Meet Lambo! A 1-year-old Miniature Goldendoodle from Los Angeles CA, here for our famous 2 Week Board and Train Program. Lambo is a very sweet boy who loves to show affection by giving endless kisses! Although, he does display attention seeking behaviors with his humans such as barking and tugging on their clothes. Inside the home he likes to counter surf and greet everyone with jumping and more kisses! When out in public Lambo tends to become fixated on other animals and scavenge around the floor. As he sees other animals, he likes to plop himself in a sit/down and refuses to move because he wants to say āhi!ā. When Lambo is presented with tiny humans, he becomes very nervous and moves away from them. He does have a beginning foundation to training as he already knows sit, down, and pick up the place command within minutes! We are excited to have you follow along in his training journey!
Pupdate 7/9/23
Today marked the first day of Lambos journey with us, and we're thrilled to share his initial progress. Upon pickup Lambo exuded a calm demeanor, indicating his comfort with us trainers. We took some time to spend at the park with Lambo before bringing him to his temporary home. This initial bond is crucial to successful training.
While at the park we took a few laps around the park and tested out his training knowledge. He was very receptive to the Sit, Down, and Place command. Place is a command we use for a canine to sit/down on a designated object and it can be very versatile. Donāt worry, we will teach Lambo the differences as to what he is and isnāt allowed to place onto. It was clear from the start that Lambo does need some extra work on Heel and his Recall. Especially when distracted.
On the car ride home and arriving at home Lambo did very well. He got to meet his new puppy pals Bear and Oso. Lambo did great greeting them and did not bombard them with intense play energy. Overall, he has seemed to settle in quite nicely. His willingness to learn and relative ease with basic commands all point towards exciting growth potential. We will go on a walk around the neighborhood before bedtime and hone in on some good training tomorrow!
Pupdate 7/10/23
Lambo had a great day of training today! We introduced his Come to Sit command, also known as his Recall. A solid recall for all canines is an important aspect of training to ensure a pupās safety. During this command we start with Lambo at a distance from us. Utilizing the 15ft leash helps create that distance while being able to help guide him with leash tension.
When we ask Lambo to Come, we want him to come to our right-hand side, loop directly behind us, ending in a seated position on our lefthand side. Once in this position we can then ask him to Heel, Sit (for an extended amount of time) or Break! (His release command). Please note that we do not use āstayā as a command. We simply repeat the last ask (in this case Sit) to remind him and/or if he preemptively breaks command.
Despite this being his first experience with the command, Lambo caught onto this command quite well. Although, as time went on Lambo displayed a bit of willful tendencies. When he no longer wanted to Come, he plopped himself on the ground. Similar to what he does with his humans. During moments like these consistency and reinforcement is key. Just like with children, we canāt give them the lollipop if they are throwing a tantrum. He is quite a smart boy!
Children note: The youngest nephew (1 Ā½ year) came to visit. While Lambo was at a distance in his crate, he let out a few low growls towards the little one. We told Lambo āOffā in a slightly firmer tone. The one verbal Off command was all Lambo needed to cease the low growls. Off is our general ādo not doā command. This can apply to jumping, biting, growling, or hyper focusing.
Pupdate 7/11/23
Exciting news from the training field as we bring you update on Lambo's journey! During our evening walk last night Lambo did not mind the random fireworks that happened to still be going off. However, each passing canine caught his attention. Lambo would slightly pull in their direction but nothing too major. Lambo is much more distracted when coming across his boarding buddy Bear. This is when he really made an effort to get to Bear. Making him unable to focus on any of his commands very well.
Today was a day filled with more opportunities for growth and learning, as we took Lambo to different parks, honing in on the Heel, Extended Sit and Extended Down commands. He had a penchant for exploration, switching between leading the way or trailing behind instead of matching the trainer's pace. The Extended Sit and Down commands presented their own challenges for our trainers. Lambo's keen interest in his surroundings prompted him to rotate, ensuring he maintained a visual on his trainer. While this highlights his attentiveness, it distracts him from fully following through with the stationary commands.
As pictured above, you can see that we worked Lambo closely to the playground. Close enough for him to notice their presence, but at a safe distance to prevent any potential discomfort. Lambo displayed commendable self-control, appearing at ease around the young ones. There was a particularly impressive moment when two toddlers walked past while Lambo was executing an extended sit. He held his command and ignored the children!
