Meet Midnight! She is a 4 month old giant schnauzer coming to us for our 3 Week Board train with additional days of boarding. Midnight is a sweet puppy but is timid and has issues nipping when engaging with her. Midnight can be insecure when meeting new people so we have to build her confidence up. She is also having a potty issue going inside the house still but we will work together on changing that habit. Over the next month I will create goals for Midnight to help problem solve and educate her into becoming a well mannered dog amongst society. Check out her progress with me as her trainer!
Pupdate 5/2/2023
Today is my first day meeting Midnight. She was very nervous and timid at first but once we got to know each other she gave me her confidence and let me work with her. On our way home we stopped by an in-n-out and stayed outside in an open area learning her heel obedience command. Once I was eating she would try to leave or lay under the table at times. Most of this is just her typical puppy personality and she's processing everything as it passes by or makes noise.
As we arrived home I took Midnight for a walk around my neighborhood to get some exercise. She was very consistent on keeping lead and had her attention on everything that wasn't me. The longer we kept walking she would settle and start to keep a pace with me but the best. Once we got home I introduced Midnight to my family who enjoyed seeing her. Midnight did well saying hi to my little brother but was timid around my parents. I also introduced Midnight to my personal dog Hunter. I had introduced them through the crate smelling each other's nose. No issue there so I started to work on House training with Midnight before giving her something to eat and having her take a break in her crate.
So far Midnight seems to be ok with her new environment and her behavior is just puppy energy so as the days go by my goal is to make her learn one obedience command a day and keep her confidence up in new situations.
Pupdate 5/3/2023
Today I took Midnight to a park in Anaheim to work on her obedience training. We saw a friend of ours with her pup so we socialized the dogs around each other. Midnight didn't have any issue smelling her furry friend. Midnight was very timid to say hi to my friend McKenna. Midnight tried to nip at her several times but was always redirected each time she attempted to nip. I let McKenna walk Midnight and after a while Midnight was ok training with her and letting her place her hands all over Midnight to be neutral.
In the video above I took Midnight onto the grass and she was heavily distracted by all the smells coming to her attention. As much as I kept everything mellow, Midnight would be complicated making it hard to work with her. As long as she would walk I would praise her verbally and keep walking. Any time her attention went back towards the ground she was redirected with her heel obedience command. Even though she would give me small moments of success she would fail after but the longer we kept practicing she started to settle and slow her pace. Repeating each turn is how Midnight is able to understand as long as she follows where I go at a pace she won't have to go through constant redirection.
Midnight and Hunter have been investigating each other, getting to know each other's body language. Midnight would show submissive body language instead of playful body language. This doesn't motivate my dog as much to play but he understands Midnight is young and has been very careful with her even if Midnight is somewhat pushy with him.
Pupdate 5/4/2023
Today was raining in the morning so I took the time to work on conditioning Midnight's door manners. Since she's fairly young she will often fail at times but that's ok for me. When being redirected and given obedience this will help Midnight thrive.
Midnight has already been working on her door manners since she's been over. I would have Midnight sit by the door but I would keep it closed while walking around inside the house. In the video above is our attempt to keep her inside while the doors open. She is often redirected but doesn't take a step outside and stays by the door. As I walk back inside, I'll ask for her recall and give her praise and attention. She will always come to me but if not the use of the remote will benefit the situation. I'm able to leave Midnight's sight for a small moment but Ill work towards keeping a longer duration going on as the days go forward.
Midnight and Hunter have been playing and seem to be used to each other now. Midnight can be somewhat pushy with Hunter if she has a lot of energy in her, but will settle and relax after playing. I've noticed she tries to bite random objects so I have been preventing her from doing that with the use of the e-collar. She is using the restroom outside and hasn't had an accident so far while staying over.
Pupdate 5/5/2023
This morning it was raining again so instead of being at a park we went to a pet friendly dog store to work on Midnight's training. When we arrived Midnight's attention was everywhere in the store trying to smell everything that came to her attention. As I was walking around and grabbed some items from the store I would have Midnight go into a sit and keep it. Once I was done I would say heel to signal Midnight to walk with me again. He kept an ok heel with me inside the store but had his attention everywhere else looking at all the items on the shelves.
There was one person inside the store with a dog and Midnight started to seem timid and began to bark from a distance. I redirected Midnight with her off obedience command, at the same time administering the e-collar. This made Midnight grab her attention back on me and we were able to wait in line without her feeling timid. One person stopped me in my tracks and wanted to say hi to Midnight. Before letting her I noticed right away Midnight was very uncomfortable the closer a stranger got and began to whale eye. I told this person that Midnight was uncomfortable and kept her at a distance. I will work on her behavior towards people with the help of my associates within the next few days to work on this issue.
