Marley | White Highland Terrier | Calabasas, CA | In-Training
- graceatoffleashk9
- Sep 25, 2022
- 8 min read
Updated: Oct 9, 2022
Meet Marley, the White Highland Terrier from Calabasas, CA, who is here for a two-week board and train program. Marley is here because he likes to potty indoors, climb onto the kitchen tables, and goes about his own business when he's outside. Over the next two weeks, we will be working on potty training, house manners, recall and basic obedience. Stay tuned for Marley's progress!
Pupdate 9/26/2022
Marley is settling well into his new environment and learning how to keep up with the structure of his new temporary home. He is adjusting very well to being in the crate and only whines from time to time when another dog goes outside. Marley is slowly understanding the potty training but the hustle and bustle of the city distracts him from going potty on his walks. He is a very smart and gentle dog who does very well on praise and touch so that will be a great way to motivate him during his exercises. He is adjusting to walking on a slip lead and it seems like he had been walked on a harness for a while. He didn’t finish his meal last night or this morning but I am sure with the increase in exercise, his appetite will return with gusto! He has met the pack and has taken a fancy to my female mastiff. Stay tuned for more!
Daily Training Log: Marley is settling well into his new environment. Tested out what he knew and will begin working him on his exercises!
Today's Weigh In: 18.3 LBS
Pupdate 9/27/2022
Marley and I went to the park today to meet with other Offleash SoCal trainers and their puppies. It was the perfect environment to work on “heel” and “come to sit” as there were lots of distractions. One of the Offleash SoCal trainers helped us with our exercises so that Marley could get more exposure to being handled by different people. Initially, Marley struggled quite a bit with the slip leash but with lots of praise and touch at the completion of each exercise, he began to understand the movements of the exercise better. We will definitely keep working on him jumping up onto people during introductions and help him feel more confident in himself in chaotic environments. I added a little bit of coconut oil and pumpkin puree to help make his meal more appealing, but he still seems a little picky about the food. I will try adding chicken broth for his next meal and hope he finishes his bowl. Stay tuned for more!
Daily Training Log: We worked on heel and come to sit at the park today with other Offleash SoCal trainers.
Today's Weigh In: 18.3LBS
Pupdate 9/28/2022
I noticed that Marley is very particular to noise and people. He is afraid of loud trucks and buses, so what did we do? We followed the street cleaning truck while working on heel today! I wanted him to conquer his fears and have a good experience with the noise. As he’s not very food driven, I rewarded him with lots of pets and praise. We then walked to a construction site near the house and sat across the block, letting him soak up the cuddles and noise. It is so important for Marley to be able to work through the different environments and trust his handler to keep him safe. After coming back home, we began our “place” exercises. As trusting and sweet he is, Marley struggles with “down” and prefers to stay in a “sit”. So in teaching him “place” on an elevated bed, I provide him a place of comfort where he can relax enough to begin practicing “down”. Once we establish a clear understanding of “down”, we will be able to add duration to all of his exercises. Stay tuned for more!
Daily Training Notes: Worked on heel and place
Today's Weigh In: 18.1. LBS
Pupdate 9/29/2022
Today Marley and I went to the park to work on “heel, come to sit and down”. Marley has the “sit” exercise in the bag but teaching him “down” has proved to be a bit of a challenge. He is very easily distracted by the outside environment and noise so we will be working for better engagement. He began eating better after I incorporated chicken broth to his meal! He did have a potty accident last night after a mile walk because he was too distracted with the noise around him to go potty. Hopefully he begins to be more confident so that he can work through whatever environment he is in! Stay tuned for more!
Daily Training Notes: We worked on heel, come to sit and down!
Today's Weigh In: 18.3 LBS
Pupdate 9/30/2022
Today Marley and I went to a local park and worked on “place” on objects outdoors. Despite being such a cautious little pup, he did phenomenally well. He is very receptive to his handler and always willing to please. We had quite a hard time working on “down” at the busy park so we’ll take a step back and work on solidifying his “down” exercise back indoors where he is the most comfortable. I will be introducing the e-collar to him today so that we can work on duration and longer leash exercises. He ate his full meal today after I added chicken broth to his meal so that is very exciting for all of us. Stay tuned for more!
Daily Training Notes: We worked on Place, heel, come to sit and down.
Today's Weigh In: 18.2 LBS
Pupdate 10/1/2022
Today Marley and I began practicing our “load up” exercise. Being that Marley is so small, I decided to introduce the pet ramp. We began the exercise with just introducing the pet ramp to him while it was laid flat on the ground. I used yummy treats to encourage him to walk across the ramp from one end to the other. After he became more familiar with the texture of the pet ramp, we practiced him going up and down the pet ramp in the bed of my car. For a pup who is normally so cautious and wary, he completed the exercise extremely well! I will begin practicing the “load up” exercise with a crate next time! Stay tuned for more!
Daily Training Notes: Worked on Heel and Load up.
