This is Max, a 5 month old Malipoo Mix from Malibu, CA here for our famous two week Board and Train program. Max is a very playful pup who loves other dogs but has some issues like pulling on the leash and can get toy possessive. He also is just getting use to walking on a leash so walking him has become difficult for his mom and dad. Over the next two weeks, Max will learn basic and fundamental commands to be the best version of himself so keep checking in on his PAWsome transformation!
PUPDATE 4/3/2022
Today consisted of getting used to everything. He was great in the car and the crate in the house. Since he is used to the harness, he is very unfamiliar to the feeling of a regular flat collar. I sat down with him for a couple minutes just to calm him down because of this and it seemed to help. He had some dinner but I will leave the food in the crate just in case he wants more. He also had some water as well. I am going to take things at his pace but still maintain a training schedule. Can't wait for his progress tomorrow!
PUPDATE 4/4/2022
It was a very productive day today for Max. Max is still getting used to having a regular flat collar on him so I spent about 20 minutes doing some desensitizing work. This included petting him around his neck, putting on different collars, and taking a leash on and off. He was biting me in the beginning of the exercise but slowly improving his sensitivity. We used the e collar for the first time on him and he responded well to it. Since he was sensitive to me placing things on his neck, I used the e collar very lightly today so as to not overwhelm him. He did much better at listening today than yesterday so I see some progress already. Keeping my tone positive and excited encourages him to want to listen to me. I had my trainer help him get used to other people around him and to build his confidence and he did well. He pooped this afternoon and peed well. He is coming out of his shell!
PUPDATE 4/5/2022
I mostly worked on the Place command with Max today and overall he did well. At first, he was not sure about jumping on different objects but after a couple reps he was doing fine. He had no problem when I placed the e collar on his neck so that was great progress. He did tend to have some verbal moments when he did not want to do something but it has improved since the first day. He did not pull much on the leash when we were heeling but he did sometimes stray away from my leg as we walked. I noticed he got very distracted when people walked by in the park so we will be working on that. He continues to do great in the crate except sometimes he paws at it when he wants to be let out. I tried working on the Down command a little and that was a little bit of a struggle because it was not what he wanted to do. I keep leaving food and water in the crate at all times in case he wants it. He is peeing and pooping normally.
PUPDATE 4/6/2022
Max worked on the Place command today. He did not have issues staying on the place object or getting onto the place cot. He is still working on sitting right next to me instead of sideways. He was very distracted when people walked by so we will be increasing the distraction level in the next couple of days to help with this. I went for a walk with him this morning and it was very difficult for him to pay attention to me if there were people walking by. If there were no distractions, he would walk very well alongside me. He continued to have some verbal outbursts during our training sessions today because he wanted to stop. It is important to continue on with what you have asked of him instead of giving into his demand.
PUPDATE 4/7/2022
Max had a very productive day today at the mall in Santa Ana. I thought he would be more overwhelmed due to the increase in distractions but overall he did well. His biggest challenge is staying in command like sit and down. He had struggles going on Place objects but I noticed it helped when I sat on the object first and encouraged him to get on it.
PUPDATE 4/8/2022
Max worked on his Heel command today including working on more distractions. Where there was very little distraction around him, he would focus more than when there were a lot of distractions (i.e. the outdoor mall yesterday). As you can see in the video, I continued to say Heel and use the e collar when he was not paying attention to me. Doing short right hand turns as you walk will help him pay more attention to the task at hand. He sat closer to me when we had the barrier next to him so we will continue to do that.
PUPDATE 4/9/2022
I took Max to a local outdoor mall to work on more distractions and overall he did okay. He still gets very distracted when people walk by and sometimes he barks at them. He was more vocal today than previous days. Max still needs to work on his duration commands and Come to Sit. He was very unsure about the water fountains but after a couple minutes of working near them, he was fine. He goes into a Down command more easily so that is great news and his heel continues to improve each day.
