Meet Juju, a one year old German Shepherd Husky Mix from Los Angeles, California! She's here with us for our Two Week Board and Train Program, where we will be working to improve her obedience and manners. This sweet and playful pup has some general knowledge of a few basic obedience commands, but she has selective hearing, often being too distracted by her surroundings to maintain focus or follow through with commands. She also likes to use her strength and speed to pull heavily on the leash while walking, and loves to jump on people when she's excited. Juju is typically friendly with other dogs, but has picked up a habit of reacting and barking at them when she sees them. She also has a strong prey drive, which often leads to her trying to chase after small animals such as birds and squirrels. Juju also has some bad habits around the house, such as destructive chewing, digging holes, and poor manners around the front door. Over the next fourteen days, we will be working to improve her obedience, manners, and overall behavior to set her on the right track to becoming a well-behaved pup both on and off leash! Stay tuned for her transformation!
Pupdate 2/11/2024
Today Juju and I spent the day bonding and getting to know each other after her pickup! We walked around and explored the park a bit, and I worked to develop a positive relationship with her to help her feel comfortable and happy training with me going forward. While she warmed up to me very quickly, overall she seemed to be much more interested in her surroundings and struggled to maintain focus on me for any significant period of time. She was also very distracted and excited any time another dog, person, or small animal was visible in the surrounding area. She barked at a few dogs, though it seemed to be from excitement as her body language was very playful. She also tried to pull toward and jump on nearly every person who got close to us, as she wanted to say hello to everyone she saw. The park also had a large number of birds and squirrels around, which Juju could not help but to try to chase every one she saw by running full speed at them!
After taking some time to explore the park and assess her general behavior, I began testing her knowledge of basic commands to help me get an idea of her starting point and what areas of her training may need some extra attention. Juju has some knowledge of commands in German, so we made sure to ask her commands in the language she is familiar with as well as testing them out in English to see if either happened to work. Juju didn't seem to have any understanding of or desire to perform the Heel command, and regardless of leash pressure or verbal commands given, she was often determined to pull on the leash to get where she wanted to go. When given some extra room with the long leash, she was usually all the way at the end of it and still trying to pull or wander around, and generally wasn't interested in sticking beside me as we walked. When testing out her recall, she would often ignore her name, leash pressure, and the Come command, especially if she was focused on something else. Rarely, she would come my general direction when called, however she did not stick around for more than a moment or two before immediately rushing back off or wandering away in a different direction. She seemed to understand the Sit command, though was very rarely able to follow through with the command when asked to perform it. If she did happen to Sit, she was very quick to break the position and was unable to hold it for longer than a second or two at a time. She didn't seem interested in performing the Down command either, and was unable to perform the command when asked. Juju was also unable to jump or climb onto any objects for the Place command, and was uninterested in attempting this command even on easy-to-reach objects.
After we had a chance to get to know each other at the park, it was time to head home and get settled in! Despite being hesitant about jumping onto objects around the park, Juju had no trouble jumping into my car once the door was opened for her and she loaded right up into the kennel without any issue which was a great display of good Car Manners! She was calm and quiet for the whole ride home. At home, she seemed a bit unsure of the new environment at first, but after spending some time together and playing with some toys, she calmed down and was able to explore the new environment and become familiar with it! During dinnertime she was very excited for her food, and wanted to bark and jump on me while I was preparing her meal, and she impatiently rushed for the bowl as soon as it was placed down. While it's great that she loves her food, we'll definitely need to start working on her Food Manners! Later we went for a walk around the neighborhood which she seemed to enjoy! We will typically be taking walks around my neighborhood every day in the mornings and evenings during her stay with me. While getting her leash to head out the door she was barking and jumping on me a lot, and wanted to rush out the door as soon as it was open, so we'll need to work on her Door Manners as well. Overall she seems to be settling in nicely, and I'm excited to begin this training journey with her! One other thing to note, Juju had recent spaying surgery and still has some stitches in place. I will be monitoring the area daily, and keeping a close eye on it to ensure the healing process continues smoothly!
Pupdate 2/12/2024
Today Juju and I took a trip to a park, where we met up with some other OffLeash SoCal trainers and their pups! This was a great opportunity to work on Juju's training while around some distractions, and get a feel for her behavior around other dogs. This park wasn't nearly as busy as the one we visited yesterday, with only a few other people and dogs around apart from the other trainers. Juju was very excited upon first arriving and was vocalizing quite a bit while making our way from the parking lot into the park. However once she had a chance to sniff around the grass and familiarize herself with the environment, she seemed to relax a bit and was no longer vocalizing excessively. Once we began training, she did a pretty good job about staying focused and on task! She did sometimes want to sniff around or stare at the other dogs while we were training, but she seemed to understand that she wasn't going to be playing with them and eventually began to ignore them for the most part. Every now and then she would whine a bit when they were close by, but she did not bark at them which was good! Today's training session was focused on improving her understanding of leash pressure, as well as introducing the e-collar. The commands we focused on teaching today are the Come to Sit and Off commands.
