Aussiedoodle Dog Training | Zara | Pacific Palisades, CA
- OffLeash SoCal
- Jun 14
- 24 min read
Zara, Aussiedoodlevdvdv from Pacific Palisades, CA went through the Balanced Canine Training SoCal Board and Train dog training program. Zara was trained by Megan Cameron in Studio City, CA.
Zara came to Balanced Canine Training SoCal with varying behavioral issues, including pulling on the leash, squirrel chasing, jumping up when greeting, counter surfing, generally not listening to commands, and barking at strangers. Balanced Canine Training SoCal was successful in transforming Zara into a well-managed pup.
The dog trainers at Balanced Canine Training SoCal are here to help you and your dog be as amazing as our before and after videos!
Pupdates:
Meet Zara, a seven-month-old Aussiedoodle from Pacific Palisades, California who is here with us for our Two Week Board and Train Program. This sweet and playful pup has some knowledge of a few basic commands, but she is easily distracted by her surroundings and struggles to listen when asked to do something. Zara has some bad habits, such as pulling heavily on the leash, jumping on people, and barking excessively. She has lots of puppy energy, and has trouble understanding when playtime is appropriate versus when she needs to behave calmly. She also tends to be a bit anxious when around unfamiliar people, situations, or environments. Zara will also be working on her potty training during her stay with us. Over the next fourteen days, we will be working to improve Zara's obedience, confidence, and manners to set her on the right track to becoming a well-behaved pup! Stay tuned for her transformation!
Pupdate 1/19/2025
Today Zara and I spent the day bonding and getting to know each other after she was dropped off with me. She was very friendly and excited to meet me, but her attention span is definitely on the lower end, so she struggled to pay attention to me for more than a fleeting moment, which is to be expected for her young age! Generally she was much more focused on everything around us, and was very easily distracted by smells, people, dogs, and anything else she found interesting.
While at the park, I tested her current knowledge of commands to see if he's had any prior training, and what areas may need some extra focus on going forward. I asked her basic commands such as Come, Heel, Sit, Down, and Place, but she didn't seem to care for any of them and was more focused on running around and exploring the park rather than paying attention to me or listening to what was being asked of her. She would sometimes Come over to me when called with lots of excitement and encouragement, though she would rarely come all the way to me, and mostly ignored the recall cue and her name. When asked to Heel, she didn't seem to recognize the command at all and was almost always at the end of the leash pulling around wherever she pleased rather than staying next to me. She was unable to Sit or Down on command either. With some light pressure on her rear she was able to Sit down, however she would always stand back up and start walking away after a second or two, and overall seemed too excited to lay down at all. I asked her to Place on some low, easy to reach objects, but she didn't seem to understand what was being asked of her. She would sometimes put her two front paws up on the object, but seemed to lack the confidence to jump all the way up, even with plenty of encouragement. She didn't seem to have any understanding of leash pressure either, and was often trying to pull heavily against the leash in an attempt to get where she wanted to go.
After our time at the park, it was time to head home and get her settled into my home. She was unable to jump into my car on her own, but was okay with being picked up and placed into the car. She wasn't quite sure what to make of the kennel, and was very hesitant about entering it. She wouldn't go in on her own and resisted when I tried to guide her in, so we'll need to spend some time working on these Car Manners. Anytime Zara is to ride in a car with me, she will be secured in a kennel for her utmost safety. She will also be in a kennel at home during nighttime or any other time she is unsupervised, so it's important for her to become comfortable with it during her stay with me. This may be a useful tool in her potty training journey as well, as pups are instinctually discouraged from going potty inside their sleeping area. Upon arriving home, she was very hesitant about walking up my stairs, but after lots of encouragement, she made her way up and inside my home. She was a bit unsure at first and seemed nervous about the new environment, though she eventually settled in and seemed to feel more at home after we spent some time playing and bonding. Later, we went out for a walk around my neighborhood to let her go potty and become familiar with the location. When she did go potty, she was praised heavily to encourage this good behavior! Starting tomorrow, will be taking walks around the neighborhood multiple times daily to work on potty and obedience training. When exiting the house to start our walk, Zara kept trying to run out the door as soon as it was opened, so we will also be working to improve her Door Manners to make sure she can respect the boundary a doorway creates as this will help keep her safe. During feeding times, Zara was very excited and was set on running around and jumping all over me while I prepared her meal. She also could not help but dig in the moment it was within her reach, so we'll definitely need to work on her Food Manners to establish some better habits. Overall she seems to be settling in nicely, and we are so excited to begin this training journey together!
