Learning notes · Learning notes / pressure
A different response may be the dog’s attempted solution; identify the actual behavior and its context before calling it refusal.
Answer
A dog can move toward the person, lie down, run to a cot, or leave the working area without doing what was asked. The research groups these moments because the alternative can look cooperative while still solving a different problem for the dog. Bullet gets off place and comes toward the trainer. Dolce goes to a familiar cot when another exercise becomes difficult. Kodak lies down during work; the trainer describes that as an option he is testing. These are observations and handler interpretations, not direct access to the dog’s intention.
The most useful distinction is between the cue you gave and the behavior that actually occurred. Going to place is a learned skill, but it is not a correct heel merely because both are trained behaviors. Coming close is not the same as maintaining a position away from the person. At the same time, an alternative response alone does not establish that the dog can comfortably perform the requested one. Dutchess’s trainer emphasizes both gentleness and clarity when she tries to leave the pressure.
Stormie’s session provides a change in setup: the discussion turns to preventing a sit that allows bracing during the down exercise. The current transcript preserves the question about not letting the sit happen; the surrounding explanation is low-confidence, so the stronger causal claim in the older arc remains qualified. The shared lesson is to examine what the current arrangement permits and whether the requested answer is clear, rather than treating every alternative as a reason to increase pressure.
Owner takeaway
Describe the exact alternative you see and show the sequence to your trainer: what you asked, what happened, and what ended the exercise. Ask for a clear setup and response criterion rather than labeling all avoidance as stubbornness.
Across the cases
Bullet
The trainer describes Bullet leaving the cot either to get away or to come toward him. The second form is easy to misread as successful engagement even though the place requirement has ended.
and that's what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a little bit of acceptance here because right now his response to feeling that pressure and feeling like he wants to get off and get away is to try to get off and get away or get off and come to me or something like that.
Watch at 20:45 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
Kodak
The trainer interprets lying down during this exercise as an alternative Kodak is testing. The beginning of the same video refers to Chunk; it must not all be assigned to Kodak.
I know your option that you're taking there is just to lay down and see if i let you do it okay little boy we'll come out better for it
Watch at 15:45 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
Dolce
Dolce’s cot is described as a place of safety that she returns to when another task produces pressure. A familiar correct behavior can therefore function as the wrong answer to the current cue.
I think at the same time too, she associates the place with safety, and so if she feels like she's not doing something up to par, or if she's getting a little pressure, she'll go to the place which you know she clearly knows place but um you don't want to have that too much
Watch at 06:15 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
stormie
A setup change is discussed during the down work. The exact current cue is phrased as a question; it supports the conversation about preventing a sit, not a stand-alone claim that one sentence caused all later improvement.
And then just don't let the sit happen?
Watch at 04:21 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
Dutchess
Dutchess tries to leave the pressure. Her trainer pairs making the answer clear with being gentler so the equipment does not become frightening.
of has a tendency where she'll just kind of try to blow me off or run away from the e-collar pressure, right? Um It does not mean that the e-collar pressure is hurting her, but her reaction to it is that I can get out of it if I run away. So, we're teaching her that it's not really a viable option.
Watch at 00:23 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
with it. So, nothing wrong with that. We just have to make sure that number one, I don't make her scared of the e-collar, so I got to be a little more gentle. And number two, make it really clear.
Watch at 00:46 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
sometimes dogs even if you have the level set really low what will happen is your e-collar the dog feels the pressure but does not know what to do with that info right and so she kind of was a little bit weird with it and she would feel it but she'd just like try to run away or something
Watch at 02:58 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
Source excerpts
and that's what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a little bit of acceptance here because right now his response to feeling that pressure and feeling like he wants to get off and get away is to try to get off and get away or get off and come to me or something like that.
Watch at 20:45 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
I know your option that you're taking there is just to lay down and see if i let you do it okay little boy we'll come out better for it
Watch at 15:45 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
I think at the same time too, she associates the place with safety, and so if she feels like she's not doing something up to par, or if she's getting a little pressure, she'll go to the place which you know she clearly knows place but um you don't want to have that too much
Watch at 06:15 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
And then just don't let the sit happen?
Watch at 04:21 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
of has a tendency where she'll just kind of try to blow me off or run away from the e-collar pressure, right? Um It does not mean that the e-collar pressure is hurting her, but her reaction to it is that I can get out of it if I run away. So, we're teaching her that it's not really a viable option.
Watch at 00:23 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
with it. So, nothing wrong with that. We just have to make sure that number one, I don't make her scared of the e-collar, so I got to be a little more gentle. And number two, make it really clear.
Watch at 00:46 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
sometimes dogs even if you have the level set really low what will happen is your e-collar the dog feels the pressure but does not know what to do with that info right and so she kind of was a little bit weird with it and she would feel it but she'd just like try to run away or something
Watch at 02:58 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
How the trainers explain it
The trainers explain several alternatives as behaviors that have previously ended or escaped pressure. Changing the arrangement and making the intended answer legible can change what the dog tries. The interpretation is functional and case-specific; the footage alone does not exclude fear, confusion, fatigue or physical difficulty.
and that's what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a little bit of acceptance here because right now his response to feeling that pressure and feeling like he wants to get off and get away is to try to get off and get away or get off and come to me or something like that.
Watch at 20:45 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
I know your option that you're taking there is just to lay down and see if i let you do it okay little boy we'll come out better for it
Watch at 15:45 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
I think at the same time too, she associates the place with safety, and so if she feels like she's not doing something up to par, or if she's getting a little pressure, she'll go to the place which you know she clearly knows place but um you don't want to have that too much
Watch at 06:15 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
with it. So, nothing wrong with that. We just have to make sure that number one, I don't make her scared of the e-collar, so I got to be a little more gentle. And number two, make it really clear.
