Meet Daphne! Daphne is a 5 month Dachshund from Santa Monica, CA who has joined us for our 3 Week Puppy Board and Train program. Daphne is a very young puppy ready to start her obedience training experience learning how to perform in outdoor settings and being able to socialize amongst others such as people, dogs, and others. Daphne is your cute typical puppy who's willing to adventure and understand new things as she encounters new things entering her environment. We will be training and performing the daily objectives it takes to help educate a young puppy like Daphne. Come check out her training with me as her personal dog trainer!
Pupdate 12/6/2023
Today was my first day meeting Daphne, as we first engaged she had her attention to everything around her trying to understand what she's looking at as any puppy would. When asking for commands she doesn't understand anything besides sit. We made our way back home after some time and once we arrived at my house I introduced Daphne to Hunter since he loves meeting puppies. I let Hunter out of his crate and immediately they took interest in each other. Daphne spent most of her time following Hunter and smelling him as he did the same when she would come up to him. I would praise both of them, being very positive when I would speak to them. I put Hunter away and took Daphne around the neighborhood for a quick walk.
When walking around the neighborhood she would try to travel all around from being to my left hand side to my right hand side. I would start to take opposite turns and say heel, having Daphne attempting to follow me. Once she did I would repeat the process and continue walking forward. If she would travel across me I would apply small leash tension keeping her on my left hand side. She did ok with fewer attempts to go across me but once we made our way back home I gave her the opportunity to walk around the house and get used to her new surroundings. We continued our practice of heel inside the house having her get used to my voice and following me to help with engagement.
Once inside her crate she attempted to cry and whine. I took the time teaching her how to walk in and out of her crate when asking. Each time I would open the crate door she would attempt to run out each time. If she attempted to run out I would simply close the door and if I could reopen the door with her waiting for a longer duration then I would release her. She eventually ended up falling asleep in her crate without crying for the moment.
Pupdate 12/7/2023
Last night Daphne kept waking up in the middle of the night to go potty. Even though we stayed outside she would always go into a peeing or pooping position when walking back inside the house indicating she's aware of where to poop. This morning when waking up I picked her up and let her walk freely in the backyard. She ended up pooping so I praised her and told her good girl.
Later in the day we went to Anaheim pet & feed to try and work on our obedience commands. When we first arrived Daphne was very distracted so using a slip leash wasn't as helpful when trying to get her attention. We switched to a prong collar and Daphne started to show better engagement without any issues. We were able to work with ease practicing heel, sit, and place. As we walked throughout the store she stopped trying to pull and cross over me. Daphne was more consistent with her heel and not pulling when someone passed us. All of the employees who saw Daphne wanted to say hi and she was able to greet everyone, even going into a sit before being greeted. Each time they were done I would say break for Daphne to come towards me for me to praise her which helps educate her in the long run.
In the video above is our door manners practice at home after visiting the pet store. This is our first practice and she did very well besides trying to follow me inside the house. I ask her to get on the place pad by saying "place" and as she sits I praise her and continue opening the door and other variations she needs to see. For today I worked on duration helping her boost her confidence as well as walking throughout the house while the doors open. There's a moment in the video where she keeps following me when I leave her sight inside the house. I had to keep redirecting her on the place pad until she was able to let me leave her sight for more than five seconds. I return but I continue throughout the house showing her the variations of what a person would do when a dog is asked for their obedience. Once I'm done I say break and reward her with much love and praise.
Pupdate 12/8/2023
Daphne's potty training seems to be improving. This morning she waited a while to go but pooped in the backyard. For a young puppy like Daphne it's always important to mark her pottying in the moment to help educate her about where to go. When she needs to pee it's visible to see her look for a spot to pee inside the house. If I lay out a potty pad she knows how to pee on it but I'm going to improve this by getting her to go on grass.
Today we joined our friend Amanda and her dog at Irvine Spectrum. When we first arrived the dogs saw each other but Daphne was somewhat spooked to meet Jackson. We started to walk around and Daphne would keep her heel with me and eventually grew an interest to go smell Jackson as we walked. At one point she wouldn't even keep her eyes off of him so we practiced our obedience around them practicing heels to the left and right to keep Daphne's engagement towards me. Each time she did I would praise her to the point where she didn't even mind Jackson. Once she settled they smelled each other with ease and Daphne came directly to me for affirmation which was followed up with more praise. We went into several stores to shops and each time Daphne was greeted by employees that were amazed on how calm she was. She got to greet several people and never jumped or showed no intention to jump on them. We continued with the rest of the visit with practicing an extended sit in several areas of the stores before heading home.