Pupdate 1/20/2025
Today Zara and I visited a local park, where we trained around some distractions. The park wasn't overly busy, but did have some occasional distractions such as children, other dogs, people, and squirrels. Today's focus was on improving her understanding of leash pressure, introducing the e-collar, and beginning our work on the Come to Sit command.
Pressure is a fundamental tool used in teaching basic obedience commands. The idea is that whenever pressure is applied, be it from a leash or an e-collar, it is paired with a command. The pressure then remains present until Zara follows the pressure and the command being given. The moment she follows through, the pressure immediately turns off and a reward is given. Yesterday, whenever the leash was used to apply pressure, she would often firmly resist it, try to pull in the opposite direction, and made no attempt to turn the pressure off, so it was clear she didn't quite understand the concept of leash pressure just yet. She strongly pulled against the pressure when using a flat collar, and mostly ignored the slip lead as well. We ended up switching to a prong collar for today's session, which helped tremendously to stop her pulling and teach her the concept of pressure. We spent a good amount of time focusing on teaching her what leash pressure means, and how to turn off the pressure once it's applied. She learned that trying to resist it was not successful or rewarding, and that simply following the directional pressure and paying attention to what I was asking of her was very simple and rewarding! After a while of practicing with this, she did much better and began showing a better understanding of leash pressure. In order to properly introduce the e-collar, it's very helpful for Zara to first have a solid understanding of leash pressure, as this is the most simple form of pressure due to the clear directional guidance it provides. Once she understood the leash pressure, we began adding in a new form of pressure from the e-collar. By pairing these two forms of pressure simultaneously, she will come to understand that each pressure has the same meaning. With time and practice, this will allow the leash and e-collar to be used interchangeably, and eventually allow the opportunity to begin training with the e-collar only, without the need for a leash! Be sure to check out today's video for an in-depth e-collar tutorial!
Come to Sit is an important command to begin practicing early on in Zara's training journey, as it will be our main form of recall. The goal for Come to Sit is for Zara to come directly to me when called, and circle around to perform a Sit on my left side. The Come to Sit command when performed in its entirety, ensures that she not only comes when called, but also requires her to sit beside her handler and not leave that spot unless released or given a new command. By having her sit on the left side facing forward, we are setting her up for success to begin walking in a Heel as she is already in the desired position for it. We introduced Come to Sit today by combining the verbal command with leash and e-collar pressure to grab her attention and guide her towards me. Once she followed the guidance and approached me, the leash was used to then guide her around to my left side, where she was then asked to perform a Sit. As we practiced more, she began to rely a bit less on the leash pressure to grab her attention and guide her, which is a good sign of progress! She would tend to sit slightly out of the desired position once she got to me, though for her first day, she did a great job overall! With each successful repetition, I made sure to reward her with lots of praise and affection, to build up a positive association with the command and coming to me when called.
Pupdate 1/21/2025
Today Zara and I visited a park, where we continued training around distractions. The park had some distracting surroundings present, including people, other dogs, children, and lots of squirrels! We continued practicing her Come to Sit command, as well as the Off and Heel commands.
