Beans | Goldendoodle | Los Angeles, CA | In-Training
Updated: 6 hours ago
Meet Beans! Beans is an eight-month-old Goldendoodle here for our Two-Week Community Board and Train Program. Beans came to establish a solid foundation of obedience. He is a loving pup that has a few unwanted behaviors. Beans will pull hard on the leash when distracted, can mouth at people when he wants their attention, will hunt for food on the floor, tabletops, and countertops but most of all he loves to jump on people. His obedience is unreliable and inconsistent. Beans can perform a command or two with proper motivation; however, he lacks structure and performs tasks inconsistently. Over the next fourteen days, Beans 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. Beans will learn to perform all these things on and off leash through a positive and balanced training environment. Through structure and consistency, Beans will demonstrate how great a pup he can be! Stay tuned for Beans’s two-week transformation!
Beans | Goldendoodle | Pupdate 09/09/26
Today, Mr. Beans joined me for his Two-Week Community Board and Train Program. Due to the extreme heat, we varied from my usual first-day operations. I brought Mr. Beans straight to the house and let him relax in the crate. I had Ms. Osa out and about, and they did not seem to get along when I brought in Mr. Beans. Ms. Osa only has a few days left of her training, so I’ll likely keep their interactions separate or highly supervised. Ms. Osa is well into her training, and I can manage her with the e-collar while managing Mr. Beans with the leash; however, just to be safe and ensure that both pups go home the way they came, we will keep interactions to a minimum.
I took Mr. Beans to a local park to see what commands Mr. Beans could perform later in the afternoon. It was still quite warm, but a nice breeze had picked up, and it was actually pleasant outside. He jumped out of the car, very excited! So excited that he performed zero commands! He performed about as well as you would think, which is not very well. He was checking everything out and then jumping on me and then back to Mr. Beans' activities. He ignored my commands at all costs, even though there was no one else at the park. I think you know all that, and that's why he's here. After I tested his skills, we had a mini photoshoot to obtain 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. Beans's temporary residence for the next two weeks. Mr. Beans was fine during the car ride home and to the park and back.
When I initially got home, I took a minute to set up Mr. Beans’s crate. I let Mr. Beans smell Ms. Toji. Mr. Beans had his tail wagging and was interested in Ms. Toji. Mr. Beans had no problems getting into the house. I let him explore each room and meet everyone. Throughout the introductions, Mr. Beans showed a skeptical curiosity in everything in the new environment.
I skipped my usual group meeting because when I brought Mr. Beans home, it was way too hot to have the pups outside. I’ll monitor them tonight and update you more tomorrow on how the interactions go.
After our trip to the park, we then went on a long walk around the block so that he could get used to the sights, sounds, and scents of his temporary new neighborhood. He didn’t pull too hard at all. He mostly just gave me stubborn stares and refused to move. He stopped to smell the different spots that other dogs had marked, but he did not mark them. He ignored all the other dogs in the houses that barked at us as we went around.
After the walk, I gave him plenty of water and let him relax.
I expect to see him work well with the structure and positive reinforcement. I expect him to respond well to treats if he isn’t overwhelmed by the structure and e-collar. With clear, persistent communication and expectations, he will learn to be a well-mannered pup!
I gave him dinner and observed how much he ate. I keep track of his weight and will ensure that he maintains his weight while he is with me.
I've attached the e-collar familiarization video. Please review the video a few times before Mr. Beans's turnover. We'll practice together to make sure you are comfortable with the system before using it with Mr. Beans. I will work on finding a good level for Mr. Beans tomorrow.
Beans | Goldendoodle | Pupdate 09/10/26
Today, we got started on Mr. Beans' training. It wasn't as blazing hot as yesterday, but temperatures were still well above 90 degrees and dabbling in 100. I waited until the afternoon, when it was a little cooler, to conduct the training.
