Elsa | German Shepherd/Border Collie Mix | Ft. Irwin, CA | In-Training
Updated: 2 hours ago
Meet Elsa! Elsa is a six-year-old German Shepherd and Border Collie Mix here for our Three-Week-Reactive Board and Train Program. Elsa came to establish a solid foundation of obedience. She is a loving pup that has a few unwanted behaviors. Elsa can bark at other pups on walks and plays too rough with other pups at times. Her obedience is unreliable and inconsistent. Elsa can perform a command or two with proper motivation; however, she lacks structure and performs tasks inconsistently. Over the next twenty-one days, Elsa is going to learn to be an obedient pup through consistent, clear communication and balanced training at home and by discovering new people and places. Elsa will learn to perform all these things on leash through a positive and balanced training environment. Through structure and consistency, Elsa will demonstrate how great a pup she can be! Stay tuned for Elsa’s three-week transformation!
Elsa | Shepherd/Border Collie Mix | Pupdate 09/13/26
Today, Ms. Elsa joined me for her Three-Week Reactive Board and Train Program. On the way home, we stopped at a local park to see what commands Ms. Elsa could perform. She jumped out of the car, very excited! So excited that she performed zero commands! She performed about as well as you would think, which is not very well. She was running all over the place and checking everything out. She ignored my command at all costs, even though there was no one else at the park. I think you know all that, and that's why she's here. After I tested her skills, we had a mini photoshoot to obtain her profile picture for her blog. I don't know if you know this, but as soon as dogs see a phone or camera in front of their face, you are now invisible to them, and they must ignore you at all costs. Once we got what we needed, we loaded up and headed to Ms. Elsa's temporary residence for the next two weeks. Ms. Elsa was fine during the car ride home.
Once we got home, I let Ms. Elsa smell Ms. Toji and Mr. Beans through the front gate. Ms. Elsa had her tail wagging and was interested in the pups. Ms. Elsa sniffed them through the fence. I observed for reactivity in this initial meeting. Mr. Beans did bark at Ms. Elsa, but she didn’t care. Ms. Elsa had no problems getting into the house. I let her explore each room and meet everyone. Throughout the introductions, Ms. Elsa showed a happy, excited interest in everything in the new environment. She was excited to meet everyone. I let her get some water after the long drive home and the stop at the park. She drank almost the entire water bowl!
Then, I let Ms. Elsa smell Ms. Toji and Mr. Beans through my screen door to the dog run area. Here, I did not observe any adversity. I took Ms. Elsa outside to meet Ms. Toji and Mr. Beans. I tethered Ms. Elsa to a post on my gazebo while I went and brought one dog at a time to meet her. I started with Ms. Toji, meeting Ms. Elsa. This meeting went well. Then I went and tried to get Mr. Beans, but he did not have it. Ms. Elsa hung out with Ms. Toji and Mr. Beans for a while tonight, and they seem to get along fine. I’ll allow Ms. Elsa, Mr. Beans, and Ms. Toji to hang out together more tomorrow.
We then went on a long walk around the block so that she could get used to the sights, sounds, and scents of her temporary new neighborhood. She didn’t pull too hard at all. She did stop occasionally and sniff a few spots and stubbornly wouldn’t leave them. She ignored all the other dogs in the houses that barked at us as we went around.
I expect to see her work well with the structure and positive reinforcement. I expect her to respond well to treats if she isn’t overwhelmed by the structure and e-collar. With clear, persistent communication and expectations, she will learn to be a well-mannered pup!
I gave her dinner and observed how much she ate. I keep track of her weight and will ensure that she maintains her weight while she is with me.
I've attached the e-collar familiarization video. Please review the video a few times before Ms. Elsa's turnover. We'll practice together to make sure you are comfortable with the system before using it with Ms. Elsa.
I have also added the pictures of her ears that I took while at the park earlier. I'll keep an eye on the redness and see if it calms down in the next day or two.
Elsa | Shepherd/Collie Mix | Pupdate 09/14/26
Today, I introduced Ms. Elsa to the e-collar in a quick backyard session. She did quite well with the e-collar. I tried to get her to play with me before starting and during, but she just wanted to be loved on or go back inside. I usually start with it on loosely and slowly build up to it being on firmly before using the e-collar remote, but since you guys have introduced a form of the collar to her, I just put it on her. She had no objections. I start at level 0 and work my way up until I see a physical reaction from the pup. It looks like a fly or something is bothering them on the initial reaction. They are experiencing something that they have never felt before and are wondering what's going on. I got a slight reaction at levels 10 and 15. I went up to 20 and 25 to see if that was too much for her or a better signal to her. I kind of like level 20 for her to start. If it's too low, it can feel like a tickle and distract from the training. Level 20 is just slightly stronger to be consistent in communicating with her. If she gets proficient at level 20, I can attempt to go lower and see if she will continue to execute the commands. The good news is that level 20 and 25 didn't bother her. I didn't go up much higher than that for now.
We then headed over to Klingermann Park in Rosemead, CA, to meet up with our fellow Off-Leash trainers and their pups. Ms. Elsa had no reactivity or issues with the other dogs! We went up and said hi to the Off-Leash owner, Mr. Mike's two pups, Ms. Ruby and Mr. Oso. They paid her no mind, and neither did she. She said hi and went about her business.
We have a lot of time to work with Ms. Elsa, and I think it's going to go great. If she continues to be less reactive and locks in with her commands, we're going to have a fun time training and challenging Ms. Elsa to be a great pup. I didn't use any treats today, just to see how well she would perform the commands. I did introduce "heel", "sit', "down", "place", and door manners. She already knows "load up," which is awesome!
Elsa | Shepherd/Collie Mix | Pupdate 09/15/26
Today, Ms. Elsa and I headed over to Liberty Park in Cerritos, CA. We practiced all of her commands. We reviewed "heel", extended "sit", extended "place", extended "down", and "come-to-sit". Even though we were at the park, there were no other pups or major distractions. There were a few kids at the park, a few pickleball matches, and a few others working out.
She did a great job with all of her commands. She is responding well to all the commands. We worked on level 15 for the day on the e-collar. She is coming along nicely for only being on day two of her training. She is getting along well with Ms. Toji and Mr. Beans. By "get along," I mean she mostly ignores them and does her own thing. She likes to hang out near my computer desk while I am in the room.
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