Meet Buddy! He's a four month old Boxer Mix from Cerritos, California here for our Three-Week Puppy Board and Train program! Buddy is incredibly sweet and playful, but he does have some issues with jumping, chewing, play biting, leash pulling, following basic commands, and playing too rough with other dogs. He will also be getting potty trained while he's here. Over the next three weeks we'll teach Buddy how to behave on leash, how to properly greet people and other dogs, and show him how to be the best pup he can be. Check back here for Buddy's twenty one day transformation!
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Pupdate: 9/11/2022
After picking up Buddy, we stayed at Hollydale Park for a while for some bonding time! He wanted to jump and play, but he was otherwise pretty well behaved! We then went home and I let Buddy sniff around my house and tried to get him used to being there with me.
He seemed to take a liking to me immediately, and has been a pleasure so far! He also hasn't had any potty accidents yet!
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Pupdate: 9/12/2022
Buddy went to Almansor Park today for his first full day of training! We worked on his Heel and Come To Sit commands. For Heel, I want Buddy to walk nicely on my left side with his ears at my knee. For Come To Sit, I want Buddy to come to my right side, move around my legs and sit on my left side. Buddy's Heel is coming along very well! He still has a lot of work to do on his Come To Sit, but for his first full day, he's doing great! Also, he made it all night without a potty accident. He did piddle a bit right before his dinner was served today. He didn't completely empty his bladder, so I think it was more from excitement rather than him not being able to hold it. Either way, he's still doing great!
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Pupdate: 9/13/2022
Buddy went to Wilderness Park today for training! He did well with his Heel and Come To Sit, and we introduced a new command: Place! For Place, I want Buddy to hop up onto a raised object, such as a bench, and hold his position there. This is a good way to boost Buddy's confidence! For example, Buddy has been having a hard time jumping all the way up into my car for the last couple days, but after introducing Place, he's hopping into the car without issue! No potty accidents so far today!
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Pupdate: 9/14/2022
Buddy went to Legg Lake today for training! He had a potty accident in his crate on the way there, but he made up for it by behaving very well the rest of the day. In today's video, Buddy Heels with me alongside another trainer and her dog. Buddy gets distracted a few times by the other dog, but manages to keep a respectful demeanor for most of the video! Off camera, Buddy was around several other dogs today as well! He definitely still feels the urge to run and play with them, but he's starting to get better at controlling that impulse. Also, I noticed Buddy wasn't eating as much of his food as I would like, so I started adding a spoonful of peanut butter to his food, and he seems to really like it!
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Pupdate: 9/15/2022
Buddy went to Citadel Outlets today for training! This was his first time with me in a more crowded area, so I wasn't sure how he'd respond, but he managed to stay calm the entire time and he was able to perform each of his commands fairly reliably! No potty accidents today!
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Pupdate: 9/16/2022
Buddy went to Almansor Park today for training! He did a great job all around! He knows all of his commands and easily performs them in a neutral environment. There was only one time today where Buddy got distracted by a squirrel. My goal now is to get Buddy to the point where he can perform just as well in high distraction areas! No accidents today!
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Pupdate: 9/17/2022
The weather was very nice today, so Buddy and I walked to the local park for training! He was well behaved during the walk! While we were at the park, he got slightly distracted by the geese and ducks, but managed to continue performing his commands. There was a rock that Buddy was a little nervous to Place on, but after a few tries, he gained the confidence to jump all the way up! No potty accidents so far today!
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Pupdate: 9/18/2022
Buddy went to Montebello Mall today for training! He was very well behaved the whole time, and performed each of his commands without issue. At certain points in the mall Buddy had some trouble holding his positions if there were a lot of people passing, but over all he did a great job! For his Sit, Down and Place commands, I would like Buddy to be able to hold those positions for at least one minute and thirty seconds. He does a really good job of this when there aren't a lot of distractions around, now I want him to do this in any environment!
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Pupdate: 9/19/2022
Buddy went to Century City Mall today for training! He did a wonderful job with all of his commands, and remained calm nearly the whole time. He did get a bit distracted a few times when other dogs walked nearby. That being said, he's improving every day with his ability to fight the urge to hyperfocus on distractions.
Buddy seemed to be getting tired of the peanut butter with his food, so I changed his dinner additive to Greek yogurt, and he loved it! Usually Buddy is a very slow eater, but he gobbled up his dinner with a bit of yogurt added!
