Meet Juneau, a 3 year old Husky/German shepherd mix from Placentia who has joined us for our 3 week Board & Train program! Juneau is very sweet but has a tendency to pull & react to mostly anything that he see's. Juneau has never been aggressive with another dog but his hyperactive personality can be intimidating to other dogs. Juneau has a very high drive when it comes to being outside in general so being verbal is non-existent to him. He is also very sneaky if no one is paying attention to him so he will try to explore his surroundings and take what he wants. The goals I will set for Juneau will help create a better understanding on what his obedience should be when being outside and socializing! Check out his 3 Week Transformation with me as his personal dog trainer!
Pupdate 7/16/2023
Today was the first day meeting Juneau and he was very energetic once we got to a park in Fullerton. Juneau immediately had every intention to pull and just go in any direction that he wanted. I had a 15 foot leash to give him plenty of room to look around and adventure for some moments for him to get some of his pent up energy out. After some time he started to relax and would give him his sit obedience command so I could take pictures of him. As soon as he saw a car or a person he would get up immediately and branch towards what he saw. Shortly after I took him home to meet my family and my personal dog Hunter. Juneau was quiet when Hunter sniffed him through his crate and didn't seem to bother him whatsoever. I had Juneau get familiar around my house and anytime he seemed like he was gonna sniff furniture or curtains I would redirect his attention back to me each time which worked. We took some time to practice very basic leash pressure before getting him introduced to his e-collar. Juneau didn't do his best but with these next 3 weeks to come he will be put through different variations of tasks that I will have him perform to be praised and given love and attention.
Once he was in his crate he only whined for about 10 seconds before stopping. He didn't eat when giving him his food so I set it aside for him until he wanted to eat. I was notified that he will only eat when I'm eating so I'm going to try and change his method of eating.
Pupdate 7/17/2023
Last night I took Juneau's food bowl out of his crate and he didn't seem aggressive but for a quick second he showed me his teeth and didn't proceed to do anything after that. I was able to pet his neck and mouth and he was very calm with me even after showing his teeth.
I had noticed there was a red spot or missing hair on the bottom of Juneau's leg. I'm not sure if he did this from biting himself in the crate or if he had this previously but it hasn't affected his training whatsoever. I applied some wound care that I have for prevention of infections. We went to a park in Los Angeles to meet up with other trainers and their dogs to practice our obedience training. In the beginning of our visit I gave Juneau some time to take in the scenery and de-sensitize himself by letting him do his own this on his break time. Shortly after I introduced the e-collar to him and started his conditioning with his walking which would be heeling. Once I ask Juneau for his heel if he passes me I will simply go in a different direction. If Juneau was to move left I would go right, as well as when he starts to lead in the walk I will walk in the complete opposite direction and have Juneau keep his attention back to me.
In the video above Juneau had already started to pick up what I wanted from him but still had an adamant behavior to still do what he wants. When walking together he should always stay next to my left hand side and not travel to the right side of my body since I'm not instructing him to do so, if that happens he is redirected with the e-collar. Once he picks this up he does try to follow through with what I'm asking but he is easily distracted by his surroundings. In the second video we are practicing with Priscilla and her dog diesel with impulse control to maintain the heel obedience command. The longer we trained and kept continuously walking back and forth it was easier for Juneau to understand his placement when walking outside. Even though Juneau had never practiced this before he did very well when working around other dogs not trying to pull towards them and willingly ignoring them as I verbally talked to Juneau. We took a break and had some water before walking around the park and playground practicing other commands such as recall, down & place.
By the end of the visit Juneau was walking very well in his heel and started to respect more boundaries of others and was more attentive to me rather than his surroundings.
Pupdate 7/18/2023
This morning Juneau and I went for a walk early in the morning before the sun starting to come out at 5:30 AM. I was very impressed at how Juneau kept a pace with me instead of pulling immediately. Once we started to get near plants and tree's it was very clear he had an ambition to mark territory the moment he nose catches a scent. I would keep his attention on me and when I gave him the opportunity to go potty and emptied most of his bowls rather than small droplets.
