Bear | English Bulldog | Sherman Oaks, CA | In Training
- Alex Kruse
- Oct 2
- 13 min read
Updated: Oct 22
Meet Bear! He's a 4-month-old English Bulldog from Sherman Oaks, California, and he's here for our Three Week Puppy Board and Train Program. Bear is a cute little guy, just wanting to run and play and get into mischief. Typical bulldog that he is, he's got a stubborn streak and wants to do things his own way on his time. Over the next three weeks we'll teach Bear to follow through on commands when asked, not trip people when he's walking on leash, cut down on the puppy mouthing and chewing, and work on getting him housebroken. Stay tuned for Bear's two-week transformation!
10/2/25
The first thing we did after drop-off was hang out at the park to get a feel for what Bear knew. Right off the bat it was obvious that he's not a leash puller, he's a leash camper! He moves forward only when he wants to, and uses his weight to park himself in place. It's definitely something we'll work on over the next weeks, along with where he should be so he doesn't trip people up! It's clear he's been learning his Sit command, so we'll just have to refine that one and teach him how to hold it until released. We'll also teach him his Down and Place, as well as a more solid Recall. He's certainly got potential once we break through the headstrong tendencies! Once we got home he ran right up to the dogs in the yard and was excited to go meet them. I introduced him to my dogs slowly and he got along great with them. When I took him out of the yard to weigh him, he was actually eager to go right back in to play! I'm seeing zero signs of anxiety at all, which is great. It means less days trying to get him comfortable in a new environment and more days to go straight into all his training! I'm looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish with him over the next three weeks!
10/3/25
I took Bear to a local park to start in on his basics, and he focused in really well after a few minutes of letting him just run around and be a silly puppy first. Because he already knows Sit, we practiced on lengthening the amount of time of his Sit and introducing him to his release word (we use "Break!") so he knows he has to stay in place until he hears that word. I taught him the beginnings of Down using a treat lure and also applying just a little bit of pressure behind his shoulder blades, not pressing him down but merely discouraging him from moving back up. We also worked on our Recall, which for us is not only coming when called, but coming around behind the legs and moving straight into a Heel position at the Sit. And then we did a little bit of work on his Heel. He does a lot of grabbing at shoes and biting at the leash, so we'll be working on his "Off!" command quite a bit over the next few weeks, but we'll get there!
10/4/25
We went to a larger park today to work on some of his commands with distractions. Just getting him to Sit and hold it for longer than five seconds is still something we're focusing in on until he can understand the concept of what a release word means, then we can start expanding the duration and being able to move further away from him. He was able to do a solid Down today without me having to touch his shoulders, so that was a huge success! And he was able to keep up a pretty decent Heel today without coming to any hard stops or trying to grab at my shoes. At home we're doing a lot of work on getting him to Sit before we open doors or gates. He's a very eager little guy, so we're working on his manners there. That way he won't dart through doors without being invited to do so. He's eating without issues and hasn't had any accidents in the house, but we're keeping him on a pretty tight schedule for his potty breaks so we can prevent mishaps. He's been sleeping just fine in his crate without issues too, so he's being a very good houseguest all around!
10/5/25
We went back to the little park today with less distractions for some good focus work. For this video, I give a little tutorial on the four parts of giving a dog a command: the command word itself, your marker word, the reward, and then the release. I focused on just the Sit and Down for today, with more tutorials coming soon! He's picking up on things quickly now, and throughout the day he offered me his Sit on his own without being prompted when he wants something. He's also doing really well with his Heel already! I'm actually impressed with how well he can focus in when he knows it's time to work!
10/6/25
Today we had our group practice at the park with other trainers and their dogs. This helps give each dog a chance to work on their commands around people and dogs in more of a crowd situation. Bear did really well with it! Of course he wanted to go say hello to the other pups, but he's getting better with his "Off!" command, which basically tells him to leave alone whatever he's interacting with. I've been using it for chewing on things as well, as he sometimes like to go after shoes and other objects. His Heel and Recall are getting much stronger each day, and he's able to hold his Sit for a little longer each time we do it. His Down is becoming cleaner as well, and today I taught him Place, which means to go to a specific spot (in this case a raised bed), sit or lay down on that spot, and stay there. It's great for when you just need them to hang out for a little bit without having to put them in a crate or pen. It'll take some practice getting him to maintain it, but he's catching on fast!
10/7/25
Today we did a lot of work on Bear's Recall, shifting from the short leash up to the long line. You can see in the video that we're still very much working on his Extended Sit. He gets excited and distracted very easily, but it's important that if he gets up before being released that he's placed back in the spot where you asked him to Sit to begin with. Otherwise he's going to have you backed up against a wall or clear across a park before you know it! He also needs to stay in Heel position after he's come to you until you release him or give him another command (ie, asking him to Heel with you to start the walk). We also worked more on our Heel, and getting him to do his Down more smoothly without having to bend as low. We had some nice distractions today too in the form of some people jogging around the path just behind the camera, so he had to work extra hard to pay attention to me and not try to run off after people!
