Bevo | Bernedoodle | Costa Mesa, CA | In-Training
- Scott Hansen
- Dec 21, 2025
- 15 min read
Updated: Jan 3
Meet Bevo! Bevo is a seven-month-old Bernedoodle here for our Two-Week Community Board and Train Program. Bevo is a sweet pup; however, she does display several unwanted behaviors. Bevo is playful and friendly. Bevo has poor leash manners and will not recall. Bevo can perform a command or two with proper motivation; however, she lacks structure and will perform the tasks inconsistently. Over the next fourteen days, Bevo 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. Bevo will learn to perform all these things on and off leash through a positive and balanced training environment. Through structure and consistency, Bevo will demonstrate how great a pup she can be! Stay tuned for Bevo’s two-week transformation!
Bevo | Bernedoodle | Pupdate 12/21/25
Today, Ms. Bevo joined me for her Two-Week Urban Board and Train Program. On the way home, we stopped at a local park to see what commands Ms. Bevo could perform. She did not do very well! But I think you know that, and that's why she's here. After I tested her skills, we had a mini photoshoot for her profile picture for her 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 Ms. Bevo's temporary residence for the next two weeks.
Once we got home, I let Ms. Bevo smell Ms. Toji through the front gate. Ms. Toji was excited to see Ms. Bevo. Ms. Bevo had her tail wagging and was curious to meet her. Ms. Bevo had no issues coming to the house. I let her explore each room and meet everyone. Throughout the introductions, Ms. Bevo showed no adverse reactions. I took Ms. Bevo outside to meet Ms. Toji. They had no issues.
We then went on a long walk around the block so that she could get used to the sights, sounds, and scents of her temporary new neighborhood. She had no issues with walking around the block. She performed nothing close to a heel and stopped occasionally to investigate some dog “hot spots,” but was willing to keep walking. She mostly ignored all the other dogs in the houses that barked at us as we went around.
I can see that she has zero structure and is used to doing what Ms. Bevo wants. She tried to push her way out of the crate every time we loaded and unloaded from the car. She wanted to barge through every door; she had a hard time maintaining a “sit” for her photoshoot and demand barks at Ms. Toji. This is also good in that we can start with a blank slate. The interesting part will be to see how receptive she is to the structure. With clear, persistent communication and expectations, she will learn to be a well-mannered pup!
I gave her dinner and will observe how much she eats. I keep track of her weight and will ensure that she maintains her weight while she is with me.
I've attached the e-collar familiarization video. Please review the video a few times before Ms. Bevo's turnover. We'll practice together to make sure you are comfortable with the system before using it with Ms. Bevo. I will introduce the e-collar for tomorrow’s training.
Bevo | Bernedoodle | Pupdate 12/22/25
Today, we had our first official training session. I went ahead and skipped introducing the e-collar for now. I wanted to use the prong collar, which is a very good training tool for a pup like Ms. Bevo. I went with this tool because it is apparent that Ms. Bevo has led a life full of very few consequences other than being loved and adored for being so cute. There are positive and negative consequences for wanted and unwanted behavior. We positively reward wanted behavior with positive consequences. When Ms. Bevo performs unwanted behavior, there are negative consequences. Either positive or negative consequences are on a sliding scale. When she is left to her own devices, and there are zero negative consequences for doing whatever she wants, such as chewing on random items, jumping on people, barking excessively, etc., then the lack of a negative consequence is positively reinforcing that she can do those things. This is what I am talking about when I say that she has had no consequences for her behavior. I can tell this by the tantrums and her resisting some of the pressure. A prong collar is a great tool for applying uniform pressure to encourage Ms. Bevo to perform her tasks. When she performs the task, the pressure is lifted and released (positive consequence). The more she resists, the more pressure there is (negative consequence). Pressure is not inherently a negative thing. It's a communication device. Pull up, she "sits". Pull down, she "downs". Pull back a little bit, stay in the "heel". The difference is that the pressure stays until she performs the commands.
It will be a battle of wills for the next few days. The important thing is for me to stay consistent and persistent in what I am asking of her. Structure is being introduced into everything she does. I even introduced the door manners, where she needs to "sit", then I open the door, then I allow her to follow me with an "ok". She doesn't get to barge through doors or run out of her crate unless I allow her to. Everything is regimented going forward. Dogs love structure!
