Fiona | Rottweiler | Pasadena, CA | Boarding
- Tanner Strong
- Feb 16
- 6 min read
Updated: May 7
Fiona is back with me for boarding this week! She's doing well and I'm glad to have her back! Check back here to see how she's doing!
Pupdate: 2/16/2026
Fiona and I had a great day today! After picking her up, we spent some time at the park before the rain rolled in. She was noticeably calm and polite right from the start, even on our initial walk, which was really great to see. She did a nice job staying relaxed and easy to handle while still enjoying her time outside.
Once the rain started coming down, we headed home, and Fiona did exactly what she always does best—she settled in quickly and made herself comfortable. She was very good at relaxing and hanging out with me, showing how well she’s been adjusting to the routine. Overall, a really smooth and enjoyable day with Fiona!
Pupdate: 2/17/2026
Fiona and I took a trip to La Mirada Park today, which was a brand new environment for her and a great opportunity to work on engagement in a fresh setting. She was definitely curious and a little distracted at first, especially because this park had something we don’t normally see—pelicans! She found them super interesting and spent a lot of time watching and observing them.
To help Fiona learn that I should be her main focus no matter what’s going on around us, we worked through some of her commands, and then practiced an important engagement exercise. During her breaks, I stepped on her leash and allowed her to freely sniff, look around, and take in the environment until she made the choice to come back and check in with me on her own. The first time, she spent about twenty minutes exploring, sniffing, and staring at the pelicans before finally choosing to re-engage with me—when she did, she was rewarded heavily with lots of treats and praise. As expected, each repetition got better, and the amount of time she stayed distracted began to decrease.
This exercise is very valuable because it helps Fiona process distractions calmly without feeling pressured, while also building the habit of choosing engagement and learning that I’m more rewarding than anything happening around her. Overall, Fiona did a great job today, and this was a big step forward in helping her stay focused and confident in new environments!
Pupdate: 2/18/2026
Fiona and I had a great day today back at a familiar environment! She was actually even more excited than usual being somewhere she recognized, but even with that extra energy she still did a really nice job staying responsive and working through her commands. It was great to see her so happy and confident while still being able to focus when asked.
She didn’t struggle much with the usual distractions like birds, squirrels, or other dogs, which was a big win for her. The toughest challenge for Fiona today was actually the basketball courts! At one point a basketball came bouncing toward us, and she definitely wasn’t a fan of that surprise, but she recovered quickly and handled it really well. After that moment, she didn’t have much trouble with the basketballs and was able to continue training calmly. Overall, she had a great day and showed a lot of maturity!
Pupdate: 2/19/2026
Fiona and I headed to the mall today to stay dry and get some solid work in despite the rain! The indoor environment was definitely a bit overwhelming for her at first. She was pretty nervous and spent a lot of time scanning everything around us — people walking by, carts rolling past, noises echoing through the building. It’s very similar to how she initially feels at the park in new or stimulating areas.
Instead of rushing her, I started the same way we do outside. I gave her time to observe and process the environment. Rather than asking for a bunch of commands right away, I let her look around until she made the choice to disengage from the distractions and look at me. The moment she chose to check in, I heavily rewarded her. After sitting in one spot for a few minutes and repeating that process, I could visibly see her body language soften. She relaxed greatly once she realized she didn’t have to react to everything around her.
Each time we started moving again, a bit of that nervous scanning would come back — which is completely normal in a challenging environment like a mall. So we simply repeated the process: pause, observe, wait for engagement, reward. By the end of our outing, she was settling more quickly each time and building confidence with every repetition.
Overall, Fiona did really well in what is honestly a tough environment! These kinds of sessions are huge for her confidence and engagement, and she continues to show that she’s capable of working through her nerves when given the right structure and time. I’m proud of her progress today!
Pupdate: 2/20/2026
Fiona and I headed back to the mall today to continue building her confidence in that busy environment. Just like before, we focused on taking our time and prioritizing relaxation over covering a lot of ground. Instead of constantly moving, we found benches and let the world go by while I rewarded her for choosing to check in with me and soften her body language.
I was really happy to see some clear progress today. A few times, Fiona laid down at my feet while I sat on a bench, and she even began fully settling — resting her head on the floor and relaxing into the moment. That’s a big deal for her in an environment like this! While she was still pretty nervous at times and would scan her surroundings when we got up to move, it didn’t take quite as long for her to decompress again once we stopped.
Overall, it was slow and steady progress — exactly what we want. She’s starting to understand that she doesn’t have to stay on high alert the entire time, and that she’s safe enough to truly relax. I’m proud of the effort she’s putting in, and we’ll continue building on this confidence step by step!
Pupdate: 2/21/2026
Fiona and I spent our day out at the park soaking in all the activity from the different sports going on around us — soccer, volleyball, a bit of baseball, and even some basketball! With balls flying, whistles blowing, and lots of cheering, it made for a great training environment with plenty of distractions. I’m happy to say she handled it all very well!
There were also several other dogs around, ranging from very polite to a few pretty wild ones, but Fiona did a great job choosing to bring her focus back to me instead. That’s something we’ve been working on consistently, and it’s really starting to show. Rather than getting caught up in the chaos, she checked in, engaged, and stayed responsive. Overall, it was a big confidence-building day for her, and I’m proud of the progress she’s making!
5/5/2026
After picking up Fiona, we spent some time at the park—one of her favorite places! There was a lot going on today, with plenty of geese and other animals around, which made for some great real-world distractions to work through.
Fiona handled it all really nicely. She stayed mostly calm and composed, even with so much activity around her. A running squirrel definitely caught her attention for a moment, and she got a bit excited, but the important part is she was able to refocus and turn her attention back to me when asked. That’s a big win and shows some great progress in her impulse control!
After that, we were able to settle in and just enjoy the rest of our time together. Fiona was a pleasure to work with as always—she did really well today, and I truly enjoy having her around!
5/6/2026
Fiona and I spent most of our day over at the park today, and she continued to do a great job! It was a fairly calm day with fewer distractions than usual, but the distractions we did come across gave us some good opportunities to practice, and Fiona handled them with very little trouble.
She stayed well-behaved, attentive, and easy to work with throughout the day, which made our time together both fun and rewarding. Fiona continues to show good progress and seems to be gaining more confidence and understanding each day.
Overall, it was another really nice day with Fiona, and I’m very happy with how she’s doing!
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