Daily play time with Hunter is normal now and I'm able to keep them both out more often. Midnight still has a habit of trying to bite random things so we are still working on that puppy biting behavior.
Pupdate 5/6/2023
Today I walked Midnight and Hunter together on leash. I was surprised at how Midnight kept a pace with but would often try to lick or nip Hunter in the face as they walked. Hunter didn't mind but I would have to help redirect Midnight with this instead.
When we arrived back home I let the dogs play as usual and recorded some of their interactions. They are very comfortable with each other but Hunter will only give Midnight play time for as long as he wants before going back into his crate. In the video above you can see Midnight is very comfortable playing with a dog twice her size. They are always supervised and in case Midnight acts too pushy towards Hunter ill intervene just in general so she understands to listen when needed.
After we practiced Midnight's place command with the use of a place pad that I have. She did well practicing on this small place pad but my goal is to have her jump on higher platforms when I say place. As she's placed I practiced walking away and from her sight leaving the room she's in. Each time I went into my kitchen area Midnight would always get up. We practiced this numerous times until she gave me some time away from her. As I walked back into the room she remained still and was given her break command. I gave Midnight a lot of love and praise for being a good girl learning something new again today.
Pupdate 5/7/2023
I woke up this morning to Midnight crying and whimpering to get out of the crate. When I took her out she ran to my door leading outside as if she wanted to pee. I opened the door and she took one step outside and peed. I'm gonna assume her crying in the crate was an indication of wanting to pee. I took Hunter and Midnight on a walk together again and they did well walking beside each other. Midnight would slow down and pay attention to the cars coming behind us but I would redirect her to keep her attention back onto us.
Later on I let both of the dogs have their play time as usual before taking Midnight out to a park. We went to a nearby park by my house and we were lucky to have a field to ourselves and practice training on the grass. Midnight is still distracted by the smells coming from the grass but she does have more attention when practicing her obedience. When practicing her place she is very aware of staying on for a specific amount of time and to not move but she will be combative to just start off with her training. She will try to bite the leash as we walk towards her blanket that I have as a place pad. She is given a redirection from the e-collar as she does this to help motivate stop her and she does follow through at times. Once she lets me give her space I will ask for her break obedience command so she can be rewarded. We will work on more obedience on grass as the days go by.
Midnight has improved on sitting faster when being asked for her sit practicing her door manners. As well as waiting for a door to open entirely then walking in when allowed to.
Pupdate 5/8/2023
This morning I took midnight to a park in Anaheim, CA to work on obedience around other trainers with their dogs. Midnight had typical puppy energy being overly excited for everything but the longer we stayed at the park her obedience kicked in. She's doing well learning and completing most tasks today but we focused mainly on her heel obedience command. Midnight can keep a pace but when something seems interesting to her she overstimulates fast and will lung. I would keep Midnight walking randomly with only little breaks to burn off most of the energy she has. After multiple walks she was consistent with her heel staying to my side.
While practicing her place obedience command Midnight did well at times waiting for me but would break her position and come running towards me. I would redirect her by placing her back on and just keep the practice going. While my associates walked by with their dogs as we practiced, Midnight would keep her position and let them walk by and I would break her after rewarding her with praise and love. As we took a break and had the long lay next to each other at a distance, Midnight would want to play and try to go to them. I would redirect her and she would settle at times and for those brief moments she would stay calm but eventually get up. Towards the end of the visit she would remain in a down position while the other dogs would walk around her.
Midnight and Hunter had play time and have been doing well getting along but Hunter will go into his crate when he's done and Midnight will try to drag him out so I'll have to intervene. This way she doesn't have a habit of trying to force a dog to do something for them.
Pupdate 5/9/2023
This morning I took Midnight for a walk and did some training before having a meeting over the phone. After the meeting was over I let Midnight and Hunter play for a little while. As they were playing I noticed blood outside and shortly after Midnight peed and blood was noticeable. I find this unusual since we went for a 40 minute walk and she was fine. Now she keeps going outside to keep peeing to let out all of her body fluids. I took her to the vet just to check for anything in particular.
Midnight had small droplets of blood coming out while peeing today around 8:40 in the morning. Her first potty break was fine there but the second time she went I noticed the blood. I scheduled an appointment and once we were able to see our vet and Doctor they said everything seems to be normal with some basic tests they performed on her. We were able to leave just getting one test and waiting for the results.
