Meet Axel! He's a fifteen month old Pitbull Mix from Commerce, California here for our Two-Week Board and Train Program! Axel is super sweet, playful, and loveable! Sometimes, however, he'll nip you for attention. He's been working on his basic commands, but he needs to tighten them up and be more responsive. He pulls on his leash, play bites, and generally doesn't know his own size or strength. When he's out and about, he can't help but notice all the distractions around, particularly cats, small animals and children. As playful as he is, Axel can also be very nervous in certain areas. He's had surgery on one of his knees and his other knee isn't doing so well, which makes it difficult for him to jump, and makes him reluctant to walk on smooth surfaces. Over the next fourteen days, we're going to help Axel with his basic commands, teach him when it's okay to play, boost his confidence as much as possible all while keeping his knees in mind. Overall, we're going to show him how to be the best pup he can possibly be. Stay tuned for Axel's two week transformation!
Pupdate: 4/14/2024
After picking up Axel, we stayed at the park for a few minutes to see if the rain was going to pick back up. It did, but we took cover in the car for a minute then went out when it let up. We walked around the park for a few minutes to get to know each other, and I asked him for some basic commands to see what he would give me. When asked to come, he would move toward me, but not get too close. He definitely likes to pull, and when I asked him to heel, he got very excited and playful! Despite him pulling, it was nice to see him getting more comfortable with me.
Once we got home, Axel got much more uncomfortable. He hates smooth surfaces to the point where he refuses to walk across them at all. I put some towels down for now, which made things much easier for him, but I'd like to see his confidence grow enough to where he knows he can walk on those surfaces without falling. Once he was curled up on a blanket, he got much more comfortable again, and we enjoyed some quality time together!
Pupdate: 4/15/2024
Axel and I went to La Mirada Park today for his first full day of training! We started off by simply introducing him to the prong collar and E collar. We then began working on his Heel command! For Heel, I want Axel to walk politely beside me without pulling forward, backward or to the sides. He is slowly starting to get the hang of this when there are no distractions present. There were some other trainers with their dogs at the park today, and when we walked by them, Axel would want to turn toward them to stare. When he fixated like that, I simply continued walking and used his Leave It, or Off command. He would pull back for a second or two, then continued walking with me when he realized I wasn't paying any attention to the distraction or his longing to stare. Every once in a while, he would try harder to get to the distractions, and even threw a temper tantrum when he didn't get his way. In this case, I stopped, allowed him to calm down, then continued our walk in the direction that I wanted to go!
Pupdate: 4/16/2024
Axel did a great job today at the park! We continued working on his Heel, and also his Come To Sit command.
For Come To Sit, I want him to come to my right side, walk around my legs, then sit at my left side with his ears at my knee. He did a great job with the "come" part of the command, but still had trouble sitting without looking at the various distractions.
In the video above, you can see another dog running around behind us. Axel very much wanted to fixate on that dog, but we simply can't have that. As described yesterday, if he becomes hyperfocused on that dog, we simply continue walking or following through with our commands, trying our best to ignore the distraction. For today, I thought the distractions would be much easier, so I used a slip lead in addition to his E collar, rather than the prong collar. This seemed to be the appropriate tool for today, as I could continue to ask him for the same things, with roughly the same results. He would look at the distractions, then I would continue moving forward and he would redirect his attention to me. This is what I want. I want it to be his decision. When it it his decision to pay attention to me, I can give him love, praise, and treats. Early on, I can use his food to direct his attention to me, but due to the severity of his issues, I cannot allow him to think it's okay to ignore me until he gets food. He needs to know that everything will be okay, even if it is tough and he doesn't get rewarded with food. He's a strong dog, but it is very clear that he doesn't know that yet.
Pupdate: 4/17/2024
Axel and I went to Almansor Park today! We tried to take it easy. I used his e collar and a slip lead. We followed the same rules as yesterday.
We went back home to try to go somewhere more relaxing. But for Axel, he is still trying to adjust to those smooth surfaces.
Pupdate: 4/18/2024
Axel and I went to Santa Monica Pier today for training! This was definitely the most difficult place we've gone so far. He was extremely nervous nearly the whole time. We took it very slow, and simply focused on walking rather than expecting him to perform more difficult commands in order to try to build his confidence! Every once in a while, he would open up and get a little playful. This is great, but was usually only when we sat in one spot for several minutes. Once we started moving again, he would go back to walking very slowly and timidly.
This was a great experience for Axel, and he got to be around several other dogs and trainers! He got the opportunity to be walked by another trainer while I video recorded, which you can see above! You can see how slow the process is getting him to walk just a little bit more confidently around all the noise and other distractions.
He's been doing much better at home, and is slowly but surely walking with confidence on my smooth floors, but Santa Monica is on a completely new level for Axel. After the pier, we went to the park so that Axel could be around a slightly more relaxing environment!
Pupdate: 4/19/2024
Axel and I went to Almansor Park today for training! There were plenty of times he played with me, and got distracted only a bit by the other dogs and people.
It very much seems that the environments he is unfamiliar with are the nearly impossible ones for him. Everywhere in my home and the parks we go to regularly are becoming easier for him. This progression tells me it is mostly psychological rather than physical. If his physical maladies were the obstacle, we would not see the progress we have seen thus far.
