Room to ChooseBY PAWLINEDOOR & DISTANCE / A FICTIONAL MODEL
Choose a diagram, then a lens. The four pictures change two conditions independently. There is no dog in the model and no picture to graduate to.
Choose a fictional diagram
The illustrated door is fixed open. The person sits nearby.
The dog could enter or leave the illustrated crate; the person has not gone away.
This drawing contains no observed animal and cannot establish comfort, choice in a real room or readiness for a closed door.
PDSA ↗Source for this explanation, not an endorsement or review of this website.
The person is drawn inside the room, beside the open crate.
Compare the "Door open / person out of sight" card: the crate door stays open, but the person moves out of sight. Company and access are different variables.
Being able to leave a crate does not tell us how a real dog feels about a person leaving.
PDSA; January 2024 ↗Source for this explanation, not an endorsement or review of this website.
There is an open entrance and a nearby chair in a fictional sketch.
A prepared space is a starting condition, not a measured learning result. No animal behavior has been supplied.
We do not know whether an actual dog would approach, rest, avoid the space or need another arrangement.
Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Aly Cohen DVM ↗Source for this explanation, not an endorsement or review of this website.
The crate door is shown closed. The person stays in the same place.
Compare the "Door open / person nearby" card: only the door position changes. Voluntary entry into an open crate is not the same experience as staying behind a closed door.
No sketch can tell whether a real dog is ready for this change or how long a door should remain closed.
VCA, Ellen Lindell VMD DACVB and Monique Feyrecilde BA LVT VTS Behavior ↗Source for this explanation, not an endorsement or review of this website.
The person is still nearby, even though the door is closed.
Compare the "Door closed / person out of sight" card: the door remains closed while the person goes out of sight. Being nearby and being absent are separate conditions.
A person in the room does not make confinement comfortable for every dog. Distress is not disobedience.
Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Aly Cohen DVM ↗Source for this explanation, not an endorsement or review of this website.
The latch position is visible. A real dog, its history and its needs are not.
Equipment can limit movement without demonstrating learning or emotional safety. The site does not award a readiness score.
Silence, eating or a closed latch would not by themselves prove that an unseen dog is relaxed.
PDSA ↗Source for this explanation, not an endorsement or review of this website.
The crate door remains open. The person is shown beyond the room doorway.
Compare the "Door open / person nearby" card: the access condition is unchanged while the person location differs. An open crate does not cancel a separation-related concern.
The drawing cannot diagnose separation anxiety, certify a room or show that being alone is comfortable.
PDSA; January 2024 ↗Source for this explanation, not an endorsement or review of this website.
The chair is empty. The person is represented outside the room.
The intended difference is presence, not crate-door position. A dog may need help with absence even when confinement is not involved.
A larger area or an open door may be part of an individual plan, but neither is a promised treatment.
PDSA; January 2024 ↗Source for this explanation, not an endorsement or review of this website.
An open crate is drawn in a room without a nearby person.
A room is not made dog-safe merely by removing a person or leaving a crate open. Real hazards and supervision needs remain outside the model.
There is no information about the animal, other pets, chewing, climbing, toileting, temperature or support. This is not a room planner.
VCA, Ellen Lindell VMD DACVB and Monique Feyrecilde BA LVT VTS Behavior ↗Source for this explanation, not an endorsement or review of this website.
The crate is drawn with a closed door and the person outside the room.
Compared with the "Door open / person nearby" card, two things changed: access and company. A difficult experience would not identify which change mattered.
Do not recreate a distressing situation to find out. Professional guidance comes before another confinement test.
VCA, Ellen Lindell VMD DACVB and Monique Feyrecilde BA LVT VTS Behavior ↗Source for this explanation, not an endorsement or review of this website.
The illustrated person is out of sight while the illustrated door is closed.
Compare the "Door closed / person nearby" card for the person-location difference, or the "Door open / person out of sight" card for the door difference. The grid separates concepts, not training levels.
A dog who coped with one condition has not automatically learned the combination. No cell is a recommended next step.
PDSA ↗Source for this explanation, not an endorsement or review of this website.
This is the most restricted picture, not a target to achieve.
The diagram deliberately has no green completion state, timer or instruction to increase difficulty. A crate is not appropriate for every situation.
Never force a distressed dog to remain crated alone. Contact the veterinary team about distress before continuing a plan.
Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Aly Cohen DVM ↗Source for this explanation, not an endorsement or review of this website.
The model isolates crate-door position from caregiver location. Compare pictures with the same person location to examine access, or the same door position to examine presence. If both change, two conditions differ. This is an original editorial model for reasoning about different questions, not a study, experiment with dogs or behavior-modification program.
No animal name, age, history, symptoms, room dimensions, free text, photos or uploads are requested. No answers are stored, sent or scored. The diagram cannot tell you whether a dog is comfortable, how long confinement is safe, whether a room is secure or what training step to use next.
VCA, Ellen Lindell VMD DACVB and Monique Feyrecilde BA LVT VTS Behavior ↗Source for this explanation, not an endorsement or review of this website.
PDSA ↗Source for this explanation, not an endorsement or review of this website.