Ollie is a 6 year old Lab mix from Long Beach, CA!
He was rescued three years ago, and has joined OffLeash SoCal's Two-Week-Board-&-Train Program to work on his obedience, as well as his reactivity towards other animals— particularly dogs. Ollie will have a severe reaction to them, even if they are on the opposite side of the road, and will also react to people hugging or shaking hands. Ollie also needs help with door manners, as he can be quite unruly when someone visits the home.
Ollie is a very sweet boy, but definitely has some anxiety issues. Ollie’s owner said that he has sore hips (maybe some arthritis), so we will make sure that Ollie doesn’t overexert himself too much, and that we don’t insist he holds positions for too long.
Stay tuned for his 14-day transformation!
Pupdate 1/15/2023
Ollie spent the day familiarizing himself to me, my home, and current boarding dog (Bear). Preliminary work was done with recall, as well as ‘door manners’. It is important to establish boundaries and structure with dogs, and I choose to do so early on in the relationship.
I picked Ollie up from the park, and spent some time getting to know him, and figuring out a baseline for our training. Ollie is a very reactive dog, and would have outbursts just from seeing another dog across the street, or a block away. At home, Ollie is friendly, and lives with a golden retriever, and he also has family dogs come by to visit often.
When introducing Ollie to my boarding dog, I kept Ollie on a prong-collar and long-line, as well as a muzzle, for everyone’s safety. Care was taken to read everyone’s body language and verbal cues appropriately. Bear is just over 1 year old, and can still be pretty annoying. During their initial interaction, Ollie showed corrective behaviors that were not concerning (and rather appropriate for his comfort-level). In a short period, Ollie had the long-line and muzzle removed, and he continues to interact well with Bear. We all hung out in the living room watching Netflix during the rain— Ollie preferred to sleep right next to the couch, and loves being close.
Adjusting to his temporary home will take time, and Ollie has been whining a lot. He settled down in the evening, and took a nice nap. He did not eat much of his food, but this is pretty normal for dogs that are new to the program.
Ollie is not used to being in a crate/kennel. It took me 40 minutes to load him up into the car after we were done at the park where he was dropped off. I will continue working with him and crate training during his stay with me, and slowly introduce him to incremental periods and positive reinforcement (he likes cheese as a food lure).
Ollie came to OLSC with a ‘dry nose’, he had seen a vet prior to joining our program, and nothing had been prescribed for it. We will try some coconut oil, in efforts to reduce the peeling & irritation.
Pupdate 1/16/2023
Ollie was a good boy during his first night. He whined for a while after being put in the kennel, and for a bit when I needed to get up to use the bathroom, but he eventually settled down. In the morning Ollie got to mingle with Bear, and he nibbled at some of the kibbles left over from last night’s dinner. Ollie was quicker about getting into the kennel in the car, and was quiet during our drive.
Ollie had a big day of training! We met with other OLSC trainers and their dogs at Home Depot in Anaheim to work around distractions. Ollie was very overstimulated in this environment, so we took it easy to let him acclimate to all the new sounds, people, smells, dogs. Ollie is an anxious guy, and whined a lot throughout the training session.
Ollie was introduced to “heel”, where he maintains speed & position close to his handler, with his ears lined up with their leg, on the left side. To encourage this, Ollie was introduced to leash pressure. If Ollie pulled ahead, I would turn around abruptly and head in the opposite direction. Doing so teaches Ollie to pay attention to where I am, how fast I’m moving, and to stay in a position where he can see me. “Heel” cue was given before the turn-arounds, giving Ollie a ‘heads up’ that we will be changing direction. For smaller positional corrections, leash pressure was also provided in a backwards manner to help him scoot back some and keep in line with my leg. I would also offer “heel” cue to Ollie prior to leash-pressure backwards. After an association was created, Ollie started to pick up on what was expected quickly.
If Ollie corrected his position or followed me during a turn on his own (without leash pressure being needed), Ollie was given the ‘marker word’ of “yes!” and provided praise and affection as a reinforcement. The marker word is a way for the handler to communicate that the pup did what we wanted, precisely when the behavior is given. Immediately following the marker word, positive reinforcement should be offered. The dog knows what we want to do, and since they get good things from it, they want to do it, too!
Ollie was also introduced to “extended sit”, where he maintains his “sit” cue for longer durations instead of popping right back up afterwards. With all of the commotion going on around us, we aimed for small improvements in duration. If Ollie broke his position and got up early, I would verbally correct with “ah ah!”, “sit”. I would also offer a hand signal (open palm facing up parallel to the ground and arcing up— like catapulting something over your shoulder). If Ollie did not respond to this, I would use leash pressure directly upwards from Ollie’s collar— as leash pressure goes upwards, Ollie’s bottom would go downwards and into a sit.
