Meet Luna, the black Labrador Retriever from Lakewood, CA, who is here for a Two-Week Board and Train Program. Luna is here because she is an extremely high energy pup who pulls on the leash, jumps on people, playful bites hands, chews on household objects and has little to no basic obedience. Over the next two weeks, we will be working on leash manners, greeting manners and basic obedience. Stay tuned for Luna's progress!
Pupdate 10/9/2022
Luna and I took some time after her pickup to get acquainted and I must say, what a dog! She gets my adrenaline pumping like a cowboy getting on a wild horse for the first time and I’m excited to see how she will improve in the next two weeks. As her pawrents had mentioned, Luna is very new to the outside world and is fearful and nervous of her new surroundings. It’s going to take time for her to adjust to the new environment and the new structure of her temporary home, but we will take it slow. A lot of new firsts for Luna and I today. I moved her to a new collar for walking instead of her usual leash being used as a slip lead. As I mentioned to her pawrents, nipping and “play biting” is often the precursor to biting and redirection. Today, I got to see exactly that when I attempted to coax her into her new crate in the house. She immediately came up on her leash to bite at the leash and when that didn’t work, she attempted to bite my hand that was closer to her. This doesn’t mean that she’s a bad dog for attempting to bite her handler. It just indicates how one thing can easily lead to another and just how she reacts when she gets stressed. She has been quite adamant about letting me know about how she feels about being in her crate and has refused her meal for the night. Tomorrow is a new day and I know it’ll be better than today. Stay tuned for more!
Daily Training Notes: Luna is taking time up adjust to her new environment.
Pupdate 10/10/2022
Today Luna and I took a 3 mile walk in the city to get to know each other better and to help her settle into the hustle and bustle of the city. Before we begin any type of training or exercise, I think it’s important to Luna to learn to not be so scared of everything around her. She managed to get a little more comfortable by the end of the walk (tiring herself out with her frantic zigzagging and rushing to the end of the leash) and her tail went from being glued to her belly to a more natural position. She was still immensely nervous about passing people, dogs, cars and scooters. Luna has yet to let me clip her up to a leash without trying to bite my hand but that should get better with repetition. We also worked on some doorway manners today but as you can see in the video, she's very reactive and jumpy to the small noises around her. On a good note, she goes into her crate well now and I think she finds comfort in being in there. Stay tuned for more!
Daily Training Notes: Worked on getting acclimated to the city and doorway manners.
Pupdate 10/11/2022
Today Luna and I took another long walk around the city and it was trash pick-up day! There was a LOT of noise but it was a good time for her to get used to being out. I managed to get a little clip of how Luna behaves in the presence of the garbage truck and how nervous she is around the noise. I had tried to turn her interest away from the distraction by using food and treats but she declined. So far, she has not been able to fully relax on our walks but as seen in the next video, her body language slowly relaxes with time. Luna is wary of strangers and attempts to make a run for it whenever a pedestrian passes by her. Cars, strollers, carts, trucks, buses, dogs, scooters and even plastic bags on the floor scare her. It’s going to take time and as soon as she can calm herself in the chaotic environment, we will be able to get some great work done. She certainly does better at night but I would like her to trust me as her handler to keep her safe even during the day. We will begin on more confidence building and “place” in public environments to help feel more secure in her own skin. Stay tuned for more!
Daily Training Notes: Worked on Heel and getting used to new environments.
Today's Weigh In: 52.4 LBS
Pupdate 10/12/2022
Today Luna and I went on several walks during the day in the city to get her better used to all the activity of the city. She is slowly getting better with being outside and her tail is no longer glued to her stomach. Her body language is improving and she is not as scared out as she was on her first day here. She is still skittish about people, bicycles, dogs and cars BUT she is not as jumpy as she was in the beginning. This is great progress for her and we have slowly introduced “heel” to her. She certainly does better indoors but I would like her to be able to practice her exercises inside and outside of the house. After our evening walk, we practiced some “heel, sit and down” in the lobby where she could hear and see the activity outside. She is learning to walk at heel nicely and even felt comfortable enough to “down” for me with treats. It’s great to see that she is so food motivated because I can teach her the exercises and movements with the food until she’s ready to practice the motions without the treats. I do not want her to get accustomed to the idea of only working on food; however, it’s a great way to focus her mind on something other than the outside environment. Stay tuned for more!