10/8/25
Today was an adventure day for Bear! We went out to Peck Park and walked part of the trail along the lake. There were so many new smells and things for him to see! But he behaved very well and stuck to his Heel when I gave him the command. He was a little anxious around the bikes that went by, but watched them curiously. He also had to hold his Sit command for all the photos, and I really challenged him on some of these with the distance, but he did great! He’s a little supermodel!
10/9/25
Another mini trail hike day for Bear and I! This time we went down a horse trail that joins into a local bike/walking path, mostly just working on his Heel. He was a little thrown off by the horse noises on the other side of the wall at first, but once he realized there was nothing to be afraid of, he fell right in line. In other good news, Bear finally made it all the way through til morning before I needed to take him out to potty! I typically have to get up once in the middle of the night (between 1-3am) to take him out, but last night he slept pretty much straight through until about 5am. Progress! He hasn't made any messes in the house at all, but I've been very diligent with taking him out for breaks on a regular basis. He likes being inside so he's learned if he goes out and does all his business quickly, he gets to come back in and have his free play time. I've noticed he doesn't tend to whine or ask to go out in any way, but he gets really antsy when he needs to, so learning his patterns has been critical in figuring out his potty schedule. When he goes home, a firm routine should set for him, or he should have access to go out as he needs to, and then he shouldn't have further issues with inside accidents.
10/10/25
Bear had a big challenge today! I took him to a large park that I know is very busy in the mornings so we could run through all his commands with heavy distractions. He did amazing! He didn't rush up on any dogs unless I told him it was okay, he sat for people while they pet him with only a few reminders, and he held his Sit and Place for me until released despite all the people passing by in the background. He can certainly get into stubborn streaks here and there (it's a bulldog thing!), but he's getting better and better at his commands and general manners each day. I'm really pleased with how quickly he's been making progress!
10/11/25
I took Bear out to Rotary Park in Monrovia today to let him run around and be a puppy for a little bit. He had fun shuffling around in the grass and watching as people were setting up for a nearby birthday party. He clearly wanted to go play with kids, but he stayed by me in a nice Sit without me having to tell him so. We worked a lot on the long line on is Recall while the distractions were happening and he responded well every time. He's gotten really good with his extended Sit and Down, as well. For housebreaking, last night we made it from 10pm all the way to 6am before he started getting antsy. I still wouldn't quite trust he can do so without being in the crate, but afterwards I've been giving him more and more free time in the house once he's pottied outside and he hasn't made a single mess on the floor. He's also starting to get really good at sitting before we go in and out through the doors, and before getting in the car. His manners are coming along nicely!
10/12/25
I walked Bear along the wash behind my house today to work more on his Heel. He hasn't really been a puller at all, but previously we've had issues with him dead stopping behind me, or early on he would try to bite at my shoes (he hasn't done that one since pretty much day two thankfully!). Being a puppy, he also would sometimes space cadet out and wind up putting himself where I trip over him, but he's been doing so well on his Heel lately that I decided to challenge him a little bit. I put him on a thin clip lead instead of the usual slip lead, and attached the leash to my belt so I would be pretty much hands off. Relying almost solely on verbal cues and a couple treat lure reminders, he was actually able to Heel fairly well. He was a little uncertain and lagged slightly behind here and there, but for the most part he stayed beside me and aware of his surroundings. The one time he slipped up and went off course, just a small shuffle and verbal corrector on my end was all it took to get him back in place! This was really good for a puppy his age!
10/13/25
I took Bear to a busy playground today where we worked around a bunch of young children running around. He did so good holding his positions for me even when kids were running right behind and past him, and even one child who ran right up to him, waved, and darted off again! He was certainly watching all the chaos, but he did an amazing job not breaking until he heard his release word. He also came every time I called him, and performed his Heel very nicely around the playground. All of this was done on the long line, no slip lead. He's become a very good listener!
10/14/25
Due to the rain we decided to do some indoor practice at Home Depot. He was a little uncertain at first with all the new sounds and smells, and we struggled a little bit with his Down, so that's the one I focused mostly on today. It took several tries, but he was able to do get down and hold it without me being hands-on. I didn't make him do it for too long since he was nervous, but we got a couple good ones! Everything else he did really well with, and once we ran through all his commands a few times, I took him over to the Halloween displays for some exposure. He was really scared of them at first, but after doing some work with sit and rewarding with treats, he decided they were actually pretty fun. He really liked the leprechaun one for some reason. I think he thought it was a person with a treat bag!
