Fish | Doberman Mix | Long Beach, CA | In Training
- Tanner Strong
- Mar 15
- 9 min read
Updated: Mar 28
Meet Fish! He's an eleven month old Doberman Mix from Long Beach, California, here for our Two-Week Urban Board and Train Program! He's extremely playful, but he often takes that too far by jumping, pawing, and play biting people and other dogs he wants attention from. While he is familiar with a couple commands, he often decides for himself when he's going to follow through and pay attention. When out on a walk he sometimes barks at other dogs, and when at home he will bark at anybody coming inside! Over the next fourteen days we will work on Fish's obedience skills, help with his confidence and impulse control, work on his manners in and out of the house, and show him how to be the best pup he can possibly be! Stay tuned for Fish's two week transformation!
3/15/2026
Fish and I spent a few minutes at the park after pickup to give him a chance to get to know me and settle in a bit. He was definitely feeling a little nervous at first, which is completely normal on the first day in a new environment. Even so, he was willing to take treats from my hand, which is a great sign that he’s already starting to build some trust. While walking around the park, I noticed that Fish really enjoys pulling on the leash and was quite interested in the other dogs around us. He barked at a couple of them, and when other dogs were nearby it was a bit harder for him to focus on me. He was able to Sit for me at times, but distractions, especially other dogs, made it challenging for him to stay engaged.
Once we arrived home, Fish began settling in fairly quickly. After a little time to decompress, I noticed his nerves starting to fade and his personality beginning to come out more. He became much more comfortable and started opening up, which was really great to see on his first day. Overall, it was a solid start for Fish, and I’m excited to continue working with him as he becomes more confident and we start building better leash manners, focus, and calm behavior around other dogs. So far, so good!
3/16/2026
Fish and I headed to the park this morning before it got too hot out! Our focus today was on building confidence and working on some easy wins, mainly his basic Sit command. Fish sometimes takes a couple of seconds before responding, but he is making steady progress and is clearly starting to trust me more as we work together.
He’s also been showing me a bit more affection today, which is nice to see. So far he hasn’t tried any play biting, but he has put his paws up on me a couple of times, usually when I’m down at his level giving him praise. When this happens, I simply say “Off,” stand up, and the praise immediately ends before we go back to working. When Fish keeps all four paws on the ground while receiving praise, he usually earns a treat as well, which helps reinforce the behavior we want.
This same concept applies to other unwanted behaviors like jumping or play biting. By clearly setting the boundary early, my goal is to prevent those habits from forming with me in the first place. Fish is a very loving dog, which is wonderful, but it also means that any kind of touching can feel like a reward to him. Because of that, the most effective approach is to immediately stop the attention at the first sign of unwanted contact, whether that’s paws or mouth.
The good news is that Fish already seems to be starting to understand the pattern: calm, polite behavior earns attention and treats, while jumping or pawing makes the attention go away. He’s off to a great start, and we’ll keep building on this foundation!
3/17/2026
Today we started working on his Come To Sit command, which will be his official recall. This is a bit more advanced than a basic “come,” as I’m not just asking Fish to come to me, I want him to come all the way in, move around to my left side, and sit with his ears lined up at my knee. It’s a more detailed behavior, but it will lead to much better control and consistency as he improves.
One thing I was especially happy with today was how much better Fish is doing staying close and connected to me. Whether we were working on Heel or practicing his recall, he made a noticeable effort to stay right at my side instead of creating too much space between us. This is a big step in the right direction and will help everything feel more clean and precise as we continue building his skills.
Be sure to check out the video above to see his progress in action, he’s doing a great job!
3/18/2026
Fish and I worked on his Place command today, this time alongside several other dogs! He’s already been showing that this command is useful at home, and today was a great step toward bringing that same reliability into more distracting environments.
With other dogs around, Fish definitely had a bit more trouble staying focused. There were a few moments where he wanted to leave his Place to go say hi, jump, or get a little mischievous. That’s totally normal at this stage, especially with that level of distraction.
That said, aside from those few moments, Fish did a really nice job! He was able to settle back into his Place and showed that he’s starting to understand what’s being asked of him, even when things around him are exciting.
Overall, a solid day of progress for Fish, building that consistency around distractions will be the next big step, and he’s already on the right track!
3/19/2026
Fish had a great start to his day with a morning trip to the park, where we spent some time exploring around the ponds! He was a little skeptical of the geese and ducks at first, but I was really happy with how he handled himself overall. When asked, he did a nice job disengaging and bringing his attention back to me instead of focusing on them.
We also continued working on his Place command using a variety of different objects to help build his confidence. New surfaces and environments can be a bit challenging, but Fish did a great job stepping up and making solid progress today.
Good job today, Fish!
3/20/2026
Fish and I headed to the park this morning, but for his video today I wanted to highlight one of the important manners we’ve been working on, his door manners!
The goal here is to be able to open the door without Fish trying to rush out ahead of me. Instead, I want him to respect thresholds in and out of the house and wait for permission before crossing. This applies not just to doorways, but also gates or even “invisible” boundaries inside the home. For example, the dogs aren’t allowed in my kitchen, and this training helps reinforce that kind of structure.
