Lucy | Goldendoodle | Carlsbad, CA | In-Training
- Nov 28, 2021
- 7 min read
Updated: Dec 11, 2021
Meet Lucy, a 15-month old Goldendoodle from Carlsbad, California. Lucy is a rescue with an unknown past, and while she is a sweetheart, she also barks at everything that moves, pulls when walking on leash, doesn’t respond consistently to her basic commands, and can be sketchy around dogs and people, often barking or lunging towards them. Lucy is here for our Two-Week Board and Train Program to work on her confidence as well as her basic obedience and manners. Stay tuned for her fourteen-day transformation!
Pupdate 11/28/2021
Lucy and I walked around TeWinkle Park in Costa Mesa where people were out walking, several of whom had dogs. I worked on e-collar conditioning where I found the lowest level where Lucy responds to the tap of the collar and praised her for moving in my direction after feeling the tap. I had her on a long line and used directional pressure to help her move in my direction when needed. Lucy tried to go after the first dog she saw but after I stopped her from moving forward and praised her for looking calmly at the dog, she was able to look at several others without reacting negatively.
Pupdate 11/29/2021
Lucy and I stayed on my property in the morning and worked on more e-collar conditioning, loose leash walking, leash pressure, place, sit, and come to sit. She is responding well to the e-collar and is starting to walk nicely on a loose leash. In the afternoon we went to Best Buy and walked past several people without any issue. After that, Lucy and the other dogs socialized in the yard. She mostly laid on a cot while the younger puppies ran around, which is a huge improvement from the night before when she was trying to sit on my feet and avoiding interacting with the dogs. Overall she seems calm and tired after her training sessions.
Walking through Best Buy.
Backyard socialization with Juno the Belgian Malinois.
Pupdate 11/30/2021
Lucy and I went to a shopping area and worked on e-collar conditioning, loose leash walking, sit, and come to sit. I worked on reinforcing the sit using upward leash pressure and then later just the e-collar. Lucy is starting to catch on! She ate some of the Acana Lamb and Apple kibble that I gave her to reinforce the behaviors, and also took treats in the yard with the other dogs. She seemed more engaged today and a more active participant in the yard. On our walk she was also able to look at a German Shepherd from a close distance without having a bad reaction. Her tail did go up and she tried to move forward, but I blocked her using the leash and she was then able to look as the dog walked by us. Happy with her session as she didn't bark at anyone, and is now asleep in her crate. Training really seems to wear her out!
Pupdate 12/1/2021
Lucy and I stayed on my property to work on her commands while my dog, Juno, acted as a distraction. We focused on loose leash walking, place, come to sit, and her extended sit. She is responding well to the e-collar and seems to really likes the treats I'm using in training. When she veers off from the heel position at my left side, I say "no, heel" and hold the black button on the left side of the remote while guiding her with the leash back towards the heel position. Lucy is starting to understand what this means, and she only got stuck once, walking past me in the heel position when she should have turned, when Juno was up ahead of us. You'll notice I use my hand to touch her near the loin area while also guiding her with the leash, which helps her turn in my direction.
Pupdate 12/2/2021
Lucy and I went to the Carlsbad Outlet Mall to work on her commands around distractions. We worked on loose leash walking, come to sit, sit, and break. Lucy was able to walk past people without barking or having a negative reaction, and even walked past one dog without getting worked up. She was, however, distracted by smells on the ground so I've been using the "off" command and tapping the black button on the left side of the remote to reminder her not to do that. When she veers out of the heel position I say "no, heel" while holding the same button and guiding her to my left side with the leash. Once she's in position I release the button and mark the moment with "good" or "good heel" so that Lucy knows she's exactly where I want her. If she goes too far past me when we're heeling, I say, "no, come" and guide her with the leash and a tap of the black button around my back and into the heel position sitting on my left. If she sits out of position and I want to bring her back to my heel, I may tap my leg to give her a visual cue where to go while tapping the black button on the remote. When we returned to the property she played with the Australian Shepherd puppy who is 6-months-old. Lucy's starting to come out of her shell! She isn't very interested in her food, but she does like the kibble I use in training and eats it eagerly.
