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Chalamet | Australian Shepherd Mix | Los Angeles, CA | In Training

Tanner Strong

Meet Chalamet! He's a twenty one month old Australian Shepherd Mix from Los Angeles, California here for our One-Week Board and Train Program! He's a sweet pup, but he can be incredibly nervous. He will sometimes have fun going out to parks, but then he inexplicably shuts down and refuses to walk, planting his feet and becoming immovable! He is friendly, and generally likes people, but every once in a while he will get spooked by someone and nip, especially if they come through the front door unexpectedly. He knows a couple commands, but doesn't listen or follow through with them most of the time, and pulls heavily on his leash when he wants to get somewhere. Over the next seven days, we are going to hone Chalamet's commands, build up his confidence in places he's familiar with and places new to him, work on his manners in and out of the house, and show him how to be the best pup he can possibly be! Stay tuned for Chalamet's one week transformation!

 

Pupdate: 11/10/2024



After picking up Chalamet, we stayed at Elysian Park Trail for a few minutes to get to know each other! We have met one time before, and Chalamet immediately took to me. This will make his transition into my home a bit easier. He was willing to walk around the small parking area, but much like last time we met, he was unwilling to go past a certain point on the trail. He tends to sit down, dig in his heels, and refuse to walk or move at all. With a little leash pressure and coaxing, he is sometimes willing to give me a few steps at a time, which is a start. He will take a few steps forward, but then immediately turn back to try to pull to the car if allowed to do so.


We then went to Almansor Park, which is new to him. Usually Chalamet does well in new environments but then inexplicably shuts down and refuses to move after a certain amount of time in a new park. When we first got to Almansor Park, he was willing to walk a little bit, and seemed somewhat curious about the new environment, but still defaulted to pulling back to the car. Once we chose a spot, I started asking him for his basic commands to see how he is with them. He was willing to sit for me most of the time, but usually got right back up after sitting. To help with his confidence building, I will be working on his basic obedience commands, as having a solid foundation that both of us can count on will be the basis for building up his confidence.


When we got home, Chalamet couldn't have settled in faster. He was immediately happy as soon as we stepped through the door. He was playful, wagging his tail, and looking up to me. He was fairly polite as well, aside from jumping on me a few times! He seems to feel right at home here.


In addition to his video, I'll add a tutorial for his new E-collar, as well as a picture of it!

 

Pupdate: 11/11/2024


Chalamet and I went to La Bonita Park today for training! When we first arrived, he walked normally throughout most of the park, albeit not in a proper Heel. He was a bit nervous and curious, but behaved generally well for the first half of our time there. After a while, he began trying to pull towards the car whenever he saw the opportunity, and dug in his heels when we walked in any direction away from the car.


We introduced Chalamet to the prong collar and his E-collar today, and he is responding well to both tools. Chalamet's fur is pretty thick around his neck, so it took some adjusting before his E-collar was properly fitted. Once it was, he started responding to it well.


My first goal is to help Chalamet understand that he needs to move with the pressure from his leash, rather than against it. He loves to pull back against leash pressure, so this is no easy task, but thankfully, Chalamet is learning quickly. When we hold a bit of tension as we walk, he is starting to take less and less time to alleviate that pressure by moving forward with me. Once he does this, I give him verbal or physical praise, and then keep moving. I also want to introduce the idea that Chalamet should be right next to me while we walk. This Heel command asks Chalamet to walk at my left side, with his ears in line with my leg. He is quickly picking up on this. Working through the tougher parts with Chalamet seems to be helping greatly, as he is already making a great deal of progress.


Another difficulty for Chalamet today was holding his Sit position. When sitting right next to me, he was able to hold his Sit for a fair amount of time, but was unwilling to let me step away from him without following me. He doesn't yet have the confidence to feel secure holding a position too far from me, and lacks the impulse control to fight the urge to move. Both of these things are areas we will put a lot of work into!

 

Pupdate: 11/12/2024


Chalamet and I went to Almansor Park today for training! He decided pretty early on that he was tired of this park, and wanted to stay at the car. He was much more willing to move with me and the leash today, however. When he put on the brakes, he sometimes did not require any pressure from the leash, and continued walking with me when called to Heel. This is definitely an improvement, and I believe it has a lot to do with his continued work on his obedience commands. There were also times today when he wanted to pull towards the car, but they were similarly much less frequent and easier to work through.


I opted to not use the prong collar today, and only used the flat collar and his E-collar. The prong collar can still be a useful tool to come back to if necessary, but I'd like him to be reliable without it. He proved today that he doesn't necessarily need it to succeed and follow through. I also had treats on hand for Chalamet, but he only took them every once in a while, and they don't seem to be making a difference in his training. He seems to be most receptive to physical affection, and this seems to be his favorite reward when working out in public. Back at home, he happily takes his kibble and treats, which has been useful in reinforcing his Place command.


