Meet Bolt! Bolt is a 5-month-old Korean Jindo from Pico Rivera, CA who has joined us for our Two Week Board and Train Program. Bolt is an energetic pup who loves to play. Bolt needs boundaries to be established so that he can be a great indoor pup. Bolt jumps on people and sometimes shows fear around new people and things. Bolt needs structure and obedience so that his family can take him on trips around the country as a well-behaved pup. Stay tuned for his 14-day transformation!
Pupdate 1/23/23
Today Bolt and I worked on his acclimating to his home away from home for the next 14 days. I introduced him to the family, the house, his crate, and of course Toji, my two-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer. They are getting along wonderfully.
Bolt appears to be a little apprehensive about the new house and environment. We went on a walk around the neighborhood to see how he is on leash. I can tell that Bolt will benefit a lot from using the pinch collar. This is a great tool for helping dogs that pull on the leash. I will go over its purpose and how it is used in the forthcoming days but rest assured it is only temporary. I introduced him to wearing the ecollar as well to start addressing some unwanted behaviors. With a pup that is this apprehensive, I need to gain his trust and confidence in me to get the most out of his training. This shouldn't take more than a day or two. As we spend more time together going out and training, I will gain his trust more and more.
Bolt only ate a little bit of his food today. Based on the instructions for the food and Bolt's current weight, I am going to give him .5 cups of fresh food and .5 cups of kibble. This fills up the food bowl close to what you showed me. I try to feed it to him according to the instructions and the exact amount so we can keep track of whether his weight goes up or down. If I need to, I will adjust accordingly to his weight. He did show a little possessiveness during dinner time and I will keep an eye on this and work on it as it presents itself. He didn't eat very much as he is still exploring around, I will give him a few more opportunities to eat so the fresh food doesn't go to waste but I won't leave it all night because then I won't know when he ate it and it could throw off his whole schedule of eating and going to the restroom.
Pupdate 1/24/23
Today I introduced several new things to Bolt. First, we introduced the ecollar last night. He was vocal about it around level 10. This is good because the ecollar does go up to 100 and we like the low numbers. I am going to try the smaller contact points on him because he has short hair and I think the longer contact points are making it uncomfortable. Next, as you can see in today's video, we worked on the "heel" and "sit". To introduce the "heel", I started with the prong or pinch collar. These are great temporary tools as they apply uniform pressure to the neck if the dog is pulling or lagging behind. It is a self-correcting tool where as soon as the dog is in the correct "heel" position or "sit" all the pressure is released. The points are rounded so they do not poke and when properly applied, there is a flat part that goes across their trachea so as not to damage their ability to breathe. Bolt was quite vocal about his discomfort with this tool just like the ecollar. He is a stubborn pup who is going to benefit from the structure and obedience but definitely wants to do things his way. I only used it for a few minutes to start and then I switched back to the flat collar. The point of the pinch collar is to demonstrate that pressure is applied when you perform "unwanted behavior" and no pressure is applied when you do "wanted behavior". That pressure feeling is then transferred to a regular flat collar and then to the ecollar stimulation. When I put the flat collar as the primary collar whilst leaving the prong collar on, Bolt was a much better, well-behaved pup.
At the end of the training session, I had my three-year-old and my seven-year-old walk with him in the "heel". As stated at Bolt's pickup, I will try to have my soon-to-be eight-year-old work with Bolt as I do so that he is used to your family. And then the little ones played soccer in the backyard while Bolt waited in the "down". This is great that he gave this behavior; however, sometimes it does make the "sit' a little more tricky because the pup will want to go to the "down" right away. This is probably fine for your family's needs but it is still important that he understands the difference between "sit" and "down".
Now that I have introduced and shown him the "sit" and "heel", we can progress to other commands such as "come to sit", door manners, food manners, place and down, extended sit, and extended down.
Pupdate 1/25/23
Today Bolt and I loaded up and headed over to Rhynerson Park in Lakewood, CA. This is a great park because it is dog friendly and has lots of other distractors like kids playing, bikes riding by, and of course other pup families.
I started the training session with the pinch collar and worked over to the park. I had the pinch on for about 10 minutes or less and Bolt just doesn't like it and it's not helping his training as much as I would like so we are going to retire the pinch. I think maybe a slip lead will be beneficial as it accomplishes the same idea with the pressure. I'll let you know how that goes. I switched over to the flat collar for the rest of the time we were there.
We started off using the ecollar at around a 20 today to get his attention with the smaller contact points which is probably the perfect number as it allows us to go up and down as wanted behavior continues or as unwanted behavior presents itself, we have plenty of room to go up. I might also try the comfort pads to see if we can stay around a 20 because when we were done, Bolt was vocalizing around an 8 or 10. This is likely due to several reasons including the moisture or sweat of him making the connection more conducive and also he was tired of the training after about 45 minutes to an hour.