Zara is often easily distracted, as she tends to focus on her surroundings even when asked to perform commands. Moments like this are a great opportunity to implement the Off command. The goal for the Off command is for Zara to stop whatever she is doing, and focus on her handler. This is a very versatile command, similar to "no" or "leave it", and can be used in various situations, such as to interrupt fixation on distractions, barking, jumping on people, eating or sniffing things she's not supposed to, or any other behaviors that are undesirable or inappropriate at that time. The verbal Off command when paired with leash pressure and the e-collar allows us to interrupt the behavior and help her to refocus so that she is in a better mindset to listen for upcoming instructions. Once the Off command is given, it's beneficial to immediately follow it with another command such as Sit, Come, Heel, etc. Once she stops whatever behavior she was doing, asking her to set her focus on a task will help keep her attention away from what initially distracted her or caused the undesirable behavior. Zara has shown good progress in understanding the Off command so far, and with each repetition, she seemed to be quicker to respond and refocus when prompted. However, more work will need to be done in various situations before she is fully reliable with the command, as her attention span is still quite low.
Heel is another important command for Zara to begin developing early on in her training, as her habit of pulling every which way on the leash makes walking with her a challenging task. The goal for the Heel command is for Zara to be able to follow directly alongside her handler on their left side at their heels, and maintain that position while walking unless released or given a new command. This precise positioning takes a lot of practice to master, but it will effectively eliminate pulling on the leash or veering off in different directions, and allow her handler to take the lead on walks instead of her trying to pull them around wherever she pleases. To introduce this command, I kept the leash short but loose, and ensured she stayed on my left side in roughly the Heel position as we walked. If she began to veer off, pull ahead, fall behind, or otherwise create tension on the leash, leash and e-collar pressure were applied, and the verbal command Heel was given until she returned to the desired position. During Heel, her sole focus should be following her handler's lead, and as such she needs to remain neutral to and ignore her environment, which means no sniffing, staring at distractions, or otherwise becoming distracted. When walking in the correct Heel position, the leash was loose, no pressure was applied, and lots of praise and rewards were given to create value in this position. As she gets better with this command, she will have an easier time staying in the Heel position without as much guidance needed, and will need to be given reminders less frequently. Overall she did a good job today and seemed to catch on pretty quickly, though more work will need to be done before she can Heel reliably, especially around distractions. On another note, Zara's potty training has been coming along very well! She has had no accidents thus far, and seems to be getting the hang of the routine we have begun to set in place. We have been taking frequent potty breaks every four hours or so during the daytime to instill good habits and avoid any indoor potty accidents. She has been able to wait around six hours during the night between breaks as well. As time goes on, we will begin gradually increasing the duration between potty breaks to improve her ability to hold it for longer periods of time.
Pupdate 1/22/2025
Today Zara and I worked around my neighborhood, where we focused on two commands, Place and Down. We also continued working on her Come to Sit and Heel commands, which she did a pretty good job with overall! We brought my personal pup, Percy the Mini Aussie, along for one of the sessions, which allowed for a great opportunity to begin practicing her Heel with another dog beside her who is also in a Heel. This will be an important skill for her to learn, as her family member, Enzo the Aussiedoodle, who had joined us for a board and train program in the past, will be her Heel buddy on walks once she returns home! As such, we will be practicing this double Heel regularly with Percy as a stand-in, or with other pups whenever the opportunity otherwise arises, to ensure this concept is familiar and comfortable for her.
The goal for the Place command is for Zara to jump or climb onto a designated object, such as a bench, a bed, or another object with defined borders, and hold a stationary command while remaining on the Place object until released or given a new command. We first practiced with a familiar dog cot while at home, and she quickly picked up on the concept and rarely needed any guidance to perform it. We then moved this training outside to practice Place on new types of objects, such as low walls, rocks, and other easy to reach platforms. She was a bit underconfident with some of the objects at first and needed a bit of extra encouragement or guidance to help her up, though after a few repetitions with a new object she seemed to get the hang of it and was able to Place pretty well! We'll need to spend some more time working on her durations however, as she would often try to break the position before being released.