Pressure is a fundamental tool used in basic obedience training. The idea is that whenever pressure is applied, be it from a leash or an e-collar, it is paired with a command to communicate, guide, and reinforce the desired behavior. When pressure is applied, Juju needs to problem-solve, follow the guidance, and perform the specific behavior being asked of her. Once she follows through with what is being asked, the pressure immediately stops and a reward is then given! Juju loves physical affection, verbal praise, and sniff breaks, so these are all great ways to reward her! She is also very food motivated, so we used a bit of her kibble from breakfast to use as treats during some of our training. The goal is for her to not need treats to be reliable with commands, but using treats appropriately is a great tool to encourage learning, bonding, and engagement, especially in these first few days! Leash pressure is the most basic form of pressure, due to the clear directional guidance it provides. From Juju's behavior so far, she seems to have become accustomed to ignoring the sensation of leash pressure, often choosing to ignore or pull against it whenever it is felt. We utilized a slip lead today during training, which is a great tool for teaching the concept of leash pressure, as it provides clear communication when pressure is applied which discourages pulling or ignoring the sensation. We practiced some simple exercises by applying leash pressure, encouraging her to follow it, and rewarding her when she did! She caught onto this easily enough, and after a bit of practice she seemed to understand that pulling against the leash was not rewarding, and that simply following its guidance was the better option. The next step was to introduce the e-collar, and help her become familiar with the sensation so that we can begin opening the doors for communication with this tool as well. By pairing the stimulation from the e-collar simultaneously with leash pressure, she will come to understand that these two forms of pressure have the same meaning. With time, we will eventually be able to use these tools interchangeably or in place of one another, which leads to the opportunity for training and adventures without the need for a leash! While she has a ways to go before she can be allowed off leash, she caught on very quickly to the e-collar and is making great progress in understanding it! I've included a tutorial on how to use the e-collar in today's pupdate, so be sure to check that out!
Come to Sit is an important command to begin practicing early on in Juju's training journey. Since Juju will be trained in German commands, we will be using the verbal cues "Heir" for "Come" and "Zitz" for "Sit". Having a solid recall is important for any pup's safety and obedience training, though this will be especially crucial for her to master if she is to be allowed off leash. The goal for Come to Sit is for Juju to come when called, approach her handler's right side, circle around their back, and finish with a Sit facing forward on the left side. She is asked to hold her Sit until released with "Break" or "Brechen" in German, or given a new command. This ensures she not only comes when called, but also that she remains stationary until told otherwise, which will be a common theme among all of her commands, as they each come with an implied stay. The Come to Sit maneuver when completed in its entirety also sets her up to be in the perfect position to begin walking in a Heel, which we will begin focusing on tomorrow! We introduced the Come to Sit command today by combining the verbal command with leash and e-collar pressure if needed as reinforcement to grab her attention and guide her towards me. Once she came over to me, she was then guided around and to my left side where she was asked to perform a Sit. With each successful repetition, I made sure to give her lots of praise and rewards to build up a positive association with the command and the action of coming to me when called. She'll need some more work with this command before she is fully consistent with it without any physical guidance, though for her first day with this command, she did a fantastic job!
Juju is often easily distracted and struggles to maintain focus, as she is very interested in her surroundings even when being asked to perform commands. Moments like this are a great opportunity to implement the Off command, or "Aus" in German. The goal for the Off command is for Juju to stop whatever she is doing, and focus on her handler. This is a very versatile command, similar to saying "no" or "leave it", and can be used in various situations, such as to interrupt fixation on distractions, barking, jumping, chewing or sniffing things she's not supposed to, or any other behaviors that are undesirable or inappropriate at that time. The Off command allows us to interrupt the behavior and get her to refocus so that she 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 she stops whatever behavior she was doing, asking her to set her focus on a task will help keep her attention where we want it. Juju has shown good progress in understanding the Off command so far, and with each repetition, she seemed to be quicker to respond and refocus when prompted. However, more work will need to be done in various situations before she is fully reliable with the command.
Pupdate 2/13/2024
Today Juju and I took a walk to a local park, where we began working on the Heel command! We also continued practicing with the Come to Sit and Off commands. The park wasn't overly busy today, but there were still a few common distractions around, such as some people, children, occasional dogs, and small animals such as birds and squirrels. The grassy fields also served as a good distraction, as Juju loves to sniff around in the grass. Overall Juju was quite distracted upon first arriving despite the relatively calm environment, however she is making good progress in understanding the Off command. She had a few stubborn moments here and there, especially when she wanted to stare at the small animals, but she did not try to chase after any today which is already a good sign of improvement in her impulse control. After some time had passed training here, she seemed to have an easier time focusing on commands and ignoring the distractions around her.
Heel is another important concept for Juju to begin working on early on in her training, as her strong pulling while on the leash can pose dangers to her handler, herself, or others in the area if it is allowed to continue. The verbal command for Juju's Heel is "fuss". The goal for the Heel command is for Juju to be able to follow directly alongside her handler on their left side at their heels, and maintain that position while walking unless released or given a new command. This precise positioning takes a lot of practice to master, but it will effectively eliminate pulling on the leash or veering off in different directions, and allow her handler to take the lead on walks instead of her trying to pull them around wherever she pleases. She does have some knowledge of this command already, however until today she was largely unreliable with it and mostly ignored the command. To begin improving this, I kept the leash short but loose, and ensured she stayed on my left side in roughly the Heel position as we walked. If she began to veer off, pull ahead, or otherwise create tension on the leash, leash and e-collar pressure were applied, and the verbal command was given until she returned to the desired position. During Heel, her sole focus should be following her handler's lead, and as such she needs to remain neutral to and ignore her environment, which means no sniffing, staring at things, or otherwise becoming distracted. When she did become distracted, the Off command was used and followed up with a reminder to Heel. When walking in the correct Heel position, the leash was loose, no pressure was applied, and lots of praise and rewards were given to create value in this position. We practiced making lots of turns as well, which helped to keep Juju engaged and focused on her positioning. As she gets better with this command, she will have an easier time staying in the Heel position without as much guidance needed, and will need to be given reminders less frequently. Overall she did a good job today and seemed to improve on pretty quickly, though more work will need to be done before she can Heel reliably, especially around distractions.
While at the park we also continued working on Juju's Come to Sit command. She overall is doing well and seems to be getting better about coming to me when called! When she was focused, she was often able to come with only the verbal cue and hand signals used. When she was a bit distracted by something, she sometimes needed to be asked again with the e-collar as reinforcement, though she rarely seemed to rely on physical guidance from the leash to get her to come to me, which is a good sign of understanding and progress. She also seems to be making some progress in becoming familiar with the maneuver around to my left side as well, however she is still pretty inconsistent with this and often needs some physical guidance to position herself correctly. She sometimes would come to me but then stop or get distracted and need to be guided through the rest of the maneuver, or end up sitting out of the desired position and needing to be guided to where we want her to sit instead.
