Maddie | Labrador | Marina Del Rey, CA. | In Training.
- heatheroffleashsoc
- May 10
- 15 min read
Updated: May 23
Maddie is a two-year-old Labrador from Marina del Rey who has just joined us for our Two Week Urban Board and Train Program! This sweet girl has a big personality to match her size, complete with demand barking, pulling her owners along on walks, and selective hearing when it comes to coming when called. If Maddie has somewhere to be, she fully expects everyone else to keep up!
Over the next two weeks, we’ll be working closely with Maddie on her basic obedience, leash manners, and overall house manners to help her become a calmer, more polite companion both out in public and at home. Our goal is to give Maddie the structure, guidance, and tools she needs to succeed while strengthening her communication and relationship with her family along the way.
Stay tuned to follow Maddie’s training journey and see her transformation unfold! 🐶✨
5/10/2026
For Maddie’s first day with me, we decided to take a walk through the park to better get to know one another, see what she already knows, and introduce her heel command. Maddie started off with a very strong leash pull, so anytime she forged ahead she was quickly met with a pop of the leash and I changed directions. We practiced this consistently for a while until she started to understand that walking nicely with me was what would keep us moving forward!
I also found out that Maddie does know “sit,” which is great! Over the next couple of weeks we will be working on making it more reliable and performed promptly on command rather than only when she feels like offering it. By the end of our walk, Maddie was already beginning to walk with me a bit better, and we will continue building on that progress over the next few days.
After our walk we headed back to the car to load up. Maddie hesitated for a moment, but then hopped right into the crate! She did whine some on the ride home, but once she realized she couldn’t negotiate the terms of the car ride, she chose to settle down and quiet herself.
Once we got home, I let Maddie check out her home away from home for the next couple of weeks. She had no complaints until I left her in the yard briefly while unloading her things from the car, and she immediately tried opening the gate to get to me. When it came time for the crate inside the house, she went in willingly, but once she lost sight of me she began barking. My thought is that Maddie may have a little separation anxiety going on, which is completely okay and something we will absolutely be working through together during her stay.
All in all, for such a big day full of new people, places, and experiences, Maddie is doing alright. She definitely has some nerves right now, which is totally normal, but I’m sure with a little more time and structure she will settle right in!
5/11/2026
Today Maddie and I headed out to Rosemead to meet up with some fellow trainers and their pups! Our main focus for the day was introducing Maddie to the e-collar as well as beginning work on her come to sit command.
Maddie seemed pretty unfazed by the e-collar introduction, which was great to see! In some moments it even helped sharpen up her listening skills a bit, so that was a nice bonus. We also continued working on her heel command along with sit, and I discovered that Maddie already knows down—smart girl!
Her heel is coming along nicely, though Maddie is definitely a very willful young lady and still isn’t entirely convinced that I know where we’re headed. Even so, she is making steady progress and beginning to settle into the routine more each day. Her sit and down commands are becoming much more reliable, so we started adding some distance and duration to them. For the most part she handled this very well. She did break command here and there, but with calm and patient redirection back into position she started to better understand exactly what we were asking of her.
With her come to sit command, Maddie is learning to walk around my right side and finish sitting at my left side. She doesn’t quite have the full motion down yet, but she responded very well to leash guidance which is lovely to see and gives us a great starting point moving forward.
Overall, Maddie still has some opinions about all the new surroundings, people, and changes in routine, but she’s making good progress and learning that everything here is safe and okay. She’s not the biggest fan of the crate just yet, but she made it through the night with no demand barking to be let out, which is a huge win! I’m sure with a little more time all of this will feel much less stressful for her and she’ll continue to settle in nicely.
5/12/2026
Today Maddie and I headed out to Home Depot to continue working on her commands around distractions, and the wonderful thing about Home Depot is there’s plenty of those! With the new environment Maddie was understandably a bit nervous at first, so we started things off in the garden center where it was a little quieter and gave her the chance to ease into things while practicing her commands. She handled this part very well! Maddie is getting better about performing her commands when asked, though she still has her moments where she wants to be a stubborn little lady.
