Ace | French Bulldog | Tujunga, CA | In-Training
- Scott Hansen
- Feb 1
- 9 min read
Updated: 13 hours ago
Meet Ace! Ace is a year and a half old French Bulldog here for our Two-Week Community Board and Train Program. Ace is a sweet pup; however, he does display several unwanted behaviors. Ace has poor leash manners, will not recall, and is inconsistent with obedience. Ace can perform a command or two with proper motivation; however, he lacks structure and performs tasks inconsistently. Over the next fourteen days, Ace will learn to be an obedient pup through consistent, clear communication and balanced training at home, as well as by exploring new people and places. Ace will learn to perform all these things on and off leash through a positive and balanced training environment. Through structure and consistency, Ace will demonstrate how great a pup he can be! Stay tuned for Ace’s two-week transformation!
Ace | French Bulldog | Pupdate 02/01/26
Today, Mr. Ace joined me for his Two-Week Urban Community Board and Train Program. On the way home, we stopped at a local park to see what commands Mr. Ace could perform. He did not do very well! But I think you know that, and that's why he's here. After I tested his skills, we had a mini photoshoot for his profile picture for his blog. I don't know if you know this, but as soon as dogs see a phone or camera in front of their face, you are now invisible to them, and they must ignore you at all costs. Once we got what we needed, we loaded up and headed to Mr. Ace's temporary residence for the next two weeks. Mr. Ace did not throw up but had excess saliva, indicating the stress of the drive.
Once we got home, I let Mr. Ace smell Ms. Toji through the front gate. Ms. Toji was excited to see Mr. Ace. Mr. Ace was willing to sniff her but was a little apprehensive. Mr. Ace had no problems coming to the house. I let him explore each room and meet everyone. Throughout the introductions, Mr. Ace showed no adverse reactions. I took Mr. Ace outside to meet Ms. Toji. Mr. Ace was excited to meet Ms. Toji, but she was not too happy about it. I think Mr. Ace and Ms. Toji will be fine hanging out with each other.
We then went on a long walk around the block so that he could get used to the sights, sounds, and scents of her temporary new neighborhood. He had no issues with walking around the block. He walked ok on the leash. He was super interested in and very stubborn when sniffing things he enjoyed. I noticed that he is even licking the “hot spots”. He went ahead occasionally and lagged at times, but mostly stopped to investigate some dog “hot spots,” and was willing to keep walking. He mostly ignored all the other dogs in the houses that barked at us as we went around.
I can see that he is a gentle pup. I expect to see him work well with the structure and positive reinforcement. With clear, persistent communication and expectations, he will learn to be a well-mannered pup!
I gave him dinner and observed how much he eats. I keep track of his weight and will ensure that she maintains her weight while she is with me.
I've attached the e-collar familiarization video. Please review the video a few times before Mr. Ace's turnover. We'll practice together to make sure you are comfortable with the system before using it with Mr. Ace. I will introduce the e-collar for tomorrow’s training.
Ace | French Bulldog | Pupdate 02/02/06
Today, I introduce the e-collar to Mr. Ace. As you can see, I like to introduce the e-collar while playing with the pups. Mr. Ace was really excited and jumped up and wanted to play after lunch. I know you had warned me that he would throw up if he played too soon after eating, but he was ready to play, and I wanted to take advantage of his good mood. We headed outside with Mr. Grizzly to introduce the e-collar. Mr. Ace is a very playful pup and isn't afraid of Mr. Grizzly at all!
After I completed introducing the collar to Mr. Grizzly, I loosely put the collar on Mr. Ace. We went back to playing. Then I put the collar a little more snug. Then I started introducing the stimulation, slowly but surely. Mr. Ace gave me noticeable behavior changes around 30. This is not a bad number, but I feel that it can be lower. I had the short contact points on him, and this might have affected the amount of contact it had on his skin. I already switched over to the longer ones. This also ensures that I don't have to have the collar on quite as firmly to ensure there is contact with his skin due to his rolls and thick neck.
As far as his acclimation to living with me, he's doing fantastic! He gets along with Ms. Toji and my family. He likes to play, and he doesn't let Mr. Grizzly bully him. He eats all his food. He is going to do well in this training. He has been drinking plenty of water! He is fun to have around, and I look forward to our time together.
I am worried about how much raw food Mr. Grizzly and Mr. Ace are eating combined. I think Mr. Ace is fine with his quantity, but due to the 8 cups that Mr. Grizzly eats per day, I am almost done with one bag in one day. I'll keep an eye out and let you guys know if I need more. My freezer is full, and I can't fit anything else in at the moment, but if it's not looking good in the next day or so, I'll be sure to give you a heads up.
I ensured to put Neosporin on his nose to manage the dryness. I bought a small bottle just for him.
Great start to the training, Mr. Ace!!
Ace | French Bulldog | Pupdate 02/03/06
Today, we introduced all but one of Mr. Ace's commands. We practiced "sit", "down", "heel", and "place." Mr. Ace is highly food-motivated and did a great job responding to the tasks. I attempted to incorporate the e-collar into our training, but it was distracting from the productive training that the food was achieving. We will definitely need to work on duration and his "heel". He can be a little stubborn at times and not want to perform the "heel". We will find a way to motivate him in the most positive way possible.
We're off to a good start!