The goal for the Down command is for Zara to lay down completely when asked, and remain in that position until released or given a new command. She seemed to have some understanding of the command, though was unreliable with it in most situations, so we started with the basics! We used some leash pressure, physical guidance, and occasional food lures to help guide her. After some practice, she quickly seemed to catch on to the expectations set for her, so we began adding in the e-collar stimulation as reinforcement and gradually using fewer food motivators until they were removed completely. We kept the duration for this command pretty short at first with lots of breaks and praise, as this helps make the training fun and rewarding. As we continue to practice this we will continue increasing the duration gradually so she can learn to remain in this position for extended periods of time. We will also continue adding in more distractions so she can be reliable with the command in any situation or environment.
Pupdate 1/23/2025
Today Zara and I visited an outdoor mall, where we continued practicing each of her commands around distractions. The mall wasn't overly busy, but there were still some good distractions around such as other dogs, food, music, birds, people, and also noisy sounds from the nearby street.
Zara needed some time to adjust to the new environment when we first arrived, as she was quite excited to explore the area and see all that it had to offer! After a bit of warming up to training however, she seemed to settle down pretty quickly and began having an easier time staying focused and on task. She would sometimes be a bit distracted by other dogs and people who walked by close to us, though the Off command was effective in helping her to refocus.
She did a good job with each of her commands overall, and is making good progress with each of them! Minor mistakes were naturally made on occasion, though each one was a learning opportunity that worked to help Zara better grasp the expectations for her obedience. She was able to perform each of her commands with little to no guidance needed, which is a great sign of her understanding and progress heading in the right direction! We still used the prong collar for training today so any leash pressure that was needed was effective in communicating to her, though we will be working on weaning out the need for this tool in the coming days as we will gradually be replacing all leash pressure for the e-collar.
Zara's potty training continues to come along very well, and she has not had any accidents indoors. She seems to understand the cue "go potty" and is willing to go anywhere that I have asked her to, though she does tend to be quicker about it when asking her to potty in a spot that she is familiar with and has gone potty at before, such as in my front yard. Our schedule is now roughly five hours between daytime potty breaks, and eight hours overnight, and this seems to be working well for her so far!
Pupdate 1/24/2025
Today Zara and I visited a local shopping strip, where we practiced all of her commands around distractions. This location had a variety of distractions present, including groups of people, lots of other dogs, and loud noises such as car engines, honks, and sirens from the busy street nearby.
One thing that was interesting to note was that Zara seemed to have a fear about stepping onto or walking over surfaces such as panels, manhole covers, grates, or even plaques on the sidewalk. This shopping strip had many small engraved diamond shaped plaques along the walkways, similar to the Hollywood star plaques, so encountering these surfaces was very common. This was most notable when working on Heel and passing over one of these surfaces, as Zara would opt to swerve out of the way to avoid stepping on the surface, even if it meant completely leaving my side to do so. She also refused to perform Come to Sit or recall to me at all if I was standing on one of these surfaces, and would try to pull away and do anything she could to avoid stepping on the surface if it was in her route to me.
We ended up spending a lot of our time here working to expose her to these surfaces, building up her confidence, and creating a more positive association with them. We utilized some treats to add a bit more incentive and reward to the training, and gently encouraged her to step onto the surface. We started off small by rewarding her any time she willingly put even one paw on, then gradually began asking her to place all four paws on. Once she was consistently able to at least stand on the object, we began asking for her commands while she was on the surface, such as Sit, Down, Heel, and Come to Sit. After working with a specific surface, she was pretty quickly able to overcome her hesitations about it and was able to work on and around it without issues. However with each new surface, even if it was identical to one we had just worked on such as the case of the diamond plaques, this process would need to be repeated over again as she would attempt to avoid it upon first contact with it. By the end of our session, her responses to these objects were notably less severe and she would not always completely avoid them, though she still seemed wary and would sometimes pause or hesitate momentarily before stepping foot on it. We will be sure to make some more trips to this location and others like it in the coming days to continue helping her work through this issue.
