Meet Jefferson! Jefferson is a 5-month-old Goldendoodle from Fontana, CA and he is joining us for our 2 Week Board and Train Program! Jefferson is a very sweet boy who can be a little reserved at times. He has some understanding of commands such as Sit, Down, and Come. Although when distractions are presented, Jefferson has troubles holding these commands or even following through reliably. He also has the bad habit of eating many things off the ground and usually jumps to greet people. Jefferson will continue to improve on all basic commands working towards the goal of being off leash! Stay tuned for Jefferson’s transformation!
Pupdate 8/7/2022
Jefferson spent the day settling into his new temporary home. He drooled a bit on the drive home but didn’t throw up. Jefferson loved exploring around and sniffing everything. He walked into our home comfortably but was very curious of his new surroundings. He instantly got along with our Chocolate Labrador Oso and his little boarding buddy Buster. We logged Jefferson’s weight in at a solid 40 lbs.
Pupdate 8/8/2022
Today we introduced Come to Sit, also known as his recall. When we call Jefferson to Come, we want him to come towards us and end on our left-hand side in a seated position. We do not want him sitting/leaning on us, sitting behind/in front of us, or sitting too far off to the side. We would like his ears to be in line with our left knee. Sometimes Jefferson takes a short cut and goes directly to our left-hand side instead of coming around behind us. This is okay as long as he ends up in the right position.
His overall positioning isn’t perfect but first we want him to understand the concept of the command.
Pupdate 8/9/2022
Today Jefferson got to meet up with other trainers from Offleash SoCal at El Dorado Park. Jefferson spent some time today learning that whoever has the remote is calling the shots. We worked on his Down command with many repetitions to make this command more fluid. He started off a bit stubborn and often would pick and choose when he wanted to follow through. In addition to Heel, Come, Sit, and Down, we focused on having Jefferson NOT randomly pick things up while in command. There were a lot of ingesting smells at the park, so he struggled a bit. In the video above you can see Jefferson enjoying playtime with the other pups.
Pupdate 8/10/2022
Jefferson learned his Place command today. For Place we want him to get onto a specified object and Sit/Down. He is to hold is position there until we either release him with Break or ask him to do something else. Place will also help with teaching him to jump into the car on his own! We will start working Place on different objects and surfaces to build his confidence to get in the car. This command is great for in the home as well! You can have him Place while you are cooking, cleaning or answering the front door. Given the heat Jefferson does tire out quite quickly.
Pupdate 8/11/2022
Jefferson met with other trainers at a local park where we put more work into his Place and Come to Sit (recall). Jefferson has some moments where be becomes lazy/slow moving. When he does this, we repeat the command quickly with a slightly higher pitch to encourage him a bit. He does well working around other dogs and was not fazed by them at all.
Pupdate 8/12/2022
We put some more work into having Jefferson jump in/out of the car on his own. You can see at first, he was unwilling/unable to jump into the car. He then works his way to make an attempt but still needs a lot of assistance. Using a couple of treats definitely got him a little more motivated, but he was still really slow getting up and struggled a bit. After some time, you can see Jefferson jumping up into the car and going straight into the crate on his own! He did such a great job.
Pupdate 8/13/2022
Today we let Jefferson out with our personal pup and the other board and trains. Jefferson does very well outside with the others. He played ball, ran around with the other pups, and after getting tired came back inside. After his breakfast we did some Heel work and Place/Duration Sit. He did very well with his duration place/sit. We had let one of the smaller dogs we were training run and jump around Jefferson. Essentially using him as a distraction. For the most part Jefferson was unfazed and kept his command. His Heel command today needed some more attention. He would pull at times and wouldn’t listen consistently.
After that we took Jefferson down to the Naples Canals. He worked on his Heel, Sit, and Place command. One thing that I saw was that Jefferson would walk out of line towards other people or something he was more interested in. Then we took him home and gave him his lunch and provided him with a well-deserved rest after some hard work training.