I introduced the "come to sit" which was ok since we were kind of figuring out the leash pressure situation. We did it a few times and he did ok. As stated yesterday, he does want to go to a "down" instead of the "sit" so I just have to be persistent in ensuring he carries out the "sit" versus the "down". On the other hand, since he is giving me "down" I want to acknowledge that and pair his action and body position with "down" so he understands that's what I want him to do. I even went ahead and introduced "place" to him as he is fearless and went up on a few objects with little encouragement or leash pressure. As you can see there were a lot of things thrown at Bolt today and it's like cramming for a final exam, sometimes you get information overload. Bolt is given plenty of downtime to download this information and continue to learn to be a great pup.
He can be pretty stubborn and can be feisty when he isn't getting his way or is being asked to do something he doesn't want to do. It is important to be consistent and persistent so that he understands that his doing the "wanted" behavior is a win for everyone as it makes you happy, which will make him happy.
Pupdate 1/26/23
Last night Bolt and I headed over to Discovery Park and Downey Promenade in Downey, CA. We tried out the comfort pads and the slip lead while working on all the different commands. The good news is that the slip lead seems to be effective and comes with the least resistance from Bolt. The comfort pads are a net zero effect on him. He started off around 25ish and by the time we were done, we were back to an 8ish that was getting vocalization from him. So I'll switch back to the short contact points and carry on with those. Once again, it is more likely due to the amount of time that we spent out and about, almost an hour. The Korean Jindo is a stubborn breed that does not like being told what to do even though they are smart and can be taught obedience tasks. Extended periods of obedience are already hard on any other puppy and you add in Bolt's breed, his time limit of good consistent obedience is about 30-45 minutes at this stage in his life. I will keep this in mind to tailor his training for what he can handle. He crashes hard after the sessions with a good long nap. The only other command or manners we have left to work on is his car manners and getting him to "load up". I'll start working with him on this more and more so he is confident. The last manner is his house manners with jumping on the couches and beds. Now that he has learned "off" I can start teaching him more and more boundaries.
Today we reviewed his door manners, as you can see, he did get up and break the "down" which is to be expected. That's why we practice and get the reps in and leave the leash on for when they do get up and wander out. He's smart and will get the game. He's learning to "sit" at the door before being let out or let into the house. Toji is a good role model for this behavior as she knows the "sit" and I observed Bolt watching Toji sit at the door before he did his sit. She's like a big sister showing him how things operate around here.
A note on his food, in the AM he is eating all the fresh food and just a few bites of the kibble but in the PM he is eating all of it. His weight is still looking good and he isn't lacking for energy as he and Toji let the whole neighborhood not to mess with them!
Pupdate 1/27/23
Today Bolt and I loaded up and headed over to Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, CA. We met up with some of our fellow Off Leash trainers and their pups.
Bolt did a great job with all the distractors in the environment. My primary focus was to ensure that Bolt was comfortable being around people, loud noises, other dogs, and the various distractions that come with being in public places. We worked on the slip lead and Bolt was once again highly responsive to this. I worked on his "sit" and "extended sit" several times. As mentioned before, he does try to go "down" sometimes but we just have him start the "sit" over again. I had him "place" and "extended down" while people and pups walked by. Even the birds had Bolt's attention but he was pretty good about minding his obedience even if I wasn't holding the leash. We practiced the "heel" up and down the pier and he was good about staying in position about 80-90% of the time. I was able to have a nice loose leash on my side which is a good sign leading into working fully off-leash.
Pupdate 1/28/23
Today Bolt and I loaded up and headed over to Rhynerson Park in Lakewood, CA. I had a few goals in mind for today's training session:
1) Work on "Load Up" or car manners.
2) Switch from slip lead to long lead
3) Start working on leash dragging commands to get ready for off-leash work
We didn't quite meet all the goals today. Goal 1 was easily met as you can see in the video. I gave him a little bit of kibble after he jumped in and he figured this one out pretty well. We did it a few times to make sure he understood. As you can see, he did try to break away from his "break" commands. Technically he is free or released from his current command but he is avoiding me as I am the one asking him to carry out so many things he doesn't want to do.