Pupdate 12/9/2023
Today was really windy early in the morning so we stayed indoors focusing on Daphne following me throughout the house without a leash and just listening to my voice. She does very well with this but can often get distracted by smells that catches her attention. She had one accident inside the house but went poop outside again.
Later on we started practicing a new obedience command which is off. I started off by placing some treats in a food bowl in front of Daphne and immediately her intentions were to just get up and receive the food. I keep redirecting her with little pressure from the collar to help keep Daphne in her obedience. She has already learned down but needs to keep it until I release her with the break command. Even hearing break it's visible to see Daphne think about her decision making. I have to be enthusiastic and joyful to get her attention entirely since puppies typically get distracted by anything. For Daphne food is a very high distraction so using this to have her complete her obedience is a huge step into being challenged.
I throw more food on the ground and walk her over it but she tends to try and bite as many treats as she can. Each time she attempts to bite a treat I use the collar and apply small pressure which stops her in her tracks and puts her attention back on me. When we make eye contact I can guide her back towards me and when she does I praise her as always and repeat the practice. At the end of the video she walks over all the treats without even looking down. When our practice ended I gave Daphne a lot of praise making the moment positive and memorable to help educate her for the future.
Pupdate 12/10/2023
This morning Daphne went pee on the grass and pooped in my backyard. She seems to be able to hold her urination longer and hasn't taken notice of the areas where she had an accident in my house. During the day she seems to hold her urination up to 2 - 3 hours and ate night she sometimes doesnt even need to go.
This morning I took Daphne back to Irvine Spectrum for some exercise and to return some items from the previous day shopping. Once we made our return we made one lap around the shopping center before taking a break to relax. Most people passing by us saw Daphne was giving her baby talk so sometimes she would try to go to them but I would redirect her each time this happened. This is to help desensitize her while outside to prevent her from wanting to go to strangers. We practiced extended sit holding her sit up to 30 seconds before being told to break. I focused on conditioning her 30 second sit working up to one minute or longer. We had some good moments where she was able to complete her obedience but she kept getting a lot of attention with people coming up to us to say hi, even if they didn't greet her she would break her position. While talking to most people today with her I was asked by everyone if it was ok to say hi to her and with my permission I let them. Daphne did well each time greeting her guests.
Later on we started our recall practice. When practicing recall I say come to sit, which is to guide a dog back to their owners heel position. We practiced purely on leash which Daphne did ok with. When practicing with treats she was very motivated and training was more fun for her. We kept practicing until Daphne started to get tired performing this new obedience command. Daphne eventually took a nap only after 10 minutes of training but practiced more throughout the day conditioning her recall.
Pupdate 12/11/2023
Today I took Daphne to a park in Pasadena to train around the other trainers with their dogs. When we first arrived we focused on recall conditioning the obedience command since her attention is everywhere else being in a new environment. Daphne needed some leash pressure in the very beginning since she wouldn't give me any attention but quickly is able to adjust. I lure her around me back into her sit and as I do that I'm constantly saying "come" until she has reached my left hand side. This is followed up by the sit obedience command. We practiced repeatedly until Daphne is able to perform this obedience command without any leash tension. In the video above it's clear to see Daphne does not want to move at times but as soon as she feels pressure from the leash she's quicker to respond and perform her obedience.
Second part of the video we are working on her impulses around other dogs. Oso is the chocolate lab walking with me offleash around Daphne. Each time we take a few steps around Daphne she gets up immediately. I redirect her by placing her back into a down since this is the original command I asked for without breaking her. Once she settles we walk around her and as I do this I'm praising her telling her good girl. Once I'm done I release Oso back to his owner and break Daphne for holding an extended down.
Our last video clip is greeting manners with Megan and her dog Stella. Stella was more nervous that Daphne was when being at close distance. Once Megan began to pet Daphne she remained calm as she has been showing the same behavior from Irvine Spectrum. All of the obedience training at home seems to have helped build her confidence throughout the day and she showed a more relaxed manner by the end of our visit. Once she began to sleep on her place pad we returned home!
