Champ | Belgian Malinois | Los Angeles, CA | In Training
Updated: 6 days ago
Meet Champ! He's a 6 month old Belgian Malinois from Los Angeles, CA, and he's here for our Two Week Community Board and Train Program! Champ is smart, playful, and sweet, but he has a strong stubborn streak and he has a tendency to jump on people when he wants attention. He also likes to counter surf, grab things he shouldn't have just to be chased, and he plays a little too rough with his sibling. Over the next two weeks we'll give him some solid structure with all his commands so he knows he has to do as he's told, work on his impulse control when it comes to jumping on people and stealing things, and help him learn to play appropriately with his friends. Stay tuned for Champ's two week transformation!
9/27/26
After drop-off, Champ and I spent a little more time at the park so I could see if he would work with me some. Mostly he just wanted to either lay down in the shade and not move, or try to head back up the path to the parking lot! I was able to get him to Sit and Down with some coaxing, and he did get a little excited in a good way when I called him to me, but his Heel most definitely needs some work! And while he didn't really show it while I was filming, he did jump on me a couple times while we were walking around, and then again at home in the play yard.
The car ride to my house was nice and quiet with no fussing from him at all, and he was only a little nervous meeting the other dogs, but otherwise friendly. I did get to see his separation anxiety come out almost immediately, though, once I stepped out of the yard. Even though he had friends to play with, he was far more interested in wanting to hang out with me. He did a bit of barking and tugging at the fence, so I didn't have him out for too long before bringing him inside to settle down some. He was much more comfortable there, and he only did a little bit of whining when I put him in his crate for naptime, so I'll have to make sure I acclimate him to the play yard slowly until he's able to handle being out there alone for more than a few minutes. I'm sure he'll be fine once he adjusts to his new surroundings, and then he'll be out there playing ball with his friends and having a great time!
9/28/26
Mondays tend to be our group practice days, so Champ got to start right out the gate with being around other dogs for distractions. We worked a lot on just sitting and pulling focus towards me instead of the other dogs, and eventually he was able to just relax around them without pulling towards them. We also worked quite a bit on our Heel command, both teaching him how to move into the Heel position and where he should be while walking. I used a lot of treat baiting at first, then began to fade those out to rely more on verbals and collar corrections. I notice he has a tendency to want to just lay down while we're walking, so that's one of the first things I want to correct. He doesn't get to dictate where we stop or else he'll think he can control the whole walk, so any time he lays down when I haven't released him from the Heel, I just give him a little tug to ensure he keeps going just a few more paces until I tell him he can lay down. And then it's the opposite when I ask him to Sit or Down - he needs to stay in position where I put him until I release him to move again. If he gets up before I release him, I make sure to give him a correction and put him right back where he started. At home he had a bit of a rough night. He tends to stay decently quiet when he knows he's alone or at least can't hear anyone moving around, but both in the crate and out in the yard, once he knows there's a person nearby he'll make a big fuss. Mostly it's just a matter of ignoring him when he's being loud like that so he learns throwing a tantrum won't get him anywhere. When he settles down and he's quiet, then he can have the attention he wants. I tested it a few times where I'd put him up, then completely leave the house and walk down the street a little ways with my eyes on the cameras to see what he'd do. He calmed right down within minutes both in the play yard and in the crate, so while there is definitely separation anxiety involved, it's also a lot of tactics on his part. Somewhere along the line he's learned if he's loud enough, it gets him what he wants, so we're going to work hard at getting that bad habit out of his mind. Once we kick that, then I think the rest of the issues will be a breeze!