Once we arrived back at home we worked on some obedience training before starting something new. Today's new challenge was door manners and impulse control. When opening the door to my backyard I had started very slowly because Juneau can be unpredictable if I was to move so quickly. In the video above Juneau and I have made progress with keeping him still in my backyard but going past the door and keeping him positioned is the challenge. Juneau is seen getting up almost coming past the door but I redirected him with the use of the e-collar on low level settings. He quickly acknowledged the e-collar and went back into his sit obedience command. When I walk back towards the backyard I want to praise him for being patient and coming to me willingly and ignoring the door. Once I'm able to do this once I can create more distance traveling towards the front and show Juneau these variations to have a better understanding with boundaries at home. I finish the practice by heeling him through the door but in a very slow manner. Once we ended up in the front I stopped him in his tracks to give him a break and praise him to end the practice.
We continued our training later and Juneau seemed to pick this up very quickly after this morning's session.
Pupdate 7/19/2023
This morning I took Hunter and Juneau on a walk together in the morning and it went very well. I was happy to see Juneau in his heel next to me aside with Hunter as if they already have done this a million times before.
Before the heat started to pick up we went to a park in Downey, CA to work on more obedience training. We started off by walking around the park and giving Juneau some time to go potty if he needed to. Once he seemed ok again I asked him for his heel obedience command to continue our walk. We passed by a couple walking two dogs but their dogs were very reactive towards Juneau causing him to get frustrated and start barking. I had to increase the levels of the remote more than what he was already used to since he was very overstimulated and low level settings had no effect to redirect him. Once he was in the medium range of settings on the remote Juneau walked willingly to me and started to settle. The other dogs had the same energy even from a distance so I moved Juneau away from the situation and found another area to work on his recall.
In the video above is our progress of his recall. Juneau comes to the right side of me walking around and ending up on my left hand side. Juneau picked this up very quickly the first day he started his training and we have just been working on it day by day to be able to do this offleash. If Juneau is to stop and get distracted just one use of the e-collar helps navigate him back into position. We finished our visit by going around the park again but this time we would periodically stop and I would ask Juneau for his down obedience command. Juneau wouldn't follow through at first but I took my time with him until he was able to go into his down obedience. After this one threshold he started to be more consistent with his down but at a slow pace.
Pupdate 7/20/2023
Today Juneau and I took a trip to a park in El Monte, CA to work around the other trainers and their dogs again. Juneau has been doing very well with his training but im still encountering these situations where if he sees dogs he doesn't know he wants to react towards them. Even if some dogs that come around us are calm, Juneau takes the initiative to react by whining or crying. The main goal was to condition his "off" obedience command or "leave it". Each time he reacts off/leave it has always been implemented to get his attention back towards me.
When visiting the park today we only had to deal with this situation for about 10 minutes and Juneau started to settle and give space for the dogs and respect their boundaries. Even though the dogs are in their obedience practicing, it's ideal that they don't break position to play or smell each other. There will always be a time for that but in public keeping dogs distant and under their obedience training they can respect each other without actually having to play. This is something most dog owners or new dog owners don't understand while being outside rather than inside or in a closed off area.
In the video above Juneau is performing his heel obedience command and responding to my off obedience command when passing by. I could stay silent and just walk by but I'm being informative by letting Juneau know to not engage with them with the single use of the word off. In the video you can see Juneau checking up with me giving me eye contact every other step as we walk past the dogs. I end the practice with an extended sit and then break him for his praise. We took a break and had plenty of water before returning back home.
Hunter and Juneau have been playing momentarily but will end their play time very quickly and end up just laying down next to each other. This behavior can be normal with some dogs even though they don't go crazy with each other playing. I will continue to keep them around each other to see if they can increase the duration of their playtime, hopefully motivating them to be comfortable friends.
Pupdate 7/21/2023
This morning I took Juneau and Hunter on a walk together in the morning which went well. The only issue this morning is when they both poop I asked them both for their sit obedience command so I can pick up their droppings but Juneau will think to get up still for these moments. I will always redirect him back into his sit so I can follow through picking up their dropping and continuing our walk. Once we returned home I gave the dogs some play time but only lasted about 5 minutes. I put Hunter away in his crate to give him a break and spent some time in my backyard practicing his obedience training.
