Hiro | Labradoodle | Oak Park, CA | In-Training
- meganoffleashsocal
- Nov 24, 2024
- 12 min read
Updated: Dec 1, 2024
Meet Hiro, he's a one-and-a-half-year-old Labradoodle from Oak Park, California! This sweet and playful pup is here with us for our One Week Board and Train Program, where we will work on teaching him basic obedience and manners. He has some knowledge of a few basic obedience commands, but is easily distracted by his surroundings and struggles to follow through reliably when asked to do something. Hiro sometimes listens if treats are involved, but even then his focus is typically unreliable. He also comes to us with some undesirable behaviors such as pulling on the leash, jumping to greet, and chewing on items around the house. Over the next seven days, we will be working on improving his obedience and manners to set him on the right path to becoming a well-behaved pup. Stay tuned for his transformation!
Pupdate 11/24/2024
Today Hiro and I spent the day bonding and getting to know each other after he was dropped off with me. He was very excited to meet me and spent the first several minutes after his pickup jumping all over me! Once the novelty of meeting me wore off, he shifted his focus to everything around us and was very distracted by his surroundings. The park was quite busy, and had lots of people and dogs visiting, so this was to be expected, especially since it's only his first day!
Before beginning any training, I tested his knowledge of commands to get an idea of his current capabilities, and what areas may need some extra focus on going forward. I asked him basic commands such as Come, Heel, Sit, Down, and Place, but he was typically much more focused on his surroundings rather than anything I was asking of him. His recall was very unreliable overall, and he almost always ignored the Come verbal cue, his name, and even leash pressure attempts to guide him to me when called. If he did happen to move towards me, he would often walk right past me and did not seem interested in staying near me once he got close. He didn't seem interested in performing Heel either, and was almost always at the end of the leash pulling as hard as he could to get to where he wanted to go. He seemed to understand Sit and Down, but had no interest in performing them unless I had treats to bribe him! Even with treats involved, he was unable to hold his stationary positions for longer than a second or two before he lost patience and jumped back up. He wasn't able to perform Place either, and he didn't seem to understand what was being asked of him.
Once we had spent some time testing his knowledge, we headed home to get him settled in, then we began our first training session while working in a relatively calm area of my neighborhood. We focused on introducing him leash pressure, the e-collar, as well as the Heel command. Pressure is a fundamental tool used in teaching basic obedience commands. The idea is that whenever leash pressure is applied, be it from a leash or e-collar, it is paired with a command. The pressure then remains present until Hiro follows the pressure and performs the behavior or command being asked of him. The moment he follows through, the pressure immediately turns off and a reward is given. We spent some time training with leash pressure first before introducing the e-collar to ensure he understood how this concept works, as leash pressure is the most simple form of pressure due to the clear directional guidance it provides. Once it was clear that he understood leash pressure, we began adding in a new form of pressure from the e-collar. By pairing these two forms of pressure simultaneously, he will come to understand that each pressure has the same meaning. Be sure to check out today's video for an in-depth e-collar tutorial. Heel is an important command for him to begin learning early on, as his pulling and erratic movements during walks have put a strain on his family's walking experience with him. The goal for the Heel command is for Hiro to walk nicely alongside his handler on their left side, without pulling ahead, veering off, or falling behind. His job during Heel is to focus on his handler and follow their lead at all times, which will take some practice to get the hang of. Hiro seemed to pick up on this command pretty quickly, and seemed to enjoy his training experience. We are so excited to have begun this training journey together, and can't wait to see all that he can accomplish this week!
Pupdate 11/25/2024
Today Hiro and I visited a park, where we met with some other OffLeash SoCal trainers and their pups! This provided a great opportunity to practice Hiro's training within close proximity to other dogs and people. The park also had some other visitors, along with distractions such as birds, squirrels, bicycles, and grassy fields. During our session today we continued practicing Hiro's Heel command, and also introduced the Off and Come to Sit commands.
Hiro is often easily distracted, as he tends to focus on his surroundings even when asked to perform commands. Moments like this are a great opportunity to implement the Off command. The goal for the Off command is for Hiro to stop whatever he is doing, and focus on his handler. This is a very versatile command, similar to "no" or "leave it", and can be used in various situations, such as to interrupt fixation on distractions, barking, jumping on people, eating or sniffing things he's not supposed to, or any other behaviors that are undesirable or inappropriate at that time. The verbal Off command when paired with leash pressure and the e-collar allows us to interrupt the behavior and help him to refocus so that he is in a better mindset to listen for upcoming instructions. Once the Off command is given, it's beneficial to immediately follow it with another command such as Sit, Come, Heel, etc. Once he stops whatever behavior he was doing, asking him to set his focus on a task will help keep his attention away from what initially distracted him or caused the undesirable behavior. Hiro has shown good progress in understanding the Off command so far, and with each repetition, he seemed to be quicker to respond and refocus when prompted. However, more work will need to be done in various situations before he is fully reliable with the command.
