Meet Coop! She's a ten month old Pitbull from San Pedro, California here for our Two-Week Board and Train program! Coop has issues with pulling on her leash, jumping, play biting, and following basic commands. She also gets overly excited which turns into anxiety when she's around new dogs and people! I'll be working with her on her obedience and show her how to properly greet people and other dogs! Stay tuned for Coop's fourteen day transformation!
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Pupdate: Sunday, June 26th 2022
After I picked up Coop, we went to a park near my house. She was a little weary of me at first. I tried getting her a little excited and played with her and that seems to be helping! After the park, we went home and I let her sniff around my house a little, and gave her belly rubs. She seems to like me a little more now!
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Pupdate: Monday, June 27th
Coop went to Hacienda Park for her first full day of training! We worked on her Heel and Sit commands! Early this morning, Coop snapped at me, but after she let me put on all her collars without much trouble. I thought she was starting to like me after yesterday, but I think we still have some bonding to do! She was very nervous during our training session, but her commands are actually coming along nicely. She also is very on edge and unsure about all other people and dogs when they come within a few feet of her. She gives a lot of side eye with stiff body posture. In the above video you'll see Coop Heeling around with me, and Sitting a few times! She does very well! She snapped at me again this evening right before dinner, but then she let me rub her belly again! I think if I can get her to like me more, she'll progress very well in her training!
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Pupdate: Tuesday, June 28th 2022
Coop went to Huntington Beach today for training! She did a really good job! Since she snapped at me a couple times yesterday, I chose to put a muzzle on her for the first part of our training today. I wasn't sure how she would react to a fairly populated area like Huntington Beach. That being said, she quickly earned my trust and the muzzle came off after only a short while. We worked on her Place command. For this command, I want Coop to hop up onto a raised object such as a bench. This can help with confidence, and can even be used in your household, where you can have her bed be her "place."
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Pupdate: Wednesday, June 29th 2022
Coop went to Pan Pacific Park today for training! Coop worked with a few other trainers, one of whom you will see in the above video. Coop seems to be much more willing to work with females as opposed to males. She worked with a couple female trainers, and she didn't snap at them even when taught to perform a new command, Down. While working with the male trainers, however, she is much more likely to push back and snap. That being said, when I'm not asking her to perform commands, Coop comes to me and lets me rub her belly without issue. If I make too quick a movement to touch her, she'll still stiffen up and get ready to snap. Overall, she is slowly but surely getting better.
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Pupdate: Thursday, June 30th 2022
Coop went to Almansor Park today for training! She behaved very well, and performed each of her commands with ease. Yesterday, she snapped at me when we were practicing the Down command. Today, though, whenever I asked her to Down she did so immediately. Although, when I woke her up from a nap this evening to take her out to potty, she bared her teeth for a second, but then came along with me and didn't snap or anything!
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Pupdate: Friday, July 1st 2022
Coop went to the Santa Monica Pier today for training! While she was very nervous around the people and the noises, she was still able to perform her commands fairly well! In the above video, you'll see Coop going through some of her commands at the end of the pier. Her main mistake in the video is that she hops off of her place at one point without me asking her to. For the Place, Sit and Down commands I'd like Coop to be able to hold her positions for at least two minutes! She seems to be liking me much better now, as when I release her from command, she comes right over to me for pets!
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Pupdate: Saturday, July 2nd 2022
Coop went to Home Depot today for training! She performed all of her commands, although she did seem a little nervous throughout the building. There were a few Fourth of July balloons in the garden center flapping in the breeze that Coop was scared of! To aid this, we walked by them a few times and I had her sit next to them for a few minutes to desensitize her to them. She gave a low growl at a few other dogs passing us, but other than that maintained composure.
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Pupdate: Sunday, July 3rd 2022
Coop went to Almansor Park today for training! We started working her with her leash dragging. This gives me some idea of how she might behave off leash. I believe she will do fine off leash in areas with very few distractions, such as the park, however getting her off leash in a heavily populated area might take a little more time. She did great today! You'll see in the above video that she performs the commands I ask of her without much hassle. She wants to lay down a couple times without me asking, but then when I call her she hops right back up! She jumped up on me once in the video, which normally I would say is a bad thing, but with Coop, I think it shows how much she likes me now. Before, she'd never jump up to get closer to me, but now it seems she actually enjoys being with me!
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Pupdate: Monday, July 4th 2022
Coop went to La Mirada Park today for training! Most of the day was spent with her performing commands with her leash dragging. She did a good job! A trainer she hadn't met yet greeted her and she seemed very accepting of it! Since it's Fourth of July tonight, I'm hoping Coop doesn't have a reaction to the fireworks. A few have gone off over the last couple nights, and she didn't seem to mind, so I'm optimistic!
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Pupdate: Tuesday, July 5th 2022
Coop went to Citadel Outlets today for training! I thought it wouldn't be very busy because it's the day after fourth of July, but it was packed! She did a good job with her commands, however she was very nervous the whole time. She nipped me once, which she hasn't done in a long time. She also barked at a couple two different strollers. I think this behavior is due to how crowded it was. At home depot the other day there were plenty of carts rolling by her and she didn't bark at them. She is getting more playful with me! When I have her out she actually tries to initiate play, rather than me having to try to play with her!
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Pupdate: Wednesday, July 6th 2022
Coop was off leash at Almansor Park today! She did a brilliant job. She got a little bit distracted by the geese, but other than that, zero issues! It helped that we went on a long walk this morning before the park. I'm not sure if she's ready to go off leash in a more populated area, especially with how nervous she was at Citadel Outlets yesterday, but at this point she is more than capable of being off leash in areas without crowds of people!
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Pupdate: Thursday, July 7th 2022
Coop went to Citadel Outlets today for training! I got there as soon as it opened to try to give her time off leash before it got crowded. She did a good job, but as more people started coming she started getting visibly nervous and wanted to stay right by my side the whole time. This isn't horrible, but it meant she didn't want to stay placed on benches or stay sitting/down if I walked away more than a few feet. The above video is us working on this! She leaves her place once, but I get her back on the bench and go from there! Her Come To Sit command is really good, as well as her Heel command! After, we did some more training with her on the leash when it was more crowded!
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Pupdate: Friday, July 8th 2022
Coop went to Huntington Beach today for training! She was off leash for a few minutes early in the morning and she did well! That being said, when it started to get more crowded, she did get nervous and I put her leash on for the rest of the day. She does a great job with her commands that don't involve her holding a position away from me. In crowded places like this she considers me a "safe zone" due to her nervousness and wants to stay right by my side at all times. Obviously this is better than if she wanted to get away from me, but I still can't recommend having her off leash in crowded areas such as this.
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Pupdate: Saturday, July 9th 2022
Coop went to Almansor Park and Downtown Brea today for her last full day of training! For her video today, I wanted to show some of the manners she's been working on! For food manners, I want Coop to sit and wait when I put food in front of her. For door manners, I want Coop to wait at the door when I open it, without trying to rush out. For car manners, I want her to hop into the car and walk straight into her kennel! Coop has been a pleasure to work with, especially after she started to like me!
