Gizzy | Chihuahua X | Whittier, CA | In Training

Meet Gizzy! He's a 1-year-old Chihuahua mix from Whittier, California, and he's here for our Two Week Community Board and Train Program. Gizzy is a little bundle of pure energy who often doesn't know what to do with himself! He wants to chase things, run out doors to be chased, grabs things he shouldn't, and greets people with a little too much enthusiasm. Over the next two weeks we'll make sure Gizzy knows all his foundational commands so we can get some of those impulses under control, teach him not to dart through doors or to jump on people, and teach him to leave things alone when told. Stay tuned for Gizzy's two-week transformation!

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12/11/25

I took Gizzy to a park near my home to see what commands he already might know. He seems to understand the Sit command somewhat, but everything else? He either doesn't know or was simply blowing off the stranger so he could do dog things lol. He's got a pretty decent pull on the leash for a little guy, so we're going to work on his Heel pretty heavily right away. That and his Recall (coming when called) because it's important for him to understand and follow through on that despite what's going on around him. At home he got along with my other dogs right away. He doesn't appear to be anxious or stressed out at all, which will make the transition a lot easier and we can get him focused on working a lot faster. He considered trying to dash through the gate once, but responded well to a verbal correction. He seems like a smart, sweet little guy, and I look forward to bonding with him over these next two weeks!

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12/12/25

So today we went straight into that Heel work on his E-Collar. I had it down at a Level 5, which was just high enough for him to respond to, but not so high that it would be stressing him out. As explained in the video, as long as he was relatively in position, he got praise and encouragement, and the occasional treat if he would take it. If he tried to pull out of position, he'd get a correction. Corrections started more heavily with the collar at first, then eased down to more verbals the more we worked. It's going to take a lot more practice, but he was starting to catch on by the time we finished out our session. Heading back to the car and then back to the house once we got back, even though I didn't ask for the Heel, he was already easing back on his own so there wasn't all the hard pulling he was doing yesterday. He's clearly very smart, so I think he'll catch onto this one quickly! At home, he had a great night, no issues, and an even better morning. He was inside for a little bit with my border collie, who fell in love with him instantly. They were running around with toys and generally playing chase back and forth from the room out to the run and back. They were so cute! And Gizzy is already catching on to the Wait when I'm putting down his food, as well as when we're going through doors. He's fitting right in!

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