Watch at 00:46 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
This is a synthesis of the cited training record, not a controlled comparison or a measurement of the dog’s internal state.
Differences to review
Alternative behavior is not a diagnosis
The same outward down or approach can reflect different states. The older Kodak dossier’s re-energizing example does not match the current track closely enough for quotation here; it remains a research check rather than proof of a universal treatment.
I know your option that you're taking there is just to lay down and see if i let you do it okay little boy we'll come out better for it
Watch at 15:45 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
with it. So, nothing wrong with that. We just have to make sure that number one, I don't make her scared of the e-collar, so I got to be a little more gentle. And number two, make it really clear.
Watch at 00:46 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
Questions and answers
Is coming back to me always the right answer?
Only if that is what the current exercise asks. Bullet’s trainer specifically describes coming toward him as one way of leaving place.
and that's what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a little bit of acceptance here because right now his response to feeling that pressure and feeling like he wants to get off and get away is to try to get off and get away or get off and come to me or something like that.
Watch at 20:45 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
Should I just turn the collar up?
The cited Dutchess lesson instead stresses gentleness and clarity. An alternative response is a reason to inspect understanding and setup; it does not by itself establish that more intensity is appropriate.
with it. So, nothing wrong with that. We just have to make sure that number one, I don't make her scared of the e-collar, so I got to be a little more gentle. And number two, make it really clear.
Watch at 00:46 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
sometimes dogs even if you have the level set really low what will happen is your e-collar the dog feels the pressure but does not know what to do with that info right and so she kind of was a little bit weird with it and she would feel it but she'd just like try to run away or something
Watch at 02:58 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
Teaching outline
A different response may be the dog’s attempted solution; identify the actual behavior and its context before calling it refusal.
Watch one excerpt and write down cue, alternative response, handler adjustment, and the actual release. Compare the Bullet and Dolce examples before deciding that they are the same motor behavior.
and that's what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a little bit of acceptance here because right now his response to feeling that pressure and feeling like he wants to get off and get away is to try to get off and get away or get off and come to me or something like that.
Watch at 20:45 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
I know your option that you're taking there is just to lay down and see if i let you do it okay little boy we'll come out better for it
Watch at 15:45 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
I think at the same time too, she associates the place with safety, and so if she feels like she's not doing something up to par, or if she's getting a little pressure, she'll go to the place which you know she clearly knows place but um you don't want to have that too much
Watch at 06:15 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
with it. So, nothing wrong with that. We just have to make sure that number one, I don't make her scared of the e-collar, so I got to be a little more gentle. And number two, make it really clear.
Watch at 00:46 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
Counting a familiar but unrequested behavior as completion of the current task.
What exactly was asked, and what exactly did the dog do instead?
Common mistakes
Counting a familiar but unrequested behavior as completion of the current task.
and that's what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a little bit of acceptance here because right now his response to feeling that pressure and feeling like he wants to get off and get away is to try to get off and get away or get off and come to me or something like that.
Watch at 20:45 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
I think at the same time too, she associates the place with safety, and so if she feels like she's not doing something up to par, or if she's getting a little pressure, she'll go to the place which you know she clearly knows place but um you don't want to have that too much
Watch at 06:15 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
What to notice
A familiar place, close contact, or a different position repeatedly replaces the cue you actually gave.
and that's what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a little bit of acceptance here because right now his response to feeling that pressure and feeling like he wants to get off and get away is to try to get off and get away or get off and come to me or something like that.
Watch at 20:45 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
I think at the same time too, she associates the place with safety, and so if she feels like she's not doing something up to par, or if she's getting a little pressure, she'll go to the place which you know she clearly knows place but um you don't want to have that too much
Watch at 06:15 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
Trainer notes
The trainers explain several alternatives as behaviors that have previously ended or escaped pressure. Changing the arrangement and making the intended answer legible can change what the dog tries. The interpretation is functional and case-specific; the footage alone does not exclude fear, confusion, fatigue or physical difficulty.
and that's what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a little bit of acceptance here because right now his response to feeling that pressure and feeling like he wants to get off and get away is to try to get off and get away or get off and come to me or something like that.
Watch at 20:45 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
I know your option that you're taking there is just to lay down and see if i let you do it okay little boy we'll come out better for it
Watch at 15:45 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
I think at the same time too, she associates the place with safety, and so if she feels like she's not doing something up to par, or if she's getting a little pressure, she'll go to the place which you know she clearly knows place but um you don't want to have that too much
Watch at 06:15 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
with it. So, nothing wrong with that. We just have to make sure that number one, I don't make her scared of the e-collar, so I got to be a little more gentle. And number two, make it really clear.
Watch at 00:46 ↗ · Current transcript match · Audio confirmation pending
Source moments
Still to establish
Recheck the Kodak re-energizing passage against audio before using it as a quoted counterexample.
Confirm the low-confidence Stormie setup explanation before publishing a causal turning-point story.
Source limitations
Zeus’s crate discussion was considered but its key cues carry low confidence in the current transcript, so it is not a load-bearing quotation in this draft.
Quotations are copied verbatim from the current local transcript, including transcription errors. Exact text matching does not independently verify the audio or identify a speaker.
The dossier is derived from existing Tier 1 and Tier 2 research; its broad-concept sighting cap may omit further examples. Dogs covered records reviewed dossier context, not a claim that every dog supplies equally strong evidence.
Equipment levels, inferred motives and outcome claims describe the cited case; they are not universal settings, diagnoses or independently established results.
Connected library collections
These links follow eligible video assignments in the reviewed library. A source can feature more than one animal; the older research-folder name is not used to merge identities.