Pupdate 12/3/2021
Lucy isn’t weight bearing on her front right paw after being out training yesterday. I thought it best to let her paw rest so we went to Huntington Beach boardwalk and just watched the human and canine activity to work on her reactivity. Another trainer worked her dogs around Lucy without a negative reaction from Lucy. Will continue to monitor her paw. Once we returned to my property and I let the dogs in the run it’s as if Lucy’s energy was back. She was happy to be with the others and seemed to put more weight on that foot. i put her food out but she sniffed it and walked away.
Pupdate 12/4/2021
Today we went to the Outlets at Orange and worked on Lucy's commands. She's doing well around people, but is still working on mastering her commands in busier environments. We worked on loose leash walking, sit, come to sit, and break. Her biggest challenge is holding a sit when I walk away so I'm focusing on an extended sit as well as her extended down. After an hour of training Lucy was wiped out! She isn't really interested in her kibble but has no problem taking the freeze dried treats I give her to reinforce her commands. I have a new mini aussie in for boarding and Lucy started to play with her!
Pupdate 12/5/2021
Lucy and I went to Irvine Spectrum today to work on her commands in a crowded environment. Lucy was able to walk past multiple dogs without a negative reaction. We focused on place and her extended down and I definitely saw improvement. She still struggles with come to sit in more stimulating environments, but her heeling has improved quite a bit. She ate a cup of the Acana lamb and apple in the morning and another cup in the evening.
Pupdate 12/6/2021
Lucy and I went to San Clemente Outlet Mall and worked on all of her commands. We focused on extended place and extended down. If I stepped too far away she would still break her down, so we continue to work through this. Lucy is giving more eye contact and perks up when she completes her come to sit. Her heeling looks much better, although she occasionally will go up ahead when she sees a dog and has to be reminded to stay in position. Overall Lucy is on track to be off-leash by the end of her program. Lucy loves her new food and scarfs it down within a minute or two of me putting down the bowl.
Pupdate 12/7/2021
Lucy and I worked on her off-leash heeling while my dog, Juno, was loose and supervising, and Sage, the Great Dane, practiced her commands. Lucy did pretty well focusing on what was asked of her. In the afternoon we worked on her recall, where I press the top black button on the left and hold it, then call her name, and when Lucy turns to come to me, I release it. When she comes to me and sits directly in front of me, I reward her with a treat. In the afternoon Lucy played with Sage, the Great Dane, who she enjoys romping around with.
Pupdate 12/8/2021
Lucy and I went to several stores today in Oceanside to run through all of her commands. We practiced door manners and Lucy did great! She is doing very well with her commands. She only got ahead of me one time and had to be reminded to get back into position, but that was only because she saw another dog ahead of us. After being reminded to heel with a tap on the black button on the left side of the e-collar and the word “heel” she remained in position while passing dogs.
Pupdate 12/9/2021
Lucy and I went to the Brea mall today to walk through all of her commands. She did great completing every one of her commands, but at one point she was a little nervous and unsure of the fountain I had asked her to complete her place command on as you can see in the video. To get her through the command I guided her to exactly where I wanted her to be and with a little help she was successfully able to complete her command.
Pupdate 12/10/2021
Lucy and I went to The Strand in Oceanside to work on her commands. She did really well passing other dogs and completing all of her commands. Lucy has really opened up in social and plays with both Sage and Juno. The dog who barked at me from a foot away the day we met and lunged after two labs has transformed!
Pupdate 12/11/2021
Lucy and I went to Old Town Temecula to work on her final video. She did great remaining in her extended down while someone bent over to pet her without asking. Lucy was friendly both times that we did greeting manners, and remained in her sit or down. It was a noisy environment, but Lucy wasn’t phased! She was able to heel past dogs, motorcycles, and even a street performer! Very proud of this young lady for completing her program with flying colors!
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