Later on in the day we focused on Midnight's obedience training. Part of the training today was Midnight's food manners. Midnight still has the tendency to break herself from waiting and being patient. The more she's redirected she is able to understand what the goal is. All I would ask is for Midnight to leave it if she tries to touch her bowl, also sit to get her back into position until she's given her break. I will try to challenge Midnight by causing different distractions such as leaving her sight and going into different rooms for a longer period of time. Going for walks throughout the day Midnight has been more consistent going every couple of minutes but once she's done she will take break peeing and will have the patience to wait still.
Overall she's still happy and running back and forth playing with my dog and still being able to perform while training.
Pupdate 5/10/2023
Today I took Midnight to a park in Downey, CA to work on more obedience training. Midnight did well keeping a pace with me but there were small moments that she would try to travel in front of me but I would redirect her each time to maintain a better and consistent heel. She did well ignoring most of the birds and geese that stay at the park but is more distracted by people rather than animals at times. We had a group of people pass by us and even though we maintained our pace, as soon as a stranger gives Midnight attention she wilL get distracted. We will work on keeping a better engagement amongst more people in high traffic stores or areas.
We found a spot to work on her recall and send away to place with a small platform that Midnight was able to jump onto. She did well learning how to place herself onto a platform from a distance but her recall practice took some time to get used to. When I break her I let Midnight roam around freely, but as soon as I say come she comes towards me and around my body. We continued to practice this until she was able to freely walk around me without having to be redirected. Once she did this I praised her for longer and gave her a break.
So far Midnight's urine has been good, no signs of redness have been seen throughout today. Midnight and Hunter have been getting along very well but since Midnight is very young she likes to keep things going and has her ways of trying to do things with Hunter. Once Hunter is completely done he will go to his crate as always letting Midnight know he's done. Midnight will stay there outside the gate barking at him and nibble on part of the crate. I'll redirect her with a toy and keep her attention on me from there.
Pupdate 5/11/2023
This morning I took both of the dogs on a walk together throughout the neighborhood which went really well. The dogs had their usual play time for 20 to 30 minutes before taking a break. No redness again today so far and Midnight is eating normal as usual.
I took the time to work on Midnights manners with toys and other objects. Once I brought the tug of war toy out, she had a lot of drive and more of a habit to not let go. I gave her a new obedience command which is to drop it when playing with toys or keeping objects in her mouth. She learned very quick being redirected with the remote making this practice really easy. The longest she would hold onto even tolerating the e-collar would only last about 5 - 10 seconds. Once she lets go I'll praise her verbally and motivate her to bite it again.
We went to the backyard and used the side door to practice more of Midnight's door manners. In the video above is our first try of the practice. She did very well letting me through the first time this morning but I'm still gonna put her through different variables with this practice to challenge Midnight.
Later on I took Midnight with me to my little brother's school to go pick him up. We got there early to train and practiced Midnight's extended sit. She did really well letting me get as far as I need to, also letting me walk around her until she's given her break. When parents were picking up their children I noticed Midnight is timid in a sit watching people pass by. If Midnight and I are walking through people she doesn't mind at all but is mostly distracted. I'll work on her confidence amongst big groups of people as the days go on.
Pupdate 5/12/2023
This morning I took the dogs for their usual morning walk and let them have play time before taking a break. Midnight has been better at being quiet in her crate after exercise. She will go to sleep during the break I give the dogs and remain silent.
Later on in the morning I took Midnight to a park in La Mirada, CA to work on confidence with distractions. This park has a small pond which has geese, ducks and other birds. Each time I've walked near birds with Midnight she gets fixated and distracted. We took our time staying near the birds working on our heel obedience command helping navigate Midnight through her threshold seeing birds. We got to a point where Midnight was able to look at the birds but keep her pace and attention back on me. There were people passing by us giving Midnight attention with a baby voice as they passed by. Midnight finds this exciting and gets distracted so I'll have to redirect her by heeling and keeping her attention on me with outing stopping on our walk.
We went around the park some more and practiced sit and down in different areas. Midnight does well keeping her position now but has a habit of still looking around her checking out her surroundings. There was a group of girls who passed by us on a field of grass and even though Midnight had her neck turned towards them she kept her extended down until I was able to break her. I'll work on creating a method to help keep Midnight's attention on me while sitting or laying down.
Midnight's urine has been yellow but I've noticed throughout our walks she has a habit of going often every 5 minutes or so. Once Midnight is done taking a break from peeing she remains happy and confident to train and play.
