Grizzly | German Shepherd | Lakewood, CA | In-Training
- Scott Hansen
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 7 hours ago
Meet Grizzly! Grizzly is a six-year-old German Shepherd here for our Two-Week Urban Board and Train Program. Grizzly is a nice pup; however, he does display several unwanted behaviors. Grizzly has poor leash manners, will not recall, and has unreliable obedience. Grizzly can perform a command or two with proper motivation; however, he lacks structure and performs tasks inconsistently. Over the next fourteen days, Grizzly is going to learn to be an obedient pup through consistent, clear communication and balanced training at home and by discovering new people and places. Grizzly will learn to perform all these things on leash through a positive and balanced training environment. Through structure and consistency, Grizzly will demonstrate how great a pup he can be! Stay tuned for Grizzly’s two-week transformation!
Grizzly | German Shepherd | Pupdate 05/09/26
Today, Mr. Grizzly joined me for his Two-Week Urban Board and Train Program. On the way home, we stopped at a local park to see what commands Mr. Grizzly could perform. He performed zero commands! He kept trying to pull me everywhere, but I held on for dear life. He was hyper-focused on a few dogs that were at the park. I think you know all that, and that's why he's here. After I tested his skills, we had a mini photoshoot for his profile picture for his blog. I don't know if you know this, but as soon as dogs see a phone or camera in front of their face, you are now invisible to them, and they must ignore you at all costs. Once we got what we needed, we loaded up and headed to Mr. Grizzly's temporary residence for the next two weeks. Overall, Mr. Grizzly had no issues with the car ride.
Once we got home, I let Mr. Grizzly smell Ms. Toji, Mr. Wayne, and Mr. Apollo through the front gate. Ms. Toji, Mr. Apollo, and Mr. Wayne were excited to see Mr. Grizzly. Mr. Grizzly showed a happy interest in the pups. Mr. Grizzly had no problems coming to the house. I let him explore each room and meet everyone. Throughout the introductions, Mr. Grizzly showed no adverse reactions. He was excited to meet everyone. My little ones commented on how fluffy he is. I took Mr. Grizzly outside to meet Ms. Toji, Mr. Apollo, and Mr. Wayne. Mr. Grizzly let the pups check him out while he also marked anything he could. I think Mr. Grizzly, Mr. Apollo, and Ms. Toji will be fine hanging out with each other.
We then went on a long walk around the block so that he could get used to the sights, sounds, and scents of his temporary new neighborhood. He had no issues with walking around the block. He was super interested in all the usual dog spots around the neighborhood. He made sure to smell and tried to mark every bush, tree, and item he could. I am not sure what the record for marking trees in my neighborhood is, but if he had any larger bladder, he would have marked every single tree. He ignored all the other dogs in the houses that barked at us as we went around.
I expect to see him work well with the structure and positive reinforcement. We will be using the prong collar with him, and this should help make it clear that those behaviors are unacceptable. I don’t think he will need it for more than a day or two, but it will help in managing some of his unwanted behaviors. With clear, persistent communication and expectations, he will learn to be a well-mannered pup!
I gave him dinner and observed how much he ate. I keep track of his weight and will ensure that he maintains his weight while he is with me.
I've attached the e-collar familiarization video. Please review the video a few times before Mr. Grizzly's turnover. We'll practice together to make sure you are comfortable with the system before using it with Mr. Grizzly. I will introduce the prong collar and e-collar for tomorrow’s training.
Grizzly | German Shepherd | Pupdate 05/10/26
Happy Mother's Day! Hope you had a great Mother's Day!
Well, what a first day for Mr. Grizzly. He was not having it. He was also quite vocal about his displeasure in being asked to do several tasks. Normally, I can get the pups to play with the ball or be entertained with something, even if it's just me. Nope. Mr. Grizzly wanted no part of that show. We will continue to build our rapport and bond.
With that being said, I tried to introduce the e-collar in the gentlest way possible. We start at 0 and work our way up to a level that he gives me a physical response to. This is something he has never felt before. I look for a head turn, an ear movement, they start to look to the sky, etc. Mr. Grizzly kept on being at the same level of vocal he had been from the minute we started. He wanted to go inside. Sorry, Mr. Grizzly, you're here for training, not for relaxation. I had to make sure several times that it was on because he was not giving me a significant enough reaction to decipher his level. He did show a response at level 15 but none at 20, 25, or 30. I was very confused. I reset everything, and he gave me the same reaction at 15, and again, nothing beyond that. I reset one more time and settled on his level being 15 for now.
I removed the e-collar and switched over to the prong collar. He really didn't like this. He became a lot more vocal about the prong collar. He was complaining the entire time. I was able to introduce all of his commands while wearing the prong collar: "sit", "down", "place", "heel", and "come-to-place."
An important aspect of dog training is to be consistent and persistent in what we expect of our pups. With that being said, I'll probably try a gentle leader instead of the prong collar for Mr. Grizzly tomorrow and see if he is any less vocal. He really doesn't like being told what to do, so I am not sure if it will be a significant improvement over the prong collar, but it couldn't hurt to try in these early stages, so that we can find a tool that is useful going forward.
He is eating all of his food and is getting along well with Ms. Toji and Mr. Apollo.
Grizzly | German Shepherd | Pupdate 05/11/26
Today, Mr. Grizzly and I headed over to Klingerman Park in Rosemead, CA, to meet up with our fellow Off LEash trainers and their pups. I hooked Mr. Grizzly up with the gentle leader for today's training. He was much less vocal, but still not happy about being told what to do. He is learning that the pressure is released when he performs the correct task. He's trying everything but the task when he's resisting the leash and pressure.
He did much better with his "sit" today during this training and while wearing the gentle leader. We worked on his "heel". We also reinforced his "place" and "down" while on the cot. He is quite resistant to the "down". We will overcome this.
I switched pups with the other Off Leash Scott. Mr. Grizzly gave him the same resistance as he's been giving me. But we both were persistent and consistent with what we wanted from him.
The biggest battle with Mr. Grizzly is the battle of wills. He does not like structure. When we are practicing his door manners when coming and going, he is jumping on the doors, he is whining, and then when I get him to "sit", he is visibly shaking from anxiety. His brain is telling him to "sit" and wait while his body is used to barging through the doors and leading the way. This will come with time, repetition, and consistency. He is mentally strained, so he is resistant to treats and toy play when in this state. We just do our best to reinforce wanted behavior by releasing pressure at the correct time and using physical and verbal positive reinforcement.
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