Molly | Beagle | Pasadena, CA | In-Training
- Adrienne Lascari
- Mar 15, 2024
- 9 min read
Updated: Mar 29, 2024
Meet Molly, a three year old Beagle from Pasadena, CA. She has joined OffLeash SoCal for our Two Week Board and Train Program. Molly is a friendly pup, but she takes time to warm up to people and dogs. She tends to bark at them when out in public or during walks. She has not had much experience with socialization which could be why Molly is unsure at first. She's a smart girl and knows some commands, but she tends to pull on the leash while walking and only follows through with commands if treats are involved. When she does follow through, she won't hold the command for long. Molly is very food motivated, but sometimes that motivation causes her to get into food she can't have. She will jump on the table and even wait till everyone's gone to sneak a bite. Over the next two weeks, Molly and I will be working on her off leash obedience and manners. Stay tuned to see her transformation!
3/15/2024
When Molly and I got home, she waited no time to explore. The first hour she spent sniffing everything she could. We brought out our pups to introduce to Molly. With our small dogs, she did great since they're not the type to play. They sniffed each other and then moved on. With the bigger dogs, they have more energy and love to play. Their excitement caused Molly to bark at them. We let them sniff each other from behind. Molly was not interested in playing, which is understandable since everything is new. Molly also was able to warm up to me and let me pet her, which is a great step for today! We can't wait to get started on her training!
Pupdate 3/16/2024
Today, Molly and I trained at Hacienda Park. The commands we worked on today were place, sit, and down. In the video, I explain what place is and to teach it to Molly. We started off with just treats, which kept her engaged the entire time. She was a little stubborn working on down, which is understandable. Down is normally a vulnerable position for dogs, and with her being in a new environment, she was a little hesitant. After some practice, she started to go into a down on the cot no problem. Working on down while Molly is on a place helps a lot since place is an area where dogs can relax. As we practiced, Molly got a lot better on holding her place longer and while I created distance. I started to implement the E collar after she showed, she understood the commands. She was a little unsure on what the stimulation was, but again after some repetition, she started to fix her mistakes when a correction was given. In Kai’s blog, you will see a video about the e-collar details. For Molly’s collar, she is working with the standard titanium contact points. Molly had a great first day of training and showed what a smart girl she is!
3/17/2024
Today, Molly and I worked on the command heel. In Kai‘s video, Amanda explains how we structure a heel and how we taught Molly and Kai. Molly and I also continued to work on her place, sit, and down. This time we practice more on her duration and distance. Molly is doing great already with heel. We started off using treats so I can guide her to the correct position. I want her to be on my left side and ears lined up with my leg. I don’t want her too far ahead, and not falling behind. She did great, not pulling on the leash, but she did start to lag behind a little bit when she got tired. to fix that, I would do right turns and also bring out a treat to encourage her to speed up. I was able to do tight turns with her, which she did great following by my side. As for Molly‘s down, I was able to get her to go down onto the floor. It was great practicing this command at home since she’s more comfortable with her environment. She now is following through with commands without needing treats. I’m able to move around her but she did break command when I went behind her, so we need a little more practice on that. She is starting to understand the e-collar corrections a little more. Today we used the e-collar when Molly made mistakes with her commands, but not while teaching her heel, since it is new to her. Overall, Molly is catching on really quick and had a great day of training.
3/18/2024
Today, Molly and I trained at Wilderness Park. We met up with a few of the other dogs in training. This was great for practicing with Molly around dog distractions. When getting out of the car, she barked at two dogs passing by. I had given her a correction with the collar while telling her off, which made her stop. She does well working around other dogs, but when one dog came up to smell her, she snapped at him. Again, I gave her a correction and told her off. I continue to work her through commands close by the dogs. Molly was being a little stubborn when having her go into a down. It takes a few times asking her and giving corrections until she follows through. When she did finally go into a down, she would get up right away as soon as I moved. I continue to practice with her on different surfaces such as the grass, cot, and cement. The most trouble I had was having her down on the cement, but I still made sure to hold her accountable. At times, Molly can be clingy by trying to lean on me or go in between my legs. I want to prevent her from doing this and redirect her to the correct positioning. This is to teach her to have confidence in herself, and to prevent her from trying to be protective over us.
Pupdate 3/19/2024
Today Molly and I trained at Lowe’s. We practiced on leash dragging during a heel. Molly did great following through with each command! We still need some practice on Molly’s heel. She tried to lead the walk a few times and she gets distracted often by smelling the floor. In this situation, I would give Molly a correction. If she was leading I would either change direction or change my pace, which helps her pay more attention to the walk. When she would start to smell the floor I would say off while implementing a correction. Today Molly was less stubborn to go into a down. This shows she is becoming more comfortable and confident being in new environments!
3/20/2024
Today, Molly and I trained at the Citadel Outlets. We worked on all her skills while leash dragging. She did great working around all the distractions and even around other dogs that reacted towards her. When one of the other pups in training came up to Molly, she didn’t react at all, and instead just walked away. She’s doing a lot better following through with all her commands. She still is lagging behind during the heel, but it may just be because she’s not that fast of a walker. I still try to encourage her to keep up and change my pace.