Pupdate 5/13/2023
This morning I took Midnight to one of the parks I took her to before to work on a specific obedience command. We worked on Midnight's under obedience command with these bench to watch birds inside a bond. The bottom part of this bench is big enough for Midnight to get under. While practicing at home she had no issue with the table I have. Working outside she is easily distracted but is aware of training and what to do. During practice she had to be redirected many times, especially with the bench being next to a small strip of grass which can be another distraction.
In the video above Midnight is seen getting up multiple times but it's ok. As long as I kept the practice going and kept her impulses in control she was able to let me break her. I traveled farther distances since we had all the open area we needed. Once we were able to finish she was given her final break and was given water. We went for multiple walks around the whole park and Midnight's heel was a lot better than most days. When people passed by us she has a little bit of doubt when passing by, but she's showing less interest when pass someone as long as I talk to her when walking.
Midnight's urine is showing no redness still in her urine and still motivated to train and play with no change in her persona.
Pupdate 5/14/2023
Happy Mother's Day to all! Today I took Midnight for a walk around Hillcrest Park in Fullerton to work on obedience throughout the park and start on leash dragging. Midnight did well with most of her obedience commands training in different areas of the park, but Midnight still has the habit of traveling away from me trying to explore the smells she's experiencing. She doesn't drift off too far but will still take small steps once something catches her attention. She did better letting certain people pass by but people who give Midnight constant eye contact keep Midnight cautious but I redirect her with the use of the e-collar. This keeps her engagement back to me and I'm able to keep her walking rather than standing still looking at someone looking at her.
We had a family party at my house and I took the time to keep Midnight around some of my family members to see how she would react seeing a lot of people inside my house. Midnight was timid and barked at times when seeing my family members. I had Midnight walk throughout the house with me and practice her sit or down obedience command while around my family members. I kept her distant most of the time but she started to settle and remained silent but would try to branch out to smell anyone passing by us at times.
Her urine has been at a normal pace and she's been peeing less on walks today. No redness has occurred nor has she shown any signs of complications.
Pupdate 5/15/2023
Today we met up with some of the other trainers and worked around each other. Midnight was her typical puppy self, even having more zoomies today than normal. Her pee was normal and she's been peeing less.
When training as usual Midnight has a habit of always kicking her e-collar trying to take it off. This has been a habit but each time she's scratching at it I apply leash pressure to break that habit. This helps redirect her and I follow up still using the e-collar which helps Midnight. She's able to learn and continue her training but will mess around and kick her e-collar.
For her recall she does well at home but outside will always be a challenge for any dog. I continue the practice until she completes a full recall coming around me into a heel.
She will stop behind me scratching the collar at times so I have to assist her here with leash pressure as well. Once she's in her heel I'll ask for a sit and once she follows through Midnight is highly rewarded. She seems to do well learning everything else so this will be our top priority when it comes to training the next couple of days coming up.
Midnight did well greeting everyone of my associates. She still seemed hesitant but was able to let everyone pet her without breaking her position. The best way to approach Midnight is with confidence. If someone was to stop and seem unsure on how to approach Midnight, she will get uneasy. We will keep working on her socialization to keep her more well mannered.
Pupdate 5/16/2023
This morning I took Midnight for a trip to Home Depot for obedience training. She was excited to be in a new setting so she had her zoomies before walking in. Once she settled we were able to enter the store and continue heeling throughout Home Depot.
I noticed that the first person that passed by Midnight was uneasy to follow me once we were by someone. Instead of leash pressure I solely relied on the e-collar to redirect her and she would listen. After being at the store for more than 30 minutes Midnight didn't mind anyone passing her. Something I've noticed as well is when someone stops their walk to view Midnight, this will also get her attention. This is something out of both of our control so with obedience we are able to overcome Midnight's insecurities. Each time we would end up on the end of an aisle I would ask for a sit then follow up with a heel. We would have a spot near the lumber section to practice come to sit. Midnight was confused at times to follow through since there were new distractions around her.
Overall she had a good experience but only in the beginning of the visit Midnight had very little insecurities when passing by multiple people. Asking for her to sit or heel was all that was needed today to maintain a good and positive experience.
Pupdate 5/17/2023
This morning I took Midnight to Huntington Beach to train with some of her offleash friends. When we first arrived I started recording our practice with extended down on the walkway. Midnight actually had confidence when people passed by but she had a constant habit of getting up and scratching the e-collar. I give her some leash pressure to assist with the scratching when needed. Midnight let people on bikes pass by when practicing which was fine, but was clearly uneasy and wanted to stay next to my side.