Pupdate: 4/20/2024
Axel and I went to the park this morning, however, I wanted to show a video of how I am teaching Axel to walk on my vinyl floor. It is a very slow process, but he is very clearly learning slowly but surely. The first night, he would hardly take a step on this smooth surface. Now, if I sit down, he will come over for cuddles, even if he only takes one step every minute. When using his toys and kibble, the process is even a little faster than what you can see in today's video! He's learning to walk with confidence, but it's an extremely slow process! Many nights I find myself simply sitting in the corner across the room from Axel and allowing him to take the time he needs to cross that scary floor. In certain instances, this can take upwards of an hour for him to cross about fifteen feet of vinyl. He's doing a much better job now! My only complaint for the above video is he tried to hump me a couple times! When he does that, I simply use our Off command and readjust. Easy does it for Axel!
Pupdate: 4/21/2024
Axel and I walked to the park today! We took it slow and steady, and he ended up doing well! We walk a lot of this route for his normal walks, but that we made it all the way to the park, took a nice break there, then made our way back home for some more indoor practice. It was nice and warm today, so I wanted to take plenty of water breaks and rest time.
Most of our time today was used practicing walking. In the parts that Axel knew, he did a pretty good job maintaining a heel position with a little help from his leash. A few times, we saw another dog ahead of us and Axel wanted to pull, but today he was able to disengage from the dog and walk in the other direction with me. Before he would be trying everything in his power to stare at the dog, but he did much better with that today!
Pupdate: 4/22/2024
Axel and I went to Garfield Park today! It wasn't very busy and Axel did well with his behavior, other than a few times getting too excited around other dogs.
We mostly worked on his Place command today! We took it very slow, because Axel was a little nervous around the place cot at first. By using his kibble as a lure and also putting his kibble on the cot, he eventually was willing to step on. This command is great for confidence building, as well as working on household manners. I use it at home when I need my dog to stay put in a safe place while I cook and clean!
By the end of the day, Axel was performing this command with much more confidence!
Pupdate: 4/23/2024
Axel and I went to Home Depot today! It was pretty tough for him most of the time.
The new environment and smooth concrete floors were difficult for him to get used to, so most of our time was spent simply slowly walking around getting him used to the area.
After quite a while, he started opening up a little bit and played, especially out in the garden center, but never inside the store.
After Home Depot, we went to the park so he could have a bit more fun!
Pupdate: 4/24/2024
Axel and I went to Whittier Narrows Park today for training. He displayed the most restraint and impulse control that he has thus far in his training. He was around several other dogs and their trainers. The first few minutes we kept on the outskirts of the convention or dogs, but we quickly circled inward and got Axel as close as possible to his biggest distractions. Any time he hyperfocused on a nearby dog, we turned and walked the other direction.
After about half an hour of this, we eventually gained the confidence to approach some dogs and trainers. This is what you see in the above video. The trainers walking around each other, not allowing their dogs to succumb to the smelly distractions. Axel ended up doing an okay job with this, as you can see in the video.
Axel also got the opportunity to work with another one of our trainers today! Similar to me and Jose, this trainer also saw the best responses from Axel when we kept things fun and engaging.
He loved everyone he met today, we just need to get the confidence he feels in situations like this, to translate to other, more public places. Overall, great job today
Pupdate: 4/25/2024
Axel and I went to Home Depot again today! Everything went a little more smoothly than last time, however he still needed a large amount of time to get even remotely comfortable. Much of our time was spent just sitting and slowly walking throughout the store, getting Axel as confident as possible. He walked through the inside of the store more swiftly than last time, but he was still much more comfortable in the garden center rather than the building itself.
After Home Depot, we went to the park where Axel got to have more fun sniffing around and walking in a more relaxed environment.
Pupdate: 4/26/2024
Axel and I went to the park this morning and then Santa Anita Mall in the afternoon. Getting him warmed up and playful at the park seemed to make an incredible difference with his behavior later on. He was still extremely slow to become comfortable in this new environment, but he did a spectacular job compared to some of the other times we've been out in locations such as this.
In the above video, you can see him walking through a fairly distracting environment, with not only the slick floor to deal with, but also the other patrons, as well as another trainer with her dog filming behind us. His nose is still glued to the floor in an attempt to make sure every step he takes is safe, but this is an unbelievable improvement compared to him not being able to walk on smooth floors at all.
We started in the outdoor section of the mall, which made things much easier for Axel, but then we transitioned to the indoor section. He was hesitant at first, but with a little encouragement he exceeded my expectations by quite a bit today. After we left the indoor area, the other trainer and I sat with the pups outside by one of the fountains, and Axel started to open up and get a little playful!
Pupdate: 4/27/2024
Axel and I went back to the mall today for training! Much like yesterday, he took some time to get warmed up and comfortable, but he still did a great job once he got going!
Again, we went to the park in the morning, then headed over to the mall after some fun time at
the park. After that, we went home for some rest, then took a walk to the park in the evening when it was cooler.
Pupdate: 4/28/2024
Axel and I went to the park today for training! There were several sporting events going on throughout the park, but Axel did well walking around these distractions without too much trouble. The sports and noises didn't seem to bother Axel very much, although there were a few times he got a little excited to see a fellow dog.
Most of our time was spent doing confidence building exercises around the park. In the above video you can see us playing on some rocks next to a pond!
Once Axel got plenty of exercise, we went home where he took a nap for a while, then worked more on his indoor manners!
