Atlas | Weimaraner | Palm Springs, CA | In-Training
- Scott Hansen
- Sep 7
- 17 min read
Updated: Sep 20
Meet Atlas! Atlas is a one-year-old Weimaraner here for our Two-Week Community Board and Train Program. Atlas is a sweet young pup; however, he does display several unwanted behaviors. Atlas is a rambunctious, playful young pup. Atlas can be easily excited when meeting new people and will jump or nip at them. Atlas is not afraid of counter surfing and getting into things he shouldn’t be in. Atlas has poor leash manners and will not recall. Atlas can perform a command or two and has been through some training, but he lacks structure and will perform the tasks inconsistently. Over the next fourteen days, Atlas is going to learn to be an obedient pup through consistent, clear communication and balanced training at home and by discovering new people and places. Atlas will learn to perform all these things on and off-leash through a positive and balanced training environment. Through structure and consistency, Atlas will demonstrate how great a pup he can be! Stay tuned for Atlas’ two-week transformation!
Atlas | Weimeraner | Pupdate 09/07/2025
Today, Mr. Atlas joined me for his two-week community board and train program. Mr. Atlas seems to have peed a little on the long drive back. On the way home, we stopped at a local park to see what commands Mr. Atlas 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. Atlas's temporary residence for the next two weeks.
Once we got home, I let Mr. Atlas smell Ms. Toji through the front gate. Ms. Toji was excited to see Mr. Atlas. Mr. Atlas paid her no attention. Mr. Atlas had no problem barging through the front door to check it out. I let him explore each room and meet everyone. My mini-trainer was excited to meet Mr. Atlas and joined me in introducing Mr. Atlas to Ms. Toji. There were no issues with them meeting, and Ms. Toji paid him no mind. I tried to get him to chase the tennis ball a little bit, but he wanted to go back inside.
We then went on a long walk around the block with my mini-trainer so that he could get used to the sights, sounds, and scents of his temporary new neighborhood. He pulled me around the block, stopped to smell occasionally, and then the rest of the time we chased my mini-trainer around the block. I didn't see too much unwanted behavior on the walk, except for the hard pulling on the leash. That should be easily corrected with the prong collar that you have introduced him to, as it's a great tool to correct this behavior.
When the walk was complete, I brought him into his crate with your shirts that you sent. I gave him some water and put a light sheet around the crate so that he could relax inside for a while. I then let him outside into the dog run side of my house, and have been keeping an eye on him and Ms. Toji. They don’t seem to have any issues with each other.
I gave him his food around 6 pm. I keep track of his weight and will ensure that he maintains his weight while with me.
Attached is the e-collar familiarization video. Please review it a few times before Mr. Atlas's turnover. We'll practice together to make sure you are comfortable with the system before using it with Mr. Atlas.
Atlas | Weimeraner | Pupdate 09/08/2025
It has been a fun day with Mr. Atlas. He is showing more of his personality as he acclimates to his temporary residence. He is a curious pup. He likes to investigate all the new things in the house. I let him roam around my office a little bit and check everything out. He had to smell and investigate every little thing. He has no issues jumping up or getting to what he is looking for.
For today's training, I introduced the e-collar and many of his new obedience commands. The video shows me introducing the e-collar. I start by just playing with him without the e-collar on. Then I put the e-collar loosely on him and go back to playing, then I tighten it down a little more so that it is nice and snug. We don't want it moving everywhere, and we want to ensure there is adequate contact with his skin without it moving around and irritating his skin. Back to more playing and treats. Then we start increasing the levels on the e-collar until I see a reaction from Mr. Atlas. This is a new sensation to him, something he has never felt before. I raise the levels up by 5 until I see any little reaction. I got the first reaction from him at 15. He will be working between 13-15 on the e-collar. These are great numbers considering that the remote goes up to level 100. 10 is the lowest number I can feel the sensation.
We then headed over to Whittier Narrows in El Monte, CA, to meet up with some of our fellow Off Leash trainers and pups. I introduced "place", "down", "heel", "sit", and "Break!". The only command we really have left is the recall with "Come".
