“He would go ballistic.”
Oscar is a small, very young Chihuahua-terrier mix with, in his trainer’s words, “that Jack Russell energy.” Other dogs were the problem. At the vet, his owner said, “he would see other dogs, he would go ballistic… almost to the point where I thought he was going to bite me, trying to get loose.”
His family wanted three things: a recall that works if he slips out the door, better behaviour around other dogs, and walks that weren’t “always a fight.”
“I actually haven’t used any treats.”
Oscar trained on play and freedom instead of food. “I actually haven’t used any treats at all,” his trainer told the family at go-home; play is “way more” motivating to him, and “he learns faster and better.”
The release was the other reward. “Okay is completely free, so he can go where he wants,” his trainer explained in the park. “The reward is the freedom.”
Durham, parks and a busy store.
Kelton explained on a Durham outing that the program does “like 90 plus percent” of its training in new places rather than the facility yard. In a busy store strangers stopped to greet Oscar, and Kelton used words instead of constant leash pressure: “you can use commands like let’s go.”
On a quiet walk back to the truck, off leash, Oscar was called from a distance. “He can get all the way over there,” his trainer said, “and he’ll come running back to me.”
“It was all verbal.”
On Christmas Day Gemma and Kelton swapped dogs, and Gemma took Oscar to Bass Lake. At first his down needed a “nope” and a second ask, but by the end of the walk “he didn’t need any cue to do that, it was all verbal… you such a smart boy.”
“Oh, he didn’t react.”
The go-home lesson ran as questions and answers, because the demonstrations were already in Oscar’s videos. The first thing his owner said was about another dog: “I was like, oh, he didn’t react.” His trainer’s read was that Oscar is “very friendly” and “wants to play,” and that pulling a dog in every time another dog comes along is what “artificially” creates pulling.
Then came the routines to keep at home: a recall kept sharp, a doorway wait in a sit or down until “okay,” and walks that are mostly Oscar’s. On a walk-by past people and a dog, a single “let’s go” was all he needed.
His trainer’s walking rule: give the word first, and keep the leash as a quiet backup.
