Maisy | Shepherd/Staffy | Newhall, CA | In Training
- Tanner Strong
- May 5
- 9 min read
Updated: May 21
Maisy is a six-month-old Shepherd/Staffy mix from Newhall, CA, here for our Two-Week Community Board and Train Program!
Maisy is an absolute sweetheart with a big personality to match those even bigger ears, but listening isn’t always her first choice just yet! She loves to pull on the leash and can be a bit independent when it comes to following through with commands. She’s also sometimes a little unsure around new people and may bark at strangers or when someone enters the home.
Over the next fourteen days, we’ll be focusing on building Maisy’s confidence, improving her obedience, and helping her develop better manners both inside and outside the house. With consistency and structure, we’ll guide her toward making better choices and becoming a more calm, reliable, and well-mannered pup.
Stay tuned for Maisy’s two-week transformation!
4/5/2026
After picking up Maisy, we spent some time at the park getting to know each other and letting her settle into the new routine. She’s a very sweet girl and was friendly right from the start!
Maisy does tend to pull quite a bit on the leash, so that’s something we’ll be focusing on as we move forward. There were some skateboards nearby that really caught her attention, and she was very curious and a bit fixated on them at first. With some guidance and consistency, she was able to start settling down and refocus on me, which was a great first step.
Overall, Maisy is a nice dog with a lot of potential. She’ll definitely benefit from structure, clear communication, and continued work, and I’m looking forward to helping her build those skills!
5/6/2026
Maisy and I went to the park today for her first full day of training, and overall I think she did pretty well! She already showed improvement with her walking and had a much easier time staying with me without constantly pulling on the leash. She still had plenty of moments where she got excited and tried to pull again, but she was much easier to work through today and started settling back in more quickly.
Most of our time was spent working on her Heel command around the park, practicing Sitting politely when asked, and building better engagement with me instead of locking onto distractions around us. Maisy definitely noticed everything going on around the park, but she slowly started checking back in with me more often as we worked.
For her first full day, I’m happy with how she handled everything! She’s a sweet girl with a lot of energy and curiosity, and today was a good start toward building better focus, manners, and confidence.
5/7/2026
Maisy worked hard on her Place command today! Place is where I ask her to hop onto a raised object, such as a place cot or a bench, and remain there until I either release her from command or ask her for something else. At first, she was a little unsure about staying put, but with repetition and guidance she started doing quite well. She’s beginning to understand that Place means relaxing calmly and holding position, which is a great skill for building impulse control and confidence.
We also spent time working on her Down command. Maisy has gotten pretty good at performing the Down itself, but she still likes to pop right back up afterward instead of remaining in position. We’ll continue practicing duration so she learns to stay relaxed and hold the command until released. Overall though, Maisy is doing very well and continues making good progress each day!
5/8/2026
Maisy and I went out to the park today with her new friend! At first, Maisy was feeling playful and a little restless, but once we got into working mode, she really started to impress me with her behavior. Having another trained dog alongside her seemed to help guide her, and I noticed a huge improvement in her Heel command throughout the session. Maisy became much more focused and attentive as we worked, and she handled herself very well around the different distractions at the park. I’m very happy with the progress she showed today and proud of how well she rose to the occasion!
5/9/2026
Maisy and I spent more time working with her new friend today, and she continued making great progress! One of the biggest improvements I noticed was her ability to calm herself down more quickly and resist the temptation to play when it was time to focus and work. She’s starting to better understand the difference between playtime and training time, which is a very important skill for her going forward.
Since it was the weekend, the park was much busier than usual, and there were distractions everywhere. The baseball areas in particular were very loud with music, crowds of people, and lots of activity, but Maisy handled it all much better than before. Rather than getting overwhelmed or overly distracted, she stayed engaged with me far more consistently and was able to keep her attention on her training even with all the excitement around us.
This type of engagement and focus in public environments is exactly what I’m looking for with Maisy, and it’s a huge step in the right direction for her training journey. She worked hard today and continues to impress me with her progress. Great job today, Maisy! I also increased her food by about a cup per day. Her stool was solid today, but she piddled twice, requiring cleaning and a bath.
5/10/2026
Maisy and I headed over to Albion Riverside Park today, where we got some good training in around a couple of soccer games! She was definitely a little excited when we first arrived, as there was plenty going on to catch her attention, but she settled down nicely as we worked together. Once she relaxed a bit, Maisy began responding fairly well to her commands and did a good job remaining polite despite the distractions around us. After our outing, we spent the warm afternoon relaxing at home, where Maisy continued to behave fairly well and enjoyed some well-earned rest. She’s continuing to make good progress each day!
5/11/2026
Maisy and I met up with several other trainers and their dogs at the park today to continue building her confidence and obedience skills around distractions! She was a little skeptical of another dog once or twice, but overall Maisy did a great job staying engaged with me and focusing on her commands despite all the activity around us. I was very happy with how well she was able to work in a busy environment while surrounded by so many new dogs and people.
