Meet Bailey! She is a sweet and playful pup from San Dimas, CA who has joined us for our Two Week Board and Train Program. Over these next two weeks Bailey and I will be working on her Greeting manners, exposure and proper socialization to new environments, as well as build a strong foundation for her commands to create consistency Off Leash. Stay tuned for her two week transformation!
Pupdate 8/28/2022
After getting Bailey all settled in at her new temporary home today, I introduced her to the E collar along with leash pressure. When I apply leash pressure I guide Bailey with directional changes of the leash along with stimulation from the E collar. There are 100 different levels on the E collar and the numbers fluctuate according to what she responds to. We worked on her Extended Sit command which at first she struggled with. She had a hard time holding it until I began to reward her in increments of 10 seconds as she held her Sit. If she got up I popped the leash upwards and stimulated her. She quickly understood what I asked of her and was able to hold it for about 30 seconds towards the end of the session. We worked on Heel as well which is the action of Bailey walking by my left side, sitting when I stop walking, checking in with me frequently and turning when I turn. In order to get her to come to my left side I helped guide her with the leash to come around behind me and sit on my left hand side ready to Heel. The cue for this command is Come. Bailey is a quick learner and eager to please which is great! Good work Bailey!
Pupdate 8/29/2022
Bailey and I took a field trip to the local park where we had the opportunity to work around other trainer’s and their pups. Having the chance to work around so many distractions was a great way to expose Bailey to a new environment and start building impulse control. Bailey was curious of the other pups but stayed by my side when I cued Heel. She has learned to Come to Sit by my left hand side very quickly and is already consistent! She just learned this behavior yesterday so it is very impressive how quickly she caught on to this, even around a new environment.
I did notice that when we first arrived she was a bit unsure of her environment, with a tucked in tail and walking very slowly. I encouraged her to Heel with me and added a few leash pops towards me. When Bailey worked through her nervousness, I offered her a lot of praise and rewarded her. Within about 10 minutes of being there, she acclimated to her surroundings and displayed more confidence. I then introduced her to the Place command which is the action of Bailey jumping onto an object and staying there in a Down or Sit position until released. Place is great to practice when inside of the house while having company over or eating dinner. It is great to use outside of the house as well to work through anxiety and build confidence in new environments. She was able to stay there for about 45 seconds until I released her with the cue Break. Once we got home, Bailey met her new best buds for these next few weeks and they all were so happy to play together, being goofy little pups chasing each other around the backyard.
Pupdate 8/30/2022
Bailey and I worked on introducing her to the Down command today at the local Petco store! Upon arriving, we had the opportunity to practice Greeting Manners with a friendly ASPCA worker outside of the store. At first Bailey got very excited to be receiving attention. We had her Sit for an extended period of time before allowing her to say hi. When she said hi I asked the worker to only pet her if she had all four paws on the floor. She got up once so we reset her and tried again. Bailey was successfully sitting to be pet her second time around! I then marked it with a yes keeping the interaction short and sweet. Once we walked inside of the store, Bailey and I Heeled around the entire store before we worked on puppy push ups. Puppy push ups is the action of Bailey going from a Sit to a Down repetitively. I guided her with hand signals and leash pressure. When I pop the leash up that cues a Sit, when I pop the leash downward that cues Down. Bailey began to quickly catch on as I marked it with a Yes and rewarded after she offered the Down behavior. We kept her Down short for now to build fluency. Now that she is building that fluency, we will add some more duration to her Down command tomorrow. Good work Bailey!
Pupdate 8/31/2022
Bailey and I took a trip to the beach where we focused our work on practicing the Extended Place with Down command. We have been building fluency with her Down by practicing puppy push ups. She has become much more fluent with her Down so we began to build duration with it. She was able to hold her Down for a minute today while in Place around distractions like crowds of people and dogs. She is very attentive and checks in while she Heels next to me. At times she steps into me so we have been working on keeping her on my left hand side. Come to Sit is her favorite command! She performs it fluently each time which shows me she will be great at her recall when Off Leash. She is a very excitable pup so having a healthy outlet to release her energy like long walks, playtime or power walks is recommended.
