Meet Maxwell, the 9-month old Labrador Retriever from Cerritos, CA who is here for a Two Week Board and Train! Maxwell is here with us because he doesn't know how big he is yet, gets overly excited and jumps on you to say HI! He likes to pull and chew on the leash, chew and destroy anything he can get to and struggles to remain still or listen. Over the course of the next two weeks, Maxwell will learn general obedience, proper leash manners, greeting manners and doorway manners. Stay tuned for our progress!
Pupdate 12/11/2022
Today Maxwell and I met for the first time at Whittier Recreation Park. Because it was raining quite a bit at his pickup, we waited for the rain to stop before taking time to get to know one another. Maxwell is a sweet lovable pup who doesn't necessarily realize that he is quite larger than most dogs already. His excited jumps are more along the lines of a full-on tackle which can be quite intimidating when you see it coming. After our session at the park, we went back to his new temporary home where he took some time to take in his new surroundings. We took a walk around the neighborhood to help him get familiar with the typical hustle and bustle of the city. I am looking forward to beginning our training sessions tomorrow. Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/12/2022
Today Maxwell and I worked on "heel, sit and come to sit". I also introduced him to the e-collar with low stim to help him transition smoothly into it being used more frequently. Mr. Maxwell is quite the stubborn pup and I can tell that he is used to having his way because at one point in our session, he plopped himself into a sit and would not budge. I was able to coax him gently with the use of the e-collar and verbal encouragement. The goal is to make training fun for Maxwell and in using treats as a reward for now, I think we're taking a step in the right direction. Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/13/2022
Today Maxwell and I worked on “heel, sit, come to sit and place”. We worked on “place” on an elevated bed inside the house to begin adding duration to his exercises. We also went to my friends house to practice greeting manners! He is already improving and learning not to jump on people to say hi. He also is learning to potty outside in the city without getting all too distracted. Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/14/2022
Today Maxwell and I went to the park to meet other Offleash SoCal trainers to work on “heel, come to sit and extended sit”. Maxwell has been responding very well to our training sessions and has been slowly adjusting to the e-collar. He does still tend to be a bit stubborn about when he wants to listen and will either sit or try to use his size to get his way. We will continue working on that and begin adding our “down” exercise. He seems to be struggling a little bit with pottying so I have begin giving him unflavored pedialyt to help keep him hydrated. I will continue to monitor him because he had a couple of accidents in the house and needed a bath. I have also been giving him his medication as prescribed for his ear infection. Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/15/2022
Today Maxwell and I worked on some new exercises: "down" and "car load up manners"! Maxwell has always been so invested in seeing all that is around him and meeting the strangers who walk by, so he has never gone into a "down" on his own. With the right motivation, Maxwell is slowly understanding the exercise! As for his car load up manners, I have always had to pick him up into the car. He has been very good about putting his front two paws up into the car but will look back at me for an extra boost. Today we used his favorite treats and he managed to get himself up into the car! He is still currently taking quite some time to urinate but the Pedialyte is certainly helping him recover. Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/16/2022
Today Maxwell and I had some fun! He met his roommate, Pete, the 4 month old Giant Schnauzer and we all went on a beautiful scenic walk together. I wanted to make today a fun training day and introduce off-leash work to Maxwell in a quiet environment. Pete is a puppy who hasn't had much socialization with other dogs but Maxwell has been the gentlest of giants to him and has been the best older brother-like figure. He did very well off-leash and didn't stray very far from us. He was able to recall well and practice his sits and downs. Unfortunately, we had to end the scenic walk before we reached our destination because I had a bad fall and ended up injuring my foot. After some rest, we ended the night with car load up manners and Maxwell was such a good sport even though I had to walk much slower than normal! Maxwell still needs some work on his durations and we will continue working on that! Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/17/2022
Today Maxwell and I joined another Offleash SoCal trainer on a visit to the Citadel Outlets for a fun outing! There was a huge crowd at the mall and Maxwell did very well despite the new environment. He did have a hard time focusing on his durations and wanted to meet the strangers who were cooing at him but by the end of our visit, he was exercising "heel, sit and down" very well. Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/18/2022
Today Maxwell and I finished our day with an evening session at a park with an open field. We practiced "sit, come to sit, down, heel and duration". I removed our prong collar and today was our first day with a slip lead and e-collar. Our goal is to fade out the use of other tools until only the e-collar is remaining and Maxwell did well with the minimal use of the leash. Our biggest struggle is that Maxwell likes to be in physical contact with me and uses his size to try to get his way. However, we are working on creating more space between him and I for durations and for the sake of helping him understand that he cannot use his size to get out of doing things. His urinating has gone back to normal and we are back on track to good potty habits! Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/19/2022
Today Maxwell and I went for another adventure to a scenic area to practice our exercises in a different environment. What was the most special about today was that Maxwell got to be fully off-leash! As it was an area with no cars, I felt comfortable with him practicing off-leash work and Maxwell did FANTASTIC! He stayed by my side for the most part and recalled well when he forged forward on his own. He still tries to wedge himself between my legs but I have learned to stand tight and he will go to the left side like he has learned to do. We saw a beautiful group of deer and although Maxwell was interested, he recalled back to a sit beautifully. He certainly needs work on his downs and is still showing a very stubborn side with that. Once again, his pottying has returned back to normal and I am happy to see that he isn't having to struggle to empty his bladder. Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/20/2022
Today Maxwell and I went to Pan Pacific Park to work with another Offleash SoCal trainer! Maxwell had a chance to work through his "heel, sit, down and come to sit" with the other trainer and it helped add in a nice sense of change for our exercises. Maxwell did quite well other than the two things we have always struggled with when it came to our training. Maxwell likes to rub himself on his handler and squeeze his way in between our legs. In order to address that, we put the leash back on Maxwell and worked with a little bit more leash guidance to remind him that he is to come to sit on our left side, not in between our legs. By the end of our day, Maxwell was doing much better with his come to sits and doing less leaning. We also went to Home Depot at night to do some off-leash work as well. Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/21/2022
Today Maxwell and I went to the Citadel outlets to work on our Final video off-leash! He did so well with the chaotic environment and waited so patiently during his extended sits and downs even when other dogs were barking at him!! I couldn’t be more proud of him!!! Training is not over yet and we will most definitely be working more on his need to rub on people (me) some more. Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/22/2022
Today Maxwell and I went to Citadel to practice our exercises once more and greeting manners! It was much busier today with holiday shoppers but Maxwell did a great job navigating through the crowd with me. He did seem to prefer the less crowded areas but all in all, he was a happy guy. We ended today with doorway manners and soon he will be going home to his pawrents! Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/23/2022
Today Maxwell and I spent a lot of time together finishing up all of our exercises because he goes home tomorrow! It has been an absolute pleasure having him train and stay with me. We worked most on tuning up our come to sits and durations. He has come very far with waiting patiently for his "break" and is certainly doing better about not wanting to wedge himself between my legs. We are excited to show his family all that he has learned!
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