We practiced adding some duration and distance to the Sit command today as well. The goal is for Juju to be able to hold stationary positions such as Sit for at least two minutes while her handler is at a distance of around fifteen feet away from her. During today's training, Juju was able to hold the Sit position for around twenty seconds consistently, while I was at a distance of around five feet away, which is a good start! Sometimes while asking her to hold a Sit and trying to create some distance from her, she would break position to try to do a Come to Sit without being asked, and sometimes she would simply get up and try to go sniff around. Anytime she got up before she was released or given another command, she was asked to return right back into the Sit. Doing this consistently teaches her that breaking the position before being prompted is not going to be successful or rewarding. We will continue gradually adding distance and duration to this command, as well as practicing around different distractions to improve and test her abilities!
Pupdate 2/15/2024
Today Juju was introduced to a new command, Place! We also started working on her Down command as well, which we will be using the verbal cue "Platz" for. We also continued to practice her other commands, including Sit, Heel, Come to Sit, and Off. We began our training session at home and around my neighborhood, where the distraction levels were minimal to provide Juju with a calm environment to learn in. Once she showed understanding and progress with these commands, we took a drive over to a local park, where we continued her training with a higher amount of distractions present. The park was pretty busy today, with lots of people, children, sports games, dogs, and small animals. Overall she was excited upon first arriving, but ended up doing a pretty good job of staying neutral to her environment once we began training. She responded well to the Off command when reminders were needed to stay focused on her training and keep her attention away from major distractions such as the other dogs and small animals. We also spent some time working by a fence with lots of dogs on the other side, which provided great distractions to practice the Off command with. She didn't bark any any dogs today, and while they did excite her she understood to divert her attention away when prompted. She also seems to be developing a good understanding of the e-collar, and responded very well to the stimulation when paired with leash pressure.
The goal for the Place command is for Juju to jump or climb onto a designated surface, such as a bench, a bed, or other defined object, and hold a stationary command while remaining on the Place object. This command is useful not only for while out in public places, but also while at home, as it encourages Juju to remain calm and stationary regardless of distractions around her. It's also very helpful for keeping her stationary exactly where she was asked to, as Juju has a habit of scooching around after being asked to hold a position, so using Place can help break this habit. We introduced this command today with a dog bed as our place object, as Juju is already familiar with this object and is comfortable with climbing onto and relaxing on it in her free time. Juju was happy to climb onto the bed when provided light leash pressure for guidance, and was comfortable with performing Sit once on it when asked. After a few repetitions, Juju quickly began to understand what was being asked of her when the Place command was given without needing any physical guidance. At the park, we practiced Place with several different objects, including a tree stump and a variety of benches. She needed a bit of leash pressure to guide her onto these objects during the first few attempts, but after just a few repetitions she seemed to warm up to the idea of Placing on them when asked without needing any leash pressure or physical guidance. She seems to really enjoy this command, and showed a lot of confidence and enthusiasm even when working with unfamiliar objects. We kept the duration on the shorter side today to keep the training fun and engaging, and in the coming days we will gradually start increasing the duration of time she is asked to remain in Place.
The other command we focused on today is the Down command. The goal for the Down command is for Juju to lay down completely when asked, and remain in that position until released or given a new command. She has some understanding of this command already, but until today was very unreliable and a bit stubborn about performing it when asked, especially if she was feeling excited or distracted. To begin working on Down, we used leash pressure, physical guidance, and occasional food motivators to guide Juju into the Down position while the verbal command was given. She did try to resist the guidance at first if she wasn't feeling like performing it, though using treats sparingly as a lure and reward throughout the process helped grab her attention and motivate her to follow through with what was being asked of her. Once she followed through and laid down completely, she received lots of praise followed by a break shortly after. As we continue to practice we will gradually increase the duration so she can learn to remain in this position for extended periods of time, along with her other stationary commands of Sit and Place. As we practiced more, I noticed her becoming much more quick to perform Down when asked, and not rely on the treats or physical guidance from the leash, which was great to see! She was able to perform Down on a variety of surfaces as well, including the floor at home, sidewalks, pathways, grass, and every Place object that we practiced with today!
Pupdate 2/15/2024
Today Juju and I visited the Santa Monica Pier! This was a great location to test all of her commands around a large amount of distractions. The pier had distractions such as crowds of people, other dogs, food, music, and large amounts of birds. We also met up with some other OffLeash SoCal trainers and their pups, which provided some great opportunities to work on Juju's behavior when in close proximity to other dogs. During the walk from the parking lot to the pier, Juju had a lot to say about how excited she was to be here, and did vocalize quite a bit. However once we got down to the pier and started training, she quickly switched to a more focused and relaxed mindset, which was great to see! She definitely got distracted from time to time which is to be expected when working in such a busy and exciting place for the first time, but the Off command was very effective in communicating that she needed to refocus. Overall she seemed very confident and happy during her time here, and did not appear overwhelmed or stressed out which was also fantastic to see!