Pupdate 8/14/2022
Today we let Jefferson out in the backyard to play with the other Board and Train pups. He came back to the house ready for breakfast and that’s exactly what he got. One of the other board and train pups, Roxie, has taken a liking to Jefferson. She loves him so much she essentially uses him as a security blanket.
We then took him down to the Huntington Beach Pier where he worked on duration Sit and Down commands with distractions. Even though there were tons of dogs, people walking and people riding bikes Jefferson still managed to hold his Sits and Down for a few minutes. When we got home, we gave Jefferson his well-deserved lunch and a good long nap.
Pupdate 8/15/2022
To start the day, we let Jefferson outside to socialize with the other dogs. Jefferson must’ve stepped in mud when he was out there because he came back up with muddy paws. We gave Jefferson his breakfast and let him take a small break from running around.
Before lunch we took him on a short nature walk with a couple of his roommates. Jefferson did well on the walk and had very few hiccups. We worked on his heel commands where he would fall behind or walk a little off to the right. It was nothing big, but it is something that needs to be worked on just a little more. A little before dinner, we gave Jefferson a bath where he executed his sit command through getting washed.
Pupdate 8/16/2022
We met up with all the OffLeash trainers and their dogs. Jefferson did well with Mike circumnavigating the park. Jefferson preformed all commands with relative ease. After a break Jefferson worked with Sheena in close proximity to the other dogs. We found that Jefferson looked to his house mates and sometimes chose to go to them rather than listen to Sheena. He still is a little slow moving at times when preforming his commands. We still repeat the command quickly with a slightly higher pitch to encourage him a bit, along with being paired with low level stimulation. This helps Jefferson get that extra pip in his step!
Overall, Jefferson did well today. Jefferson was in a new environment, with multiple dogs, humans, bikes, skateboards, and even ducks. We will continue to work with Jefferson around his friends emphasizing the need to adhere to the handlers asks.
Pupdate 8/17/2022
After breakfast, we took Jefferson on a walk where he practiced his Heel and Sit commands off leash. His only issue was that he would stop and try to sniff and pick stuff up off the ground. He definitely tries to be sneaky! When this happens, we need to be quick with our corrections and pair it up with an e-collar stimulation. Other than those hiccups he was completely fine and had a nice walk.
Later in the day, we took Jefferson to The Home Depot. We practiced his Heel, Duration Sit and Down off leash with light distractions. Jefferson was startled when a piece of wood was dropped in close proximity to him. He jumped up and started to walk towards us, but we immediately followed through with the previous task. Jefferson was asked to Sit, then Down, to stay consistent with the work. Other than that, he did very well, and I was very happy to see Jefferson being a good boy!
Pupdate 8/18/2022
We took Jefferson over a local park to meet with other OffLeash trainers. We worked Jefferson on his Heel, Place, Come to Sit, and his Duration Down and Sit off leash! He did much better than last time with Sheena, even with his play buddies around. He is starting to understand that boundaries and rules apply with all persons, not just some.
Pupdate 8/19/2022
Jefferson enjoys all of his off-leash walks and freedom. Whenever you have him off leash you always want to be aware of your surroundings. If you noticed a distraction coming near make sure you have Jefferson's attention. If you notice he turns his head or his ears perk up, get his attention back on you. He is still a young pup, so consistency is going to play a huge role in his long-term progression. Jefferson is such a sweet boy I'm sure he will continue to thrive with appropriate structure.
Pupdate 8/20/202
We worked on Jefferson’s house manners. These include greeting manners, crate manners, door manners and food manners. Greeting manners Jefferson is to remain in a sit/down while someone says ‘hi’ to him. If he gets up then the petting should stop, then have him sit/down again. For crate manners we would like Jefferson to go in/out of the crate on command. He sometimes takes his time coming out of the crate which isn’t a bad thing! As long as he doesn’t push his way out of the crate. Door manners we want Jefferson to sit/down and wait before going in/out of any doorway. Even if it is left open. Food manners work similar to door manners where Jefferson must sit/down and wait to be released to get his food. The same rule applies for treats too!
Jefferson is such a good boy who is dearly going to be missed!