Today's focus was door manners again but from inside the house. Most dogs will always see the main door of a house as a threshold and since we've been working in the backyard with the side gate we applied it to the front door of the house. Juneau is placed into his sit obedience command and as I walk out I was surprised to see him slowly step towards the door instead of running through how he used to the first day he came over. I redirect Juneau to go back into his sit with only the use of the remote to e-collar with no lease assistance. Juneau follows through and I'm able to continue the practice with other variations such as going around the house or going back outside again then breaking him. When I end the practice I grab the leash, Juneau thinks he's able to come up but I ask him to sit once and he follows through with no need of redirection. I ask him for his heel and instead of going through the door he follows me in the direction I'm going and we are able to make our way out the door in a calm manner.
Today was the first time Juneau showed me his food aggression compared to every other day he's been here. I've been able to feed him inside and outside his crate without any issues and grab his bowl from right in front of his face. I noticed this time walking around in my kitchen he wasn't eating and following my footsteps with his peripherals. Once he did this as I got close I redirected him with the use of the remote. He decided not to eat so I'm going to find a way to prevent this from happening again.
Pupdate 7/22/2023
This morning I took Juneau to Hillcrest Park in downtown Fullerton for some exercise and obedience training. When we first arrived Juneau was very excited to be in a new setting so he was already trying to sniff around once he stepped out of the car. I asked him for his sit while preparing ourselves before starting our walk. When we found some stairs to walk up Juneau wanted to lead but after being redirected and going up the stairs a second time he was very close to me and would check up on me each step as we walked up. Throughout most of the walk there were small moments Juneau tried to create space but being verbal with Juneau seems to always guide him back to me without use of the remote today.
When we saw a couple with two dogs Juneau immediately starts to become verbal and start growling. This time I actually kept him in a sit and each time he would break I would simply create more space by walking a couple steps away from the owners and their dogs. Juneau would check up with me but would still try to growl as they passed by. These dogs weren't in an obedience so they were trying to come our way but I had Juneau heel with me to keep his attention back towards me. As we walked around the park again we passed by the same dogs but this time Juneau started to ignore them since it was the second time seeing them. I would ask him for his "off" obedience command as we saw them and his breathing and reaction was calm and normal this time as if these dogs were some of the offleash trainers dogs that Juneau is used to being around. Tomorrow I will try to find an area like a dog park and train Juneau through this threshold he doesn't want to break through when seeing new dogs. Dogs he's used to and can spend time around with he settles very quickly but when it comes to new dogs he has never seen we have some work to do still!
Hunter and Juneau had more play time after the heat cooled down and we followed up with more obedience training around and inside the house.
Pupdate 7/23/2023
Last night I worked with Juneau and his habit of not wanting to eat when he's resource guarding. I had to hand feed him and there were moments he was very assertive, grabbing food out of my hand but he never bit me or nicked the food out of my hand.
I noticed he has been chewing at his legs more and I've been stopping him from doing so, but it seems while I'm asleep he has the chance to keep biting himself. I checked him for fleas or anything out of the ordinary. I applied more wound care and going to monitor him to prevent him from biting himself.
This morning I took Juneau and Hunter for their walk together and this time when asking Juneau to sit when picking up their droppings, Juneau followed through without breaking his position. Once we returned home they had their usual play time and they seem to be used to each other now since Hunter will submit for Juneau going on his back and Juneau will be playful with him during these moments to initiate more play between the two.
