Meet Krypto! He's a nineteen-month-old Belgian Malinois Mix from La Cañada Flintridge, California here for our Three-Week Board and Train Program! Krypto has been with us before, and he already has a great grasp of his obedience commands, however he started barking at people, especially people walking by his home and some people he meets while walking with his loved ones. He's very protective of his family, so over the next twenty one days, we're going to continue his work to build his confidence and show him that the world and the people in it aren't as scary as they can seem! Stay tuned for Krypto's continued training journey!
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Pupdate: 12/15/2023
Krypto got a little snippy with me when I first picked him up! I can tell he is very protective of his family and home. Luckily he started to recognize me, and as you can see in the above video, he started performing his commands for me without much trouble. He remembers all of his commands, even if they are a little rusty! He barked at one dog and two people passing us while walking, but was relatively well behaved for the rest of the time at the park.
After the park, we went home to start getting him settled in. I think he realized where he was pretty quickly, because with almost no hesitation he went to the spot in my living room where he would take naps about a year ago. Great job so far! Don't worry, Krypto, we'll get you the exposure you need to succeed!
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Pupdate: 12/16/2023
Krypto went to Almansor Park today for training! There were quite a few people around the park, although not quite as many as usual on the weekends. Krypto didn't seem to mind walking past the people, but got slightly spooked if someone walked directly up to us or came up behind us. He didn't bark at anyone today, but sort of ducked his head and acted surprised by certain folks.
For his commands, he's still doing great with them, although the larger fields at this park led to Krypto sometimes wanting to pull ahead of me to play. Other than that, we're tightening up his commands and he's doing well!
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Pupdate: 12/17/2023
Krypto went to Garfield Park today for training! The crowd was a little more dense than yesterday, so he got to work in close proximity to more people. The only time he barked at someone today was when we were parking and he saw someone walk by the car. Aside from that, he was very well behaved around the families today! His heel is also getting more tight, the more we work on it.
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Pupdate: 12/18/2023
Krypto went to Santa Anita Mall today! We worked on his ability to stay focused on me, even when other people are walking by. For this, I'm using the Off command, which Krypto is very familiar with. Usually, if Krypto is staring at a distraction and I use Off, I'm simply asking him to stop staring. Now, I'd like Krypto to not only look away from the distraction, but also look at me. The better he can do this, the more focused he should become while out in public. He didn't bark at anyone today, so I believe he's making progress!
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Pupdate: 12/19/2023
Krypto went to the park with me today! It was drizzling here in the early morning and in the evening, but we managed to avoid the worst of it. He was allowed off leash for some of his time at the park. I still took several precautions to ensure the safety of Krypto and everyone around us.
From about 1:05 through 1:20 I had him lay down while the little white dog walked by. He seemed very interested in the dog, so as soon as I noticed, I asked him to lay down, and corrected him with his E-collar every time he even looked at the little dog. This might seem harsh, but Krypto is a large dog who lunged and snapped at even me when I first picked him up. The way we handle situations like this shapes his behavior now and for the rest of his life. I must stay on top of him with his e collar and other tools if I think for even a second he might break his commands and go try to play with the small dog. Whether he simply wants to play, or use the dog as a chew toy does not matter. It is my responsibility (and soon yours) to keep him completely and utterly under command. Using the E collar in conjunction with our basic commands allowed Krypto to understand the boundaries I have set. If someone comes over to my house and Krypto tries to protect me, it is my responsibility to use the E collar, and prong collar if necessary, to keep the third party safe. Whether that means turning the E collar up to a number that becomes effective, or using the leash pressure and pinch collar to correct him and guide him out of the way of the visitor, even if that means bringing him to a separate room. He simply cannot be allowed to lunge and snap at his visitors with zero recourse. As demonstrated in the above video, I preemptively asked him to lay down and then applied a slight correction any time he even looked at the small dog. This protocol, when applied across all aspects of Kryptos life, should get him to the point where his main interests are his handlers! Which is closer to what we want!
