Athos | Dachshund | Sierra Madre, CA | In-Training
- Amanda Lascari
- Nov 12, 2024
- 12 min read
Updated: Dec 14, 2024
Athos, a six year old Dachshund, has joined OffLeash SoCal for our Two Week Board and Train program. Athos comes to us knowing some commands, but not always following them. He pulls on the leash while walking, is leash reactive, excessively barks, and marks inside the house. Over the two weeks Athos will be working towards his off leash obedience and manners. Check in to see his progress!
Pupdate 11/12/2024
Athos is getting settled in at my home. I introduced him to my pack. He was very nervous all the dogs. Athos is not a big fan of the big dogs, but okay with my dachshunds. I am going to let him get adjusted to his new surroundings. Tomorrow we will begin his training. Above is a Ecollar tutorial video. I didn’t not get to send you home with one, but please watch this video as many times as you need to become familiar with the training collar.
Pupdate 11/13/2024
Today Athos and I went to the park to work on his commands. We practiced Sit, Down, and Place. Place is a command where Athos must sit or lay on a defined object. This command is great for confidence building, working on distance and duration, as well as teaching him to be calm and relaxed. We also practiced Heel. Heel is a structured walk where Athos must walk at my side. He is not allowed to lead ahead, lag behind, or walk too far away from me. He is not allowed to put his nose to the ground. His job is to walk moist my side and focus on me and where I am going. Athos did very well on his first day of training.
Pupdate 11/14/2024
Today Athos and I trained at home. I used his friends as a distraction and let them hangout around us while we trained. Athos was very stubborn with his commands. He didn’t want to listen, but I made sure he followed. through with the commands I asked of him. We have had a bit of a struggle with the potty training. I’m not sure if Athos just has a small bladder or if he’s not happy being inside a crate. He will pee inside of his crate, even if I had just taken him out to potty and play outside. We will continue to work on it.
Pupdate 11/15/2024
Today Athos and I went to Lowe’s to work on his commands around distractions. He was a little anxious when we first arrived. We practiced all his commands and worked on his distance and duration. Athos did really well with his duration sit. Down was still a little bit of a struggle today, but we will keep practicing. Had two potty accidents in the house.
Pupdate 11/16/2024
Today Athos and I went to the park to work on his commands. There wasn’t too many distractions at the park, so Athos was more relaxed and focused. We practiced all his commands and worked on his distance and duration. He did a little better with the Down command, not putting up such a fight. We had one distraction that made Athos reactive. There was a family that arrived to the park and came to the playground where we were practicing. He barked at the little girl that playing. I told him ‘off’, he stopped and went back to following his commands, but kept his focus on the girl. Two potty accidents in the house today.
Pupdate 11/17/2024
Today Athos and I trained at home. We practiced all his commands and worked on his distance and duration. He is getting better at following the commands the first time I ask and does very well at holding his commands, as long as I don’t get too far from him. We are still working on the potty training. We did a little better today, only one potty accident.
Pupdate 11/18/2024
Today Athos and I went to the shopping outlets to work on his obedience around distractions. It was pretty busy, so we had plenty of people distractions to work around. Athos was very nervous with the new surroundings. It was hard for him to focus and follow his commands. It took awhile for him to settle down and focus, but he wasn’t completely relaxed. We will continue to practice around more distractions to build his confidence and get him desensitized out in public. We are continuing to work on his potty training. It hard to tell when Athos has to go potty, since he doesnt let me know when he needs to go. I have been taking Athos out frequently throughout the day to taking him potty. I know he can hold because he didn’t potty once while we were out in public, so I’m not sure why he won’t hold it when he’s inside at home. We made good improvement today though, no accidents in the house.
Pupdate 11/19/2024
Today Athos and I went to the mall to work on his obedience around more distractions. He was nervous with all the commotion going on around us. It was hard for him to follow through with his commands. I don’t trust him to start working off leash because he’s so anxious out in public. Athos performs much better in low distraction settings and much more relaxed. We had one potty accident in the house today, but that was my fault. I took too long grabbing his leash, to take him outside, so he peed at the door.
Pupdate 11/20/2024
Today Athos and I went to Lowe’s to work on his obedience around more distractions. He did pretty well. He was more calm and relaxed, since it was a familiar place and there were low distractions. We practiced all his commands and worked on his distance and duration. Athos did really well following all the commands the first time I asked. We had one accident in the house. He went potty outside, but got scared of a loud motorcycle passing by and ran inside the house and pooped. The rest of the potty breaks, Athos went right outside to go to the bathroom.