I went to the pet store to buy canned pumpkin since Juneau hasn't tried eating most of his food when being redirected while resource guarding. I provided this in his kibble and sure enough he started to eat his food. I was able to walk behind him and walked up to his left and right side of his body while he was eating. He would track where my moments were but didn't raise his voice nor did he stop eating to see what I was doing. After he ate I had taught Juneau a new obedience command which is under. The goal is when being out in public or eating at a table Juneau can place himself somewhere while being in a down. When placing Juneau under the table he was trying to branch out from under the table sticking his paws out. I would use the leash for assistance as well as my body preventing Juneau from trying to stick his paws out. Once Juneau started to remain under the table I would start to do random things like grabbing stuff from the cabinets or leaving the room to go outside. If he gets up and into a sit he has to be redirected back into a down so the practice becomes quality. I went outside for a brief moment and noticed Juneau was on the other side of the door so instead of using the leash for assistance this time I relied on the remote and he followed through, even when pointed at the ground to go into his down from under the table. The second time I went outside after redirecting Juneau he remained under the table until he was given his break. He did fairly ok with this but I'm going to still have him perform this in public and other settings to maintain the quality of this obedience command.
Pupdate 7/24/2023
This morning we went to Whittier Narrows park again in El Monte to work on leash dragging to offleash obedience around some of the other trainers and their dogs. When we first arrived we walked around the park for a moment before practicing leash dragging to offleash walking.
In the video above is our 2nd lap around the park while having the leash drag. Juneau is seen walking slowly with me and not trying to lunge or lead in front of me. If there was any moment of redirection it would only be the moment he tries to get ahead of me. Juneau stays close to my side and always checks up for me by giving me eye contact throughout the walk. We walk towards some tables and I have Juneau perform his sit while walking around him as a distraction. Once I end the practice I break him for his reward which is praise and affection.
In the second part of the video is our practice of directional turns which would be a left/right side heel. In general each turn is still heel since my left side of my body is affiliated with the word so whichever way he sees my left side go, he has to follow through. When performing the left side heel Juneau really doesn't have an issue and can give me space when turning. For Juneau's right side heel he can use the moment to look at his surroundings before keeping his pace with me. If he stays distracted for more than 2 seconds I will administer the e-collar for his attention and this will typically get his engagement back towards me.
Later on when the other trainers showed up with their dogs Juneau's anxiousness around them has improved and even just telling him his off obedience command he can bring his attention back on me without being so vocal form just seeing new dogs he's not familiar with. We had 2 new dogs that joined offleash today that saw Juneau at the park and he only started to become verbal when he saw them but since I interrupted this behavior by just talking to him, he started to understand he doesn't need to be so loud.
Pupdate 7/25/2023
This morning Juneau and I went on a walk together around the neighborhood, seeing how his leash dragging is and if he has any habit of walking away from me without the use of me holding the leash. He did fairly well for the short distance we went but our next goal is to travel farther with the leash dragging.
Over the course of Juneau's boarding, he has been somewhat distant from Hunter in the beginning and they didn't play as much. Now they are really good playmates and can listen to my obedience commands at the same time. In the video above are video clips of each moment they were playing very well. Hunter is very knowledgeable on how to play with dogs and will even submit to them to help build another dog's confidence to get them to willingly sniff or initiate play. They can be very verbal with each other each time they play but haven't played too rough. After their training session I will allow the dogs to play with each other and when they both stop moving and start to lay down we go inside and they roam around my room until it's time for both of them to go in their crate.
Today's meal in the morning Juneau didn't want to eat so I tried to hand feed him if he was willingly to grab the food out of the bowl or from my hands. Juneau seemed very confused but only ate 1/4 of his meal. Later in the day I set it on the floor and he ate half without any issue when I walked around him or near him. This is Juneau's hardest threshold so far but everything else in his training has been very good. We continued more training later in the day when it started to cool down!
Pupdate 7/26/2023
Today we took a trip to Huntington Beach for obedience training and to see if there's anything that can stimulate Juneau while being in a high traffic area. When we first arrived Juneau was very excited to be here but would try to lead me every step of the way. As we walked, if there was any moment he tried to travel in front of me I would redirect him with the e-collar. This only happened for the first 10 minutes we were here and then he started to heel genuinely.
We focused on two new obedience commands today which would be send away to place and come to heel. Send away to place is just his normal place command but pointing at the designated platform without me having to guide Juneau. He was struggling to pick this up and always needed me near a platform to help him identify what I was asking for. For Juneau's come to heel he does very well with this when being recalled back into his heel in motion. We have always done this everyday and this is very easy for him to perform.