Pupdate 1/25/2025
Today Zara and I visited a park, where we practiced all of her commands around distractions. The park had a variety of distractions present, including other dogs, people, children, bicycles, ball games, and small animals such as birds and squirrels.
Zara was a bit overwhelmed by all of the distractions at first, and needed some time to adjust to the environment. We found a bench to sit at together to give her some time to observe the surroundings. After some time, she settled down and became less concerned with the environment, allowing her to focus more easily on her training.
Today's focus was on practicing her commands with as little leash pressure as possible. In order for Zara to be reliable with her commands while off leash, she first needs to master her performance with them on leash without the leash needing to be used to guide or reinforce. This is done by focusing more on the verbal cues and hand signals for the commands, and using only the e-collar as reinforcement. By reserving the use of the leash only for when she truly needs it, we can wean her off the concept of always needing physical guidance for his commands, and instead teach her to problem solve and use her knowledge of commands to follow instructions given to her. She ended up doing a good job with this, and was able to perform her commands pretty consistently without any leash pressure! We were successfully able to train today without the use of the prong collar, and whenever some leash pressure was needed, she was receptive to the slip lead we practiced with instead. Zara's potty training continues to go very well, and she has yet to have any accidents!
Pupdate 1/26/2025
Today's weather included lots of heavy rain, and even some hail! These conditions weren't the best for outdoor adventuring, so we chose to stay dry and warm by visiting a local Petco to practice all of Zara's commands. This location also provided various distractions to train around, including people, dogs, cats, shopping carts, and tempting toys and treats!
Zara was a bit overwhelmed when we first arrived, and seemed conflicted about how she felt about the environment. On one hand, she was nervous about being somewhere unfamiliar, but she was also excited by all the toys and treats around the store. It took her some time, but she did eventually settle down and seemed more at ease the longer we spent training and exposing her to the various stimuli.
We continued focusing on practicing all of Zara's commands using no leash pressure, and she did a very good job overall! She was able to perform each of her commands pretty consistently without any leash pressure needed, especially towards the later portion of our visit. She did need a quick warmup to her commands with some minor guidance for certain commands like Come to Sit, though once she was more focused she was able to perform them without the extra help!
Pupdate 1/27/2025
Today Zara and I visited an indoor mall, where we practiced all of her commands around distractions. The mall had a variety of distractions present, including people, other dogs, loud music, food, and more!
Zara was very unsure about this environment and needed a lot of time to warm up to it. When we first entered, she was visibly shaking and panting heavily due to anxiety, so instead of rushing into the training in busy areas of the mall, we first spent some time sitting at a bench together to give her some time to adjust and settle down. She didn't seem particularly concerned about any distraction type in specific, though the steady flow of them combined with the noise and generally unfamiliar area seemed to be a lot for her to handle. When she eventually began to settle down, we eased into training by walking around some quieter areas and practicing some easy exercises such as Sit or Heeling around in a circle. Once she seemed more comfortable with it, we moved into some busier areas and continued training. Zara did tend to be a bit jumpy and unfocused which sometimes led to mistakes as she would struggle to listen to what was being asked of her and instead try to assume or predict the commands on her own accord. This can be seen at one point in today's video, where she is asked to Come to Sit and she tries to jump on a nearby Place object instead. We worked through these issues by staying consistent with what was being asked of her, and encouraging her to slow down and focus on my words and body language for guidance. We did manage to get through the session today without using any leash pressure however, which was good to see!
Pupdate 1/28/2025
Today Zara and I visited a park, where we practiced all of her commands around distractions. There were lots of other dogs at this park, along with people, children, bicycles, squirrels, and other distractions.
