This is Blue. She's an excitable ten month old pup from Monterey Park, CA. She'll be with us for our Two-Week Board and Train program. Over the next 14 days we will be working on her basic obedience, leash manners, greeting manners, as well as her jumping and play biting issues. Stay tuned for her transformation!
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Pupdate: Sunday, Feb. 6th 2022
After I picked up Blu, we got acquainted over a nice walk to a local park. On the way, we passed several other pedestrians, some of whom Blu wanted to pull herself toward to greet. It's clear Blu loves people; perhaps a little too much...
This small park was a good starting point for Blu. A few distractions to challenge her, but nothing major yet. A good way to begin getting her exposed to the outside world.
On the walk home, we encountered a grate/storm drain, which Blu was absolutely terrified of! She pulled away with all her might as we passed the first time. Noticing this, I had her walk by a few times while I spouted words of encouragement to get her through. On the third or fourth pass, she walked on by without even a glance at the scary drain! Go Blu!
At the park and at home, Blue practiced Sitting and Come To Sit. She already sits on command (although not for very long) and she made a fair amount of progress with Come To Sit.
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Pupdate: Monday, Feb. 7th 2022
Today, Blu and I worked on holding a Sit for a two minute duration, Come To Sit, and we introduced her to the Place command.
In the first video I walk a short distance away from Blu while she holds a sit. I then ask her to Come and Sit, with the expectation being she comes around my right side and sits on my left, with her head just about at my knee. As you can see, she comes beautifully but then sometimes hesitates once she's in front of me. To help her along I give a gentle tug in the right direction as well as a small muscle stimulation to get her headed in the right direction. Over the course of the next few days, I will use the leash to guide her less and less to push her toward the end goal of being an offleash dog!
In the second video Blu holds a sit with an added distraction of another dog. Blu does a great job of holding sit, but if she focuses on the distraction for too long I remind her to ignore it by saying, "off" and giving a light stimulation.
Blu is doing a super job so far. Check back tomorrow to see where her journey takes her!
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Pupdate: Tuesday, Feb. 8th 2022
Blu's Come To Sit is improving every day! After I teach her a command, we refresh daily to really cement it in her mind and add new commands to really test her.
Today we also improved Blu's Place command (pictured above). I lead her to to a slightly raised object and have her hold a sit or a down while keeping all four of her little paws on the object. She's getting very good at holding Sit/Down so she was able to stay in place for the whole two minutes almost every time! Go Blu!
Check back tomorrow for another Pupdate starring Blu!
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Pupdate: Wednesday, Feb. 9th 2022
Today was a big day for Blu! It was her first time out in a crowded area. It took some adjusting but overall I'd say she handled it well. To acclimate her to this new environment, we started in a less populated spot and worked on Place, Come To Sit, Down and Heel for a few minutes. We then moved across the Grove to a long line of people to practice Heel with plenty of distractions.
In the video above, we see Blu walking in Heel Position, which proved a bit difficult at first. I expect her ears to be at my knee, and if she strays a bit I give a small stimulation to remind her where she should be. Whenever I stop, I also expect Blu to stop and Sit next to me. She does this when we run into a small crowd of people, as well as when we stop before crossing the road. I then ask Blu to get up into Place, Sit and then Down. She's good so far, but about halfway through her down, she gets up. Not a problem, Blu! With a small stimulation she quickly realizes her mistake and lays back down.
At the end, I release Blu from command and give her tons of love and scratches. This is her reward after all the hard work!
For the rest of the day we practiced all the commands she's learned. It's important to reinforce what she knows, especially when introducing her to these new, more hectic environments. Blu has been improving every day, and I'm excited to see how she does tomorrow!
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Pupdate: Thursday, Feb. 10th 2022
Today Blu and I went to the Outlets at Orange and Home Depot to practice her Heel and to get her more exposure to people and noises.
We warmed up in each area by practicing the commands she's really good at, then moved on to the areas she needs work. Heeling with distractions.
Walking around without any leash tension for awhile gave me enough confidence in her to drop the leash and let it drag on the ground. That's right, she's on her way to being an offleash pup! She did a great job navigating the aisles of Home Depot without me holding the leash. I did have to pick it up a handful of times just to be safe when passing other dogs, but if she keeps improving like this everyday it won't be long before she's ready to go fully offleash!
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Pupdate: Friday, Feb. 11th 2022
We had a fun day at the Santa Monica Pier! Blu's commands are coming along nicely. Right now, the name of the game is exposure. Blu can have the commands down perfectly in a low stress environment, but if she's caught off guard by a popular place like the pier, she might have some extra trouble focusing on the task at hand. For example, in the video posted above, it is clear Blu gets a little too excited or nervous at the number of new people/smells. There's a short section where I'm having her Heel and walk and she looks back at the camera. In the moment, I correct her by giving a small stimulation and saying, "Heel." However, I'd like Blu to be able to walk through crowds without turning too much of her attention away from me. So, while a quick stimulation and a command is great in that moment, my focus from now on will be to expose Blu to as many of these higher stress environments as possible while still practicing and maintaining her great performance therein.