We met up with our fellow friends later on and had obedience training throughout the walkway. We worked on all commands but something we stayed on top of was leash dragging. Midnight was better at staying to my side but rarely drifting off to the side at times. Midnight made some funny decisions breaking to my coworkers when they would say it to their dogs. I had to watch Midnight in these moments and redirect her verbally just in case she would go to my coworkers. By the end of the visit Midnight seemed as if she adjusted to her new surroundings and was able to maintain her confidence walking all the way back to the car letting people pass by us.
Pupdate 5/18/2023
Midnight lost a tooth this morning playing with Hunter! We had our usual routine of going for a walk with some play time after. Once the dogs were done playing I gave them a break and started my training with Midnight. We worked on boundaries with the kitchen area. The goal is to not let Midnight pass the door that leads into the kitchen daily which will develop into her knowing she won't ever have to pass certain points in the house. Afterwards, we went outside to see how her car manners are. She had no issue at all and has improved on waiting for the door to fully open now.
In the video above we focused on her food manners which has progressed. Midnight will somewhat get overly excited when she knows she's gonna eat so I won't try to excite her or engage in a way that's going to get her barking or to jump. Instead I'll be quiet and redirect her when needed. By this point of the training she is aware of waiting for her food. Since Midnight is fairly young the longest i'll have her wait for her food for about 1 - 2 minutes then break her.
We worked on all obedience commands today and she had extra play time with Hunter today since it wasn't too hot today to be out. Her urine has been good with no signs of redness or having a habit to go over a couple of minutes.
Pupdate 5/19/2023
Today I took Midnight for her usual walk in the morning and noticed she was very consistent with leash dragging so I decided time to practice her offleash obedience.
In the video above we went to a local park nearby my house that's usually never packed with people so it was calm and quiet to practice without distractions. We started with under which has improved and been easy to work with. I will signal to Midnight with my hands to help navigate her through the table placing her right under the seats. To help challenge her as well I will create distance to see if Midnight will get up but she's been getting better at controlling her impulses.
We also focused on her recall, come to heel and send away to place. Her recall has improved and she's able to do this offleash now. When I call Midnight for her come obedience command I will also throw my right hand behind to help identify what I'm asking. For her to come to heel she can come rushing and almost pass by me as we try to keep a pace for walking. If she does over-extend, that's when I'll redirect her to have her maintain a pace.
Pupdate 5/20/2023
Today we had our usual routine of a walk and playing in the morning with Hunter. Midnight's urine has been fine and her usual routine to use the potty is consistent with going outside. Midnight has had no accidents and can notify me by looking at the door wanting to go outside that she has to go. Midnight and I got to work with more of our furry friends this morning in La Mirada, CA. When we first arrived Midnight used the restroom and we went right into training.
In the video above we walked around on grass working on preventing Midnight from keeping her head constantly down. She has improved on this and needs minor redirection verbally or with low level settings from the remote. Midnight is more consistent responding to my heels each time I change direction.
I wanted to focus on Midnight's reaction to having a dog close to her while waiting so I called over a furry friend of mine named Mango. Mango is seen above heel next to me facing in front of Midnight. Mango is well trained and listens to me very well so having Mango as a distraction was perfect. If Midnight tried to lean or break her position to smell Mango that's when I would start talking to her or redirect with the remote. She did well trying her obedience around Mango and breaking to me instead of going up to her.
Pupdate 5/21/2023
Midnight had diarrhea this morning. She went outside like normal but went immediately to poop. Her poop was brown but of a liquid substance. She seemed to be ok after that and we were able to go for a walk around the neighborhood. Only once on our walk she went again to poop but it was just droplets of poop. I will provide pumpkin and rice to help with her digestive track.
I took Midnight for a walk around Hillcrest Park again to work on her offleash heeling. She did very well keeping herself close to me but at one point she had to use the restroom again. This was the same quality of poop at my house but after I cleaned her up and found an area to work on a specific obedience command we've been working on.
In the video above is our progress of this obedience command. Midnight's send away to place can still be tricky for her to do since she likes to see me next to the platform to identify it with what I'm trying to get her to do. Now I create distance but without being too close to the platform. I'll point and look at the platform to sit and ask for Midnight's place obedience command. She can fully walk herself to the platform but if she gets distracted I'll keep redirecting her until she's back on. Midnight will scratch her e-collar still so I have to assist her with some leash pressure from myself. This obedience command has been her most challenging one to master so I'll keep her practicing this daily for better conditioning.
