A 1–5 scale for how worked-up a dog is, from 1 (settled) through 3 (alert + curious) to 5 (over-threshold — can't hear you). Calm-First keeps training sessions at 1–3; anything at 4 or 5 means you stop, walk away, and run the leash reset.

The point on the arousal ladder where your dog can still hear, see, and respond to you. Every lesson aims to raise the threshold so the distractions that used to ruin walks stop mattering.

The observation that a handler's breathing, heart rate, and body tension are copied by the dog within seconds. Calm-First uses it deliberately: if you settle first, the dog follows. Day 1 is nothing but co-regulation practice.

The moment your dog chooses to look away from a trigger — a squirrel, a jogger, another dog. Disengagement is the single behavior we mark and reward the most, because it's the one that makes public walks actually work.

The three-move sequence taught in Day 2: stop, slack, turn. Any time your dog hits the top of the arousal ladder on leash, you run the reset and start the walk over. It's not a correction — it's a reposition.

A 5–10 metre training leash (not a flexi). Gives your dog room to sniff and make choices while you stay safely anchored. Critical during week 1 of any new behavior — pair it with the leash reset.

A short, consistent sound (a clicker click or a verbal yes) that tells your dog "that — right there — is what earned the treat". Consistency beats loudness. The clicker we use with Max is in the gear list on Lesson 1.

Use one marker per session. Switching between a click and a yes mid-session is the fastest way to break a new behavior. Pick one, stick with it for the whole drill, change it next session if you have to.

A body-language signal (a half-step in your dog's direction, a shoulder rotation) that replaces a verbal cue. Dogs read proximity faster than voice. Every leash-reset move uses proximity first, voice second.

A trained off-switch — your dog lying down on their own initiative and staying there until released. Settle is the calm-first skill that makes everything else possible; the 14-page playbook has a dedicated progression for it.

A small, early signal your dog gives when they're about to move up the arousal ladder — ears stiffening, mouth tightening, tail stalling. Catching the threshold cue at 2/5 is a hundred times easier than reacting at 4/5.