Her heel command is still a work in progress, but it’s improving every day. Maddie is still fairly convinced she knows the way better than I do, but little by little she’s learning to trust and follow more consistently. Once she started to relax a bit more, we headed inside the store and simply practiced heeling around without much pressure. There was a lot going on with all the movement, sounds, and people, so the goal was just to let her take everything in calmly and build confidence in the environment.
As she became more comfortable and relaxed, we ended our outing on a positive note with lots of love and praise before heading home. The rest of Maddie’s day was spent relaxing around the house along with an evening walk through the neighborhood where we practiced a bit more, and she did very well there too!
All in all, Maddie had a wonderful balance of work and relaxation today, and I’m so proud to already see the progress she’s making!
5/13/2026
Today Maddie and I headed back out to Home Depot to continue practicing her commands around distractions, and she did pretty well! Her heel command is continuing to come along nicely, though every now and then she still likes to be a little stubborn about staying in position. Even so, she’s showing more understanding each day and putting in great effort during our sessions.
Her extended sit and down commands are improving as well. Maddie is learning that staying put and being patient is the best policy, though she still needs an occasional reminder here and there — and that’s perfectly okay! Training is all about consistency and building confidence, and she’s making steady progress.
Her come to sit command is also coming along very nicely. Maddie is beginning to understand where she needs to finish the command and is responding better with each repetition. I’m very proud of how she handled our trip to Home Depot today and how much effort she put into all of her commands. Keep up the good work, Maddie!
5/14/2026
Today Maddie and I headed out to the park to continue working on all of her commands, and for the most part Maddie did pretty well! Although I do think at some point she decided she was a little tired of me being the bossy one because several times during our heel she dramatically plopped herself down as if to say, “Heck no! We won’t go!” Cute? Absolutely. Ideal in the middle of a crowded park? Not quite!
Truthfully though, this isn’t uncommon for pups that are used to being the ring leader. There’s almost always that one session where they decide they’d like to rewrite the script a bit, and as the handler it’s my job to remind them the show must go on as previously rehearsed. With some encouragement and a few reminders about what we were doing, I was able to get Maddie back up on her feet and moving nicely through the park again. We love good choices!
After one or two of these little protest moments, Maddie’s focus really began to shine. Once she settled back into work mode, we moved through all of her commands and she did very well. Her place command looked nice today, and she also did a great job with her extended sit and down exercises. While come to sit still isn’t exactly her favorite command, she’s showing a really solid understanding of it. I was even able to have her perform it successfully without leash guidance, which is a huge step forward for her future off leash recall work. What a good girl!
Overall, despite some early boundary testing at the start of our session, Maddie made great progress today and showed that once she locks back in, she’s fully capable of doing some really wonderful work.
5/15/2026
As the session went on, though, she really started putting things together. By the end of training she was performing all of her extended commands much better and was able to hold them with no issue. Her come to sit is also improving nicely as she’s beginning to understand exactly what’s being asked of her.
We also continued working on her heel command, and while she’s starting to improve, there are still moments where she tries to take the lead and make executive decisions for herself. That’s okay though — she’s learning, and each day she’s becoming more consistent and responsive.
All in all, we made some really good progress today, and I’m very proud of Maddie!
5/16/2026
Today Maddie and I headed out to the Westfield Century City to continue her progress with her commands around distractions, and Maddie did very well! There were a few moments during her extended commands where she tried to pop up and follow me, but after a reminder or two she caught on quickly and stayed put nicely. Her understanding of patience is continuing to improve, and she’s starting to realize that staying in position is always the right answer.
Her heel command is getting much better as well, though she did decide to put on the brakes in protest one time. After a little encouragement, she got right back up and continued moving along with plenty of pep in her step! Maddie also had no problem hopping up onto different surfaces for place work. In fact, she seemed to love it! Benches quickly became one of her favorite spots to sprawl out on, and she looked quite silly and adorable doing it.