Daily Training Notes: Worked on Heel, Sit and Down.
Today's Weigh In: 52.2 LBS
Pupdate 10/13/2022
Today was an exciting day for Luna and I because another trainer from Offleash SoCal came by to work together with Luna. It is extremely important for Luna to be able to work with other handlers so that she gets the socialization, different handling techniques and won’t get too dependent on me as her trainer. She did well!!! The progress she has made compared to where we first began is so good to see. We worked in the lobby where she could see and hear the city traffic but was still sheltered within the complex. We will be slowly moving her exercises to quiet areas outside and working more on her confidence and neutrality. On one of her potty walks today, she began barking at a pedestrian, so we moved to the very edge of the sidewalk to let that stranger pass. When the stranger said hello, Luna became frightened and began urinating. So it’s clear that she needs slow and steady exposure and she isn’t quite ready for more populated environments. Stay tuned for more!
Daily Training Notes: Introduced e-collar and worked on heel, sit and down.
Today's Weigh In: 51.8 LBS
Pupdate 10/14/2022
Today Luna and I worked on "car loading up" after our usual walk and exercises. She was initially hesitant about jumping into the crate inside the car but with slow introductions and encouragement, she was soon able to hop in! She has excellent crate manners and is striving in quiet environments. I can't wait for the day she feels more secure in herself outside because she would do so well in agility or scent work. We had a little moment today where she attempted to fight her leash when receiving a low stimulation on the e-collar but she settled in by the end of the walk. It is a key point to introduce things slowly to Luna or she will go into a frenzy. Otherwise, her heel is really coming together and her come to sit has improved immensely. Stay tuned for more!
Daily Training Notes: Worked on Heel, car load up, come to sit and down.
Today's Weigh In: 51.5 LBS
Pupdate 10/15/2022
So Luna and I pushed ourselves today by having our night session out by a major street. It was raining this morning, so I didn’t want to overwhelm her by doing this exercise then. It is generally quieter during the night anyways, so we saved this for last. As seen in our video, Luna was overwhelmed but reacted much better tonight than she did our first night together. Her “heel” is improving immensely, and she is not so quick to dart away from pedestrians passing by her. This is a huge win for us because it is important for her to remain calm and at “heel” in public with strangers walking by her. I am so proud of Luna and happy to see the progress she has made. Her sits, downs and recall are so fast, and I am amazed at how responsive she is even when stressed. Her movements may be a little frantic and abrupt right now, but I have no doubt in my mind that with enough practice with me and her family, she will be able to smooth out her movements. Stay tuned for more!
Daily Training Notes: Worked on heel, and environmentals.
Today's Weigh In: 50.8 LBS
Pupdate 10/16/2022
This pupdate is extremely special to me and I cannot for Luna’s parents to read this. Guess whose tail came up today?! LUNA’S!!! I decided to skip our evening training session today and do something a little different. I introduced Luna to Kuma, my other board and train puppy. They’ve been roommates for the past seven days but have never actually met each other until today. I take introductions very seriously because I want to ensure that each puppy is comfortable with the other pup’s scent, no boundaries are being pushed and there is no reactivity seen from either pup. Kuma is a very confident young puppy so I thought Luna would benefit from being around him whilst being outside. Luna has slowly opened up, but this was the missing puzzle piece. She was absolutely smitten by Kuma and could not contain herself during our walk together. I believe that she was too busy flirting to remember that she had anxiety! She paid no mind to any of her usual triggers and was too focused on Kuma to be bothered. This made our walk such a positive experience and although any and all obedience exercises that we done so far, went out the window, the confidence building aspect of this walk was far more important. After a fun walk, I let the two interact with each other in the lobby and Luna would not stop cuddling right up to Kuma. What a great way to end our first week! Stay tuned for more!
Daily Training Notes: Worked on heel and met Kuma!