I started by trying to play with Mr. Beans. He wasn't too keen on the ball, so I switched over to tossing treats in opposite directions and having him chase after them. After a few of these trials, I slipped on the e-collar. I put it on loosely and went back to tossing treats. Then I put the e-collar on snug and proper, back to more treats. I then picked up the remote and started at level 0 and worked my way up until I observed a noticeable reaction from Mr. Beans. I worked my way up 5 levels at a time. I noticed the first indication around level 10. I went up to level 15 and observed a more significant response. I went up to 20 and observed an even more significant response. I went back to level 10 and tried again, and that seems to be a good level for him. I took it off, and that was it for the e-collar today! Just a few moments.
We then went into the regular training and worked on his commands. I introduced "heel", "sit", "place", and "down". He is not a fan of the "heel". I even tried using the treats to lure him into position. His opposition reflex and more of his stubbornness came out. He would keep stopping. I am going to switch to a slip lead tomorrow for his training. This uses consistent pressure to motivate him to be in the proper position. When he gets in the proper position or performs the command properly, we release all the pressure and can even reward him with petting and/or a treat.
We practiced the "sit". We worked on his duration more than on my distance from him. He was able to perform this for a good amount of time. I pulled his tail out from under him to let him know I want him to perform this command without him sitting on his tail. I will consistently do this. He should be relaxed and calm in this position.
Next, I introduced the "place" command. I tried to use leash pressure to guide him onto the cot, but once again he was resistant. I then started throwing the treats onto the cot to motivate him to "place". This was a lot more successful. I then incorporated the "sit" and "down" commands. I would give him a treat every time he did the task and command.
I also taught him the "Break!" command by rewarding him with lots of attention and treats. We are off to a good start!
It appears that Mr. Beans and Ms. Osa are much better, but I'll just keep them from hanging out for now. No reason to force them to hang out. Mr. Beans gets along just fine with Ms. Toji, and they can hang out outside as the temperatures cool down.
Beans | Goldendoodle | Pupdate 09/11/26
Today, Mr. Beans and I headed to Rynerson Park in Lakewood, CA. I introduced the slip lead while intermittently using the e-collar to help guide Mr. Beans into his commands. Due to Mr. Beans being a puppy and being mostly walked on the harness, Mr. Beans is not a fan of the pressure of the slip lead and the stimulation of the e-collar. The trick here is that the pressure from the slip lead stops when Mr. Beans performs the command properly.
You can see Mr. Beans trying to figure out what to do. When he does it correctly, I release all the pressure and tell him, "Good boy!" However, even though I introduced them yesterday, he is still figuring it out. I really wanted to focus on the "heel," so I took most of my time focusing on that. If he can figure this out, the other commands are going to be a lot easier. Be consistent and persistent with the commands. Mr. Beans controls the pressure. He can turn off the pressure when he performs the commands properly. It is steady, gentle pressure. It is meant to be slightly uncomfortable. This is how dogs learn. You can see him trying to escape the pressure by doing things other than the "heel". However, the only way to release the pressure is when he performs it correctly. He's learning slowly but surely.
He did a great job with his "place", "down", and "sit". I also introduced the "come-to-sit". He has now learned all of the commands that he will need to be successful. He is doing fine sleeping in the crate. I continue to manage his time inside and outside with the warmer weather. He continues to devour all of his food without any issues.
Beans | Goldendoodle | Pupdate 09/12/26
Today, Mr. Beans and I headed over to my local Home Depot in Lakewood, CA. Mr. Beans was not quite ready for this trip with the e-collar. I switched over to relying on the pressure of the slip lead and reinforcing his good decisions with pets and a lot of "good boys".
