Nacho | German Shepherd | Los Angeles, CA | In-Training
- J V
- Oct 6, 2024
- 10 min read
Updated: Oct 19, 2024
Meet Nacho! A 6 month German Shepherd from Los Angeles CA, who has joined our famous 2 week board and train program. Nacho is a very sweet boy that loves play time! Although he is here on some attention seeking behaviors such as play biting and herding his humans on leash by ankle biting (herding behavior). In his two week board and train we will be working on his leash & door manners, barking, jumping and biting. We will also be working on all his basic obedience. Stay tuned for Nachos two week transformation!
Pupdate 10/6/2024
Today the ride home went smooth; it took a couple try's and he hopped right into the the crate. He was a little anxious settling in and meeting my dog but over all he has gotten comfortable and has had lots of play time between training sessions. In the video, see me accessing where his training is at and working on some recall, sit & down commands. We also worked on his place command and practiced getting into & out of the crate. We worked on door way manners & heel.
Pupdate 10/7/2024
Today Nacho and I visited a park focusing on 4 commands, heel, sit, off and place. We met up with some other OffLeash SoCal trainers and their pups, which provided a great opportunity to train in close proximity to distractions like other dogs and people. The park also had large grassy fields, squirrels, and birds which also served as distractions.
Nacho is hyper stimulated when outside and easily distracted. He tends to focus on his surroundings when asked to perform commands. These moments of distraction's brings an opportunity to implement the "Off" command. The goal for the "Off" command is to stop whatever he is doing, and focus on his trainer. This is a very versatile command, similar to "no" or "leave it", and can be used in various situations, such as to interrupt fixation on distractions.
Nacho's "heel" command still needs work though he did very good today with his "heel". Working on stopping and asking for a sit while talking to another person is also huge for his development as this will teach him impulse control while on walks and other outside activities. In the video note that we walk in a heel and stop and ask for an auto "sit' This will help him learn that he has to be focused on his handler/trainer and tech him when we stop he sits and waits patiently for direction.
"Place" command he seems to love and is very good at it. "Place" command is jump or climb onto a designated object, such as a bench, a bed, or another object with defined borders, and hold a "sit" or "down" while remaining on the "Place" object until released or given a new command. This teaches him impulse control and also I like it to be used for them to take a rest from the training. It serves many purposes.
Pupdate 10/8/2024
Today Nacho and I went to 2 parks and a mall. He is doing wonderful with his commands. While he still needs improvement he is showing tremendous progress with his understanding of them and what’s expected of him. We worked on "Heel", "place", "sit" & "off" the same as yesterday. Today we also introduced the "down" command as well as "come" to "sit" from 3 to 6 feet away. "Down" is still a work in progress and "come" to "sit" he did very well. Think of "down" in the same way you would think of parking your car, it is very useful in a variety of settings. Implementing "down" while completing a task with your dog present or just having a cup of tea with friends your dog can just lay "down" and leave you to your business. "Come" to “sit” is also crucial for recalling your dog to you while at larger distances away from your dog. It's important to remember that the "Stay" command is always implied when asking for a "sit", "down", and "place". For that reason we never tell the dog "stay", because we show them that "stay" is implied while asking for these other commands. Overall I'd say it was a long day for him for sure and he is also getting plenty of play time with myself and my dog. Nacho is a very good boy!
Pupdate 10/9/2024
Today Nacho and I decided to focus on his “door way manners” and “down” in my home setting. He really is grasping the concept of “down” and nailing it! I decided to stay home and practice this in a low distraction environment so he can really start to understand what’s expected of him. As well as “doorway manners” were in-forced at every doorway/threshold/gates etc.…… with no exceptions. This is crucial for his training as it will teach him that just because the doorway is open, that doesn’t mean he flys out the door without permission. This will help his impulse control and save his pet parents a lot of hassle. It teaches that he needs to look for guidance, no exceptions. Along with all this we took a nice long walk around the neighborhood continuing to practice “heel” and talked with my neighbors for a bit while having him hold a sit during greeting. We did some “come” to “sit” in my yard/driveway with some available people distraction. We walked over to a busy street to start desensitizing heavy traffic. This alarmed him a bit and will need more work as passing loud cars can be scary for dogs at first. Overall we trained a lot today and are doing amazing in his development. I love having Nacho over. He's a well balanced dog!
