Grizzly | Rottweiler | Tujunga, CA | In-Training
- Scott Hansen
- Feb 1
- 10 min read
Updated: 13 hours ago
Meet Grizzly! Grizzly is a 10-month-old Rottweiler here for our Two-Week Community Board and Train Program. Grizzly is a sweet pup; however, he does display several unwanted behaviors. Grizzly is a big boy and doesn’t know how strong he is. Grizzly has poor leash manners, will not recall, and can be protective of his humans. Grizzly can perform a command or two with proper motivation; however, he lacks structure and performs tasks inconsistently. Over the next fourteen days, Grizzly will learn to be an obedient pup through consistent, clear communication and balanced training at home, as well as by exploring new people and places. Grizzly will learn to perform all these things on and off 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 | Rottweiler | Pupdate 02/01/26
Today, Mr. Grizzly joined me for his Two-Week Urban Community Board and Train Program. On the way home, we stopped at a local park to see what commands Mr. Grizzly could perform. He did not do very well! But I think you know 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. Mr. Grizzly did wind up throwing up on the long car ride home. We had to clean him up when we got to the park.
Once we got home, I let Mr. Grizzly smell Ms. Toji through the front gate. Ms. Toji was excited to see Mr. Grizzly. Mr. Grizzly was willing to sniff her but was a little apprehensive. Mr. Grizzly had no issues coming to the house. I let him explore each room and meet everyone. Throughout the introductions, Mr. Grizzly showed no adverse reactions. He did try to mark something in my office, but it was probably due to my old puppies who just left that marked everything in the office. I took Mr. Grizzly outside to meet Ms. Toji. Mr. Grizzly was barking and excited to meet Ms. Toji, but she was not too happy about it. I think Mr. Grizzly and Ms. Toji will have to wait to hang out, especially since Mr. Grizzly is not fixed.
We then went on a long walk around the block so that he could get used to the sights, sounds, and scents of her temporary new neighborhood. He had no issues with walking around the block. He walked ok on the leash. It was a little hectic as he was all over the place with smelling, stopping, pulling, left and right side of me. He went ahead occasionally and lagged at times, but mostly stopped to investigate some dog “hot spots” and was willing to keep walking. He mostly ignored all the other dogs in the houses that barked at us as we went around. I did notice him checking in on me from time to time, and I like that.
I can see that he is a gentle pup. I expect to see him work well with the structure and positive reinforcement. With clear, persistent communication and expectations, he will learn to be a well-mannered pup!
I gave him dinner and observed how much he eats. I keep track of his weight and will ensure that she maintains her weight while she 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 e-collar for tomorrow’s training.
Grizzly | Rottweiler | Pupdate 02/02/26
Today, I introduced the e-collar to Mr. Grizzly. As you can see in the video, I like to do it with lots of play and activity so that it is not a negative experience. I start at 0 and slowly work my way up until I see a physical reaction from him, whether it's dropping the ball, scratching or pawing at it, or an ear twitch. The e-collar is a communication tool. We want the tool to communicate with him the same way leash pressure would communicate a "sit", "heel", or any other command. I start by putting the collar on loosely, then go back to play. I then make it a little firmer and snug. Then back to play. Then I start slowly increasing the e-collar remote until I get a response from him. I did get up to about 70ish before I saw a noticeable reaction. Mr. Grizzly is a big boy, but that's an unusually high number. I lowered it back down to 20, and he was still responding to that number. There were two issues that we will address going forward. The first issue was that I had put on the shorter contact points due to his fur length. I already switched out the contact points for the longer ones to ensure I have better contact with his fur. The second issue was that due to his wide neck, it wasn't making proper contact with his skin. With both of these addressed, we should be around 20, which is a nice and low number considering that the machine goes all the way up to 100.
As far as his acclimation to living here, he is doing well. I tried to put him out with Ms. Toji a few times, and Mr. Grizzly growls and barks at her. I don't want to risk any issues, so Mr. Grizzly and Ms. Toji won't be hanging out during Mr. Grizzly's stay. I do hope this won't be an issue when we try to train off-leash. I was able to disrupt Mr. Grizzly from messing with Mr. Ace and trying to eat Mr. Ace's vomit using the e-collar, so I'm hoping this is a good sign that we will be able to disrupt similar behavior when we start heading out to distractions. We will also ensure to use the prong collar during our future training while pairing it with the e-collar. We want him to be able to understand that pressure is what drives the commands, and that can come from a flat collar or the e-collar.
I am worried that the food might run out sooner rather than later, as using 8 cups of raw for Mr. Grizzly and 6 cups for Mr. Ace has almost consumed a whole bag in one day. I'll keep using the amount you asked for and monitor how quickly the next bag goes. If I need to, I'll likely switch to one cup dry and 2 cups raw for every meal for Mr. Grizzly to make it last longer.
Other than that, Mr. Grizzly is doing well! Good job today, Mr. Grizzly! Tomorrow, we start with all of his obedience drills.
Grizzly | Rottweiler | Pupdate 02/03/26
Today, we introduced all but one of Mr. Grizzly's commands. We practiced "sit", "down", "heel", and "place." Mr. Grizzly is very food-motivated and did a great job responding to the tasks. I was trying to incorporate the e-collar into our training, but I still don't think it was on properly. I did not go over 30 as it seemed to be overstimulating and distracting. He was more than willing to perform the tasks with just food motivation. I'll continue to put the collar on him so that he is used to it, but it might take a few more days before we fully incorporate it into his training.
We're off to a good start!