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Pupdate: 9/20/2022
Buddy went to Almansor Park today for training! The above video shows us playing in the park. We worked on Buddy's play biting and jumping. After initiating play, I run around with him until he either used his teeth, puts his paws on me. When he does this, the play stops, and I ask Buddy to Sit or Down. Once he's calm again, and all four paws are on the ground, we can resume play! His jumping is much better than it was when I picked him up, however he still likes to use his teeth a lot while playing! Exercises like this will teach Buddy to play more gently!
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Pupdate: 9/21/2022
Buddy went to Legg Lake today for training! As usual, he did a great job with each of his commands. He worked with another trainer for a little while today, too! He was very excited to work with someone new, but he behaved himself very well. Buddy working with someone else lets me know if Buddy is truly understanding the commands and obeying them, or if he'll only perform for me because he likes me! No potty accidents so far today!
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Pupdate: 9/22/2022
Buddy went to Century City Mall for training! While we were alone, he behaved extremely well, as I've come to expect of him. However, a few dogs joined us later, and Buddy definitely wanted to play instead of focus on his commands. After a little while, he started to focus again, but I'd like to get him to the point where friendly dogs coming and going is a nonevent. Once he was focused, he did a great job, as you can see in the above video!
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Pupdate: 9/23/2022
Buddy went to Fashion Island today for training! He was very excited to be around so many dogs, but he behaved himself well! After Fashion Island, we went home and played together for a while. He's currently taking a nap, cuddled up with his blanket!
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Pupdate: 9/24/2022
Buddy and I went to Pawsadena Dog Park today! Buddy has had some trouble keeping focused around other dogs, so I wanted to go somewhere with an abundance of new pups! Plenty of dogs came up to the fence between us, and Buddy definitely had trouble ignoring all the new faces for a bit. By the end of the day he seemed to be able to focus much better around those potential playmates! I think Buddy made some good progress today!
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Pupdate: 9/25/2022
Buddy and I went to Citadel Outlets today! It was a bit hot for Buddy, so we didn't stay all day. He doesn't seem to get very distracted by crowds of people anymore, because it was extremely crowded today, and Buddy didn't seem to mind!
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Pupdate: 9/26/2022
Buddy went to Legg Lake today! He did a great job with me, as always. To push his training forward, Buddy worked with a couple of other trainers today. The above videos show him working with said trainers, and he does a good job for the most part! He seemed to respond to most of his commands, however if I had another dog and Buddy could see me, he would become jealous and start to bark to try to get my attention. This mostly happened when he didn't have something specific to do. For example, when he was Heeling he had no issue performing, but if he was sitting still for a few moments he would start barking for me. I believe this issue will be helped by having Buddy work with more trainers more often over the course of this week!
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Pupdate: 9/27/2022
Buddy and I went to Home Depot today in an effort to stay out of the heat! This was clearly a strange environment for Buddy, as he would often try to veer off and sniff the shelves as we walked down the narrow aisles. He quickly adjusted, however, and pretty soon he was performing just as well as he does in a more open space!
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Pupdate: 9/28/2022
Buddy went to Almansor Park today! He did a great job with his commands and behaved well. He got a little distracted by a flock of pigeons flying around, but that didn't last very long! Over all a great day!
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Pupdate: 9/29/2022
Buddy went to Montebello Mall today for training! He did a great job all day with his commands and his behavior in the mall. He also did a good job of going potty when I asked him to before we entered the building! There was one point today where Buddy got a little excited and wanted to play instead of train, but that only lasted a few seconds, and he quickly regained his focus!
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Pupdate: 9/30/2022
Buddy went to Citadel Outlets today for training! In the above video, Buddy goes through his commands all around Citadel Outlets! He does very well with each of his commands! He piddles a little on the brick at the end, but then he lays down and waits patiently for me to clean it up!
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Pupdate: 10/1/2022
Buddy went to Almansor Park for his last full day of training! For his Pupdate today, I wanted to showcase some of the manners he's been working on. For food manners, I want to be able to put food in front of him without him immediately trying to gobble it down. For door manners, I want Buddy to wait when I open a door without trying to rush through before me. For car manners I want Buddy to hop up onto my car when asked and walk directly into his kennel. For greeting manners, I want Buddy to sit nicely when approached by a stranger and allow them to pet him without dodging or jumping. Buddy had the most trouble with greeting manners, because he would get very excited around some people and want to jump and play, but he ended up doing very well with all of these!
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