SIT

Cue 1/5

Juno, a tan and white mixed-breed dog in a black harness, sits in a calm stay on pale concrete, looking up at someone off-frame, a slack red leash curving away to the left.

Juno sitting in a stay, cut out so the word STAY passes behind her.

Hold your cursor still on Juno

Dog training & behavior · Twin Cities

Calm dogs are trained,

not born.

Private training and behavior work in Twin Cities homes, in steps your dog can actually pass. Puppy, recall, reactivity.

See the programs

→

412

dogs since 2016

CPDT-KA · IAABC-ADT

Certified trainer

Hold still. The stay counts to 30 s.

0 s

30 s

Juno, 2 · Recall, week 8

01 · The criteria

One D at a time.

Every program is a ladder of written steps. Each step has a criterion in three Ds: how long the behavior holds, how far away you are, and what’s going on around you. Your dog passes at 8 of 10 reps, two sessions in a row.

Name and look

A name that means "look at me", not "you're in trouble".

Duration

[1 s eye contact]

Distance

[3 ft]

Distraction

[quiet room]

puppy-start

Sit on a cue

From following your hand to hearing the word.

Duration

[3 s sit]

Distance

[3 ft]

Distraction

[quiet room]

puppy-start

Sit for handling

Feet, ears and collar, so vet visits and nail trims stay calm.

Duration

[5 s sit while handled]

Distance

[3 ft]

Distraction

[quiet room]

puppy-start

Sit with a step back

The sit holds when you move.

Duration

[5 s sit]

Distance

[6 ft]

Distraction

[quiet room]

puppy-start

Sit with puppies moving

Holding on while the room gets busy.

Duration

[5 s sit]

Distance

[6 ft]

Distraction

[other puppies moving 10 ft away]

puppy-start

Name and sit on the sidewalk

The first two skills, out in the world.

Duration

[5 s sit]

Distance

[6 ft]

Distraction

[sidewalk, people and bikes 20 ft away]

puppy-start

Come, indoors

A fast come across one room, finished with a collar touch.

Duration

[3 s collar hold]

Distance

[10 ft]

Distraction

[quiet room]

recall

Come from another room

The same come, when your dog can't see you.

Duration

[3 s collar hold]

Distance

[25 ft, out of sight]

Distraction

[quiet room]

recall

Backyard, 15 ft line

Coming away from smells, outside, with the line as a safety net.

Duration

[3 s collar hold]

Distance

[15 ft line]

Distraction

[backyard, no people]

recall

Backyard, 30 ft line

Twice the distance, same yard.

Duration

[3 s collar hold]

Distance

[30 ft line]

Distraction

[backyard, no people]

recall

Arrive and stay

Coming in doesn't end the fun: hold, clip, release.

Duration

[10 s hold + leash clip]

Distance

[30 ft line]

Distraction

[backyard, no people]

recall

The park

The real place, with real dogs at a distance.

Duration

[10 s hold + leash clip]

Distance

[15 ft line]

Distraction

[park, dogs and joggers 50 ft+ away]

recall

Settle and U-turn

A calm base at home and an exit on every walk.

Duration

[3 min on a mat]

Distance

[no trigger in sight]

Distraction

[home, then a quiet street]

reactivity

Engage–Disengage

Seeing a dog becomes a cue to look back at you.

Duration

[10 s in view]

Distance

[60 ft (or your dog's threshold)]

Distraction

[one helper dog, standing still]

reactivity

Closer: 40 ft

The same game, 20 ft closer.

Duration

[10 s in view]

Distance

[40 ft]

Distraction

[one helper dog, standing still]

reactivity

Closer: 25 ft

Close enough for a real sidewalk.

Duration

[10 s in view]

Distance

[25 ft]

Distraction

[one helper dog, standing still]

reactivity

Longer looks

Look At That on cue: watching a dog for longer, and staying soft.

Duration

[30 s in view]

Distance

[25 ft]

Distraction

[one helper dog, standing still]

reactivity

Moving dog

A dog walking, not standing. Distance goes back out while movement is new.

Duration

[30 s in view]

Distance

[40 ft]

Distraction

[helper dog walking parallel]

reactivity

Pass: 8/10 on 2 sessions in a row · 5/10 or less: back one stepRead the program →

02 · Juno’s log

Juno’s recall, session by session.

Including the week it went backwards.

This is the sheet we keep for every dog: the date, the step, the criterion, how many reps out of ten went right, and what you practice before next time. You get a copy after every session.

Juno, a tan-and-white pointer and Lab mix, lying in a stay on park grass on a red long line while the trainer holds up a flat hand signal.

