Mocha | Corgi | Long Beach, CA | In Training
- Alex Kruse
- Jan 4
- 10 min read
Updated: 7 days ago
Meet Mocha! He's a 5-year-old Corgi from Long Beach, California, and he's here for our Two Week Urban Board and Train Program. Mocha loves hanging out with people and he's very playful, but he can get a little jealous sometimes around other dogs and can be a bit of a bully. He also doesn't follow through on the commands he knows, and could definitely learn a few more! Over the next two weeks we'll teach Mocha what's appropriate when it comes to getting attention around other dogs, and reinforce his commands to give him some more boundaries. Stay tuned for Mocha's two-week transformation!
1/4/26
For our first day of formal training, Mocha and I went out to the park just so I could get a better feel for what he knows. At the house he'll give me a Sit just fine, and he waits really nicely for his release word before he eats, but at the park? He acted like he suddenly didn't know any commands! He was decent with not pulling on the leash while we were walking around, but outside of that, it was as if I didn't even exist. We'll definitely have to get him used to following through on his commands while we're out with distractions. At home he's met all the dogs, and the issue with his snappiness became clear almost right away. He gets overly pushy when he's trying to demand attention from a person, and it's always to a dog that's "beneath" him in the pecking order regardless of size. He won't even attempt to snap at any of the dogs who he views as ranking higher than him. The self-proclaimed pack police officer will swoop in to correct him right away when he does it, so we're already starting to see less of the behavior, and he responds well to cues on the corrective collar, but it's still going to take a bit of practice for him to learn that acting out is not going to get him what he wants. He's smart though, so I think we can get him to not act so frantic whenever someone comes out to say hi.
1/5/26
Since Mocha's behavior issues seem to stem mostly around other dogs, I took him over to work outside of my favorite dog park. He was interested in the other dogs, but I didn't see any of the behaviors that I've observed at home. He was much more interested in sniffing around in the grass! That being said, we switched gears to work more on getting him to stay in a proper Heel without pulling when he wanted to go sniff something, and we worked on his Leave It command. Picture poses are always a good opportunity to work on Extended Sits, and while it took a few tries for him to remember to wait until I gave his release word, he was getting it down pretty well by the time we left. And of course, at home, we're continuing to work on teaching him to be patient and to share space with his dog friends. I saw some definite improvement this morning when I went out for feeding time, and we'll keep working to maintain that progress!
1/6/26
Mocha and I went on a nice stroll today down the Wash Trail in Monrovia. It's a nice, quiet trail with little distractions and good visual guides for Heel work since there's nowhere to go on both sides. Mocha's generally not bad with his leash pressure, typically only needing reminders here and there, but I'm working on getting him to understand exactly where he needs to be when given the Heel command, and also to Sit whenever I stop moving. I like this to be a habit he gets into so you won't have to ask for a Sit when you stop at street crossings, to let things like bikes or scooters pass by, and also to set him up for proper manners when he wants to greet people or other dogs. He started to catch onto the pattern fairly quickly, and by the end of session he was giving the Sit to me automatically without me having to ask or prompt him on the leash. He did well today!
1/7/26
Mocha and I headed out to Library Park in Monrovia today. We worked on all his basic commands. He's getting his Sit down really well when we stop during his Heel work. He's holding his Extended Sits longer, and we worked on getting him to go into a clean Down today. He was a little slow with it the first couple tries but he caught on quickly enough. We did some work on his Recall today as well on just the short leash, and will work him up to the long line soon. At home he's starting to get better with his manners around the other dogs. He's pretty much stopped snapping at the others when people go up to the gate. He still does some policing when the other dogs are playing, but it's getting easier to redirect him into a Sit, which calms him down. He's a herding dog so he will probably always try to control chaos to some extent, but as long as he's not being too assertive with it, then he should be fine to still play in group settings.
1/8/26
Mocha and I wandered over to a local neighborhood park today where there weren't too many distractions. We haven't done a ton of work just yet on his Recall or his Place, so that was the goal for the day. When we teach Recall (the 'Come' command), we specifically work to get the dog to come to our Heel side and sit there until released. He was doing good on coming when I called him, but he's definitely still a little confused on where he should be at the end point. We'll keep working on it and he should get it soon! I know he already does his Place command at home, so as I expected, that one hasn't been too difficult to work on. He was a little iffy on holding it at first (he was distracted by the squirrels), but it only took a few tries to remind him he had to stay put until released or called to Come just like at home.
We had a great breakthrough on his manners around the other dogs today. We added a new one to the pack this morning, and it is a smaller dog, so I was curious if Mocha would start targeting him. He did fine with the introduction and there were no issues hanging out in the yard. He had his e-collar on but I didn't need to use it for any of that. When I went out a little later (which, as we know, is typically when he starts bullying other dogs to get them away from the fence), he looked at the new dog like he was thinking about it for a split second, then just sat. He did that by himself, no verbals and no usage of the collar from me at all. He got lots of praise and a treat for that! When they're self-correcting, then it's a great sign that he's definitely starting to understand what's expected of him and what will give him that attention he wants moving forward.
1/9/26
Mocha had a great day today in Old Town Monrovia! I was walking him down the main street where there was a lot of foot traffic, and areas where we had to go between outdoor diners. He was self-correcting on his Heel quite a bit without any prompting from me, and there was only once early in the session where he broke a Sit before I told him to, but I only needed a verbal correction and he didn't do it again the rest of the time we were out. He's also sitting automatically when I stop at the road crossings, which is exactly what I was working towards with having him sit every time I stop moving. Most impressive, as we were passing one of the tables, the diner's small dog lunged at him from beneath the table where we didn't see it. Mocha just checked in with me and kept on walking like it was no big deal! I'm very pleased with him today!