Pupdate 5/22/2023
This morning Midnight's poop was back to being healthy and structured. We went to wilderness park in Downey, CA to meet our friends again for more training and socializing. We went around the park numerous times before training around our furry friends. I had Midnight placed under a bench practicing her under obedience command while I was walking away from her. She had a consistency to get up but stay where she was looking at me. I had to redirect her each time until she let me explore the area around her.
We kept on continuing on her send away to place that slightly improved but keeping this constant with new platforms will help with our progress that we are working towards. For other obedience practice's and socializing near the dogs, Midnight and no issue performing. One of my associates was helping someone out with their dog at the park so Midnight and I were part of helping another dog get better through training. Even as this dog had some issues going on, Midnight seemed unbothered and always had her attention on me. When going for a final walk I kept Midnight near the ducks and geese at the park. She showed no interest and even if she did all I needed to do was talk to her to get her attention when minorly distracted.
Midnight had destroyed her toy entirely but has her squeaky part of the toy still intact. I keep this away from her and out of her view since the squeaky part can be hazardous to dogs.
Pupdate 5/23/2023
This morning we did some training at home working on boundaries. In the video above my microphone is on and working so I explain how I guide Midnight daily being inside my house. Whenever I pass my family kitchen door leading into their side of the house, the dogs aren't allowed to pass by until they are given their break obedience command.
We went to Cerritos mall in Cerritos, CA to go shopping. Midnight was very calm being in this environment seeing a lot of people. She had moments where she would stare back at people who would give her eye contact but I would talk to her and ask for her heel obedience to get her attention back on me. We went into several stores and each time we went in I would always ask Midnight for a down while I looked around. Some people gave compliments on how cute and well behaved she was walking with me.
At random times I would let the leash drag and Midnight showed no interest leaving me. We had one couple with their dog pass by us while barking and Midnight showed no interest. Towards the end of the visit when we were almost out Midnight had a little accident peeing but it was easily cleanable.
Pupdate 5/24/2023
This morning Midnight and I had a lot of training at home this morning. I first took both of the dogs out together on a walk which they did really well together. Once we arrived home I let the dogs play as always recording some of their play time today. Midnight and Hunter are perfect for each other when it comes to playing. Hunter is always careful playing with Midnight even though Midnight can be pushy and have more drive to play.
Once the dogs were done playing I wanted to check on Midnight's temperament picking her up or having her placed upside down. Before she was very consistent on biting my hands the moment she felt her body being placed to lay down. Now she's very comfortable letting me grab all parts of her body but she will place her teeth on me with not so much of a grip. I will talk to Midnight and tell her the off obedience command to not nibble when petting her. She does well letting me pick her up from under with my arms and will always give me kisses sometimes when grabbing her like this. We went to the front of the house to practice recall and extended down.
When practicing extended down Midnight is fully aware of what I ask for. While practicing this in public this can always be a challenge depending on what's going on around us but at home Midnight has full confidence on letting me walk around until she's given her break. Being out in the front yard she shows no signs of trying to adventure away from me. Midnight is always looking at me when training as if she's curious for the next task to do. When we practice her recall she does fairly well performing but can end up somewhat ahead of me instead of being at my side. This is always fixed with repeating the command and throwing my hand behind me to identify with Midnight what I'm asking.
We went to pick up my brother from school as well and Midnight did well waiting and letting people pass by us until my brother arrived.
Pupdate 5/25/2023
This morning I took Midnight to work on her offleash obedience training at Santa Monica Pier. She did very well visiting this place for her first time. Midnight had a lot of interest in her surroundings still so she had to be redirected with the remote at times. When walking along the pier she was heeling very well staying close to me while
people passed by us. We found a bench to relax on but we also worked on send away to place as well. She did very well identifying the bench to place herself on and we were able to train and improve on it while all the distractions were around us.
We had some guests who wanted to say hi to Midnight but I had to inform them first that Midnight is comfortable smelling a stranger first before getting to know them. Our first guest stuck their hand out and this had Midnight intimidated. I had Midnight perform her recall while I was talking to our guest and as some time passed by Midnight was more neutral seeing them for a longer period of time. I had Midnight walk up to our guest and smell her which was a better interaction between the two. She was eventually able to pet Midnight without issue.
