Duke | Cane Corso | San Bernardino, CA | In Training
- Tanner Strong
- Dec 14, 2025
- 9 min read
Updated: Dec 28, 2025
Meet Duke! He's an eleven month old Cane Corso from San Bernardino, California here for our Two-Week Community Board and Train Program! Duke is extremely strong and loves pulling on his leash! He can be a bit nervous, and has trouble listening, especially when out on walks. Over the next fourteen days, we will work on Duke's obedience skills, and definitely work on his confidence! We'll also work on his manners in and out of the house, and help Duke become the best pup he can possibly be! Stay tuned for Duke's two week transformation!
Pupdate: 12/14/2025
After picking up Duke today, we spent some time at the park so we could start getting to know each other. Duke is very strong and initially wanted to pull quite a bit on the leash. He did seem a little nervous overall, but he also came across as fairly friendly as we spent that time together.
When we got to the car, Duke did an excellent job hopping right in and going straight into his crate with zero difficulty, which is honestly better than most dogs and a great first impression. After a bit of a drive home, however, he became more uncomfortable. When I opened the crate door, he growled at me, so I put on my safety gloves. He reminded me he was still very nervous by snapping during this moment. I took things very slowly and calmly, and little by little I was able to coax him out.
Once Duke was out of the crate and moving again, there was no further snapping. We took a walk around my neighborhood, and during that time he loosened up quite a bit and appeared much more comfortable. Inside the house, he stayed more relaxed, though given the earlier moments of uncertainty, I’m being cautious and am not ready to introduce him to my own dog just yet.
At bedtime, Duke went back into his crate with very little issue, which was encouraging. Later in the night, when I checked on him, he did growl again from inside the crate, showing that this is still an area where he feels uneasy. Overall, Duke had a mixed first day, but there were some positive moments, especially once he was moving and able to decompress. We’ll continue moving slowly, focusing on building trust, confidence, and comfort.
Pupdate: 12/15/2025
Today was a challenging but important day for Duke. In the morning, he again showed growling and snapping behavior when being taken out of his crate, and this continued anytime he needed to come out of a crate throughout the day. Once he was out, however, the behavior stopped. He did not continue growling or snapping and instead presented as very nervous and unsure.
In the evening, we went to the park. Duke was more nervous in this new environment, but he also showed increased trust in me, which was encouraging. We were able to make some progress on his Sit command and began working on his Heel, and he made an honest effort despite his nerves.
Later on, we spent intentional time practicing going in and out of the crate. The goal was to help Duke understand that the transition itself isn’t something to be worried about. With repetition and patience, we made quite a bit of progress. By the end of the session, he was coming out of the crate with lots of hesitation, but without any growling or snapping, which is a meaningful improvement.
Tomorrow morning will be a good indicator of whether this progress carries over or if the growling returns, but overall, today showed us that Duke can make progress once he starts to feel safer and more confident.
Pupdate: 12/16/2025
This morning, Duke did go back to growling and snapping from within the crate, which tells me that this particular issue is going to require more time and patience to work through. While it’s understandably frustrating, this kind of behavior is often rooted in confidence and emotional state rather than a lack of understanding.
That said, the rest of the day showed some really encouraging progress. Duke once again demonstrated how quickly he learns, and we made solid strides with his commands. When we’re working, he sometimes shows me engagement, and a clear ability to understand what’s being asked of him. His learning ability is absolutely a strength we can continue to build on.
At this point, my thought process is that Duke’s overall confidence needs to increase before we’ll see consistent improvement with the crate-related behavior. In my experience, once a dog has a strong foundation of basic commands and clear communication, their confidence tends to grow significantly, and Duke is already heading in that direction.
These types of challenges are typically the ones that take the most time, but they are very workable with the right approach. Because of this, I would love to have Duke for an additional week so we can dedicate more time specifically to confidence building and controlled exposure, alongside continuing to strengthen his command foundation.
Despite the morning challenge, Duke made meaningful progress today, and I’m optimistic about where he’s headed with continued, focused work.
Pupdate: 12/17/2025
Once again this morning, Duke was unsure about coming out of his crate, but I did see some progress compared to previous days. While this is still something we’ll continue to take slowly, he did a nice job working through his hesitation.
The highlight of today was his progress with the Come To Sit command. Duke showed improvement in both his understanding and execution, which is encouraging and shows that his confidence is starting to build through his training. Overall, a positive day with forward movement, even if it’s happening in small steps.
Pupdate: 12/18/2025
Today was a slower, structured day for Duke, with a focus on indoor manners and normal neighborhood walking manners. Overall, he did a really nice job with this routine. To start the day, Duke showed encouraging progress coming out of his crate with much less hesitation and significantly less growling, which is a great step forward for him. On our neighborhood walks, he was sometimes nervous with his surroundings, but he did a much better job maintaining a Heel and staying connected with me rather than reacting to his environment. Days like today are important for building Duke’s confidence and reinforcing calm, everyday behaviors, and he handled it well.
Pupdate: 12/19/2025
Today was Duke’s best day yet, and he showed a huge increase in confidence overall. From the start, he carried himself more comfortably and was much more willing to engage, which made a big difference in how the day went.