01/10/2026
Mocha and I went over to Live Oak Park today where there were a lot of people around to make lots of distractions. He didn't seem to mind any of that at all, and is getting really good at focusing on me while we Heel. He's sitting when I stop, his extended Sit is pretty clean, he's responsive with his Down and Place. He did get up before being released a couple times on the Place today to check out the sounds behind him, but he responded to verbal corrections just fine. He's still a little bit lost on exactly where to go for the Recall, but he's getting there! He's catching onto things quickly in general and is happy to learn!
1/11/26
I brought Mocha to Arcadia Park today, which is a huge park in my area with big fields, tennis courts, baseball and softball, etc. Basically, lots of room to work and lots of distractions! He did really well with most of his commands, but he was having a stubborn day on the Down. I did have to remind him with the collar that yes, he does have to lay down when I ask him to, but he caught on and we practiced it a few more times while we were wandering the park. He didn't give me any more trouble after that. On the good side, he finally is giving me a clean Recall! He came around and sat on the correct side every time I called him today, so he got lots of praise and a cookie or two for that since it's been such a struggle for him!
1/12/26
We had a group practice today with the other trainers and their dogs, so I got a chance to work Mocha around several other dogs and people. We worked a little on his greeting manners with both people and dogs, then went on our way with his regular obedience training. He focused up really nicely for me despite the distractions, and was able to do all his commands without me having to use the collar even once! Even when he briefly broke his Down while on the cot, all it took was a quick verbal and he put himself right back in position. He's starting his second week of training strong!
1/13/26
Mocha and I headed out to Petco today to practice with him indoors and on his Leave It. He was definitely interested in the treats and bones that were at face level, but he responded instantly to my Leave It commands, and kept to his Heel all around the store. He had no issues sitting or laying down when I told him to, and he did great with holding everything until released. When another dog came in the store, he walked right past it without issues, and did great with his Recall down the aisles. He was a total pro today!
1/14/26
In today's video I wanted to show some of the things Mocha should be doing at home to help establish some ground rules and boundaries. Making him do things that require him to focus up on you, and to wait until he's given permission to do things, reminds him that you're in charge. This helps ground him more and make him instantly willing to listen when you're redirecting him from going after the other dogs. What we practice is waiting until he gets in and out of the car, waiting before he can eat his food, and definitely waiting before going out any doors. He should not be going out any doors or gates without permission. He's gotten really good at all these, even when he doesn't have the collar on. His focus is amazing when he locks in! And because he's learned these, it's really easy to get him into an instant Sit even when he's thinking about going after one of the other dogs. It calms him right down!
1/15/26
Mocha and I headed over to the Santa Anita Mall today to practice all the commands he's learned in a busy area. He was a little bit nervous with all the noise, but outside of that, he did really well for me. He followed through on everything I asked, and he also had a good time letting people pet him while he was practicing his good manners. He's been doing really well in general both while we've been out and while he's home, with me hardly having to correct him anymore in either circumstance. He listens very well to verbal cues for the most part, only needing the collar for sterner reminders here and there when he gets in a stubborn mood. Those are happening far less often too! We still have a couple days left of training, but he's come a long way since we started!
1/16/26
I took Mocha out today to a little park in Arcadia along with the Shih Tzu I've been working with. They've been doing fine together at home, so I wanted to see how he'd do while out and about with a smaller dog. The park has a playground, walking track, baseball field, and a small dog park across the bridge, so I was really testing him with every distraction I could throw at him. He did absolutely fine with all of it, just cruised along with the other dog all around the park, and was able to perform all his commands without issues. He's also been doing really well with everyone at home, not going after the other dogs anymore at all when we go out, and as long as he has the collar on, he stays calm even when the others are running around chasing toys. He does know when he isn't wearing it, so he still tries to herd and police the others some when he doesn't have it on, but he hasn't snapped at anyone at the gate when we approach even with it off now. He's gotten really good with being patient!
1/17/26
It's our last pupdate in your two week program! Mocha and I headed out to Rotary Park, which is a park that's fully fenced in, so I could test him out on all his commands totally off leash. I started off with letting him drag the long line around, and he did great with that, so I unclipped it and started again. He did amazing! It's common for dogs to try to test their limits the first time they realize they're fully off leash out in the world, but he never made any attempts to be anywhere but by my side. He performed all his commands with practiced focus, and I never had to use the collar once! Everything was on verbals and hand signs alone, he did great!
As far as at home goes, Mocha's been a fun little guy to have around. He's playful, responsive, and I love his little 'talking' noises when he's being pet. Once he understood that going after the other dogs when he wanted attention was only going to wind up with a collar correction and with him holding a sit, he shaped up really quick. It was also important to show him that he will absolutely still get the attention he's craving when he's showing good manners. Every dog gets a turn, he has no need to chase everyone away. Like any herding dog, he also does feel the need to calm down any chaos, so not letting him police other dogs during play is also important. It would help to give him activities that will appeal to those instincts like getting him a herding ball to chase around. He needs to run! If he gets that energy out elsewhere, then he'll be less inclined to take it out on other dogs. He's been a really great dog to work with overall, and thank you for letting me be a part of his learning journey!
Comments