Meet Kobe! He's a 2-year-old Staffordshire Terrier from Buena Park, California who is here for our Three-Week Board and Train program. Kobe is a smart dog who is good with people, but gets over aroused when he sees other dogs on leash. He's hyper, lacks impulse control, and doesn't know how to control his strength and excitement. Kobe can be mouthy, jumps on people, doesn't follow basic commands, pees inside the house, and pulls on the leash. Over the next twenty-one days we will be working on his basic obedience, manners, and potty training. Stay tuned for his transformation!
Pupdate 2/20/2022
Kobe and I did some leash work and e-collar conditioning at the park. I noticed he does not breathe very well so I kept our session shorter even though it was cool out. I found the lowest level where he feels the sensation from the e-collar and tap him several times when he’s looking away. When he turns in my direction I mark with “yes” and praise since he didn’t want to take his food. He was very stimulated by the environment even though we were far from all the activity, and he pulls like a freight train. He is not doing well in the crate and has been panting a lot.
Pupdate 2/21/2022
Kobe is having a difficult time in the crate. He whines and pants whenever he's in there. Last night I covered the front of his crate with a towel to help him settle down. This morning we focused on leash work and not bulldozing out of the crate and doorways. Kobe is really strong and doesn't care about leash pressure, so I took him to a pet store in the afternoon to have him fitted for a training collar. He could not sit for more than two seconds without getting up and marked in the store even though I had him potty beforehand. Tomorrow we start really working on leash pressure and loose leash walking.
Pupdate 2/22/2022
Late last night I offered Kobe his food and he finished the two cups from that morning. Today he socialized off-leash in the dog run with Guinevere, the Irish Wolfhound Standard Poodle mix. They ran around and had a great time. I will only be putting him with female dogs at this point, and none of the puppies, since he went after the young Golden Retriever male in a non-friendly manner. We focused on leash skills this morning and more e-collar conditioning. Everytime Kobe goes through a door boundary I have him sit and wait. He is a very pushy dog so it can take a number of repetitions to make it through the threshold. After socializing with Guinevere he had no issue eating his food, but was anxious, panted heavily, and was whining in the crate. We worked on more e-collar conditioning and leash work. He had trouble with distractions as we moved away from the camera. You could hear dogs barking across the street, the chickens and ducks were to our right, and the trash truck was making its rounds. When I would stop walking I asked Kobe to sit, and he would comply with leash pressure, but would turn into me. You'll notice I use my leg as a barrier to help turn him when he gets stuck looking in the opposite direction of the camera. At that point I changed my approach and turned into him instead of to the right and that helped keep him moving. He is still stressed out in the crate and will vocalize and pant for about 10 minutes until he settles down, but he's starting to climb into the crate that's in the van with a small amount of leash pressure.
Pupdate 2/23/2022
In the morning Kobe socialized with Guinevere in the dog run before we worked on his commands. We focused on e-collar conditioning, loose leash walking, and come to sit. I put the e-collar on him once he is out of the crate so we can work on door boundaries. He is better about not pushing through them but has trouble holding a sit. Today I introduced place and we started working on duration on the place board. He kept breaking position, and when he did I would say, "no" and help him back on the place board. After several repetitions he started getting it. Kobe is still stressed out in the crate.
Pupdate 2/24/2022
Kobe and I worked on his commands next to the chicken and duck coop. The birds were out in the larger part of their enclosure adjacent to the driveway where Kobe and I worked on heeling, place, extended sit, and come to sit. Kobe fixated on them in the beginning, but I used the "off" command to get his attention off of them. Praise went a long way to motivate Kobe. When he was heeling nicely I would tell him "good" or "very nice" in a more enthusiastic tone, and he would look up at me acknowledging the praise. He is very pushy and tries to mount while socializing with Guinevere, so I use the "off" command there as well. I know you mentioned wanting to neuter him. That should help with his overall excitement and bring that down several notches.