Pupdate 9/1/2022
Bailey and I took a trip to the local park in the morning. Today was her first day practicing all of her Commands on a 15ft leash with more distance and duration. We Heeled together around the park with the leash dragging, making frequent turns. Bailey turns very well, keeping up with sharp turns especially. She is learning impulse control with her Extended Sit & Down during excitable moments. I test her during her Down and Sit by jogging past her or kneeling down to her level. If she stayed in a stationary position I released her with her cue Break. We have also been working on her impulse control near the kennel door. At first she loved to bulldoze her way out of the crate but now with consistent practice she has learned that the door only opens for her when she is waiting patiently. If she tries to get up and shove her way out, the door closes as I remind her to Wait. Bailey’s patience is improving although she needs to be reminded to wait as the door opens for her.
Pupdate 9/2/2022
Bailey and I ventured out to Fashion Island today! We Heeled around the whole mall together to get some energy out. Once we exposed her to her new environment we began to work together primarily focusing on her Extended Place command. I noticed that Bailey was hesitant to approach the water fountain. The water fountain had a lot of movement and was rather loud. We Heeled towards it, gradually getting closer then eventually I asked Bailey to Place on top of it. I only asked her to hold it for a short amount of time before breaking her to first get her used to being there. Once she did this repeatedly we then worked on her holding the Down command in Place. She was able to hold it for 30 seconds which was great considering she did not want to be anywhere near it at first! We then practiced Place on other surfaces and Bailey did great, holding her Place for two minutes which was the set goal! Now we will keep building distance between us and duration for her commands in new, distracting environments!
Pupdate 9/3/2022
Bailey and I began our day by Heeling together in the morning towards the local park. We passed by friendly people that wanted to say hi to her. I always ask the person that is saying hi to her to approach her slowly and only pet her if she has all four paws on the floor. The second that Bailey gets up, I body block her from saying hi and Cue Sit along with stimulation from the e collar. She is improving with resisting the impulse to jump yet still needs those corrections along with a lot of guidance. Since she receives a lot of attention I only allow her to say hi to people that have a more calm approach. If they are over excited to see her I let them know that we are training and she won’t be able to say hi. I want to set her up for success every time she practices her Greeting Manners. If I allow Bailey to say hi to everybody she sees, she will always be overstimulated when saying hi to new people. By only allowing her to say hi every now and then with a calm crowd, we promote calmness which is ideally what we want from an excitable pup like Bailey!
Once we got back home we worked on her Door Manners. Every time Bailey and I cross a threshold like a door, I set a boundary by requiring her to Sit before opening that door. She is understanding that the door opens when she is patiently sitting, and the door will immediately close on her along with stimulation from the e collar if she tries to dart out. Eventually she will voluntarily Sit or lay Down every time we pass the door. As for now she does great with waiting for my release!
Pupdate 9/4/2022
Bailey and I Heeled together around the local park, working primarily in the grass area as that is the most challenging area to work around. It is also the coolest! We had the chance to practice Greeting Manners with a friendly couple that wanted to say hi. They said hi to Bailey one at a time. At times people can approach too quickly and in crowds. I avoid this by asking them to approach one by one as she is in training. Bailey is improving on controlling her impulses, and responds well to commands consistently off leash. We will keep building distractions to proof everything she has learned so far. Excellent work Bailey!
Pupdate 9/5/2022
Bailey and I have begun to work on her obedience with the leash dragging around minor distractions. She is very consistent with holding her commands while I am about 15ft away from her. Today we tested that by having her hold her Extended Down while I went about 30 ft away from her. I came back to reward her every minute and her record was her being able to hold it for three minutes! We have been focusing our work on her Heel because at times Bailey can walk very quickly. If she strays too far ahead, I stop walking then call her Come to Sit on my left hand side. Bailey corrected herself and started to match my pace more frequently. She confidently hops on to many different surfaces, holding her position and waiting for my release. We will continue to build the distractions around her while she is Off Leash!
