Training shelter volunteers to teach dog compliance.

Researchers taught shelter volunteers to run short sit-and-wait drills with dogs.

They used a video model first, then added brief in-situ feedback.

A multiple-baseline design checked each volunteer’s fidelity and the dogs’ responses.

Fidelity stayed near zero after the video alone.

It jumped to mastery only when feedback was added.

Better volunteer fidelity meant better dog compliance, but the dogs only generalized the trained sit, not the untrained wait.

Sipila-Thomas et al. (2024) extends this package: email performance feedback also lifted teacher candidates’ fidelity when they ran preference assessments, showing the feedback piece works even from a distance.

Peiris et al. (2022) seems to disagree: their dogs quit obeying when food followed the clicker only sometimes. The clash disappears when you notice J et al. kept food continuous for every correct response, proving schedule—not method—drives compliance.

Abuin et al. (2026) used a rapid-alternation design to show that 50 % fidelity can still teach college students; J et al. echo the point by linking each rise in volunteer fidelity to a clear jump in dog performance.

If you train staff or volunteers, a slick video is not enough. Add two-minute on-the-spot feedback and watch fidelity soar. This works in shelters, classrooms, or clinics, and keeps the learner—human or canine—on track. Drop the feedback, and your trainees (and their clients) will stall.