Daphne is somewhat unaware of her name still so I'm going to implement the name game where I say her name and reward her each time she looks my way.
Pupdate 12/12/2023
This morning Daphne has been going potty outside or in my backyard. She goes multiple times early in the morning so after she goes potty the first time she's bound to go again within another hour. Daphne has been playing with Hunter but their playtime is somewhat short because Daphne is always interested with her surroundings wanting to adventure around.
We practiced our food manners which we have been working on everyday since Daphne's first day staying over. She used to completely get up everytime I would ask for a sit and walk away. Working on this with the place pad has made it alot easier to keep her down while waiting but as soon as she gets up I redirect her to continue our practice. I'm able to step outside of her sight now momentarily but we are working up to longer durations. We also focused on door manners but without the place pad this time. I had to redirect Daphne just a few times in the beginning but was able to let me adventure out the door again conditioning the obedience command. We will continue to improve on these house manners having Daphne hold longer durations without breaking her position or obedience command.
Pupdate 12/13/2023
Today we met up with a friend of ours from offleash and went to Lowes in La Habra. Daphne spent some time training around Adrienne and her dog Desi walking around the store and practicing our obedience training. We worked on training the dogs around each other since they both had impulses to go and approach one another. We first started off being a distraction for Adrienne's dog and after they acted as a distraction for us.
In the video above we are focusing on preventing Daphne from breaking her sit when Adrienne passes by with her dog. Everytime this happens I continue to redirect her to help with holding the duration of her sit as well as helping build her confidence as she practices this for longer. Throughout the video she keeps her sit but when I break her the video stopped for some reason but she was praised heavily for holding her sit longer than one minute. The second part of the video is her us walking through the store as she's in her heel obedience command. She tries to pass me momentarily but then gets distracted looking down the aisles we pass. We kept walking to a small surface to place which she did with ease before being told break. We also practiced holding our extended sit while pretending to shop and Daphne was holding her sit up to one minute before getting up but we continued to work on this throughout our visit.
Daphne's potty training has been doing well and it's very noticeable to see when she's about to go. When Daphne tries to walk into my kitchen alone while keeping her head down and tail will start to rise up. This is the perfect time to spend outside with Daphne and waiting for her to go potty.
Pupdate 12/14/2023
Last night Daphne had an accident in her crate but what was remarkable to see is that she actually covered it entirely with the clothes and blanket I had set inside her crate. There was a smell in the area where her crate was coming from but I couldnt' find it until I moved the clothes she moved herself. There was also somewhat of a smear indicating it was being covered or cleaned. I checked her and she was completely clean but I gave her a short bath cleaning her behind just in case.
Today I took Daphne to Santa Monica Pier to socialize with her in a busy environment. Daphne did really well heeling with me all around the pier but when working with another trainer she had her eyes entirely on me and would sometimes whine or cry just from being separate from me. After taking the time to do some training we ended up at the end of the pier to do more training focusing on an extended down. In the video above Daphne can hold her down for a decent amount of time but when birds or people start to come around her she seems to be interested and rather than being timid now. She only gets up once but is quickly redirected to prolong the practice while people are walking around us. Once I break her I give her praise as always. We continued to walk around the pier without much issue besides when Daphne would see other dogs she couldn't keep her eyes off of them at times. We will continue to find a busier setting with dogs to work on this behavior since she seems adamant about making eye contact. Before leaving a small girl who was about the age of 8 or 9 saw Daphne and wanted to say hi. I gave her permission and Daphne kept her composure as always when greeting someone new.
Pupdate 12/15/2023
Today Daphne and I went to Brea mall in Brea, CA to hang with some friends and practice some of our obedience training around heavy traffic. When walking around in the beginning Daphne had her head down alot so I had to help keep her head up with leash tension which was consistent throughout most of our visit. During our visit we went into many stores and when I wasn't looking around I would ask Daphne for her to sit or down and practice inside the stores. She did good at times and other times she broke her position but we managed to perform her sits and downs up to more than one minute. Daphne had a lot of people come up to her when seeing her practice her training. She did very well staying still while being petted and each time I praised her after as this always helps make the moment memorable and fun for her. By the end of the visit she had a better heel which was consistent with my pace when walking until we made our way back to the car.
