Common questions about this stage:Q: Who should do this?A: You AND your partner, or you OR your partner. You will note in your Data Tracker who is running the Mission and over the course of a week or two, you will see whether or not your dog is better with both of you, or just one of you.Q: Should the kids do this with us?A: At this stage, I would not involve the kids if you don’t have to (unless childcare is not an option for running Missions – that’s too much work/expense!), so do this when they’re not home, or just include them and note this in your Data Tracker.Q: What time of day is best?A: When it’s most convenient for you. Honestly. Right now we just need to run a few and it can vary. In fact, that’s a great way to start out; adding variety in the times of day that you do this can lead to interesting data that we’ll sort later!

Q: Do I have to take the other dog/cat/ferret/goldfish with me?A: No. Definitely not. Just be organic about it. A typical departure as if you were going to work or grocery shopping.Q: Which shoes should I wear?A: I’m glad you asked! Again, you want this to be normal, so whatever shoes you normally wear. Don’t try to do this in your slippers – dogs are masters of discrimination and it won’t be organic.Q: How many times am I running this Mission this week?A: Once a day for 5 out of 7 days if you can. Don’t do 6 or 7 days. Don’t do this multiple times a day. Trust me – that’s not going to speed things up; it will just burn you both out.

Q: How should I end the Mission?A: You are going to be tempted to finish that last step and celebrate. Don’t. I’m sorry! You want things to be boring! So finish your last step, go chill out for 30-60 seconds as you would between steps, and then go back to your normal life. If your dog is crated or gated, this is when you’d release them as if nothing happened. Don’t fuss over them, don’t tell them they did a great job, don’t give them treats. Just release them and move on. B-O-R-I-N-G. I know.