Juno · 2 years · Recall · 8 wk

Step 6 of 6 · one more park session on Nov 3

Sep 1

Consult

90 min

Come, indoors

Baseline

3 s collar hold

10 ft

quiet room

false

Not yet

Fast indoors, every time. At the end we tested outside: backyard 3 of 10, park on a 15 ft line 2 of 10, and she never looked back.

Step 1: 3 sessions a day, 5 recalls each. Call once, reward at your feet.

Sep 4

Video review

2 min video

Come, indoors

Baseline

3 s collar hold

10 ft

quiet room

true

Passed

Ten for ten in the kitchen, one call each time. Step 1 passed.

Step 2: call from another room, once. No answer in 3 s, walk over quietly.

Sep 15

Private

60 min

Come from another room

Distance

3 s collar hold

25 ft, out of sight

quiet room

false

Not yet

Both misses came when a squirrel was at the front window. We moved practice to the back of the house.

Same step, away from the front window. Send Friday's video.

Sep 18

Video review

2 min video

Come from another room

Distance

3 s collar hold

25 ft, out of sight

quiet room

true

Passed

Round the corner in under 2 s now. Step 2 passed.

Step 3: backyard, 15 ft line on the harness. Call once, mid-sniff.

Sep 25

Video review

2 min video

Backyard, 15 ft line

Distraction

3 s collar hold

15 ft line

backyard, no people

false

Not yet

Good recalls, but she curves past the fence on the way in. Call when she's facing you this week, mid-sniff next week.

Same step. 5 calls per outing, quiet times only.

Sep 29

Private

60 min

Backyard, 15 ft line

Distraction

3 s collar hold

15 ft line

backyard, no people

true

Passed

Called mid-sniff ten times, nine came straight in. Step 3 passed.

Step 4: 30 ft line. Two easy calls at 15 ft first.

Oct 3

Video review

2 min video

Backyard, 30 ft line

Distance

3 s collar hold

30 ft line

backyard, new dog at the fence

false

Back one step

The neighbors' new dog was at the fence for most of the video. That's two D's at once, not one. Back to 15 ft for a session.

Step 3 again, on days the fence is quiet.

Oct 7

Video review

2 min video

Backyard, 15 ft line

Distraction

3 s collar hold

15 ft line

backyard, no people

false

Held

Back at 15 ft, back to fast, straight recalls. The step held, so 30 ft again this weekend.

Step 4 on Saturday morning, before the neighbors are out.

Oct 10

Video review

2 min video

Backyard, 30 ft line

Distance

3 s collar hold

30 ft line

backyard, no people

false

Not yet

Quiet fence, 8 of 10 from the end of the line. Both misses were the first call: warm up with two easy ones.

Same step, with the warm-up. See you Tuesday.

Oct 13

Private

60 min

Backyard, 30 ft line

Distance

3 s collar hold

30 ft line

backyard, no people

true

Passed

30 ft passed. We started the hold: she arrives, I take the collar, count to ten, clip. She tried to bounce off at 6 s twice.

Step 5: count the 10 s out loud. Clip on every third recall only.

Oct 17

Video review

2 min video

Arrive and stay

Duration

10 s hold + leash clip

30 ft line

backyard, no people

false

Not yet

Nine solid holds. The one miss was Maya reaching for the collar too fast: slow hands.

Same step. Send Tuesday's video.

Oct 20

Video review

2 min video

Arrive and stay

Duration

10 s hold + leash clip

30 ft line

backyard, no people

true

Passed

10 s holds on 8 of 10. Step 5 passed. Park on Saturday.

Step 6: two quiet park visits before Saturday, 7 am, 5 recalls each.

Oct 24

Private

60 min

The park

Distraction

10 s hold + leash clip

15 ft line

park, dogs and joggers 50 ft+ away

false

Not yet

First park session: 6 of 10, up from 2 on Sep 1. Two misses were a dog at 40 ft, closer than the step allows. One extra session on Nov 3.

Park twice a week at 7 am. Walk away first if a dog comes inside 50 ft.

DateTypeCriterionSuccessPassed

Step 01 · Come, indoors

Sep 1Consult[10 ft]9/10

Sep 4Video review[10 ft]10/10✓ Passed

Step 02 · Come from another room

Sep 15Private[25 ft, out of sight]8/10

Sep 18Video review[25 ft, out of sight]9/10✓ Passed

Step 03 · Backyard, 15 ft line

Sep 25Video review[backyard, no people]8/10

Sep 29Private[backyard, no people]9/10✓ Passed

Step 04 · Backyard, 30 ft line

Oct 3Video review[30 ft line]4/10Back one step

Step 03 · Backyard, 15 ft line

Oct 7Video review[backyard, no people]9/10Held

Step 04 · Backyard, 30 ft line

Oct 10Video review[30 ft line]8/10

Oct 13Private[30 ft line]9/10✓ Passed

Step 05 · Arrive and stay

Oct 17Video review[10 s hold + leash clip]9/10

Oct 20Video review[10 s hold + leash clip]8/10✓ Passed

Step 06 · The park

Oct 24Private[park, dogs and joggers 50 ft+ away]6/10

#13 · Oct 24 · Private · 60 min

Coach's note

First park session: 6 of 10, up from 2 on Sep 1. Two misses were a dog at 40 ft, closer than the step allows. One extra session on Nov 3.