Upon first arriving at the park, Zara was very excited, and even had some zoomies to get out some of that excess energy! We ended up spending some time playing, running around, and goofing off for a while before jumping into training, since it was great to see her in such a good mood! Since she was feeling playful, we used this to our advantage and used it as a reward during breaks between training repetitions. This encouraged her a lot, and her focus was very good during training as she knew fun times would come when she did a good job!
We practiced with a long leash during today's training, which allowed her greater physical freedom to make choices and mistakes, as well as show us her skills without any interference from the leash. She did a great job with the long leash, and understood that even with increased physical freedom, that the expectations for each command were the same. She did such a good job, that we were able to transition to leash dragging exercises. By having the leash drag along the ground instead of being held by her handler, we can simulate how she might behave while off leash, while still having it handy should it be needed for any reason. She did an excellent job with this today, and she didn't seem to notice or mind that I wasn't holding onto the leash. She naturally made a few mistakes here and there, but they were easily cleaned up with some more practice and none of them were concerning by any means. She understood not to stray too far from me or break any commands, even when exciting distractions were present such as balls being thrown, dogs running around, and squirrels climbing up nearby trees.
Pupdate 1/29/2025
Today Zara and I visited a park, where we met up with some other trainers and their pups! This provided a great opportunity to work in close proximity to people and other dogs in a controlled manner, which is great for her socialization and neutrality towards these distractions!
Upon first arriving Zara was pretty unfocused and excited, and she very much wanted to run over and greet all the other dogs. When prevented from doing so, she did bark a few times but quickly understood this would not be productive or get her what she wanted, so she ceased this behavior quickly. We started by working on some basic commands and behaviors while at a distance from the other pups, to help her understand that we were there for training, not playtime! She seemed to catch onto this quickly, and the other dogs also essentially ignoring her to focus on their own training seemed to help this matter as well. Once she was more neutral to their presence, we began working closer and closer until she could effectively ignore them.
We began the session on leash and focused on using no leash pressure, and after warming up to training, the environment, and all the distractions, she ended up doing a great job and was very focused. We moved on to leash dragging, and by this point she had made it clear the leash was no longer needed here, so we proceeded to remove it entirely and continue the session while completely off leash! Overall she performed her commands very well, and had minimal issues with any of them. As is expected, some minor mistakes were made on occasion, though they were easily corrected. One concept we needed to work on for Zara was helping her to understand that even if a dog nearby was released from their position by their handler, that she was not also being released unless I was the one to give her the cue. There were a few times when a trainer nearby would say "break!" and she would go running over to them along with their dog, thinking it was time to play! Despite this, she seemed to understand her mistake and was able to recall back to me when asked and reenter her position.
Pupdate 1/30/2025
Today Zara and I visited the Santa Monica Pier! While this location wasn't quite as busy as it often gets during the peak busy conditions, there were still numerous distractions present including small crowds of people, many other dogs, food, music, and of course lots of pigeons and seagulls! Zara was a bit nervous when we first arrived, and needed some time to adjust. We began the session on leash, and warmed her up to training by walking around the area and taking small breaks to let her sit and observe the surroundings. After having walked up and down the pier once, she seemed to be more focused and familiar with the environment. One of the biggest distractions for her was the birds, as she seemed tempted to investigate them whenever they were near. However, she showed excellent impulse control and understood not to give into this impulse by chasing after them or breaking commands to approach them!
Once Zara was warmed up to training and the environment, we were able to transition the training to off leash! She did an excellent job with this, and she understood the expectations set for her. She was able to perform her commands with great reliability and consistency, with very minimal errors. Despite having full physical freedom and tons of distractions around, she stayed focused on the command given to her and showed an impressive level of obedience! She had many admirers who stopped to watch us train and give her compliments on her adorable looks and obedience skills!
Pupdate 1/31/2025
Today Zara and I spent the afternoon working with her family! Her housemate, Enzo joined the session with their owner, and we spent some time working on their commands together. We focused on practicing Heel with both pups side by side, which is something we have been preparing Zara for through practice with other pups!
