Lily | German Shepherd | San Pedro, CA | In-Training
- Adrienne Lascari
- Jul 13, 2024
- 14 min read
Updated: Jul 26, 2024
Meet Lily, a five month old German Shepherd from San Pedro, CA. She has joined OffLeash for our Two Week Board and Train Program. Lily comes to us with typical puppy behavior. Lily has a little understanding of commands. She becomes distracted while out in public and will react to other dogs while on the leash. When Lily barks at other dogs, it can sound aggressive, but she mostly is curious and wants to play. Lily will pull on the leash during walks and it can be hard to bring back her attention once she is distracted. She can also be skittish when it comes to meeting new people and being in new environments. Over the next two weeks, Lily and I will be working on her off leash obedience and manners. Stay tuned to see her transformation!
Pupdate 7/13/2024
When first arriving at my home, Lily was very nervous. She stayed by my car for quite a while until I walked her around the yard. I let out some of my dogs for Lily to meet, but she growled when she saw them at a distance. I gave Lily her space to allow her to decompress. After some time had passed, Lily began to join the pack. She took baby steps when it came to getting close to all of us, but she soon became comfortable to smell the other dogs. When I would walk up to Lily, she would run away from me, so I sat on the floor and held the leash and waited for her to come up to me. Lily walked around me and soon laid down in front of me as I pet her. She still is a bit nervous when I let her out of the crate, but I can see her warming up little by little. My main focus with Lily today was building our relationship and exposing her to my home.
Pupdate 7/14/2024
Today Lily at I worked at home. Lily has definitely warmed up to every at my home and she is now playing and freely coming up to me! Lily loves to follow around her new friend Indi. Her favorite thing to do is chase Indi when we are playing fetch.
Lily and I started off working on the commands place, sit, and down. In the video I explain what place is and how I taught the command to Lily. She was in a playful mood during training, so Lily was very enthusiastic when jumping onto the cot. Also, when I would break her, Lily would hop towards me then try to run to play. I used treats when first teaching Lily a new command so she can stay engaged during training. Soon we will use break and affection only as her reward. I also did not use the e-collar at first since she does not understand the command yet. When teach any new command, I will not use the e-collar until the dog has a full understanding, then we can use the collar to correct the mistakes. Once Lily was placing on her own, I started to implement the collar since she started to understand the command. Lily did well for her first time feeling the stimulation and she building the understanding of correcting a mistake when the stimulation is given. I have also attached a video on the e-collar and its features.
Pupddate 7/15/2024
Today Lily and I trained at Hacienda Park. We worked on the commands come to sit and heel. In the video I explain how I taught those commands to Lily. I used a prong collar on Lily today to help teach her not to pull on the leash. I like to use the prong collar when first teaching heel, then slowly start to incorporate the e-collar. It also will help condition Lily to corrections for when she is not paying attention during a heel. Lily is a fast learner and caught onto the new commands quite quickly. Once I noticed she was understanding the commands, I then started to implement the e-collar corrections to correct her mistakes. Lily can be a bit more stubborn than Juno when it comes to having her follow through with a command. I used the e-collar corrections for sit and down since Lily knows these commands, but she would ignore the corrections until I would reach a higher number. By holding her accountable and making sure she follows through with the commands we ask, we can break Lily’s stubbornness.
We also practiced placing on new objects. Lily was hesitant at first when placing on the bench. I would have her place her front paws on the bench a few times then breaking her right after as a reward. Lily then build up the courage to fully step up onto the bench. Lily then built up the courage to fully step up onto the bench. When going out to a new environment, Lily was not as playful as she is at home. She also did not like having to follow commands, but with practice she will become more comfortable with working out in public.
Pupdate 7/16/2024
Today, Lily and I trained at Lowe’s. We practiced all her commands, but mainly focused on heel and come to sit. Lily was struggling with the structure of come to sit. Instead of facing the same directions as me, she would turn and face the opposite direction. To fix this, I stood close to a wall, giving Lily enough space to fit in between. The narrowness eliminates the chance for Lily to face a different direction and also allows for her to sit close to me. We mostly stayed next to the wall when practicing because when I would move away, Lily would revert back to changing directions. We also practiced a bit of extended sit and down which Lily is still getting the hang of. She broke command before I said break, but I made sure to place her in the same position while also implementing a correction. Lily’s heel has gotten a lot better and we are working without the prong collar. She does not have the issue of pulling but she does lag behind a bit. I picked up my pace to cause Lily to catch up to me. When training, Lily can be very stubborn. She understands the commands now and can do them without any guidance, but she will throw tantrums to get out of following through. We practiced on working Lily through the tantrums so she does not learn to push any boundaries with me. At times Lily became distracted by people walking by and would lose focus during the heel. I would give Lily a correction while saying off to get her attention back to me. Although Lily’s commands weren’t perfect today, she still showed a better understanding which is an improvement.
