Meet Bentson the Australian Shepherd. He is here for our Two-Week Board and Train Program. He is reactive towards strangers and especially men that come too close to him. He also jumps on people when greeting and pulls on leash. We will work to stop him being reactive, to stop pulling on leash and how to properly greet people. Keep an eye on his 14-Day transformation!
________________________________________ Pupdate 11/21/2021
Today was Bentson’s introduction day. He got to see some of his new environments and just relax. Taking into consideration the little incident this morning at drop off, it was initially a lot for him to take in. He eventually settled in after a couple hot dogs and realizing I was his friend and not foe. I look forward to working with Bentson and helping him with his behavioral issues. I will help his good qualities become great and the problem areas be a thing of the past. Watch as his 14-Day transformation unfolds.
Pupdate 11/22/2021
Today Bentson and I had some good improvement in our relationship. He is learning to trust me more and more. Now that he is away from his home I notice he does get startled fairly easily. That being said after exposing to the sights and sounds of the park we went to he was able to relax a little. I want to help build his confidence which will in turn help tremendously with his behavioral issues. I will continue to introduce his commands one by one as he begins to trust me more. Overall it was a positive day and we will continue to work on developing his confidence and consistency.
Pupdate 11/23/2021
Today Bentson had great progress in his trust of me. He is going into his crate in the car on command now. I do use a doggy ramp for him so that he doesn’t do too much jumping up and down from the car. Other than that I was able to introduce the Heel and Down command into his training program. I am starting to see his confidence increase slowly but surely. It was a solid training session and we will continue to build from there.
Pupdate 11/24/2021
Today was Bentson’s first day coming out to a outdoor shopping center. He did have a lot of anxiety with all the people walking by. However, on an extremely positive note he did not react with any barking or lunging. So that it’s a major win for him! It did make his other commands a little difficult to practice because he wanted to stick by my side for comfort. I wanted to see how he would handle an environment like this. It turned out to be too high of a distraction level for him. I will dial it back a little by going to shopping center before the stores open to get him use to the environments with little to no people. Overall it was a great training experience with Bentson, because it shows me what we need to work on.
Pupdate 11/25/2021
Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for the opportunity to be working with Bentson. He has come a long way from his drop off but still has a ways to go. Everyday our relationship grows stronger and I am able to do more with him. His Heel is coming along really well. His other commands are coming along too but need more work. Ultimately Bentson’s needs to can more confidence to overcome his behavioral issues. That being said with time patience and training he can overcome so much! It was a great training session today down by the beach.
Pupdate 11/26/2021
Bentson has made some great strides in his first week of training. It’s a strong possibility we won’t get to off leash training with him because of his behavioral issues. However, he has become a lot more reliable on leash and has stopped reacting (barking and lunging) with people when he is out and about. He will still let out a growl once in while but he is learning to trust me to lead and protect him. It was a great day of training at the park today. His commands are coming along and I will fine tune his training in Week 2.
Pupdate 11/27/2021
Today Bentson and I trained down at Bogdanovich Recreation Center in San Pedro. He did a little better today around more people and noise going on around us. This is a definite improvement from day one! With Week 1 Down we will continue to work on his commands and build up his confidence around everyday environmental distractions. Bentson is happy and willing to do what’s asked of him when the communication is clear. Watch out how he grows in the final week of training.
Pupdate 11/28/2021
Today was a Sunday Funday for Bentson. Still got some training in but definitely let him romp around a lot today and he loved it. He got to run around my parents backyard with my puppy Ace (off leash) and he did great. It was a nice light day for him in preparation for a solid week of training and confidence building before he goes home next weekend!
Pupdate 11/29/2021
Bentson and I went to Stearns Champions Park in Long Beach. We got some good repetitions in today. He even had someone’s dog come up about 15ft from him. It did make him manage to break his sit, but eventually I was able to get him to refocus. Clarity and follow through is the key to Bentson’s training program. The better he understands what is asked of him the more confidence he gains. I will continue to take him as far as possible the remainder of the week.
Pupdate 11/30/2021
Today I took Bentson up to the Westfield Shopping Center in Valencia. We went at a time that was fairly empty. There were some people walking by that provided the right amount of distractions for Bentson to succeed. He was still slightly nervous but overall a huge improvement in his confidence. It was a solid overall session today!
Pupdate 12/1/2021
Bentson and I returned to the Pike Outlets. I’m extremely happy with his improvement from just last week when we were here last. His confidence has increased but he can still be a little weary of strangers. We went at a time with less foot traffic so that he wouldn’t get too overwhelmed and it worked out great. He still saw a few people and when they would get to close he would get some anxiety but that’s the worst of it. He’s come a long way from barking and lunging at strangers!
Pupdate 12/2/2021
Today Bentson did his training session at Centinela Pet-store in Long Beach. He did well by and large with the new sounds and environment. There weren’t many people but it was a shipment day so the carts being rolled around by employees made him a little nervous. He finally settled and was able to push through his anxiety. Bentson has progressed well and I hope to make his last two days of training the best ones yet!
Pupdate 12/3/2021
Bentson and I went down to Marine Vista Park in Long Beach. He struggled with attention in the beginning with the wind, children and dogs in the Park. After a little while he settled down and was able to focus. Bentson has gotten progressively better with each outing in public. However, he still has a ways to go before he can be 100% ready for public outings with the family. That said with consistent training and proper introductions to new people Bentson can go really far!
Pupdate 12/4/2021
Today was Bentson’s final full day of training. I’m happy with how far he came in just two weeks. I have given him a foundation to build on that will take him to the next level once he is back home. His environmental soundness (noises, people, dogs…etc.) still needs work but with consistency in training he will become
better. It’s been great to see his transformation in just two weeks. I know he will be happy to go back home and be with his family!
