Meet Boog, a 17-month-old Greater Swiss Mountain Dog from Newport Beach, CA! Boog is here for our Three-Week Board and Train Program for leash pulling, basic obedience, and manners. While Boog loves meeting people and other dogs, he isn’t the most confident dog, and can be very anxious, barking and whining a lot. He can be easily distracted, and due to his size, will pull his owner around. Stay tuned for his twenty-one-day transformation!
Pupdate 12/19/2021
Boog was able to load up into the kennel in the van with the help of a little leash pressure, but struggled getting into the kennel at the house. He was very anxious, whining and panting in the crate, so I let him out in the dog run to sniff and relieve himself. He peed (only) several times. At 2:30 he woke me up to potty and between 2:30am and 8:30am he pooped five times. He has access to water in his kennel, but has not stopped whining and panting in his crate. This morning in the dog run he growled at my landlady who walked out of her house with her two male collies. He was wearing the e-collar so I used the "off" command and tapped the black button on the left side of the remote. At this point I think it best to let him get acclimated to his new environment since he's very anxious.
Pupdate 12/20/2021
Today Boog and I stayed on my property to work on e-collar conditioning. I found the level where he feels the stimulation on the collar and work from there while he’s on a long-line. When he goes out to the end of the line or away from me, I tap the button left red button on the remote until Boog turns in my direction. At that point I use my verbal marker “yes” to let him know that’s exactly what I want and lure him in my direction with food. It took him a number of reps but he finally caught on and started turning with me. As he progressed I started bringing him more into the heel position with the taps and rewarded for tighter turns. Boog is going into his kennel but needs leash pressure to go in. He is anxious in the kennel and pants and whines. The barking has stopped.
Pupdate 12/21/2021
Today I had Miranda work with Boog on my property. She focused on e-collar conditioning, but also introduced the place command. In the beginning Boog was very unsure of the kuranda bed that she asked him to climb on and avoided stepping on it. I had Miranda use treats to help lure him onto the bed. Once all four of his paws were on the surface she then used the verbal maker “yes” and rewarded him with a treat. After a few repetitions Boog was a lot more confident and had no trouble placing on the bed. He is still getting used to the sensation of the e-collar but responding nicely to it. Boog is still anxious and whining in the crate.
Pupdate 12/22/2021
Boog and I did leash work on my property. He refused to sit using a verbal command or food lure, so I used leash pressure and my hand to help guide his rear end to the ground. We did several back and forth repetitions where I began layering the stimulation of the e-collar over the pressure of the leash, and Boog began understanding what I was asking of him. He is a big dog who has learned to use his body to always get his way. In the dog run I had him with my dog, Juno, who is an intact female. He was pretty pushy with her and got verbally corrected several times. I used her as a distraction as we continued to work on e-collar conditioning. Boog is still anxious in the crate and if left alone in the dog run his anxiety builds to where he starts barking. Last night I took him out for a last potty at 10:30pm. He peed but did not poop. I heard him panting and whining at 2am and took him out when he finally pooped.
Pupdate 12/23/2021
Boog and I worked on loose leash walking on my property. He wouldn’t sit or down on verbal cue so I introduced leash pressure to guide him into position. After several repetitions he was able to sit on cue without help from the leash, but he would pop up from a down if I tried to walk away. He is generally tired after training and isn’t whining as much in the crate. When workers are on my property and Boog is in the dog run he will bark at them. He also linger at one of the younger male puppies on the property. I use the e-collar and the “off” command to let him know he should not do this.
Pupdate 12/24/2021
Boog and I worked on his commands at Irvine Spectrum Center. We worked on loose leash walking, sitting when I stop, and place. Boog did great with the crowds, but was a bit startled by skateboarders, and he had a difficult time placing on the ledge of the fountain. We practiced food manners again, and he is very impatient about getting his food and whined and panted a lot. I waited him out and when he calmed down I released him to his food.
Pupdate 12/25/2021
Boog and I worked on loose leash walking, come to sit, down, and place. I used his breakfast to lure him into a come to sit, using the Cato Board platform to give him a target of where I want his rear-end. He's a smart boy and food motivated, so he caught on quickly. Boog is finally settling in here. He is quieter in the crate and is no longer barking in the dog run. He had real issues with being left alone. The only time he is whining and panting in the crate is if he needs to go out to potty. This morning when I took him out of his crate I noticed yellowish discharge from his right eye and the white of the eye looked a bit more red. I’ll monitor it for now.
Not as much discharge as this morning, but some discharge noticeable this afternoon.
Pupdate 12/26/2021
Boog and I went to a park and worked on his commands while children played on a playground. He is doing better with his extended sit, but still struggles with an extended down. Skateboarders went past us and he wasn't phased by them. I was able to use the "off" command a few times when he tried to sniff twigs or grass instead of following through with his commands.