10/15/25
Bear and I headed over to Santa Fe Dam to do some more work around distractions. He really liked playing in the sand at the little beach area, but he wasn't too sure about the geese! He stopped and stared at them for a moment before deciding they were scary, then darted away. I don't blame him! But we did some extra work getting him used to seeing them, making sure he knew they were no big deal to walk past. He's also gotten really great with his extended Sit. He'll pretty much stay there without issues for as long as I need him to now while I do my thing with the camera. He stuck to a really nice Heel today too, no problem.
10/16/25
I took Bear for a nice long walk around the neighborhood today to burn some of his puppy energy. He stayed on a nice, loose leash the entire time, he left things alone when I told him to, and he sat every time that I stopped. We also did some off leash practice in the house with his Sit, Down and Come, which he did no problem without any outside distractions. He's still a little eager when his food goes down so we're still working on him sitting still before his release there, but he's so close! He typically only needs one verbal correction before he sits back down and waits it out for his release word. That's the only one we're still having some slight struggles with. Everything else is just refining and practice at this point! He's a very smart boy!
10/17/25
Given the season, I decided to take Bear on a little adventure to the pumpkin patch today! There was a lot going on between the petting zoo, the carnival games, the little train, and the bounce houses, but Bear took it all in stride. He was just happy to be out somewhere with all new smells and sounds! He was a little distracted for sure, but he was still able to perform all his commands around the photo shoot we were doing. He got to do a lot of work on his greeting manners too. He was a huge hit there with all the visitors and the staff, and got lots of warm greetings from everyone! And to top it all off, a booth was handing out free pup cups! It was a great afternoon overall!
10/18/25
Today we were back at Griffith Park to meet up with Bear's big brother! I got there early so I could work Bear around the park a little bit. There were lots of family parties today which made for plenty of distractions, but he did pretty good despite all that. He needed a couple reminders that he did still need to listen even though he was having a good time in the grass, but overall he did a really solid job! The meet-up went about as I expected. Bear can be a bit determined with dogs who shy away from him. He's a lot for the first couple minutes, but then he tends to calm down once the excitement is out of his system. Having him on the leash is helpful to pull him back or make him sit when it's clear the other dog is bothered by him. It also helps teach Bear the proper social cues, so if he's not getting it when the other dog is telling him no, then it's on us to remove Bear and let the other dog have some space. It took several minutes, but then the two of them were casually hanging out near each other, which is what we want. They don't have to play with each other, but they should be able to exist in one another's presence without issues.
10/19/25
I took Bear to yet another local playground today to continue working him with distractions. There were a few young kids playing, both of whom ran up to pet him and asked a million questions about him. He stayed very well behaved and was incredibly gentle with them, no nipping or trying to jump up to lick faces or anything! He also walked away from them with me at a nice Heel without any resistance, and continued to give me the rest of his commands without any issues for the rest of the session. He's really beginning to mature into a behaved little man!
10/20/25
We're getting into our last few days so I'm taking him out to practice everything he knows in busy areas. We were at Arcadia Park with a playground of running children on one side and tennis players on the other, along with people and dogs passing by the sidewalk here and there. He's doing really well with everything and definitely knows all of it. Sometimes his bulldog stubborn kicks in and he tests me on whether or not I'm going to make him follow through, but once he learns that I will, he doesn't give me anymore trouble about it. He's doing really well!
10/21/25
I took Bear to the Library Park in Monrovia for today's practice. There were lots of people laying out in the grass, kids on the playground, and bikes going by. While he's still very much interested in going to say hi to people, he was able to perform all his commands without getting too distracted. He's gotten to the point where he'll just put his head down for a nap if I ask him for a Down and leave him in the position for more than a few minutes! He's gotten a lot more confident and curious over the last week so I have to keep on him a little bit more again with the Heel, but he falls in line with a stern tone. It's just something to be aware of as he continues to grow closer to his teenage phase. That stubborn streak is just around the corner!
10/22/25
Sadly it's our last day of training for Bear, so we did a little training at Almansor Park in Alhambra, after which I let him run around and check out more geese. He did amazing with all the joggers going by and the dancers in the background, and this time wasn't so afraid of the birds! His confidence has really built up over the last three weeks! I also did a last practice on his house and car manners when we got home. He's finally nailed waiting to be released before he dives into his food bowl, and he's gotten great at waiting patiently at doors before being released through them. He's still got his stubborn bully puppy streak to him at times, but he really knows his stuff and I think he's going to be a really great dog as he gets older. Thank you so much for letting me be a part of his learning journey, and I'm really going to miss him a lot! He's an amazing little guy!
Comments