Ollie behaved better than I expected around the other dogs, however he did lunge at a fellow OLSC dog. This behavior seemed to come out of nowhere as the dog walked passed us, even though Ollie had been walking next to the dog for some time prior to the incident. I was quick to correct the behavior with a ‘leash pop’ as Ollie was moving forward.
Ollie was very friendly with people, and he got a lot of nice pets from some of them.
Although Ollie was anxious, he held his resolve when fork lifts drove passed, or there were loud noises. If Ollie got too overwhelmed, we would go out to the Garden Center where it was more familiar and quiet.
After arriving home, Ollie was very tired from the mental stimulation and new environment. He has been napping a lot, but seems more content and collected. He perked up after dinner (he was given the olive oil and leftover sardine bits as a 'topper' to his kibbles from my snack) which he gobbled down, and was also given small pieces of beef liver and potato as a treat after my dinner. Ollie got a cow ear at night, which he happily chewed.
Ollie’s owner told me that he has sore hips (maybe some arthritis), so we will make sure that Ollie doesn’t overexert himself too much, and that we don’t insist he holds positions for too long. I have been helping him up onto my tailgate before we load up into the kennel in the car as well.
Pupdate 1/17/23
Ollie was a bit sore after yesterdays training session. We will look into getting him some pain relievers from his vet to help take the ‘edge’ off. Movement helps with joint pain, however it can take the body some time to adjust to increased activity. I let Ollie stretch out on a dog-bed through the night, in lieu of his kennel.
Ollie and I returned to Home Depot today for training. I wanted to see if his anxiety levels were still high inside the store, without other dogs present. Ollie was a bit more relaxed than yesterday, but he was still in a state of high arousal and nervous. Since Ollie has not been out much in the past year, high-distraction environments may be challenging for him.
We practiced his “heel” and “extended sit”. Ollie was also introduced to “stop-to-sit”, where he is cued to sit when the handler comes to a stop during “heel”. Ollie was introduced to ecollar stimulation today, and I paired it with the leash pressure he learned yesterday, as well as with his visual/verbal cues to help him associate it as a communication tool. He fixated on a dog we saw in the store, but I used directional change to add leash pressure and tapped his ecollar. When Ollie is distracted or fixated by an object/person/dog/situation, I use the verbal cue “off!”. I would gradually increase the stimulation level on his ecollar while repeating “off!” until I found a level that worked for that particular moment. When Ollie fixates, it is difficult to regain his attention. The contact points on Ollie’s ecollar may be too short with his dense coat, so I switched them out for slightly longer ones when we got home.
Seeing Ollie was still overwhelmed and overstimulated, we did not stay at Home Depot very long today. During the next few days, I will take Ollie to quieter areas to build his confidence and nerves before heading back to a busy area. I want Ollie to be successful, and it is difficult for dogs to learn when the environment is too stressful for them.
Ollie took a nice, long nap at home before being walked down some quiet streets around the neighborhood. We practiced “heel” as well as ecollar association.
I noticed that Ollie has a lump on his right cheek. Below is a video of it being palpated.
I will keep an eye on this, and update if there is any change.
Pupdate 1/18/2023
Ollie and I took it pretty easy with his trainin today, and performed the majority of it in the home. My landscapers came by in the morning, and Ollie was fitted with his ecollar. Every time Ollie would bark & go berserk, I would say “off!” and tap the stimulation button. For each time I needed to repeat the cue, I would increase the intensity of the stimulation by about 3-5 levels until Ollie ‘turned off’ and brought his focus back to me. This process was repeated with Ollie fixating on the neighbors dog behind the fence, when people walked by on the sidewalk behind the fence, and when Ollie and the resident squirrel exchanged ‘words’. As soon as Ollie turned around and gave me his attention, I would mark with “yes!” and give him praise, as that is the appropriate response to “off!” Ollie would then either sit/down beside me or go to the mat and lay down.
We also worked on training commands in the home and in the yard. We focused on problem-solving for when he broke his extended behaviors early, and introduced “down”. To introduce down, I would lead Ollie over to the mat-bed with something yummy in my hand. I would cue Ollie to sit, and then gesture him to ‘down’ by using the lure (yummy stuff) from his nose down to his toes while offering the verbal “down”. I used marker-word “yes!” as soon as his elbows hit the ground, where he subsequently received the lure as a reward. Food lures are great for teaching behaviors, however we prefer to not use them as a crutch— once Ollie was familiar to the visual and verbal cue, I started to phase out food and replaced it with praise and affection (both of which Ollie absolutely adores).