Grizzly | Rottweiler | Pupdate 2/4/26
Today, Mr. Grizzly and I headed over to Rynerson Park in Lakewood, CA. It was time to head out and practice his commands in public. There were not very many distractions, which made for a good learning experience. Overall, Mr. Grizzly did well with all of his commands. I went ahead and used the prong collar in addition to the e-collar. Once again, the e-collar would overstimulate him at times, so I made sure to use it sparingly. The prong collar did work well with him, but he can still pull hard. I wanted to avoid him pulling by using verbal commands and ensuring we didn't have to reach the tight-leash point.
I was proud of him for staying for almost a minute in his "sit" and "down." I also introduced his "come-to-sit," which he did ok with.
We had a dog walk by, which he was reactive towards. I had seen it coming, so I had prepared myself. I was able to administer a high stimulation to him to disrupt this behavior and get him to reset. I had mentioned that I was curious to see how he would react after seeing his interaction with Ms. Toji. He did show me that he is still vocal and wants to interact with other dogs. Some of this is related to his lack of impulse control in all aspects.
Overall, I am happy with how today's training went!
Grizzly | Rottweiler | Pupdate 02/05/06
Today, the goal was duration, duration, duration! Mr. Grizzly does get a little stressed during the training, so he is not too receptive to the treats. He is much more receptive to everything, though. He stayed in his "sit" and "place/down" for two minutes each!
We cut out the distractions and minimized the treats. He was able to work well with this. I ensured to use the "Break!" command between each one to give him a release. He likes this command! After practicing those commands, we reviewed the come-to-sit. Not too bad on all commands. My favorite part of today's training was how willing Mr. Grizzly was to perform his "down."
I was not too happy with his "heel," so I'm going to take him for a walk around the block to reinforce and practice.
Grizzly | Rottweiler | Pupdate 02/06/26
Today, I displayed for you the two different types of door manners. The first method I display is where Mr. Grizzly is required to "place/down" near the door on the place cot. He has to stay there while I go in and out or walk back and forth. He did perfectly fine with this task once we got him into the actual "down". The "down" seems to be his biggest deficiency at this point. Everything else is going great! You saw my wife and our neighbor even exchange some items while Mr. Grizzly was relaxing in the down.
The second method involves approaching the door, and Mr. Grizzly must perform a "sit". We open the door, and Mr. Grizzly cannot proceed through it until we say "ok." Mr. Grizzly never goes through the door before us. He can go through with us or after us, but never before. We have been practicing this command since he arrived, but this is the first time I was able to demonstrate it for you.
Another small thing that I worked on today that is not noticeable is that I took off his prong collar. I relied more on the e-collar stimulation to have Mr. Grizzly perform his tasks. We are operating at about level ten (10) or fifteen (15) on the e-collar. Those are amazingly low numbers for such a big guy! We are making good progress, and I am proud of his progress.
Good job today, Mr. Grizzly!
Grizzly | Rottweiler | Pupdate 02/07/26
Today, Mr. Grizzly and I headed over to our local Home Depot in Lakewood, CA, to practice all his commands in a public place. Mr. Grizzly is getting a lot better and managing his impulses when he only has the e-collar on and a flat collar. We got to say hi to an employee. Mr. Grizzly is beyond friendly, as you know. I was able to get more than 20' away from him at the store while he maintained his "sit". When we were leaving, there was another dog walking in front of us, and instead of his usual barking and trying to pull towards it, he just calmly walked with me. The dog was no closer than 20-30', but this is a good start towards him ignoring those things and choosing to continue to follow his "heel" and obedience tasks.
We have been making good progress overall!
Grizzly | Rottweiler | Pupdate 02/08/26
Today, I introduced off-leash work to Mr. Grizzly. For only being one week in, Mr. Grizzly did pretty well! I usually wait until about Wednesday of the second week to introduce off-leash work, but he's been doing well with his training. We still need to be more consistent with the "down" and the "heel". We will also continue to reinforce and practice his "come-to-sit". He was able to perform this command, but I'd like to see it cleaned up a bit. Lastly, we were able to hold a "sit" and "place/down" for two minutes!
Great job, Mr. Grizzly!
Grizzly | Rottweiler | Pupdate 02/09/26
Today, we headed over to Whittier Narrows in El Monte, CA, to meet up with our fellow Off Leash trainers and their pups. Unfortunately, Mr. Grizzly became car sick on the way there and back. I even skipped breakfast to ensure he didn't get sick or throw up on the short ride over. That didn't matter. Once we got him cleaned up at the park, we went ahead and practiced our commands with the leash dragging. Although I did introduce the off-leash work yesterday, this was the first time we were around other pups, and I didn't want to take any chances, so we let the leash drag behind him. The good news is that Mr. Grizzly is sensitive and is performing well when the e-collar is on. Due to his sensitivity, Mr. Grizzly can become overstimulated. We have to balance when and how often to use the e-collar. He did fine with the other pups around and had a good session out in public.
When we got home, I had to clean out the kennel from the car, his crate inside, and had to give Mr. Grizzly a quick bath prior to the rain coming. He did fine with the bath and is nice and clean (for now). He was legitimately sick, as when we got home, I gave him his lunch, and it was the first meal that he didn't eat everything. He still ate 90%, but he usually leaves nothing in the bowl.
We'll continue to head out to different places this week and keep pushing him more and more now that I know where he's at in his training, what he can handle, and how effective the e-collar has been with him.
Grizzly | Rottweiler | Pupdate 02/10/26
Today, Mr. Grizzly and I headed over to Liberty Park in Cerritos, CA, to continue to review all his commands in public spaces with distractions. A few kids were playing at the park, a few exercisers were working their way around the track, and a high school volleyball team was practicing. A few dogs were walking around with their pup parents, but they were a good distance away from where we were practicing.
Mr. Grizzly nailed all of his commands! He struggled only with trying to perform the "down" position without falling off the bench. I was pleased with his progress today and how well he performed in everything.
Great progress, Mr. Grizzly!
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