Lambo too joined on a lunch trip to In-N-Out. Initially, he was intrigued by the smells and instantly stuck his nose to the ground. We immediately cued Off and reminded Lambo of either Heel, Sit, or Down. While eating lunch he did not try to jump, beg or steal food!
Pupdate 7/12/23
Our day started with a comprehensive command review in the front yard, where Lambo demonstrated significant progress in some areas, while others still require further attention. His Extended Sit and Downs are shaping up nicely. However, his Heel and Come-to-Sit commands need refinement. In the case of the Heel command, Lambo tends to step out of line, and his proximity to me fluctuates, indicating a need for more practice. For Come-to-Sits, he occasionally attempts to take a roundabout path to the correct position, which will be improved with further repetitions. His Place command, although satisfactory, could also benefit from additional work. In the afternoon, we ventured to Fashion Island for a public training session amidst distractions. We started with the Place command, utilizing a fountain ledge as our place object. Despite the temptation of nearby children, Lambo managed to stay mostly focused, with the occasional lapse swiftly corrected. He seemed to be more concerned with the volume of people and the water features. We then moved on to the Heel and Extended Sit and Down commands. Initially, Lambo struggled with maintaining a straight line during the heel command, leading us to incorporate zigzag walking patterns to enhance his attention towards my movements. Over time, Lambo began to exhibit improved focus, neglecting his desires to pave his own path. We continue to work with Lambo to iron out these areas needing improvement, but his progress thus far is encouraging!
Pupdate 7/13/23
Our adventure today took us to the vibrant surroundings of the Santa Monica Pier, where we had the opportunity to exercise all of Lambo's commands in a lively, distraction-rich setting. Lambo worked alongside his buddy Bear. These pooches were pooped after our trip!
Lambo has not had any other instances of showing additional uncomfortable behavior around children in public. The hope is to have more littles visit the house in the next few days to determine if there is a difference in Lambosā demeanor around his personal space vs being out and about. For example: when he first growled at the youngest human, he was inside his crate. It was also shared that Lambo displays a similar growling behavior around his humans. This could either be Lambo feeling the need to protect what is his OR being less confident around what he feels is his own.
In an environment like this Lambo was a little overwhelmed by all the commotion. So much so that when we went to pet him without him seeing us approach, we were greeted with teeth. This isnāt something that Lambo did wrong. It is just important to keep in mind in situations when he (or any canine) feels a bit uneasy, they may react on impulse. No additional action was taken by us as he instantly knew he shouldnāt have done that. Nonetheless, something good to keep in mind as many people do not ask to pet a canine before greeting.
Lambo also seemed to be uncomfortable with carts rolling on the ground in close proximity to him. This is something we will try to replicate in the coming days. When being presented with any major distraction for Lambo the use of the e-collar stimulation has done wonders with breaking his focus off of things and keeping his focus on us. This feeling is a muscle stimulator and feels like a tens unit used for chiropractic or physical therapy work. A simple tap of the button is like tapping Lambo on the shoulder. Lambo has been doing great with this!
Pupdate 7/14/2023
Today, as most days, we started off Lambos day with some light training in the front yard. We began the session with some leash dragging exercises. When Lambo is provided with very minimal leash tension his Heel command is close to our leg in a great position. However, once the leash was dropped, he found himself veering out a bit, falling ahead or falling behind. Constant verbal communication is necessary for Lambo to be able to have more success. We also learned that Lambo benefits from a little more obvious hand signals. Providing him with the hand gestures aids in his proper completion of the command. But there is still some work to do in getting them a bit more cleaned up!
At Home Depot Lambo displayed some anxiety similar to the anxiety shown at the Santa Monic Pier. His anxiety doesnāt seem to be so much due to the volume of distraction, rather just being out in public in general. Interestingly, he seemed unbothered by the shopping carts and flat beds, suggesting that his apprehension at the Pier might have been caused by the shaking caused by carts rolling. Lamboās confidence with the Place command is amazing, even when he is a bit unsure of the surrounding environment. The Come to Sit requires some more focus. Lambo thoroughly understands the concept but tries to take short cuts leading to the incorrect position. His stance was skewed; he would often not stop next to my leg and would leave his back legs askew. This incorrect positioning could potentially obstruct the smooth initiation of a 'heel' command. To rectify this, we implemented placing our palms in front of him as he comes around, and gently repositioning his back legs. As part of ongoing training, we'll persistently work on his 'auto sits', ensuring he intuitively sits when we reach corners or halt our walk. This will assist in establishing a stronger foundation of the command and help keep Lambo safe.