Pupdate 7/14/2024
Today, Lily and I trained at Whittier Narrows Park. Lily practiced healing with her friend Indi. At times she got distracted and wanted to play with Indy, but I would give her a correction and guided her back to my right side. Lily soon learned to stay in a heel and it was not time to play. We also practiced with both of them holding their commands together. You could see in the video that Lily broke command a few times when I would move around. Lily is still learning to hold an extended sit and down, so to work on this we did lots of repetition of having her hold the command and adding more seconds each rep. Lily was still being very stubborn today especially when it came to having her go into a down. She threw a lot of tantrums, but I still held her accountable through those tantrums. Lily now knows what the correct structure of a come to sit is, but she was also being stubborn and sitting however she wanted. In the video you can see I had her come around multiple times whenever she did not do it correctly. Now that Lily understands her commands, I will correct her and have her repeat the command until she does it correctly. This is so she learns to stop pushing boundaries which she does often. Lily also reacted to a few of the dogs near us but I gave her a correction when she would bark. Even though Lily was being stubborn, I still saw lots of improvement in all the commands!
Pupdate 7/18/2024
Today Lily and I trained at the Brea Mall. Lily was a bit nervous when being out today. She had many admirers during training and they even came up to help with teaching Lily greeting manners. She was shy when the people came up to pet her, but she stayed in a sit and did not try to back away. Lily heeled very well as we took a lap around the mall. At times she would get frightened by things and try to move away from it, but I did not stop and continued walking and telling her to heel. Working Lily past her nerves and fears will help her become confident and comfortable out in public. Lily is still struggling with come to sit and I have noticed that she will continue to do circles around me instead of stopping to sit. To work on this, I will stand facing a wall or take a step in front of her to stop her then ask her to sit when she gets to my side . This shows that Lily still is working on understanding come to sit, so each day I make sure to spend extra time practicing. We also focused on Lily holding commands longer. she did break command a few times when I would get too far from her, so I walked back to her and placed Lily in the same spot she was in. After our practice, Lily was able to hold her sit and down longer while I moved around her.
Pupdate 7/19/2024
Today Lily and I trained at Parnell Park. We worked on leash dragging today which Lily did great with! She heeled by my side and followed through with commands. Lily is improving with her extended sit, but she struggles with down. Lily can become stubborn and not want to go into a down at times. I made sure to have her follow through with down even if she threw tantrums. We also practiced a lot on her come to sit. In the video you can see I practiced facing a wall so Lily learns to stop going in a circle but instead stop on my right side. When we got home, Lily and I practiced more with down since she was struggling at the park. After our practice, Lily was following through right away when I asked her to down!
Pupdate 7/20/2024
Today Lily joined me at a party in the park. Lily and I worked on her greeting manners. She stayed calm and in a sit as she was getting pet. We walked over to an open area and started working on commands. We practiced more of extended down since Lily was struggling with it yesterday. She has gotten a lot better at following through with a down instead of throwing tantrums. She’s even gotten better at holding the extended down as I moved around her. We also worked on leash dragging while heeling which I also see Lily improving in. At times she will veer off but I implement a correction which will cause Lily to bring her attention back and heel in the correct position. Lily’s come to sit has also gotten better. There are times where she can be sloppy when it comes to the structured sit, but I will have Lily repeat the command until she does it correctly while implementing corrections when she does make a mistake. Lily is starting to throw less tantrums which shows she is learning not to push any boundaries. There were other dogs at the party, which Lily did not react to! Lily was well behaved and followed commands even with lots of people giving her attention! She was a bit shy, but she soon warmed up to everyone as time went on.
Pupdate 7/21/2024
Today, Lily and I trained at the Citadel Outlets. There were lots of people walking around and a few dog distractions. When first arriving Lily was a bit distracted, so we did a long heel around the outlets to get Lily familiar with a new environment. She had gotten frightened by random objects a few times, which caused her to break from the heel. I was holding the end of the leash so she couldn’t get far and I still implemented corrections to bring her back into the heel. Lily did great walking by my side and she became less worried with the surroundings. After our long heel, we stopped to work on her commands. Lily’s biggest struggle today was place. She had gotten tired from our long heel and became lazy when it came to jumping on the bench. In the video you could see I helped her up a few times to get her comfortable with jumping onto the bench. With more repetition, I could see that Lily was just being lazy since she did jump up on her own one time. I then stepped on the bench to motivate her to follow me which helped. When she got up on place, we practiced her extended down. I was able to move around Lily and create some distance while she held command. Lily did a great job holding her commands as distractions were passing her. She did not react to any dogs nor break command when dogs passed by. Lily did get scared by one dog who lunged and barked at her when we were walking, which is understandable. I just continue to walk past the dog and recalled her back into a heel. Overall, Lily did a great job working around distractions today and I also saw improvement with commands she was struggling with yesterday!