Mr. Atlas' biggest issue is going to be his impulse control. That impulse to jump up to check things out, the impulse to break the "sit" or "down" almost instantly. His impulse is to run through every door when it's open. We have to get him to understand that when we ask him to, we need him to be calm, relaxed, and obedient.
Overall, a very good first day of training!
Atlas | Weimeraner | Pupdate 09/09/25
Today, Mr. Atlas and I hit the backyard again to work on everything I introduced yesterday. We worked on the "heel", "sit", "place", and "down." Mr. Atlas is doing well with these commands. His familiarity with the prong collar helps this process significantly. Now we have to replace the pressure of the prong collar with the stimulation from the e-collar. This will take a few days, but it will come with consistency. Mr. Atlas may be rambunctious as a bull in a China shop, but he is quite understanding of pressure and obedience commands. You can see how I was walking with a nice, loose leash throughout the video in the "heel". He was able to calmly stay in the "sit" and "down" for a minute or longer.
I then started working on the "come-to-sit". This is the most complicated task that I will ask of Mr. Atlas while he is with me. He has to go around the right side of me and sit on the left side of me. This is the foundation of his recall.
I incorporated a lot of playing with the ball whenever he did something new. We must balance the demands of performing obedience tasks with properly rewarding him with positive reinforcement.
When the prong and e-collar are off, Mr. Atlas knows this and will still be rambunctious. Unfortunately, we can't do much in these situations as we have no way to give a consequence for the unwanted behavior. As he grows up and matures, we can expect this behavior to diminish without the tools; however, that will be up to Mr. Atlas to demonstrate that he can accomplish things without them.
He has been eating all his food and enjoying hanging out with me in my office. He has had no issues in his crate.
Tomorrow, we will start heading out to the local parks and working on his commands around some distractions.
Atlas | Weimeraner | Pupdate 09/10/25
Today, Mr. Atlas and I headed over to Rynerson Park in Lakewood, CA, to start working on his commands out in public. It wasn't too busy at the time I went, but a few bike riders were going by that Mr. Atlas was able to ignore and focus on his tasks.
We reviewed all his commands, as you can see in the video. His "heel" is coming along nicely. He is learning to "sit" more consistently as he has to do it for everything. He has to "sit" before going through the door, before coming in, or going outside, before eating, and before loading into the car. When we stop walking in the "heel", he needs to "sit". There is a lot of sitting, so he will be very proficient at this. We still have to work on his "come-to-heel" and a more consistent "down" when asked anywhere.
I was able to introduce the leash drag "heel", which is a good step towards being off-leash. Starting tomorrow, I am going to ditch the prong collar and switch to the flat collar only. This is also a transitional step into being off-leash. We don't want to rely on the pressure of the prong more than the stimulation of the e-collar. The e-collar is slowly becoming our primary method of communication for Mr. Atlas.
Atlas | Weimeraner | Pupdate 09/11/25
Today, Mr. Atlas and I headed over to Liberty Park in Cerritos, CA, to work on his commands around minimal distractions. Mr. Atlas is showing good recognition of using the e-collar. He was showing some signs of being a little stressed out with excessive drooling. I calmed him down with some nice, reassuring petting. I have had the e-collar on him during meal times, during the day, and in the crate to show him that it is not negative, and he can still be himself with it on. We still need to work on his consistency with him performing a "down" and "come to sit". More repetitions are the answer, but overall, he is making good progress.
The entire training session today was conducted on the flat collar. This is a good sign that he is understanding the pressure and the stimulation from the e-collar to perform the tasks. We need to work on his door manners, food manners, and car manners. Expect to see an updated training video on those tasks in the next few days.
Good progress, Mr. Atlas!
Atlas | Weimeraner | Pupdate 09/12/25
What a monumental milestone for Mr. Atlas today! I introduced his off-leash work! I normally don't get here with most pups until Monday or Tuesday of next week, but Mr. Atlas has been showing good obedience with all his tasks, so I decided to give it a try. Most pups will bolt the first time I take them off-leash, which is why I always introduce it in my backyard. Mr. Atlas carried on with all his tasks like it was just another day! I am so happy and proud of him! He did a great job!