Pupdate 7/15/2023
Today we reviewed all of the house manners with Lambo. These include Greeting Manners, Car Manners, Door Manners and Food Manners. It also applies to general good in-home behavior such as no demand barking, jumping, begging for food, counter surfing or getting onto furniture.
Lambo Naturally did well with Food Manners and Car Manners. Waiting to eat and waiting to be invited in or out of the car. We will continue to work on Greeting Manners and Door manners with Lambo. During Greeting Manners, he sometimes feels uncomfortable with a personās approach. That is okay, each canine does not have to like everyone they meet. At that point it would be the humanās responsibility to let the stranger know Lambo is uncomfortable and would prefer to not be greeting. We also absolutely do not need to let everyone say hi to him! As a precautionary warning thus far, we have not tested his ability to have little humans greet him. Although he has made great strides with being able to coexist and be in close proximity to them. On the other hand, if a personās approach is too exciting, Lambo may attempt to jump or play bite at the personās hand. This too is undesirable, so we provide Lambo with the Off command and immediately cease the greeting. We do not want to reward these behaviors.
Door Manners have been going well but Lambo tends to run out of patience and breaks his position. Slow and steady wins the race! We will continue to work on this daily, so he understands each doorway has a boundary!
Side note: Lambo LOVES to roll around in the grass. He definitely received a brushing after that.
Pupdate 7/16/2023
Today's training agenda for Lambo began with leash-dragging exercises. He still displayed hesitancy while the leash was dropped. As we work outside the home Lambo tends to revert inside the house to avoid working. Despite initial attempts to evade the training, a combination of firm recalls and stimulations swiftly refocused him. Once redirected, Lambo demonstrated admirable calmness and executed all his commands impressively.
We then took a trip to our local mall to see if Lambo could work off leash in an environment away from home. Upon arriving we walked around with the leash on to expose him to new sounds, smells, and most importantly new people. First, we tested his abilities on an empty portion of the mall, then in a more populated section. Lambo did do much better in the quieter section, but we are SO proud of his progress in the populated area. We will continue to build his confidence, clean up all his commands, and expose him to different environments. (Please note that this mall is entirely indoor, so it mitigates the concern of him being presented in a potentially dangerous situation off leash.)
During some downtime in the backyard, we had an opportunity to gauge Lambo's reaction to another tiny human (6 years old). As we have noted his unease in similar situations in the past, we thought it prudent to evaluate his response. Lambo initially walked up to him, stretched to sniff, and walked away. We instructed the little to stay completely still and not make eye contact. Then Lambo was being brushed outside, the little came out to spend time with Oso. Lambo then exhibited signs of distress, retreating, barking, and whining. At that point, we deemed it best to remove him from the situation and allow him time to regain his composure.
While working, he could be more content due to his brain being kept busy. Any time Lambo decides to approach to sniff, it is best to have that child remain still and avoid eye contact. Consistent and controlled practice runs are going to yield the best long-term results.
Pupdate 7/16/2023
In today's training session, we ventured to the park with other trainers to focus on enhancing Lambo's mastery of all commands. Lambo no longer has his buddy Bear with him but still has Oso at home. Without his friends there he displayed a solid understanding of each instruction. As weāve seen the only aspect needing further attention is his execution of these commands in areas dense with distractions, particularly when off-leash.
One thing to put the spotlight on was his progress on his duration sits and downs. Despite the stress associated with the trainer's absence from his immediate vicinity, Lambo handled the situation with ease during our park visit. Proving his increasing confidence and trust in the training process.
Similar to when working at home, and Lambo wants to revert back to inside the house, he behaves similarly at times out in public. This is only when Lambo sees something that he is familiar with, like the open back door of the car. He will revert back to the car to avoid working. Lambo decides this in a momentās notice after simply looking at the vehicle. Anytime we are out in public, a close eye should be always kept on the canine. As we approach any sort of parking area, the best practice will be attaching a leash to Lambo as a safe practice. Nonetheless, this sweet boy has been doing great!