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Pupdate: 12/20/2023
Krypto and I went to Home Depot today to avoid the rain! He did a great job with his commands! There were several other trainers there also working, and Krypto reached out to nip one of the other trainers while practicing greeting manners. It's very important to correct him for this behavior the moment it happens! It's equally as important to not pet him or give him any sort of attention that he could interpret as praise when he does something like that. Even if you don't mean to, he can very easily think he's doing the right thing if you pet him or comfort him immediately instead of correcting him.
While at the store, he was also eyeing some of the other dogs from time to time. He wasn't reactive to them, but it's something to keep in mind.
Other than that, Krypto did a great job today!
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Pupdate: 12/21/2023
Krypto and I went to the park today! We were in and out of the park all day because it looked like rain, but luckily we never got poured on.
Most of our time was spent walking along side walks and trails trying to pass as many people as possible. This was a little difficult since the people were sparse today, but we ended up getting some good work in.
Each time we pass someone, if Krypto looks at them or moves toward them, I use our Off command. If he looks at me or completely ignores the person, I tell him, "good boy!"
It's difficult to see, but for the second half of the above video, there was also a squirrel on that nearest tree. The squirrel was squeaking and seemed like it was trying to make fun of Krypto, but he only got distracted by it a few times. Great job!
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Pupdate: 12/22/2023
Krypto went to Santa Anita Mall today for training! Due to the Holiday shoppers, the crowds were particularly dense. This meant Krypto was thoroughly tested among the passersby. He did a great job at ignoring the people, but keep in mind, I was constantly reminding him to stay focused on me using his verbal commands, his E-collar, and even snapping my fingers and patting my leg to keep him interested.
Funnily enough, the one time Krypto got spooked was when we were approaching the ornaments display pictured above. He saw his distorted reflection in the ornament and jumped a little! He pretty quickly realized it wasn't something bad, and then proceeded to sit politely next to it while I took his picture.
While I did have to stay on top of him the whole time we were there, overall Krypto did a good job at the mall today!
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Pupdate: 12/23/2023
Krypto had a busy day at a large park today. The park we went to has huge open fields great for running, but that also attracted plenty or other dogs and people! Krypto sometimes whined when he could see other animals in the distance, but wasn't allowed to go say hi.
I allowed his leash to drag for much of the time, however, whenever I saw other dogs or people start to get close, I picked up Krypto's leash and began to remind him to focus on me!
With consistent reminders, Krypto did great today!
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Pupdate: 12/24/2023
We went to the park today! There were several little dogs along the way that Krypto wanted to get to. By staying on top of him with his collar, he remained perfectly well behaved today! When walking past the little dogs, I repeated his Off and Heel commands to remind him where he needed to be!
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Pupdate: 12/25/2023
Krypto and I went to the park today! He was chipper and playful all day! For his video, I'm showing Krypto's food manners! He did a great job with this as well. No issues at all today! Happy holidays from Krypto!
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Pupdate: 12/26/2023
Krypto and I went to Belvedere Park today! We met with some other trainers and their dogs. I've been worried about Krypto interacting with strangers and strange dogs, but he did fairly well today. He wasn't allowed to go all the way up to anyone, but we were extremely close to people and Krypto didn't react at all.
As usual, he was on point with his commands!
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Pupdate: 12/27/2023
Krypto and I spent most of the day at Almansor Park for training. He was as sweet and playful as ever with me, but he barked one time at a person walking their dog. Other than this, he behaved himself and had a good day walking to the park. My personal pup's birthday is today, and we almost didn't share her birthday treat with Krypto for barking at someone, he did a great job for the rest of the afternoon, so he ended up getting a piece of her birthday treat!
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Pupdate: 12/28/2023
Krypto and I went to Santa Monica Pier today for training! We had him wear a muzzle just in case, since we were walking in extremely dense crowds. He went to sniff a couple people, and there was one person who Krypto seemed to want to nip. This guy was wearing a jacket, which could be important since the trainer he nipped was also wearing a jacket at that time. He was also licking his lips quite frequently around all the people which could be a sign he felt threatened or anxious. It seems like he doesn't like people approaching him, but while we were walking he doesn't seem to mind the people as much. That being said, I am still constantly reminding him where he needs to be using my verbal commands and the E collar. A lot of the time, I even remind him of the task at hand before a mistake is made. For example, if we're about to walk by a particularly noisy child, I use the Off command and the Heel command several times before we even cross paths. Staying on top of him in this way will go far in keeping any issues under control and show him exactly what boundaries I expect him to maintain!
