Maple| Newfoundland Poodle Mix | Oak Park, CA| In-Training
- Reine Melnick
- 6 days ago
- 8 min read
Updated: 15 hours ago
Meet Maple, a 5 month Newfoundland Poodle mix from Oak Park, CA! She joins Offleash SoCal for our One Week Board and Train Program.
Maple comes to us as a sweet and loving puppy with a bright personality and lots of potential! She absolutely adores affection and playtime, and her gentle nature makes her a joy to be around. Like many young pups, Maple can get a bit mouthy when she’s playing or feeling overly excited, using her nipping as a way to engage and express herself. She also tends to feel a little nervous in new environments, but with the right guidance and structure, she will continue to grow more confident each day.
Over the next week, we’ll be focusing on building a strong foundation for Maple by introducing her to all of her basic commands, improving her leash manners, and helping her understand more appropriate ways to play without using her mouth. We will also be working on her house manners, including things like proper door behavior, food manners, and learning to settle calmly inside the home. In addition, we’ll be boosting her confidence by safely exposing her to new environments, people, and experiences. With consistency and positive reinforcement, Maple is on the path to becoming a well-mannered and confident companion!
Pupdate 4/12/26
Since it was our first day together, we took a trip to a local park to start building a strong and positive relationship. When we first arrived, I gave Maple some time to explore her surroundings at her own pace, as she can be a bit nervous in new environments. This helped her start to feel more comfortable and take everything in without pressure.
After about 30 minutes, we began our training session by introducing Heel and teaching her the correct position. Maple did pretty well overall! There were a few moments where she felt a bit unsure and would walk slightly ahead or about a foot away from me, but still remained close by my side. During those moments, I made sure to stay calm and shifted into a more playful, encouraging energy to show her that there was nothing to be afraid of. This really helped her start to relax and trust the process.
Once she settled in a bit more, we moved on to her Extended Sit. She did get up a few times, which is completely normal at this stage. Each time, I gently lifted upward on the leash to remind her that she should remain in position until given a new command or released. Maple is a very smart girl and quickly started to understand what was being asked of her! After a few successful repetitions, we ended the session on a positive note and headed home so she could unwind and relax.
When we got home, we worked on introducing the crate. Maple did have a small moment of uncertainty getting inside, which is completely normal for a puppy adjusting to a new environment with new smells and routines. We spent about 30 minutes calmly working through it, helping her feel safe and comfortable entering the crate.
Overall, Maple did a great job settling in and beginning to adjust to her new environment. She’s off to a great start and I’m excited to continue building her confidence and skills!
Pupdate 4/13/26
Today Maple and I headed to the park where we met up with some of the other trainers for a great training session! Getting her out of the crate was a bit of a challenge at first, but I stayed calm and patient, allowing her to come out on her own terms. I wanted to make sure that leaving her safe space didn’t feel overwhelming or scary, and she eventually made the choice to hop out on her own.
Once she was out, I gave Maple some time to sniff around and explore her surroundings before jumping into work. We started with her Heel, keeping our distance from the other people and dogs at first. She was definitely a bit nervous in the new environment, so we took things slow and moved at her pace. As she began to settle, we gradually worked a little closer. After about 30–40 minutes of walking back and forth, Maple really started to relax and became much more comfortable heeling right at my side!
From there, we worked on her Sit and Place commands. Maple initially had some difficulty with her Sit and needed a bit of extra guidance, but with consistency and patience, she began to understand what was being asked of her. For Place, hopping onto a bench was a bit intimidating at first, so we broke it down by starting with a blanket on the ground. Once she built confidence with that, we transitioned to a lower bench. With repetition and a little momentum, she picked it up quickly and showed great improvement!
Since she was gaining confidence with jumping onto the bench, we took that success over to the car and worked on loading into her crate. Maple absolutely nailed it—she hopped right in on the first try with no hesitation!
To end things on a positive note, I let her relax and decompress for the remainder of our time at the park. Once we got home, Maple had some time to unwind and rest before her next session around the neighborhood. I’m really proud of the progress she made today—she’s building confidence more and more each outing!
Pupdate 4/14/26
Maple had a big day today as we headed over to Home Depot to work her commands in a much higher distraction environment! We started the session by focusing on her Heel, walking up and down a few aisles to check in on where she was mentally and how well she understood the command. Overall, she did a great job staying by my side, even as we made our way toward the back where the louder machinery and lumber area are located.
To help Maple get more comfortable with sudden noises, I had my girlfriend and another trainer create some controlled distractions by banging different materials like wood and metal as we walked by. She was a bit startled at first, which is completely normal, but after a few minutes she began to settle in and was able to continue walking calmly. This is HUGE progress for Maple, especially since she can be a little nervous in new environments with unfamiliar sounds!
