After A Dog Training Program—Are All These Go Home Protocols Really That Important?

00:00 — Kati introduces the episode’s focus: what happens when clients do not follow post-program instructions.

Welcome to Off Leash and Unfiltered Trigger Warning. I'm Kati Peppe, delivering the Truth in Dog Training.

Hey everybody, this is your host, Kati Peppe. Before we jump in, I just wanted to take a quick second and remind you to hit the subscribe button because that helps us so, so, so much. We appreciate every subscribe and follow and we have so much valuable information we wanna share with you. So we don't want you to miss an episode. Without further ado, let's jump in. Hey everybody, thanks for joining me today for another episode of Off Leash and Unfiltered and getting back on track here. Trying to stay on schedule and quit leaving you guys with these big gaps.

<laugh> in episode timing. Um, gonna flap my gums today a little bit about, um, basically what happens if you don't go home and you do the things that we tell you to do, because the truth is sometimes it might not matter that much, right? But sometimes it might matter a lot.

Um, what types of things are important? When are they important? Who are they important for? Why do we tell you to do them? So I think if you are somebody who has done a training program or is considering doing a training program, whether it's here or anywhere else, I think this episode has some amazing, uh, nuggets of information in it for you to consider. Um, and maybe help explain some things if you're like, why are we struggling with this or that. Um, or for instance, I just had a consultation with somebody who's got a very, very reactive, um, semi aggressive sort of dog.

And um, you know, they wanna know what's realistic, what can we expect? How much better will it be? Is there a guarantee? And no, there's not a guarantee and we don't know how much better it will be. Although I don't think we've ever had a dog do a training program and not come out on the other side better, right?

They're not all cured, they're not robots guys, right? Some dogs do a 180, some dogs do a 180 right away. <laugh> like they're here for a few days, different dog. Um, other dogs go home at the end of their program and they're here for three weeks or even four weeks and they go home and they still continue to struggle, um, a lot. And that's pretty rare. But it does happen sometimes. And so for that reason, because dogs are so individual and we can't control their genetic makeup and we can't control what the ceiling is, we don't offer a guarantee because we put in the blood, sweat and tears either way.

Um, but we do the best we can and we take the dog as far as they can and we support you as much as we can. And we don't leave people high and dry when they go home.

If they go home and they have questions or they have problems or they run into things, we're here. Um, and we will always help our customers assuming that they are clearly committed to putting in the effort and following the protocols and doing all this stuff back home. Um, we're never gonna tell someone too bad, you're on your own. You pay for a program with us, you get support. But at any rate, there is no guarantee. Um, because so much of the success is dependent upon the individual dog's, genetic makeup and the owner's willingness and ability to follow through with things back home.

And some people do amazing with that. And every once in a while people don't, and they don't do any of it <laugh>, which is hard to believe because it's such an investment, but it does happen sometimes, especially if um, they have major life events.

04:00 — Major life events can derail home protocols, but owners can restart the process.

Like sometimes the train just goes off the tracks. But the good news is you can always get it back on. But at any rate, let's talk a little bit about what we do and why and if it matters and who, who does it matter for. Okay? So we offer a couple of different board and train programs, right? We have our two week goal digger program, fantastic program. What I love about this program is it's pretty short. So two weeks might sound like a long time to be away from your dog, but most board and trained programs are much longer than that guys.

Two weeks in the grand scheme of things, in the grand scheme of like hopefully how long your dog is gonna be with you is not very much time. Um, and keep in mind how much we're trying to teach your dog two weeks, not a lot of time.

Um, however, we're pretty good at it and we can usually get it done, <laugh>, we always get it done. Um, again, doesn't mean the dog's a robot when they go home, but they have a very good understanding of all the skills, all the commands and what the eco means, where it's coming from, how to respond to it. Um, so we put lots and lots of time into that. Um, and so in that two week program, we are not dealing with dogs that have behavioral issues. Doesn't mean they're perfect, right? They might pull on the leash, they might jump on people, they might get a little excitable.