His "come-to-sit" is still a bit shaky, so I waited until after the video and practicing off-leash to put the leash back on and work on shaping that command. We're going to have to practice that one every day, a lot more, until he shows proficiency with this. I did start using the tennis ball to lure him into the correct position, and that seemed to show promise.
We are way ahead of the curve with his "sit" and "down" as you can see, I was riding the scooter around and kicking the soccer ball, and he had no issues with performing those tasks. He maintained them both for well over 90 seconds despite my trying to distract him!
Atlas | Weimeraner | Pupdate | 09/13/25
Today Mr. Atlas and I worked on his manners around the house. We have been working on his food manners daily. Everything is predicated on him performing a "sit" prior to being allowed to perform any of the manners.
For food manners, Mr. Atlas needs to "sit" and then we tell him "break" and allow him to access his food.
For door manners, I show you two different types. The video starts after we had practiced a few times. I forgot to turn my camera on. Ooops! We worked on the first type, where we put Mr. Atlas in a "place" and then "down", then we can open the door to go outside and check the mail or let people in. The second type is when we are leaving, coming back inside or letting him outside. We place Mr. Atlas in a "sit" and then head out the door and tell Mr. Atlas "heel" or "ok" and he will follow us out the door. The point is to ensure Mr. Atlas does not go through the door until we allow him to.
For the car manners, we once again put Mr. Atlas in a "sit". Once he is in a "sit", we open the vehicle and then advise him to "load up".
All these steps are necessary to ensure that Mr. Atlas manages his impulses to do whatever he wants. He shouldn't do anything unless we allow him to. He knows that when the e-collar is on that he needs to be on his best behavior.
Atlas | Weimeraner | Pupdate | 09/14/25
Today, Mr. Atlas and I headed over to our local Home Depot. Mr. Atlas is doing amazing in all these places! He was interested in the spooky Halloween decorations and didn't like the giant scary Halloween characters. When we were outside or walking through the aisles, Mr. Atlas had no issues. He saw another pup and was excited, but I gave him an "off!" and reminded him to "heel," and we carried on about our business. We incorporated our "come-to-sit" as well, and those are looking a lot better. We will continue to do extra practice on that specific command each day. Good work, Mr. Atlas!
Atlas | Weimeraner | Pupdate | 09/15/25
Today, Mr. Atlas and I headed over to Whittier Narrows in El Monte, CA, to meet up with our fellow Off Leash Trainers and their pups. We reviewed all of our commands in this environment. Mr. Atlas is coming along nicely. For almost the entire training session today, I let the leash drag behind him and let him make his own choices with little to no leash pressure to guide him. I used the tennis ball to lure him into the "come-to-sit". We will continue to visit public places this week to ensure he is learning and able to perform all his tasks despite distractions.
Since he was doing so well with all the commands with the leash dragging, I wanted to test how well I could get him to recall. You mentioned that you go on walks in the Palm Desert, and his recall was something you were concerned about. I decided to play fetch with him and see if I could work on his long-distance recall. Although it wasn't a perfect recall every time, the e-collar was enough to get his attention and get him to come back to me while playing with the tennis balls. I have been teaching him "out" as a separate command since you also mentioned that he will play keep-away with you. We don't engage in the keep-away behavior but instead ignore him or give him an "out" and "come" command. As soon as he gives up one tennis ball, I immediately give him another one to reward him for performing the task. He did pretty well with this exercise. If there is time this week, I will revisit this exercise, but fully off-leash to demonstrate that he can perform this task. I only practice this at large fenced-in areas, and you will have to practice as well to make sure you are comfortable before fully allowing him freedom to do and go wherever he wants with the confidence that he will recall in those open spaces. I practiced with the leash attached so that I could step on it if needed. The problem is that if you leave the leash on in the wild, it will get tangled up on bushes and rocks and make it unproductive.
