Listening to cues does not mean your dog is comfortable. Something I see so so often in my programs is students telling me their dogs are comfortable when I ask them about a training situation they are struggling with. For example, a service dog struggling to complete a down stay in a busy mall. The handler usually says, “I know they’re not uncomfortable because they are listening to my other cues, but they can’t do xyz.” Typically, I ask for a video, and almost 100% of the time, the...