Pupdate 11/21/2024
Today Athos and I went to a local shopping center to work on his obedience around distractions. He was a little anxious, but still able to follow his commands. We walked around petsmart. I let him pick out a yummy treat for later. We walked over to target and worked on his duration sit and down in front of the entrance. There were people coming and going through the doors and noisy grocery carts moving around us. Athos was a good boy and held his commands, observing everything going on around us. We had no potty accidents in the house today.
Pupdate 11/22/2024
Today Athos and I trained at home. We practiced all his commands. We did a lot of place work inside the home. Having him practice place gives Athos a job to do, rather than being able to roam around the house. This prevents his marking and potty accidents. We had one potty accident inside his crate. I’m
Pupdate 11/23/2024
Today Athos and I trained at home again. We practiced all his commands and worked more on his duration place. Athos had no potty accidents today. Since he doesn’t give any signals that he needs to go potty, I decided to teach him how to use the potty bells. This will provide clear communication and improve his potty training. Athos can clearly indicate when he needs to go outside. It is still a work in progress. He was very nervous with the bells and didn’t want to be anywhere near them. I used a lot of treats to reward him everytjme he would touch the bells with his nose. Once he felt more comfortable with it, I placed the bells on the door for him to touch.
Pupdate 11/24/2024
Today Athos and I went to the park to work on his obedience. There was a lot going on at the park, but it was big enough that we were able to work at a distance from the distractions. Athos was a little anxious, but still able to focus on his training. He did pretty well. We were able to work semi-off leash, having Athos drag the leash around while we trained. At home we worked more on the potty bells. Everytime I take him out, I have Athos touch the bells with his nose first. He is still figuring it out, but I know he will get the hang of it. No accidents today.
Pupdate 11/25/2024
Today Athos and I went back to the park to work on his obedience. We met with other OffLeash SoCal trainers and their dogs, so Athos could practice around other dog distractions. He was a little anxious around the other dogs, but also interested in them. We did some more semi-off leash training. Athos did okay. He still gets a little distracted and if something scares or startles him, he tries to run. We will continue to work on leash and get more exposure to different places and distractions to help Athos build his confidence. No potty accidents today.
Pupdate 11/26/2024
Today Athos and I went to the shopping outlets to work on his obedience around distractions. It was very busy. Athos was nervous with the crowds of people, so we weren’t able to do any leash dragging while we trained. He was able to hold his commands and heel nicely at my side. We are still working on the potty bells. He is still a little timid to touch the bells, but I make sure that he does in order for me to open the door to let him outside. He had two potty accidents in his crate today. I think the reason he does it is because of his separation anxiety. When I put him in his crate while I am home Athos can be in there for a few hours and will not potty in his crate; he even sleeps throughout the night without an accident. Anytime I put him in the crate and leave the house to run an errand, I come back to find that he peed in his crate. We will continue to work on it.
Pupdate 11/27/2024
Today Athos and I stayed at home to train. We practiced all of his commands and worked on his distance and duration. We also worked on the potty bells. He is getting better with the bells. I still have to ask him to touch them in order for me to take him out, but he is getting more confident and hitting them on his own without my help. We did have another potty accident in the crate when I put him in the crate and stepped out to run an errand.
11/28/2024
Happy Thanksgiving! Today Athos and I went to the park to work on his obedience. We practiced all his commands semi-off leash. We also worked on his distance and duration. He did really well. Athos was focused and obedient. Athos joined me and my family for Thanksgiving. He got to hangout with my family and enjoy a little taste of turkey.
Pupdate 11/29/2024
Today Athos and I went to the shopping outlet to work on his obedience around distractions. I thought it would be crazy for Black Friday shopping, but it wasn’t, which made it easier for Athos. He was little anxious with the new surroundings, but still able to focus on his training. He did a great job following all his commands. He a few admirers that approached and asked to pet him. He was a little shy but happy to receive the pets and attention. No potty accidents today.
11/30/2024
Today Athos and I trained at home. We practiced all his commands and worked on his distance a duration. We practiced a lot on the Place command inside the house. We also worked on his door manners.
The benefits of door manners is:
-Impulse control at thresholds- Typically the door causes excitement for a dog because they know they are going out (outside, for a ride, for a walk, etc.) Waiting at a doorway puts your dog in a calmer state of mind and you are able to have more control of the dog when you take him out.
-Safety- Teaching your dog to wait at thresholds will prevent bolting.
Pupdate 12/1/2024
Today Athos and I went to the park to work on his obedience. We practiced all his commands semi-off leash. He did a great job! Athos was focused and followed all of his commands. We worked on his distance and duration. At home we worked more on the potty bell. Athos is more confident now with ringing the potty bells. We are still working on him letting me know, on his own, when he wants to go outside. No potty accidents today.