When performing other obedience commands throughout the pier there were some birds around on the walkway that caught Midnight's attention. I had to redirect her with a higher setting of the remote to get her attention back on me for this situation. When practicing extended sit she became vocal only for 10 seconds and went back to being silent and observing her surroundings. Overall experience was really good for a higher traffic of people. Midnight showed a lot of confidence being there as long as obedience is implemented in her life.
Pupdate 5/26/2023
Today I walked Midnight and Hunter early in the morning with no issue going for a 1 hour walk. When they both go to the restroom I can ask the both of them for their sit obedience command while picking up their poop. They won't move and I can ask for a heel to continue the walk. Once we got home Midnight and I trained around the house seeing if there were any type of issues and thresholds to work with. Midnight seems to be ok being around the house without too much of an interest to bite random things as long as she has me in view. If I see her trying to smell the ground for too long I will recall her just to get her attention.
In the video above is our practice of our improved door manners. Midnight does very well waiting patiently now without showing concerns of getting up. She used to always up the moment I passed the door since she first arrived. Keeping Midnight in a focused mind state when performing anything keeps her confidence up and will always help Midnight thrive. We also performed this in the backyard showing Midnight has full confidence letting me leave her sight and letting me come back into the backyard without breaking position.
I took Midnight with me again to my brother's school for about 30 minutes before he was released. While visiting we stayed by the park side of the school and worked on obedience commands on the grass. Midnight had no issue working but when I started taking her for a run she thought we were playing and would nip at my feet. This was new so I started to focus on maintaining a run without her biting me. This took some time to get used to. I decided to try with the leash on so when we practiced that way she started to run instead of nip at my feet. I'll work on maintaining a run with her without any issues of nipping. Once the bell rang we went to our usual hangout area to wait for my brother until he arrived.
Pupdate 5/27/2023
This morning I took Midnight to Hillcrest Park in Fullerton to get some exercise. I took Midnight to a different side of the park which has these big stair sets to walk up and down. When walking down I was very slow keeping a controlled pace since Midnight seemed so interested in what we were doing. When I tried to walk down the stairs faster, Midnight immediately started to sprint. I kept her from being fast going down the stairs since I don't want her to fall and hurt herself. Going up the stairs we didn't have much issue since Midnight had to control her steps keeping up with me. When passing by people Midnight would always try to stop and smell them but I would talk to her and keep her engaged with me.
When we took a break at the bottom of the stairs by the baseball field there were two girls who saw Midnight who wanted to greet her. I talked to them first informing them Midnight can be intimidated if their approach isn't with confidence. I stayed with them for only about 5 minutes until I gave Midnight her break to see if she wanted to engage with them. She was hesitant at first but went up to both of them, smelling them and then leaning her body up to them for belly rubs. Before Midnight would show body language showing her insecurities. Now she's calm with somewhat of a nervous face but willing to let people say hi as long as she can have the approach without too much gestures and vocalization going on amongst her.
We continued to work on obedience at home and Midnight had more playtime today than normal with Hunter. Taking Midnight for walks around my neighborhood offleash has been going good even if we have dogs barking at us from their homes.
Pupdate 5/28/2023
This morning Midnight and Hunter had their usual morning walk together which went well. I can trust the both of them offleash walking throughout the whole neighborhood.
They played for 20 minutes before having a break and resting for a little. After I had Midnight work on her food manners which has been easy to work with now. Before she was very impulsive to get up and lunge towards her food. If I was to leave her sight she would get up as well and start eating her food. Now I can ask for a sit or down and Midnight will give me her attention and patience until she's given her break.
When Midnight gets inside my car I always have her sit before opening the door. She acknowledges to always go inside the car when she sees the door open but can take her time lifting herself up. When Midnight goes inside she enters in the crate I have for her. While inside the crate she's very quiet and if left with a toy she will usually play with it as long as it's not hazardous to the dogs health. She has never had an accident being inside the crate since she's been staying with me.
We went for another walk later in the day and continued offleash training throughout the day conditioning all the commands Midnight knows. Midnight and Hunter had extra play time today as well.
Pupdate 5/29/2023
This morning Midnight woke up with diarrhea so I kept taking her out periodically to dispose of her waste. Once she was done playing with Hunter or training in the house went well. Once we went for another walk around the neighborhood and she was pooping mostly water instead of waste. She would stop every couple of minutes so I took her home and provided her with rice.
