Meet Invy! She's a four month old French Bulldog from Montebello, California here for our Three-Week Board and Train Program. She is a super sweet pup who simply struggles with her basic commands. She sometimes pulls on her leash, play bites and she will be getting potty training while she's here! Over the next twenty one days, we'll help Invy with her general obedience and get her potty trained in the process! Stay tuned for Invy's three week transformation!
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Pupdate: 2/19/2023
After picking up Invy, we stayed at the park for a while to get to know each other! She is incredibly sweet and took to me very quickly. Walking around the park, she definitely wanted to pull herself wherever she wanted, but would often stop to look up at me. I like that she affords me some attention, even with all the different scents around the park. After the park, we went home where Invy got settled in around my house. She seems to be adjusting very well so far!
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Pupdate: 2/20/2023
Invy and I went back to Whittier Narrows Park today for her first full day of training! We worked on her Heel and her Sit commands today. She was having a lot of trouble sitting yesterday, but she's starting to get comfortable with it and it seems like she's starting to understand the command. For Heel, I want Invy to walk nicely at my left side, with her ears at my leg. There were a few times today she got a little frustrated with me and didn't want to walk with me or sit for me, but she seems to be getting the hang of it! As far as her potty training, Invy has not had an accident yet. She's pottied in the grass each time we've gone outside and each time she goes, I say "Go potty!" and give her lots of praise to show her she's doing a great job!
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Pupdate: 2/21/2023
Invy and I went to Almansor Park today for training! She piddled a little bit in her kennel this morning, but then pottied at the park! She is starting to walk very well at my side. Her sit command is also getting much better, so I started working on her Come To Sit command. For this command, I want Invy to come to my right side, walk around my legs and sit at my left side with her ears at my knee. After practicing for a while, she's starting to get it!
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Pupdate: 2/22/2023
Invy and I went to La Bonita Park today for training! She did a great job there. We continued work on her Come To Sit command. She's starting to perform the command a little more smoothly. We also started working on her Place command! For Place, I want Invy to hop up onto a raised object and remain there. Today I had her practicing this on a cot I brought with me. Invy doesn't seem to have any qualms about climbing onto the cot, but she's a bit more hesitant about hopping down! She's doing a great job!
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Pupdate: 2/23/2023
Today, Invy and I went to Home Depot to avoid the rain! Home Depot is a great place for training because there are usually plenty of people, moving carts, and strange scents to serve as distractions! Invy had a great time. Nearly every single person in the building either complimented her or wanted to pet her. She's extremely friendly and she got very excited to meet new people! This is great, but the problem is she gets so excited she doesn't want to sit down or stay still at all when people crouch down in front of her. She didn't jump on anyone, however, which I think is already an improvement. One of the manners we work on is greeting manners, where I want Invy to hold her Sit while being approached and petted by a stranger. Invy, I believe, is going to need a lot of practice with new people in order to perfect her greeting manners. While she wasn't being greeted, Invy did a wonderful job with the commands she's learned so far! She's performing her Heel and Come To Sit commands with very little leash tension now. For her potty training, she didn't have any accidents today, even inside Home Depot! She went potty on the grass in front of the building, for which she received a lot of praise and a treat because it was exactly what I wanted from her!
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Pupdate: 2/24/2023
Invy and I went to Del Amo Fashion Center today! She worked with another trainer on her commands, and we introduced the Down command. She was a little overwhelmed by her surroundings and didn't do a great job with Down in that environment. After we got home, we tried Down again in a more neutral environment and she's starting to get better at it! Other than that command, Invy did fairly well with the other trainer. There were times when Invy would get very excited to be working with someone new, and there were also times she wanted to try to walk back over to me. Both of these hindered her ability to perfectly execute her commands, so I'm glad we practiced this today! Just like yesterday, Invy got plenty of attention from strangers. She did a better job at sitting still than yesterday, but we still have a lot of work to do in that regard!
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Pupdate: 2/25/2023
Invy went to Montebello Mall today! She behaved very well with no potty accidents. Again, she got lots of attention from passersby and she continues to improve her greeting manners. She also did a lot better with her Down command out in public! I noticed while we were on the second floor of the mall, Invy was extremely hesitant to get close to the railing where she can see down below. We stopped there and went through her commands to help her gain confidence! She also takes a very long time to walk up and down stairs, so her hesitancy at that height isn't too surprising. Great job today, Invy!
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Pupdate: 2/26/2023
Invy went to Almansor Park today for training! She did well, although she became very interested in the geese and ducks at certain points! All of her commands are improving. She had more trouble performing her Down command outside than she did in the mall yesterday. She still gets pretty excited to meet new people, but she's improving! She managed to hold a sit for one person petting her today!