Not a bad start to the day! My mini-trainer helped as a distraction to train Ms. Bevo. We will likely introduce the e-collar in about two days. The goal will be to replace the pressure of the prong collar with the flat collar, and then to replace the pressure of the flat collar with only the e-collar. The e-collar stimulation will be paired with the collar pressures.
Bevo | Bernedoodle | Pupdate 12/23/25
Today, Ms. Bevo and I had another productive day of training. We snuck out to the backyard in between the preliminary rain and the atmospheric river that's on its way to So Cal to make for a wet Christmas. I'd prefer a regular white Christmas full of snow, but rain it is!
I used the prong collar again today as it seems to be making things clear for Ms. Bevo. We are making good progress with this tool. I will use it for a little while longer. One of the big things that I have had to work on with Ms. Bevo is building a good relationship with her between training sessions and her displaying unwanted behavior. She is used to doing her own thing, and with my structure, she is reluctant to fully trust me still. I need to continue to build that positive relationship between.
On to today's training, we reinforced the "sit", "down", "place", and "heel." I also introduced the "come-to-sit", but we just say "come". I then found a volleyball lying around in the backyard. This seemed like a good distraction tool while we were practicing Ms. Bevo's commands. She was excited to try and play with it, but I reset her and had her patiently wait to "Break!" before letting her play with it. She did well with this exercise, for it was only her second day! My little helper came and assisted as a distraction towards the end. Ms. Bevo did a great job of staying in the "place" and "down" while we kicked the ball back and forth.
As far as her food has been going, it appears she only likes to eat when I am not around, but not in the crate. She will eat when I leave the room, but as soon as I come back, she stops eating. This works well; however, due to her eating and chewing many unnecessary things at your house, I can not leave her for too long unattended. I just don't trust her to only eat her food. She has taken to a dog toy that I have called a Nylabone. She enjoys chewing on that. Her weight is still good, but I'll keep an eye on it and maybe mix in some of the canned food to entice her if she continues to only eat a little bit for each meal.
Bevo | Bernedoodle | Pupdate 12/24/25
Merry Christmas Eve!
Ms. Bevo and I headed over to Petco to work around distractions and stimuli. There were a lot more distractions than I would have liked to have taken her to, but with the rain and conditions, I had no choice but to challenge Ms. Bevo. She's coming along with the commands, slowly but surely. She continues to want to do her own thing at times, but we are working on her impulse control. She still gives a decent amount of puppy/immature behavior, such as popping up from the "sit" or "down" before being given something else to do.
We practiced her "sit", "down", "come-to-sit", and "heel" while in there. I let her pick out a treat, as well as picking up some training treats for her. I think she did well considering the circumstances. She is responding well to the prong collar still. I will introduce the e-collar once the weather breaks in a few days. I like to do it in a very specific way so that it is not a negative tool. She can be resistant to too much pressure, and if we throw the e-collar on her without finding the lowest level of stimulation, she could be more inclined to resist or try to run away with the off-leash training. We don't want that. We will also have to catch up on her "heel" skills once we can get back outside.
I got her to eat most of her breakfast by using one of the wet food cans. The can did fight back, but a small price to pay so that Ms. Bevo would eat all her food. I left her alone in my office for a few minutes since it's raining and I didn't want her crated all day in between the training; however, she decided to help herself to a few things in the office that were not her toys. One of my trainer sayings is "the dog will let you know." She definitely let me know that she can't be trusted by herself. I did get her a chew snack and some puppy ice cream when we were at Petco. Ms. Toji devoured her puppy ice cream, but Ms. Bevo was reluctant to enjoy it in her crate unless I held it and gave it to her. I'll let Ms. Bevo have the chew snack to help calm herself down and keep her busy during the rain.
Bevo | Bernedoodle | Pupdate 12/25/25
Merry Christmas!
Today, Ms. Bevo and I worked on her door manners due to the rain starting and stopping; I couldn't really go anywhere. I've shared with you the two types of door manners. The first method involves stopping at each door and having her perform a "sit". We open the door, and then she can go through the door after we say "ok" or "heel". She should not go through the door until we go through first. This applies to indoor doors or her going outside to go potty. This also applies to coming out of the crate.
The second method involves putting her in a "place" and "down" and/or just a "down" at the door. She was given a task and should focus on that task until we release her with a "break!" or separate command such as "come" or "heel". The structure is extremely important with a pup like Ms. Bevo who continues to want to do what Ms. Bevo wants. She is going to mess it up. She is going to get up right away occasionally. She is going to constantly see what she can get away with. She might get one over on us every once in a while, but it is important to be swift, consistent, and persistent with the tasks that we ask of Ms. Bevo.