We also had several people stop to compliment Maddie on how well behaved she was, which gave us some nice opportunities to practice greeting manners. With the first person she got a little too excited and nearly knocked them over with her body weight, but after a few more practice greetings she started doing much better about remaining seated and letting the affection come to her instead. Good girl, Maddie!
Overall, Maddie made great progress today and handled the busy environment very nicely. I’m very proud of the effort she put into today’s session and she continues to show improvement every day!
5/17/2026
Today Maddie and I headed back to the mall to continue her progress with her commands, and Maddie did well! When we first arrived she was excited to be out and about, but she settled into work nicely and was able to focus on her commands despite all the activity around us.
She performed each command just as we’ve been practicing, doing a great job staying put for her extended sit, down, and place commands even with people constantly passing by. Her heel command is continuing to improve as well, and she walked very nicely on leash while moving through the busy mall environment. Maddie is getting better about staying engaged with me and moving along calmly instead of getting distracted by everything going on around her.
She also received many compliments from different people on how well behaved and polite she was, which was wonderful to see! Maddie handled the outing very nicely and continued to show more confidence, patience, and focus throughout our session.
Overall, Maddie had an awesome outing today and made some really nice progress. I’m very proud of the effort and focus she put into her work today!
5/18/2026
Today we headed out to a park in Rosemead to meet up with fellow trainers and their pups to continue Maddie’s progress with her commands. And Maddie did very well today! She shows a great understanding of all of her commands, though she still likes to push the boundaries a bit — but that’s ok! It wouldn’t be Maddie if she didn’t!
Today’s boundary of choice was her “come to sit” command. At first, she acted as though she had absolutely no idea what I was asking of her, but after a quick reminder she decided, “what the heck, why not?” and performed it just as we’ve been practicing. We love good choices!
At one point during training, treats were brought out and so was the demand barking! We used that moment as a training opportunity and corrected her with the “off” command. Maddie immediately stopped barking and sat down nicely. Good job, girl!
Maddie also got the chance to meet a couple of other Labs today, Oso and Ruby, and they all enjoyed relaxing together in the shade for a bit, which was very cute to see. It’s always nice watching the pups practice being calm and social around one another.
All in all, Maddie had a great outing today and I’m very proud of the effort she put into her work. She continues to make progress every day and her personality always keeps training entertaining!
5/19/2026
For the most part Maddie did well! There were a few moments where she decided sniffing around sounded far more exciting than finishing her come to sit, and at one point she also decided an extended down sounded better than an extended sit. Typical Maddie! But with a reminder and correction she was able to refocus, settle back in, and continue working.
Even on a lower energy day, Maddie still showed a really nice understanding of her commands and what was being asked of her. That consistency is something I’m very happy with because it shows the training is truly sticking, even when she’s not feeling especially enthusiastic about working.
After our outing, the rest of Maddie’s day was spent relaxing indoors with the air conditioning, plenty of couch cuddles, and taking it easy — which she seemed to have absolutely no complaints about!
All in all, Maddie is continuing to do very well. Sometimes dogs just need a lighter day mentally, and today seemed to be one of those days for her. I’m still very proud of this little lady for pushing through long enough to get some good practice in and continue building on her progress!
5/20/2026
Today Maddie and I headed back out to the park to continue her progress with her commands, and today she seemed much more eager to get to work, which was so lovely to see! Maddie performed each and every command just as we have been practicing, and her understanding of them is really starting to shine through.
It was especially nice to see her checking in with me more throughout our walk instead of zoning out and focusing on everything else around her. That engagement and willingness to stay connected with her handler is such an important part of her training, and it’s wonderful seeing that progress develop more and more each day.
Maddie worked hard today and showed a great attitude throughout our session. I’m so proud of the effort she has been putting into her commands and the progress she continues to make. I was also very happy to see that after an afternoon of rest yesterday, she was clearly feeling much better and ready to jump right back into work today!