When passing new dogs Juneau keeps having the habit to start getting overstimulated that even medium to high range numbers were barely taking effect on him. We were with another trainer from offleash with her dog and since Juneau has been around this dog so many times he actually confident as displayed in the 3rd picture above. It's very unusual Juneau seems threatened seeing a new dog or just insecure when being around new ones even though he plays and goes for walks with my own personal dog.
As we continued our walk along the walkway of the beach we passed many people on bikes, cruisers and other groups of people. This never bothered Juneau whatsoever and he was able to even stay still for the pictures we took. By the end of the visit Juneau was given plenty of water and a break to cool down in the shade before returning home.
Pupdate 7/27/2023
Today was another hot day so we woke up early to go for our usual walk with Hunter. They had their usual play time for about 20 minutes which is longer than normal. I put Hunter away in his crate to work on Juneau's offleash obedience training since his leash dragging is very good and he formally checks up with me on our walks giving me constant eye contact as we travel around the neighborhood or places we have visited while practicing leash dragging.
In the video above Juneau is seen walking with me without his leash in the front of my house working on basic commands he's learned. It is great to see that he is providing me with eye contact indicating he is engaged with me. I place Juneau into a down and walk around the street, even crossing the street creating a lot of distance while Juneau is patiently waiting for me. As I return and come near Juneau I'm still in motion walking and ask him to heel. This specific heel is "come to heel" so after being placed in a sit or down we can continue obedience training as long as I'm walking and have Juneau in that training mindset. I followed up with his recall and Juneau can be slow with this at times since he likes to travel slowly when performing this.
The second part of the video is when Juneau starts to directly eat from the bowl while I'm holding it. I have tried several variations of resource guarding techniques which have failed and Juneau wouldn't want to continue to eat at times after trying those practices. When Juneau is eating from the bowl while I'm holding it I try to be very cautious on moving around and placing my fingers inside and outside the bowl. There was only one moment he showed me his teeth and being verbal with him was enough for him to understand to not display that type of behavior. I was very surprised he didn't leave the room this time to go into his crate but instead he stayed willingly and continued to eat.
The idea of this practice is to have him have small portions then I will take the food away for a quick moment to praise him while we are face to face. As I continue to show him his food it's up to Juneau to willingly eat from my hands rather than just always setting the food down on the ground so he has free will on what to do with this. I will continue to work on this method and try variations to engage with him more to have him stop becoming so protective with his food.
Pupdate 7/28/2023
This morning Juneau had his usual routine but for breakfast Juneau had the intention of not eating. I stayed with him for 20 - 30 minutes to motivate him to eat but Juneau was being himself and willingly didn't want to eat.
I took Juneau to Home Depot in Anaheim CA, for more training. We started off by entering the garden section where Juneau wanted to smell and mark the flowers and plants but I kept him from doing that by redirecting him with the e-collar. Once we entered the facility Juneau kept a consistent heel and wasn't bothered when passing people, employees or hearing random noises throughout the store. We found some areas to work on specific commands such as place, recall, and down. Juneau did very well performing these obedience commands without being distracted as people were passing by us. We found this small ladder to place on and Juneau was hesitant the first time going up but once I asked him to do it the second time he walked up with no issue.
We took a break by the paint section and I had Juneau place into an extended down as people passed by. I would try to be distant from him to see if he would follow me but he remained in his down and as people passed by him I would always praise him and let him know how much of a good boy he's was. We remained here for about 10 minutes before continuing our walk around the store. At one point there was a elderly couple who saw Juneau and they were very respectful, giving Juneau his space while I was talking to them. They had dogs before and knew about training so they wanted to just say hi and kept commenting on how relaxed and calm he was while I was having a conversation with them. As they left I praised Juneau for doing very well by not getting up when talking to others.
Later in the day we focused on Juneau's send away to place with a place pad I have here at home. Juneau has progressed in most areas of his training but random dogs still happen to be an issue even though if Juneau can spend some time around new dogs he will settle but for a brief moment if he sees them he is still barking and becoming vocal.
