Before a dog can choose to be right, they have to know how to be right.

That sounds obvious — until you realize how often we skip straight to expecting the right choice without ever making sure the dog actually has the skills to make it. Knowing what to do, in this moment, in this place, with this level of distraction and stress is not automatic. It has to be built, deliberately, layer by layer of success.

There's a question worth sitting with: if aliens abducted you mid-walk, would your dog still have what they need to navigate the world? Not because you cued them, not because you managed them, but because the skills are genuinely theirs — practiced enough, proofed enough, and understood well enough that they live in the dog even when you're not running the show? That's the standard we're aiming for. And getting there requires handlers to get very honest about what the dog actually knows versus what the dog does when prompted, coached, or carefully managed.

Feeling safe isn't just about the absence of threat. It includes knowing what to do when things get hard. A dog who has real skills — not just trained responses that evaporate under pressure — can find their footing in challenging situations. That's not luck. That's the result of handlers who understand what the dog needs to know, how thoroughly it was taught, in how many contexts it was practiced, and whether the dog has achieved the kind of fluency that holds up when it matters most. Our goal needs to be a dog who is sure and confident, a "professional" who knows their job even under pressure.

So how do you know if your dog actually knows how to be right? What does it look like when they don't — and just as importantly, how do you figure out what they need to learn? 

Your dog wants to get it right.

Real skills, genuinely owned and reliably available, make that possible. Come find out if your dog is there yet, and exactly how to get them there if they're not.

I Want to Believe! Enroll NOW!

YOU WILL LEARN

  • Suzanne will walk you through how to read the signs that a dog may not know how to be right. You will learn how to identify exactly what skill needs to be built, and how to build it in thin slices. Working step by step in a logical progression you can create genuine competence in the dog.
  • We'll use the Cupcake Party! as our working example throughout. This is a skill that sounds like a celebration (and is genuinely fun) but one with serious underpinnings, engineered to give dogs a real behavioral tool they can use when they need it most.
  • If you've ever wondered why a dog who "knows" something in the backyard falls apart on a busy street, or why a dog seems to need constant reminders to do the thing you've practiced a hundred times — this webinar is the answer to that puzzle. Tracking that progression, knowing where the dog is, what comes next, and how to measure real fluency is where a progressions matrix earns its keep.
  • We'll examine what genuine fluency looks like, how to build it deliberately, and how to know — really know — whether your dog has what they need to be right.

Your dog wants to get it right.

Real skills, genuinely owned and reliably available, make that possible. Come find out if your dog is there yet, and exactly how to get them there if they're not.

Register Now!

This webinar will air on Thursday, April 16 at 2pm EST. You can join live or watch the recording, which will be available within 48 hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

We apply for CEUs for IAABC, KPA and PPAB for each webinar, all CEUs are currently pending. 

Unfortunately we do not qualify for CEUs with CCPDT.

YES! This webinar will be recorded, including the Q&A section. You will have access to the recording for a year.

If you are joining live you will need to log into our Thinkific page (RelationshipCenteredTraining.Thinkific.com), and you will find the webinar in your dashboard. In the webinar there will be an option to join live through Zoom.

If you are purchasing the recorded option, or miss the live webinar, a recorded version will be available.  The recorded version will be uploaded within 48 hours of the live.

You will have access to the recorded version for a year.