Pupdate 10/10/2024
Today Nacho and I went out to the Santa Monica pier to meet up with some other trainers from our OffLeashK9 team. Nacho did wonderful with all the commands we have worked on this far. We worked on his “place” command working on having him control his composure while people stopped to admire his obedience and letting them greet if he maintained “sit” while greeting, he did so well! We worked on his “come” to “sit”, “heel” and implemented “down” quite a lot so he gets the hang of it under increased distractions. We are now working on the duration of his commands and implementation of 1 1/2 min to 2 mins for him to hold “Sit”, “Down”, “Place”. We achieved “Sit” & “Place” for a minute today and still need to work on his “down”. I am confident we will get there and super proud of him today.
Pupdate 10/11/2024
Today, Nacho and I had a blast at the Huntington Beach Pier! We focused on “heel” today and “down” around a lot of distractions. We met up with one of our other trainers from OffLeashK9 and practiced working around each other to increase Nacho’s impulse control by having him near another dog the entire time. He was able to maintain the “down” position for 10 minutes while “lots” of people walked by, admiring his obedience. He does very well with strangers; some even stop to say hello while Nacho maintains “sit” and “down” during greetings. He lets them pet him with my permission and loves the attention. I am amazed at how much progress we have made! Stay tuned for our upcoming pupdates; I have some wonderful things to share.
Pupdate 10/12/2024
Happy Saturday! Today, Nacho and I had a blast working on his off-leash “come,” and we nailed the recall! We still need to refine it a bit, but I am confident we’ll get there. His off-leash “heel” on walks is close to perfect, and asking for “sit” when we stop is nearly flawless as well. I am amazed by his progress and excited to show his parents when the time comes! I made sure he had plenty of playtime in a large field to practice and let him just be a dog between sessions to sniff and explore.
One thing to note is that he is drinking large amounts of water and relieving himself in short streams. I am monitoring this to ensure he stays hydrated, but it’s something to pay attention to. We can discuss it more in person when it’s time for him to go home. He’s a happy boy! I love spending time with him; his obedience is phenomenal.
Pupdate 10/13/2024
Happy Sunday Funday! Today, Nacho and I went on a very long walk to focus on his “heel,” and we are almost 100 percent there. He basically “heeled” the entire time, aside from when I allowed sniffing and breaks. The entire outing lasted 2 hours, and he did amazing!
We also started to work on his food manners, and he did very well with his “off” command, which we use at Offleashk9 in place of a strong “leave it” command. He listens to “off” very well, and I am currently working on increasing the duration for how long he can sustain it. I will be attempting to walk out of the room while having him leave the food for the entirety of my exit.
Overall, he is a very good boy and a quick learner. He continues to surprise me with how fast he learns. He’s definitely one of the most moldable dogs I have ever had the pleasure of working with. Stay tuned for his progress!
Pupdate 10/14/2024
Today, Nacho and I took a trip to our local park to practice his “sit,” “down,” and “place” commands around increased distractions, such as practicing outside the dog park with dogs barking and running in the fenced area shown in the pictures above. We also greeted a few strangers who admired his obedience. Nacho was able to hold both his “sit” and “down” on “place” for a duration of 2 minutes for each command. I’m super proud of him! We also took time to meet up with one of our other team members from Offleash K9 to further hone his recall. Overall, Nacho is doing great and is working on fine-tuning all his commands for the remainder of his stay with me. Stay tuned for the coming updates!
