The catalogue

All 41 dog training skills, with a measurable bar for each

Every skill below has a written bar for “solid”, staged steps, and the common failure points. Nothing counts as proven until it holds up in 3 different places.

These steps are a draft pending review by a credentialed trainer. They describe standard positive-reinforcement marker training; the app carries the same notice on every session screen.

Foundation

  • Name response One quiet say of the name turns the head — indoors, outdoors, mid-sniff — 9 times out of 10.
  • Eye contact & check-ins On a normal walk the dog glances back at you, unasked, at least once a minute.
  • Hand target “Touch” brings the nose to your palm from two metres away, either side, first ask.
  • Release word The dog holds position through you moving and talking, and breaks the instant the word lands.

Obedience

  • Sit One quiet “sit”, no hand signal, no treat in sight — and the rear is down, anywhere you ask.
  • Down “Down” lands elbows on the floor first ask, on grass and pavement, not just the living-room rug.
  • Stand “Stand” from sit or down, held for five seconds of light handling, first ask.
  • Stay Thirty seconds, you five steps away doing something else, released by the word — not by the dog.
  • Wait at doors Front door wide open, dog waits unheld until the release — even with the lead in your hand.
  • Recall One call breaks the dog off a sniff in an open field and brings them all the way in to a collar hold.
  • Heel Fifty metres glued to your leg through two turns and a pace change, on one cue, no leash tension.

Manners

  • Crate comfort Dog trots in on one cue and settles for thirty minutes, door shut, you out of the room, no fuss.
  • Potty routine Two clean weeks with normal freedom — and the dog signals or heads to the door when it needs out.
  • Four on the floor An excited greeter arrives, and all four feet stay down through the whole hello.
  • Quiet Doorbell rings: a bark or two, then the dog finds you and stays quiet through the visitor coming in.
  • Settle During an ordinary evening the dog parks itself and switches off for an hour without being asked.
  • Collar grab A stranger-speed grab of the collar, mid-play, and the dog’s tail keeps wagging.
  • Puppy mouthing A full play session with hands in the mix, and teeth never close on skin — toys only.
  • Food-bowl patience Bowl on the floor, you walk away, and the dog holds until the release — every meal, no cue.

Handling & care

  • Body handling Paws, ears, tail, teeth and belly all checked in one calm sitting — and the dog stays by choice.
  • Tooth brushing intro Thirty seconds of outer-surface brushing, both sides, and the dog comes when the brush appears.
  • Nail care intro A full paw trimmed in one sitting, dog loose and opting in, no one holding anyone down.
  • Muzzle comfort Muzzle on for a ten-minute walk: dog trots, sniffs, and takes treats through the basket, unbothered.
  • Car comfort A twenty-minute drive with the dog settled the whole way — no drooling, no crying, no pacing.
  • Sound confidence A recorded firework at real-life volume gets a glance at most, then back to the chew.

Out in the world

  • Loose-leash walking A full neighbourhood loop with the leash smiling — slack — except the moments you allow a pull to a sniff.
  • Leave it A dropped sandwich at home, a chicken bone on the street: one cue, the dog turns away — 9 of 10.
  • Drop it The dog has your shoe or a street prize, and “drop” opens the mouth mid-stride — no chase, no bribe shown first.
  • Go to mat “Place” from across the room, a down on the mat, held ten minutes through dinner — released by you.
  • Calm greetings A dog-loving stranger asks to say hi, and the whole hello happens with slack leash and grounded feet.
  • City calm A full coffee at a pavement café: the dog watches the world from under the table and mostly dozes.
  • Home-alone habituation A camera check during a two-hour absence shows mostly sleep — no pacing, no crying, no chewed doorframe.

Games

  • Find it One “find it” starts a focused two-minute search of a room, and the dog works hides it never saw placed.
  • Hide & seek You vanish upstairs mid-play, call once, and the dog hunts room to room until it finds you.
  • Tug with rules A ripping game of tug with a mid-game “drop–sit–take it” cycle, executed clean, three times in a row.
  • Box puzzles A new puzzle setup gets confident, persistent work — pawing, nosing, ripping — until every treat is won.

Tricks

  • Paw / high five Both cues distinct on the word alone: “paw” lands in the hand, “five” slaps the raised palm.
  • Spin A tight, happy circle each way on a word and a finger twirl — no treat in the luring hand.
  • Back up Three straight steps in reverse on the word alone, from two metres away.
  • Roll over One cue, one smooth roll on grass or carpet, and the dog bounces up ready to do it again.
  • Crawl Two metres of commando crawl on cue, elbows down the whole way.