Please welcome Gracie the six-month-old Staffordshire Terrier from Santa Clarita here for the one week board and train. Gracie is a very sweet and gentle girl who loves to be around other people and other dogs but has some difficulty when meeting new people because she gets too excited and jumps on them. She is also an excessive licker and doesn't listen well to commands. Keep checking back to see Gracie's transformation from good to great!
Pupdate 1/3/21
Today was such an adventure for young Gracie. She learned what a crate was and how safe it feels to be inside of it. She also came to a new place (my home) and got to explore my office and my backyard (and all the smells that come with it). Gracie was very good in the car, in the crate the whole way home as well as being in the crate when we got inside the house. Tonight's photos are from a little bit ago - I'm sitting at my desk with my fuzzy blanket (because it's a bit chilly) and all of a sudden I feel a nose on my lap. She also found a few of the other warm fuzzy blankets I have folded next to my desk. I guess I'm not the only one who enjoys a good fuzzy blanket. She is such a sweet and loving girl, I can't wait for her full personality to shine through. We did start working on the Off command for when she jumps - she has picked up on it pretty quickly.
Pupdate 1/4/21
Today I introduced Gracie to all the commands she will be perfecting over the next week so she is ready to go home in a week. We did Place, Sit, Down, Come and Heel a bit. It was easy for her to do Down on the place cot but not so much on the actual ground. Today showed me what her strengths and weaknesses are and where we need to focus more energy. Over the next week, she will learn what all these commands mean plus door and food manners as well as Load, Unload and Crate. So far she is not a huge fan of the crate but doesn't put up too much of a fight which is good. Today she also met my boarding client, Keebler and my roommates' dog Pumpkin. All three of them played in the backyard this morning until the whole group was so tuckered out everyone sunbathed for a bit before coming inside for breakfast.
Pupdate 1/5/21
Today Gracie and I worked more with the e collar and on all her commands. She is doing so well! This morning she met the other dogs in my home, Pumpkin the Frenchie, Keebler the Shepsky and Oakley, my little nugget. They romped around the back yard this morning after breakfast and then once more this afternoon after Gracie's first session of the day. As you can see, she was definitely all tuckered out today from being a puppy, training and making new friends. She is eating, drinking and going potty just fine as well. She is still very wiggly when I put her on the scale to get her weight every night - we are working on her staying still so I can get a good photo; so far it hasn't happened just yet but I know she can get there.
Pupdate 1/6/21
Gracie and I worked on her Down (without the place cot), Come to sit and Heel. She isn't too keen on Down when on the ground but will do a Down on the place cot. I think it may have to do with the texture or lack of texture for her. Her Come is looking better as well. Also, she is not jumping as much as she did when she first got here. With the help of the command Off, she is learning that jumping doesn't get her what she wants. The licking has subsided a bit as well. I use the command Off but I also do not give her any attention when she does lick as I am trying to let her know that the licking is not an acceptable way of getting my attention. Only when she's calm does she receive my attention.
Pupdate 1/7/21
Sorry for some of the blurry pictures. Gracie is such a wiggly puppy that sometimes I am not able to capture her being still. Today we worked more on Sit and Down (on different surfaces) plus Come and Heel. The third photo is of Gracie under me earlier while I was working on my laptop but she is also under my double-sided fluffy blanket (she's a good space heater). Her face in that photo was just too cute to pass up on.
Pupdate 1/8/21
So today's session was accompanied by my roommates' son - he is so interested in what I do with these dogs that he always wants to help. He's a complete dog lover and today he couldn't help himself with it came to training with Gracie. We worked a lot on Off for the jumping with Come and Heel. Place seems to be her favorite command at this point which is good. She's doing so well! She is still a very wiggly puppy when it comes to the scale at night. She and I are both not a fan of the scale!
Pupdate 1/9/21
Earlier today my roommate's son wanted to feed Gracie because he said her whiskers were ticklish - he's 4 years old and a huge dog lover. So I helped him feed Gracie her breakfast. Then Gracie and I visited the outdoor mall in Valencia to film her final video. At first, she was a little hesitant but after about 10 minutes she found her groove and everything went super smooth. She loves being outdoors and getting attention from everyone!
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