3/21/2024
Today Molly and I trained at Hacienda Park. Molly has been improving so much, it was time to work with her and Kai together. Molly had no trouble following through with commands with Kai around. They had trouble with the stucture of their heel, which is understandable since this is the first time they heeled together. Kai liked to be on the inside while Molly stayed on the outside, so we will continue to practice with them in this position. They struggles on doing turns at first but with some practice they were able to have night, tight turns during the heel. After all their hard work, Molly and Kai had some fun expolring the park.
3/22/2024
Today, Molly and I trained at the Block of Orange. We practiced more with Molly and Kai together. They are both getting better on heeling next to each other. One thing they struggled on was an extended down. Mostly, Kai was having a hard time hold a down as I moved behind him. When he would get up, it would cause Molly to get up. I made sure to hold them accountable by placing them back into a down while implementing corrections when needed. Molly and Kai had two incidents where they reacted. One was towards a girl that was making barking noises towards them. Another time was when somebody came close to us and was baby talking towards them. First Kai initiates it, then Molly follows. With these instances, I turned up the dial on the remote, and gave both of them a correction while saying off. This stopped barking after a correction was given and I had them go back into the command they were in. It is important not to coddle Molly and Kai during these situations because they will see it as if you are rewarding them for their behavior.
3/23/2024
Today Molly, Kai, and I worked on food and door manners. When Molly first joined us, she would jump on me if there was food in my hand and would run right to her bowl when I would set it down. Today we were able to work on her waiting patiently for her food until I told her break. Food manners is great to work on to help teach Molly she can have foods that we say are okay for her to eat. We also worked on door manners where I had Molly and Kai place by the door while I walked in and out of the house. Kai was more eager to follow me outside and once he would get up, it caused Molly to break command. After lots of repetition, they both were able to wait patiently until I heeled them out the door. Door manners is great to work on to teach pups not to run out once the door opens. They both did great working together today and are improving each day!
Pupdate 3/24/2024
Today Molly and I trained at the Brea Mall. The mall was busy so we were able to work around lots of distractions. Molly did a great job following through with all the commands and holding them as I moved around. She got lots of compliments today and even two people came up to pet her. She did not bark when the people approached us and she sat politely as they greeted her. She did get a bit uncomfortable so she got up and backed away. I was still proud of Molly that she did not react and allowed everyone to come up to her! Her heel has gotten better, but there was one time where she got distracted. This was when she saw people with some food. Molly can’t resist a snack, so she veered off a bit until I gave her a correction and said heel. She corrected her mistake and went right back into a heel!
Pupdate 3/25/2024
Today Molly and I worked on her leash dragging skills at the Whittwood Town Center. Molly did great following through with each command and has improved on her heel. She was having a hard time with her come to sit. Instead of coming to my left side, she likes to sit at the front of my feet. After a correction, Molly fixed her mistake, which shows me she understands the command and is just being a bit stubborn. We focused more on that command and after some practice she was following through with no mistakes! Molly only broke command once which was when I moved behind her as she was in a down. I held her accountable by placing her back in the same spot where she was at. She ended up following through until I said break. Molly is doing great so far in her training!
Pupdate 3/26/2024
Today, Molly and I headed to Cerritos Mall to train. We got to work with Kai today, and this time their collars were hooked together to help with their structure. This helped a lot since they were struggling to heel together. Molly would usually lag behind or create a gap in between her and Kai, but today they showed lots of improvement. They both also joined us for a little bit of shopping. They did so well sitting patiently in the store. I was proud to see them both work around lots of distractions without reacting. They were able to ignore dogs walking by, and they didn’t bark when people came up to complement them! Amanda got to practice with both of them leash dragging as well!
Pupdate 3/27/2024
Today, Molly and I trained at Huntington Beach. We started off with her leash dragging, then we took the leash off and put her skills to the test! Molly did great working around all the distractions and even ignored dogs that passed by. We practice her greeting manners, which she did well patiently sitting while people pet her. We even worked with her and Kai together off leash. They both did amazing and showed how much they improved today!
Pupdate 3/28/2024
Today Molly and I trained at the Santa Monica Pier. Her and Kai had lots of energy starting out. They would try to walk ahead of me, but I gave a correction and said heel. They fixed their mistake and stopped leading, but they were still a bit anxious being in a new environment. There were many distraction such as dogs, people, and loud noises. As we heeled around the pier, they started to become more comfortable with their surroundings. We were able to work with them off leash! Molly and Kai have improved so much on not being reactive to any dogs or people out in public.
Pupdate 3/29/2024
Today, Molly had a day off to run around and play. She has been working so hard over the last two weeks. Today she got to explore the yard and relax. Molly doesn’t like to play with the other dogs, but she enjoys their company and watches them play together. She can’t wait to come home and show you everything she has learned!
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