Mai | Shepherd Mix | Carson, CA | In-Training
Meet Mai! She is a ten month old Shepherd Mix who has joined us for our One Week Board and Train Program! Mai is here for basic obedience, leash pulling, jumping to greet, nipping, and digging. She is a little timid when initially meeting new dogs, but gets excited when meeting new people. Over the next seven days, this friendly lady will be set up for success, with the hopes of becoming a well mannered pup. Check in to see her progress!
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Mai and I spent the afternoon getting to know each other. We took a walk around my neighborhood and I introduced Mai to Heel. Heel consists of having Mai walk with me on my left side. Every time Mai would pull away, I would turn around and walk in the opposite direction. She is catching on to the concept and is doing better the more we work on it. It will now be implied on every walk we go on from here on out. Mai has settled in well, and is adjusting to her new surroundings.
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Mai was introduced to Place today at a local park and we met with other trainers to work around different dog distractions. She did very well with dogs around her and showed no signs of reactivity toward them. Mai was great at learning Place on different benches throughout the park and looked like a natural in doing so. This technique serves great purpose whenever someone knocks on your door and it can also build confidence in a dog. All Mai needed was a little leash tension to guide her onto the bench and she was able to get on with no problem.
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Mai was introduced to her recall today which is known as Come to Sit. This technique consists of having Mai come towards my right side, go around behind me, and Sit on my left. Mai and I have been practicing with leash tension and some string cheese since she is very food motivated. Mai was guided towards my right side with leash tension and to have her completely go around me to Sit on my left, I lured her with the cheese. Once she understood what I was asking, I was able to slowly fade out the cheese, and she is now learning how to follow through without it.
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Mai was introduced to Down today. This technique can be one of the most difficult to teach considering it is a submissive position to a dog and can make them feel vulnerable. To teach Mai, I asked her to Place on a bench, and used her food with a little leash tension for guidance. I asked Mai to Sit and began luring her down with her food and applying slight leash tension as needed. It took some time and some patience with breaks in between, but she was able to follow through.
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Mai and I have been working on her Door Manners. As soon as I would open any door when she first arrived, Mai would want to be the first one to go through. To condition her into not doing that, I ask her to Sit or Down before I open the door, and if Mai sits up, the door will close. We had a lot of practice throughout the time she has been in training and has effectively reached her two minute mark.
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Mai has learned all of her commands and today we pieced everything together to see how well she does with distractions all around her. She still needed a little guidance with her Down but we worked on it and managed to clean it up. Mai did great and has shown amazing progress in just a short amount of time. She catches on quick, and with repetition and consistency, this bright lady can be capable of so much more.
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Mai has completed her One Week Board and Train Program and is ready to come home! Working with her was a real pleasure and I am looking forward to showing you what she has learned. I want to thank you for trusting me with her and for giving me the opportunity to be her trainer. Her final video will be coming soon, but in the meantime, here is a peek at her Food Manners.