Pupdate 7/22/2024
Today Lily and I trained at Whittier Narrows and worked around all the other pups in training. Lily did great not reacting to the other dogs. The puppy’s even came up to Lily and wanted to play, but she stayed calm and in command as they walked around her. Lily and I were also able to work off leash today! Lily does a great job with her heel and I also see her improving with commands. When I recall Lily, she will usually come the first time I ask. When I do have to ask her to come more than once, she will follow though right away after a correction is given. As for duration, Lily is improving with holding her commands longer. She will break command a few times, like in the video when I ask her to sit but she got up as soon as I walk away. In this instance, I will take Lily back to the same spot she was in and have her repeat the command while implementing a correction. Lily also is starting to place on higher objects! At first, Lily was once again being lazy and only jumping halfway on the bench, but this time I would continue asking her to place while giving a correction until she fully jumped up. I knew Lily was not tired because I started practicing place when we first arrived which shows me she was being stubborn. I worked her past her stubbornness and she was able to do the command on her own each time after holding her accountable! Lily does tire down quite quickly, so after 20-30 minutes she was struggling with holding her sit. When I asked Lily to sit, she would try to go into a down right away. We want to still hold her accountable to the command we asked her to do, so I would correct her and bring her right back up into a sit. Since Lily became tired and the weather has been hot, we incorporate lots of breaks in between training. I was very proud of Lily’s improvements today and also for her being able to work off leash! I let her roam around the park for some fun and when she would get too far I would recall her. Lily did well coming back to me even when she exploring.
Pupdate 7/23/2024
Today Lily and I trained at the Citadel Outlets. Lily was not as nervous as she was the first time we came to the outlets. This showed me that Lily’s confidence is growing! We were able to work fully off leash today! There were times where Lily was being stubborn when it came to asking her to do commands. We did lots of repetition with come to sit and down. After our practice and holding Lily accountable she was following through with commands right away. Lily now places on objects on her own! She did tire out quickly once again so I made sure to take lots of water breaks. There were times where Lily got spooked by loud carts passing by, so I would heel Lily around the cart to help expose her to the object and work her past her nerves.
Pupdate 7/24/2024
Today Lily and I worked on her food and door manners at home. With some dogs, they can become possessive when it comes to their food. We want Lily, and even Juno, to learn proper food manners so they don’t resource guard their food from one another. It is important to teach dogs food manners so they learn not to be possessive, excited, and anxious when it comes to food. Lily has shown no aggression with her food when other dogs come around, which is great! Although, she can become very excited when it is time to eat. When Lily first came to me, she would jump on me when she saw me pouring food in her bowl then rush to the bowl once it was placed down. Every day, Lily and I worked on her food manners by having Lily sit until I say break for her to eat. She did struggle at first by breaking command once the food was in front of her. To work on this, I would constantly pick up the food bowl each time Lily broke command. She soon learned that if she wanted to get the food, she would have to stay in the sit. Now, Lily can hold command until released to get her food.
With door manners, it is important to teach out pups to not bolt out the door right when it opens. Not only did we practice this today, but also each time Lily has been let outside and out of the crate. I will ask Lily to sit or down near the door or in her crate, then open the door as she hold command. If she broke command, I would close the door and ask Lily to go back into the sit or down while implementing a correction. Today, Lily did very well holding command while I opened the door, walked outside, and even when the other dogs moved around her. Instead of breaking Lily I heeled her out instead. If I were to break her, she would become excited which we want to prevent over excitement when going out the door. Door manners can be used in many ways. One way is when we have guest coming over, Lily will know not to run or be right by the door when it opens. We can also use door manners when taking Lily out, we will know to heeling out the door with us rather than bolting out.
We also have been working on Lily jumping into the car on her own. As we’ve seen, Lily can be a bit lazy when it came to having her place on higher objects, so there were many times where Lily waited for me to help her into the car. After practicing place and having her jump up on her own, Lily now places into the car all by herself!
After our training, Lily has had some fun playing with her new friends. When Bruce first came, Lily was shy around him, but she has finally warmed up and loves to chase him around the yard.
I have attached an image of the e-collar and its serial numbers that Lily and I have been using and will be sent home with her.
Pupdate 7/25/2024
Today Lily and I trained at Hacienda Park. Lily was also our helper today with socializing. Lily has been learning to not be reactive, have respectful boundaries, and how to properly meet another dog. Amanda and I worked with Teddy and Lily by walking them together and having one another sniff from behind. Lily has been doing great socializing with new pups! At first, Lily would bark which made her seem aggressive but she was only curious. Now she can calmly approach another dog and greet them calmly as well.
While socializing, Lily and I also worked on commands such as off leash heeling, extended place, and extended sit and down. Lily is not as stubborn as she was when first starting her training. She will follow through with commands right away and fix her mistake if a correction is given. She has a great heel, although she can be slow at times and lag behind. I always encourage her to speed up and give a correction if she gets too far behind.
After our training, I let Lily have some freedom to explore the park. If she ever got too far, I would just recall her which she would listen right away. We even took some time to relax on the grass which Lily laid down next to me the entire time. She would watch people walking around the park from afar as she laid in the grass. Lily has been showing lots of improvement with commands and her confidence while out in public.
7/26/2024
After all Lily’s hard work the past two weeks, she had the day off to play! It was also time for Lily to get a bath, but it didn’t last long since she went right back to playing with her friends. Lily definitely does not like water, so giving her a bath was a difficult task. We slowy introduced the water to Lily and kept a leash on her incase she would try to run away. We started with her paws then worked our way up with the water so she would not be scared. Lily chased her friends around the yard and rolled in the grass. She has been doing great with her off leash training and she can’t wait to go home and show you everything she has learned!
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