The Push Drop Stick Handbook
A free guide to force-free training: how dogs learn, reading fear and stress, teaching techniques, gear, and how Push Drop Stick adapts to your dog.
The sections are written to be read front to back and cross-reference each other constantly. Purpose opens; start with the FAQ if you have never used the app; skip to the A–Z glossary if you are looking something up, or to the drawings to try a few ideas out.
- Part 12 entries
Purpose
Two things before the training starts: what this is for, and what it will never ask of you.
- Part 27 questions
Frequently Asked Questions
The questions we get most, answered briefly. Each one links to the section that goes deeper, so start here and follow whichever thread you need.
- Part 314 entries
Learning Science
The vocabulary in this section is the machinery underneath every plan in the app. You do not need it to train your dog, and if you are here at 9pm with a puppy and a…
- Part 415 entries
Fear & Emotion
This is the section for the dog who barks at visitors, hides from the vacuum, freezes at the vet, will not walk past the neighbour's fence, or takes treats happily from…
- Part 526 entries
How the App Works
This section is the app's own vocabulary: rep, set, step, criteria, push, drop, stick, split.
- Part 613 entries
Using the Player
The Player is the screen you train on. Everything else in this handbook is about dogs and learning; this page is about buttons. It starts at the plan info page, because…
- Part 722 entries
Teaching Techniques
The Learning Science section was what learning is. This section is how you actually get a behavior out of a dog who has never done it before.
- Part 811 entries
Gear
One idea underneath this whole section: gear does not train your dog.
- Part 913 entries
Coach
Everything else in this handbook is about dogs. This section is about the one part of the app that is not.
- Part 108 entries
Your Devices and Your Data
Everything else in this handbook is about your dog. This page is about where the training lives: which screens exist, what is kept, and what happens if you drop your…
- Part 116 entries
Training with Coach
Most of the time you train and Coach reads it afterwards. This section is the other thing: Coach in the room while it happens.
- Part 127 entries
Writing Plans
This section is for whoever is writing the plan rather than running it. If you are training your own dog and the library already covers what you need, you can skip the…
Try it: the drawings
Some entries come with a drawing you can play with, right beside the words it explains. Each one is a small script of the kind Coach writes, running in your browser.
- Sort what happenedOperant Conditioning · Learning Science
- Nettle at the back doorExtinction and the Extinction Burst · Learning Science
- Find Nettle's lineThreshold · Fear & Emotion
- Score a comfort stepStress Signals · Fear & Emotion
- Fill Nettle's dayTrigger Stacking · Fear & Emotion
- Try both ordersCounter-Conditioning · Fear & Emotion
- Score Nettle's setsPrompting Algorithm · How the App Works
- Add a word to Nettle's sitShaping Algorithm · How the App Works
- A minute of Nettle's trainingRate of Reinforcement · How the App Works
- Treats from kitchen to car parkTreat Value · Using the Player
- Split Nettle's recallSplitting and Lumping · Teaching Techniques
- Time Nettle's Yes!Marker · Teaching Techniques
Glossary, A to Z
Every term in the Handbook, A to Z. Each one links to its full entry, which sits in the section where it belongs.
If you would rather read than look things up, the sections are written to be read front to back, starting with Purpose.
- the ABCs — see Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence
- The About Page · Your Devices and Your Data
- Accounts: What You Get Without One · Your Devices and Your Data
- Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence (the ABCs) · Learning Science
- The Apple Watch App · Your Devices and Your Data
- The Assistant · Coach
- the beep (electric fences) — see Would a Shock Collar Work?
- the beta contract — see Say Your Markers Out Loud
- Beta (model training) — see What Is Kept, and What Never Trains a Model
- Beta (the live trainer) — see The Live Trainer (Beta)
- billing — see Accounts: What You Get Without One
- Bribery · Teaching Techniques
- bug reports — see The About Page
- build and version number — see The About Page
- Capturing · Teaching Techniques
- Capturing Algorithm · How the App Works
- The Castle · How the App Works
- CER — see Conditioned Emotional Response
- Chaining · Teaching Techniques
- The Chat Window · Coach
- Check-ins — see Scheduled Check-ins and Coach While You Train
- Choosing a Step Type · Writing Plans
- Classical Algorithm · How the App Works
- Classical Conditioning (Pavlovian Conditioning) · Learning Science
- Clear Video Cache — see The About Page
- Click, Haptics and Listen · Using the Player
- Clicker · Gear
- Coach · Coach
- Coach While You Train · Training with Coach
- Collars · Gear
- Conditioned Emotional Response (CER) · Fear & Emotion
- Consent and Opt-Out — see Start Button
- Counter-Conditioning · Fear & Emotion
- Criteria · How the App Works
- Cue (Discriminative Stimulus) · Learning Science
- the Cue for Not Now — see S-Delta
- Delete Account — see The About Page
- Deleting your account — see What Is Kept, and What Never Trains a Model
- Desensitization · Fear & Emotion
- Desensitization and Counter-Conditioning (DS/CC) · Fear & Emotion
- Device Sync and User Sync · Your Devices and Your Data
- Differential Reinforcement (DRA / DRI) · Learning Science
- Discrimination · Teaching Techniques
- Discriminative Stimulus — see Cue
- Distance · Teaching Techniques
- Distraction · Teaching Techniques
- DRA / DRI — see Differential Reinforcement
- Drafts, Checkpoints and Publishing · Writing Plans
- Drop · How the App Works
- DS/CC — see Desensitization and Counter-Conditioning
- Duration · Teaching Techniques
- e-collar — see Would a Shock Collar Work?
- electric fencing — see Would a Shock Collar Work?
