Meet Normi, a five-year-old French Bulldog from Atlanta, Georgia! She's here with us for our One Week Board and Train Program. Normi is a sweet and outgoing pup, but she is easily distracted by her surroundings and often struggles to maintain the focus needed to reliably listen to what is asked of her. She also likes to pull on the leash and dart around in different directions while walking, which can make it difficult to walk with her. She also has some bad habits such as barking at other dogs, behaving stubbornly, ignoring commands, and trying to run away. Over the next seven days, we will be working to improve Normi's on-leash obedience, manners, and overall listening skills to set her on the right track to becoming a well-behaved pup! Stay tuned for her transformation!
Pupdate 7/29/2024
Today Normi and I spent the day bonding and getting to know each other at the park after she was dropped off with me. She seemed happy to meet me, and was excited to explore around the park together. Overall, she was pretty easily distracted, more focused on everything around us, and often became invested in smells, people, dogs, and anything else she found interesting. She also barked at and tried to run at a few dogs we encountered, so working on this reactivity will be another goal for her training this week.
While at the park, I tested her current knowledge of commands to see if he's had any prior training, and what areas may need some extra focus on going forward. I asked her basic commands such as Come, Heel, Sit, Down, and Place, but she was more focused on her surroundings rather than anything I was asking of her. She would sometimes Come over to me when called with lots of excitement and encouragement, though she would rarely come all the way to me, and mostly ignored the recall cue and her name. When asked to Heel, she didn't seem to recognize the command at all and was almost always at the end of the leash walking around or trying to pull wherever she pleased rather than staying next to me. She was able to Sit a few times when asked, though it was very inconsistent if she followed through or not. If she did happen to Sit, she would always stand back up and start walking away after a second or two. She wasn't able to perform Down on command either, and seemed too distracted to settle into this position. I asked her to Place on some low objects, but she didn't seem to understand what was being asked of her. She would sometimes put her two front paws up on the object, but seemed to lack the confidence to jump all the way up, even with plenty of encouragement.
After our time at the park, we went home for some rest before heading out in the evening to begin introducing her to training while around my neighborhood. We focused on introducing her to the e-collar, as well as Come to Sit and Heel. The e-collar will be an important tool in her training program, as it will allow for effective communication without needing to constantly use the leash to communicate. By pairing the e-collar stimulation with leash pressure, we can teach her that these two forms of pressure mean the same thing, allowing them to eventually be used interchangeably. I have included a tutorial for the e-collar in today's pupdate, so be sure to check that out! The goal for Come to Sit is for Normi to come when called, approach her handler's right side, circle around the back, and finish with a Sit facing forward on the left side. She is then asked to hold this Sit until released with "Break", or given a new command. This ensures she not only comes when called, but also that she remains stationary until told otherwise, which will be a common theme among all of her commands, as they each come with an implied stay. The Come to Sit maneuver when completed in its entirety also sets her up to be in the perfect position to begin walking in a Heel! The goal for the Heel command is for Normi to walk nicely alongside her handler on their left side, without pulling ahead, veering off, or falling behind. Her job during Heel is to focus on her handler and follow their lead at all times, which will take some practice to get the hang of. Normi had a slow start to learning these commands, but as we practiced more she began understanding what was expected of her, and seemed to respond well to the e-collar also! We will continue working on these commands every day to help her become more reliable and consistent with them! Normi also came to us with a small scab on her right ear. It does not seem to bother her in the slightest, but we will monitor this closely to ensure the healing process continues smoothly.
Pupdate 7/30/2024
Today Normi and I began our training session while at home and around the neighborhood, where we introduced two new commands, Place and Down. Once she made some progress with these commands, we took a walk over to a local shopping strip, where we practiced with more distractions present. We encountered distractions such as noisy street traffic, groups of people, other dogs, food, and music. We also continued working on each command she has learned thus far, she did well with her Heel and Come to Sit commands overall. She is doing well with the e-collar too, and seems to be understanding the communication it provides.