Sometimes they might even counter surf and you know, nuisance behaviors like that. But we're not dealing with any serious nervous system stuff. We're not dealing with serious separation, anxiety, aggression, reactivity, resource guarding. We don't do that stuff in our two week program.

Um, so when you do the two week gold digger program with us, we send you, we still send you home with a set of instructions saying to use a very high level of structure. Um, so there's nobody that goes home without those instructions. That's always the instruction. Even though all dogs are wildly different, this is the instruction we give everybody. And the reason for that is even if your dog doesn't have behavioral issues and just was here for that basic two week program, basically sending your dog home and telling you to use that very high level of structure, it immerses you the handler into the training.

Because now your training 24 hours a day where it's too easy if you're not using that structure to just turn your dog loose and you're going about your business and your dog is going about their business and you are not rehearsing the things you need to rehearse to become knowledgeable and comfortable and confident.

So I always compare it to learning a foreign language. Almost everybody has heard, um, or experienced, if you're learning a foreign language, it's much, much more effective. Even though it might be uncomfortable, it's much, much more effective to be thrown into an environment where everybody is talking that language all the time. Rather than just, oh, I'm gonna take a class, I'm gonna learn a few words, right? I'm gonna learn a few rules and then I'm gonna dip out and go back to speaking my other language. It's like, no, we want you to go home and we want you to speak this training language now all the time, <laugh>.

And that way you become fluent at it super fast. And then once that happens, you can start listening up a little bit, right? If you've got a pretty good dog with no serious issues going on, they're listening to you, everything's going the way you would expect it to, they're responding the way we want them to, then you can start to loosen up on that structure.

And when I say structure guys, I don't mean a routine. I don't mean looking at the clock for like what time we do. That's how everyone seems to interpret that that is not what it means. What it means is you take away the dog's autonomy and you tell them where to be and what to be doing. So your dog's in the kennel, your dog's on place, your dog's in a down, your dog's walking in a heel. Um, you turn your dog loose in the backyard, but you're supervising them. So if they have any unwanted behaviors, you can address it.

08:00 — Structure means controlling where the dog is and what it is doing, not watching…

And so you can throw in some commands here and there, maybe like throw throwing some recalls and some downs. Um, or even if you're playing like structured play, you can ask them to drop their toy and things of that nature, right? So your dog isn't just choosing where to be, what to be doing, what corner to lay in, what couch to get on and what toy to play with, what window to look out there rehearsing, listening to you and your rehearsing, giving instruction and following through, um, and getting fluent with your eco in getting fluent with what to do when your dog doesn't listen or gets distracted or gets excited.

Um, because those are things that don't come naturally and it takes a little bit of time to just get good at it. It doesn't take long, right? But it happens much, much faster if you're doing it all day. Now I understand that you can't just focus on your dog all day, but that's also the point in the structure, right? If you can't be supervising your dog, giving them instruction and forcing boundaries, you put them in their kennel, you just put 'em in their crate, it's easy.

And that's another piece that is somewhat unnatural to a lot of folks. The kennel should be part of your day, even when you're home and even when you're awake. If you are not in a position to monitor your dog and give them feedback, they should be in their kennel, at least for now. So we give that instruction to everybody when they go home. Um, is it critical for some people? Probably and for some people not, right? So we're talking about the two week program dogs that don't have serious behavioral issues. It's like, okay, it's going to depend on what your dog is like, what your goals are and how quick of a learner you are and how willing you are to follow the protocols and enforce them.

Um, how willing you are to turn the eco up. All of these things matter. So I can't just answer that question with a black white, this is important.

That's not, it just depends. What is your dog like? What are the things you wanted to rectify? Um, how sensitive or pushy is your dog? How consistent are you with following through? How easy is it for you to grab the e-collar, know what to do with it? Do you have to think about it? Does it take you a long time? Um, because we wanna get you to a place where it's easy, it's natural, and you're confident and your dog is responding the way they should. And so the best safest bet is to just do it.