I did use the treats that we picked up at Petco yesterday to reward her for good behavior. I did use the prong collar as well. I think the balance of the prong collar with the treats made for a nice, balanced training session for us.
I keep trying to give her her food. She is very particular when she wants to eat it. I haven't really figured out a rhyme or reason. Whether the wet food is in there or just the dry, she is in no hurry and isn't even mad if we take it away. Her weight is perfectly fine at this time, so no worries there. I'll keep doing what I can to get her to eat in a structured manner, but we want to maintain her weight and health. When all you think about is food when you're hungry at work or school, it is hard to focus. We want Ms. Bevo locked in and in her best condition when we conduct training!
Bevo | Bernedoodle | Pupdate 12/26/25
Today, I finally ran outside and introduced the e-collar. It went exceptionally well. Ms. Bevo was responsive to the low levels. We now have a good starting point. We'll let the prong collar go and start using the e-collar and flat collar until we go off-leash. We'll head back out to places starting tomorrow.
Bevo | Bernedoodle | Pupdate 12/27/25
Today, Ms. Bevo and I finally got out of the house and went to enjoy some consistent sunshine at Liberty Park in Cerritos, CA. Apparently, everyone decided to do the same thing because I have not seen that park that busy since the time change!
Before we headed to the park, I got to introduce Ms. Bevo to Ms. CeCe and Mr. Bowie! Ms. Bevo was excited to meet them. She did well with the puppies, but she was a little overbearing due to her size; it was all just to play.
Overall, we made good progress today at the park. Ms. Bevo is still not a fan of the structure. As I have consistently mentioned, she will resist quite stubbornly at times. It is extremely important for us not to give in to the tantrums and resistance. We must stay consistent with what we are asking of her. We use enough pressure or stimulation to get her to perform the task. As soon as she performs the task, we must release all the pressure and be willing to reward her with a treat, a good pet or rub, and use nice, kind words for her.
After the video, we went and worked on her "heel" for a long time. We were behind on this due to the limited areas to work in, and we needed to put the work in. We left the park working the e-collar at about a 10, which is awesome!
Although she isn't being a food hound, her weight is still about the same as when she arrived, so we keep working on giving her food, but she doesn't always take it. The good news is that she does like the treats I picked up during our trip to Petco earlier this week, and that's working as a good positive reinforcement.
Bevo | Bernedoodle | Pupdate 12/28/25
Today, Ms. Bevo and I headed back to Liberty Park in Cerritos, CA. My mini-trainer wanted to go back to the park; however, she provided no help. I think she was the supervisor for today. Nevertheless, it was good to go back and pick up where we left off yesterday. Overall, today was one of our best days. We are now making much more consistent and rapid improvements, thanks to the e-collar working in our favor. I am also using the treats to reward her good and wanted behavior.
Good work today, Ms. Bevo!
Bevo | Bernedoodle | Pupdate 12/30/25
Today, Ms. Bevo and I headed over to Rynerson Park in Lakewood, CA. I wanted to continue to build upon the leash dragging and minimal input from me training that we started yesterday. We are slowly building towards being off-leash. Based on today's training, I don't think she is going to go too far. If I overstimulate her, even though we are operating at about 9-12 on the e-collar, I could lose her. However, I can recognize the signs of overstimulation and immediately back off as needed. Ms. Bevo and I have come a long way. I used to go get her to bring her in and she would run away. Now she comes up to me. I used to struggle with her going into the crate, and now she goes in without conflict. Even getting her weight every other day has become a lot easier, not perfect, but easier.
We were able to practice everything with the leash dragging today. There were even pups that walked by while she was in the "sit" and "down," which she observed but did not get up and go after them. I don't mind if she looks around and checks out her environment. She has eyes, ears, a nose, and is a curious young pup. What I do mind is that the thoughts of going after those pups override the obedience. I just keep an eye and see if she is becoming hyperfixated. If she's staring for too long, I give her a "Bevo" or "hey" to disrupt the distraction.
Overall, a good day of training and good progress!!