Goal 2, we definitely were good on this one. He understands the pressure from the pinch to the slip lead to the flat collar. This process has been paired in his mind and he understands the leash pressure. The problem that has arisen is that without the leash pressure, only the ecollar stimulation, he hasn't quite paired that in his mind yet. He once again tried to break away from me which is why we start with leash dragging so he can't get too far. Overall it wasn't too bad as his leash dragging "heel" looked pretty good, and his "sit" and "down" are good too. I can move away from him pretty easily without him breaking in the other direction. It's the "come to sit" that without the leash pressure guiding him in, he either doesn't move or doesn't go into the correct position. As soon as I pick up the leash, perfect! So he knows that without the leash I have relinquished control to him and he is choosing not to follow the commands. As I said, he knows the commands perfectly with the leash but he is a stubborn Jindo and not wanting to do what I ask him to do. The stimulation was up to about 40 today before he started vocalizing and complying with the tasks whereas usually, he is around 8-15. Furthermore, at around 45 minutes into our session he basically had a tantrum and refused to do anything unless I was holding the leash. That meant it was time for a break! No biggie. This means that we didn't make a lot of headway with the off-leash work in Goal 3 but now that I know where he is, I'll adjust to keep him progressing along. We will keep going at it. A trip back to the lab aka my backyard should clear a lot of this up and I know he can't go anywhere while we practice off-leash work. We look forward to showing you his progress.
Last note, on the leash and once the ecollar goes on, Bolt is a much more well-behaved pup than just 5 days ago when I picked him up. He is making good progress but the Jindo in him isn't making it easy!
Pupdate 1/29/23
Today Bolt and I focused on his off-leash work and making the ecollar more meaningful. Bolt is really intelligent and incredibly stubborn at the same time. As you can see in today's video, Bolt does all the commands but this time we did it without the leash and any input from me other than me stating the command and having him perform them. This is where your ecollar training starts to kick in. If Bolt, does not perform the command on the first trial, we move the ecollar stimulation up 5. We repeat this until the command is carried out. Once he carries it out, we always reset the level back down to the lowest level that he can tolerate. If you don't put it back down, Mr. Bolt (as my three-year-old calls him), will definitely let you know you forgot to put it back down. Please make sure you and your family are practicing with your remote as it will help our turnover go smoothly. I will do a few more of these sessions before we head out to our next few public places to make sure he's good to go on the commands. It will be like a small review session before we head out.
Lastly, I had my kids run around the house (didn't take much convincing) and had Bolt follow them like he was playing with them. When he would jump on the couch or the bed, then I would practice his "off" and the above process of increasing stimulation until he removed himself from the sofa or the bed. He only fell for their treachery a few times before he figured out the game and didn't want to follow them up onto the objects anymore. This was an extreme version where he is hyper-excited because he thinks he's playing but then I put the brakes on him and still established boundaries. I know that this is something you had asked about. The best strategy is to give him something else to do, such as a "place" on his bed or dog cot. This way it is a positive experience and he knows what you expect out of him. You are more than welcome to have him on your sofa or any object so as long as you grant him permission first. I normally would have him "sit" in front of that object and then release him with a "yes". This is the word I use when going through doors. It means, you can release now but you can't go do whatever you want. "Break" is for Mr. Bolt to go be a dog and go play and do whatever he wants.
Overall, not too bad today as he is understanding the rules and the boundaries now about a week in. From now on, I expect to see a continual improvement in his skills as he learns that carrying out the obedience tasks comes with great positive rewards from me in the form of verbal praise, physical praise, and the release of the stimulation. All of these are reinforcers of wanted behavior.
Pupdate 1/30/23
Today Bolt and I loaded up and headed over to La Bonita Park in La Habra, CA. We met up with some of our fellow Off-Leash trainers and their pups. Bolt did really well around all the other pups. Today actually went well as far as Bolt's obedience. Some of it is the extra work we are putting in and some of it was that I still had the leash on him. I have a very light leash that I'll use next time to see how it goes and then he might be ready to practice some off-leash work. This brings me to a great reminder, just because Bolt can do something doesn't mean he should do it. Bolt will be able to perform off-leash commands but it doesn't mean that he should. You will be responsible for continuing his training and reinforcing his obedience. As I have mentioned several times, it is not a matter of him knowing the commands, it's a matter of his breed temperament and him being a puppy that makes it challenging for him to be consistent enough to be without a leash. I can assure you that he is better behaved overall but it doesn't mean he can roam freely.
Pupdate 1/31/23
Today Mr. Bolt and I headed over to Liberty Park in Cerritos, CA. Prior to heading over though, we conducted a small review session in the "lab". I think this really helps him and reminds him of the commands and the ecollar. In my backyard, we did everything off-leash and he did pretty well. He didn't want to go back there at first because he knows it was time to do what I am asking for and not what he wanted to do which was to just roam around the house or play with Toji. Once I convinced him to come outside with me, the training went significantly better than yesterday and the day before that. His "come to sit" is really strong now and I am really happy with it. He is struggling with the "down" so we will focus on that a few more times with some puppy pushups. This is where they have to "sit" then "down" then "sit" and so on.