Do the high level of structure and don't ease up on it until your dog is fancy. Things look great, they listen really well. You don't even have to use the eco that much, right? It's just there in case. It's like you get there and when you do have to use it, you know exactly what to do. You know, you know, you can say no and go get it later. You know, you can pick it up. You can take your time to adjust the level, you know, roughly what level your dog's probably gonna respond to in different environments with different distractions.

It's like once you get there and you're pretty fluent at it, okay, loosen up.

Now we have some folks that walk out of here on day one and they're just very comfortable with it. They're not, you know, people tend to be worried and panicky with the e-collar. That's very normal. Um, but some people aren't. They're very, very comfortable with it right away. Um, they pick up on it quickly. It just seems we're just clicking. We're on the same wavelength. Um, and especially if they have a dog that's fairly easy, very responsive, pretty sensitive, right? Those people, it's probably not as big of a deal. Like I'm sure we have people go home and they just don't do the structure stuff at all.

12:00 — Some easy dogs may tolerate less structure, but abandoning the protocols is not recommended.

I don't recommend that. Um, but for some people that probably works. That's the truth. And that's okay. At the end of the day, if they're happy, we are happy. Um, but we really like to see people get the full benefit out of their training investment.

They pay us a lot of money to train their dogs to listen. And we wanna make sure at the end of the day when we send the dog home that they have a dog that listens <laugh>. And so this is the recipe, um, to give us and you the highest rate of success and end up with a dog that listens really well. Um, and that we're not having to constantly nag. 'cause that's important too, right? A lot of people, they can get their dog to listen, but it's always a lot of effort. And we don't want that for you.

We want your dog to just develop a relationship with you where they know they have to listen this, that's why we tell you to do all that stuff. Um, but it's like if you have a dog that likes to sneak off and you know, pee around the corner, that's a big one.

Or sneak off and like steal socks out of the bathroom or whatever their behavior is. If you have a sneaky dog with behaviors like that, absolutely critical that you use the structure, right? So those are dogs that might not have quote unquote serious behavior issues, but they have this little nuisance behavior that's, um, very sneaky. And if you have one of those sneaky dogs and you don't utilize this structure the way we're telling you to in the beginning, you'll be dealing with that forever, almost certainly. Um, but otherwise, if you don't have that going on, then maybe it's not as big of a deal, right?

I would say another example is if you have a dog that just goes buck wild outside, um, and just like leaves you in the dust and hangs up the phone and gets so excited and doesn't hear you, doesn't see you, doesn't care what's going on, like they're in the zone, they get locked onto things, okay?

Even if your dog is good in the house, you need to be doing this stuff in the house. You need to be enforcing things in the house. You need to challenge your dog in the house. Yes, I know they're good. Yes, I know that's not your problem, but you can't just let your dog wander around in the house autonomously. Never challenge them in any way. Never ask them for anything that's inconvenient. Never ask them to resist an impulse and then go outside where things have been historically very, very challenging for your dog and let them encounter these extreme distractions and expect that they're just gonna listen like it, like it's magic or something.

Um, you need to give your dog the rehearsal and, um, develop that relationship inside your own four walls, right? Because we already know things are difficult outside. You don't wanna wait until things are difficult to do.

So that's why we tell you to do all these things that we tell you to do. And like I said, some dogs are easier than others and it might not be as important or as big of a deal if you don't do everything the exact way we do it, right? If you don't make your dog hold it down in the car, um, and hold that down, even when you pull in and even when you open the door and all those things that we do, it's like if your dog isn't super excitable, is sensitive and responsive, maybe it doesn't matter, right?

But we teach it to all dogs because maximum chance of success for everybody and just uniformity and consistency. Um, and this is what we find no matter where your dog is, right? Picture behavior is a big circle. No matter where your dog is in the circle.