Naturally, Zara was very excited to see her family again, so she was a bit silly and unfocused at first, though when the initial excitement wore off she showed off her skills excellently! Zara and Enzo will definitely need some more practice together before they fully find their rhythm for that double Heel, though for their first time training like this together I'd say they did a wonderful job.
After the training session with her family at the park, we headed home for her to have a nice nap and some downtime, before practicing some more training around my neighborhood. We had Iggy, a Sheepadoodle who is staying with me for boarding, join us for one of our walks, as this provided a great distraction and another opportunity to work on double Heel with them together. Zara loves Iggy, and she tends to be very excited and playful around her, similar to how she behaves around Enzo, so it was good practice! We opted to keep them both on leash when working them together, though after returning Iggy home, Zara and I took another walk around the neighborhood to continue refining her off leash skills individually. As expected, she did a wonderful job and had no notable issues with any of her commands!
Pupdate 2/1/2025
Today was Zara's last full day with me, so we spent the day putting all of her learned skills to use to have a great day together! Zara is not only excelling with her skills and manners while out in public, but she has also made huge transformations in her behavior inside the home as well! House manners are something we have been working on little by little each day since day one. Even seemingly mundane day-to-day tasks can provide excellent opportunities for training! These manners include areas such as Food Manners, Door Manners, and Car Manners.
The goal for Food Manners is for Zara to be able to hold a stationary command while her food is prepared and set in front of her. She is then asked to remain in that position until she is released before she can get up and eat her food. Zara tends to get excited about her food, and in the early stages of her training she was prone to jumping on me or the counters when anticipating food, and rushing to the food bowl the moment it was set down. As she progressed in her overall obedience, she quickly replaced her bad habits and learned to be polite and patient even when faced with very tempting distractions such as food directly in front of her!
Another area of manners we have been working on is Zara's Door Manners. The goal of Door Manners is for Zara to hold a stationary position while near a door and remain there until released or given a new command, such as Come or Heel. She is asked to hold the position at the location asked of her, and not break the command even if the door is left open, if someone is knocking on it, or if people walk in or out of it. This practice teaches important boundaries and the importance of thresholds, and prevents impolite and possibly dangerous behaviors she once displayed, such as trying to escape through open doors, shoving through people's legs when walking through doors, or rushing over to jump on or bark at people who enter through the door. Zara has made a massive transformation with her manners related to doors, and understands to follow instructions no matter what distractions the door may present!
Having good Car manners makes transporting Zara easy, safe, and as hassle-free as possible. The goal for Car Manners is for Zara to be confident and able to jump into the car when prompted without needing any physical assistance. Once in the car, the goal is for her to willingly enter a kennel when asked, without needing to be physically guided or lured inside. Zara came to us very underconfident, and was not initially able to jump into the car on her own, however with all of our Place practice came a new level of confidence within her, and she is now able to make the jump into my car effortlessly! She was also very unsure of the kennel at first, but now she happily enters it and settles in nicely, which makes the entire process much smoother! Zara has made such an amazing transformation in these past two weeks, and the differences in her are truly night and day! She came to us with little to no knowledge of any commands, and had a tendency to become overexcited, distracted, and overstimulated by everything around her. She has since learned to stay calm, focused, and neutral to her surroundings even in the most busy of places. Her confidence, patience, discipline, and overall manners both in public and at home have all improved so much! Zara has done an excellent job learning every command taught to her, and is able to perform them with great reliability no matter the environment. With her learned skills, she can now safely enjoy the fun and freedom that comes with being off leash! While she may seem like a whole new dog, she is still the same goofy, loving, and playful pup she always has been, and with her new obedience skills and confidence levels, she is even more of a joy to be around and take with on all sorts of adventures! Zara has been such a pleasure to train and share my home with, and I am forever grateful to have had the opportunity to help this good girl become the best version of herself! With her intelligence and eagerness to learn, the sky is the limit for Zara, and I know she has a very bright future ahead in her continued training journey with her family!
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