At the park, he was a well-behaved pup. He didn't run off and didn't try to chase any other dogs or kids. He was attentive except for not wanting to "down" but we will keep working on those. He will do the "down" and maintain it once he's there, it's just a matter of convincing him to get in the correct position without it being a battle.
Tonight, I will have my son take him for a walk around the block practicing the "heel" on the leash to ensure your son will be successful with Bolt's continued education and maintenance of his obedience.
Pupdate 2/1/23
Last night Mr. Bolt and I took a walk with my seven-year-old and Mr. Bolt did great performing in a nice "heel". He was calm and respectful on a leash.
Today we went over house manners such as door manners and food manners. As you can see, he is doing great with these manners. He is very stubborn about the "down" but we gave it a go for a few minutes. Obedience exercises like puppy push-ups are demanding. It is a battle of wills at times. It is important to stay patient and persistent. The good part is that you can do them multiple times throughout the day. After our quick session between door manners and food manners, his "sit" is a lot more consistent. Also, when he does reset, he comes to the "heel" position to "sit". This is fine with me as it gives us both a reset point. It's also good because he is not running away or seeking something else.
Pupdate 2/2/23
Today Bolt and I loaded up and headed over to Rhynerson Park in Lakewood, CA. Today was a great day for Mr. Bolt. Today we performed all commands off-leash! This was the first training session where Mr. Bolt was able to perform all the commands off-leash with little to no vocalizing. I am super proud of Mr. Bolt and how far he has come!
With that being said, just because he can do the off-leash work doesn't mean he should be doing it all the time. He is a smart and intelligent pup but he is a puppy and a brave one at that. He likes to let everyone know how brave and strong he is even the horse we saw at the park. The good news is that he will give you warning signs such as intense focus, hair raising on his back, and then barking. These are signs that he is ramping up. Even though he performed all three of these things, we counter-conditioned him to the horse by walking by over and over again until he calmly walked by without intense staring, hair raising, or barking. I use the command "off" and use the stimulate button with another reminder to "heel". He was still watching the horse in interest at the end but not in fear. Remember, he can do all of these very quickly depending on how intimidated or skeptical of someone or something he is. As he grows up and you expose him more and more to the world, this behavior should be diminished but it is something to always be aware of with him. He is a good pup but he is protective and will let others know that he will protect. He did bark at my niece the other day even in the house. This is a reminder to just use the command "off" and let him know everything is ok.
Pupdate 2/3/23
Today Mr. Bolt and I loaded up and headed over to Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, CA. Today was a pretty good day as we spent the majority of the day off-leash around a lot of distractions. Something I failed to mention last time we were at Santa Monica Pier was how well Bolt did on the actual pier despite Jindos not being fans of water. I am very impressed at how well Mr. Bolt handled himself and behaved around the people, our fellow off-leash trainers, and their pups. In two more days, we get to show the results of all of his hard work!
As a reminder, Mr. Bolt can be off-leash if needed; however, I am sensitive to my surroundings and to Mr. Bolt to ensure that he is not caught off guard by another dog, large noises, or distractor or that he is not being so overwhelmed that he is going to break away or not listen. He does perfectly fine on a nice loose leash which is good to use just in case there is potential for real harm to Mr. Bolt or you are enjoying yourself and miss out on a possible trigger for him. And due to the way we build Mr. Bolt up to the off-leash work, he is really well-behaved on-leash and his obedience commands come more quickly and easier.
Lastly, I like to remind everyone that ensure your dog's needs are met whenever you go to large outings like we did today. This means, make sure he has gone poop and pee and you bring plenty of water for him while you are out and about. Once those needs are met, you allow him to focus on behaving as those needs will supersede his will to listen and carry out anything you are asking of him if not addressed.
Pupdate 2/4/23
Today Mr. Bolt and I headed back over to the Santa Monica Promenade in Santa Monica, CA to give him one last exposure to distractors and working in public places. Remember yesterday when I mentioned that Jindos were scared of water? Well, he wasn't too thrilled about the fountain but when we use positive reinforcement, Mr. Bolt can do all sorts of amazing things. Other than the fountain, he was great again. I am super proud of all the progress he has made!
Below is a recap of all the commands and manners that Mr. Bolt has learned:
1) "Sit"/ Extended "Sit"
2) "Down"/ Extended "Down"
3) "Place"
4) "Heel"
5) "Come" to sit
6) "Break"
7) "Off"
8) Car Manners - "Load Up"
9) Food Manners
10) Door Manners
11) Greeting Manners
Manners that he has learned include door manners, car manners, food manners, and greeting manners. In regards to greeting manners, this is simply where he calmly is in the "sit" or is "down" while people come and say hi to him. He will occasionally be uncomfortable around new people and that's where you come in to reassure him that it is ok. He is a puppy and has a lot to learn and it is up to you to guide him through his journey. We can't wait to show you all his new skills!