Pupdate 12/2/2024
Today Athos and I went to the mall to work on his obedience around distractions. He did very well. Athos was a little anxious, but was still able to focus and follow all his commands. We practiced his commands semi-off leash. Athos had many admirers that stopped to watch him train. He received quite a few compliments on how handsome and how well mannered he is. He is doing well with the potty training. We didn’t have any accidents in the house, except for inside his crate. We are still working on the separation anxiety. It’s every time I step out of the house, Athos will potty inside the crate.
Pupdate 12/3/2024
Today Athos and I went to the park to work on his commands. We practiced all his commands and worked on his distance and duration. He was a good boy. He was focused and followed his commands semi-off leash. No potty accidents today. Athos actually rang the potty bell all on his own, without me telling him.
Pupdate 12/4/2024
Today Athos and I went to lowes to work on his obedience around distractions. We practiced all his commands and worked on his distance and duration. He was a little nervous, but still able to focus and follow his commands. Athos learned a new command, Under. Under is very similar to the Place command, but instead of climbing onto an object Athos must go under the object. He did very well and caught on to his new command quickly. Athos had one potty accident in the house today. This was my fault. He ran over to the door to go outside, but I took a little too long to walk over and he went potty.
Pupdate 12/5/2024
Today Athos and I went to the shopping outlets today work on his obedience around distractions. Once again, he still is a little anxious whenever we go out in public, but still able to focus and train. It is still a big improvement from where Athos was in the beginning of his training, wanting to run and couldn’t stay still or focus. Does really well at holding his commands as crowds walk past him. I can tell he’s anxious, but he looks to me for reassurance and I let him know he’s doing a good job. Athos had two potty accidents today.
Pupdate 12/6/2024
Today Athos and I trained at home. I used his training buddies as a distraction and let them hangout around us while we trained. We practiced all his commands and worked on his duration. He did very well ignoring the other dogs and staying focused on his commands. One potty accident in his crate today, because I stepped out to run an errand. We will continue to work on the separation anxiety.
Pupdate 12/7/2024
Today Athos and I went to the park to work on his obedience. We practiced all his commands and worked on his distance and duration. He was a very good boy. Athos was focused and followed all his commands. No potty accidents today.
Pupdate 12/8/2024
Today Athos and his buddy, Bear, joined me on a little Christmas shopping spree at the mall. It was very crowded so Athos had plenty of people and dog distractions to work around. It was a little overwhelming for him, which made it hard for him to focus. We tried walking around the mall for awhile to tire him out and get him to relax, which helped athos a little bit. Athos has being getting better at ringing the potty bell on his own, without me asking him. He knows right when he comes out the kennel to run to the door and ring the bell so we can go outside. No potty accidents today.
Pupdate 12/9/2024
Today Athos and I went to the park to work on his obedience. We met with other OffLeash SoCal trainers and their dogs so Athos could practice around other dog distractions. He did pretty well. He was a little timid being around all the dogs, but we were able to train semi-off leash. No potty accidents today.
Pupdate 12/10/2024
Today Athos and I went to the shopping outlets to work on his commands. He did an awesome job today! We worked completely off leash! Athos was focused and followed all of his commands. Typically, he is anxious around crowds or a lot of distractions, but I noticed he was much more confident today. He received a lot of attention. Athos had many admirers watch him train. People would try to talk to him or get him to come over to them, but he stayed focused on me and held his commands. I am very proud of Athos with how well he did today!
Pupdate 12/11/2024
Today Athos and I stayed home to train. We practiced all his commands and worked on his duration. I used his friends as a distraction and let them hang out around us while we trained. Athos was a good boy and stayed focused on his commands. We also worked on his food and door manners.
The benefits of door manners is:
-Impulse control at thresholds- Typically the door causes excitement for a dog because they know they are going out (outside, for a ride, for a walk, etc.) Waiting at a doorway puts your dog in a calmer state of mind and you are able to have more control of the dog when you take him out.
-Safety- Teaching your dog to wait at thresholds will prevent bolting.
Pupdate 12/12/2024
Today Athos and I went to the park to work on his obedience. He did a great job following all his commands. He did so well we didn’t even need to put on his Ecollar! He heeled nicely at my side, even when passing other people and dogs. We had little dogs that approach, barking and lunging towards Athos. Athos held his down command and just watched them pass by. We came across ducks and geese. Athos was a little anxious, but stayed right at my side as we walked by them. He had one potty accident in his crate.
Pupdate 12/13/2024
Today Athos and I went to the park again to work on his off leash obedience. Once again, he did a great job following all his commands. We worked on his distance and duration. Athos had a good time running around and exploring the park. At home we practiced more of his food and door manners. No potty accidents today.
Pupdate 12/14/2024
Today Athos took the day off from training. He spent his last day relaxing and socializing with his friends before he goes home tomorrow. I am very proud of Athos and the progress he has made over these four weeks. He can’t wait to go home and show you everything he has learned!
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