This is Benjamin or "Benji" the 10 month old Doberman Pinscher from Covina, CA. He is a smart and determined boy but lacks focus and obedience He is here for our Two Week Board and Train program to help him gain over-all obedience, stop nipping/jumping in play, and work through some of his separation anxiety.
Pupdate 05/31/2020
Benji is already making himself at home! He whined for a couple minutes on the first bit of the car ride but quickly laid down and settled in the kennel, We shot a "before training" video and did a light first lesson before exploring the backyard and all the cool toys back there! He's only eaten about half of his dinner as of now, but that's pretty normal the first night. He makes some noise here and there in the kennel but so far has been really great in the house! I am looking forward to the next two weeks with this guy!
06/01/31
Benji did his first "full" lesson today, we worked on the basics of his recall and his heel along with teaching him not to jump on me or nip at my hands. He catches on quick! roughly three jumps attempts and 4 nip attempts and he was over it! He made a ton of progress on his recall and Heel commands. His big distraction today was the water bowl! Don't worry he got plenty, but barrel chested pups like him shouldn't drink too much at a time anyway. This guy is going to be so much fun to work with!. He still wasn't hungry this morning but with some cheese, water, and heat Benji ate his whole dinner in one go! He also slept through the night great and while he has had some anxiety moments in the kennel throughout the day has overall adjusted very well to his den!
Pupdate 06/02/2020
Benji working on his Sit! When we first started Benji was always wanting to default into a down which has to do with defaulting into submission but is getting more and more confident every time I take him out. This makes these sits a pretty big deal for him! He is a little bit of a scaredy-cat fairly timid with new people/noises/directions so we will also be working on his confidence through out the training. Today we worked on his Sit, Heel, Come, and Off commands. I am particularly proud of his progress on his Off command. He is already not only starting to disengage from distractions quickly but also making eye contact with me in response, even when scared.
Pupdate 06/03/2020
Benji working on proper positioning for his Heel and Recall. In the past day or so Benji has gotten a lot more comfortable with me and has started to "falre out" in his Heel and Recall, always wanting to position himself slightly crooked or out from me in one way or another to make eye contact/beg for pets. In Benji's video what I am doing is using this corner of the wall in my backyard to get Benji to do his Recalls and Heel in the proper position by having him "stuck" between me and the wall while using leash tension to keep him in the proper forward/back alignment . He is completely settled in now. He still needs cheese in his meals to get him to eat, but is eating both Breakfast and DInner in there entirety. He get's pretty vocal about the Kennel here and there. Particularly when he has decided it is time for the house to get up in the morning (he is very adamant that 5:30am is much too late to be sleeping still!). He will probably learn to sleep in a little over the next couple days. Trainer Haley is not quite that early of a bird! Other then that and when one of the other dogs is on a potty break and he isn't, he is adjusting very well!
Pupdate 06/04/2020
Benji had some pretty big distractions during his lessons today! He not only sharpened his heel in the poles but learned a new command called "Place" all while two other pup's were hanging out on place within sniffing range! He is getting sharper and sharper everyday!
Pupdate 06/05/2020
This guy finally got to have some real playtime with fellow trainee Gunner. They had an absolute blast, they were instant best friends. Benji is definitely a bit over excited and a little overwhelming at first (great for Gunner who is the same temperament) which with the wrong dog can cause problems particularly with his intimidating size. However, over-all he is an incredibly appropriate player. He does jump up here and there which could get better, but he does also volunteer being the submissive and really doesn't care how he is being played with as long has he is getting to play. We also worked on his Heel, Recall, Sit, and Down today. He get's a little sharper everyday!
Pupdate 06/06/2020
Benji went on a walk through the neighborhood today, dragging his lead the whole time! He is such a sharp pup! We even had a passersby stop and ask for a card because he "has a Dobe the same age as Benji that is no where near as well behaved!" I'm so proud of how fast this pup is learning! He is sleeping through the morning now (no more waking trainer Haley at 5:30!), He is eating both his morning and evening meals (still with cheese) with a sit and some eye contact before being released to boot, and is getting better about being in the Kennel through the day everyday. All in all Benji boy is doing good! Even has a new trainee to meet coming in tomorrow!
Pupdate 06/07/2020
Working on this guy's duration Sits and Downs before dinner! He is getting better and better everyday! The neighbor dogs were quite loud today but Benji filtered them out and worked hard! He is still eating/sleeping/kenneling really well. He is a bit barky about the new arrival!! She is pretty timid so they will probably need quite a few days to get used to each-other before interacting. Over all I'm excited to see how far we can get him this week!
Pupdate 06/08/2020
Benji working on a bit of everything at the school! Benji now has just about all of the commands down and the rest of this week is about increasing his difficulty via distractions, distance, and duration. He is such an eager to please pup!
Pupdate 06/09/2020
Benji showing off at a small shopping center! We did a bit of everything and Benji was a bit of a celebrity with all of the patrons sitting outside commenting on him! This guy is getting pretty dialed in!
Pupdate 06/10/2020
We did a whole session today on whats called Place to Place. Place is a command to get up on an object and stay there and Place to Place is getting him to switch between two objects with the command. He is such an excited happy boy. He is always leaping to do each command. He is going to be so excited to show off his new skills when he goes home this weekend!
Pupdate 06/11/2020
Big man worked at the duck park today. He practiced a bit of everything, the birds were quite the distraction, but Benji did awesome! He is a total bird dog, he even tracks planes in the sky when they go over head, so I knew that was going to be a challenge for him today! But he was absolutely stellar. Needed quite a few reminders but overall didn't break any of his commands. He is just about ready to shoot his final video before going home!
Pupdate 06/12/2020
Benji worked on his final video today! He has come such a long way in two weeks! He is going to be so excited to go home on Sunday!
Pupdate 06/13/2020
Benji showing off all his new manners for his final video! He has grown so much, I couldn't be prouder of this sweet boy! He will be missed when he goes home!