Meet Dolly, the six month old Blue Heeler mix from Ontario, CA. Dolly has join us for the world famous Two Week Board and Train program. Dolly has come to learn basic obedience because she doesn't come when called, cannot hold any commands, pulls on the leash, ignores the owners asks, and jumps on visitors. Over the next two weeks Dolly will be addressing her obedience opportunities while out on public with a high level of distractions. Stay tuned for her amazing transformation.
Pupdate 5/11/2023
Upon arriving to my home Dolly was given some water and we went to the yard to start our training process. Dolly is allowed to explore her surroundings and acclimate herself to her new space. She took to the yard well and so I introduced Dolly to Oso, the ambassador for Offleash SoCal. Dolly and Oso played well in the yard chasing each other around the yard. Later this afternoon the real training will start for Dolly.
Pupdate 05/12/2023
After the Pupdate was written yesterday Dolly did go on two separate walks for more than a mile each time. The focus of those walks was the HEEL command and staying next to me without pulling. By the end of the second walk Dolly had gotten the idea down and was HEELING without pulling.
Today, Dolly started off with a two mile walk down to Starbucks through the neighborhood. Dolly was accompanied by Oso. Dolly had to SIT at every corner before we could proceed. With what I would describe as 'regular neighborhood' distractions Dolly did well 95% of the time. The challenges would come when she would get spooked and pivot behind me or around to my left in a circle. Since this is the first full day of training, I'm not terribly concerned, but it is worth mentioning. Dolly will continue to spend more time with more distractions to help with the desensitizing.
Inside of Starbucks Dolly SAT and waited patiently for our order. She was greeted by the store manager, Rene, who is a fan of Offleash SoCal. Dolly was asked to SIT before being greeted, and if Dolly broke command Rene would stop petting. Dolly held her sit enjoying the praises that Rene shared with her.
The walk back was uneventful; another two miles with regular neighborhood distractions. Dolly napped in the middle of the day and in the late afternoon we worked on COME and SIT featured in the video.
This evening we will go on more walks working towards our goal of being off leash. So far things are proceeding as planned.
Pupdate 5/13/2023
Another big day of training and some fun thrown in as a reward for a job well done. The videos hopefully stand on their own.
Today Dolly got to share a Pupa-chino with Oso. Again Dolly is doing well with heel with the exception of reacting to loud noises such as trash trucks, dump trucks, and the occasional Harley. With more time out and about Dolly should start to become at ease with all the noises.
A later evening (2045) update, Dolly successfully circumnavigated my neighborhood OFF LEASH tonight. With the slight hiccup when she was startled by a dog barking behind a fence, Dolly did exceptionally well. She auto-sat or did with the first ask, kept a tight left-handed HEEL, and when she did get startled, she was easy to get back into position. This was done over 1.42 miles! So, Happy Mother's Day to you, Dolly is glad to be a part of your family.
Pupdate 05/14/2023
So for Mother's Day, I decided to get Dolly out and start exposing her to a higher level of distractions than the previous two days. We went to Home Depot and generally walked the store for more than an hour.
Dolly exhibited no inhibition with being there, and she did very well with the distractions. Dolly will still walk over to strangers to not have to continue the work, and occasionally gets the commands wrong, but with only three days into training it is safe to say Dolly is well on her way to being extremely well behaved.
As a reminder, McKenna will be working with Dolly from this point forward. McKenna will be sending you a new link from which to be able to view the Pupdates.
It has been an absolute pleasure to get to work with Dolly. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to reach out to me directly.