Huckleberry | German Shepherd | Ojai, CA | In Training

Meet Huckleberry! He is a 7 month old German Shepherd from Ojai, California here for our Two Week Board and Train program! Huckleberry is a goofy, playful pup who shows some timid tendencies at times, struggles with counter surfing and excessive barking. Over the next two weeks, Huckleberry will learn how to behave on leash and off leash, how to properly greet people and other dogs, and how to be the pup he can be! Stay tuned for Huckleberry's Two week transformation!

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Pupdate 12/26/22

Huckleberry and I headed off to a local park after pick up. He struggled getting into his crate at pickup but after going out and exploring he hopped right in on his own when we got back to the van. After letting him sniff for a few minutes I started to see what he knew. He popped into a sit quickly but struggled to down. He wanted to pull to everyone we saw and barked at a bicycle that rode by. We then headed home and are getting him acclimated to his new environment. He is taking treats but did not want to eat his dinner, which after we talked seems normal his first day or two somewhere new. He has warmed up well to me but he struggled getting into the crate at home even after doing well in the car.

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Pupdate 12/27/22

Huck and I spent the morning bonding and then introduced the e-collar in the backyard and then headed off to a local park. Today we focused on teaching him his come command. When I ask him to come he needs to come all the way to me and sit on my left side. He struggled wanting to smell and come all the way to me but held his sits perfectly! He barked at a couple of dogs that we saw and struggled maintaining his focus. He is a sweet and fun dog and has settled in nicely. He did only eat half his dinner tonight but I am monitoringN n no his weight and think he will be back to normal tomorrow. He also did have some loose stools and there seems to be some candy wrappers in there that he might have accidentally gotten into before he came to me with the holidays and all. I have attached a photo below. 

_______________________________________________________________________________Pupdate 12/28/22

Huck and I headed off to Glendale to work around some other trainers and dogs. He was a bit timid around new people and was very bouncy and wanting to play with the other dogs. He did great with his come to sit command and we introduced place. Place is any elevated object or surface with a defined boundary. He did not want to place up on table at first but with some treats and motivation he got on up there! He did have another poop with some candy wrappers in it today that I have attached below.

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Pupdate 12/29/22

Huck and I had a rainy day so we started with some training in home practicing his place and break command. When I break him he likes to get over excited and nip so we are practicing on him remaining calm but still allowing the fun to happen! We then headed out to a local park to practice all of his commands. He struggled with downs and you will see in the video me touching his back at times. I am just using one finger and a little pressure to help him get into that position. 

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Pupdate 12/30/22

Huck and I headed off to a local park and tractor supply today. We focused on dragging the leash with the commands he understands and removing the leash pressure from downs. He did well dragging the leash and staying in his “heel” position but did break when we saw dogs from a distance so I had to pick it up. Even with a few reminders he wanted to go say hi to the other dogs still. He is making progress with his downs and only needing very light leash pressure for 1-2 seconds and he drops into it. The goal is by tomorrow he is doing it just on command!

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Pupdate 12/31/22

Huckleberry and I practiced some training in home first thing this morning with the heavier rain. Once it lightened up we headed out to a local park. He was a bit more interested in the smells today but overall did fantastic. The bench kind of blocks it but he downed with no leash pressure and just on command today. We also worked on him holding his sit command from an extended distance as well as practiced his come command from further distances!

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Pupdate 01/01/23

We finally had a sunny day so we headed off to a couple local parks and then Home Depot. While at the park a couple bikes passed which spooked Huck and sent him running to the end of the long leash. I was curious if it was the rolling wheels so we headed to Home Depot and while he didn’t love the shopping carts it didn’t cause the startle that the bike did. We tried to find some more bikes so I can video it and show you but we were unsuccessful so that will hopefully be coming tomorrow. He is doing great with all his other commands but still struggles with downs at times and is a main focus for us! 

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Pupdate 01/02/23

Huckleberry and I headed off to a local park and then home to practice his food manners. At the park we worked on his down command around distractions. When at home, he does them very well. Every time we go into a new environment he seems to forget what is being asked and needs some leash pressure and reminders to hold that position. We are doing a lot of repetitions and working on adding duration to it. For his food manners he is doing well, you will see he laid down and I didn’t fix it. He can do whatever he wants on place unless I specifically ask him to hold a sit or down which I did not. We did not see any bikers out today but will be looking again tomorrow. 

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Pupdate 01/03/23

Huckleberry and I headed off to a couple local parks and Lowes to work on all his commands. The past few days we have focused on downs and today everything came together. He still needs a reminder or two but we have moved to just pointing and no leash pressure. We popped the leash off at a local park and took a nice walk around and then spent some time

practicing all his commands. While at Lowes he did fantastic and the shopping carts seemed to bother him less today than they had previously. 

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Pupdate 01/04/23

Huck and I headed off to meet up with some other trainers and work around other dogs. He did well today but struggled when he first came out of the car with all the new smells. Once he got a 10 minute warm up in, he got into the swing of things. I have noticed in brand new environments he needs a warm up before we start practicing off leash. I have also noticed that it is not just bicycles he reacts too but I suspect it's anything moving quickly by him. People running by at a quick pace, bicycles moving quickly, skateboarders riding fast. We will continue working on and taking him to as many new environments and finidng as many distractions to work him through this. He did not jump up or pull towards any dogs today which was awesome! We then headed home to escape the rain and practiced his down command and his door manners.

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Pupdate 01/05/23

Huckleberry and I started off the morning practicing his crate manners coming in and out of the car. We then headed off to Lowes to work around some distractions. While at Lowes we focused on him holding his sit and down command for extended periods and distances. He needed a couple reminders when he got tired to hold his sit and not fall into a down but overall did fantastic! I am hoping with the rain letting up tomorrow that the skatepark will be busy and the perfect place to work on things moving by him quickly!  

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Pupdate 01/06/23

Huck and I headed off to Santa Monica to work on all his commands around some distractions. When we first got there we saw a ton of bicycles on our way down to the pier and he was spooked. We took the opportunity and worked him through it and by the end of the day he paid little to no mind to them. He did fantastic on the pier and got many compliments from all the people walking by. We then headed off to Harbor Freight to purchase some household things and he got the chance to practice holding his sits and downs for an extended period while we searched for what we needed.

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Pupdate 01/07/23

Huckleberry and I headed off to Home Depot and then to a local park. While at Home Depot we worked on finding new place objects and holding his down command around distractions. We then headed off to a local park where he showed a lot of interest around the racket ball court so we spent about 40 minutes working on all of his commands off leash. When we first arrived at the park, the noises of the ball and cheering had him lose focus so we did some warm up and repetitions and within 10 minutes he paid little to no mind. He did fantastic today and is a favorite everywhere we go.

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Pupdate 01/08/23

Huckleberry and I headed off to a couple different stores and then to a local park to end the day with some fun and fetch. While at Home Depot and Lowes he did fantastic holding his positions and remaining in his heel command. There were two new place objects he was hesitant getting on but we were able to work him through it. He met 4 new people today and did fantastic holding his sit command while he got some pets.

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Pupdate 01/09/23

Huckleberry and I started off the morning with some training in home and then headed off to Lowes and Home Depot today. He did fantastic there but was a bit startled with the heavier rain going on around us. We focused on holding his down command with shopping carts and people passing by along with finding some more objects to practice place on. He is walking fantastic and paid no mind to everyone walking by.