Come to Sit is another important command to begin practicing early on in Hiro's training journey, as having a solid recall is important for any pup's safety and obedience training! The goal for Come to Sit is for Hiro to come when called, approach my right side, circle around my back, and finish with a Sit facing forward on the left side. He is asked to hold this Sit until released with "Break", or given a new command. This ensures he not only comes when called, but also that he remains stationary until told otherwise. The Come to Sit maneuver when completed in its entirety also sets him up to be in the perfect position to begin walking in a Heel. We introduced the Come to Sit command today by combining the verbal command "Come" with guidance from the leash and stimulation from the e-collar to grab his attention and guide him towards me. Once he came over to me, he was then guided around and to my left side where he was asked to perform a Sit. With each successful repetition, I made sure to give him lots of praise and rewards to build up a positive association with the command and the action of coming to me when called. He'll need some more work with this command before he is consistent with it, though for his first day with this command, he did a good job!
Pupdate 11/26/2024
Today Hiro and I visited an outdoor mall, where we practiced all of his commands. We had some light rain here and there today which did seem to put a damper on the distraction levels overall, but Hiro didn't seem to mind the rain at all! There were still some distractions such as the occasional person or other dog, as well as noises from the busy street nearby. We also had Kobe the Goldendoodle puppy tag along and hang out nearby during the training session, which provided a consistent dog distraction in the area.
We continued working on all of Hiro's commands he has learned thus far, including Heel, Off, and Come to Sit. He did a pretty good job with his training overall, and he seems to be understanding the expectations set for each command. He appears to be grasping the concept of the e-collar as well, and has been responding well to the communication it provides during training. Hiro has also been doing a good job following through with his commands without the use of treats involved. and seems to be enjoying working for praise, affection, and playtime as a reward! We also introduced Hiro to a new command today, Place! The goal for the Place command is for Hiro to jump or climb onto a designated object, such as a bench, a bed, or another object with defined borders, and hold a stationary command while remaining on the Place object until released or given a new command. We introduced this command first at home using a familiar object, a dog cot. He is comfortable climbing onto and relaxing on the cot in his own time, so this was a good object to use and help set him up for success. We used some leash pressure to guide him onto the cot while giving the verbal Place cue, which he quickly picked up on. Once he seemed to understand the behavior, we began pairing leash pressure with e-collar stimulation as additional reinforcement and communication when needed. After a few repetitions, he quickly picked up on what was being asked of him and was able to Place with minimal to no leash pressure. We later practiced Place with a variety of objects we found at the mall, such as benches, walls, and other objects, all of which he was able to Place on with little to no issues. He was sometimes a bit hesitant at first when practicing with an unfamiliar object, but with a bit of guidance he was able to follow through, and after that point his confidence increased significantly. We will continue practicing this command with different objects in a variety of environments to improve Hiro's confidence and overall skills with this command!
Pupdate 11/27/2024
Today Hiro and I visited a local shopping strip, where we practiced all of his commands around distractions. This location provided a variety of distractions, including people, other dogs, music, food, and loud noises from the busy street nearby.
Hiro was a bit excited when we first arrived and was eager to check out the environment, though after he had a chance to observe his surroundings, he seemed to calm down a lot and began focusing much more on his training rather than distractions around us. He was able to Heel very nicely past people, dogs, and other types of distractions, and he understood not to leave my side to veer off towards anything. He seems to have a clear understanding of the command now, and he was able to Heel with almost no leash pressure needed to guide him, which is a great sign! His recall for Come to Sit was great, and he always came right to me when called. He still needed consistent guidance to perform the entire maneuver and position himself, but he seems to understand it overall.
One goal of today's training was focusing on improving his ability to remain in stationary positions such as Sit, Down, and Place until released or given a new command. Hiro tends to be impulsive and impatient, so when he is asked to stay still, it becomes a tough challenge for him to resist the temptation to wiggle, jump around, or get up and explore as he pleases. The goal is for him to be able to hold his positions for around a minute and a half. Each time he broke a position before asked, it was discouraged by having him return right back to it. Good behavior was encouraged by rewarding him only when he held it until released.
