Meet Ivy, a friendly 1-year-old Goldendoodle from Los Alamitos, CA. She's here for our Two-Week Board and Train Program for pulling on the leash, jumping up on people, and basic obedience. Stay tuned for her fourteen-day transformation!
Pupdate 11/14/2021
Ivy is settling in nicely! She socialized in the backyard with my dog Juno, and the 5.5 month old labradoodle puppy that is also here for training. We worked on luring on to the place board, which she was unsure of at first, but her desire to eat the treats helped her try and conquer something new. She is great in the crate, and I'm really looking forward to working with her!
Pupdate 11/15/2021
Ivy is one smart girl! Today we stayed on my property and worked on Ivyās rear end awareness and the come to heel command. Dogs donāt have natural rear end awareness. We can teach them how to be more conscious of their hind legs by luring them on to a platform and then marking and rewarding for any small movement away from us. When we began this exercise, Ivy tried to avoid stepping on the rubber bowl, but she soon figured out that stepping on the bowl produced a reward. After a few minutes she was moving seamlessly around the bowl and being rewarded for each small movement around it. In the afternoon she socialized with the other dogs and then we went for a walk in the neighborhood to work on loose leash walking.
Pupdate 11/16/2021
This morning we continued to work on come to sit and added place and the down command. The dogs then socialized in the yard, and Ivy finally got to interact with the other doodle puppy who is a bit unsure of other dogs. Sheās uses her paws a lot when she plays and will try to nibble on the other dogsā back legs, which they donāt always like, but always takes correction well when they express their dislike for that style of play. In the early afternoon we worked on e-collar conditioning. I found the lowest level where she feels the sensation of the collar and will respond to it, then I let her go out on the long line and tap the button. When she turns towards me I mark the moment with a verbal āyesā and reward her with food.
Pupdate 11/17/2021
Ivy and I continue to work on e-collar conditioning, loose leash walking, and heeling. She has a strong opposition reflect and struggled a bit with learning leash pressure, but we did make some good progress and will continue to work on this. Luckily she loves the treats I'm using and will work eagerly for food! In the afternoon we worked on backing up and putting that on cue and did some distraction work at Lowe's.
Pupdate 11/18/2021
Ivy and I worked on her commands at a park while a childrenās basketball practice was taking place. Ivy can perform her commands in non-distracting environments but struggles in areas where thereās more activity. While working on loose leash walking she will get distracted by a person or something on the ground and has to be reminded to come back into the heel position. Ivy is great in the crate and has been eating all of her food.
Pupdate 11/19/2021
This morning I heard Ivy dry heaving in her crate as if she had to throw up, and when I opened the door to let her out I found that she had vomited two children's socks, which she would not have access to in my home or during outings. I went to grab a paper towel to remove them but when I reached towards the socks, she quickly gobbled one of them back up. Will monitor the situation until the second sock reappears.
We worked through Ivy's resistance to leash pressure today by layering the e-collar over directional leash pressure and ended up with beautiful heel work! At the mall Ivy struggled with wanting to greet people. We worked on her duration down and more heeling.
Pupdate 11/20/2021
Ivy and I did more work on her come to sit command, and it's looking a lot better now! She is also moving better with the leash after layering the e-collar over the directional leash pressure. We did more heeling at the park around distractions and Ivy did pretty well! She does struggle with wanting to greet every person in sight, but we continue to work on that and she is showing more impulse control.
Pupdate 11/21/2021
Ivy and I went to the Harbor and worked on her commands and greeting manners. At the beginning of the video when she's released from place you'll notice she tries to go off camera (bottom right side of frame). This was to greet the person who was standing just off camera and who was instructed not to interact with Ivy. We used this person as a distraction since Ivy has a tendency to want to greet random people and jump on them. We worked on her greeting manners by approaching the individual and then sitting politely in front of them. I then instruct the individual to approach Ivy from her side and pet her. If Ivy moved from the sitting position the individual was instructed to stop petting her. After several repetitions Ivy was able to greet the individual and receive affection politely.
Pupdate 11/22/2021
Ivy and I went back to the Carlsbad Outlet Mall to work on her off-leash heeling around crowds of people and proof the rest of her commands. She did really well ignoring people and dogs, but did get startled by the noises coming from a train that children can ride and by a barking dog. Both times she jumped out of position and it took some time to get Ivy to return to the heel position. Ivyās extended sit and extended down have improved tremendously, and it's clear that she now understands what they mean.
Pupdate 11/23/2021
Today Ivy was able to showcase what she has learned over the last week. We practiced off-leash heeling at the Irvine Spectrum Center where Ivy was able to walk politely past people and dogs, and hold an extended down in a high traffic area. She was even complimented for being so well behaved while in a down! Very happy with the progress this lovely girl is making!
Below is another video of us walking with two other OffLeash K9 trainers and their trainees.
Pupdate 11/24/2021
Ivy and I worked on her commands while off-leash at the Huntington Beach boardwalk. She did a great job ignoring distractions and was able to sit nicely while people greeted her. After our walk she did an extended down while I ate lunch off the boardwalk.
Pupdate 11/25/2021
Happy Thanksgiving! We stayed on my property today and socialized. In the afternoon we went for a walk around the neighborhood and practiced Ivyās commands. She did great! Ivy is softening her play with the other dogs and making more friends that way.
Pupdate 11/26/2021
Ivy and I went to the Outlets at San Clemente to proof her obedience commands around the Black Friday crowds. Ivy was able to pass people and other dogs while remaining at my heel and she performed all of her obedience commands beautifully! When she picks up a stick in the yard I use the "Off" command and she spits it out. Very happy with her progress over the past two weeks!
Pupdate 11/27/2021
Ivy and I went back to the Outlets at San Clemente to work on her final video. She performed all of her commands, heeled off leash, and sat politely for photos and while people pet her. Sheās done a really great job in her off-leash training and I can say it has been a pleasure walking her around town. Wishing Ivy and her family a happy life together!
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