These protocols draw them into the center where things are the most stable, most predictable, most reliable, most trustworthy. Um, and so the more loose ends you leave untied, the more your dog floats away from that center. Right? And things might not be as good as you want them to be. But again, it's just so highly dependent on who your dog is and also who you are and how comfortable you are with the training and with the eco, and how fluent you are with it, and how natural it's become for you. And do you know what to do and are you willing to do it?

16:00 — Leaving loose ends untied makes the dog less predictable, reliable, and trustworthy.

So if you're one of those people that cringe every time you pick it up, it's important for you to implement as much of this as possible, um, because we need to get you over that hurdle where you get more comfortable with that physical line of communication. 'cause that is the training guys.

And I I do pick on people <laugh> when they come back for their follow up or even at their go home lesson, if they say something to the effect of they only use it when necessary. And it's like, that sounds like common sense. And, and maybe it is, and maybe there's nothing wrong with that. But when I hear that, what I hear is they don't like to use it. And so I will latch onto that <laugh>, I absolutely will. Um, phrases like we only use it when necessary. I don't like to use it if I don't have to.

Or, you know, anything about a second chance or a warning. Those are things we latch onto, um, because that language indicates we're not comfortable with it yet, or we're not confident with it yet, or we feel we have some kind of guilt about it. And when we, when we're in that state of mind, when we have that emotional state dictating our actions, what happens is the training suffers and the communication suffers, right?

Because we're literally trying not to do it. Um, and so there's no way for that not to bite you in the ass. And so the more you do it, the more you get to see, oh, this is fine. Number one, it's effective. I don't have to yell anymore. Uh, number two, it doesn't break my dog. Number three, they don't take it personally. Number four, it doesn't damage our relationship. They seem to love me more than ever, right? So seeing is believing. So you have to do and see and get comfortable and then you love it, right?

Because you have this deeper line of communication with your dog that you've never had before. So that's why we tell you to go home and do all these things. Um, our door protocols are pretty stringent. Our feeding protocols are pretty stringent. Do they matter? Yeah. Are they critical for everybody? Probably not.

Probably not. But it's like what are your issues with your dog and what are your goals? What is your dog's personality, right? But what I like to caution people with over and over again, I hear that, you know, inside the house isn't a problem or eating isn't a problem or the door isn't a problem or whatever isn't a problem. And it's like, I know, but things are tied together. So if the problem you do have with your dog is an impulse related problem or an arousal related problem, then you can literally rehearse that in a million other scenarios all day, right?

If your dog is impulsive and excited when they see another dog and they start pulling hard on the leash when they see another dog, you can rehearse that at feeding time guys, you can rehearse that every time you go in and outta the crate, every time you go in and outta the front door every time you go in and out of the car. You don't have to wait until you see a dog. Yes, you need to rehearse that too, of course, right? But the biggest mistake people make is they let all that other stuff go thinking it's not important and it takes them forever to get there if they ever do, right?

20:00 — Owners must rehearse everyday behaviors because dogs do not automatically connect separate training situations.

Because in our mind, these are all very separate things, but they're not because you're training your dog's brain to be, to make different connections when they're excited, aroused, impulsive.

And the best recipe for success is to do that all day long. And that could be as simple as just making your dog stay on place, right? When they don't want to, when someone comes through the door, right? And that's about as easy as it gets, right? Because you don't even have to do anything. You just have to watch. You just have to keep an eye on your dog and give them feedback if needed. But that's very effective training and it's super passive because you are doing your own thing. Like if you can't at least do that, it's like, don't expect much, right?

<laugh>.

But for some dogs that are super easy and owners that are just super like, comfortable with the eco right off the bat, um, they'll have an easier time. And these little things might not be as critical, but I'm never gonna send someone home and say, don't do this because I know they're gonna get the best results if they do. And I wanna give everybody that opportunity, right? So the takeaway here is if you have a dog with no serious behavioral issues, this stuff is still super, super valuable. We urge everybody to do it. Um, especially if your dog has sneaky behaviors or gets excitable about things, super, super important to follow these protocols.