We went to the Block of Orange to walk around and shop. It was somewhat packed for Memorial day so Midnight's attention was towards the environment. She remained in a heel but would often bump into me or stare back at anyone giving her eye contact. I would often ask Midnight for her heel obedience command to keep her attention on me. I did this very often throughout the whole shopping center keeping her engaged with me. As we shopped around I went into a Vans retail store to look around when we were approached by two workers. They thought Midnight was a cute and well behaved puppy amongst all the people around her. Midnight greeted the two girls smelling them first, then they pet her without her breaking her position. Midnight will still make an unsure face but keeps her confidence intact and after they pet her she tends to smile right after.
As we started to leave, Midnight started to poop again and went 3 times stopping me in my tracks before making it back to the car. When we returned home she was fine and even played with Hunter for 30 minutes before taking a nap again. She showed no interest in peeing or pooping after playing. I'll monitor her restroom breaks and continue to add little portions of rice to help her poop.
Pupdate 5/30/2023
This morning when I took Midnight to use the restroom, her poop seemed a little healthier but still had some liquid at the end of her going potty. She wasn't going every minute so we were able to enjoy our walk. Her pee has been fine as well and still no issues waking up in the middle of the night to go potty. Once we arrived home I worked on some house training with Midnight before letting eat and take a nap.
Once she woke up from her nap we played with a toy but she was trying to nip at my fingertips so I put the e-collar on and put obedience into effect. In the video above is Midnight and I working with a toy with her drop it obedience command again. If Midnight was to bite my fingers I would say off instead of drop it since then are two different commands. Only for a toy or something that Midnight is able to interact with that's not a person she will respond more to drop it. When it comes to a person, her off obedience command has always been something I've said to her which gets her to respond when she's used to play bite me in the beginning of our training.
Since Midnight has learned all of her obedience commands I thought of teaching her a fun command which would be spin. Using treats or a toy has the same value to Midnight which she is willing to work for. I lure her with the toy in the video above without any pressure or use of the remote. Once her eyes make contact with the toy I rotate it around her in a circular motion and say spin as this happens. As long as she follows and completes rotating in place then I'll reward her with the toy. I'll continue to work on this fun new obedience command until she goes home.
Pupdate 5/31/2023
This morning's walk went well with better poop quality and just the use of going pee twice. Midnight and Hunter had their quality play time before eating and taking a nap.
I took Midnight to Tri-City park in Placentia for some exercise and obedience training. When we first arrived Midnight went potty again and everything was ok. We started on the walkway which connects the whole route of the park so we took it and passed by people and people walking their dogs. Midnight would always lean into me when passing by strangers but would keep her heel and sometimes look back, but talking to her and asking for her heel always catches her attention back on me. The park has ducks and geese so when passing by them I was actually surprised at how calm Midnight was walking by them. Looking at Midnight her curiosity is there but she's aware when having the e-collar on and being asked for obedience to be well behaved so there's no use of a redirection.
We practiced more of her send away to place & under command on a bench that was near a playground. When practicing in the beginning of this training session she was doing well but after some time she would get the commands mixed and do them backwards but I think it was because her zoomies were starting to kick in and she wanted to play around. I gave her a break and then started practicing with these two obedience commands again. She adjusted to doing the commands normal again and after we worked on more on all Midnight's obedience commands. She did very well doing all of her commands she's already learned.
Pupdate 6/1/2023
This morning Midnight started to have runny stool again so I provided her with a full meal of rice to help with her stomach. Throughout the day she's been having to go every other hour or so but has been signaling me to take her outside. She has been able to play with hunter without having to go every other minute.
We stayed local going to train at a local park nearby my house for a brief moment. Once we arrived home, Midnight had diarrhea one more time before going inside my house. She was fine being inside the house not having to go again so we started to film. In the video above we focused on her spin obedience command which is more of a trick than a command but still gives Midnight mental stimulation working for her reward. Since she has diarrhea I used very small pieces of her kibble for training. We actually trained without the use of the e-collar so each redirection is just me placing her back into a sit to follow through on the next command. She is very engaged the first time I bring out a treat but after I'll pretend that I grabbed one and lure her as if I still had the treat. Once she does the command without having the treat I'll praise her for being a good girl. I taught Midnight touch as well which is another small trick I taught her while playing with a toy the other day. All Midnight does for her touch obedience command is make contact with my hand with her nose.
Midnight has come to the end of her board and train program learning her basic obedience to offleash obedience. In the beginning she was a handful like any other puppy experiencing things the first time out in the world. We have worked at beaches, shopping centers and other pet friendly environments to adjust and build confidence in Midnight. Midnight has gained confidence when exploring new locations and maintaining her obedience training has helped us thrive. Midnight is ready to go home to her owners!