Bevo | Bernedoodle | Pupdate 12/31/25
Today, Ms. Bevo and I visited Home Depot in Lakewood, CA. We reviewed all of her commands inside the store. It wasn't very busy. Maybe because of the rain, or that no one was ready to start their New Year project, but it was quite empty. We practiced "come-to-sit", "sit", "down", and "heel." She was able to perform all her commands with little input from me. She is still giving exaggerated responses to the e-collar at low numbers. We are now operating between 7 and 10, usually.
Have a safe and Happy New Year!
Bevo | Bernedoodle | Pupdate 1/1/26
Today, Ms. Bevo and I finally ventured into the off-leash realm! Ms. Bevo and I have come a long way. Ms. Bevo had been reluctant at times, as I mentioned previously, but she is doing so much better! Although we finally made it off-leash in my backyard, we need to practice in low to medium-distraction environments. As mentioned previously, Ms. Bevo can easily become overwhelmed and will likely take off.
Just because I can have Ms. Bevo off-leash, I am cautious and diligent with everything that is happening around me and her state of mind at all times. Also, this is a reminder that we need to be mindful of all leash laws, rules, statutes, and regulations when taking Ms. Bevo out. Just because we can doesn't always mean we should.
Good job today, Ms. Bevo!
Bevo | Bernedoodle | Pupdate 1/2/26
Today, Ms. Bevo and I ran out to Liberty Park in Cerritos, CA, to practice her commands fully off-leash. We made it out in between the rain, and there were a few people who ran out to play pickleball. There were just enough distractions to get us working off-leash in a public place. The biggest issue I had with today's training was ensuring the e-collar was making proper contact with her skin. She responds to the vibration feature, which is what I use most of the time. However, it will tickle her, which is why you see the head shake from her. When the e-collar is around 10, it gives a proper stimulation, and she behaves and performs her tasks properly. We will have to keep practicing off-leash tomorrow. I have been trying to do as much as I can, but with the different rainstorms, Ms. Bevo has been on an accelerated course due to the different days we have had to stay indoors. I am really pleased with how far she has come.
Bevo | Bernedoodle | Pupdate 1/3/26
Today, Ms. Bevo and I reviewed a lot of her training while off-leash. We practiced her car manners, which include having her "sit" then I say "load up", and she jumps into the car. We reviewed her door manners and food manners.
Next, we went back to Liberty Park in Cerritos, CA, before the rain started coming down so that we could practice more. Yesterday was a good introduction to working around the distractions. There was an actual birthday party going on, kids actually playing at the park, and lots of pickleball games going on. Plenty of people were hitting the track, working on their New Year's Resolutions. We were able to practice her greeting manners as well! A good last day of training.
Ms. Bevo is sensitive to the e-collar. Anything above a 15 or 20 on the e-collar is a sign that the e-collar is not making proper contact with her skin. We need to adjust the collar and make sure that the hair is split enough to make contact with her skin. She has been working with the vibration or between 7-10 on the stimulation. The head movement is likely from it tickling her. When she does break off or tries to give up, it is ok to go up and get her attention. We must go right back down immediately and reset. As I said, she can get overwhelmed with too much stimulation, and we need to be cognizant of that.
As a reminder, this is all foundational training, and you will need to continue to build upon that foundation as she grows up. Be consistent and lead with confidence, and she will continue to show you how she can shine.
Attached to this pupate are the pictures of the e-collar that I have been using with Ms. Bevo and that you will be receiving at the turnover tomorrow.
As a reminder, here are the obedience commands that he has learned while with me:
Sit/Extended Sit: Press the black "S" button + say "Sit".
Down/Extended Down: Press the black "S" button + say "Down".
Place/Extended Place: Press the black "S" button + say "Place".
Come-To-Sit: Press the black "S" button + say "Come" + use your hands to guide into place.
Heel: Press the black "S" button + say "Heel".
Food Manners/Refusal: The pup must patiently wait in either a "sit" or "down" while you prepare the food and then say "break," allowing the pup to access the food.
Car Manners: Press the black "S" button + say "Load up!"
Greeting Manners: Have the pup "sit" then allow for the new person to say hi
Door Manners: Place the pup in a "sit", open the door, and then allow the pup to go through with you, or say "ok" and let the pup inside
"Off" + black button "S" to stop the pup from performing unwanted behavior. Always press the black "S" when using this command.
"Break!" - no stimulation, and the pup can freely sniff or go potty.
We will be reviewing how to perform all these tomorrow during the turnover! We can't wait to show you how much he has learned and how great a pup he will be in the future!
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