Meet Enzo! He's a seventeen month old Staffordshire Terrier from Carson, California here for our One-Week Board and Train Program! Enzo is a super sweet and playful pup, but he loves to jump on everyone he meets! He loves people, but will pull towards them to try to say hi and jump all over them. Sometimes he even nips or play bites when he gets too excited. With his low center of gravity, he can be a very strong leash puller, and gets easily distracted by people, dogs, and other animals! He also needs work on his basic obedience skills. Over the next seven days, we will work on Enzo's impulse control, his manners in and out of the house, help him with his basic obedience, and show him how to be the best pup he can possibly be! Stay tuned for Enzo's one week transformation!
Pupdate: 6/19/2024
After picking up Enzo, we stayed at the park for a few minutes to get to know each other! He is a huge leash puller, and he loves to jump. He also seems to play bite if he gets too excited.
In the above video, I'm asking him for some basic commands to see what he'll give me starting out. He mainly wanted to run around and play, but he gave me a Down commands a few times, although he only held it for less than a second.
Once we got home, I let Enzo sniff around my house to start getting settled in. He seems to be getting comfortable and he's settling in well! After a break, we went back out to the park when it was a little cooler.
I also got Enzo set up with an E collar, pictured above, and I'm posting a tutorial video on how the device works!
Pupdate: 6/20/2024
Enzo went to the Santa Monica Promenade today for training! It was nice to be close to the ocean breeze on a warm day. I started him off by getting him used to his E collar. He's responding well to it. We worked on his Heel and Place commands today! For Heel, I want Enzo to walk politely at my left side with his ears in line with my legs. He often gets distracted and wants to rush forward, but he's doing a great job of checking in with me and correcting his mistakes. When we walk in a straight line for long enough, he decides he knows where we're going and wants to pull forward. When this happens, I tap the e collar, change directions, and remind him to Heel. This emphasizes the need for him to pay attention to me and where I'm going rather than the path ahead.
For Place, I want Enzo to hop onto an object, such as a bench, and remain there until I either release him from command or ask him to perform a new command. While out in public, this can be a great confidence building exercise. At home, we can also use this command with his bed or a place cot. Giving him a specific spot inside that he knows is his and goes to when asked can make everyday situations a lot more manageable. I love to use this command when I need to cook or clean, or if I'm expecting guests! Enzo gets extremely excited when meeting new guests so having him Place on a cot or bed to settle down while introducing him to someone new will greatly alleviate his issues with people!
Pupdate: 6/21/2024
Enzo and I went to Santa Monica Promenade today for training! This weekend is going to be very hot so we got as much outside time as possible before the weekend. His commands are coming along well, even with some significant distractions.
For his Come To Sit command, I want Enzo to come to my right side, walk around my legs and sit at my left side with his ears at my knee. This is our recall command, and should be used whenever we want Enzo to come back to us. This command is great to transition into his heel! We also continued working on his other basic commands, Heel, Place and Down.
Back at home, we took a nice break during the hottest parts of the afternoon, then worked on his commands and manners inside.
Pupdate: 6/22/2024
Enzo and I went to Almansor Park today for training this morning! He did great at the park, and had some fun playing and working on his commands. We went home for most of the day to stay out of the heat. I had Enzo on my place cot for some solid amounts of time, and invited one of my neighbors over to practice how he handles guests. With a little help from his E-collar, he did a really good job. I had him sit on the place cot while the person came jn, and when he stepped off, reminded him to Place, clicked the E-collar, and he immediately stepped back on the cot and sat down until we were ready to say hi to him. This is the beauty of the Place command. The clear boundaries of the object make it much easier to show Enzo where he needs to be for the duration. Any time he got too excited during my neighbor's visit, I simply asked him to go back to his place cot to cool down. Great job Enzo!
Pupdate: 6/23/2024
Enzo and I went to Home Depot today for training! I had to stay on top of him while walking throughout the store, especially around carts and forklifts, but overall he behaved himself wonderfully and performed his commands well!
When asked to perform his Down command, Enzo would often want to squirm toward me for comfort. When he does this, I want to reset by asking him to sit, then try again. Ideally, I want Enzo to lay down when asked without feeling the need to cozy up to my foot. This isn't the worst problem in the world, but I don't want him to be dependent on physical touch for him to follow through with commands. After a few practice Downs, he started performing them with much more confidence!
Pupdate: 6/24/2024
Enzo and I went back to Home Depot today to avoid the heat during the day! The distractions are starting to get him less excited, although he still tends to look at people a little too much. He's getting much better at resisting the urge to go up to them.
While at home, Enzo did a good job of relaxing around the house without needing to be right next to me at all times. He's doing great with the place command and has enjoyed taking naps whenever I ask him to stay put there. Once the sun started going down, we went to the park for some additional exercise.
Pupdate: 6/25/2024
Enzo and I went to Santa Anita Mall today for training! He did a great job walking around and performing his commands, but his greatest achievement was his impulse control around all the other people. When I ask him to Sit or Down, I want him to hold that position, even if people walk close by. There were times when people would even make kissy noises at him but he did well to resist the urge to run to them and jump.
Enzo will be heading home today, and I will miss him a lot once he goes! He's a very sweet and playful pup, I'll miss having him around.
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