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!
Juno can become very nervous when around high distractions. She gets timid when people come to pet her, but when she becomes comfortable, she will jump to greet. Juno does well with other dogs, but during walks she can be reactive on leash. She struggles following commands, mostly because she is stubborn and likes to do her own thing.
During our program, we will help Juno learn obedience and manners, build her confidence, and be the best pup she can be! Stay tuned to see her transformation!
Pupdate 7/7/2024
Today Juno and I worked at La Mirada Regional Park. My main focus today was to see Juno’s progress and also build our relationship. At first Juno was very timid and unsure about me, but after working with her and giving her lots of encouragement, she became more comfortable. She is doing well with her commands, but she can be stubborn at times and not want to follow through. When this happens, I implement a correction until Juno follows all the way through with the command. We want to work on getting her to follow through the first time we ask and to also not break command until released. She had a hard time holding her down as I walked away, but I made sure to walk her back to the same spot and ask her to go back into the down. Having Juno hold commands as we walk away will help build her confidence by feeling secure without us being by her side. When she becomes nervous out in public, she will hide behind my legs and move away from what is scaring her. We will continue to work on building her confidence! We also practiced a lot on heeling since Juno tends to lead during walks. When Juno would start walking ahead of me, I would do a sharp turn in front of her which causes her to bump into me and slow down. By turning in front of Juno, it will help teach her to keep her attention on me and not lead.
When we arrived at my home, Juno was a bit nervous being in a new environment. I walked around the yard with her so she can become more comfortable. I tried to introduce her to my pups but she was unsure, so I gave her alone time so she can adjust.
Pupdate 7/8/2024
Today Juno and I trained at the Brea Mall. Normally, Juno is skiddish when being in an unfamiliar environment, but today I can see she has become more confident. She did not need any time to adjust and was able to heel and follow through with each command without being nervous. Juno still would make minor mistakes such as breaking command and not following through right away, but we continued to practice and do lots of repetition on everything she was struggling with. Juno and I worked mostly on her extended down. She would tend to break command when I would walk away because she wanted to be next to me, but I made sure to walk her back to the same spot and ask her to down again. This is so she can learn to be comfortable on her own rather than always staying by my side. She was also nervous to jump onto the fountain when I asked her to place. This is understandable because it made noise, contained water, and it is something she may have never seen before. To get her comfortable jumping onto the fountain, we did lots of repetition where I would have her set her front paws on the fountain and then break her as a reward. We continued this until she became comfortable to fully jump onto the side. Although she made little mistakes and it took her some time to get over her nerves, I was proud to see Juno’s confidence grow and change over the past few weeks. Juno was able to start with a loose leash heel around the mall, to leash dragging, then to being fully off leash! In calm distraction areas, Juno does great working off leash, but in a high distraction area, it would be safer to have her on leash in case she becomes scared of something.
At home, Juno had finally showed her true playful self and warmed up to all the pups. She spent the rest of her day running around the yard and playing with her new friends.
Pupdate 7/9/2024
Today Juno and I trained at the Citadel Outlets. Juno showed lots of confidence today and was able to work entirely off leash. We walked past lots of crowds and even reactive dogs and Juno stayed calm and stayed in a heel. There were times where she would be stubborn when it came to following through with a command, but by implementing a correction and holding her accountable, Juno’s stubbornness went away. I also noticed Juno began to have a hard time listening when she became tired and hot, so I made sure to take lots of breaks so we both can cool down. I was proud to see Juno showed no signs of being skiddish. She was able to place on unknown objects and hold commands as many people walked around her. Her confidence continues to grow the more we go to new places!
Although Juno did great working around more distractions today, I would still recommend having her on leash in areas where there is high traffic. For example, Santa Monica Pier. Even though Juno will be on leash in these types of areas, all her training will still apply. I am confident Juno can take on places such as Santa Monica, but for her safety, on leash would be the best option. As for lower distractions, Juno’s off leash skills are great! I am confident in Juno to have her off leash at a park, mall, or for a walk around the neighborhood.
When working around high distractions at the outlets, I kept a close distance to Juno when having her hold commands. I noticed she was looking around at all the people passing by which is okay, but I wanted to be close in case she did become nervous or distracted. As for areas that were low distraction, I was able to move around Juno and create lots of distance as she held commands.
Pupdate 7/10/2024
Today Juno and I trained at home. We worked on her food and door manners. Juno gets very excited when it's time to eat, so we want to teach her to be calm and wait for her food. Teaching Juno food manners is great for preventing Juno from eating things she is not supposed to. When practicing, I would have Juno go into a down as I set the food on the floor. If she broke command, I would pick the food back up and put her back into the down. Juno did become impatient at times, but she soon learned to get the food, she must hold command patiently. As for door manners, we want to teach Juno to not run out the door right when it opens. I would have Juno either sit or down near the door as I walked in and out of the house. We focused a bit more on door manners today because Juno would become very excited when her friends passed by the door, causing her to break command. After lots of repetition, Juno was able to hold command and even heel out the door!
Pupdate 7/11/2024
Today Juno and I worked at the Whittwood town center. We continued to practice her off leash skills. Our main focus today was on Juno’s heel. She had high energy, led the walk, and was distracted by her friend who tagged along during our training. When she would lead, I would do tight left turns which caused her to bump into me. I also would implement corrections while saying heel at the same time. Juno soon learned that if she did not slow down, she would bump into me. There are many different ways we can bring Juno’s attention back to us during the heel. Doing lots of left and right turns, changing our speed, and giving corrections when needed are all ways to help improve a heel. We also worked on Juno’s greeting manners. When it comes to new people, she will become frightened and back away if they come to pet her. Today, she got lots of compliments from people passing by and even a few people who wanted to pet her. I put the leash back on her so she would not become frightened, but she soon got used to people saying hello. She enjoyed getting some attention for the day.
Pupdate 7/12/2024
Today Juno and I trained at Lowe’s. Juno’s heel has gotten better and she did not try leading the walk. There were a few times she became distracted, but after I implemented a correction, she brought her attention back to me. Juno has improved in following commands right away. She only broke command a few times, but I made sure to hold her accountable by putting her back in the same spot and asking her to go back into the command she was in. Juno’s off leash skills and confidence have improved tremendously over the past few weeks and she is ready to go home and show you everything she has learned! When we got home it was time for Juno to get a bath. Now she is clean and ready to go home tomorrow!
Comments