5/21/2026
Today we decided to take things a little easier by sticking around my home and focusing on fine tuning Maddie’s house manners! We started our day with a nice long walk around my neighborhood where we practiced all of Maddie’s commands, and she did very well. She showed great understanding of what was being asked of her, even if she still likes to add a little bit of her own opinion into the mix from time to time!
While house manners are something we work on daily, today we really made them the main focus. Maddie has struggled a bit with holding her sits before eating, going outside, and loading into the car, so we spent extra time reinforcing patience and impulse control in those situations. After a few consistent repetitions, the expectations seemed to become much clearer for her.
For food manners, Maddie is expected to sit and wait while I prepare and set her food down, and even if I walk away, she should continue holding that sit until released. Door manners follow the same idea — she should remain sitting calmly at the door, even if I step outside or briefly out of sight before inviting her through. We also worked on car manners, where Maddie is expected to sit politely by the car while I get everything ready before receiving the cue to load up.
We also spent time working on Maddie’s off-leash recall in the yard. This exercise consists of Maddie being in the front or backyard and being able to come directly to me and sit at my side when called without any extra guidance or reminders. This has been a bit challenging for Maddie because she would much rather move at her own pace and do her own thing! But after a few repetitions today, things really seemed to start clicking for her. She began showing a much better understanding that when she is called, the expectation is to come all the way in and sit politely next to me.
All in all, Maddie is showing really wonderful progress in every aspect of her training. She’s learning that patience, follow-through, and self-control are just as important as knowing commands, and I’m so proud of this sweet girl and all the effort she continues to put in every day!
5/22/2026
Today Maddie and I headed out to Santa Monica to fine tune all of her commands around distractions, and Maddie did a wonderful job! She performed each and every command flawlessly, and it was so awesome to see the confidence she carried while working. Maddie looked so sure of herself as she moved through each command, and that confidence is really beginning to shine through in her work.
There were plenty of distractions around us throughout the outing, but Maddie stayed focused and continued to make great choices. It was especially nice to see her staying engaged with me even with so much activity happening around us. Lots of people stopped to watch us work and commented on how well she was doing. We even had a few people recording her as she showed off all of her hard work!
We were also joined by a fellow trainer and their pup for part of our outing, and Maddie seemed quite taken with the little Dachshund she met. The two of them were adorable together, which of course led to their little photo op!
All in all, Maddie did an amazing job on today’s outing, and I’m so proud of the effort she put in. Santa Monica can be a very stimulating environment, and she handled herself beautifully. It’s safe to say this big adventure wore her out though, because she thoroughly enjoyed spending the rest of her afternoon relaxing lazily back at the house!
5/23/2026
Today Maddie and I went on another big outing out to Santa Monica to continue her progress with her commands, and Maddie did a beautiful job performing each and every command just as we’ve been working so hard on. Even with a large group of joggers passing by, she remained focused on the task at hand, which was so wonderful to see. Her ability to stay engaged and work through distractions continues to improve every day!
We also had a few opportunities to work on her greeting manners today with some of the people who stopped to watch us work. Maddie did very well with staying put and allowing the love and attention to come to her. Good girl! She continues to show more patience and understanding during these interactions, and it’s been so nice watching her confidence grow.
After our trip to Santa Monica, we headed back to the house for a much-needed bath and spent the rest of the day relaxing around the home. I’m so proud of all the progress Maddie has made over these last two weeks with me. It has been so nice being able to walk with her without her always feeling the need to lead the way. Of course, Maddie still keeps some of that sassy energy that makes her who she is, but she has become much better about listening, which we absolutely love to see!
My hope is that everything Maddie has learned here with me will continue to benefit you both as you move forward together, because a true obedience journey with pups is never really finished. There is always room to continue building and growing together. But my hope is that now you both can go forward and enjoy many relaxing walks and wonderful adventures together.
Lastly, I would like to thank you for trusting me with caring for your girl and allowing me to be a part of her obedience journey. I have truly enjoyed getting to know Maddie during her time with me. She is such a sweet lady, and I’m going to miss having her around!
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