Um, but if your dog doesn't have any of that stuff and is like literally already pretty much the perfect dog, you just wanted them to like come back, un called, maybe it's not as important, right?

Especially if you're super, super comfortable with the eco and you're willing to turn it up and you don't, you're not afraid of it, you don't feel guilty about it, like you are going to be more successful and it might not be as critical. Now, when we're talking about our longer programs, like our Diamond Canine elite program, that's three to four weeks. And we're talking about dogs that do have issues, that are reactive, that are aggressive, that do have severe separation stuff going on. Um, this stuff guys is non-negotiable because like I just talked about, it's just all related.

So every time your dog goes to a door, there is an opportunity to teach them that you have standards in that you are relevant and that you are making decisions that you are the sheriff in town, right? Not to be mean, but a lot of dogs are going through the world, being the sheriff.

And that is your problem. So those tables need to be turned and you have an opportunity to help that sink in every time you go to a door. And how many times does that happen in a day? So if you're too focused on the big moments and you're not focused at all on these, you know, silly moments that seem unrelated, you're losing a ton of ground and everything takes you much longer if you even get there at all. So what do you, especially like if your dog is here for three weeks and we're implementing these rules and boundaries around the door, right?

We expect your dog to have a certain behavior at the door, and we don't give them instruction at the door. They make a choice and it has to be the right choice. That's how we roll with the door, okay? If we're doing that here multiple times a day, every single day for several weeks, and then your dog goes home and sees you don't do that, what do they think?

24:00 — Consistent door rules prevent the dog from resuming its former role as household sheriff.

Now, I don't wanna humanize it too much, but right away your dog goes, oh, this ain't the same. This person's not the same. This handler doesn't have rules, mom doesn't care, she doesn't enforce things. I'm back to being the sheriff. So it's really important that you go home and you pick up where we left off. And so I try to be very, very open and honest with people in the consultation about exactly what we do and what they're gonna wanna do when they go home, right? So they can make an educated decision, this is something I wanna do, it's something I don't wanna do.

Some people don't wanna do it, that's fine. No judgment. I don't want people signing up that don't wanna do it. I hate that. And people say, well, what do you care? They're paying you the money. It's like, that's great. I like the money. I do this for a living. I wanna make the money, but it's not about the money, guys.

The results matter to me. Helping people matters to me. And Joyce, I don't wanna speak for her too much, but I know that, but getting the money and not getting the results sucks, <laugh>. It sucks. And neither of us wanna do that. And so the reason we send you home with so many detailed protocols, uh, is because we know that is our best shot to get you exactly where you wanna go or even exceed your expectations. Door protocols, feeding protocols. Now, if you have a dog with separation anxiety, less affection, more crate time, um, do those things matter?

Um, if you don't have a dog with that problem, maybe a lot of affection can create, um, again, sort of that sense of, and I, I don't wanna humanize it too much, but it's like the more affection you pay your dog, the weaker of a position you're in, right? So that sounds stupid, but it's true in a sense, right? Your dog doesn't really understand why we do the things we do or what words we're saying when we're talking to them. They just see and feel softness, right? And so if you're constantly presenting your dog with softness, that puts them in a position where they should take the lead, they should hold the fort down, they should guard the house, they should, all those things, right?

It can make, especially if you have a dog that's uncertain and kind of nervy, it can make them absolutely frantic.

To what degree? Again, it heavily depends on the dog, but that's why really a dog with any serious behavioral issues, we don't want you smothering them with affection for now. We want you to dial that back. Doesn't mean you can't pet your dog, but we want you to be much more dialed back and intentional about it, right? Snuggling on the couch all day. Not a good idea right now, maybe down the road, but give it some time. It's a marathon, not a sprint. So you need to take the time and put in the effort and do the hard stuff to just kind of change your relationship and change your dog's view of their environment and their world.