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Pupdate: 12/29/2023
Krypto went to Los Angeles State Historic Park today! There were not a ton of people, but almost everyone there was walking a dog. Krypto behaved himself very well while we were there, other than whining a couple times at a small dog. We didn't get too close, and other than the whining, he did well staying at my heel and continuing to walk with the assistance of the E-collar.
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Pupdate: 12/30/2023
It was another rainy day today, but we didn't let that stop us from going out once the rain let up! When we first got to the park, there weren't many people out. Luckily, some people started to show up after a while! Krypto seemed the most uncomfortable with people coming up behind us, especially people walking fast/jogging. For this reason, in addition to the fact Krypto doesn't seem to like strangers approaching him in general, we spent a lot of time with Krypto sitting near the walking paths with his back to the foot traffic. When Krypto wanted to look behind, I asked him to stay focused on me instead! He did well with this!
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Pupdate: 12/31/2023
Krypto wishes you a happy new year! We walked to the park today for his training and exercise. He did much better than last time we walked all the way there! There are those little dogs that run up to their black fence (pictured in a previous pupdate) along the way that Krypto had trouble ignoring before. This time, he acknowledged them with his nose, but refused to look at them directly and instead kept focusing on me.
On the rest of our walk, there were a couple of small dogs ahead of us, which Krypto did a great job ignoring. Out of nowhere, a little white dog ran out from his driveway and started barking up a storm at those dogs. Krpyto whined a little, but held his Sit until the owner collected his dog and the walkers ahead of us created some distance.
Once at the park, Krypto did very well and behaved himself.
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Pupdate: 1/1/2024
Krypto and I went to walk to the park! There were many more people around today. A few parties were going on. Several people had their dogs, but Krypto kept his cool! We played at home, but while out and about I needed to use his E-collar to keep him close.
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Pupdate: 1/2/2024
Krypto and I had an amazing day. He did great with our typical commands, but he also had a great time playing with my personal puppy.
She is particularly pushy, and I believe she did a great job at putting Krypto in his place. He wasn't allowed to push her around, which is what he needed.
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Pupdate: 1/3/2023
Krypto and I went to the mall today! He did a pretty good job of relaxing and staying focused on me. He still sometimes wants to turn and look at people coming up behind him, but I noticed he started correcting his mistake immediately, rather than waiting for me to remind him. He's making great progress, although he can always use more exposure!
Later in the day, we walked to the park for a slightly more relaxing experience! As usual, there was a group of small dogs running around the park, but Krypto did a good job of ignoring them today!
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Pupdate: 1/4/2023
Krypto and I went to the Hollywood Walk of Fame today! It was a bit chilly, so not as many people were out, but he still got tons of time around the crowds. He even got some time being handled by a different trainer! This is incredible progress considering he nipped her last time. He also did well with each command, even out on the walk of fame.
Again, we went to the park later in the day so Krypto could have more of a fun time!
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Pupdate: 1/5/2024
Krypto and I walked to the park and had a very pleasant day. There were a couple of sports games being played in the fields, which served as great distractions!
For his video today, I thought I'd show more of him on Hollywood Boulevard yesterday! You can see him perform some commands in a very loud area around a fairly large group of people! Keep in mind, for a significant portion of our time there, I'm continuously reminding him to pay attention and try to ignore the distractions.
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Pupdate: 1/6/2024
Krypto and I went to the mall for his last full day with me! It was extremely crowded, but Krypto did very well. There were tons of small children running around, Krypto was mostly able to ignore all these distractions and focus on me.
We went to Almansor Park later in the evening to unwind. It ended up being pretty crowded there as well.
I'm proud of how far Krypto has come with his reactivity, and I'm going to miss him when he goes back home tomorrow!
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