- Errorless Algorithm · How the App Works
- Everyday Manners — see The Journey
- Extinction and the Extinction Burst · Learning Science
- Fading · Teaching Techniques
- feedback, sending — see The About Page
- Finding Proof Steps · Using the Player
- Finish Session, Restart Plan and Proof · Using the Player
- The Five Step Types · How the App Works
- Fixed Interval — see Interval
- flags (green and blue) — see The Castle
- Flooding · Fear & Emotion
- Fluency · Teaching Techniques
- free tier — see Accounts: What You Get Without One
- The Games Player · Using the Player
- Gear and Methods to Avoid · Gear
- Generalization · Teaching Techniques
- Goal Step · How the App Works
- Harness · Gear
- Head Halter · Gear
- home page — see The Journey
- Infinity Latency · Teaching Techniques
- Interval · How the App Works
- invisible fencing — see Would a Shock Collar Work?
- Inviting a Trainer — see Sharing a Dog with Another Trainer
- The Journey · How the App Works
- Jumping the Prompt · Teaching Techniques
- Latency · Teaching Techniques
- Learned Helplessness · Fear & Emotion
- Leashes · Gear
- Live Activities — see The Widget and Live Activities
- Live session — see The Live Trainer (Beta)
- The Live Trainer (Beta) · Training with Coach
- Long Lines · Gear
- Looking Things Up · Coach
- Lure · Teaching Techniques
- Management · Teaching Techniques
- The Manual Push, Drop, Stick and Split Buttons · Using the Player
- Marker · Teaching Techniques
- Mic (talking to Coach mid-session) — see Coach While You Train
- Motivating Operation · Learning Science
- Muzzle · Gear
- My Dog Already Wore a Shock or Prong Collar · Fear & Emotion
- Negative Punishment (Time-Outs) · Learning Science
- Negative Reinforcement · Learning Science
- Next Steps · Using the Player
- Next Up — see The Journey
- No Reward Marker (NRM) · Teaching Techniques
- NRM — see No Reward Marker
- OC — see Operant Conditioning
- Offline, and What Needs a Signal · Your Devices and Your Data
- Operant Conditioning (OC) · Learning Science
- Over Threshold · Fear & Emotion
- Pass and Fail · How the App Works
- Pass and Fail Criteria · Writing Plans
- Pavlovian Conditioning — see Classical Conditioning
- The Plan Info Page · Using the Player
- Plans Written for Your Dog · Coach
- The Player Screen · Using the Player
- Position Feeding · Teaching Techniques
- Positive Punishment · Learning Science
- Positive Reinforcement · Learning Science
- Previous Steps · Using the Player
- pricing — see Accounts: What You Get Without One
- Prompting · Teaching Techniques
- Prompting Algorithm · How the App Works
- prong collar — see Gear and Methods to Avoid and My Dog Already Wore a Shock or Prong Collar
- Proof · How the App Works
- Proof Step · How the App Works
- Proofing Games · How the App Works
- Push · How the App Works
- Rate of Reinforcement (RoR) · How the App Works
- Reading Your Training Data · Coach
- Recording a Clip for Coach · Using the Player
- Reinforcement vs Reward · Learning Science
- Release Cue · Teaching Techniques
- remote collar — see Would a Shock Collar Work?
- Rep · How the App Works
- Reps, Ratios and Timers · Writing Plans
- RoR — see Rate of Reinforcement
- Say Your Markers Out Loud (the beta contract) · Training with Coach
- Scheduled Check-ins · Coach
- S-Delta (the Cue for Not Now) · Learning Science
- Sensitization · Fear & Emotion
- Session · How the App Works
- The Session Chart · Using the Player
- Set · How the App Works
- Shaping · Teaching Techniques
- Shaping Algorithm · How the App Works
- Sharing a Dog with Another Trainer · Your Devices and Your Data
- shock collar — see Would a Shock Collar Work?
- side trail — see The Journey
- Split · How the App Works
- Split Step · How the App Works
- Split Steps and Proof Steps · Writing Plans
- Splitting and Lumping · Teaching Techniques
- Start Button (Consent and Opt-Out) · Fear & Emotion
- Step · How the App Works
- Stick · How the App Works
- Stimulus Control · Learning Science
- Stress Signals · Fear & Emotion
- subscription — see Accounts: What You Get Without One
- suppression — see My Dog Already Wore a Shock or Prong Collar
- Sync — see Device Sync and User Sync
- Talking to Coach · Coach
- Threshold · Fear & Emotion
- Time-Outs — see Negative Punishment
- Train with Coach · Training with Coach
- Training our models (your data) — see What Is Kept, and What Never Trains a Model
- Training Plan · How the App Works
- Treat Value · Using the Player
- Treats · Gear
- Trigger · Fear & Emotion
- Trigger Stacking · Fear & Emotion
- Under Threshold · Fear & Emotion
- Unlisted media links — see What Is Kept, and What Never Trains a Model
- User Sync — see Device Sync and User Sync
- Variable Interval — see Interval
- View and Jump · Using the Player
- Voice (Coach speaking, and you speaking to Coach) — see Coach While You Train
- What Coach Remembers · Coach
- What Is Kept, and What Never Trains a Model · Your Devices and Your Data
- What Makes a Step · Writing Plans
- What the Live Trainer Can and Cannot See · Training with Coach
- What You Can Ask Coach To Do · Coach
- Where Coach Stops · Coach
- Where Goals Go · Writing Plans
- Which Mode a Session Should Get · Training with Coach
- Why Coach Shows Its Work · Coach
- The Widget and Live Activities · Your Devices and Your Data
- The Words Coach Uses About Your Session · Coach
- Work to Eat Toys · Gear
- Would a Shock Collar Work? · Gear