And a view you need to show your dog another side of you that isn't all softness, that actually can set boundaries, that actually can make decisions, that actually can follow through and enforce them, that actually can issue a negative consequence sometimes. Um, instead of someone that just snuggles and makes out with them all day, sorry, I know nobody's doing that. It's gross, but that's what I call it. That's what I call it. When you're overly affectionate with your dog <laugh>, um, or when you let a stranger be overly affectionate with your dog, um, those things can really matter.

28:00 — Overly affectionate handling by owners or strangers can undermine the dog’s new boundaries.

And the more these behavior, the more intense the behaviors are, and the more genetically ingrained they seem to be, the more they just characterize the overall, um, personality of the dog, the more critical and important it is to go all out with everything. And a lot of dogs aren't that severe. They're more like middle of the road, right? But it's like watch and observe. You know, if you wanna know how things affect your dog. But we've had lots of people go home after a program with a dog with severe separation anxiety and things are good for a little bit, and then it goes off the rails and they'll tell me they're giving the dog tons of attention.

They'll tell me they're snuggling on the couch with the dog. And okay, your dog is telling you that's not working right? It's not me telling you that the dog is telling you that you have to take the time, guys.

And I, I like this language. You have to take the time to build something new with your dog. And that's what our training programs do. If you have a dog with serious behavioral issues, you aren't just waving a magic wand, you aren't just pushing a button. You're gonna go home with all the stuff we teach your dog and we teach you. We spend lots of time with you. You're gonna go home and take all of that and you're gonna spend time building something new and exciting, <laugh> and better. Um, but our hope is that you try to do all of the things because with some dogs it really matters.

And I would say the more serious your dog's behavioral issue is, the more it's impacting your life or the more liability it is. If you have a dog that's really aggressive or something like that, you can't afford to go, well, I don't think I need to do that. You can't afford to do that. You can't leave anything on the table. You need to implement it all.

And there might be some things that don't matter, but guess what? I don't wanna find out, do you? <laugh>? It's like let's just do it all. Um, but our advice is like, do it all the best you can super consistently for a period of time. Nail it all down, build something new, and then start experimenting with a little bit of looseness, a little bit of freedom, a little bit of softness, let the dog sleep in your bed and see if things change. Because I'll tell you what we hear all the time. It does. I've heard from people whose dogs were aggressive with them, with their own family, that were doing great.

First time the dog slept in the bed with them the next day, bam, bit 'em again. So it just depends guys. It's like maybe your dog can't handle it. I don't know.

And then for other dogs that might make not a bit of difference, but most dogs, we definitely see the level of softness, um, in their daily life. And the lack of structure plays a huge role in their behavioral issues. Huge. And so even though nobody wants to live their life like with their dog, like they're living in a high security prison, I totally get that guys. It's not necessarily for right? You gotta do it for now. Build something new. People want the benefits before they've taken the time to build the thing. Build something new and then, right, you need that foundation and then you can start molding things into maybe a more casual, relaxed way of living, right?

32:00 — High structure is temporary: owners must build reliable behavior before pursuing a looser lifestyle.

As long as you, but your dog will always need to know that you're serious. They will always need to know that there's accountability. They will always need to believe that you truly enforce rules and boundaries when your dog stops believing that you are fucked.

Just to put it bluntly, okay? So I would say when you do get things nailed down, yes, we want you to start experimenting with a little freedom, a little looseness, a little more of whatever those things are you wanna do with your dog, absolutely start filtering that stuff in. But just don't do it all at once. Do it slowly and when you start doing it, be ready to provide consequences because that just might be the pivotal moment that decides, will your dog be able to have this freedom or not? Will your dog be able to have this luxury, this softness or not?