We worked on a lot of Heel as we walked around the pier, and Juju overall did pretty well with this! She did try to lead the walk occasionally, but understood to fall back into position when reminded. She also sometimes tried to veer off to sniff the ground or people passing by us, but once again was able to refocus on her Heel when asked. We were even able to walk alongside the other trainers and their pups in a Heel with good success! Juju also did a solid job with her Come to Sit, and we practiced this both from stationary positions as well as recalling her while she was distracted and exploring during breaks. This helps to prepare her for real-life scenarios, as she will not always be stationary and focused when recalled. Overall Juju did a pretty good job with always coming to me when called, though occasionally she needed to be asked a couple of times before she followed through. This mainly happened when she was in a comfortable position and didn't feel like getting up, but with just a bit of encouragement and reinforcement she was able to follow through. Juju did pretty well with the maneuver around to my left for a Sit as well, and sometimes was even able to perform it without any leash pressure for guidance! However there were still a few occasions when she would end up stopping or sitting a bit out of the desired position, and needed a bit of guidance to position herself correctly. The commands Juju really impressed us with today was her stationary commands. She did phenomenal with Sit, Down, and Place today! She was always quick to perform them when asked, and was very good about remaining in position until released or given a new command, even with distractions around her. She was consistently able to hold the position asked of her for over a minute, and there were a few times when I had her Down next to me while talking to people to test her ability to remain calm and stationary, and she happily relaxed there for well over five minutes which was very impressive! She stayed still and in the Down even as dogs, birds, and people walked around us. She would acknowledge them with a glance in their direction, but understood not to fixate on them or get too distracted by them, and seemed to understand exactly what her job was once asked to hold the position!
We also had some great opportunities to practice Juju's Greeting Manners today, as there were lots of nice people who wanted to say hello to and pet her. The goal for Greeting Manners is for Juju to be able to meet or greet people calmly and politely, whether in public or at home. Juju came to me with a bad habit of jumping full-force onto people she was excited to say hello to, which even with her friendly intentions, is a dangerous behavior as she could accidentally injure someone! As such, this is an important area of her training and is something we have been working on whenever the opportunity arises, whether it be at home with me or my guests, or out in public with new people. To help Juju learn the desired manners, we first have her perform and hold Sit or Down directly beside us, as this gives her a task to focus on and discourages her from breaking the position to jump on anyone. If she tries to jump up, any affection being given abruptly ends, the Off command is given, and she is immediately asked to return to position. When having a new person greet Juju, it's important to inform them of her training and the expectations set for her, that way they can help reinforce the training appropriately. All praise, attention, and affection should be reserved strictly for when she is stationary, calm, and following instructions. If she is rewarded when behaving poorly, then the training will be inconsistent and be detrimental to her progress. Staying consistent with these manners is key to her success, as she will come to understand that jumping on people is not a rewarding behavior, and only delays or prevents her from getting what she wants, which is to say hello to people and get attention from them! Today, she did a fantastic job of staying calm and in the position asked of her, even while many different people approached her and gave her attention and affection! She did not try to jump on anyone at all, which was very good!
Pupdate 2/16/2024
Juju and I visited a local shopping strip today, where we practiced all of her commands. This environment provided a variety of distractions to test her focus around, including groups of people, other dogs, bicycles, and car noises from the busy nearby street. Overall Juju did a good job of staying focused, and seemed to be feeling quite confident and calm despite the new environment and busy surroundings. She did sometimes become slightly distracted from time to time, though she was able to refocus when given the Off command. Overall Juju did a very good job today about staying neutral to her environment and ignoring passing distractions! She also got lots of compliments from people commenting on how well-behaved she was, and Juju definitely enjoyed every bit of attention she received! We practiced some more with Greeting Manners as well, and Juju was a very good girl and did not become overexcited or try to jump on anyone.
Juju has continued to make great progress with each of her commands, and was able to follow through with everything asked of her today! She was consistently able to hold Sit, Down, and Place for at least a minute and a half today, even while distractions were present around her. Her stationary commands came in handy when large groups of people, other dogs, strollers, etc. were present along the narrow sidewalk, as it allowed us to step off to the side and have Juju wait patiently in the position asked of her until they passed. Juju continued to show a lot of confidence with performing Place today as well, and when prompted she was able to jump onto many kinds of objects without any hesitation at all! She seems to really enjoy this command, and is always eager to perform it as soon as the command is given.
We also continued to work on Heel and Come to Sit, and she did great with these commands too! Whenever the verbal cue for Heel was given, Juju was able to find the correct positioning at my side and understood to remain in that position until told otherwise. Her positioning did sometimes need to be slightly adjusted if she began drifting off a bit or walking slightly too far ahead, though she did not try to pull on the leash at all which was very good. She was able to correct her positioning and maintain the Heel with very little physical guidance from the leash today, allowing the leash to remain completely loose for most of our practice. Juju also did a pretty solid job with Come to Sit today, even with plentiful distractions around, however this is the command that she seems to make mistakes with the most lately. Upon hearing the command, she always came directly to me regardless of what was going on around us, which is the most important aspect of this command. However, she did tend to sit out of the correct position around half of the time, and ended up needing a touch of guidance from the leash to help her follow through with the entire command. She would often try to stop and sit behind me instead of coming all the way to my left hand side. We will spend some extra time practicing this command in the coming days to improve her consistency, decrease her reliance on the leash, and help the maneuver become more familiar and natural to her.
Pupdate 2/17/2024
Today Juju and I took a trip to an outdoor mall, where we practiced all of her commands. It wasn't super busy today, but there were still some good distractions to train around. There were some groups of people walking around, a few other dogs, birds, and also scents from nearby restaurants. Overall Juju did a good job with staying focused and on task during training. Every now and then she became distracted by something or other, but she was always able to quickly refocus when prompted with the Off command. The birds around the area seemed to be the biggest distraction for her today as she did want to stare at them from time to time, but she never tried to chase any of them or break position even when they walked or flew by close to her.