The goal for the Place command is for Normi to jump or climb onto a designated object, such as a bench, a bed, or another object with defined borders, and hold a stationary command while remaining on the Place object until released or given a new command. We introduced this command at home using a familiar object, a dog cot. She is comfortable climbing onto and relaxing on the cot in her own time, so this was a good object to use and help set her up for success. We used some leash pressure to guide her onto the cot while giving the verbal Place cue, which she quickly picked up on. After a few repetitions, she understood on what was being asked of her and was able to Place with minimal to no leash pressure, using only the e-collar for reinforcement. We then practiced Place outside on a variety of objects we found, such as rocks, low walls, and a small bench. She was enthusiastic about this command and eagerly performed it on any object asked of her without hesitation, even with distractions around us.
The other command introduced to Normi today is the Down command. The goal for the Down command is for Normi to lay down completely when asked, and remain in that position until released or given a new command. To begin working on this command, we used leash pressure, physical guidance, and occasional food motivators to guide Normi into the Down position while the verbal command was given. After some practice, she seemed to catch on to the concept and we began adding in the e-collar stimulation as reinforcement when needed, which she did well with. We practiced Down on different surfaces and objects, including on the floor, sidewalks, grass, as well as place objects. We kept the duration for this command pretty short at first with lots of breaks and praise, as this helps make the training fun and rewarding. As we continue to practice this we will continue increasing the duration so she can learn to remain in this position for extended periods of time.
Pupdate 7/31/2024
Today Normi and I visited an outdoor mall, where we practiced all of her commands around distractions. The mall was pretty busy when we visited, with lots of people, other dogs, and other kinds of distractions around such as music, food, and strollers. She seemed pretty excited to explore the mall, however she did well with focusing on her commands. She also did pretty well around other dogs today, and while she did grumble a bit at one dog who got a bit too close for her comfort as it was passing by, she seemed to easily ignore other dogs and was not too distracted by them. She never tried to lunge, pull towards, bark at, or otherwise interact with any dogs while we were training. Another command we cover in Normi's board and train program is the Off command. The goal for the Off command is for Normi to stop whatever she is doing, and focus on his handler. 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, barking, jumping on people, eating or sniffing things she's not supposed to, or any other behaviors that are undesirable or inappropriate at that time. The Off command is one command we sometimes will not give a "freebie" for with the e-collar, depending on the severity of the undesired behavior she is performing, and how urgently it needs to be interrupted. The verbal Off command when paired with leash pressure and the e-collar allows us to interrupt the behavior and help her to refocus so that she is in a better mindset to listen for upcoming instructions. Once the Off command is given, it's beneficial to immediately follow it with another command such as Sit, Come, Heel, etc. Once she stops whatever behavior she was doing, asking her to set her focus on a task will help keep her attention away from what initially distracted her or caused the undesirable behavior. We have been practicing with the Off command since day one, and she seems to understand the command fairly well.
Normi did pretty well with her Heel today! She seems to have a good idea of this command now, and knows where to be when the command is given. She would sometimes fall slightly out of position when walking through very busy areas, such as through a crowd of people, but she was quick to reposition herself with light leash pressure combined with the e-collar. She did great with her stationary commands as well, and she had no trouble performing Sit, Down, or Place anywhere asked of her. We spent some extra time working on her durations for these commands, and after some practice she was reliably holding positions for over a minute with consistency. The command Normi struggled the most with today was her Come to Sit. She did well with coming to me when called, and seemed to understand the maneuver of circling around and sitting on my left, however she would tend to Sit sideways instead of facing forwards. She tends to take an extra step back when she goes to Sit, and seemed to want to face me, so this often put her out of position and she would need to be asked to reposition herself. We spent a lot of time focusing on this command today, and one trick that helped was working alongside a wall, where she didn't have the extra room to turn sideways or take that extra step back. It took some practice, but after a while of practicing alongside the wall she was eventually able to perform the command correctly while in the open as well.
Pupdate 8/1/2024
Today Normi and I visited the Santa Monica Promenade, where we practiced all of her commands around distractions. We also met up with Normi's housemate pup, Lanta, and her trainer Tanner! We spent a lot of time practicing their commands around each other, so they could become familiar with training together. Lanta did create some distraction for Normi at first, however after working them around each other for a few minutes Normi seemed to calm down and not get too excited about her being nearby. The promenade was pretty busy, but Normi didn't seem to mind this too much and overall did a good job staying focused despite the various distractions around us.