Right? So you start letting your dog sleep in the bed, or you start letting your dog roam around the house a little. When you do that and your dog thinks about doing the old thing they used to do, they need to see that even though you've softened up a little, even though you've loosened up a little, those consequences didn't go away. And if you can prove that, then you might just be golden and you might be able to live the way you wanna live with your dog and they'll go, oh, okay, I'm getting more pets, or I'm getting more couch time, or I'm getting more freedom, or whatever it is, but that shit hasn't changed.

I still can't act like an asshole. I can't do that stuff, right? And that's where you start to balance it all out and have a shot at actually living the life you wanna live with your dog.

But all those stupid little things we do affect state of mind. They affect your relationship, they affect your dog's ability to control impulses and control their arousal. And so you should do 'em and you should do 'em all. <laugh>. That's my advice. And it ain't changing. Um, yeah, I think that about sums it up. Do all the things, but especially the more, if you know, if your dog is sneaky, God guys, use the structure. Um, and if your dog has any serious behavioral issues, like really be all over it and really reach out for help if you need help.

You know, I think a lot of the people listening to this are my clients. Like, I'm always here to support you. Um, but whoever your trainer is, if you have a trainer, like if you, if things aren't where you want them to be, you have to help yourself. You have to reach out and ask those questions and get the support.

Um, and most of the time, you know, even with just basic obedience, like we have so many folks that are just like, oh, we need a refresher. Oh, you need some brushing up. And it's like the dog does not need a refresher. The dog does not need to be brushed up. You have stopped holding the dog accountable and he knows it. Like there's nothing else going on there. That's all it is. So like I said, if your dog believes that rules are real and they're enforced, then you're fine if they don't believe that, you are not fine <laugh>.

36:00 — Dogs remain manageable when they believe household rules are real and consistently enforced.

So it really all boils down to what are you doing when your dog does that?

You know, it sounds oversimplified, but it really isn't. Except like I said, with a lot of dogs, especially with serious behavioral issues, the environmental factors can make a huge difference. They give you a ton more leverage. Um, so some dogs can handle freedom and softness, some can't. Some dogs you have to leverage every single moment. All the doors, all the feedings, all the walks need to be in heel. You need to be stringent about enforcing the heel and what it means and where they should be walking and the auto sit, right? Because if you, some dogs and there aren't a ton of them, but some dogs, if you don't do that stuff, then they just go, oh, it's out the window and I'm back to doing my old stuff.

I had a dog like that. There aren't a lot of dogs like that. Most dogs, you start out like that when you go home and you can ease out of it and sort of, you know, you still wanna have your rules and boundaries and absolutely enforce them, right? You absolutely never wanna stray away from you. Do what I say. I mean, that never goes away for any dog ever. That's so important. If they stop believing it, they just stop doing it. That's normal. That's not the dog forgetting that's you saying I don't care anymore. Um, but for the vast majority of dogs, it's like you start out covering all of your bases from every angle, nailing everything down, um, really developing that relationship with your dog, really clarifying all the rules and boundaries, doing all the stuff, resisting all the impulses, right?

Doing all the hard stuff. And then from there something else now has room to grow.

And you can start introducing slowly, <laugh>, some luxuries, some freedom, some softness, and do it slowly. 'cause then you can see how it affects your dog and where those lines are with your dog. Most dogs just need to go home and reestablish that new relationship, that new way of living. And then after that, they just need to believe that it's still there even once you loosen up. Right? And they'll just be the best version of themselves, guys. And it's the greatest gift you can give your dog, right? Because now a dog that listens to you is the safest dog.

I talked about that on my last episode. And you can take them more places. You can have people over, you can do things with them. You can trust them more. You can include them more, right? And the crates still there. I'm not saying you won't use it anymore, um, but everything just gets so much safer and so much more enjoyable. Um, but the small moments matter. Hey guys, thanks for joining us today. I really hope you enjoyed the show. If there's a specific topic you'd like to hear discussed, you can send that to me directly via email or fan mail.

Just jump down into the show notes. That information will be there for you. I really look forward to hearing from you. Thanks for supporting the show and I look forward to next time.