While training, it was clear to see that her progress with her commands is coming along very nicely! She showed an excellent understanding of the verbal cues, hand signals, and e-collar stimulation when used to communicate with and guide her. With this in place, the next step in our training journey is to help Juju become consistent and reliable with all of her commands, even in the absence of a leash. When asking for any command, we first give her a "freebie" by using only a verbal cue and a hand signal. If she does not follow the command on the first ask, then the e-collar is used to provide reinforcement. Today she was typically able to respond and perform commands on the first or second ask, though if she seemed to be confused or couldn't quite figure out what to do after several asks, only then we would apply light leash pressure for physical guidance. By specifically reserving leash pressure for only when she truly needs it, we can encourage her to focus and use her knowledge of the commands instead of relying on the leash to physically move her through it. The goal is for the leash to become unnecessary during training, and allow it to either hang completely loose and unused, or be removed entirely! We have been gradually weaning her off the need for physical guidance for the past few days now, but today we specifically focused on using the leash as little as physically possible to help prepare her for the upcoming transition to off leash training!
Juju did a pretty good job with her Heel today! She never strayed too far from me even when given some extra room with a loose leash, and was able to walk alongside me in the Heel position with relative ease. She was able to Heel past a variety of distractions without issue. Every now and then she would try to lead the walk, but making frequent turns and holding her accountable for her positioning encouraged her to remain in a Heel. Whenever slight adjustments needed to be made, she was able to correct herself with just the verbal cue and e-collar most of the time, and only on rare occasions needed a very slight amount of leash pressure to guide her. Juju did exceptionally with her stationary commands again today, and was able to perform Sit, Down, and Place all without the leash being used at all, and did not need any leash pressure to ensure she remained in the position either. She was also able to hold each position consistently for a minute and forty-five seconds easily today, even with distractions passing by around her. We practiced creating some additional distance between us as she held her positions, and she didn't seem to mind me stepping away or walking around her while she stayed in her position. One thing I did notice when asked to Sit and then Down afterwards, is that she would occasionally stand up from the Sit, take a step or two, then go into the Down, but after some more practice this seemed to occur less frequently and she would instead Down where she was instead of moving first. Juju also did well overall with Come to Sit even without leash pressure used, and she never needed the leash to grab her attention or guide her over to me when called, even when I was at a distance away from her. Usually, she would come immediately upon hearing the verbal cue, though if she happened to be distracted by something, the e-collar stimulation was always able to reinforce the recall. Upon getting to me, she was often able to complete the maneuver around to my left side for a Sit all without any physical guidance, though she did sometimes Sit a bit crooked or too far away. When this happened, I asked her to reposition herself by repeating the command with e-collar stimulation and emphasizing the hand signal to guide her where I wanted her to be. More often than not, she was able to correct her position on her own, and did not need the leash to guide her into position. Rarely, there were some instances where she couldn't quite figure it out and needed light leash pressure to show her the way. Taking small steps backwards as she approached, and then taking a few steps forwards as she circled around seemed to help her through the command a bit, but we will be working to reduce the need for this as she gets better with the command.
Pupdate 2/18/2024
Today Juju and I took a trip to another outdoor mall, where we practiced all of her commands around distractions! The mall was quite busy today due to the weekend, so we had a large variety of distractions in the environment, including crowds of people, music, food, children running around, and many other dogs. Juju did such a good job here and was very focused and responsive to any and all commands asked of her! Some of the other dogs visiting the mall were a bit unruly, but Juju did not mind being barked at and seemed to have no trouble ignoring them which was great to see! She was able to keep her focus away from them and perform her commands without issue despite the major distractions. There were also some ducks in the water feature and apart from a glance in their direction, Juju did not take much notice of them at all. During our training session here, we continued to focus on practicing all of her commands without any leash pressure, and overall she did a fantastic job! Juju was able to Heel very nicely as we walked around the mall, and was able to stick directly beside me even as we walked through crowds and past many kinds of distractions. Occasionally she would drift slightly out of position, but she was able to correct herself without using the leash at all, which was great! Juju also did a solid job with her Come to Sit today, and was able to come directly to me and sit in the correct position pretty reliably today even when no leash pressure was used to guide her. Every now and then she would sit slightly too far behind me rather than directly at my left, however when asked to correct herself she was able to do so without the leash needed. As usual, Juju excelled with her stationary positions today, and was able to reliably and consistently hold Sit, Down, and Place each for two minutes or more, all without ever needing leash pressure. Once asked to hold a position, she understood to remain exactly where she was, and focused on holding her position rather than any distractions passing by us. We were able to have her hold positions in busy areas with lots of foot traffic, and she didn't seem to mind the hustle and bustle around her. Some people even made noises at her, talked to her in a baby voice, or tried to call her, and apart from a quick glance in their direction she completely ignored them and was not tempted to get up or approach them which was super impressive!
Juju also got some more great opportunities to practice her Greeting Manners, as lots of people were very impressed with her obedience skills and wanted to say hello to her. Juju was very polite and calm when greeting people today, and did not try to jump on anyone at all. Most of the time she was able to hold the position asked of her while she was greeted and given affection. However there were a few instances where she would briefly stand up out of position, but this only seemed to happen when a person was greeting her with a lot of excitement and enthusiasm. Once reminded, she went right back into position and understood to stay until released or given a new command. We'll continue working on this, but so far she has made amazing progress with this, as just last week she would try to greet every person by jumping onto them, even people who were just walking by minding their own business.
Pupdate 2/19/2024
Today Juju and I visited a Home Depot, which was a great location to practice all of her commands around some distractions while staying out of the rain! We also met up with some other OffLeash SoCal trainers and their pups, which provided an additional set of distractions to train around. The Home Depot wasn't super busy today, however this was a brand new environment with lots of unfamiliar distractions and situations, such as loud noises, big carts, machinery, new smells, and small aisles. Plus, we had to walk through a bit of rain from the car into the store, so Juju did get slightly wet which also seemed to distract her a bit.