I wanted to touch on Mr. Atlas' behavior after being with me for a week now. He is still a puppy and a young bull. He is a pure-bred Weimeraner through and through. Naturally curious, very little fear of the unknown, willing to jump, climb, and paw at things to satisfy his curiosity or demand something. This is especially true when he has no e-collar on or a leash attached to any collar. He will nip at the hands, try to jump on people and things, and even go after food that lures him in. That's who he has been bred to be. Willing to use his nose to hunt and go through bushes and nature to seek out his target. The only difference is that your house is his hunting ground. When he has the e-collar on or attached to a leash, he is a well-behaved young pup (not perfect, but much better). Once it comes off, the consequences are no longer front and center. This is something that you will have to decide how much you want to manage his behavior. As mentioned before, I have left his e-collar on for various parts of the day so that he gets used to it. He doesn't appear to have any skin irritation or issues with the system. We recommend only leaving it on for a few hours at a time. He deserves time to be a puppy and be himself without the e-collar on. It creates a lot of stress for a pup like Mr. Atlas because of his curiosity, that same curiosity which leads to him performing unwanted behavior like jumping on counters or people. We teach him not to do those things with a well-timed "off" + stimulation. I have not allowed him to jump on the counters, but he did try to go after food in my office one day. But I had no e-collar or tools to assist me, so I just put him in his crate for a few minutes. This is an example of me not being prepared to address his unwanted behavior. I know you guys will be able to work with him and continue his journey after this training. He will have a foundation in the basics that you can tailor to fit your lifestyle and future with Mr. Atlas.
Atlas | Weimeraner | Pupdate | 09/16/25
Today, Mr. Atlas and I headed over to Rynerson Park in Lakewood, CA, to continue our adventure towards being fully off-leash. I switched over to my smallest and lightest leash as a "just in case." I gave Mr. Atlas a nice break before we started. He is doing well! We focused on his "come-to-sit" and I tried to fade out the ball in shaping this behavior. I tried to use my hands and the e-collar stimulation to get the behavior that I wanted. He understands this task, but we just need to keep practicing and practicing until you get him back this weekend. A guy was having a day out in the sun with his pet cat, and Mr. Atlas paid him no mind.
After the video, we went for a nice, long walk through the park, practicing the "come-to-sit", "heel", and "place" at the playground. I kept a nice, loose leash and gave very little leash input throughout the follow-on training.
It is important that when you get him back, you practice his commands with him. You don't necessarily need to run him through every single command, as I do in these videos. I do this to demonstrate his progress and what we are working on. You definitely want to dedicate a few minutes a day to practice, end on a positive note, and stop if you get frustrated or overwhelmed.
Atlas | Weimeraner | Pupdate | 09/17/25
Today, Mr. Atlas and I went to Liberty Park in Cerritos, CA. The commands are going a lot more smoothly. You can see that his "come-to-sit" is looking much better! I am super happy with all the progress he has made. He can still be a little anxious when doing the training and managing his impulse control. The most important thing is to be consistent with our expectations and objectives. As I mentioned previously, failing to address unwanted behavior in any way is interpreted as ok for Mr. Atlas. We have to be prepared to address this behavior from him, as he is going to give us plenty of chances to address this type of behavior.
Lastly, we headed over to a more open part of the park, and I finally let Mr. Atlas fully off-leash to play fetch. Once again, this is something additional to what you get in your training program. I wanted to show that he can perform this task. It was also a reward for performing all his tasks nicely at the playground. As you can see, he is getting better at bringing the ball all the way back to me before dropping it. At one point, he does get distracted, and I recall him with the e-collar. I don't mind that he left the ball there on this one. I'd rather lose a tennis ball than have Mr. Atlas ignore me and do his own thing. In this situation, it was a small walk over to pick up the ball. No big deal. I hope you enjoyed this part of his training!
Great job today, Mr. Atlas!
Atlas | Weimeraner | Pupdate | 09/18/25
Although today's video is short and sweet, it just goes to show how far Mr. Atlas has come in his training that it doesn't take multiple tries to get him to perform his manners around the house.