Normi did pretty well with her Heel, and understood where she needed to be when the command was given. She would sometimes fall slightly out of position, but was easily able to correct herself with minimal guidance needed. She also did much better with her Come to Sit today, though every now and then she would make small mistakes such as sitting slightly crooked. Her stationary commands were good overall, and she did especially well with holding her positions for extended periods of time. She would Sit and Down when asked without issue, and generally was able to Place on anything asked of her with no trouble. When working with an unfamiliar object for Place, she would sometimes need a bit of guidance to show her where to go, though after an attempt or two she would quickly figure it out. In today's video you can see the problem solving she does when asked to Place on a new object, and how she is confused at first but ends up Placing without hesitation once she understood where to go!
Pupdate 8/2/2024
Today Normi and I visited an indoor mall, where we practiced all of her commands around distractions. The mall was decently busy, with crowds of people, other dogs, strollers, food, music, and other distractions around. Overall Normi seemed slightly overwhelmed by everything at first, though after we spent some time walking around and training, she seemed to relax a bit and have an easier time focusing.
Normi did well with her Heel today, and was able to maintain the position beside me quite easily. When distracted she would occasionally veer off a bit, but with a reminder she was able to return to position easily. Her Come to Sit was good today, and her recall was especially good as she always came right to me whenever she was called, even with heavy distractions around us.
Her stationary commands were good overall today as well. At first she struggled a bit, as she didn't want to hold her Sit while on the cool tile of the mall as she wanted to lay down instead, and when asked to Down, she would tend to stand or sit back up. So we spent some extra time focusing on these commands and getting her reliable with performing the specific command asked of her without breaking it. After some practice, she was able to Sit, Down, and Place reliably anywhere asked of her, and held her positions for at least a minute and a half, which is our duration goal!
Pupdate 8/3/2024
Today was Normi's last full day with me, so we spent the day putting to use all of her learned skills to have a great day together! We visited a park, where we spent the day playing, training, and exploring. She did well with each of her commands overall. Normi has also made great transformations in her behavior inside the home as well! House manners are something we have been working on little by little each day since day one. Even seemingly mundane day-to-day tasks can provide excellent opportunities for training! These manners include areas such as Door Manners and Food Manners.
The goal for Food Manners is for Normi to be able to hold a stationary command while her food is prepared and set in front of her. She is then asked to remain in that position until she is released before she can get up and eat her food. When first coming to me Normi was prone to over-excitement, jumping, and rushing to the food bowl the moment it was set down even if it meant pushing me out of the way. However as she progressed in her overall obedience, patience, and impulse control, she quickly replaced these bad habits and learned to be polite and patient even when faced with very tempting distractions such as food directly in front of her!
Another area of manners we have been working on is Normi's Door Manners. The goal of Door Manners is for Normi to hold a stationary position while near a door and remain there until released or given a new command, such as Come or Heel. She is asked to hold the position at the location asked of her, and not break the command even if the door is left open, if someone is knocking on it, or if people walk in or out of it. This practice teaches important boundaries, and prevents the impolite and possibly dangerous behaviors she once displayed, such as trying to escape through open doors, shoving past people when walking through doors, or rushing over to jump on or bark at people who are at the door. With daily practice, Normi has made great progress with her manners related to doors, and understands to follow instructions no matter what distractions the door may create. After Normi has been asked for a stationary command, a door can be left wide open, and she understands to not walk through the doorway unless given permission to, and when invited she can walk nicely through the doorway without shoving through or trying to rush out. I can even leave her sight completely and walk outside without her feeling the need to get up and follow me.
Normi has made such an amazing transformation in this past week, and the differences in her are truly night and day! She came to us with little knowledge of any commands, and had a tendency to be easily distracted and stubborn about listening. Since then, her obedience and overall listening skills have improved drastically! While she may seem like a whole new pup, she is still the same goofy, sweet, and playful pup she always has been, and with her new obedience skills, she is even more of a joy to be around and take with on all sorts of adventures! Normi has been such a pleasure to train and share my home with, and I am forever grateful to have had the opportunity to help this good girl become the best version of herself! The sky is the limit for Normi, and I know she has a very bright future ahead in her continued training journey with her family!
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