Today was the first day I noticed Juju feeling a bit less confident than usual, and she did appear to be feeling a bit stressed and unsure about the environment we were working in. During the beginning of the session, there were a few times when I would ask a command of her, and she would try to avoid the situation by ducking away and hiding her face in a nearby shelf, trying to walk away, or simply plopping down onto the floor and shutting down. Whenever this happened, I made sure to continue holding her accountable for what was asked of her and ensure she followed through with the command, and also gave her lots of extra love, praise, and reassurance once she did. It's always important to keep the training consistent and not allow Juju to display an unwanted behavior to get out of a command, as reinforcing this by giving up will encourage her to do it more, so working her through tough moments and rewarding her for good behavior only is crucial. This kind of nervous and stubborn behavior only happened a handful of times, and definitely became increasingly rare the longer we spent practicing, but was interesting to observe, as Juju has generally been pretty confident and obedient in just about any environment we have visited thus far. Towards the end of the session she did seem to relax a lot though, and was just about back to her usual self!
We continued to practice all of Juju's commands without any leash pressure today, and also tested out her ability to perform commands with the leash dragging along the floor instead of me holding it. Doing this is a great way to test how Juju might perform while off leash, while still having it handy in the event it is needed for any reason. The leash dragging did seem to freak Juju out at first, as she would sometimes stop in her tracks the moment she noticed I wasn't holding it, or would try to wander away from me upon noticing. It's unclear if it was the sensation she felt of it dragging while walking, the fact that the leash wasn't in my hand, or simply the environment that she was uncomfortable with. Over the course of the session we worked to desensitize her to the idea of the leash not being held during training, and gradually she did seem to warm up to the idea and become less unsure about it. I still did need to pick up the leash now and then, but by the end of the session we were able to train with the leash dragging for most of the time without it making her uneasy.
Heel was definitely the toughest command for Juju today especially during the beginning of our practice with the leash dragging, as she seemed to take notice of whether or not I was holding the leash and would sometimes try to leave my side rather than staying in position unless I was holding onto the leash. When I did have hold of the leash, even if it was not being used to apply any tension at all, she was much more reliable about staying in the Heel position. We'll spend some extra time focusing on this command over the coming days. Even with the leash dragging, Juju did a pretty solid job with her Come to Sit, and most of the time was able to perform the command correctly without much issue. As usual, Juju did a stellar job with her stationary commands, and was very reliable about performing and holding any position asked of her for however long was asked of her. She was content to Sit for over two minutes, and was also able to Down beside me and remain in position for extended periods of time, such as while I was talking with the other trainers for around ten minutes at a time, even while distractions such as shopping carts, people, and other dogs walked by us. When asked to hold a stationary position for a long period of time, asking Juju to Down will be easier for her to hold than a Sit, as it is more comfortable and relaxing for her than sitting, so it sets her up for success!
Pupdate 2/20/2024
Today was pretty rainy, but there was a nice break in the rain that gave us some time to have a great training session at a local park! The park was pretty quiet when we first arrived, but as time went on more people and dogs began to show up to enjoy the decent weather. There were also lots of squirrels around the park, which were another great distraction to practice around. Juju was definitely excited to be back at a park and was a bit distracted at first, however once we began training she quickly shifted into a more focused mindset and was able to follow through with everything asked of her. We continued working on all of Juju's commands with the leash dragging today, and overall she did a fantastic job! Very rarely did I need to pick up the leash to guide her, and she was very responsive and obedient during our training. Her Heel was pretty reliable for the most part, however she would occasionally lag behind or fall slightly out of postion, but she was able to correct herself when asked without me needing to pick up the leash and physically guide her. When working in the grassy field, she was sometimes tempted to lower her nose to the ground, but understood to keep her head up and pay attention to where I was when the Off command was given. Giving her lots of verbal praise while working on Heel seems to help keep her engaged and focused on her positioning. Juju also did a great job with her Come to Sit, and more often than not completed the command correctly on the first try without needing any guidance. When needed, she was able to correct her positioning when asked without the leash needed at all. We also practiced with adding some extra distance between us before recalling her, and also worked more on recalling her during a break to improve her reliability no matter what she is doing or how far away her handler is, as this sets her up for real-life scenarios. As usual, she always came straight to me when called, even when distractions were present around us.
Juju did great with her stationary commands today, and was very reliable with performing Sit, Down, and Place anytime and anywhere she was asked to, and was able to remain in position easily for at least two minutes consistently. We were also able to practice with some fun new Place objects today on the playground, as there weren't any kids playing on it due to the rain. One thing I noticed again was a tendency to stand up and take a step or two to reposition herself when asked to Down while in the Sit position. So we practiced something today we like to refer to as "puppy pushups" where we ask Juju to Sit, Down, Sit, Down in repetitions. This is a great way to practice both commands and switching positions from one to the other, and encourage her to stay stationary while going into the Down rather than moving around first. The part she occasionally struggled with at first was going back up into a Sit from the Down position as she wasn't quite sure what was being asked of her, but after a bit of practice and some gentle guidance from the leash, she began to understand what to do. Whenever she was able to Down without moving, she was given lots of praise to reinforce the behavior we want from her. After practicing this for a while she did seem to catch on that it was more rewarding to Down right where she was rather than moving around first.
Pupdate 2/21/2024
Today Juju and I spent the day working on her off leash skills around my neighborhood! We had some good distractions to work around, including many other dogs, people, bicycles, and small animals like birds and squirrels. Overall Juju did a fantastic job staying focused and on task during our training sessions today, and had no notable issues performing any of her commands. She did make occasional minor mistakes here and there, but she was always able to quickly correct herself every time which makes every mistake a learning opportunity. It's important to remember that Juju is a dog, and not a robot! We started the training on leash continuing to work on her loose leash and leash dragging skills, but she quickly proved it to be unnecessary so we went ahead and removed it to practice while off leash. She didn't seem to notice or mind the lack of the leash, and had no trouble following through with commands even with major distractions nearby such as barking dogs or squirrels in nearby trees. Even with her excellent performance today, we still made sure to stay away from busy streets or other major risks while working off leash to ensure Juju's safety, which is always an important factor to consider when planning to have her off leash in any environment. Overall Juju did an amazing job for her first day training off leash!