We reinforced the door manners. To recap the door manners, we have Mr. Atlas either perform a "place" and "down" or even a "sit" and "down" near the door to wait for us. We open the door and head outside to perform whatever errand we need, and then come back in and say "Break!" to free him of his position. The other way is on our way out of the door, we put him in a "sit", he waits until we tell him "heel" or "ok", and then he can join us through the door. Mr. Atlas never goes through the door before us unless we allow him to. To be clear, this training does not mean that Mr. Atlas won't run through an open door. This is a highly structured process. The more consistent you are with him at every door, he should learn to wait for you to allow him to access the door, whether it is open or closed. However, he is still a playful puppy and can get excited and forget his manners. If we are not prepared with a leash or the e-collar, it will be hard to apply any consequences. Door manners are extremely important when you get home with Mr. Atlas on Sunday. This is the way you are going to let him know that the rules and framework I established with him are now applicable to your home.
For his vehicle manners, we place Mr. Atlas in a "sit" and he needs to wait until the car is open. Once the door is open, we tell him, "Load Up!" and he jumps into the vehicle. He will try to bully his way out of the car if we aren't prepared. Once again, he does not come out of the vehicle until we give him a "Break!" command. Once again, be consistent with this command. All of these small things that he has to wait for permission to do add up to a well-behaved, structured pup.
Lastly, his food manners. This is the same theme as above. Mr. Atlas can be put into a "sit" and should stay there until we present his food and give him the "Break!" command to eat his food. He shouldn't be jumping on us, trying to get to the food, or breaking the "sit" unless we give him the "Break!" command. If he does any of those things, we pick up the food and reset him. We put him in a "sit" again and then present the food and water again. If you need to, you can say "sit" while you put the food down and while you stand back up so that he understands.
Atlas | Weimeraner | Pupdate | 09/19/25
Today, Mr. Atlas and I headed over to Home Depot to work on his off-leash skills in a more public area. Overall, he did well! I want to remind you to ensure Mr. Atlas has a proper potty break, food, and is hydrated before going out and about. This makes sure that Mr. Atlas is ready to go and give it his best shot.
While we were in the store, we also got to practice his greeting manners. Mr. Atlas is a very handsome boy and gets a lot of attention whenever we go somewhere. I am pleased with how he handled saying hi to people and ignoring others as needed. We look forward to showing you all the amazing things he has learned. The sky is the limit for a pup like Mr. Atlas.
Atlas | Weimeraner | Pupdate | 09/20/25
Today Mr. Atlas and I headed over to Liberty Park in Cerritos, CA, for one last review of all his commands completely off-leash around medium distractions. There was a party going on, pickleball, people exercising around the track, and kids playing at the playground. Mr. Atlas maintained his focus and demonstrated how far he has come with all his commands. Mr. Atlas does well with the "off!" command now and understands to ignore distractions or his impulses to maintain his commands. This command will be your best friend when dealing with his potential jumping on people or counters. Remember that "Off!" is always accompanied by a stimulation or, at the very least, some leash pressure to disrupt the behavior.
Mr. Atlas was a pleasure to work with. He has a nice, strong foundation going forward.
Attached to this pupdate are the pictures of the e-collar that I have been using with Mr. Atlas and that you will be receiving at the turnover tomorrow.
As a reminder, here are the obedience commands that he has learned while with me:
Sit/Extended Sit: Press the black "S" button + say "Sit".
Down/Extended Down: Press the black "S" button + say "Down".
Place/Extended Place: Press the black "S" button + say "Place".
Come-To-Sit: Press the black "S" button + say "Come" + use your hands to guide into place.
Heel: Press the black "S" button + say "Heel".
Food Manners/Refusal: The pup must patiently wait in either a "sit" or "down" while you prepare the food and then say "break," allowing the pup to access the food.
Car Manners: Press the black "S" button + say "Load up!"
Greeting Manners: Have the pup "sit" then allow for the new person to say hi
Door Manners: Place the pup in a "sit", open the door, and then allow the pup to go through with you, or say "ok" and let the pup inside
"Off" + black button "S" to stop the pup from performing unwanted behavior. Always press the black "S" when using this command.
"Break!" - no stimulation, and the pup can freely sniff or go potty.
We will be reviewing how to perform all these tomorrow during the turnover! We can't wait to show you how much he has learned and how great a pup he will be in the future!
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