Pupdate 9/6/2022
Bailey and I ventured out to the local dog park today where we had the opportunity to train around several pups running around and playing together behind the fence. It didn’t take Bailey long to acclimate to her surroundings. She is a working pup after all. Always ready to train!
We began by Heeling together on the concrete first, then we transitioned to the grass area which is more distracting. She stuck by my side, turning with me frequently and offering plenty of eye contact. Bailey has demonstrated fluency in her commands, performing them the very first time I ask, hardly needing any stimulation from the E collar. She held her Extended Place and Down commands for two and a half minutes. Her biggest challenge is when I create distance between us. We have been working on building her duration away from me in a Down position. I come back and reward her for staying Down in increments of 30 seconds. She is showing more confidence with being left alone, as she is realizing she gets rewarded whenever I step away from her so it’s not such a negative experience!
I have noticed Bailey fighting the impulse to jump, especially when she is first released from the kennel. As soon as she comes out from the kennel I ask for a Sit. It is important to be proactive instead of reactive with this to prevent her from jumping. We don’t want to wait till she is already jumping to start giving commands. The commands and work begin the second she comes out of the kennel. If there is a scenario that Bailey is known to be excited around, she needs the extra guidance to be a good pup. As long as there is structure and consistent leadership to follow, she will know what to do and follow through.
Pupdate 9/7/2022
Bailey and I had the opportunity to train around the other trainer’s pups today, further proofing all of her commands. Bailey’s Come to Sit is fluent, doing it every time she first hears the Cue. She can hold her Extended Down and sit for a minimum of two minutes and a half. I can be 15 ft away from her while she holds her position. Anything more than that she begins to struggle with which we are working on. She jumps onto different surfaces to practice Place. Since Bailey is a confident pup this has never been an issue! Bailey practiced her Greeting Manners with another trainer today. I asked the trainer to be excitable while petting her. Bailey did not need any help from me to stay Sitting which is a first! She stayed seated and needed no corrections. This demonstrates that Bailey is understanding that she is expected to stay in a Sit while being pet. We will begin filming for Bailey’s final tomorrow as she has demonstrated she is ready!
Pupdate 9/8/2022
Bailey and I took a trip to the beach today! We Heeled together around the beach as we passed by many distractions such as other dogs, crowds of people, bicyclists, and loud motorcycle noises. This was great desensitization for Bailey as she gained confidence to work through these scenarios. She practiced her Greeting manners with many friendly people and did well with keeping all four paws on the floor! Amazing work Bailey!
Pupdate 9/9/2022
Bailey and I worked on proofing all of her commands that she has learned, Off leash at Santa Monica Pier! Since it is a Friday, there were definitely a lot of distractions to work around. Bailey was not phased by these distractions, Heeling next to me and consistent with her Come to Sit. The biggest distraction for Bailey was the water. She was fine with seeing it but as soon as the waves came in, she seemed unsure of it and released herself from Place. As you can see in the video, whenever she releases herself, I immediately stimulate her with the E collar and Cue Place again. Bailey then held her position until released with the cue Break! We said hi to many friendly people and Bailey did not break her Sit during the interaction. Good girl Bailey!
Pupdate 9/10/2022
Bailey and I Heeled together around the neighborhood together today. She voluntarily checks in with me frequently and repositions herself by my side all on her own after I give her a Break. She understands that the door is a boundary, and so is her food as she is accustomed to sitting and waiting patiently for my release. Her Greeting Manners have improved greatly. Bailey fights the impulse to jump on new people as long as we practice proper introductions. If I Cue Off to Bailey, she no longer tests it and automatically comes to Sit by my side. With continued consistency and clear communication, Bailey will improve each and every day. Thank you for trusting me with your pup and we can’t wait to show you what she has learned!