Pupdate 7/29/2023
This morning Juneau had his walk and play time with Hunter but unfortunately he decided not to eat even staying with him and trying to hand feed him. We didn't work on resource guarding since I genuinely wanted him to eat on his own accord. He would sniff the food from my hand and just walk away as if he wanted to do something else.
I had some errands to attend to most of the morning but once I returned home I started to work specifically today with Juneau's send away to place and come to sit.
I have been using a place pad at home to work on his send away obedience command so he can willingly walk up to a platform and sit or place himself down on it. He has been doing very well with me being spaced away from it but we are still trying to do this with greater distance. Once he is placed I have him practice his recall rather than just breaking him right away. Since he's been able to do both of these tasks it shows his confidence on performing multiple things when we trained. If there is a moment he decides he wants to stop I will continue to redirect him with the e-collar until he places himself onto the pad.
After training I gave more time for Juneau to play with Hunter as usual. It's interesting to see how much they have progressed as friends and even having them inside the house they can lay next to each other after playing for so long. I have them both wait in my hallway and I travel through my house to open the door that leads into the backyard. If they get up before I break them as the door is opening I will have them both wait back in my hallway and continue to walk towards the door leading into the backyard. Once they hear "break" they come running with excitement to play with each other as they have been doing everyday since we have been working on these types of boundaries to respect inside the house.
Pupdate 7/30/2023
This morning instead of walking Hunter and Juneau together, I took Juneau to a park in Cerritos for more training. This park has a lot of ducks and geese walking around so I wanted to see his reaction being around them.
When we first arrived Juneau was very excited to be at a new park so I gave him a break to smell the grass and just give him time to be himself for the moment. There was a woman who passed by us with her dog and as usual Juneau started to overstimulate but giving him his "off" obedience command he started to calm down and I would also have him perform his directional heel turns to keep him engaged with me. This was the first time in his training that he settled very quickly when seeing a dog from a distance. I was able to praise this moment and showed Juneau a lot of affection for this type of behavior.
As we walked around the park I went throughout most of the park that the ducks and geese weren't located at just to get some exercise and tire him out. When we saw the ducks and geese from a distance he didn't seem to overstimulate but he started to try and travel forward in front of me. We continued with our directional heel turns going back and forth just to have Juneau engaged with me. We started to walk in the direction of the birds and I was proud to see Juneau keeping his heel as we passed by the multiple groups of birds. At the end of the walkway there was only one group of birds that started to run into the pond next to us so I had Juneau sit which he followed through with. When we passed by them I followed up with more praise for Juneau since he was being a very good boy around these types of animals.
We found a platform near a playground which we practiced send away to place. When creating distance and trying to have Juneau willingly walk up to the platform he was hesitant at times but if I walked up just a little with Juneau he would be able to identify the command with the platform. We continued to practice this until a group of moms and their children showed up and asked us if they could use the platform to sit and put their belongings on. I removed Juneau from the platform but the moms were very impressed on how calm and quiet Juneau was behaving. One of the mother's have husky's themselves and couldn't believe how her dog's are aren't as calm as Juneau was behaving.
We continued to condition send away to place at home with the place pad I have, followed up with play time with Hunter.
Pupdate 7/31/2023
This morning I took Juneau to a park in Los Angeles to work around the other trainer's from OffLeash again. When we first arrived one of our trainers was already there with his two dogs. I noticed before walking to the benches that Juneau was still biting at his hotspots even though they have healed and is just missing his fur. It's possible he might need an itching preventing medication since he seems to be irritated randomly by his skin but I'm not sure at the moment. When approaching I was impressed to see Juneau stay calm and not overstimulate himself just from making eye contact. As we walked around the park there were some people who were walking their dogs and once they saw Juneau they started to bark at him and this is what seems to trigger him to overstimulate. Giving Juneau his "off" obedience command has been helping catch his attention back on me.