Homework

Park twice a week at 7 am. Walk away first if a dog comes inside 50 ft.

Pass: 8/10 on 2 sessions in a row · 5/10 or less: back one step

Open Juno’s log

→

03 · Between sessions

An hour with us, a week on your own.

Most of the training happens between sessions, in your kitchen and on your street. So every session ends with three things in your inbox.

Written summary

The same day: what we worked on, the score, and what changed.

Video review

Film two minutes of homework. It comes back with notes, timestamped.

Homework

Short and specific: how many reps, how long, and where.

How a consult works

→

Session summary

Juno · #10

Oct 13

Private

What we worked on

Backyard, 30 ft line

[3 s collar hold]

[30 ft line]

[backyard, no people]

9/10

✓ Passed

30 ft passed. We started the hold: she arrives, I take the collar, count to ten, clip. She tried to bounce off at 6 s twice.

Video review

Maya sits cross-legged on her living-room rug and tosses a treat to Juno, who rests on a gray dog bed, her phone lying face down beside her and the red leash draped over the sofa.

02:14

02:14 · Second call: she checks the fence, then comes. Reward faster here.

03:40 · Good collar hold. Keep the treat hand low.

Homework

Step 5: count the 10 s out loud. Clip on every third recall only.

Next · video review, Sat, Oct 17 · step 05

04 · Group classes

Four dogs per class.

Four to six weeks, one hour a week, at Fernhill Park in Minneapolis or The Brightwater Room in St. Paul. Each dog works at its own distance.

All classes and dates

→

Loose-Leash Walking

Adult dogs, all levels

Wednesdays

6:30 – 7:30 pm

Wed, Nov 4

The Brightwater Room, St. Paul

Full · waitlist

$220

→

A manners class in a community hall: four dogs hold a place on raised cots in a row beside their handlers while an assistant walks past pulling a dark suitcase as a distraction.

Puppy Start

Puppies 9–16 weeks at class 1

Thursdays

6:30 – 7:30 pm

Thu, Nov 5

The Brightwater Room, St. Paul

1 left

$265

→

A small puppy class in a community hall: four puppies on gray mats spaced across the floor, as the trainer kneels to lure Bea into a sit and an assistant carries a stack of mats.

Recall & Long Line

Dogs 6 months+, any recall

Saturdays

10:00 – 11:00 am

Sat, Nov 7

Fernhill Park, south field, Minneapolis

2 left

$295

→

A recall class on an open field: a black dog comes back to its crouching owner on a red long line held by the trainer, while three other dogs wait in a sit beside their handlers.

Calm Walks

Dogs reactive on leash

Sundays

8:30 – 9:30 am

Sun, Nov 8

Fernhill Park, north lot, Minneapolis

1 left

$410

→

A reactivity class in the park: dogs and handlers wait at separate stations far apart, some beside dark gray screens, as one pair walks past in the distance and the trainer watches from the center.

05 · Case files

Three dogs, three files.

All case files

→

Rook lies calmly on the porch beside his owner, who rests a hand on his back, both watching a person walk a dog past on the street.

Graduated

Reactivity

Rook.

From 70 ft to 25 ft.

Before

[70 ft]

→

After

[25 ft]

Threshold to a still dog

Graduated

Reactivity

Rook.

From 70 ft to 25 ft.

Before

[70 ft]

→

After

[25 ft]

Threshold to a still dog

In progress

Recall

Juno.

Comes back at the park, almost.

Before

[2/10]

→

After

[6/10]

Park recall, 15 ft line

Bea, a black puppy with white paws, lies on a mat by the back door chewing a rope toy while her owner eats breakfast at the table behind, the red leash hanging on a hook.

Class finished

Puppy Start

Bea.

Feet, ears and 58 new things.

Before

[0]

→

After

[58]

New things met, from the list

Seen from across the street, Nadia smiles at Maya as they walk past a porch, her hand held low and flat to show the leash height, while Juno trots at Maya's side on a slack red leash, looking up.

06 · The trainer · CPDT-KA

Nadia Brekke, CPDT-KA.

Force-free, following LIMA (Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive): the gentlest method that works, chosen from humane options. Food, play, a long line and a written plan. No prong, choke or shock collars, and no flooding.

CPDT-KA

Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers