I'm really glad you wrote this in response to my post. I half expected it, actually. Dezi inside and outside the yard are Iike jekyll and hyde lol. She is perfect at home.
Have you ever come across a situation where you just know the dog will always be the way it is?
Thanks for the inspiration to make that post after reading your article on the pet corrector! You nailed one of the most common struggles I see as a trainer: dogs who are absolute angels at home and turn into Tasmanian devils the moment they step outside. You're not alone; this pattern is common.
A lot of this comes down to early exposure and how training is structured. Most people teach the basics like sit, down, and come in quiet, low-distraction settings and then assume the dog “knows it.” I hear all the time, “He has a really good recall,” and then I test it by running away with their toy, and guess what? The dog doesn’t come back to the owner because it's chasing me! 😄 That’s because skill is one thing; generalizing that skill to new environments is another. That takes consistent proofing, layered distractions, and solid use of the four quadrants of operant conditioning to shape and maintain behaviour.
There’s always room to improve. Dezi’s outdoor behaviour isn’t set in stone, but how far she progresses depends on what you’re willing to do to guide that change. It’s about clarity, consistency, and building reliability through the chaos, not avoiding it.
And to your last question, yes, I’ve met dogs whose handlers felt they’d never change. But in almost every case, the dog was simply waiting for someone to teach them differently.
She's actually not chaos anymore on walks. She's opposite, like what you witnessed in the video clip. She couldn't care less about moving quickly on a walk. It's actually frustrating because she needs to lose weight but at her pace, how will she? Yet, if she could lose weight she'd probably feel like moving quicker. Vicious circle.
Meet me at a dog park in July and you'll feel my pain! 😁
I'm really glad you wrote this in response to my post. I half expected it, actually. Dezi inside and outside the yard are Iike jekyll and hyde lol. She is perfect at home.
Have you ever come across a situation where you just know the dog will always be the way it is?
Thanks for the inspiration to make that post after reading your article on the pet corrector! You nailed one of the most common struggles I see as a trainer: dogs who are absolute angels at home and turn into Tasmanian devils the moment they step outside. You're not alone; this pattern is common.
A lot of this comes down to early exposure and how training is structured. Most people teach the basics like sit, down, and come in quiet, low-distraction settings and then assume the dog “knows it.” I hear all the time, “He has a really good recall,” and then I test it by running away with their toy, and guess what? The dog doesn’t come back to the owner because it's chasing me! 😄 That’s because skill is one thing; generalizing that skill to new environments is another. That takes consistent proofing, layered distractions, and solid use of the four quadrants of operant conditioning to shape and maintain behaviour.
There’s always room to improve. Dezi’s outdoor behaviour isn’t set in stone, but how far she progresses depends on what you’re willing to do to guide that change. It’s about clarity, consistency, and building reliability through the chaos, not avoiding it.
And to your last question, yes, I’ve met dogs whose handlers felt they’d never change. But in almost every case, the dog was simply waiting for someone to teach them differently.
She's actually not chaos anymore on walks. She's opposite, like what you witnessed in the video clip. She couldn't care less about moving quickly on a walk. It's actually frustrating because she needs to lose weight but at her pace, how will she? Yet, if she could lose weight she'd probably feel like moving quicker. Vicious circle.
Meet me at a dog park in July and you'll feel my pain! 😁