Meet Nova, the 6 month old Siberian Husky from Los Angeles, CA who is here for a Two Week Board and Train Program! Nova is here with us because she gets overly excited and jumps on people to say hi, is very avid about mouthing for attention and during playtime, pulls on her leash, chews on furniture at home and eats things she shouldn't be eating. Over the next two weeks, we will work on general obedience, greeting manners and proper leash manners! Stay tuned for our progress!
Pupdate 12/25/2022
Today Nova and I took some time to get to know each other! We went to a park nearby and got to see firsthand all that she does and doesn't know. After gettingĀ well acquainted, we went home and settled in well. She certainly enjoyed the cool AC after being out and about at the park! Having been an Angelino for her whole life, the hustle and bustle of the city environment doesn't seem to bother her at all! Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/26/2022
Today Nova and I began training and practicing āheel, sit, down, place and come to sitā. Nova was very quick to understand the exercises and more loose leash walking with a different tool. The thing she seems to struggle immensely with is picking things off the ground to eat. She had picked up random seeds off the ground when we were practicing down so I introduced the elevated bed. By teaching her ādownā on an elevated object, I was able to curb her temptation to eat stuff off the ground. We will be introducing our āoffā exercise to begin teaching her boundaries so that she learns not to grab everything within reach. Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/27/2022
Today Nova and I went to Pan Pacific Park to work on āheel, sit, down and come to sitā. Nova had a very hard time staying focused and was often distracted by the other dogs playing around her. She is doing well with understanding her exercises but she will need much more work in distracting environments to help her focus better. Nova is pulling less on her leash and did not jump on me today! Stay tuned for more!Ā
Pupdate 12/28/2022
Today Nova and I went to Home Depot to practice "heel, come to sit, down, sit and place". We ended the day with a visit to the park to work on our exercises on the playground! She is a confident puppy and jumped up onto different elevated objects with ease! Nova wasn't all too concerned with how slippery the slide was and she climbed up on a large boulder too. In an area with less distractions, she is able to hold her extended sits quite well. For her downs, we still need to work on her getting distracted by the things on the ground and trying to eat anything and everything. Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/29/2022
Today Nova and I practiced "heel, sit, down, come to sit and doorway manners"! It was drizzling today but we worked around the rain and also trained indoors. I introduced the e-collar today and Nova did surprisingly well with the new addition! We will be working on our exercises with the e-collar from here on out and hopefully begin fading out the use of the leash soon. Nova is very easily distracted with the things going on around her so we will also continue working on her "off". Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/30/2022
Today Nova and I went to the Citadel Outlets to take a walk around. It was raining and there weren't many people around so it was a nice way for her to get to see a different area with less traffic. After we got back home, we worked on car load up manners with treats since she still requires a bit of encouragement to go up into the crate. She is doing much better with the e-collar and understanding that the stimulations are paired with the exercises. Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/31/2022
Today Nova and I went to the Shops at Montebello to meet with other Offleash SoCal trainers and their pups! Nova worked on "heel, extended sit, extended down and come to sit" with the other pups. She did really well despite all the distractions and people coming up to say hi to her. She even jumped up to "place" by the elevators and held her extended down while children crowded her to pet her. We will continue teaching her to focus on her exercises in different environments! She did have a potty accident last night and had to get a bath. Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 1/1/2023
Today Nova and I worked on our exercises indoors whilst avoiding most of the rain. I realized that we need more work on "come to sit" on-leash as she still needs a light reminder to recall when asked. As seen in the video, in very typical husky fashion, she tries to do what she wants when she realizes that the leash is not in my hand. She is still learning to understand the e-collar so it took her just a few moments before she recalled back to a "come to sit". We will continue to work on encouraging Nova to enjoy the work! As soon as the rain stops, we'll be visiting differentĀ parks and malls to get her better integrated! Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 1/2/2023
Nova and I spent as much time outdoors as possible whenever the rain would stop. We went on a scenic walk with a 15 ft long leash and her e-collar so that we could practice recall. I let her explore at the end of the line and recalled her back to a "sit" and it really helped! Being out and about lightened up Nova's mood and she did much better than yesterday. I would like to continue helping Nova learn to recall more reliably on the long leash until she is ready to be fully off-leash. Her "heel, sit and place" are coming along nicely. Her "downs" still need some work as she tends to get distracted by the things on the ground in front of her. When it began drizzling again, we went back to train inside on an elevated bed. Tomorrow, I will be challenging her to work on her "place" while I add distractions like socks and plushies. Stay tuned for more!
Ā
Pupdate 1/3/2023
Today Nova and I went to the Citadel Outlets to see how she would do in that new environment! It was much quieter than it usually is because of the rain but it was still nice to practice our exercises in a more public place. Nova seemed quite a bit skittish when it came to strollers, large carts, and people passing by her closely and would break from the exercise she was working on. We will be going to Home Depot to see how well she does with the large shopping carts and help her desensitize to objects on wheels. Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 1/4/2023
Today Nova and I tackled the rain and met up with other Offleash SoCal trainers and their puppies! It was quite a WET training session and although Nova didn't seem to mind the rain very much, she found it very difficult to resist licking up the collected rainwater on the benches and ground. We worked on her exercises for quite some time before heading home to warm up. We will be incorporating Home Depot visits in the evenings to help tackle her fear of carts and objects on wheels passing by her and encourage her to feel more at ease with people walking by her closely. As mentioned in our previous pupdate, Nova was very skittish with people crowding her personal space at Citadel and attempted to make space by jolting away. In taking her to Home Depot, we could teach her to feel more comfortable being surrounded by strangers and socialize her to a more people-condensed environment. The goal is for Nova to understand that she is safe and that she can trust that no one will touch her without her feeling comfortable enough to be touched. Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 1/5/2023
Today Nova and I ended the night with another Home Depot run with another Offleash SoCal trainer. I thought Nova might need a change of pace and she worked on her exercises with the other trainer. She made the transition well; however, we still saw her skittish behavior whenever people would walk by with or without carts. As seen in the video, she has improved and doesn't try to completely run to the other side when passing by strangers but she gives every stranger a wide berth. Her exercises are coming together but her need to avoid strangers and objects that intimidate her might make it difficult for her to be off-leash in a crowded area. Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 1/6/2023
Today Nova and I went to the mall to film our mock for our final video! This is when Nova gets to show off all that she has learned and mastered. Her "come to sit" has improved immensely and she is certainly settling in well to the use of the e-collar. Her extended exercises were certainly a little challenging at the mall with people walking by her and talking to her about how pretty and well-behaved she is. After we got back home, we worked on place on the elevated bed and refusal of some items that she has been known to chew and destroy! She did very well to "off" even when a nice tasty looking antler was put into the mix. We're excited to show her pawrents all of her new skills! Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 1/7/2023
Today Nova and I went to the Citadel Outlets to film our final video! Nova did much better this time around and although she did break from her exercise the first time after being scared by a trash cart, she did not break the second time when someone walking by her tried to pet her when she was in an extended down. Her need to avoid strangers is slowly improving but it still hasn't gotten to the point where she is 100% comfortable being greeted and petted. Hopefully she will be able to use the skills she has learned to go out and socialize everywhere she goes!
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