Lucy | German Shepherd | San Pedro, CA. | In Training.
- heatheroffleashsoc
- 20 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Meet Lucy!
Lucy is a 5-year-old German Shepherd from San Pedro, California, who has just joined us for our Three Week Reactive Board and Train Program!
Lucy has been known to struggle with reactivity toward other dogs, as well as noises in the backyard. Her reactions can become so intense that she has even jumped fences in an attempt to investigate whatever is on the other side. Along with her reactivity, Lucy also tends to pull on the leash and lunge at passing cars and motorcycles, making walks stressful for both her and her family.
Lucy also has difficulty when people come into her home. She can be very wary of unfamiliar visitors and has been known to lunge at them and attempt to bite, making it difficult for her family to comfortably welcome guests. Lucy shares her home with her housemate, Gunter, and the two often feed off one another’s energy when they become reactive, making it even more challenging for their family to manage these behaviors.
It’s safe to say Lucy is ready for some guidance! Over the next three weeks, we will be working closely with her on her basic obedience, leash manners, impulse control, and house manners. Our goal is to help Lucy learn healthier ways to process and channel these big emotions while building her confidence and strengthening her communication with her handlers.
We’re excited to be a part of Lucy’s journey and can’t wait to watch her grow over the coming weeks. With consistency, structure, and clear communication, we’re confident Lucy can make great progress and enjoy many more calm, stress-free adventures with her family. Stay tuned for her transformation!
8/1/2026
Today Lucy and I kicked things off with an introductory walk at the park! This gave us the opportunity to get better acquainted while also allowing me to assess what she may already know. It turns out Lucy definitely knows her sit and down commands, which is a fantastic starting point! Now our goal is to make those commands more reliable so they become something she responds to every time she’s asked, rather than only when she feels like it.
We also got to work on establishing the heel command because Miss Lucy had absolutely no qualms about taking me for the walk! To help her understand where I wanted her, I would give a quick pop on the leash and simply change directions whenever she forged ahead. We repeated this until Lucy chose to walk politely at my side. It didn’t take long before she started to understand what was being asked of her, and soon she was walking much more nicely beside me. There were even a few moments where I caught her checking herself and matching my pace without any prompting. What a smart girl!
Next, we introduced Lucy’s come to sit command. While I know she already has a pretty solid recall, this command adds a bit more structure by asking her to come around my left side and finish in a nice sit at my right. She responded well to the leash guidance, and I think she’ll have the entire motion down in no time.
During our walk, a couple of dogs passed by us. Lucy did fixate on them, but I’m happy to report that she didn’t bark. As soon as I noticed her locking onto the other dogs, I gave her the command “off,” and we continued on with our work. “Off” is a universal command we use for any behavior we don’t want, rather than saying “no” or “stop,” and so far Lucy seems to be responding to it very well.
Once we finished up at the park, we loaded into the car and headed off to check out her home away from home for the next three weeks. Lucy hopped right into her crate without hesitation and handled the car ride like a pro. Once we arrived at my house, she was eager to explore everything alongside her housemate, Gunter. As expected, both pups fed off each other’s excitement while investigating all the new sights and smells. Lucy especially became excited when she caught wind of my cats and my dog. She did attempt to lunge toward the cats, but she was still on leash, so I was able to immediately interrupt the behavior with the “off” command before anything came of it.
All in all, Lucy had a wonderful first day of introductions and is already beginning to make progress with her training. I’m looking forward to watching her confidence and obedience continue to grow over the next three weeks, and I’m excited to share her journey with all of you!