Juju is not only excelling with her skills and manners while out in public, but she has also made huge transformations in her behavior inside the home as well! 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, Door Manners, and Car Manners.
The goal for Food Manners is for Juju to be able to hold a stationary command while her food is prepared and set in front of her. She is then asked to remain in that position until she is released before she can get up and eat her food. Juju always gets excited about her food, and in the early stages of her training she was prone to barking and jumping on me when anticipating food, and rushing to the food bowl the moment it was set down even if it meant knocking me out of the way to get to it. Meal times are a great opportunity to sneak in extra training every day with Juju, as she is extremely food motivated and is always eager to work for food. As she progressed in her overall obedience, she quickly replaced her bad habits and learned to be polite and patient even when faced with very tempting distractions such as food directly in front of her! She now does very well with her Food Manners, and she is able to control her excitement and await the release command before digging in!
Another area of manners we have been working on is Juju's Door Manners. The goal of Door Manners is for Juju to hold a stationary position while near a door and remain there until released or given a new command, such as Come or Heel. She is asked to hold the position at the location asked of her, 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 the importance of thresholds, 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. Juju came to me with some serious struggles related to doors, and often became so overexcited that she was unable to refrain from impolite behaviors such as excessive barking, jumping, nipping, and trying to sprint through the door or push past people the moment it was even slightly cracked open. She also would begin displaying these behaviors while trying to get a leash on her before going out of the door, and struggled to sit still or calm while her leash was put on. With daily practice, Juju has made a massive transformation with her manners related to doors, and understands to follow instructions no matter what distractions the door may present. She has great manners with every door in my house now, including bedroom doors, the backyard door, as well as the front door. After Juju has been asked for a stationary command, a door can be left wide open, and she understands to not get up or walk through the doorway unless given permission to, and when invited she can walk nicely through the doorway without shoving through or trying to rush out. I can even leave her sight completely and walk in and out without her feeling the need to get up and follow me, and she has also been doing great with holding her position calmly while people other than myself enter or exit through the door. I can also put a leash on her now without her losing control of herself, and she understands to be calm and patient during this process!
Having good Car manners makes transporting Juju easy, safe, and as hassle-free as possible. The goal for Car Manners is for Juju to be confident and able to jump into the car when prompted without needing any physical assistance. It's also important for her to be calm and patient during this process and wait until asked to enter the car before jumping in to prevent her from excitedly jumping in randomly and possibly hurting herself or someone in the car. Once in the car, the goal is for her to willingly enter a kennel when asked, without needing to be physically guided or lured inside. At OffLeash SoCal, we ensure our dogs are secured in individual kennels while being transported in a car to ensure their utmost safety during their stay with us. Thankfully, Juju came to me already very comfortable jumping into the car and entering the kennel when prompted which gave her a huge head start with these manners! The main thing that needed some work was Juju was sometimes a bit too eager to jump into the car and would try to rush in before I had even fully opened the door, but with daily practice she is now very calm and obedient during load up and is able to display amazing Car Manners!
Pupdate 2/22/2024
Today Juju and I took another trip to the Santa Monica Pier, and we spent some time training around the promenade as well. These were both great locations to put Juju's skills to the test around a high amount of distractions, ranging from flocks of birds, crowds of people, other dogs, loud music, food, and many other kinds of distractions. Juju did start off pretty distracted and a bit overwhelmed, especially while at the pier, but after a good warmup and giving her some time to adjust to the busy environment, she began feeling much more relaxed and focused. She did especially well with ignoring the pigeons and seagulls we encountered today, and at no point did she ever break command due to them or attempt to chase any of them even if they got very close to her, which was fantastic to see! We practiced with a mix of loose leash and off leash training today, and she was able to follow through with all of her commands with little to no issue, even while off leash! She no longer appears to rely on leash pressure for any of her commands, and is able to perform them the same way off leash as she does on leash. We mainly reserved on leash training for when working in extremely crowded areas or when near busy streets.
The pier did get a bit overwhelming for Juju at times, and she didn't seem to be the biggest fan of the large crowds of people as they sometimes made her feel a bit nervous. Despite this, she was able to Heel alongside me without too much issue at the pier even while passing through crowds or past other major distractions. She did occasionally try to lead ahead on the walk slightly or pick her own path when walking through crowded areas or around obstacles, but after some reminders she understood to stay beside me and follow my lead for decent chunks of time before needing another reminder, and as we practiced more it became increasingly rare. At the promenade, she did a bit better with Heel, and was more focused on staying in position without needing as many reminders needed. Her Come to Sit was very solid and reliable both at the pier and at the promenade, and she was able to perform the command near perfectly just about every time. There were a few times when she would sit ever so slightly crooked, but with a reminder she was able to adjust herself accordingly. If she was a bit distracted she sometimes needed a small nudge from the e-collar to get her attention, but she was consistent with always coming right to me once she understood she was being recalled, and would often do so on the first or second ask of the command.
Juju did a great job with her stationary commands as usual today both at the pier and the promenade, and was able to perform Sit, Down, and Place all with great reliability. Once asked to hold a position, she was very good about staying exactly where she was unless given a break or asked another command, even with ample distractions all around her. The only time she broke position today was when she was asked to hold a sit, and a small child bumped into her which caused her to stand up. She initially took this as an invitation to play and got a bit excited, but immediately returned to the sit the moment she was asked, which shows great self control! Juju also got to say hello to lots of nice people today, as she was very popular and got lots of compliments from admirers of her obedience skills! As always, we followed the procedure for Greeting Manners and ensured Juju held a stationary position while being greeted, and she did a great job overall! Never did she try to jump on anyone or become overly excited, and she understood not to stand up out of position even while being petted. If asked to hold a Down while being greeted, she would sometimes roll over and ask for belly rubs if she really liked the person, but she was able to hold her Sit very well without becoming too wiggly. It's great to see Juju expressing her joy in more polite ways, such as tail wags and kisses rather than her old habits of jumping onto anyone within reach.