Today's Weigh In: 50.6 LBS
Pupdate 10/17/2022
Today Luna and I went to the park to join other Offleash SoCal Trainers and their pups for our morning session! Luna was able to work a bit with Mike from Offleash (who has a special touch with labs) and she did AMAZING in this new environment. She did have some skittish moments, but I am proud to see that she is able to work better in an environment with so many distractions. I have figured out that she is afraid of bikes and unfortunately, I don’t know how to ride one, so we might not be able to work too much with that. Her “heel’ is coming along nicely but we have to work on our extended sits because she tends to plop into a down whenever she feels like it. Either way, Luna made me very proud today!!! Stay tuned for more!
Daily Training Notes: Worked on Heel, down and sit.
Today's Weigh In: 50.8 LBS
Pupdate 10/18/2022
Today Luna and I went to the park to meet with another Offleash SoCal trainer for our morning session. Luna had a hard time at the park because of all the distractions, i.e. geese, bikes and strollers. It’s going to take quite a bit of exposure to help her become more comfortable with these objects and perhaps a trip to home depot will help her with that. Once we moved to a quieter location, she settled in better and we worked on “sit, heel, come to sit and down”. Luna had no problem jumping up onto the park benches and I still sit in awe with how athletic and catlike she is. We have another exciting park day planned for her tomorrow so stay tuned for that!
Daily Training Notes: Worked on heel, Sit, come to sit, down and place.
Today's Weigh In: 51.0 LBS
Pupdate 10/19/2022
Today Luna and I did not go to the park today because….we went to Home Depot instead! Being that Luna is VERY triggered with anything on wheels, I decided exposure is the best way to help her overcome her fear. We began with introductions to shopping carts and she even walked alongside me as I pushed one! I think she was more stressed about the chaos outside of Home Depot than inside Home Depot. Once we went into the store, we went through each aisle to get her familiarized with all the noise, people walking by, large objects and even forklifts! She did have a stress poop inside the store but otherwise, she seemed to settle in faster than expected. I am impressed with how well she followed through with her exercises and even sat next to the talking Santa! When we got back into the car, she hopped right in and was happy that it was all over. It will take her some time before she begins to look forward to these outings but all in all, she was a good pup! Stay tuned for more.
Daily Training Notes: Went to Home Depot to work on environmentals. Practiced heel, down, sit, come to sit and place.
Today's Weigh In: 51.2 LBS
Pupdate 10/20/2022
Today Luna and I went to the Citadel Outlets to practice for our final video. I wanted to see how Luna would adapt in a crowded public setting and she did well in most aspects of our visit. She did so well passing by strollers and carts today!!! That Home Depot visit really helped little Luna become more familiar with objects on wheels. However, she did have a little moment when a custodian wheeled a large cart to empty out the trash bin by us. The noise and the size of the cart was certainly a bit much for Luna and we were not able to work past it in that moment. So we continued walking at heel for the rest of our visit to get her better acclimated to the environment. She did well passing by all the strangers and children running around and even walked by strangers with large shopping bags without attempting to run! Every day is a win for us and I am excited for you to see Luna’s progress in person!
Daily Training Notes: Worked on all exercises in preparation for turnover.
Today's Weigh in: 51.4 LBs
Pupdate 10/21/2022
Today Luna and I went to the Citadel Outlets again to work on our final video. We practiced greeting manners as well prior to our filming and worked on our exercises with the other Offleash SoCal trainers. She did very well with her greeting manners and didn’t jump on anyone. We did definitely still have a hard time with duration because the outlets were more crowded today than they were yesterday. However, I felt that Luna was more comfortable with being at Citadel than she was yesterday and can see how important it is to continue trying to expose her to different environments. We will be polishing up all of our exercises and commands in preparation for our turnover on Sunday!
Daily Training Notes: Went to the Citadel Outlets to complete our final video and work on greeting manners!
Today's Weigh In: 51.8 LBs
Pupdate 10/22/2022
Today Luna and I went to the park to meet with another Offleash SoCal trainer to finish up some of the final touches of our exercises before her turnover. She did well being handled by someone new and I have no doubt in my mind, her transition back to her parents will go smoothly. The durations on her exercises are great indoors but dwindle down outside with the added distractions. She still does very well in less crowded areas and is doing so much better with objects on wheels and people carrying different objects. Adding variety to her training and showing her different environments has truly helped her feel more comfortable being outside. We’ll see you all tomorrow!
Daily Training Notes: Worked with a different Offleash SoCal Trainer!
Today's Weigh In: 52 LBS