Meet Butter! She's a nine month old Pomeranian from Venice, California here for our Two-Week Board and Train program. Butter is super sweet and playful, however she has some difficulty with her basic commands. She loves to play but that also means trying to jump on people and run around to get attention. She tends to pull on her leash and move all over the place while walking, and often doesn't respond when called. Over the next fourteen days, we'll work on Butter's obedience skills in and out of the house, show her how to properly greet people, and teach her how to be the best pup she can possibly be! Stay tuned for Butter's two week transformation!
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Pupdate: 6/4/2023
After picking up Butter, we went to Almansor Park to get to know each other. Butter is the sweetest little thing I've ever seen, and it seems like she's taking to me well. We walked around the park, and I asked her to perform various basic commands to see how much she knows already. She seems to have a good understanding of the Sit command, but only responds when she wants to. Same thing with Come. After the park, we went home where I let Butter sniff around my house and get accustomed to being here. Butter very much liked the cot that is typically reserved for my personal pup (she didn't mind) so I let her take a nap there until she woke up to try to get me to play with her. Needless to say, she seems to be settling in very well!
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Pupdate: 6/5/2023
Butter went to Garfield Park today for her first full day of training! We focused on furthering her understanding of the Sit command, and worked on her Heel command. Butter already knows what I want when I ask her to sit, however it can take several iterations of the verbal command before she acquiesces, and once she sits, she can only hold it for a couple of seconds before she wants to run around again. I'd like her to be more reliable with the sit command and be able to hold it consistently. For Heel, I want Butter to walk at my left side with her ears at my leg. She tends to walk from side to side and go where she pleases, and I'd like her to stay near me while we walk. She made some good progress today!
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Pupdate: 6/6/2023
Butter and I went to Almansor Park today for training! We worked on her Come To Sit command and continued her Heel. For Come To Sit, I want Butter to come to my right side, walk around my legs and sit at my left side with her ears at my leg. As you can see in the above video, she still needs to tighten up each command, but she's picking up everything very quickly!
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Pupdate:6/7/2023
Butter went to Santa Anita Mall today for training! The mall wasn't quite as crowded as it usually is, but it was still more populated than the other places Butter has gone with me. She behaved very well and impressed me with her performance. There was only one time she got distracted enough to not listen to her commands, and that was when a small dog walked by and started barking at her. I thought this environment would be difficult for Butter, because we've mostly been training at parks so far, but she handled the adjustment quite well. We started working on her Place command today! For Place, I simply want Butter to hop onto an object, such as a bench, and remain there. There was one bench that Butter wasn't sure if she could jump on, but after a little encouragement, she was hopping up with confidence!
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Pupdate: 6/8/2023
Butter went to the Santa Monica Pier today for training! She did a great job! She didn't seem nervous or bothered by the loud noises and people around the pier, and did a pretty good job with her commands, too! In her video today, she's being handled by another trainer. This exercise can be a great way to see if butter is really learning her commands or if she just likes me. She performed fairly well, although there were several times Butter looked back at me, as I believe I was the biggest distraction for her. Still, great job, Butter!
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Pupdate: 6/9/2023
Butter went to Santa Anita Mall today for training! She did a great job all day! Her commands are going well, and she behaved appropriately all day. There was one family in the food court that Butter liked particularly, and kept staring at, until finally their child got up to ask to pet Butter, which Butter loved. That was the main distraction for Butter, and other than that, she was relatively focused and performed well!
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Pupdate: 6/10/2023
Butter and I went to Almansor Park today! She was a little more distracted than usual, but she still did a great job! I think the smells left behind by all the geese and ducks got to her today. It's difficult to tell in her video, but she was frequently trying to sniff around rather than listen to her commands. That being said, I'd say she is ahead of the curve and doing a wonderful job!
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Pupdate: 6/11/2023
Butter and I spent the day walking around downtown Alhambra! She had fun and behaved well while we were out. Several bystanders were very impressed with Butter being able to hop up onto the fountains and hold her positions. There weren't any other dogs around but there were tons of noises from the city life buzzing around us! Butter didn't seem to mind any of the distractions. While at home Butter sometimes barks when she wants to play. When she barks at me, I use the words, "Quiet" or "Off" to ask her to settle down. When she's calm, I can engage with her, but I don't want to show her that she gets what she wants by demand barking!
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Pupdate: 6/12/2023
Butter went to Holmby Park today for training! We were there with another trainer and Butter got very excited to see her. We worked on Butter's commands in close proximity to the other dog, trying to help Butter stay focused all the while. Every so often, Butter will get distracted, but she gets back on track quickly. We also noticed that Butter is easily distracted by shoes scraping on the ground, and she wants to play with your shoes if you move them around her while she's trying to hold a Down position. I'll be doing this a lot going forward, as an easy way to introduce distractions when none are present.
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Pupdate: 6/13/2023
Butter and I spent the day at Almansor Park. She behaved very well and she performed each command reliably, only becoming distracted a few times. She had fun learning to balance on the thin wall in one of the above pictures. It took a few attempts, but she quickly learned to hop on and walk across them easily!
Butter was very wary of the statue pictured above! Once she noticed it, she wanted to pull away and not get near. After working through some of her commands next to the statue, she eventually gained confidence around it! Good job all day, Butter!
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Pupdate: 6/14/2023
Butter went to Santa Anita Mall today for training! She we worked on all of her commands, but we mostly focused on her holding her Sit and Down commands around multiple distractions. There were fewer distractions around the outside areas of the mall, but she performed well in both places. She got distracted a few times from my feet as well as a few people. She got better and better with each passing minute, and she was nice and relaxed by the end of our session!
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Pupdate: 6/15/2023
Butter went to Santa Monica Pier today! She did an amazing job, despite the large crowds and noises. Several other dogs joined us on our adventure, some of which Butter loved. She still definitely can be distracted around other dogs, but she kept her excitement down to a manageable level today.
At home, Butter has been much better about barking at me when I'm busy. Some of this improvement could be due to how much activity she's getting throughout the day, but she is absolutely more receptive to the Off command. She seems to be more understanding of when it is a good time to ask to play, and when it is a good time to settle down.
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Pupdate: 6/16/2023
Butter went to Santa Anita Mall again! She did a great job with her commands throughout the day. She got distracted by a few people who wanted to pet her, but generally behaved very well! For some people, she would sit nicely and receive their pets without issue. Some people seemed to get a larger reaction from Butter. Usually, when I remind her to sit, she does so, and then behaves herself. For her video today, I wanted to show one of her household manners. For Butter's door manners, I'd like her to sit patiently when I open a door, without her trying to rush out. We practice this each time we go in or out of my front door, so she's gotten pretty good at it!
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Pupdate: 6/17/2023
Butter and I spent her last full day of training at the park! She had a fun time and we worked on honing her skills with her commands. There were still a few people who got her attention, but she did a very good job of ignoring most distracted. She's been such a delight to work with and I am going to miss her when she's gone!
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Pupdate: 6/18/2023
Butter and I spent most of our day at Almansor Park! Today will be her last full day with me, and I'm definitely going to miss her once she's gone. For her video today, I wanted to show Butter's food manners and food refusal. I want Butter to be able to sit patiently when I place something of high value in front of her. This can be helpful to practice in case someone drops something on the ground that Butter shouldn't eat. Great job, Butter!