9/29/26
Yesterday was a pretty distracting place to work for his first time out, so today I took him to an empty park where I wouldn't be competing with anything for his attention. He did much better for me there! His impulse control is what he struggles with most, so I'll have to increase the duration of his Sit and Down very gradually, along with how far I can move away from him without him breaking position. He also still very much wants to lay down whenever he decides he's over it, but he was better at snapping back up when I gave him a correction. He's catching onto his Heel very quickly while I'm still using treats to keep him inline, but I think I'll be able to fade those out pretty fast. He's very smart and catches on quick once I can get him to focus in on me. He just needs to learn to wait a little bit before jumping the gun on everything! At home, he did a lot better last night and didn't start fussing until around 5am, and he was hardly fussy at all in the yard today. He finally realized he had friends out there so it wasn't a big deal if there wasn't a human! And he's already learning to take cues better from the other dogs when he's pushing too much. It's only day 2 and he's already catching on that sitting for attention gets him a lot further than jumping up, but we need to do a lot of work on his tendency to want to bash through doors and gates. He gets so eager to go anywhere that he tries to just barrel his way through, so we're working on making him sit before we even open any doors or gates (including the crate door), and he needs to hold it for at least one solid second before he gets leashed up and brought through. One second doesn't sound like a lot, but that's about all he can manage at the moment - even with that, his whole body is vibrating with the need to go, go, go! I'll gradually increase the length of time he has to hold it for, of course, but baby steps for now! I know he'll pick up on it pretty quickly, then he'll be waiting at those doors with no problem!
9/30/26
I took Champ to a small, mostly fenced park in our neighborhood today to continue honing in on those basics, and I have to say I'm impressed by how quickly he's been improving each day. Even in the middle of a session, sometimes he'll be struggling with something, and then it's almost like I can see his "Ah ha!" moment when he gets it. He's been responding much better to verbal corrections, and though it's still clearly difficult for him to control his impulses, he's getting much better at it! I can get further away from him on those Extended Sit drills, and while I can still see his back legs shaking with eagerness to move, he can hold it for several more seconds now before I release him. I can also tell he really enjoys it when he gets things right; not just because he gets a treat when he does really well, but the moment he hears me tell him he's a good boy, his tail goes wagging!
At home we're still working on getting him to wait before charging out of his crate. He's gotten a lot better at the doors and the yard fences, but the crate is a real challenge for him. I did quite a few drills last night of just having him walk into the crate and then right back out so he learns he isn't always going to be shut in there every time. Once he starts doing that with no hesitation, then I'll have him go in, Sit for a few seconds, then come back out without closing the door still. After that, I'll shut the door for only a few seconds while he's sitting and waiting, then open it to release him back out. Outside of the drills, I'm just making sure he knows that when he's been in there for sleep times, I will not open that door when it's time to come back out until he's sitting, and that I will very quickly shut it again if he gets up before I release him. I'm still not making him do this for very long, but he's getting better at it. He's learning that he'll get out of there faster if he just sits and waits for me instead of trying to bash through. I know he'll get it. It just hasn't clicked in his head yet!
10/1/26
It was a hot one today, so I figured it would be a good time to try Champ in an indoor location. We went over to Home Depot where I knew there'd be some distractions, but there's plenty of space to work in, and I was a little surprised by how anxious he was in there. He's been pretty confidant at the parks, and while it's normal for dogs to be nervous their first time in a big indoor area, I didn't expect this much anxiety from him. That being said, we kept the session on the shorter side and mostly just worked on his Heel up and down the aisles to let him adjust to the environment. He held his Sit command for the pictures without corrections, but he really struggled with his Down in there. It's a vulnerable position for a dog to be in, and with his nerves, I just made sure he'd go down, stay for only a second, and then I'd let him back up. For the rest of his stay, I'll try to get him into more spaces that are indoors like this just for some exposure so he won't have issues with it when he's older. As far as progress with the crate goes, he made almost no noise at all last night, so lots of improvement there! This morning he shot out on me, but I put him back in, and then corrected him when he tried to shove through a second time. After that he held his Sit for me with the crate door open for several more seconds than he did yesterday, so he is learning. We also did a lot more work with just having him go in and out of the crate like I explained yesterday, and he's trusting that a lot more as well. I'm aiming to break that crate anxiety before he goes home so that he knows wherever he goes, the crate is his safe place and his sleeping space, so hopefully he won't struggle as much with separation anxiety when he's away from home. We'll keep working at it!