Today's Weigh In: 18.3 LBS.
Pupdate 10/2/2022
Today Marley and I worked on sit and down on “place” on a sidewalk by a busy street. Marley did SO well and I am extremely proud of how well his duration is coming along. Starting from never wanting “down” to holding a “down” on a “place” by a busy street is incredible process for Marley. He remained at “place” despite all the noise, car’s beeping, people passing by and even dogs barking at him from across the street. We will begin working on the e-collar now that Marley is comfortable wearing it at home. Stay tuned for more!
Daily Training Notes: Worked on sit and down on "place".
Today's Weigh In: 18LBS
Pupdate 10/3/2022
Today Marley and I went to a playground to introduce the e-collar! He was slightly confused at first but we began with the lowest stim to make it a good experience. He still needed some leash guidance when adding on the e-collar but with practice, he will become more comfortable with the e-collar as he did with the leash. I was really proud of Marley when he was approached by a toddler who had a big yellow ball. Marley remained in his “place” and even greeted the mother of the child calmly! He did really well and I’m looking forward to our progress on the e-collar! Stay tuned for more!
Daily Training Notes: We worked on introducing the e-collar
Today's Weigh In: 17.8 LBS
Pupdate 10/4/2022
Today Marley and I took a nice long walk to the park today and we moved to working with the e-collar with a leash dragging on the floor. He did a lot better than yesterday, walked at a nice heel and when he ventured forward too much, returned when he was called. We also practiced door manners off-leash and extended down on “place”. Everything is coming together very well EXCEPT his potty manners. He went on several walks today apart from our training session but did not go potty outside at all whatsoever and instead, pottied in the house and crate. He is a very sensitive pup who does not like to go potty if there are distractions around him and so he must feel more comfortable about pottying inside the house. However, we have carpet and it’s been difficult to remove staining and the smell.
Daily Training Notes: We began slowly working towards using less leash pressure with e-collar and worked on doorway manners.
Today's Weigh In: 17.5LBS
Pupdate 10/5/2022
So today, we did something different, I took both of my board and train puppies on a walk together to the park for our session. Both Peanut and Marley get along fantastically and always get down time together when they aren’t training or sleeping. So to help with Marley’s shyness, we used Peanut’s boldness to encourage him to come out of his shell a little bit. They both practiced downs on place together and then worked off-leash separately. I think that did the trick because I was amazed at how well Marley adapted to all the noise and the foot traffic going by him while working on his exercises! Stay tuned for more!
Daily Training Notes: Worked on off-leash exercises at the park today with his friend Peanut!
Today's Weigh In: 17.5LBS
Pupdate 10/6/2022
So today Marley and I had a difficult day. We began our morning walk per usual and was starting off on a good note. We have transitioned to being fully off-leash and he’s been doing quite well so far and Marley has adjusted incredibly well to the city environment. However, we had unexpected occurrence today. Marley and I were walking by a parking lot when a man walking on the sidewalk threw his cart to its side, scaring Marley. He moved away from my side and retreated away from the noise. Marley went to look to hide underneath any object that he felt would keep him safe and protect him. When this happened we went back home on a leash. I had to determine that Marley was a flight risk in highly trafficked environments. However, this doesn’t mean very much for Marley and his training as he has still demonstrated amazing ability when working on his exercises. In the afternoon, after having some time to decompress, I took Marley to the park (a much more controlled and safe environment) and worked on all of our commands off-leash and provided lots of praise and cuddles to ensure that we ended the session on a good note. We sat in the grass for a while just people watching to give him some more time to recover. Perhaps because of the stress of this morning, Marley didn’t have very much food today but I will be adding some yogurt to his meal tomorrow morning to help him enjoy his food better.
Daily Training Notes: Transitioned exercises to all off-leash.
Today's Weigh in: 17.2 LBS
Pupdate 10/7/2022
Today Marley and I went to the Century City Mall to meet with other Offleash SoCal trainers and their pups to work on our exercises on and off-leash in a crowded environment. Marley did well in most of his exercises but was confused here and there by the pedestrians walking so close to us. Because dogs rarely look up, they generally follow the leg of their handler but within a crowd, it gets quite confusing. Marley did well for his greeting manners and sat pretty for the stranger giving him pets. Stay tuned for more!
Daily Training Notes: Worked on all of our exercises offleash at the mall.
Today's Weigh In: 16.9 LBS
Pupdate 10/8/2022
Today Marley and I polished up all of our off-leash exercises one last time before he goes home tomorrow. We worked on some food refusal today as well but that wasn’t that difficult since Marley is not too food motivated. We worked on him staying in place without the elevated bed as I noticed that he tends to break off stay when there isn’t a clear boundary for where he should remain. We are really looking forward to seeing you tomorrow for our turnover!
Daily Training Notes: Worked on all of our commands off leash and food refusal.
Today's Weigh In: 17 LBs.
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