For the Place command, I want Chalamet to hop onto a raised object, such as a bench or a cot, and remain there until I either release him from command or ask him to do something else. While out working at the park, this command is great for building confidence. It also makes it a little easier to work on holding his Sit position while creating distance, as he has a very tangible spot that he knows he needs to remain in. After the park, we also worked on this Place command at home, and he's already doing a great job with it. He was able to hold his Place while I cooked dinner and ate it. He curled up for a nap at a certain point, and only left the cot once I was ready to take him out on a well earned walk. These applications of the Place command make it one of the more useful commands to use at home. You can use it whenever you need to do something that Chalamet does not need to be involved with, including making dinner, cleaning, and having guests over.


Chalamet is clearly extremely intelligent, and I have had almost no issue teaching him his commands. The trick now is to continue using and honing them in ways that show him he can count on them and me, even when he gets a little overwhelmed out in public. This is already doing wonders for his confidence and reliability, and I'm excited to see just how much progress we can make with him!

 

Pupdate: 11/13/2024


Chalamet and I went to the park again today, and he started out a bit nervous and distracted, but didn't shut down or put on the brakes at all. He much more engaged with me from the beginning of our time at the park. We worked on his Place command on more varied spots, like the rocks near the pond! He was a bit skeptical of the rocks, but once he got going, he loved jumping on them.


We worked a lot on his Come To Sit command, which I haven't explained yet. You can see us practicing it in yesterday's video. For Come To Sit, I want Chalamet to come to my right side, walk around my legs and sit at my left side with his ears at my knee. This is a great recall command, as it sets us up to start walking when we're ready! This can be a slightly more advanced command, as it requires precision with his positioning, but he did a great job learning it, and continues to improve!


Once again, he did a great job this evening relaxing on the place cot when asked. He seems to like it a lot!

 

Pupdate: 11/14/2024


Chalamet and I spent the day around Elysian Park! This was spot Chalamet used to frequent and loved. Recently he has found it difficult to make it past the opening gate! When we arrived today, he immediately knew where we were and was not a big fan. As soon as he jumped out of the car, his paws reached right back up to get back in. With a new, more solid foundation of commands and confidence, however, instead of relentlessly stopping and pulling back to the car, he opted to walk with me once I started moving. While his training thus far has been enough to help him through those tough moments, he still wanted to be very close to me, and found it more difficult to hold a Sit away from me. This has been hard for him in most locations, but in other spots, he's been doing much better!


We continued walking down a couple of the trails around this park, mostly focusing on his Heel, but practicing his other commands along the way. The difference in his demeanor between today and when I picked him up in this same spot is great, and continuing to practice and take him to these areas will only help him more in the long run!


 

Pupdate: 11/15/2024


Chalamet and I went to Sportsman's Lodge today for training! This was a nice little shopping center with plenty of distractions to work around. So far, we've mainly been going to parks to train, so I wasn't sure how Chalamet would respond to this new kind of environment. He really seemed to like it. His excitement seemed to outweigh his nerves, and he was wagging his tail and getting playful pretty frequently. After a brief warm up, he seemed to do a better job holding his Sit, Down and Place positions here than at parks. I still had to remind him to hold whichever position I was asking for, but I found myself not needing to correct him and reset him nearly as many times. The average dog usually struggles more in these areas, and less at parks, but Chalamet seems to be the opposite. He was comfortable and confident for most of our time there!


Even though his behavior and confidence is improving at Parks, he still will usually be relieved once we get back to the car. Today, I didn't see that, which tells me how much he liked this spot.

 

Pupdate: 11/16/202


Chalamet and I went to the park today for most of the day! We worked alongside my personal dog for much of the day. While she is significantly less cute than Chalamet, she served as an incredible distraction and confidence buddy. At home, Chally loves my dog, so using that prior relationship to help him out at the park seemed to be just the extra boost he needed today. I witnessed no nervousness, even in areas he usually would be on edge.


Chalamet is very small. Today, you wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. We started out slow, just in case, but Chalamet went on his morning walk with vigor, then we proceeded to go to the park and behave himself next to a dog more than three times his size. While it is my job to identify and treat unwanted behavior for him, I have almost zero complaints about Chalamet today. If we stay on top of him with his commands and his E collar, I'm pretty sure there is nothing he can't do.


As mentioned previously, he is extremely intelligent. It takes very little effort to teach him any given command. The difficulty with him is showing him he can count on me no matter what.

Part of which is practicing his commands over and over again.


Chalamet is responsive to the E collar and simple leash corrections. He is also extremely responsive to physical affection. These are the tools that have helped me bring him this far, and will continue to help him thrive. He is a brilliant dog, and can do basically whatever you ask of him. We simply need to continue to point him in the right direction.



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