Daphne seems to be more playful with toys now, grabbing my dog's personal toys and enjoying herself on the place pad when having them rolling over and being the happy puppy shes growing into. I have noticed a pattern with her potty behavior when she's tries to go to my kitchen each time she has to go potty or if throughout the day if her head goes down once while inside my room she's about to go. I have been getting up to open my side door to let her out and it's been working. Her tail is the biggest indicator since it always pops when she starts to look low towards the ground.
Pupdate 12/16/2023
Today we went for a longer walk around the neighborhood with Hunter tagging along with us. Daphne did really well keeping up the whole time and showed no sign of being tired by the end of our walk. I gave the dogs their playtime which is always short since Daphne still can't find her momentum with Hunter. The only time they truly play is when Daphne tries to steal Hunter's ball. Once she has it she will run away but once she sees Hunter behind her she let's go.
Later on we practiced our food manners and door manners which has been improving with each day passing by. Her food manners will need some redirection at times but can wait just as long as I need her to until she's given her break. In the video above is our practice of door manners again but Daphne is very much capable of holding her obedience while I do multiple things throughout the house. I ask Daphne for her down obedience command and walk into multiple rooms, the kitchen, and out the house until I ask Daphne for her break. After a minute or so I break her and praise her for doing this effortlessly. The second time around I ask her to sit, she holds her position and adjusts herself multiple times but maintains herself without breaking which is ok. Once I make my way around again I break her so she can be rewarded with praise.
We followed up with the rest of the day with playtime and conditioning her come to sit since this is the only obedience command she takes her time with. Daphne has been more consistent going potty when leaving the door open for her to go. The morning has been working out with a consistent pace but throughout the day she can sometimes have little accidents that are easily cleanable with a single paper towel.
Pupdate 12/17/2023
Today we had a relaxing day since we've been going out to most places throughout the week. We focused on all obedience commands as usual with Daphne's recall being our main focus today. Using treats to lure Daphne around me has helped but without treats she's not as motivated. I want her to come to me just by the sound of my voice so we are still working on figuring out a way to have her come around me with more intention.
In the video above are video clips of some of the moments Hunter and Daphne have socialized. She is very confident in the morning with Hunter giving him all of her attention. After 10 minutes when Hunter is very comfortable with Daphne when he starts to run around she seems uninterested by this but always goes back to him for his attention. They are more comfortable with each inside the house since Hunter knows he can't run around in my room. Outside when Hunter is able to run around Daphne can't keep up with him and his pace. They will lay next to each other most of the time when they are tired or Daphne will place herself on the place pad and Hunter will lay next to it watching her in a sense. As they play Daphne can be a little overwhelming for Hunter but he's very well aware of how to communicate and bring the confidence out of others.
Pupdate 12/18/2023
Today I took Daphne to the Outlets of Orange in Orange, CA. When we first arrived I noticed Daphne had more confidence when seeing the amount of people around us. She kept a better pace and wasn't too distracted when someone or something had her attention momentarily. We had many guests stop us along our walk amazed at how calm Daphne was behaving. Each time she greeted someone she was calm and would go into an automatic sit for some people to get petted. When taking the time to practice our sit or down she didn't break her position as much and was able to hold her durations for both commands for longer than normal now. I had one lady come up to me and had a conversation for about 5 minutes and throughout the whole conversation Daphne stayed in her down obedience command. As we continued our visit we visited many stores pretending to shop so Daphne can familiarize herself with these situations.
We followed up with more conditioning to come to sit which has been getting better but Daphne likes to stop behind me. I keep praising her by saying come as positive as I can to help motivate her back into her heel position. Overall Daphne's improvement on her obedience training has been going very well but her recall is our top priority.