Pupdate 7/18/2023
Today, we embarked on the journey of introducing Lambo to a more complex command, known as Send Away to Place. This command entails standing a significant distance from the Place object, approximately 5-15 feet, giving the Place command, and pointing towards the object. Ideally, the dog should then sprint over and settle into place as per usual. The versatility of this command will be beneficial for scenarios such as when a visitor arrives, and Lambo gets overly excited. At that point, instructing him to Place can prevent an overly enthusiastic greeting and allow him to wait until he's released. We started Lambo in the driveway, going further and further away from the place object until it seemed far enough away to be deemed Send Away to Place. He showed some resistance to wanting to work but trying to run towards the front door. But after the resistance was broken, we started to see some growth in his understanding of the command. He started to complete the command almost every time but still had some problems with getting fully to the place object. Later in the day, we took Lambo to the park to work on his commands more. We went over to a shady spot and started practicing, like in the driveway, getting further and further away, until we were about 15 feet away. Lambo did well for his first day with this command and showed commendable understanding of the command. He has his moments where he seems āover itā but we persevered!
Pupdate 7/19/2023
The littles came to visit so we had extra opportunity to work with Lambo engaging with children! Thus far, Lambo has made great progress working out in public around tiny humans. He hadnāt tried to engage, react, nor retreat from them when out in public. In these public spaces he is content with them walking by and coexisting. At home is where we had some issues in the beginning of his time with us.
To ensure a proper introduction to the kids, they followed us outside where we began some training. Lambo was to walk around them in close proximity, let them walk around him in close proximity, allow the children to walk him, then engage with the children. As you may see in his video, Lambo did phenomenal! There was some apprehension with the smallest human but at the end Lambo ran to give him kisses with released with Break! This was HUGE for Lambo. Now the biggest note to keep in mind is we allowed Lambo to acclimate being around the children first. Then engagement was provided more or less on Lambos terms, not the children. This is one area in training where we have the canine make a little more decision for themselves.
Regardless, no child or human adult should be going up to Lambo and begin engaging with him without his ownerās permission. Unfortunately, not everyone follows this, so it is our responsibility to keep up with the structure and communicate with others. Abrupt engagement with canines tended to elicit responses such as barking, nipping, jumping, retreating, etc. Should you be presented with any of those responses, provide Lambo with the Off command, stimulation from the collar, and follow through with a Sit or Down command. Everything is manageable!
Pupdate 7/20/2023
Lambo embarked on a journey to one of his favorite shopping areas with his humans, the Century City mall! He appeared quite excited and happy to be walking around the mall and the temperature was far cooler than it was at home. Overall, Lambo did a great job with all his commands on and off leash.
Given the open space Lambo was not overwhelmed by this populated area. There were so many other dogs out and he paid them no mind as he was showing off his best behavior! Lambo politely held a Sit and Down while being greeted by numerous people admiring him.
Today may not have seemed much like a training day for Lambo, but that is the idea! The best long-term results happen when the structure, rules, and ātrainingā is implemented throughout his everyday routine. This will then become the normal for you and him. Resulting in making life much easier for everyone involved. Sticking with the structure, rules, and ātrainingā throughout the day helps keep his mind active, aiding in the boredom behaviors such as pulling on the pantleg.
Lambo received his Simparica Trio medication.
Pupdate 7/21/2023
Lambo took his little friend Buckley for an adventure to the Santa Monica Pier! Lambo was phenomenal! This was little Buckleyās first time going to Santa Monica with us, so Lambo was showing him the ropes. He was significantly more confident than he was last week and didnāt mind the crowds of people know the current rolling by shaking the pier ground beneath us. They did great walking around and spending time together. Lambo was able to teach Buckley so much now he is a well-versed trained pup! This little duo received so much attention while out on the town. Lambo was showing off to everybody and even allowed a gentle little boy greet him! We are so proud of all his progress!
Pupdate 7/22/2023
We continued to work on Lambos Door Manners and Food Refusal while with us. We ask Lambo to sit/down and wait before going in/out of any and all doorways. Even if the door is left open. This will also prevent Lambo rushing out to the door and into the street. If at any point Lambo tries to be the first one through the door, call him back in, close the door, place him in a Sit/Down and try again. Even if he wasnāt ārunning awayā continuing this practice will ensure Lambo understands he cannot cross through doorways without being invited through.
For Food Refusal we would like Lambo to leave any food on the ground alone. This really applies to human food as he may ingest something he isnāt supposed to. Traditionally we do Food Manners where we have a canine hold a Sit/Down while the food is being prepared and served. Then they must wait for Break! to go and eat the food. But Lambo had no issues with this to begin with. While out in public he has not had any issues with this as we are keeping his mind busy. If Lambo is walking with us, we ask him to Heel, he should be facing the way we are walking too. Not blindly walking with his nose to the ground.
Everything Lambo has learned during his training program is transferable to the home, in public, with different people, any type of environment really! He canāt wait to come home and how off how smart he has become over the last two weeks.
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