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Pupdate: 2/27/2023
Invy and I went back to Home Depot for more training! She furthered her greeting skills with a few home depot employees and did a good job with most of them! She worked with another trainer for a few minutes, and didn't like when I left. The other day, she worked with another trainer, but I stayed in sight the whole time, today, I went around the corner and Invy didn't seem to like me leaving. Other than that, she did very well with her commands today, and no potty accidents!
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Pupdate: 2/28/2023
Invy went to Montebello Mall today for training! She did wonderfully and as always, garnered a lot of attention! Even in the short video above, three different groups of people stopped and asked to pet Invy! She know that I want her to sit still, but she still has a little trouble with it, and her bottom often comes up off the ground to wiggle while she greets people. She did a great job with all of her commands today, and no potty accidents!
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Pupdate: 3/1/2023
Invy went to Almansor Park today for training! We had to take several breaks for rain, but it was generally a good day! Invy got a lot of exercise and practice with her commands. No potty accidents, and she behaved well all day. After the park we went home and Invy got to play with my personal puppy. I think they like each other and make pretty good playmates!
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Pupdate: 3/2/2023
Invy went to Pan Pacific Park today! She was a little excited in the morning. This park tends to have tons of dogs running around playing, and they serve as excellent distractions! She's also been getting a lot of playtime with my puppy, who rides around on my back, and having her there also adds a level of distraction for Invy. She very quickly calmed down, though, and she was very well behaved for the rest of the day! We spent a lot of time on Invy's ability to hold her positions, like on the rock in the above video! In the video, she gets up a couple times, but manages to hold her sit for an impressive amount of time!
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Pupdate: 3/3/2023
Invy and I made our way to the Santa Monica Promenade today! Her Heel was great the whole time, and her other commands are doing pretty well too! I'm seeing a slow but noticeable improvement in her greeting manners. A few people wanted to pet her today and she was still very wiggly, but I could see her trying to keep her bottom on the ground. No potty accidents so far today!
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Pupdate: 3/4/2023
Invy went to Almansor Park today for training! We worked on all of her commands, but I especially liked how confidently she is jumping onto the cot for her Place command today! After the park she got a lot of playtime at home. No potty accidents today! Her potty training seems to be going very well. She's able to hold it for about six hours at a time when she's sleeping. She goes potty in the grass right when I let her out in the morning, and seems to know not to go in her crate or inside the house. Great job Invy!
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Pupdate: 3/5/2023
Invy and I went to Cheviot Hills Recreation Center today for training! She had a fun day at the park, but we still worked on her commands. There weren't very many people at the park, but she still got compliments from almost everyone who passed. She got a new roommate, the new dog entering our training program, and she seems to like him! My personal pup will still be her dedicated playmate, though.
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Pupdate: 3/6/2023
Invy went to Maple Park today for training! She behaved well, and got to meet some new friends! For her video today, I want to show one of the household manners we've been working on. For Invy's door manners, I want her to wait patiently when I open a door, without trying to rush out in front of me. We work on this every time she goes in or out of my home, so she's getting pretty good at it! In the video, when we walk out and turn to come back in, a neighbor's dog saw us and started pulling toward us and barking. This startled me, but Invy stayed calm and collected for the most part!
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Pupdate: 3/7/2023
Invy went to Citadel Outlets today for training! As always, she got a lot of attention from strangers. She did very well there and since it was a nice day, we went to the park near my house for the rest of the afternoon. When we got home she got plenty of playtime with my pup, and then she curled up for a nap on her blanket!
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Pupdate: 3/8/2023
Invy went to Ruben Ingold Parkway for training today! She did well, but another trainer worked with her for a few minutes and she had trouble performing the Down command, possibly because I stepped away. She also had some loose stool today, so I added pumpkin to her dinner, which should help her tummy. Other than that, Invy had a long, but great day!
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Pupdate: 3/9/2023
Invy and I went to Montebello Mall today for training! We focused heavily on her greeting manners, as that is still her weakest area, and she did a really good job! There were still times she wanted to hop up and move when being petted, but there were also several times she sat still! Invy's stool was completely normal today, which is great, and no potty accidents, which is even better!
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Pupdate: 3/10/2023
Invy went to Del Amo Fashion Center today for training! She did well all day, although she wasn't a fan of the rain for the few times we had to walk through it! For her video today, I wanted to show some greeting manners! In this video, a stranger tries to pet Invy while she sits. Each time she gets up, I ask the stranger to pull their hand away, and I have Invy Sit back down. On the last one, she manages to hold her sit a bit better, gets her attention, then I release her and give her lots of praise!
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Pupdate: 3/11/2023
Invy went to Almansor Park today for her last full day of training! She had a fun day, even though it was a little wet for some off the time. We worked on all of her commands and manners, but for her video I'm showing her crate manners! For this, I want Invy to walk into and out of her kennel when asked. She has been pretty good with this for a while now, but she can always use practice! Invy has been a pleasure to work with and I'm going to miss having her here when she leaves tomorrow!