10/2/26
Champ was a rockstar today! We went to the mall just after opening and worked upstairs by the theater where there's generally less commotion. He was still anxious, but not as bad as he was yesterday, so he was able to give me his Down much better. You can still see him stress yawning when he's laying on the floor and in his Place position on the bench, but he didn't push back on it much with me today, so it's already a huge improvement! On top of that, his Heel was getting so clean as we worked and as he calmed down that I was able to drop the bulk of the line to let it drag behind him, which means he was working strictly on hand signals and verbals without any leash guidance at all. This is the first step to shifting him towards that offleash work, and the fact he was able to do it in the mall where he was nervous gives me high hopes that we'll get him there without too many issues by the time he goes home.
On top of that, he not only went the full night without a single sound, but he didn't even try to launch out of his crate this morning! He sat and waited until I released him, he Heeled all the way to the door, waited there, and Heeled to the yard. He finally got it! And when it was time to go into his crate for the afternoon when it was too warm to be outside, he went right in without me having to coax him! We're not even a week in and he seems to be grasping everything really well now. I'm very proud of him!
10/3/26
Today Champ and I headed over to work in PetSmart today, and while he was still a little nervous about being indoors, he began to relax as he realized all the other dogs there were having a good time, and the staff were handing out cookies! It happened to be their birthday bash day, so it was busier than usual, but in a way that was more fun for him. We had lots of people stopping to chitchat about how big and handsome he is, and commenting on how well-behaved he was! He was appropriately curious about the other dogs but didn't try to pull towards anyone, he didn't jump on anyone who stopped to pet him or give him cookies, and he performed all his commands without issues. We even got to take his pawprint on a card to go home, so that'll be in his bag for you during his turnover. He's really been turning around lately, so much that he's like a whole new dog! I can't wait to get into this next week with him so I can start refining things even more and see what he can do while he's fully off leash!
10/4/26
We started working with Champ off leash today! I took him out along the wash in our neighborhood where it's fenced in on both sides and comes to dead ends either direction, so if he had decided to take off on me for some reason, he couldn't have gone anywhere. Luckily I didn't have to worry about that! He did great sticking with me at the Heel, he stayed in his Sit and Down positions when asked, and he came when he was called. This is the first time I've gotten to work with him with the drone following us, and I think that did make him a little anxious though. Notice how he kept stopping behind my legs when I called him instead of him coming up flush with my side? Normally he's a lot better at finding his end position, so I spent a lot of time just drilling that. On the way back to the house, though, when the drone was off, I was just letting him dart ahead a bit, then I'd call him back while he was distracted. He came back every time, and snapped right into that nice Heel position every time too! Luckily the temps will be dropping over the week so I'll have more opportunities to work him off leash with that drone for more of that exposure therapy I like to do when I find things that make him nervous! At least we know that he won't take off and will listen when he's unleashed, even with dogs barking at us through the fences. Overall I'm really happy with him today!
10/5/26
I worked Champ over at Rotary Park today, which is a little park that's fully fenced in so it was safe to try him out off leash again. Like yesterday, he showed no signs of trying to take off once he realized his leash wasn't on, even with a couple kids on the playground nearby. His Come-to-Sit was much cleaner today than yesterday, so that helps confirm my suspicions that he was just nervous yesterday about the drone following us. He has no issues holding his Sit, Down or Place commands for me anymore (no more shaking legs either while he waits!), and he moves into all his positions much smoother now. His manners have gotten really good at home now, too, with no more attempts at bashing out of the crate in the mornings or through doors, he hasn't tried to jump on me for the last several days, and he's gotten really good with how he plays with the other dogs. He's really matured over this last week, and I'm excited to see how he can improve more over this next one!
10/6/26
Champ's video today is showing off some of his house manners, all while off leash. His first one is walking up to and waiting before getting into the car (and bonus distraction of a person going by in the background that I wasn't expecting!). We don't want him running and diving in without permission, mostly because you may have other things to get ready before getting him in. This could be opening a crate door, loading items in, or waiting for passengers to get in, so it's good to have him just hang out calmly until you're ready for him. The harder one for him, as mentioned previously, was waiting before going through doors or gates. This is a safety concern both for him and for people trying to get through doors, so we worked really hard on making sure he knows he cannot rush through any open doorway until he's given permission. He also cannot rush his food bowl as it's going down, which was also incredibly hard for him. He went from hardly being able to hold his sit for even two seconds, until now being able to hold it without getting jumpy until he hears his release word. For this exercise, I used some chicken treats instead of kibble to make it even more difficult for him to ignore the bowl, and for both the food and door exercises, I want to note there were three other people in the room just off camera to the right on the couch. He was able to stay focused on me and ignore all of them the entire time we were working, all entirely off leash. He does obviously have the e-collar on so I could correct him if he decided to end the session early on his own to go say hi, but I never had to. He's gotten very well-mannered around the home with needing only minimal verbal correctors if he needs to be reminded to not get into things or to not bother people, but overall, he's really become a very behaved pup!