Pupdate 2/23/2024
Today Juju and I visited a local park, where we practiced all of her commands off leash around distractions. The park was quite busy today, with lots of people, children, and other dogs. There were also many small animals around like birds and squirrels, and of course many interesting smells to serve as additional distractions during training. Overall Juju did a fantastic job during her training, and overall was very calm, focused, and obedient. The biggest distraction for her today was mostly the smells along the ground, and she did occasionally become tempted to lower her nose to the ground during commands, but with a reminder of the Off command she understood to refocus. She was able to ignore just about any other distraction without losing focus, even major ones such as squirrels running past, small children yelling or approaching her, and other dogs barking at her. It also helped when I advocated for Juju's space when needed, such as when small children or other dogs began to wander into her space, my stepping between them and creating a barrier allowed her to feel calm and relaxed as she held stationary positions, and prevent her from becoming overexcited.
We started the session on leash as usual to give Juju some time to adjust to the environment, though she quickly got into a focused mindset and was eager to train, so we were able to continue practicing her off leash skills only a few minutes after arriving. Overall Juju behaved extremely well during our visit here, and only made minor mistakes here and there that were easily corrected and improved upon after more practice. She seemed to really enjoy her time at the park today, and seemed to appreciate the extra freedom that came with being allowed off leash! Even while given breaks to go sniff around and explore, she understood not to stray too far from me or get into any mischief, and she checked in with me regularly which was great to see. We also had some fun playing fetch without the hassle of a leash, and while Juju isn't the best retriever, she had so much fun chasing the ball and playing with it!
Juju overall did a solid job with her Heel while off leash today, and while reminders were sometimes needed as she did occasionally fall out of position, she was always able to correct herself the moment she was asked. The issues I noticed most commonly were her losing focus momentarily anytime she put her nose to the ground, or her lagging behind slightly instead of walking directly next to me. While it's great she wasn't trying to lead the walk and understood to stay close to me, we don't want to have to look behind us to see where she is, so I sometimes had to encourage her to catch up and keep pace alongside me. One fun activity we practiced with Heel was working with different speeds, from a light jog, to super slow walking. This encouraged her to stay engaged and aware of her positioning beside me no matter how fast we were moving, and overall she did great with this! Juju also did a great job with her Come to Sit, and was able to be recalled at a moment's notice even from large distances away, no matter what she was doing or what distractions were around us. She made minor positioning mistakes occasionally, but generally was consistent. The only notable error occurred when I was at a large distance from Juju, and when the recall command was given she started heading towards another woman that was closer to her instead of coming to me, but once I realized what she was trying to do, I repeated the command. She quickly stopped, turned around and saw me, realized her mistake, and came running over to me to complete the command. As usual, Juju was able to perform all of her stationary commands expertly today, and was able to remain in position for extended periods of time without any issue. In rare instances, she did try to reposition herself when initially asked to Down, but this only happened a small number of times out of the dozens of repetitions we did.
Pupdate 2/24/2024
Today was Juju's last full day with me, so we spent the day putting all of her learned skills to use to have a great final day together! We started the day off by visiting an outdoor mall, where we practiced all of her commands and got some great content filmed for her final video! Be sure to check out today's video for a sneak peek! After the mall, we headed over to a dog-friendly restaurant, where Juju joined my boyfriend and me on the patio for a nice lunch. There were different kinds of distractions present everywhere we went, and overall Juju had no trouble staying focused and on task regardless of our environment.
Juju did a fantastic job with all of her commands today, and I am so proud of how far she has come! She was able to Heel off leash around all kinds of distractions, including crowds of people, birds, food, and other dogs. Anytime minor adjustments needed to be made, Juju was very quick to correct herself and overall was very focused on me and maintaining her positioning beside me. Juju also did fantastic with her Come to Sit, and was always eager to come right over anytime she was called and was able to perform the maneuver with great reliability. Juju also did an amazing job with her stationary positions both at the mall and at the restaurant. At the mall we practiced having Juju hold Sit, Down, and Place each for extended periods of time, all while tons of distractions were around her. In the busy mall, the Place options like benches became quite limited as they were almost constantly in use by other people, but Juju was confident enough to Place onto any object she was asked to, even challenging objects like rocks! At the café, Juju was a very polite pup and calmly held the Down position by our feet as we ate lunch, having no trouble ignoring even the most tempting distractions, such as yummy food on our table and other dogs at nearby tables. She was able to hold the Down position at the restaurant for well over ten minutes at a time, and seemed very comfortable doing so!
Juju has made such an amazing transformation in these past two weeks, and the differences in her are truly night and day! She came to me with knowledge of a few obedience commands, but her tendency to become overexcited, distracted, and overstimulated by everything around her caused her to be unreliable about following through with what was asked of her. She has since learned to stay calm, focused, and neutral to her surroundings even in the most busy of places. She has also learned a lot of impulse control, and understands not to let her prey drive interrupt her obedience, allowing her to safely be around small animals without her running off to chase them. Her confidence, patience, discipline, and overall manners both in public and at home have all improved so much! Juju has replaced many bad habits with polite behaviors, and no longer is a leash-pulling, jumping, excessively loud kind of pup! While she may seem like a whole new dog, she is still the same goofy, loving, and playful pup she always has been, and with her new obedience skills she is even more of a joy to be around and take with on all sorts of adventures! Juju 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 girl become the best version of herself! With her intelligence and eagerness to learn, the sky is the limit for Juju, and I know she has a very bright future ahead in her continued training journey with her family!