Once I saw that she was in a more relaxed and focused state, we moved to a quieter aisle to work on her Come to Sit and Place commands. Her Come to Sit has improved so much even since yesterday! She was eager to come to me and consistently sat nicely at my side. I made sure to give her lots of praise each time, helping her understand that coming back to me is always a positive and rewarding experience.
After getting some good reps in, we introduced a fun challenge by having Maple jump onto different surfaces like soil bags and the large orange carts used for moving materials. She had no hesitation with the bags, but the cart made her a bit uneasy due to the movement of the wheels. With a little repetition and encouragement, she worked through it and was confidently climbing up without any help—another big win for her confidence!
Since she was doing so well with me, I wanted to challenge her further by having another trainer handle her and run through all of her commands. This helps reinforce that she needs to listen to anyone handling her, not just me. Maple did pretty well overall, though she did struggle a bit with her Extended Sit and Down at first, which is completely normal. With some guidance, she was able to relax and follow through successfully.
I am extremely proud of Maple and the progress she’s made over just the past few days. She is building confidence, working through her nerves, and showing a strong willingness to learn. Keep it up, Maple!
Pupdate 4/15/26
Maple had a great day training out at Lake Balboa, where we focused on all of her commands around much higher distractions. There were plenty of people, noises, and new smells, which made it the perfect environment to test her progress.
Her Heel has come a long way! Overall, she stayed right by my side and remained very engaged. She only got a bit sidetracked once or twice by a loud noise or an interesting scent, but a quick reminder was all she needed to refocus and get right back into position.
Since Maple has been gaining more confidence jumping onto higher surfaces, we took advantage of a bench to work on her Place command along with an Extended Sit while people walked by. This was a bit more challenging for her, and she did try to get off a few times before being released. Each time, I calmly guided her back up and reminded her to Sit. With consistency, she was able to hold her position for about 5 minutes without any issues, which was a great improvement.
We then moved on to Come to Sit, and she absolutely nailed it—coming straight in and sitting right at my side with great focus. After that, we spent a bit more time reinforcing her Heel before transitioning into her Extended Down.
This was definitely the most challenging part of the session for Maple. She struggled with maintaining the Down position and needed to be repositioned multiple times due to distractions or being a bit startled. We took our time here, working for about 30 minutes to help her better understand what was being asked. With patience and repetition, she was able to settle in and hold her Extended Down for about 5–10 minutes.
We wrapped up the session on a positive note, releasing her and giving lots of praise for all the hard work she put in today. Maple continues to show great progress, especially in more distracting environments, and she’s building a stronger understanding of her commands with each session!
Pupdate 4/16/26
Maple’s Pupdate 🐾
Today we headed back to Home Depot to continue strengthening Maple’s commands in a more distracting environment. We started the session with Heel, walking through the aisles to check in with her mindset for the day. Maple did a great job staying by my side and showed noticeable improvement in her confidence—she was much less startled by the noises around her compared to before!
Since she was in a good headspace, we focused on building her confidence even more by practicing “Place” on a variety of surfaces like carts, chairs, and even soil bags. Maple has made huge progress here—she’s becoming much braver and is starting to jump up without hesitation, which is a big win for her!
While on Place, we worked on Extended Sit as people passed by. Maple remained patient and composed, holding her position nicely while waiting to be released. After she settled into that calm state, we practiced her Come to Sit a few times. She came in eager but controlled, finishing right at my side with great focus.
After about an hour of solid work, we wrapped things up on a positive note and headed home so Maple could relax and get some well-earned rest. I’m very proud of how much progress she’s made in such a short time—she’s really starting to come into her own!
Pupdate 4/17/26
Maple’s Pupdate 🐾
Today we headed back to Home Depot to continue building on all of Maple’s learned commands in a more distracting environment—and she did an awesome job rising to the occasion!
We started the session with her Heel, taking laps around the store and even walking through a small crowd. Maple stayed calm, composed, and right by my side the entire time. This was a huge win for her—especially considering that on day one, she was very nervous around groups of strangers. Seeing her move through that environment with confidence shows just how much progress she’s made. Really proud of her for pushing through that fear!
After about 30 minutes of walking, we found a chair to work on her Extended Place and Sit. Since Maple is still building confidence with unfamiliar surfaces, she needed a bit of guidance to hop up—but once she was on, she did great. She held her position nicely while people pushed carts and trolleys past her, which is exactly the kind of real-world exposure she needs.
This is something that will be very beneficial to continue practicing at home—taking her to places like coffee shops and letting her calmly observe the world around her. These kinds of outings will keep building her confidence and help her feel more comfortable in new environments as she grows.
We also spent some time working on her Come to Sit, and she did a solid job coming in and sitting politely at my side.
To wrap up the session, we ended on a positive note and headed home so Maple could relax and recharge after a big day of learning. Great work today, Maple!
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