10/7/26
Today I took Champ over to the Royal Oaks Horse Trail where we walked off leash the entire time. It's closed in on two sides and tends to be quieter than the main Royal Oaks trail, but there were still distractions for him to compete with along the way. Regardless, he stuck with me when I asked him to, he didn't go too far ahead when I let him wander some, and he came back without hesitation any time I so much as said his name. He did bark once at the horse that was running around in a pen on the other side of the wall, but he stopped immediately with only a verbal correction, and didn't even look back at it as we went on our way. He got into his photo positions with no issues, and stayed until I released him without any of his previous impulse control jitters. He was really good overall today, and I only wish it wasn't getting so hot so fast; otherwise we would've been out enjoying the walk for far longer. He's going to be a really great hiking companion once this weather calms down!
10/8/26
Champ and I wandered out to Live Oak Park today to get some work done around heavier distractions. All the joggers, dog walkers, and group dancers were out this morning, so there was plenty going on that I thought might trip him up. Aside from initially wandering just a little too far out to the side when we first started off, he snapped back into focus with only a few quick verbal reminders of where he was supposed to be, and then he paid no mind to anything else going on around us (including the drone that made him so nervous the other day!). His only real issue today was that, despite us being out in the cooler morning hours, he still sometimes tried to lay down without prompting when he didn't want to be walking around in the sun. That prompted me to mostly work only on our Heel and his Sit/Come to Sit commands while we were out in the field so I didn't even give him an excuse to lay down out there. Then we went over to work on his Place, where he was allowed to get comfortable in the spot that I chose instead of him just making those decisions for himself. Overall he did well. He's still young and coming into his teenage months, so expect more of those attempts to test what he can get away with, but as long as you stay on top of him, he'll learn that listening is going to be far easier on him than trying to get his own way!
10/9/26
I brought Champ out to Library Park today and wandered around with him without having the leash with me at all. He performed all his commands without issues, totally off leash, around kids, other dogs, and he even stopped in his tracks when I told him to leave the squirrel alone that he was zeroing in on! He never got too far away from me, and he moved into his Heel every time I asked him to without any issues at all. He was also very friendly to anyone who wanted to pet him, and sat nicely while he was loved on. He was really a super pro today, I'm really proud of him!
10/10/26
It's our last day in Champ's Two Week Board and Train Program! It was finally a nice, cool day, so we headed out to Encanto Park where Champ could get some good running in! I started him off making him work, having him Heel with me around the park, making him sit when joggers and other dogs were going by, and of course having him pose for his pictures. There were a bunch of kids playing games in the field today too, so I had him sit and watch for a little bit off to the side even while they were full on sprinting around. He never moved a muscle until I gave him the command to Heel with me away from the chaos. All of this was done totally off leash. Then, because he was so good for me, I gave him freedom! He found a stray tennis ball that had wandered away from the courts, so I tossed that for him quite a few times, and he was great about bringing it back and letting me take it from him. I also let him wander and sniff freely as long as he came back when I called him, which he did without hesitation every time. He was a perfect park companion for me today!
Overall, Champ really had such an amazing turnaround. He was so stubborn and twitchy at first with just about everything, I thought he'd be more of a struggle to work with, and I really wasn't sure if I'd be able to get him off leash. He sure proved me wrong! Once he realized how much he loved the training and getting praised for doing well, everything else just fell right into place. He goes in and out of the crates just fine now, he's learned how to play appropriately with other dogs, he listens very quickly to both commands and corrections, and he's just such a sweetheart! He's really going to be missed around the house, and I want to thank you so much for letting me be part of his learning journey!
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