Pupdate 12/19/2023
Today I took Daphne to Citadel Outlets in Commerce, CA for more socializing and obedience training. When we first arrived Daphne did well keeping a pace until she started to see the crowd of people walking around. Just practicing our obedience with just the heel obedience command I was able to adjust Daphne into heeling better. Throughout our visit Daphne showed many improvements letting multiple people pass her without issue, even if being talked to like a baby. In the video above is our extended down practice in an area where most people were shopping. Daphne holds her down up to two minutes before being given her break. We also had more guests come up to Daphne who wanted to say hi which she did well with as always. Before leaving we had multiple dogs bark at Daphne and she didn't even acknowledge this happening or bark back compared to how she used to when seeing a dog
Her recall has been improving and she has started to be more consistent with coming around me for her heel position. Her potty training has been going well with no accidents lately but needs an opening outside to go potty on her own accord.
Pupdate 12/20/2023
Today Daphne and I went to a Home Depot in Alhambra, CA to train around some of the other trainers and their dogs. It's raining for the next couple of days so most of our training will be indoors at busy shopping centers. When we first arrived Daphne had a consistent pace with me until we met up with our friends from offleash. Daphne was distracted only momentarily and as we focused on our obedience she didn't mind at all to be around the other dogs. We practiced all of our commands which were going well but still calling her name has been 50/50 so we continued to play the name game inside the store as well. Her response is noticeable but she seemed distracted just by being inside Home Depot since it's another new setting for her. We took the time walking throughout the store and Daphne had her attention forwards rather than trying to look at everything each time we passed an aisle. I had Daphne practice her greeting manners lastly before leaving and she started to roll over and submit when being petted which is not what we want. I had her fix this each time she tried to follow over and she eventually kept a better sit rather than following over to be petted.
Pupdate 12/21/2023
Today I took Daphne to Cerritos mall in Cerritos, CA to walk around and try to do some shopping. It was very packed today with people shopping so as we made our way inside the moment we started to walk through the cluster of people Daphne started walking even slower. She actually did really well but I had to keep very close to her in case anyone couldn't see her while walking since she is so tiny. When we met up with our friends Daphne was really distracted seeing Winnie the Great Dane puppy. We worked around each other before picking an area to do specific practices. In the video above is Me, Amanda, and Adrienne practicing our obedience with our puppies. I have Daphne hold her sit & down but she keeps getting up randomly so each time she is redirected back into her obedience. There were many things going on all at once so it was somewhat overwhelming for Daphne but she would push through and follow through by the end of the video. Once she's done I say break and Daphne walks towards my direction for praise. After the video ended we had a numerous number of people come and greet our dogs which went well. By the end of the visit Daphne started to tire out and even stop in her tracks from the visit so I picked her up and by the time we made it to our car she was sleeping in my hands.
Pupate 12/22/2023
Today I took Daphne back to Anaheim Pet & Feed to train more and focus on conditioning her impulses. She has a habit to break her obedience when feeling unsure about her environment but shortly after training with a few redirections she does very well so getting her adjusted to her new environment can be done quickly when going over her basics. We had customers pass by us in aisles saying how cute Daphne was while practicing. When talking to a stranger she got up once but once being redirected again I was able to have a conversation with someone without her moving. Once the stranger left I followed up with praise and telling Daphne good girl. I asked a few employees to help greet Daphne since she's starting to pick up a habit when touching her back she will roll over and we don't want that to happen. It's a very cute display of behavior but this stems from stimulation or overexcitement so asking Daphne for a sit and to stay still is more appropriate. What was noticeable with Daphne's greeting manners today is when petting her under her mouth she does very well with so I will advise anyone new meeting Daphne to pet her in that specific area. After 40 minutes of staying inside the store she seems to do a lot better with her obedience but started performing slower so we called it a day and resumed the rest of the day with house training and play time with Hunter
Daphne's potty training has been good. In the morning I take her for a walk first thing and she's been consistent outside. She can typically go a second time when returning home but keeping the side door open for her has helped but if I'm not there to guide her when the door is open she will continue to walk inside the house. If I simply get up and walk towards the door she will understand she has to go outside and takes her time smelling before finding an area. Throughout the day she seems to hold her urination for longer rather than in the beginning of her training. Once her tail pops up and head looks down those are the clearest indicator Daphne is representing she is needing to pee or about to go.