Her Place command was especially impressive today and definitely seems to be becoming one of her favorite commands! Maisy was eager to hop onto different objects and did a great job remaining calm and holding her position even while the other dogs moved around nearby. She seems to really enjoy having a clear job to focus on, and it’s helping build both her confidence and impulse control.
Her recall, Come To Sit, was a little more challenging today with all the dogs around, which is very normal in an exciting environment like this. Even so, Maisy continued making good progress and had several really nice repetitions where she came right in and sat neatly at my side. Overall, she had a productive day and continues improving each time we work together!
5/12/2026
Today we focused on Maisy’s Place command! For this command, I want Maisy to hop onto a raised object, such as a bench or a cot, and remain there until I either release her from command or ask her for a different command. She’s been doing very well with her place cot already, so today we started introducing some different objects for her to practice on. This is a great confidence-building exercise for Maisy, which is something she still needs plenty of work on!
Place is also an extremely useful command at home. I often use it when I’m doing something that doesn’t involve the dog, like cooking or eating dinner. It can also be very helpful when having guests over, answering the door, or anytime you need your dog to calmly stay in one spot. Maisy did a good job today and continues making nice progress with this command!
5/13/2026
Maisy and I started working on her commands with the leash dragging today! Allowing the leash to drag gives me a better idea of how she might perform off leash while still giving me a safe way to step in if needed. Maisy was a little skeptical at first and took some time to settle into the exercise, but overall she did well. Once she got more comfortable, she started making better decisions on her own and staying more engaged with me throughout our training. This is an important step in building reliability and confidence, and Maisy made some nice progress today!
5/14/2026
Maisy and I had a slower-paced day today, focusing on her manners and improving her Heel command. For Heel, I want Maisy walking politely at my left side with her ears lined up at my knee, and we spent most of the day practicing this through lots of structured walking. She did a nice job overall and stayed engaged with me throughout our work together.
We also spent some relaxing time at home working on her Place command. Maisy continues to do very well with this exercise, showing good patience and settling nicely once on command. She enjoyed the calmer pace today and handled everything well!
5/15/2026
Maisy and I spent time working on her door manners today! The goal for this exercise is to help Maisy remain calm and respectful around open doors instead of rushing through them. We practiced having her wait patiently at thresholds before being invited to go outside or come back in. At first, Maisy was eager to move ahead, especially when she knew we were about to go on an adventure, but with repetition she started understanding that staying calm and waiting politely is what earns her access through the door.
This type of training is great for building impulse control and helps create safer habits at home and in public. By the end of the session, Maisy was showing noticeable improvement and making much better choices around the doorway. Great job today, Maisy!
5/16/2026
Maisy had an exciting day at the park today with lots going on around us, from soccer games to baseball! With so much activity and so many people around, she showed a little more nervousness in the busiest sections of the park, but she continued working through it and stayed engaged with me overall. We spent more time practicing with the leash dragging, which gives me a better idea of how she may perform with more freedom while still keeping things safe and structured. Maisy remained pretty well behaved during these exercises, though in the most crowded spots with all the sports and commotion, she often wanted to tuck herself between my feet for comfort. While this shows she’s looking to me for reassurance, we’ll continue building her confidence so she can feel more comfortable and relaxed in those higher-energy environments. Overall, she still made good progress today and handled a very stimulating environment well!
5/17/2026
Maisy and I spent more time working around the busy sports environment today! With all the activity from games and crowds, it was definitely a tougher setting for her, but she continued making steady progress. Maisy still showed plenty of nerves at times, especially in the more populated areas, though she kept working through them and staying engaged with me. We used the busier environments as opportunities to practice her commands and build confidence, then took breaks in quieter areas to help her relax and reset. The goal is slow, steady improvement, and Maisy continues taking steps in the right direction every day!
5/18/2026
Maisy and I went to the park and met with some other trainers and their dogs today! There were a couple dogs barking nearby for much of the day, which made Maisy pretty nervous at first and created a challenging environment for her. We took things slowly and worked through those tougher moments together, and once she started settling in, I saw a lot of improvement from her. As her confidence grew, I eventually felt comfortable taking her leash off for a bit, which was a great milestone today. Even off leash, Maisy did a fairly good job staying with me and working through the distractions around us. Great progress for Maisy today!
5/19/2026
Today Maisy and I went out to the park a couple different times to continue focusing on her off-leash reliability. She did a very good job today and showed some really nice progress! Maisy paid much closer attention to me throughout our outings and was much more reliable while working without the leash on.
There were only a few moments where she became a little too distracted and I felt it was best to put the leash back on temporarily, but overall she handled herself very well. I was especially impressed with how much improvement she showed in just one day, and I’m hoping we continue seeing that same positive trend tomorrow!
5/20/2026
Maisy and I spent more time working off leash today, this time around some added distractions to continue building her confidence and reliability. She started off a little nervous and occasionally got distracted, veering off course here and there, but she kept trying and ultimately managed to maintain her behavior really well overall.
Even though today’s environment was a bit tougher for her, Maisy put in a lot of effort and showed some nice progress as we worked through it together. I’m very proud of how she handled herself and the determination she showed throughout the session!
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