Meet Leo, an 8-month-old French Bulldog from San Diego, California. Leo is here for our Two-Week Board and Train program because he pulls on leash, doesn’t follow basic commands, chases fast moving things, barks at dogs, chews things he shouldn’t, and potties inside the house. Stay tuned for his fourteen-day transformation!
Pupdate 1/10/2022
Leo pottied the moment he was dropped off. His stool was soft so I will be monitoring this. We worked on leash walking at the park and sitting when I stopped walking. Leo resisted leash pressure but we worked through this and he was soon following my lead. At the end of our session Leo plopped down on the grass, but as I approached he sprang up and initiated play. What a goofball! As we walked towards the van two young girls on scooters rode past us and Leo ran to the end of the leash after them while barking. I blocked him by pulling up slightly on the leash and he quickly calmed down. He was anxious when first put in the crate, barking and whining for a couple of minutes, but then laid down and rested his head. Leo has an issue with door boundaries. He tries to go through them the minute a door is opened, and if I use my body to block him, he will try to bite my leg. When he tries to bite, I pull up on the leash to correct him. After two failed attempts at bolting through doors and biting legs, Leo started to make eye contact to go through the door.
Pupdate 1/11/2022
Leo and I went back to the park to work on e-collar conditioning. I let him go out on a long line, and when he isn’t looking in my direction, tap him at the lowest level of stimulation that he feels until he turns towards me, and then I mark with “yes” and offer him some kibble. Leo caught on fast but would get distracted and wanted to chase leaves moving on the ground. In the crate he was whining and anxious so I covered the front with a towel which helped him settled down.
Pupdate 1/12/2022
Leo and I went to Coronado and worked on loose leash walking around distractions. When he's unsure of something he will bark and try to chase it off. He attempted to do this when he saw a man doing push ups, but I blocked him from going forward by pulling up on the leash and asking him to sit. He is responsive to the taps on the e-collar and learning to wait through doorways. At night he still throws a minor tantrum when he's in the crate, but he settles much faster. Leo is on a potty schedule and has not had an accident in his crate or in the house.
Pupdate 1/13/2022
In the morning Leo and I worked on my property focusing on “place” and “down”. I lured him onto the cot, and when all four paws were on the surface, I marked “yes” and reward with food. From there we progressed to luring into a down, marking, and rewarding away from the cot. Leo catches on quickly and even offers a “down” at one point. In the afternoon we went into town to work outside a shopping area. We were able to get two greeting manners in. The first encounter Leo was very excited because the woman petting him had very excited energy, so I instructed her to pet him calmly on the head. Once she did, he settled down. The second encounter was with a man and he did much better and stayed seated. When we went back to my property my landlady walked out of her house with her collies at the same time that we arrived and Leo charged and barked at them. I stopped him with the leash and had him sit next to me while I spoke to my landlady. We went back to training and focused on food manners, doing several repetitions using a "down" on "place" as our starting point. Leo kept breaking his down and going towards the food, and I would have to step in front of him and use the e-collar while saying "no, place," until he returned there and laid down. He eventually figured out that he would be rewarded if he just waited on the place cot. After training he got to socialize with the other dogs. He was a little wild, jumping on my female dog who verbally corrected him for it. He took the correction well. After a while he settled down and was able to interact with the other dogs more politely.
Pupdate 1/14/2022
Leo and I worked on his commands in a shopping area with a cafe and bike repair shop near a walking trail. We continued to work on his come to sit, place, and down in a more distracting environment. Leo tried lunging after a dog and a runner, but was able to go into walking mode once I asked him to heel. He will occasionally try to break the heel position to chase after something he's unsure of, so we continue to work on this. He’s calmer in the crate and no longer vocalizing. At doorways I have him sit as I open the door and then ask for a heel. No accidents inside the crate or house.
Pupdate 1/15/2022
We went to Lowe’s to work around distractions and avoid the rain. Leo did pretty well loose leash walking but would occasionally get distracted and walk up ahead. In the afternoon Leo socialized with the other dogs and then we worked on his nails. He did not like the sound of the dremel so I started marking and rewarding to desensitize him to his nails being touched. It took a while but we were able to work through it.
Pupdate 1/16/2022
Leo and I worked on his commands at a local park next to a group class for guide dogs. Leo had a difficult time focusing on his commands and needed help completing them. Dogs are a big distraction for him, but we were able to work through it and eventually get reliable obedience from Leo. At the house he socialized in the yard, and is still a bit spastic, but learning to settle a bit quicker and not jump on the other dogs.
Pupdate 1/17/2022
We went to a pet store to work on Leo’s commands in a stimulating environment. Leo wanted to sniff everything but we focused on his commands and loose leash walking through the store. We focused on come to sit, down, and sit. Leo still barks at the workers on my property but I use the “off” command and a tap on the e-collar to get him to stop. Leo is much better now in the crate and no longer barks or whines.
Pupdate 1/18/2022
We practiced Leo's commands on my property and by the beach. It was rainy out so not as many people out, but we were still able to use the "off" command in various instances where Leo would try to leave the heel position to sniff something. He is doing much better loose leash walking and his heel is coming along nicely, but there are occasions where he wants to go check something out and has to be reminded to come back to heel.
Pupdate 1/19/2022
Leo and I did the walking trail at a local park while he dragged a long line. He did a great job staying in heel and completing his commands. The only thing he struggled with was “place” and that was because the height of the things he could place on were a bit too high.
Pupdate 1/20/2022
Leo and I worked on his commands by the beach while he dragged a 6 foot leash. His heeling was pretty good, but he struggled with passing dogs. We kept working on it until Leo could walk past a dog and look without moving towards them.
Pupdate 1/21/2022
Leo and I went back to the beach to work on his commands on a busier environment. His heeling has improved but he still has to be reminded not to go towards dogs. In the afternoon he got to socialize with other dogs and did much better in a bigger group environment.
Pupdate 1/22/2022
Leo and I worked on his commands at a local shopping area and on my property. His heeling is looking good and he’s completing his commands around distractions. He’s able to wait to be released to his food bowl and stops at door boundaries before going through. I noticed he is itchy and he had a small scab on the back side of his neck that fell off. You might look at other food proteins since chicken is the number one protein of which dogs are allergic.
Pupdate 1/23/2022
Leo and I worked on his final video by the beach. He performed all of his commands in an environment full of distractions. Leo sat politely while he was greeted by two gentlemen. Overall, Leo has done a very good job in his program and is ready to go home!
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