Juno, an adorable 5-month-old female German Shepherd, is now part of OffLeash SoCal's Two-Week Board and Train Program, starting her exciting journey!
As the eldest pup in her litter, Juno's got a bit of a dominant streak over her mates. She's bursting with energy, jumping on people, and barking at other dogs. Right now, she's not the best at walking nicely or following commands.
During our program, we will help Juno get her obedience to become solid, keep her calm, and teach her to pay attention when we ask something from her. Despite these challenges, Juno's a joy to be around—the warm, sweetest puppy I've ever seen. She gets along great with both people and other dogs.
We're excited to see how Juno grows and changes over the next two weeks!
Pupdate: 6/23/2024
Today was Juno's first day with us, which was quite eventful. I had the chance to observe her behavior at the pickup meeting. Juno was full of energy, strong, and pulled the leash in every direction possible. She also barked at dogs that passed by. We headed to Bomo Park after that, where I practiced basic commands and introduced her to the E-collar. Juno responded very well to the E-collar on her first try and quickly grasped the "Come", "Sit", "Heel", "Off" and even "Come to Sit" commands without any issues.
Juno shows a delightful, friendly nature as she settles in with us, and she seems quite clever.
After a quick nap, Juno perked up, happily exploring the house and showing dominance over Bubble Tea, my female Husky, with some barking. A gentle tap on the E-collar with "Off" command stopped her immediately, and she soon relaxed on her cot.
Juno always responded promptly when I called her and stayed engaged when I asked her to do something. Tomorrow, we'll go over all the commands again to practice more outdoors where it is not too hot in the morning. I'm pretty optimistic that Juno's journey will continue smoothly, and she'll become a wonderfully obedient puppy in two weeks.
Pupdate: 6/24/2024
We practiced all commands using a long leash at Bomo Park. Juno performed well with Sit and Come to Sit. We plan to refine these daily while introducing new commands.
Due to the park's crowds, Juno occasionally became distracted, but with the assistance of the E-collar, she quickly redirected her attention to me.
Today at Block of Orange, we worked on Heel, Down, and Place. Juno's heel has improved significantly from yesterday and was more consistent, although she is still in the early stages of learning, so we'll continue practicing in various environments this week.
She handled distractions remarkably well for only the second day, showing considerable progress.
At home, we'll focus on Down and Place today, and tomorrow at Whittier park, we'll work on all commands further.
Pupdate: 6/25/2024
At Home Depot, we practiced all commands: Heel, Come to Sit, Sit, Down, Place, and Break. Juno performed well with Heel, Come to Sit, and Place.
However, she broke the Extended Sit multiple times and struggled to hold it for an extended period.We will need to continue practicing that, and she couldn't perform the Down command at Home Depot either.
Later on at Whittier Narrows Park, Juno made a good progress compared to her performance on the first day. By the end of the day, she had learned the Down command and will continue practicing to strengthen her skills.
To summarize Juno's progress:
Heel: She walks well alongside the handler with minimal pulling. She needs more practice with turns.
Sit: Juno's sit command is solid, and she can maintain an Extended Sit for up to almost 2 minutes.
Down: Her down command has shown improvement, but she requires more practice indoors.
Place: Initially struggled to get onto the training cot but has improved quickly. Now we need to focus on duration.
Come to Sit: Almost perfect, but occasionally, she sits too early.
The command we will focus on as a priority is Down. Tomorrow, we aim to help Juno become more comfortable and make further progress.
Pupdates 6/26/2024
This morning at Avenue of the Arts Park, we practiced all commands with Juno with the leash dragging. On just day 4, her Heel was quite impressive, and she's starting to master her Turns, although she occasionally gets distracted and loses focus. During those moments, I used the e-collar to quickly regain her attention.
Her Come to Sit is reliable, although she sometimes sits in an incorrect spot, which we are actively addressing. Her Extended Sit was excellent, and we plan to gradually increase the duration during our next practice session. Juno has begun learning Down with the help of treats, and we will begin phasing out the treats in upcoming practice sessions.
Juno's second round in front of the pond showed significant improvement compared to her first round. She is now ready to handle more distractions. Tomorrow, we plan to visit Santa Monica Pier, and the following day, I intend to work with her again at Fashion Island.
Pupdates 6/27/2024
We went to the little park area at the Promenade Irvine Spectrum to practice all commands. It's a pretty quiet place, perfect for practicing with the leash dragging at this stage in her training.
Juno’s Heel and Come to Sit commands have improved every day since the first day. However, she still needs to work on staying focused on commands when there are distractions, especially when a dog is barking nearby. She needs to learn how to ignore that.
I'm using the Off command with the e-collar to redirect her attention back to me. After she switches her attention back, I praise her and give her treats as rewards.