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Pupdate: Saturday, Feb. 12th 2022
Today we went to the Glendale Galleria, and it was extremely crowded. I can tell Blu is getting better with these crowded areas because it only took a few minutes of warming up to get Blu on track for the day. We went through all the commands on leash until both of us worked up the confidence to drop the leash. This is definitely the most crowded spot we've done the commands so far, way more people and dogs than Home Depot. Blu performed well, though! She was able to hold a Down while dozens of people walked by, she even stayed down when a stranger approached her and she greeted them nicely! All her commands still need to be tightened up to some degree, but I was very impressed with her work in this high stress environment.
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Pupdate: Sunday Feb.13th 2022
Blu got the morning off, giving her plenty of time to rest after all the hard work she's done this past week.
This afternoon I took her to a local park which she's been to a handful of times. This park is usually not populated, but today someone was having a party so it was filled with people which is good news for us!
I gave Blu plenty of time to sniff around and just be a dog, but we still worked on her commands to reinforce everything she's learned. I decided it was time for Blu to be tested fully off leash, and as you can see in the video above, I think she nailed it!
We still need to tighten up and perfect her placement with each of the commands, especially now that she's off leash, but I'd say she is on the right track! Go Blu!
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Pupdate: Monday, Feb. 14th 2022
Blu was off leash at the Citadel Outlets today. They were fairly populated so it was a good next step in testing her off leash limits. She's getting really good at all of her commands, although she does still tend to hyperfocus on certain distractions such as nearby dogs or birds. When this happens, most of the time I simply say, "Off" and apply a small stimulation and her attention goes back to me. In some situations, like today when a bird flew right over her head, she started to get up from a down position to investigate. In this scenario, I say, "Off" and "down" to remind her what she's supposed to be doing, and give a stimulation with each command. Besides a few minor breeches like that, Blu did a wonderful job today! Check back tomorrow for another Blu Pupdate!
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Pupdate: Tuesday, Feb. 15th 2022
Blu had an easy day for the most part. She got to relax and play all day! We still worked on her commands, but the main focus of the day was proper play manners. As I mentioned in Blu's intro, she had problems with jumping and play biting. Through the use of the Off command much of the issue is solved while training, but I wanted to hone in on how she acts while playing.
I tend to go a simple rule of thumb: don't touch me or my things with your feet or your teeth. As you can see in the above video, I release Blu from command and give her tons of love and scratches and I continue to play with her as long as she plays without jumping or biting. As soon as starts to jump or play bite, I say, "Off" and give a little stimulation. I ask her to Sit or Down, and once she's calm I release her and initiate play once again. If she jumps again, same thing. Play stops as soon as she breaks my rules or boundaries. This doesn't need to be limited to when she's under command or playing though. If you're just watching TV or making dinner and she comes up and paws at you, say "Off" and "Sit." The rules you set in your household should be followed and enforced consistently for the best results!
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Pupdate: Wednesday, Feb. 16th 2022
Blu enjoyed another day off leash! Other than a few missteps while Heeling, she performed brilliantly! By missteps, I don't mean she tried to run or chase something, I mean while we walk I expect her ears to stay about at my knee, and if she strays to far left, back or forward I consider that a mistake. When she does this, I give her a stimulation and say, "Heel." Most of the time this corrects her, but if she continues out of Heel Position I make a quick turn in the opposite direction to get her attention back on me. Depending on how receptive she is to this, I might make a dozen or so turns to really let her know she needs to pay attention to me while we walk.
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Pupdate: Thursday, Feb. 17th 2022
Today Blu and I went back to Citadel Outlets for training.
One of the few issues she still has is going to a Down position when asked to Sit. In the above video, I ask her to Sit and she does so without any problem. After about two minutes of sitting (the video is sped up), she starts to Down so I remind her to Sit and give a small stimulation.
While she still has this issue from time to time, it's clear she's getting better, because after that correction, she goes on to hold the Sit for another five minutes! Normally I would show Blu being released from command, but she did so well I cut the video short for the purposes of this demonstration.
Check back tomorrow to see how Blu is doing!
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Pupdate: Friday, Feb. 18th 2022
Blu had a full day of fun and lessons! We started at Cheviot Hills Recreation Center where we worked on Blu's Heel as well as her other commands. While resting she got to watch some baseball players practice, which I think she enjoyed. She was also very fond of a flock of pigeons cooing in a tree, unfortunately this was while she was Heeling so she wasn't allowed to investigate them further.
Afterward, we made our way to Hollywood Boulevard. While training around the Dolby Theater, I noticed Blu was trying to pull ahead walking up stairs. We walked up and down a large set of stairs a handful of times to get her used to it, and we both got a nice work out in the process! On the way out there was a person in a Mickey Mouse costume who seemed to scare Blu. I corrected her when she pulled away from the mouse menace, but honestly I was pretty terrified too so we got through it together!
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Pupdate: Saturday, Feb. 19th 2022
Blu and I went to the Santa Monica Pier today and did some off leash training! She enjoyed walking around the pier, even with tons of people around. She even made a new friend and greeted him nicely as you'll see in the above video.
After the pier we worked on some other types of manners including: loading up into the car, sitting while I put food in front of her and waiting patiently at the door before leaving. Working on all of these seemingly small skills will make everyday life much easier while living with your pup! Get in the habit of having her sit before all these activities, and pretty soon it will be a habit for her too!