PUPDATE 4/10/2022
We mainly worked on his Down command, especially his duration. He still struggles with it but he improved a lot today. He did bark at people walking by and he was distracted while they passed. It is important to continue the command even when he throws a little tantrum because he will know he won the game. He had some vocalization moments and it was because of little things like the leash was in his face, the leash was a little tangled around him, or he did not want to come closer to me. Later, I took him on a walk and he did well walking through my neighborhood.
PUPDATE 4/11/2022
Today was not the best day for Max. It was the first time I took him to a more populated area and it was difficult for him to remain focused. He was very excited when anyone walked by and sometimes he would bark. There were times that I tried to get a picture of him in a sit and someone walked past and he would get out of command very quickly to go greet them. He was heeling with me fine until someone walked past us. His Place command was a challenge today because he would not try to jump onto the object when I knew he could. When I tried to have him jump on it, he became vocal. When this occurs, I pick him up and place him on the object so we are still following through with the command. Later, I worked with him at my house and focused on his Duration Down command. After a couple reps, he was improving with going in the down command and staying there. He did better with Come to Sit and we worked on recall while he was dragging the leash.
PUPDATE 4/12/2022
Max had a very productive day today. It was better than yesterday. In Video 1, I wanted to show you how he is doing overall. There were sometimes where his heel command was great and sometimes he would want to stop walking. When he does this, it is important that you keep walking because it is showing him that he is not in charge. He still has difficulty staying in a duration command and almost every time he is in a duration sit command, he scratches himself. I passed by a couple people to show you the progress he has made with that. I followed a large group of people with kids to see how he would react and I noticed he only barked when the kids were running around. I think he wants to control them somehow. Then, I wanted to show you how challenging Place can be for Max. Hopefully you can see that he stops right in front of the object even when there is a running start. But it is important that you follow through with the command even if it is difficult for him. I knew that he was physically able to get on the object so I tried not to help him too much.
In Video 2, I took him to my parents house and we practiced home manners while my parents and nephew walked in and out of the house. Putting Max on a place object helps him have a definable boundary where he cannot just run up to people and say hi. Practicing this when you get him back will be very important for your everyday life as he is a condo pup.
PUPDATE 4/13/2022
Max did much better today overall at the Simi Valley mall. I filmed it to try to get a potential final video but this was the best video take I got. His Heel was doing great and he was better with Come to Sit. As previously noted, his duration commands continue to be the main struggle for him. The Duration Sit in the video was the longest Sit he was able to hold. He is not going the typical pace as other dogs at OffLeash SoCal but it is important to keep in mind he is still making progress and that is what matters. I think the only reason he got out of the Duration Down in the video is because the ground was warm. Soon after he got out of the command, I placed him in a Down in the shade nearby and he seemed to be more comfortable. People even walked by as he was in a Down Command and he did not move. There were a couple of running kids and a dog he was barking at though.
PUPDATE 4/14/2022
I took Max to the Century city mall to see if he can handle more distractions than a quiet mall. Overall, he did much better at the quiet mall yesterday than the mall today. There were too many things going on for him to focus on me and stay in one position for long. He did great going on the different Place objects so that was good to see. I had to get my voice very high pitched and excited for him to jump on them.
PUPDATE 4/15/2022
My main goal today was to focus on all of Max's home manners since that is very important for his training. The door manners took the most reps out of the three because he would want to follow me out the door, especially when I had my back turned to walk out. I think he feels much more relaxed going on a Place command on a comfy dog bed. Crate manners were difficult for him because he just did not want to go in the crate so I used a much larger crate to see if that helped. It did help, however, he was still having trouble going in at times so we practiced going in and out of it for about 10 minutes. Each time he got out of the crate when I said "Break", my tone was very excited and that was very important for him. Food manners took the least amount of reps which was awesome. He sat very well for his food and when I said "Break", he was so excited he was not sure if he should eat the food or not.
PUPDATE 4/16/2022
Max took it easy today with training and we went on a walk to a park. He got distracted a little when people walked by but we just kept walking. He went on all the place objects I put him on so that was great! He was heeling very well with me today. I noticed he does better at his duration commands when it’s a smaller object to place him on. Can’t wait to show you everything he has learned the past two weeks!
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