We took the time to improve his send away to place without any use of leash pressure and just rely on the e-collar. This has been getting better with Juneau not trying to resist as much compared to the first couple of practices where he needed the leash assistance. We stayed in the shade for a moment and took a break before practicing our offleash obedience around the other trainers and their dogs. Juneau performed his obedience commands very well around them, except for his recall which I only had to redirect once but without the use of the e-collar. Juneau showed his confidence and wasn't being vocal as he glimpsed at them and checked back up with me giving me eye contact. We finished this practice by heeling near the playground and having Juneau place again before being given his break.
Pupdate 8/1/2023
This morning Juneau and Hunter had gone on their usual walk and play time. Shortly after I had put Hunter away in his crate to focus on improving Juneau's offleash door manners. Juneau is very smart about being patient until I return into the backyard but sometimes as we walk past the door he wants to overstimulate and try to forge in front of me. We took the time doing this practice several times before recording. In the video above Juneau lets me leave all the way to the front of the house, even going next door to challenge Juneau to see if he would break his position. He remained in my backyard and as I walk towards him he got a little excited and I redirect him verbally without the use of the e-collar. I asked for his recall and calmly walked out as I've always intended when walking past a door. He did very well keeping a pace with me and as we travel some distance to the front I will break him just to praise him for the moment and the behavior he's displayed when completing the task.
We went back inside the house to work on boundaries with the kitchen door. When we return from our trips when training, Juneau is very knowledgeable about going directly to my side of the house and has been very consistent about doing so. Once I open this door again from the other side, Juneau has to remain on my side of the house rather than just exploring freely and being able to do what he wants. When Hunter and Juneau are ready to play I make them both wait here until I open the door that leads into the backyard. When Juneau practices this by himself he can test me at times but over the course of his training he has improved significantly and doesn't mind the variations of distractions I try to implement in front of him. Once I'm done doing things in my mothers kitchen I will break him back into my side of the house rather than breaking him towards the kitchen.
Pupdate 8/2/2023
Today we took a trip back to Home Depot to work on more of Juneau's offleash obedience. When first arriving he was very excited as always being in a new setting but I took each step from coming out the car to heeling towards the door to the store in a very professional manner to keep him in his obedience structure from beginning to end. We took a couple laps around the store seeing if Juneau had the intention to get distracted by smells, people walking by, or other variations of distractions that can break his obedience with me.
In the video above is our final walkthrough of the store and Juneau is seen performing his extended down at one of the entrances of the store. He did this with confidence and shortly after I asked for his come to sit, then his heel to continue our walk. When passing by the lumber section of the store we saw a small dog and Juneau started to overstimulate as always. To keep him in his obedience structure I ignore the dog and keep my eyes on Juneau, preventing him from barking and forging in front of me with many repetitions of the e-collar until he stops being verbal. Key thing about this situation is to continue walking. If I was to stop and let Juneau see this dog he would continue to overstimulate since this man in the video above doesn't have much control of his dog when barking at us. This is a situation out of our control so the best thing to do in these types of moments is to continue walking and creating space. As we completely leave the other owner's sight Juneau can somewhat remain overstimulated so I had him perform his sit before breaking him. As I asked Juneau for his sit he actually broke position before I could tell him so I had redirected him back into his sit for this moment as well. Once he remained calm I was able to break him and give him his praise.
Later in the day Juneau and Hunter had their usual playtime once the heat cooled down. I had both of them offleash walking around my neighborhood for the first time and Juneau did very well staying near Hunter, even when going potty.
Pupdate 8/3/2023
Today we took a trip to Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles, CA and got to meet up with some of the other trainers as well from Offleash. When we first arrived we were the first ones there waiting for our friends to come but in the meanwhile, Juneau and I walked around the pier practicing all of our offleash obedience commands. When walking down towards the end of the pier which had more foot traffic, Juneau started to become hesitant with heeling properly and even started to get distracted by the smells. I took the time to keep him there to desensitize him but he started to become vocal when just being in a down. Shortly after I walked him back towards the middle of the pier and he settled immediately watching all the people pass by.
