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Belgian Malinois | Bear | Cypress, CA | I’m-Training

Writer's picture: Amanda LascariAmanda Lascari

Bear, a two year old Belgian Malinois, joined OffLeash SoCal for our Two Week Board and Train program. Bear comes to us knowing commands but not always following them, being reactive towards dogs and new people, not walking properly on leash, and being easily distracted out in public. Over the two weeks Bear will be working towards her off leash obedience and manner. Check in to see her progress!

 

Pupdate 12/1/2024

Bear is getting settled in at my home. She got to meet a few of my pack through the fence. She didn’t show any reactivity, but I could tell she was a little timid and unsure. I am going to let her spend the rest of the day getting adjusted to her new surroundings and tomorrow we will start training. Above is a tutorial video of the Ecollar. I didn’t get to send you home with one, but please watch this video as many times as you need to become familiar with the training collar.

 

Pupdate 12/2/2024

Today Bear and I went to the park to work on her obedience. I introduced and conditioned her to the Ecollar. We did a little run through of all her commands to see what she knows. We practiced Sit, Down, Place, and Heel. Place is a command where Bear must sit or lay on a defined object. This command is great for building confidence, working on duration and distance, as well as teaching her to be calm and relaxed. I’m not sure if she knows this command already, but she caught on very quickly. We worked a lot on her Heel, since Bear likes to lead ahead while walking. It is still a work in progress, but she is walking better, staying close to my aside and paying attention to me and where I am going. Bear had a great first day of training!

 

Pupdate 12/3/2024

Today Bear and I stayed home to train. We practiced all her commands and worked on her distance and duration. She was a very good girl and followed all of her commands. I introduced Bear to one of my small dogs. Bear was calm and respectful as she greeted my dog. They weren’t interested in playing with each other, but okay socializing and being around one another.


 

Pupdate 12/4/2024



Today Bear and I went to Lowe’s to work on her obedience around distractions. She was a bit nervous when we first arrived. As we walked around and trained, Bear was able to settle down and focus on her commands. She was a little timid when people would pass by and she was not a fan of the grocery cart. We will continue to work around more distractions to build her confidence and desensitize her to new surroundings.


 

Pupdate 12/5/2024

Today Bear and I went to the shopping outlets to work on her obedience around more distractions. She was very anxious and distracted with the new surroundings. We  took our time and walked around for a while so she could relax. We practiced all her commands and worked on her duration. She did well holding all her commands, except for down. She was a little too nervous to stay in the down position. At home I introduced Beer to another dog. Once again she greeted the dog calmly and respectfully. 

 

Pupdate 12/6/2024

Today Bear and I went to the park to work on her obedience. We practiced all her commands and worked on her distance and duration. She did pretty well. We were able to practice semi-off leash, letting bear drag the leash while we worked. We need to tighten up a few of her commands first and then she will be ready to work completely off leash.

 

Pupdate 12/7/2024

Today Bear and I went to the park to work on her obedience. We practiced more semi-off leash. We worked on her distance and duration. She did really well staying focused and following her commands. We need more work on her Heel while leash dragging. Bear gets a little distracted and tries to walk ahead or move away from me. She still needs some leash guidance for now.

 

Pupdate 12/8/2024

Today Bear and her buddy, Athos, joined me on a little Christmas shopping spree at the mall. It was very busy, so Bear had plenty of people and dog distractions to work around. It was very overwhelming for her, which made it hard for Bear to focus. We walked around the mall for a while to tire and settle her down. It helped a little. She was able to focus and follow her commands, but she was worried about everything going on around us. We will continue to practice and build her confidence.

 

Pupdate 12/9/2024

Today Bear and I went to the park to work on her obedience. We met with other OffLeash SoCal trainers and their dogs so Bear could practice around other dog distractions. She wasn’t reactive, but rather very shy and timid around them. We practiced her commands semi-off leash. She did pretty well following commands. The only we had a little struggle with was her Heeling at my side. As we would walk by the other dogs she would try to hide behind me or move to the other side to avoid them. 

 

Pupdate 12/10/2024

Today Bear and I went to the shopping outlets to work on her obedience around more distractions. She did an amazing job! She worked completely off leash. Bear was focused and followed all of her commands. We came across many dog distractions. Bear showed no reactivity and was able to ignore the dogs we passed by. We had one off leash dog that charged at Bear. You can see it ran right over to us. We had no issues and the owners grabbed their little dog right away. Bear was more scared of the dog than anything. I praised her and let her know what a good girl she was. Bear had quite a few admirers that watched her train. She received a few compliments on how well mannered she is off leash. I am very proud of Bear with how well she did today!

 

Pupdate 12/11/2024

Today Bear and I stayed home to train. We practiced all her commands and worked on her duration. I used her friends as a distraction and let them hang out around us while we trained. Bear did very ignoring her friends and staying focused on her training. We also worked on her food and door manners.


The benefits of food manners is:

-Impulse control-Waiting for food helps your dog learn patience

-Reducing Anxiety and possessiveness- Good food manners can help reduce your dog's excitement, anxiety, or possessiveness around food.

-Not eating things she’s not supposed to- good food manners will teach her not to grab and eat things off the floor. Just because there is food on the floor does not mean it belongs to her.


The benefits of door manners is:

-Impulse control at thresholds- Typically the door causes excitement for a dog because they know they are going out (outside, for a ride, for a walk, etc.) Waiting at a doorway puts your dog in a calmer state of mind and you are able to have more control of the dog when you take her out.

-Safety- Teaching your dog to wait at thresholds will prevent bolting. 

 

Pupdate 12/12/2024

Today Beer and I went to the park to work on her off leash obedience. We had some fun too incorporating fetch into our training session. Bear practiced all her commands off leash. There were a good amount of people and dog distractions. She ignored everyone and stayed focused on me and her commands. We even walked to the pond where there were ducks and geese. Bear noticed them, but stayed at my side while we walked by. She had a great day running around and enjoying her off leash freedom!

 

Pupdate 12/13/2024

Today Bear and I went to the park again to work on her off leash obedience. Once again, she did a great job following all her commands. We worked on her distance and duration. She had fun running around and exploring the park. She saw a few squirrels that she really wanted to go chase, but I told Bear ‘off’ and she stopped focusing on them. At home we practiced more of her food and door manners.

 

Pupdate 12/14/2024

Today Bear took the day off from training and spent her last day socializing and playing with her friends before she goes home tomorrow. I am very proud of Bear and the progress she has made over these two weeks! She can’t wait to go home tomorrow and show you everything she has learned!


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