He also did a great job with his commands today. His Place command looked especially solid, and his Down command has really started to come along nicely as well. You can tell things are beginning to click for him, and he’s becoming more comfortable following through instead of second-guessing himself.
Overall, this was a very encouraging day for Duke. The increase in confidence is a big step forward, and it’s starting to show more clearly in his training. Great progress today!
Pupdate: 12/20/2025
Duke and I spent some more time at the park today, and I continued to see a noticeable increase in his confidence. His more curious side is really starting to come out, which is a great sign that he’s feeling safer and more comfortable in the environment.
We intentionally worked closer to distractions today. Some of them were definitely challenging for him, and there were moments where he felt unsure, but overall he handled them much better than before. Instead of shutting down, Duke showed an ability to pause, observe, and then re-engage, which is a big step forward for him.
There’s still work to do, but the progress is very encouraging. Each outing, Duke is building trust, confidence, and resilience, and today marked another solid step in the right direction. Great job, Duke!
Pupdate: 12/21/2025
Duke and I headed to the park today to continue working on his commands, and I was really happy with how the session went. To gently raise the difficulty, I started using no leash tension and even dropped the leash for a few seconds at a time to see how he would handle the extra freedom.
Overall, Duke did pretty well with this exercise. He would often get excited and show his playful side, wanting to roll around, play, and enjoy the environment instead of immediately focusing on his commands, but with some patience and repetition, he worked through it. He ended up doing much better than I expected, especially considering how challenging this step can be.
One of the best parts of today was seeing Duke happy and playful rather than nervous. I noticed significantly less nervousness overall, which is a big win for him. While we still need to work on balancing playfulness with focus, today showed great progress in his confidence and comfort level at the park. I’m very pleased with how Duke did today and the positive direction he’s heading in.
Pupdate: 12/22/2025
We continued working around the park today and had another productive session with Duke. Overall, he did pretty well with his commands. As his confidence continues to grow, he started getting a little more playful today, so we slowed things down to reinforce that even when he’s feeling good and confident, he still needs to listen and stay engaged with me.
The best part of the day came from one of the park regulars, who had previously seen Duke during earlier sessions. They pointed out how much more comfortable he looks now compared to before. That outside perspective was great confirmation that Duke’s confidence and overall demeanor are truly changing for the better, not just something we’re noticing during training.
Another solid step forward for Duke, with growing confidence and continued improvement in his responsiveness.
Pupdate: 12/23/2025
Today, Duke and I went to Home Depot to avoid the rain and get some training done in a new environment. He did pretty well overall, though he definitely showed some nerves with the new sights and sounds around him.
The big win today was how much better Duke handled those nervous feelings compared to previous outings. Even when he was unsure, he didn’t shut down and was able to stay with me and listen without too much difficulty. His engagement and willingness to work through the environment were a clear improvement.
This was a solid step forward for Duke, and continued exposure like this will keep helping him build confidence. Nice progress today!
Pupdate: 12/24/2025
Duke and I headed back to Home Depot today to stay dry indoors once again. Overall, he showed more confidence than yesterday, which was great to see. There were only a couple moments where he got a little excited and wanted to play, but he was able to bring himself back down fairly well. There were also several times where I felt confident enough to drop the leash and give him a bit more independence as we moved through different areas of the store, and he handled that responsibility nicely. All in all, Duke did better than yesterday, and I’m very happy with his progress today!
Pupdate: 12/25/2025
We took advantage of some breaks in the rain today to get outside and spend a little time at the park! During our visit, Duke was given the opportunity to be off leash for short intervals. With plenty of supervision, he handled this fairly well and made some nice choices with the extra freedom. Overall, I think Duke really enjoyed the experience, and he did a good job adjusting to a bit more independence. This was a positive step for him and a good confidence-building exercise.
Pupdate: 12/26/2025
Today we did our best to avoid the rain, which was mostly successful—although Duke still needed a bath. Along with that, I wanted today’s video to highlight some of the manners we’ve been consistently practicing, since these play a huge role in keeping Duke safe and our days structured.
For food manners and food refusal, the goal is for Duke to ignore anything on the floor, even if it’s very tempting. This helps prevent him from grabbing unsafe items and reinforces impulse control.
With door manners, we’re working on Duke waiting patiently instead of rushing out ahead of me. He should only go through the doorway when asked, which helps prevent bolting and keeps exits calm and controlled.
For car manners, Duke is learning to wait while I open the door, then hop in calmly and walk straight into his crate. For him, this also includes coming out of the crate politely when asked—something he struggled with significantly at first, but has made great progress on.
All of these manners help create a predictable, structured routine for Duke, and most importantly, they keep him safe in everyday situations.
Pupdate: 12/27/2025
Duke and I got some more off-leash work in at the park today, and he did way better! He showed a noticeable boost in confidence, which made a big difference in how smoothly everything went.
He had an easier time responding to commands and was able to stay engaged even when faced with some tough distractions, all while remaining off leash. His ability to think through those moments instead of reacting right away was great to see.
I really enjoyed our time together today, and I thought Duke did a great job overall. This was a strong session for him and a nice step forward in his training!
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