obedience, no dates for drive
What owners are told
Take the leash and give the commands yourself, and follow through on every command you give; whoever holds the leash is the handler (watch 07:58). Take the blunt version at face value; a number out of ten is a prediction about you, not a verdict on your dog (watch 39:09). For the first week home be as strict as you want life to be for good, say a command only when you can back it, and back every marker (watch 01:31). Expect a dog who stops when told, comes when called and walks without a fight, not a statue (watch 19:46). Watch the videos, your dog's and other dogs' (watch 08:25). Use the commands every day in ordinary moments rather than drills, and keep backing them (watch 01:18). You are a dog handler now (watch 23:36). And judge the result a year from now, not in the first week.
On film
please be patient with yourself. You have always been a dog owner up to this point, but now you're going to be a dog handler.
you don't need to do drills yeah you just need to live take him on walks and play with them and have him in a house with you
What trainers know
Plan the lessons around whoever will actually handle the dog. Teach clients by being the dog when their mechanics are poor (watch 86:30). Let the dog fail in front of you during a lesson; it is the most instructive thing. Test transfer rather than assume it: a new person holds the line steady and adds nothing. Concentrate bluntness on the decay points; give confidence as a number about the handlers and no tens; offer two endings where the ceiling is unknown; say what you cannot promise first. Let the reunion run, record the handover, and offer a follow-up once the high wears off. Warn families in advance that the handover performance will be the worst they see. State the standard out loud and early, budget corrections to named faults, and put the last sessions where the household will use them. Narrate while training; film in new places; never re-run a failed known command for the camera. Brief families that commands are learned early and made reliable by reinforcement, and set the finish line a year or two out.
On film
I like to teach clients by being the dog Because most the time their mechanics suck
10 out of 10 for anybody though because like if they were like 10 out of 10 i believe in them then like why are they hiring me as a trainer
And the only thing that I'm correcting for here is the sniffing because sometimes he has a little bit of a problem with the sniffing
In the dogs
Roxy
Ending: went home.
Lola
A dual program: the family taught to manage and the dog taught to obey. At the handover the family describe having planned walks around when nobody else would be out, and then a hike they did on their own: "no trainer involved on that one". Ending: went home.
Zeus
Kelton hopes, out loud, that the dog refuses the owner in front of him; at the end of a long lesson Zeus refuses a down for her and the trainer tells her this is the test. The family is given two possible endings rather than one promise, and at go-home told to just use it. Ending: went home.
Finn
Kelton explains why he now says one warning bluntly (the conditioned "uh-uh" dies like an uncharged battery if it is not backed) and has the owners practise while the marker is still charged. Ending: went home.
King
Owners tap the collar on every marker "not for him" but for their own habit. Kelton says his own dog would probably not listen with his wife there, which is why every family does a lesson at home, and uses the battery picture for maintenance. Ending: went home.
Stormie
Connor gives the grandkids picture for the first week, the running-total account of authority, and, asked how confident he is, seven and a half out of ten, about the owners. Ending: went home.
Deuce
Connor names the handler-specific gap to the family's faces, steps out of the picture so they have to do it, and gives the first-week rule: no command unless the collar is on. Ending: went home.
Luna
The fullest statement of the settling week, and the finish line set two years out: the training should look better then than on the day she goes home. Ending: went home.
Dutchess
Most of the program is reinforcing words she already knew in random scenarios; at go-home the proof is the owner in her own living room noticing the jumping that isn't happening. Ending: went home.
Clark Kent
When the in-person handover had to be cut short, Evan recorded the go-home as a talk to camera and ended it: you are going to be a dog handler now. Ending: went home.
Marvin (Giant Schnauzer)
The most amped he has ever been at pickup; the trainer lets it happen, puts him back into downs through it, and tells the family this is the worst learning environment for them too. Ending: went home.
Bo
"This is a pet dog. It does not have to be perfect, but it does need to be really good." Kelton tests transfer with kennel staff, and a known sit that fails on camera is left in. Ending: went home.
Baxter
An owner who is a teacher stopped practising because she could not see when the trainer pressed the button and would not punish her dog for her own errors; the trainer put the collar on himself and played the dog. Ending: a private lesson program; he never stayed with us.
Thor
Back for a refresher about a month after going home, he "knows everything" but has decided the rules no longer apply; it just needs reinforcing. Ending: went home.
Thumper
At a follow-up on the owner's land, the four-wheeler he had learned to ride is "day one all over again"; the trainer's point is that the further a dog gets from the program without practice, the less of it holds. Ending: went home.