She has started performing the "Down" command with some treats in public but still needs more practice until treats are no longer needed.
For the Place command, Juno still hesitated a bit with unfamiliar objects. I had to step onto the place object to lead her, We will practice more for the Place and next week she should soon be able to do it on her own.
Her Extended Sit and Extended Down commands also have shown good progress. Once she's settled on the object, she barely moves until I give the release command, Break.
Juno still barks at other dogs, and this should be addressed using the e-collar along with a firm tone.
Pupdates 6/28/2024
Juno's first training session at the Santa Monica Pier went smoothly despite the busy environment. Even though she seemed somewhat skeptical, she stayed calm in the midst of all the noise and activity, paying good attention to commands she already knew: Come to Sit, Heel, Place, Extended Sit, and Break.
On her first day I met Juno, she was pulling and jumping at every dog she saw. After 6 days, she no longer jumps on people or other dogs and controls her barks much more while passing dogs.
Juno's Come to Sit and Heel commands have progressed to where I can use leash dragging more frequently. Her Place and Extended Sit commands are reliable, and we're working on increasing their duration and distance.
She struggled with the Down command initially, especially in distracting environments. However, we spent the evening practicing Down at home in a calm setting, and she responded much better. (This Down training video will be uploaded tomorrow)
Using her full meal of kibble as motivation, she showed improvement. Next week, we'll phase out physical guidance and food lures, using treats only as rewards after she completes the command or behavior correctly. We'll gradually introduce distractions, longer durations, and increased distances.
Additionally, Juno has started learning "Puppy Pushups" (moving from Down to Sit) and has picked it up quickly. She transitions smoothly from Down to Sit upon hearing the Sit command.
Pupdates 6/29/2024
This video is entirely focused on training Juno on the Down command, as she requires more practice with this specific command.
We began indoors inside our place for a quiet, distraction-free environment. I placed Juno on a cot for the Place command and then practiced the Down. Juno did well, and by the end, she responded to the Down command without needing treats to lure her.
I also used this time to teach her Puppy Pushups with the Sit command. After practicing the Down command repeatedly to ensure she grasped the concept, she responded consistently.
Moving outdoors to a busier environment with dogs, squirrels, and an automatic grass mower, Juno became distracted and didn't perform as well as indoors. She was focused on other dogs and didn't always listen to my commands, so I used the e-collar to regain her attention. Eventually, she redirected her focus to me and executed the command better.
Later, we practiced the Down command again with Dragging Leash in a less distracting setting, where Juno performed better compared to the busy dog park area. We also practiced all other commands like Heel, Come to Sit, and Break.
This evening, we'll continue practicing all commands again in a medium busy area—Heel, Come to Sit, Down, Place, and Break—to ensure she's ready for the final video this week.
Pupdates 6/30/24
We revisited Avenue of the Arts Park and Home Depot to solidify all commands through repeated practice sessions.
Heel: Juno is improving, but still needs more work with distractions, especially when other animals walk past.
Come to Sit: She practiced with a long leash and dragging leash, and she progressed better today.
Place: Juno is much more confident than last week. At Home Depot, she enjoyed the Placing command on new unfamiliar objects, indicating her boosted confidence since day one. (The Home Depot video will be uploaded by tomorrow.)
Juno has also shown improvement in handling distractions better. Unlike before, despite many dogs at Avenue of the Arts Park, she now reliably avoids sudden jumps or pulls toward other dogs. Consistent training in this area will be crucial and we will try to expose her to it more often.
Down: I've stopped using treats during training sessions and will go less and less after tomorrow.
Juno has become a calmer dog and no longer pulls handlers, which makes me incredibly proud of her. Her soft personality is evident, and she has stopped playing roughly with her furry friends at home, showing significant improvement in her socialization in just one week.
Pupdates 7/1/2024
We visited Home Depot to practice the Come to Sit, Place, Heel, and Down commands.
Come to Sit: Juno has continued to progress today even when around some distractions. She maintained good self-control but occasionally became consumed with certain loud noises in the store. Juno also sometimes faces the wrong direction when coming to sit on my left side. We'll need to work on having her face the same way as me.
Heel: Juno is starting to walk closer to my side but still needs more practice with turning, especially left turns.
Place: Juno confidently handled the cart without fear and performed the Sit command well. However, she needs more work on the Down command while on Place.
Down: Juno is getting faster at performing the Down command compared to previous days. However, she still requires treats to follow through. We will continue focusing on Down training until she can perform it reliably without treats.
Break: Juno also needs more work on the Break command to get her to feel more excited and happier. She hasn't quite grasped this means she's done a good job and is free from the last command.