Pupdate 12/27/2021
Boog and I worked on his commands at Dana Point Harbor. We focused on loose leash walking, place, extended sit/down, and come to sit. Another trainer worked a younger male puppy around him, and Boog struggled in the beginning but then settled into the work. He was rewarded with his kibble and eagerly worked for his food.
Pupdate 12/28/2021
Boog and I worked on his commands at Oceanside Harbor. He is responding well to the stimulation from the e-collar, but struggles with listening when seeing other dogs. His extended down is getting better, as is his extended sit. I did notice he is shedding a lot in his kennel, which may be in part due to stress. His eye has improved but I will continue to monitor it.
Pupdate 12/29/2021
Boog and Haley worked on heeling and come to sit. She used fixtures in the environment to help keep him at her heel and would mark and praise when he was in the correct position. Boog struggled previously seeing dogs on walks, but was better able to stay in position today. His eye has cleared up, but his stool is a bit soft. He's eating and drinking normally. Less whining in the crate, but will still whine when he can see certain dogs. Overall, he's less anxious and more responsive than when we began training.
Pupdate 12/30/2021
Boog and I worked on his commands at the Carlsbad Outlet Mall. He would get very excited by people wanting to pet him so I would use the "off" command when he would try to approach them without being told he could do so. I did let him sit to receive pets from one person, and he did well staying seated but did throw his head around some. Boog did a good job holding his extended sit and down, but struggled with loose leash walking/heeling in crowded areas, and even more so when there were dogs around.
Pupdate 12/31/2021
I worked Boog at The Strand in Oceanside around a ton of people and dogs. People weren’t so much of an issue as were dogs. He would break his heel if he saw a dog, so we walked past all of the dogs and worked on staying in heel. Boog definitely improved as we worked through all the stimuli in the environment.
Pupdate 1/1/2022
Boog and I went back to The Strand to work his commands around dogs. I noticed he would break a command if a dog was barking or yelping, so we heeled and practiced our place command around as many dogs as possible. The more we worked the better he was at ignoring them.
Pupdate 1/2/2022
Boog and I worked on his commands at a park. He is understanding heel better but still struggles with seeing dogs and got a little excited with the birds. In the afternoon he got to socialize with a couple dogs. He was pretty nervous but eventually opened up and tried to initiate play with a doodle.
Pupdate 1/3/2022
Boog and I worked on his commands at a shopping area. He is still very anxious in the crate and seems to have separation anxiety from his handler. Boog definitely acts like a dog who has been allowed to greet dogs while on leash and still tries to pull towards them. We continue to focus on this and heeling. His stool has been soft and runny, but I believe this is due to his anxiety. He was nervous in social and took a while to warm up, but he found a few females that he wanted to interact with and eventually initiated play. He growled at the other large male dog his size, and I would be cautious having him with other intact males of his age.
Pupdate 1/4/2022
Boog and I worked on his commands in a shopping area during lunch. We worked on heeling, place, and his come to sit. He is still very distracted by things in the environment but more responsive at lower levels now that I’ve switched him over to the Extreme Ultra Wings to ensure good contact with the collar.
Pupdate 1/5/2022
Boog and I worked on his commands by the beach. It’s a place where we see a lot of dogs regularly and dogs appear to be his Achilles heel. We focused on off-leash heeling, place, and come to sit. He was rewarded heavily for looking at dogs and staying in the heel position. Boog did really well today and only had to be corrected once for trying to go towards a dog. He can hold his extended sit and extended down with no trouble, and was able to sit nicely while he received affection from some older folks.
Pupdate 1/6/2022
Boog and I worked on his commands at the beach where we tend to encounter a lot of dogs. He still struggles with dogs who want to come towards him and will break his heel to go towards them. We worked on off-leash heeling and the rest of his commands. Boog is doing very well in his program and is completing all of his commands!
Pupdate 1/7/2022
Boog and I worked on his final video by the beach. He was able to complete all of his commands but continues to struggle when other dogs are around. Near the pier he reacted to a small intact male who barked and lunged at him. He tried to do the same back but was given a leash correction and stopped immediately. Boog gets very aroused by other dogs, which is where the whimpering and inability to follow through with commands comes into play. There was a dog running around at the park, and Boog had difficulty not breaking his heel. This is where the off command comes into play at the first sign of arousal. If his ears go forward or he starts picking up his pace or drifting from the heel position, the "off" command and a tap of the black button on the remote (left side) should be used prior to him getting over aroused and moving towards the other dog.
Pupdate 1/8/2022
Boog and I worked on his final video at the beach. He is still anxious at times in the crate, but he is always quiet in the crate after training and sleeps well that night. A lot of his anxiety seems to be hormonal. He is a happy-go-lucky confident guy who occasionally is unsure of things in the environment. I saw some of that in his interactions in the backyard social where he surveyed the land, and after a while, he found a female to interact with. Boog is completing all of his commands off-leash and can loose leash walk at a heel, but still struggles with seeing dogs on walks.The e-collar and continued reinforcement of what the ideal walk with Boog looks like will help walks with Boog become even more pleasant.