Bernie
Nightly place holds are filmed as evidence that the dogs are trained regularly, and at the handover the videos stand in for a longer demonstration. Ending: went home; comes back sometimes for refreshers.
Dolce
A date given for her obedience and refused, in the same sentence, for her courage; and a handler who will not let the leash out to make the footage prettier. Ending: still in training.
Reaper
The standard set by the family, not the trainer: he does not even like punishing wildlife reactivity, "but this isn't about me. This isn't my dog." Ending: still in training.
Samson
At go-home the owner is briefed before the dog leaves the car, and the yard is judged a place that can work. Ending: went home; a follow-up is being scheduled.
Where the trainers differ
On film
I tell people be as strict on the dog as you want them to be regularly
So the reason I say that is for the first week, don't give him a command unless the e-collar is on.
On film
you know give clark kent like a week or two to acclimate to being back home
Kind of like when you're jet lagged or when you're coming from a long trip, you know, you're taking it easy to get back into the routine.
On film
leash all the time. I can just ask him to do stuff and he'll do it and then he'll comply with less and less like need for any kind of e-collar
On film
You might have this thought of like, I guess I don't have to use the button anymore. Don't do that because it'll work.
Roxy does too, but she needs reinforcement every once in a while, especially with you guys, she's gonna need it.
On film
Uh, how often? That's up to you.
On film
and so maintenance wise like you know once he comes home um he should have a few walks a day and like to keep his socialization up at least at least one outing a week
On film
like a clean slate with her a lot of her training wasn't maintained um so
physically put him up there it was like day one all over again because he absolutely did not want
On film
Yeah, so really, he knows everything. It just needs to get reinforced pretty well,
so the first normally what happens is when dogs feel it again for the first time in a long time
On film
like i don't give him any passes on getting up from the down don't give him any passes
On film
he will live within in that that rule set whatever you put in there right so you can maintain it as tight as you want
because I do it unfortunately like I sometimes even do it with my dog I get her a pass and I shouldn't
On film
Because, like, when they go home, they're not going to be one-person dogs. They need to listen to both.
On film
he's he's a kind of like a like one dog one person kind of dog does that make sense like he doesn't like everybody he likes one guy all right and so that one guy needs to be you
On film
Um, but it so that like whether she maintains a distinction between the two is going to depend on whether or not you care about it basically.
On film
I'm not being as strict on her as I could be.
As a course unit
The owner can handle the dog themselves with the trainer watching, knows that authority is theirs only once they enforce, expects the reunion and the first week, can say what finished means for their own dog, uses the videos as their course, and keeps the commands alive in ordinary days.
Lessons, in order
- Build the handler's timing while it is easy
- The dog is a different dog for his owner - and authority transfers
- Say it bluntly or it will not land
- The reunion is the worst learning environment
- The settling week
- The standard is set by the job
- The camera is part of the method
- The program is reinforcement, not teaching
- Maintenance is use, not practice
- Dates for obedience, no dates for drive
Drills
- Owner-handled repetition: the trainer steps out of the picture; the owner gives the cue and follows through; if the dog refuses, do it again with the trainer coaching (does-authority-transfer-between-people lesson).
- Marker-plus-tap: every marker word backed with a light tap, for the owner's habit, for the first month (watch 36:52).
- Trainer plays the dog: the owner practises timing on the trainer wearing the collar (watch 04:32).
- First-week plan: collar on, command only when it can be backed, every marker backed, place for visitors, quiet day one (the-settling-week lesson).
- Five daily moments: name five ordinary moments tomorrow (doors, gates, meals, walks) where a command will be used (maintenance-is-the-owners-job lesson).
- Rewatch the go-home lesson and one other dog's case like yours.
Assessment
- Your partner tells the dog to come, he ignores her, and you are standing next to him. What do you do, and why?
- In the first week home, did you ever say a command or a marker you did not back up?
- A family's dog sits and then folds into a down at a café. Correct it or not, and what would change your answer?
- Something new is happening at home that you can't explain. What do you send the trainer?
- Name three moments in your day where you will use a command tomorrow.
- Your dog's goals are a reliable recall and less fear of strangers. Which one can your trainer put a count of sessions on?
The ideas it draws on
- Build the handler's timing while it is easy
- The dog is a different dog for his owner - and authority transfers
- Say it bluntly or it will not land
- The reunion is the worst learning environment
- The settling week
- The standard is set by the job
- The camera is part of the method
- Maintenance is use, not practice
- The program is reinforcement, not teaching
- Dates for obedience, no dates for drive