Hiro did have a bit of an upset stomach this morning and ended up having an accident in his kennel during the early hours of the morning before it was time to wake up. Thankfully he managed to keep himself clean so no bath was needed. He had some more soft stool during his morning walk, so for breakfast we added some pumpkin puree to his kibble to help settle his stomach. He loved this addition and ate it happily. Thankfully, this seems to have resolved and his stool was normal by evening. We added some pumpkin to his dinner as well for good measure.
Pupdate 11/28/2024
Happy Thanksgiving from Hiro and us here at OffLeash SoCal! We kept training simple today by focusing on obedience training and manners while at home. House manners are something we have been working on little by little each day since day one. Even seemingly mundane day-to-day tasks can provide excellent opportunities for training. These manners include areas such as Food Manners and Door Manners.
The goal for Food Manners is for Hiro to be able to hold a stationary command while his food is prepared and set in front of him. He is then asked to remain in that position until he is released before he can get up and eat his food. Hiro tends to get excited about his food, and in the early stages of his training, he was prone to jumping on me or counters when anticipating food, and rushing to the food bowl the moment it was set down. As he progressed in his overall obedience and impulse control, he quickly replaced his bad habits and learned to be polite and patient even when faced with very tempting distractions such as food directly in front of him!
The goal of Door Manners is for Hiro to hold a stationary position while near a door and remain there until released or given a new command, such as Come or Heel. He is asked to hold the position at the location asked of him, and not break the command even if the door is left open, if someone is knocking on it, or if people walk in or out of it. This practice teaches important boundaries, and prevents impolite and possibly dangerous behaviors such as trying to escape through open doors, shoving past people when walking through doors, or rushing over to jump on people who enter through the door. With daily practice, Hiro has made great progress with his manners related to doors, and understands to follow instructions no matter what distractions the door may create. Having proper Door Manners is also a great way to set Hiro up for success with in-home Greeting Manners as well, as he is prompted to hold the position asked of him and is discouraged from jumping on anyone.
Pupdate 11/29/2024
Today Hiro and I visited a local park, where we practiced all of his commands around distractions. The park had some common distractions around, such as people, children, other dogs, and small animals like birds and squirrels. Kobe the Goldendoodle puppy also joined us for part of the session, which provided another distraction to layer into the training.
Hiro did a pretty good job staying focused overall, with the biggest distraction often being Kobe, as his puppy energy often made Hiro want to play and goof off with him. They of course had their time for play, though we also worked to teach Hiro when playtime was appropriate, and when he needed to settle down to focus on his work.
Hiro's commands are each coming along nicely, and he did a great job performing all of them today! He was reliable with each of them, and didn't experience any notable issues. He was also able to perform each command with minimal to no leash pressure, which was great to see! This allowed us to travel and train around the park with ease!
Pupdate 11/30/2024
Today was Hiro's last full day with me, so we spent the day putting to use all of his learned skills to have a great day together! We visited an outdoor mall, where we practiced all of his commands around distractions. The mall was pretty busy, and had groups of people, other dogs, food, music, and other types of distractions readily available during our visit. Despite the busy surroundings, Hiro did an excellent job with his commands and managed to keep a good level of focus! He would sometimes get a bit distracted from time to time, though the Off command was effective in helping him to refocus. He was able to perform Heel, Come to Sit, Place, Down, and Sit all without any major issues, and was even able to train with a loose leash for majority of the time which shows an excellent level of understanding and obedience skill. Hiro also got many compliments from nice people about how cute and well behaved he was. We were able to capture some great footage of Hiro training today that will be used in putting together his final video, so be sure to check out today's video for a sneak peek! Hiro has made such an amazing transformation in this past week, and the differences in him are truly night and day! Before the program, he had a tendency to immediately become overexcited and overstimulated by everything around him, causing him to struggle to pay attention or follow commands. He has since learned to stay calm, focused, and neutral to his surroundings even in busy places. He has also replaced many poor habits with good manners, and by adding structure and consistency into his daily life he has come to understand how to make better choices. He has also made excellent progress towards resolving issues that once were common with him, such as leash pulling, jumping on people, and chewing on household items. While he may seem like a whole new dog, he is still the same silly, loving, and playful pup he always has been, and with his new obedience skills he is even more of a joy to be around and take with on all sorts of adventures! Hiro has been such a pleasure to train and share my home with, and I am forever grateful to have had the opportunity to help this good boy become the best version of himself! The sky is the limit for this pup, and I know he has a very bright future ahead in his continued training journey with his family!
Commenti