It is clear to me that Mr. Beans has had a consequence-free life up to this point. This is why he is overreactive to the slightest pressure or inconvenience. He doesn't shut down or give up on the task as some other pups do at this point in the training. He is just full of puppy brain, with no concept of doing the right thing or what I call wanted behavior. He just wants to do what he wants to do and thinks I should conform around him. That is no longer the case. That said, I was much more successful with him on the slip lead today than on previous days. I was considering switching over to the prong collar and seeing if that gives me more consistent behavior from him. He can have tantrums and refuse to move when I ask him to "heel" after performing a stationary command. It seems a small leash pop with the slip lead is communicating with him more effectively than consistent pressure. I am trying to figure out the best way to communicate with him without overstimulating him. By the end of our trip to Home Depot, he was performing quite well in the "heel" and sitting nicely and pretty while I checked out.
The name of the game is consistency. We also have to be persistent in our expectations of the wanted behavior and in mitigating the unwanted behavior. behavior. A lot of things Mr. Beans does are unwanted in a dog, and we need to condition those out of him with patience, clear communication, and consistency.
Beans | Goldendoodle | Pupdate 09/13/26
Today, I took a step back and conducted some more training in my backyard with Mr. Beans. I switched over to the prong collar to see how he would do with this training device. Mr. Beans is stubborn and resilient. He might be stubbornly resilient. This means that he can recover from some of the aversiveness of the prong collar. I did not use the e-collar remote today, although he did have it on. This was so that he could continue to be comfortable with it on.
The reason I took a step back was because of how skeptical he was when we went to Home Depot. Today actually went well. He can quickly get overstimulated with the prong collar and the e-collar. It is a delicate balance of modifying his behavior without creating avoidance behavior in him. The less we have to use pressure, the more positive and productive the training is. His "heel" turned out to be nice. We worked on his "extended sit". His "come-to-sit" looked good. His "place" and "down" were nice as well. All without the stimulation of the e-collar.
I am a little concerned about his ability to be off-leash. The reason is that with too much stimulation from the e-collar, he gives that avoidance behavior, and he may take off. When he's off-leash, the only way to communicate is with the e-collar. We aren't past the one-week mark yet, but it is going to be challenging to see if we can get him there. He's just so conditioned to doing what he wants that it's taking a lot to counter-condition this behavior out of him.
Beans | Goldendoodle | Pupdate 09/14/26
Today, Mr. Beans and I headed over to Klingermann Park in Rosemead, CA, to meet up with our fellow off-leash trainers and their pups. I continued to use the prong collar and e-collar combination. Mr. Beans is starting to better comprehend the consequences for unwanted behaviors.
As we approached the other Off-Leash pups, Mr. Beans wanted to bark and let them know how he felt about them. I used the prong collar and gave him an "Off!". He tried this about three times before he gave up on this endeavor. Despite the barking, Mr. Beans was fine walking by all of them. Just as he was skeptical of my new board and train, Ms. Elsa, he seems to be able to get over it. At his age, the dogs can get into "stranger danger" mode or be nervous about new things in their world. We have to be good parents and leaders and teach them the appropriate way to handle these new situations. Some pups are naturally more inclined to be curious, and some are skeptically curious. Mr. Beans is more extreme on the "I'm not sure who you are or what that is" scale and will bark at that person, animal, or thing. The good part is that Mr. Beans is resilient and can overcome the skepticism quite quickly.
We continued to review all of his commands around the other pups. His biggest inconsistencies are his ability to hold the commands for a duration without me being right next to him, and his down command. He is doing quite well with the "come-to-sit," which is awesome! This is where a lot of pups struggle, and Mr. Beans likes this one a lot because then he gets to come be close to me again. He has figured out that when he's close to me, he gets attention and no leash pressure. This is good for his learning. He just has to figure out the rest of the commands in a similar fashion. Perform the wanted behavior, and there will be wonderfully positive consequences! Unfortunately, Mr. Beans continues to be Mr. Independent and keeps trying to do unwanted behaviors. This could be like your boss micromanaging your every interaction at work and constantly telling you you're wrong even though you've been doing it that way your whole life, and no one ever said anything about how you did it. It can be demoralizing, stressful, and unfun. The trick is to be extraordinarily positive when he does the wanted behavior so he knows to do more of those behaviors, and then it's fun, exciting, and enjoyable to be out and about.