When we saw some of our friends from offleash with their dogs, Juneau wasn't so vocal only because he has been around these dogs before so he's fully aware of who they are and didn't seem to care compared to other dogs we have seen before. We worked on send away to place, under, and extended down in the area which Juneau felt most comfortable with. He did very well performing these commands and as we took a break the pier started to get very busy so once we started to walk around again he was hesitant on where to walk offleash so I kept his leash on for the remainder of his visit. Juneau's confidence with today's visit at the pier wasn't the same compared to Huntington Beach only because of how crowded it was on the pier once it was 11:30 AM which can start to be really busy over here. Juneau has remained calm and neutral to most places we have visited so Santa Monica Pier was a real challenge for him.
Pupdate 8/4/2023
Today I took Juneau to Santa Anita Mall in Arcadia, CA for some training and to do a little bit of shopping. Juneau's excitement kicked in once he realized again he was in a new environment. I had him go potty first before entering the mall so we could freely walk around without worrying about a restroom break. When walking Juneau with his leash attached he had moments he wanted to forge in front of me but I would always redirect him and have him check up with me to remain in his structured heel. Shortly after a while of walking around he settled until we saw one of our friends from offleash. Juneau went into his typical behavior of being vocal and I had to repeat the same process of redirecting him with his "off" obedience command, followed up by some heel turns to keep him engaged with me. After 1 minute he settled and remained calm around Meagan and her furry frenchie.
We took some time walking around the mall which we had no issue with being together. From a distance I saw a lady who was gonna walk towards our direction with her dog. This didn't seem too much of an issue but she intentionally let her dog in the front of her closing the distance to Juneau. Once I realized how close the dog was to Juneau I had him walk with me creating distance away from the dog so he wouldn't react. Juneau became vocal but I kept my attention on Juneau having him perform his obedience to have him stop being so verbal. Once the dog was out of our sight Juneau remained calm as always.
We had a big open area to practice other commands for a brief moment before having Juneau offleash. Something Juneau likes to test me with still is his down obedience command so I had him perform this numerous times before recording part of our practice. In the video above he doesn't break his position compared to other days where he's always gotten up when I ask him for his down. We had multiple people pass by us giving comments such as "look at how well behaved that husky is" and "so well behaved".
Later in the day Juneau spent more time practicing all of his obedience commands at home with extra play time with Hunter as usual.
Pupdate 8/5/2023
Today is Juneau's final day for his board and train program so I wanted to make it fun and special for him today. We woke up very early in the morning for our walk with Hunter. They were both offleash and since there weren't many dogs outside on walks with their owner's we had a pretty decent walk around the neighborhood without any issues. When we returned home they had their usual playtime together for 15 minutes before they both tired out. I had also trained Juneau after playing with Hunter since I had some errands to do for my family. Most of the day he had to stay inside but in the AC where it is cool in my house.
Later in the day I had some family members come over who Juneau got to meet and was very respectful when meeting them. He didn't jump nor did he get overly excited when meeting people. We practiced our offleash obedience commands and house manners while they were visiting so they got to see how well behaved Juneau can perform his tasks.
Juneau has come a long way when during our short time together, I wish I could have spent more time with him since he was very respectful with friends, family, and my personal dog Hunter. He has shown the ability to learn something new everyday and was willing to try new things with the positive mindset I had for him. He has been able to respect boundaries which he wasn't able to do before. His leash pulling has stopped just in the first week of meeting him and was able to travel with me for great distances in his heel obedience. His reactivity has gotten better as long as he's able to spend time around dogs keeping boundaries rather than a dog he sees for a brief moment. Even though some dogs don't respect their owner's and will act on their own there are ways for Juneau to thrive during these moments when a dog is trying to confront him when they aren't listening to their owner. Every day since he's met Hunter they have always played and walked together so he's not a mean dog by any means, there's just some dogs that need their manners when around Juneau that can instigate a certain behavior. With his new mindset now he's able to perform offleash obedience commands that most dogs can't do. He is ready to go home now since he has completed his 3 week board and train program and I'm going to miss training Juneau and being able to give him a positive experience while outside amongst others!
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