Overall, it was a productive day. Juno has been putting in a lot of effort during outdoor sessions and still has enough energy to play with my other dogs when we return home. I'll make sure to separate them to give Juno enough nap time.
Tomorrow, we will continue working on all commands to help Juno achieve success in her training.
Pupdates 7/2/2024
At Whittier Narrows Park, we successfully addressed Juno's issue with the Down command using a combination of gentle leash pressure, the e-collar, and plenty of praise. Once she grasped the concept, we practiced the Down command repeatedly until she responded confidently and without hesitation.
We also resolved the problem of Juno facing the wrong direction during the Come to Sit command by using the e-collar and applying some leash pressure for correction.
We continued practicing this command to reinforce her understanding.
During Place training, Juno demonstrated her ability to hop onto an unfamiliar tall bench at the park, which was a positive development.
In Heel training, we focused extensively on turns, particularly left turns. Juno showed significant improvement compared to a few days ago. Anyway, she still requires more practice in distracting environments.
Regarding the Break command, Juno responded better today. Initially, she lacked enthusiasm for the command, but by showering her with love, praise, and affectionate gestures, she has improved a little more. We will keep working on this command tomorrow.
Overall, today's session was a step in the right direction. I'm excited to see Juno's continued progress and look forward to tomorrow's training session.
Pupdates 7/3/2024
Today at Cerritos Mall, we joined other trainers who assisted in Juno's training.
Juno practiced Come to Sit, Heel, Down, and Break with a dragging leash. She responded well with increased use of the E-collar and reduced leash guidance.
We focused on Greeting Manners, as Juno still exhibits fear towards new people and is hesitant to let strangers touch her. You can see that when the trainer goes to approach and say hi, Juno moves away. But when the trainer releases Juno from position, she goes to the trainer willingly. Juno also moves away from the 'stranger' more when she is directly next to her handler. This is Juno displaying the "save me/protect me" emotion. Allowing appropriate greetings and not coddling Juno will slowly build her confidence. We also plan to increase her exposure to public settings in the coming days to address this.
Juno's Sit command still needs refinement. Using the Come to Sit command, we successfully reset her position next to me.
Additionally, we practiced walking alongside a wall to help Juno maintain a proper Heel position closer to me.
Lastly, we worked on sending Juno to Place from a distance. She made good progress starting from short distances. We will continue to incorporate this into her training alongside other basic obedience exercises.
Overall, today's session was productive for Juno. Now, she's back home resting in her crate for four hours before our next training session at Home Depot this evening.
Pupdates 7/4/2024
On the Fourth of July morning, Juno and I headed to Avenue of the Park for some light exercises. There were more people and dogs than usual.
We focused on practicing Come to Sit, Heel, Down, and Extended Down with less leash and more E-collar. Juno seemed to coordinate well and was less distracted, although the constant foot traffic challenged her focus. At times, she was more interested in her surroundings than in me, requiring redirection with the E-collar several times.
We also began working on Send to Place, gradually increasing the distance. It was a good start, and we plan to continue practicing duration and distance later this week.
I uploaded our training session from Home Depot last night: we started with Break, then practiced Come to Sit while I stood static, and Juno came to sit to my left.
Additionally, we revisited Place and Down exercises on the cart. Her Break command showed improvement compared to previous sessions; she remained calm and didn't run past me anymore.
Tonight, we're getting to bed early to rest amid the fireworks. Tomorrow, we'll meet with our trainer group at Del Amo Mall to practice more and pick up new tips and tricks.
Pupdates 7/5/2024
Today we visited Del Amo Mall, which is larger and more crowded than Cerritos.
Juno was initially excited and nervous for the first 10-15 minutes. Once she calmed down, she began to focus on the commands.
We worked on Heel, Come to Sit, Place, Down, Extended Sit, and Extended Down. Overall, she performed well, though Extended Sit needs more practice in high-distraction areas as she broke the position too early many times.
We also practiced Greeting people, and Juno was at first hesitant and moved away from the greeters. So she will also need practice with the Greeting command and more exposure to busy places.
Tonight, after a nap, we'll visit South Coast Plaza to practice all commands again and help her get used to other places with high distractions.
Pupdates 7/6/2024
We began our day at Home Depot, focusing on all commands: Heel, Come to Sit, Place, Down, and Extended Down. Juno showed improvement in all commands except Greeting, where she shied away when many people passed by and greeted her. We'll prioritize addressing this issue moving forward.
After Home Depot, we revisited MainPlace Mall to practice Heel and Come to Sit. We took a break at the Food Court and enjoyed some relaxed time. Juno had a great day out and seemed more at ease despite the Saturday crowds.
Tonight, we'll review all commands again and continue working diligently to resolve any remaining issues.
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