Pupdate 10/15/2024
Today, Nacho and I focused on improving his door and car manners for a good portion of the day. While working on his car manners around an excited neighbor who was ready to greet him, he did very well, maintaining his position until asked. He even held a “down” stay while I finished up a conversation with my neighbor. We went to a park in the morning and met up with multiple members of our team here at OffLeashK9 SoCal, where we practiced all commands amidst increased distractions. He is very well-mannered and has learned to listen for direction adequately. Stay tuned for his upcoming pupdates!
Pupdate 10/16/2024
Today, Nacho and I went to Cerritos Mall to practice his obedience skills. His progress shows a lot of promise as we near the end of our time together. He listens well and comes when called. We worked on the “come to sit” command extensively while we were there. Also while at the mall we focused on getting him used to faster movement as sometimes if “me” the handler moves too quickly while walking in heel or walking away as he holds a sit, down or place command, Nacho will have the instinct to break his commands without permission. We practiced this quite a bit, walking at slower and faster paces for heel. Also walking away slower while having him hold down stays and sit stays. Overall he did well and got the hang of it very quickly. I'm excited to show his parents how much he has progressed. We also had other dogs around to increase distractions, practicing sit and down while greeting them. Tomorrow we will be headed to the Santa Monica pier and am super excited to test out his obedience around heavy amounts of foot traffic. Stay tuned for his upcoming pupdates!
Pupdate 10/17/2024
Today, Nacho and I headed up to the Santa Monica Pier. Before we headed out to the pier I took some time to practice his come to sit in the parking structure using a wall to help him from swinging his rear end around as he has displayed a tendency to swing his rear out when siting for the command. We practiced all his obedience skills with maximum distractions, such as overly excited people, bikes, skateboards, birds, and mini concerts being performed on the pier. Overall, I am so proud of him! He does exceptionally well with the duration of his sit-stay, down-stay, and place-stay! He can hold his position for up to two minutes and slightly longer off-leash, and I couldn’t ask for more today.
He maintained his down-stay while a nearby pigeon was pecking around, and he did great. The bird was a huge distraction for him, but as long as he is held accountable for his commands, I have absolute confidence he can hold his position for even longer periods with enough practice. The bird did cause him to break position once, nearing the end of his two-minute down-stay. As I mentioned, practice makes perfect, and it’s nothing to be worried about. Nacho is one of the most impressive dogs I’ve ever had the pleasure to train, especially with how quickly he learns! Stay tuned for his upcoming pupdates!
Pupdate 10/18/2024
Today, Nacho and I took a trip to the Cerritos Mall and focused on his obedience work. In the video above, you’ll notice us emphasizing a longer down stay and the “come to sit” command, as I feel these are key areas to work on. He is showing great progress with the “come to sit,” and we’re really working on perfecting it. The down stay is also very good; I wanted to focus on this to increase his impulse control and help him understand that he needs to concentrate on his handler as much as possible while performing his obedience work.
We’ve been incorporating more distractions during our training sessions to simulate real-world scenarios, which has been beneficial. Additionally, I’ve noticed that regular outings help reinforce his skills outside of a controlled environment. At home, we’ve also worked on his food manners, such as waiting patiently for his meals and learning to leave treats alone until given the command to take them. He is doing very well with these manners. Stay tuned for his next Pupdate!
Pupdate 10/19/2024
Today, Nacho and I went on many adventures together. We started the day with a nice 45-minute walk and practiced all of his obedience commands. “Heel” was a big focus to keep him on point during his walks. We then met up with one of the other trainers from Off Leash K9 at the Huntington Beach Pier, where we continued to focus on his obedience work. There was a rally taking place at the pier, so there were a lot of people present.
Afterward, we came home and had playtime with my dog at my apartment. We also worked on his door and car loading manners. In the video, you can see that Nacho was very hungry and did an amazing job waiting for his food until given permission to eat. I am so proud of him and super excited to show his parents all of his progress tomorrow. This is my last day with him, and I want to note that Nacho is one of the best dogs I have ever had the pleasure of working with. He will be missed!
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