Pupdate 2/25/2022
Kobe and I went to the beach to work around distractions. He is heeling fairly well, except he does bump into my leg a lot and will crowd me, especially if he sees another dog. I’ve been using the “off “ command when we encounter a dog but he really wants to go towards them, and a lot of dogs don’t seem to like him. In the yard he socialized with Juno, but she kept him at bay since he just wanted to mount her.
Pupdate 2/26/2022
Kobe and I worked on his commands at a busy park in Temecula. He did well around people, bicycles, and scooters, but had a lot of trouble around dogs. On more than one occasion he tried to go after a dog. There was an older gentleman who was walking briskly and hunched over, Kobe was in a down, and sprang towards him. It was concerning. When I tried using leash pressure to guide him into a down he tried to use his mouth on me and intended to bite. I remained calm and followed through with the command. After several repetitions the down became easier.
Pupdate 2/27/2022
Today we worked in Old Town Temecula. Kobe did much better in an area without dogs. He occasionally wanted to sniff a person and would break position to investigate, but stayed in heel for the most part. He is doing better with his down command but needs help with leash guidance.
Pupdate 2/28/2022
Kobe and I went back to the beach to work on his commands. We worked on his heeling and following commands around dogs, which is a struggle. When other dogs see him they react, usually pulling towards him with a fast moving tail in a high position or flagging in his direction. He then breaks position to move towards them. In these instances, come to sit or an extended sit are a big challenge. His heeling has improved, and he now loads up in the crate that's in the van, which he refused to do on his first day. If Kobe moves out of the heel position towards a trash can or to sniff the ground away from me I give him a small leash pop in my direction in conjunction with a tap of the e-collar to bring him back into heel. Each time he does this, it's to mark an object. He is able to hold his bladder in the crate. The peeing he does inside the home is behavioral and commonly seen in males that are intact and leaving their scent.
Pupdate 3/1/2022
This morning I took Kobe on a walk through the neighborhood. He did a good job staying in the heel position while we walked, and only broke his down stay because he was startled by a neighbor's horse that approached the fence where I had Kobe for a photo. In the afternoon we went to a shopping area to work on his commands around more activity. I always release him to go potty before we start working so that if he breaks position to sniff or mark something I can say "off", pause, and say "heel" while giving a small leash pop in my direction.
Pupdate 3/2/2022
Today we focused on come to sit, down, and heeling at the park. I used Kobe’s food to reward him during his training sessions. He showed more motivation to work when food was involved. I'm using a marker system ("yes") to tell him when he's doing exactly what I want, and that he doesn't have to keep doing it, and a continuation marker ("good") to work on duration on sit, down, and place.
Pupdate 3/3/2022
In the morning Kobe and I worked on his commands in the driveway adjacent to the dog run. I had four dogs in there who were running around and playing, and that was enough of a distraction for Kobe. I used his breakfast to reward him for completing his commands, and he did very well! Dogs barking would create arousal, and I would either bring food directly in front of his face or use leash guidance to move him away from the dogs and into the position we were working on. He is learning that "yes" means you did exactly what I wanted you to do and you don't have to keep doing it (it's a terminal marker), and "good" means you're on the right track, keep doing what you're doing (extended sit and extended down). In the afternoon we went to a shopping area and worked on heeling, come to sit, and his extended down. I used a meat roll to reward him and could see a big difference in his engagement and motivation to work. He still got stuck on the back side of come to sit, but I know he understands it. I’m also working on cleaning up his sit so that he doesn’t sit with his hips to the side.
Pupdate 3/4/2022
We went back to the beach to work in a busy environment. Kobe had difficulty seeing dogs and was startled by the multi-person bikes, but overall kept his engagement with me. He is luring better into a straight sit, dropping into a down, and holding his extended down much better.
Pupdate 3/5/2022
Earlier this morning a client was dropping off their dog for boarding. I took Kobe out of the dog run and past the client Kobe stared and growled at the man who was taller and wearing a baseball hat. In the afternoon we went to the the park while waiting for his ER vet visit to have his paw checked out. Kobe will allow me to manipulate the wound to an extent but I could not see anything in there.
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