Fiona | Rottweiler | Pasadena, CA | In Training
- Tanner Strong
- May 14
- 8 min read
Updated: May 27
Meet Fiona! She's a two year old Rottweiler from Pasadena, California here for our two week board and train program! She's a fun and curious pup, but can be very reactive on the leash and often decides whether she is going to listen to her commands! Over the next fourteen days, we'll be working on Fiona's impulse control, her obedience skills, and showing her how to be the best pup she can possibly be! Stay tuned for Fiona's two week transformation!
Pupdate: 5/13/2025
Fiona has been a fun and lively addition so far! She’s full of personality and keeps things interesting. That said, she’s definitely been a bit of a handful—she’s reacted pretty strongly to several other dogs and puts a lot of effort into pulling on the leash during our walks. She’s got a determined streak, no doubt!
However, once we’re inside, it’s like flipping a switch. Fiona has been polite, sweet, and very friendly in the home. She settles down nicely and has shown that she can be well-mannered when things are calm. We’ve got some work ahead of us, but she’s already showing potential. Looking forward to seeing how she progresses!
Pupdate: 5/14/2025
Fiona has been settling in nicely and is starting to find her rhythm. We’ve been focusing on her Heel command and overall leash manners, and she’s showing steady improvement in both areas. She’s learning to stay close, follow direction, and check in more often during walks.
What’s been even more impressive, though, is how much progress she’s made around the other dogs. Today, she was able to walk relatively politely alongside another dog—something I honestly didn’t expect to happen this soon. Her ability to stay composed and respectful during that shared walk was a big step forward and shows how far she’s already come. Great job, Fiona!
Pupdate: 5/15/2025
Fiona had a productive day today! Her Heel command is coming along nicely—she’s getting more comfortable walking in position and staying with me even through light distractions.
We’ve also been working on her Sit and Come To Sit commands. This has been a bit more of a challenge for her, especially when it comes to holding her sit once she gets into position. For Come To Sit, I’m asking her to come to my right side when called, walk around behind me, and sit neatly at my left side with her ears lined up at my knee. The beginning of the movement is starting to make sense to her, but she’s still unsure about finishing with a sit—especially that last part at the end!
She’s trying, though, and I’m proud of the effort she’s putting in. With continued practice and patience, she’ll get there!
Pupdate: 5/16/2025
Fiona is continuing to make progress with her Sit and Come To Sit commands, though she's still working through some challenges. She’s been doing better with these at home, showing improved consistency and focus in a familiar, low-distraction environment.
However, today’s outing added some extra difficulty—there were several small dogs running around for much of our time at the park, which made it harder for Fiona to stay focused. Despite the added distractions, she did manage to respond to the commands with some repetition and guidance, which shows she’s trying to work through it.
With continued practice and more exposure to real-world environments, Fiona’s reliability will keep improving. She’s on the right track and just needs more reps and patience in distracting settings!
Pupdate: 5/17/2025
Fiona focused on her Place command today, and she’s really starting to get the hang of it! This command seems to come naturally to her, and she held her position well even with some challenging distractions nearby, including playful children and small dogs. Interestingly, she appears more comfortable sitting while on the place cot, so I’ve been using that to our advantage to build confidence and consistency.
While her Place work showed nice progress, Fiona is still struggling a bit with her Come and Sit commands, so we’ll continue reinforcing those in upcoming sessions. I also noticed she only ate part of her breakfast and dinner today, which is unusual for her, so I’ll be keeping a close eye on her appetite and behavior to make sure everything is okay. Overall, today was a solid step forward in her training!
Pupdate: 5/18/2025
Today Fiona and I focused on building her reliability with Sit and Place commands, especially emphasizing distance and duration. These are essential skills for her, and while she's still very much in the learning phase, she's starting to show improvement!
The park was a bit busier than usual due to some games going on, which made it a more challenging environment for her. Holding a Sit while distractions are happening nearby is tough for Fiona, but with lots of repetition and encouragement, she managed to stay composed more consistently as the session went on. She's still working on staying in position without creeping or breaking early, but the progress is noticeable. Great job today, Fiona! She also ate more of her food today so that's good!
Pupdate: 5/19/2025
Fiona had a breakthrough today! She made the most progress she’s shown so far, especially with her Come To Sit command. This particular command has been a major challenge for her, but today she really started to understand what’s being asked of her. She’s getting tons of praise and a nice little break each time she comes close to nailing it, and it’s clear that positive reinforcement is helping her build confidence and clarity.
However, we did hit a bump this morning when we came back inside from our walk. Fiona had a strong reaction to my girlfriend, who was unexpectedly in the room. Fiona was clearly startled, and her response reminded us that she’s still working through her reactivity. While the progress on her obedience is exciting, this moment showed that she still needs support in building trust and comfort around sudden changes or surprises in her environment.
All in all, it was a great day for Fiona’s training. We’ll keep celebrating the wins while continuing to work through her sensitivities one step at a time.