We’ve been practicing this a little bit each day, and Fish is getting pretty good with it! He’s starting to show more patience and awareness, which is great to see.
Nice work today, Fish!
3/21/2026
Fish has been doing well with his training, and today I wanted to show off another important manner we’ve been working on, Food Manners and Food Refusal!
For this exercise, the goal is for Fish to wait politely when his food is placed on the ground, rather than rushing in to eat it right away. He’s learning to hold his position and only begin eating when I give him the okay. This builds patience and impulse control, which are key for a well-mannered pup.
To take it a step further, we’ve also been working on food refusal. In today’s example, I used some bean burritos to practice with. Instead of allowing him to eat the food at the end of the exercise, I asked Fish to resist the temptation, walk away from it, and come back to me for praise instead. This helps reinforce that not everything on the ground is his, and that choosing to disengage is the right decision.
This is a great safety skill, as it can help prevent him from picking up and eating something harmful. We work on this a little each day, and Fish has been getting more and more polite with it. Great job, Fish!
3/22/2026
Fish and I started our day with our usual morning trip to the park, getting some good exercise and engagement in. After that, we spent more time at home working around the other dogs, focusing on his Place command and reinforcing his overall manners in a more relaxed environment.
Fish really impressed me today! While he still enjoyed getting in some playtime, what stood out most was his ability to give the other dogs space and settle down when needed. Instead of always jumping into the action, he made some great choices by relaxing and observing while others were playing.
This is a big step forward for his impulse control and ability to stay calm in a group setting. Learning that he doesn’t always have to be “on” is such an important skill, and Fish showed some awesome progress with that today. Really proud of him, great job, Fish!
3/23/2026
Fish and I made our way to Home Depot today for training, and overall I’m really happy with how his first visit went! He was fairly reliable and responsive to his commands, and generally carried himself very well throughout the trip.
There were a few things that made him a bit nervous, like the squeaky carts, forklifts, and some of the louder noises in the lumber section. He would occasionally get distracted or slightly spooked, but I was really pleased with how well he was able to recover and continue working with me afterward. That ability to bounce back and re-engage is a big win!
We’ll definitely be coming back to continue building his confidence around these kinds of distractions and sounds, but for a first outing like this, Fish did a really solid job. Proud of him today!
3/24/2025
Fish and I headed back to Home Depot today to continue building his confidence and exposure to that environment! I’m really happy to report that he was able to relax much faster than he did yesterday, which is a great sign that he’s starting to adjust.
He is still working through some of the same challenges as before, but we saw some nice improvements. One big win was that he didn’t seem nearly as concerned about people walking close to him, which is awesome progress. Some of the smaller noises that caught his attention yesterday also didn’t seem to bother him as much today.
Fish did a good job overall, and I’m proud of the effort he’s putting in. We’ll continue coming back and gradually increasing the level of distractions to keep building his confidence and helping him become more comfortable in these busier environments. Great work today, Fish!
3/25/2026
Fish had a solid training day today! We met up with some other trainers and their dogs, which gave him a great opportunity to practice around higher distractions. At first, he was pretty interested in the new dogs and had a harder time focusing, especially on one larger dog that got him particularly excited.
After a few minutes and a proper warm-up, Fish started to settle in nicely. Once he found his rhythm, he became much more responsive to his commands and did a good job keeping himself polite around the other dogs. It was great to see him work through that initial excitement and make better choices as the session went on.
Overall, Fish did a pretty good job today and showed some nice progress in managing his distractions. Keep it up, Fish!
3/26/2026
Fish and I headed to downtown Alhambra today for some training in a much busier environment than he’s used to, and I’m really proud of how he handled it! There were tons of people, movement, and overall distractions, but Fish stepped up nicely.
He stayed responsive to his commands and did a great job maintaining polite manners throughout our outing. Even with everything going on around us, he was able to stay engaged with me and make good decisions. That’s a big step forward for him, especially in a setting with this level of stimulation.
Today was a really great example of his progress—showing that he can take what he’s learned and apply it in more challenging, real-world situations. Awesome job, Fish!
3/27/2026
Fish and I headed to the mall today, and this was definitely the toughest environment he’s taken on so far! When we first arrived, he was a bit excited and taking everything in, but after a few minutes to warm up and process all the distractions, he really settled in and started doing very well.
One of the biggest challenges for Fish in this setting was the noise. There’s a lot going on at the mall, and it can get pretty loud. In the video, I left a section of the audio in so you can really hear just how intense that environment is, it does a great job of putting into perspective just how far Fish has come when working through high-distraction areas like this.
I’m really proud of how he handled himself today. Being able to work through that level of stimulation and come out focused and responsive is a huge step forward. Great job, Fish!
3/28/2026
Fish and I headed back to the mall one more time today! This kind of continued exposure to a busy environment is really valuable for him, and I’m happy to say he kept building on his progress.
We spent most of our time inside near the food court, which is definitely one of the louder and more distracting areas. Despite all the noise, movement, and people, Fish did a great job settling in and staying mostly relaxed. It’s a big step for him to be able to exist calmly in that kind of chaos, and he handled it well.
Overall, Fish continues to show that he’s gaining confidence and learning how to regulate himself in tougher environments. Really proud of the work he’s putting in—great job today, Fish!
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