Ace | French Bulldog | Pupdate 2/4/26
Today, Mr. Ace and I headed over to Rynerson Park in Lakewood, CA. It was time to head out and practice his commands in public. There were not very many distractions, which made for a good learning experience. Overall, Mr. Ace did ok with his commands. Mr. Ace is a vending machine puppy. He only does his commands when you give him a treat. As soon as he has his treat, he jumps up and breaks his command. As much as I want to reward him for his good behavior, it's clear that he has learned that as soon as he gets a reward, he knows he can get up. This is not conducive to our training. He could barely make it thirty seconds before he got up and broke his command. I was hoping to push for a minute today, but we will keep pushing him.
He sometimes stops on the "heel," and I simply use the pressure of the prong collar to motivate him to walk. As soon as he starts walking, all the pressure is released, and I tell him, "Good." He was also highly resistant to staying in the "down" position for more than a few seconds. He actually tried to bite me, but we stayed patient, persistent, and consistent. I let him stay down there for a while while petting him and reinforcing the behavior. He is conditioned to getting up quickly, and we will have to work on counter-conditioning this behavior.
Overall, I am happy with how today's training went, but we have a lot of work ahead of us!
Ace | French Bulldog | Pupdate 02/05/26
Today, the goal was duration, duration, duration! Yesterday, Mr. Ace was struggling with 30 second "sit" and place/down. Today, I cut out the treats and the distractions. Kept it straightforward. I also made sure to incorporate "Break!" between each command. Eventually, we will chain them all together.
I was proud of his "sit." We almost made it to two minutes! His "down" was for two minutes! His come-to-sit was pretty good too!
His "heel" was not very good, so I'll take him for a walk around the neighborhood tonight and practice.
He didn't eat too much today, but his weight is perfectly fine.
Ace | French Bulldog | Pupdate 02/06/26
Today, I displayed for you the two different types of door manners. The first method I display is where Mr. Ace is required to "place/down" near the door on the place cot. He has to stay there while I go in and out or walk back and forth. He did pretty well with this task overall. He even gave the "down" pretty easily today. It's still not consistent, but it is making good progress. Everything else is going pretty well.
The second method involves approaching the door, and Mr. Ace must perform a "sit". We open the door, and Mr. Ace cannot proceed through it until we say "ok." Mr. Ace never goes through the door before us. He can go through with us or after us, but never before. We have been practicing this command since he arrived, but this is the first time I was able to demonstrate it for you.
Mr. Ace was reluctant to eat the wet/raw food. I switched him over to the dry food for now, as he is doing better with the dry food. His weight is good, he's drinking water, and everything else is normal.
Good job today, Mr. Ace!
Ace | French Bulldog | Pupdate 02/07/26
Today, Mr. Ace and I headed over to our local Home Depot in Lakewood, CA to practice all of his commands in a public place. Mr. Ace is doing so much better at managing his impulses when we are practicing. One of the biggest improvements that Mr. Ace is making is his ability to maintain an extended "sit" and "down". When we first started, he was like a jack-in-the-box. You would give him the command, give him a treat, and he would pop right back up. Now he is maintaining his commands much more consistently without needing the treats for constant reinforcement. His "heel" and "down" are still a work in progress, but everything else is progressing nicely.
Ace | French Bulldog | Pupdate 02/08/26
Today, I introduced off-leash work to Mr. Ace. For only being one week in, Mr. Ace did pretty well! I usually wait until about Wednesday of the second week to introduce off-leash work, but he's been doing well with his training. We still need to see more consistency with the "down" and "heel". We will also continue to reinforce and practice his "come-to-sit." He was able to perform this command, but I'd like to see it cleaned up a bit. Lastly, we were able to hold a "sit" and "place/down" for two minutes!
Great job, Mr. Ace!
Ace | French Bulldog | Pupdate 02/09/26
Today, we headed over to Whittier Narrows in El Monte, CA, to meet up with our fellow Off Leash trainers and their pups. Mr. Ace had very few issues while we were there. His biggest concern remains his impulse control with sitting up from the "down" or breaking the "sit." Both of these were only nearing or after the two-minute mark. Mr. Ace continues to be obsessive towards some scents on the ground. Due to his short nose, he goes face to ground and glues it there. This can and is being disrupted with the command "Off!" + stimulation from the e-collar. This is usually enough to get him to leave the scent pad or novel odor. We did almost all the commands with the leash dragging today. I introduced him to off-leash yesterday; however, that was in my backyard, where there are no distractions, and it's completely enclosed. This was our first time being around this many distractions with the other trainers and their pups. We let the leash drag as a safety measure.
He continues to do well with the training when he is fully locked in. I look forward to taking him to different places this week to test out his skills in various levels of distractions.
Ace | French Bulldog | Pupdate 02/10/26
Today, Mr. Ace and I headed over to Liberty Park in Cerritos, CA, to continue to review all his commands in public spaces with distractions. A few kids were playing at the park, a few exercisers were working their way around the track, and a high school volleyball team was practicing. A few dogs were walking around with their pup parents, but they were a good distance away from where we were practicing.
Mr. Ace started strong but was hesitant to "place" on the bench. No worries! I have a formula for fixing this and building success. You see me jump up on the bench with Mr. Ace. I then told him "sit" and gave him a treat. This went well as he figured out how to do it on his own. He performed a good "down" and stayed there for his two minutes.
Great progress today, Mr. Ace!
Comments