Pupdate: 5/20/2025
Fiona and I visited a brand-new park today, and she did a good job! The park was full of people walking their dogs, which gave us the perfect opportunity to practice her “Off” command. This is our “do not do” cue, which we use to interrupt any unwanted behaviors and help redirect her focus. For Fiona, it’s proving especially helpful when she starts to fixate—whether it's on a squirrel, another dog, or anything else that catches her eye.
Redirecting her attention in those moments can be tricky, as she tends to lock in and tune everything else out. That said, she's been making solid progress. While it's still a work in progress, she’s beginning to respond more consistently, and I’m proud of how far she’s come already.
Pupdate: 5/21/2025
Today’s training focused on helping Fiona build better impulse control around distractions—one of her current challenges. To work on this, we headed to the ponds at the park where she was exposed to plenty of tempting sights, including ducks, geese, and even a few squirrels. In the past, just walking by the pond would lead to Fiona pulling hard toward the critters.
However, Fiona has been doing a much better job responding to her Off command. She's starting to show some real progress by not only pausing her behavior when she hears it but also looking back up at me for guidance—a great sign that she’s starting to make the connection. We practiced Off a lot in this environment, first by simply sitting near the distractions and letting her observe, then gradually working our way up to walking around them with control.
Though she was definitely still tempted at first, Fiona began settling into the work and showed noticeable improvement by the end of the session. She’s heading in the right direction, and with continued exposure and reinforcement, I expect her to get even better at managing her impulses.
Pupdate: 5/22/2025
Fiona took a big step today—we visited a mall! I specifically chose a quieter location to ease her into the environment, but even so, she was incredibly nervous at first. Progress was slow initially, so instead of pushing her, we spent about an hour sitting quietly in a corner, simply letting her observe the sounds, sights, and movement around her.
That time paid off. Once she had a chance to settle, Fiona was more willing to walk through the mall and follow her basic commands. She was still clearly uncomfortable with the environment, but we were able to make some meaningful progress.
The biggest challenge by far was a kiosk selling small plush toys that squeak and dance. Fiona was captivated by them and had a hard time disengaging. We spent several minutes working around that area, walking in circles to desensitize her. On our way back through the mall later, that work showed results—she was able to walk past the kiosk much more smoothly.
Even though today was tough for Fiona, the exposure she got was incredibly valuable, and I could see her genuinely trying. With continued patience and consistency, she’ll only get more confident in new environments like this one.
Pupdate: 5/23/2025
Fiona and I visited a different mall today, and I’m happy to report some positive progress! It didn’t take quite as long to get her going this time—she was still quite nervous, but overall, she seemed more ready to work than she was yesterday.
This mall had a great outdoor section, which really came in handy. Anytime the inside environment got to be a little too much, we stepped out for a breather. These breaks seemed to help Fiona regroup and stay in a better mindset.
Distractions are still the biggest challenge for her, but she’s trying. While she didn’t have a totally relaxing outing, today was definitely a step in the right direction, and she handled it more smoothly than yesterday. We’re building confidence little by little, and I’m proud of her progress!
Pupdate: 5/24/2025
Fiona returned to the mall today and showed some nice progress. We went earlier in the day, before the crowds started to build, which gave her a calmer environment to work in. This made it a little easier for her to settle in and focus on her training. While she wasn’t perfect, she was noticeably more confident and responsive compared to our last visit. We used the opportunity to walk through different parts of the mall and reinforce her commands in a variety of spots. She’s definitely building her confidence, and it’s great to see her becoming slightly more comfortable in these public settings.
Pupdate: 5/25/2025
Fiona had a lovely, more relaxing day back at the park today! After a few more structured outings, she really seemed to enjoy the chance to unwind a bit while still practicing her skills. She stayed happy, responsive, and overall did great.
For today’s video, I wanted to highlight one of the important indoor manners we’ve been working on: Door Manners. The goal is for Fiona to respect thresholds—whether it’s the front door, a gate, or even the back fence—and to treat the door opening as a nonevent. In the video, you’ll see her sitting right in front of the door, but what we’re really working toward is for her to remain calm anywhere in the house when the door opens, not just when she’s directly in front of it.
This has been especially challenging for her in the mornings, when she’s full of energy and excited to get outside, but she’s making great progress! She’s learning that the door only opens when she’s calm and composed, and that self-control is paying off. Great job, Fiona!
Pupdate: 5/26/2025
Today, Fiona and I headed back to the mall for another training session! The environment was full of distractions—crowds of people, noise, movement—and Fiona definitely felt the pressure. She was quite anxious and got distracted frequently, but despite all that, she still followed through with her commands reliably.
While her focus wavered at times, Fiona showed resilience and was able to walk through crowded areas without too much trouble. She stuck with me and demonstrated her training, even under stress. This kind of exposure is a great way to help build her confidence in busy, high-stimulation environments.
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