Pupdate 12/23/2023
Today we had our usual walk early in the morning with Hunter and Daphne has done well with this, staying at a pace between me and Hunter. We focused on our usual morning practice of all obedience commands and door manners. Daphne did well besides needing a few redirections in the beginning like most of her practices but after that remains neutral and holds her obedience. In the video above is our practice of food manners followed up right after our basic obedience training. I ask Daphne to go into her down obedience command since it’s been easier for her to hold the duration. Daphne loves her food and used to run each time I tried to ask for her sit so I have been asking for her down consistently. Now she’s able to hold the duration while showing her every variation of distraction inside the room. From opening cabinets to dropping objects she remains in her down obedience command until I say break. Once I say break, she is able to eat and I pet her as always for doing well. We made the remainder for our day focusing on more house manners such as off with food on the floor and the name game. Daphne had her usual playtime with Hunter throughout the day, even practicing obedience training together.
Pupdate 12/24/2023
Today I took Hunter and Daphne on their usual walk together early in the morning. Daphne has been capable of going the normal route I take Hunter on which lasts 45 minutes and she has energy to do more. She has her playtime with Hunter which has improved but only lasts for a handful of minutes.
In the video above is our practice of the "off" obedience command with a toy. When playing with a toy the idea is that dogs will always win or be rewarded but the goal is to be able to have Daphne drop it and grab it without her acting on impulse. When she's biting I praise her and pet her at the same time making this moment memorable so she knows the toy is something she's always allowed to bite. Since Daphne is very small I keep the toy at a low level for her instead of bringing it up towards a bigger dog's height. As we play there's a moment she tries to take the toy away while grabbing it. Moment's like these need to be redirected if she's consistent about behaving that way. If she can go into a sit and wait for a moment I will say break for her to bite the toy again.
Second video clip is our impulse control practice by simply asking Daphne to sit while I move the toy around in a playful way. If she moves or bites the toy she is redirected with the "off" obedience command followed up by the sit obedience command. Once she can hold her position I'm able to perform the variation of distraction she needs to see and once I say break as usual she's allowed to bite.
The last video clip is of Daphne enjoying one of the toys I have. Daphne will typically pick up the tug toy and carry it onto the place pad and eventually start rolling over it when having zoomies. Her potty training has been good and I'm noticing she's holding her urination for longer periods at times. While having her out after training and being active she will sleep either on the place pad or walk into her crate by herself.
Pupdate 12/25/2023
Merry Christmas everyone! Last night I took Daphne with me to spend the holidays with my family members. Daphne was already tired so most of the time at my relatives she was sleeping. By the end of the night when she woke up she was able to meet my family members and enjoyed being greeted by everyone, even relaxing with some of my younger relatives.
Today Daphne had a full day of training early in the morning practicing all of her basic obedience commands. She seems to understand all of her obedience and even if needed to be redirected she's able to always work through every moment. We took time playing the name game praising Daphne each time she looks at me when I say her name. She waited for 2 minutes when waiting for her food today without any issue. When Daphne finished eating she tried to have zoomies but she just ate so I gave her a break and had her rest. Once she woke up from her nap we focused on door manners in the backyard. Daphne did really well letting me walk towards the front only being redirected twice as we kept conditioning her obedience.
I would move objects around in the backyard and when I grabbed a broom to sweep Daphne started to stimulate and get excited. I redirected her back into a sit while cleaning in the backyard and started to focus on her overstimulation towards the broom. Each time she would follow me and try to bite at the broom I would ask for her "off" obedience command and if she didn't listen I would redirect her. This went on momentarily but eventually minded her own business. When going back inside I would sweep my room and she remained neutral, ignoring and being distracted with Hunter's presence.
Pupdate 12/26/2023
Today I took Daphne to a park in LA to train around some of the other members from Off leash. Daphne was already up most of the morning so by the time she came to the park she was somewhat tired. In the video above is one of our practices training around Amanda and her Great Dane puppy. Daphne is able to hold her positions but her little puppy brain can sometimes drift off as always. She is redirected once and continues to lay on the place pad until she's given her break. While trying to break Daphne she seemed so distracted by her environment it took almost two minutes to break her. Once I get close enough to her and say break she follows me for her praise.
Daphne's board & training is ending as her last day is today. Daphne has grown mentally and confidently with each day as we have tried to progress with each new task and challenge that was ahead of us. Daphne has been able to perform all of her obedience commands at such a young age but as every dog needs someone to help be educated through those situations. Daphne is young so as she gets older these obedience commands come with ease to her. Daphne is ready to go home back to her family!
Comments