Beans | Goldendoodle | Pupdate 09/15/26
Today, Mr. Beans and I headed over to Liberty Park in Cerritos, CA. I attempted to practice all of his commands. However, I had to redirect and focus only on the "heel", extended "sit", extended "place", and extended "down". I skipped the "come-to-sit" for today. As you can see in the video, Mr. Beans was struggling with his extended "sit". Every time I got more than four feet away, he would break his "sit" to come to me. If I had then said "come" and worked on the "come-to-sit", it would ruin my hard work on having him stay in his extended "sit". I did not like that he was breaking so much. You can see that I barely used the e-collar today, if at all. I tried to use as gentle leash pressure as possible and lots of praise when he did things correctly. He was excited and loved being by me during the "heel". This then carried over to his "sit," where he wanted to be right next to me and get praise. However, that's not what I was asking him to do. So to avoid confusion, we skipped the "come-to-sit" for today.
Before we left, we also worked on his "place" and "down". His "down" still leaves a lot to be desired. The pressure is not working. He is full-on opposition reflex. However, we do not give up! We will practice down hundreds more times in the next week. I am going to incorporate the "down" into his door manners. I need him to do this command as often as possible, every day.
Tomorrow, we are going to demonstrate his door manners, food manners, and car manners for you. I will not be using the e-collar, only the prong collar. The good part about today's training is that Mr. Beans is learning to respect the pressure of the prong collar. This means that in a few days, I will switch back to the slip lead and use that slightly gentler pressure to continue to guide him. Once he is responding well to that, I'll switch to just a flat collar. There is a way forward with Mr. Beans; it's just a patient and persistent one. I'll also try to incorporate some treats into the training now that Mr. Beans does understand that his actions have positive and negative consequences. I'll try to capitalize on the wanted behaviors by strongly reinforcing them with treats. I have been reinforcing with pets and a lot of "good boys," but maybe we need to up it a level. If the treats are too distracting or he breaks his commands with the treats, we'll have to put them away until he can accept them calmly.
Beans | Goldendoodle | Pupdate 09/16/26
Beans, Beans, and more Beans. Mr. Beans and I are starting to understand each other a little more. Today, we reviewed his manners around the house. This includes his door manners, food manners, and car manners.
I started by demonstrating the most routinely used door manners. Mr. Beans needs to "sit" and wait for us to open the door. We go through the door and then Mr. Beans. Mr. Beans does not go through the door before us. He can go through with us or after us, but never before us. I chose to only use the prong collar and treats today. Keep it super simple. Use prong collar pressure for unwanted behavior; use treats for wanted behavior. Easy peasy. This was quite productive for Mr. Beans' puppy brain. He still has puppy brain, so his mind is going faster than it can process what I am asking him at times. We stay consistent with our reinforcement schedule, and he is starting to get it. He figured out the sit-and-wait part in a relatively short time. Mind you, we have been performing this task for a week now, and he still wants to break the "sit" because of his puppy brain.
I then taught Mr. Beans how to perform "place" and "down". This is another version of the door manners. Mr. Beans is to "place" and "down" while we go in and out or let guests in. However, trying to use the leash pressure to lure him into the "down" was not working. Plan B was to use the treats and gentle pressure to get him to "down". Voila! This was much better! We did this several times. I even had him practice the "down" on the floor to ensure that he was actually pairing the word "down" with the act of putting his belly on the ground. We will continue to reinforce this task over and over and over again.
I then reviewed the food manners where he has to wait for the food to be served. As you can see, I had him "down" instead of "sit" for the food. This is because he is going to perform "down" for just about every task until there is no doubt in my mind that he can perform it. I'll vary up the reward schedule. I will give him a treat when he performs it properly the first time. Then it may be after the second or third time. And we will increase the distance between treats.
Lastly, we showed you the car manners. Mr. Beans is a young, athletic pup and has no issues with this command.
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