For crate-training in the home, Ollie will reluctantly enter the kennel when prompted before being offered a food reward. This is a step up from needing to actually throw the food into the crate and having him follow it. I use the verbal cue “go crate”.
After some downtime, we went to TeWinkle Park behind my neighborhood to work on his leash reactivity and heel. At the park, there are ducks, geese, children, dogs, squirrels, and other organic distractions he needed to work around. Ollie was overwhelmed & overstimulated, however it was not nearly as difficult for him compared to Home Depot. When Ollie got too worked up, I would use proximity as my friend, and move somewhere a bit quieter so that Ollie could be successful with his attention and commands. I used “off!” with these distractions as well. Building Ollie’s focus and response to “off!” may be one of his most important cues as a reactive and anxious dog. Ollie would get amped up when he saw other dogs, and would whine heavily to communicate his anxiety.
Ollie has not been eating all of his meals, however I am checking his weight regularly. Should his weight decrease, measures will be taken to try to get him to eat more (he is used to chicken & sweet potatoes mixed with his meals at home).
I got some "nose butter" for Ollie, and began to apply it to the dry & cracked areas. He tries to lick it off, but hopefully with repeated applications, it will have some effect.
Pupdate 1/19/2023
Ollie and I went to Boysen Park in Anaheim today for our training session. We focused on “heel” and reactivity to things like squirrels and other dogs. Ollie still gets overstimulated by certain triggers, and will whine. However, Ollie’s response to the stressors is turning more towards avoidance vs. reactivity of lunging and going ballistic.
Ollie performed “down” outside, and needed to be on soft areas, such as grass, initially. We worked on extended down around distractions, including a small dog walking by. Ollie broke his down cue on several occasions, either amped up from his triggers, or seeking closeness & comfort by getting closer to me. We want the dogs to learn how to self-soothe in times like these, and overcome the situation on their own.
It is important to keep composure and remain calm around his triggers, as Ollie will pick up on anxious energy and it will feed into his own. I keep a lookout for triggers, and will preemptively adjust his ecollar stimulation levels according to how he might react so that I can be prepared.
Ollie is doing well with his training, however anxiety issues take time to resolve. I will continue bringing him to low-distraction environments to gradually expose him to triggers in situations he can overcome.
I met with Ollie's owner in the evening to pick up some pain medication— I will be giving him one type morning and evening, and the other in the evening only. His evening meds may cause sedation, and depending on the severity, we don't want it to interfere with his training or mask his reactivity.
His owner also gave me some chicken and yams to mix in with his meals— it certainly worked, and Mr. Ollie ate all but a small handful of kibbles. No more dirty looks of disappointment from seeing a bowl of just kibbles, instead of his usual fixin's.
However, his owner did mention that Ollie could afford to lose a few pounds, and that doing so would help his joints.
Ollie’s nose is looking slightly better after a few applications of his ‘nose butter’.
Pupdate 1/20/2023
I’ve started to give Ollie breakfast today, as his morning pain medication needs to be taken with food. I am giving him 1 cup of kibble with a dollop of skin/coat wet food in the AM, and 1.5 cups kibble with chicken & yams in the PM.
Ollie and I worked on reactivity to things outside the yard, and refreshed on his obedience cues in the home. I also introduced door manners to him using the front door. Door manners are where we teach the dog to wait, typically in a sit, before being invited through a threshold via their “break!” cue. Ollie was better at the front door than he has been with the door to the yard, and it’s likely his owner encouraged front-door-waiting at home with him.
Later, we went to the local park today to work on his obedience cues. We introduced “place” out in public, although he has been working on it a little at home. “Place” is where we ask the dog to get on a defined object, and typically ask them to hold a position, such as ‘sit’ or ‘down’. A definable object could be a bed, a towel, a bench, etc. At home, I have been using a mat dog-bed as his ‘place’ to get him familiar with the cue. After his pain meds, I
feel more comfortable asking him to place on other objects, as he seems to have notably less pain.
A lot of our session was spent practicing extended positions in the presence of distractions— especially dogs. Ollie still continues to whine excessively when he sees them, however is is no longer lunging or barking or trying to get at them. He is able to give me his focus a lot better, and will perform his cues, despite his anxiety and whining. This is a big improvement, as leash pressure isn’t as necessary, and Ollie is responding to ecollar stimulation and redirection. People(dog)-watching while remaining in the same general area is helpful for the dog to see them pass and leave without any incident or stressful event happening (beyond their their presence). The more Ollie gets to experience these stimuli, the better his brain will become at responding.
Ollie got pampered in the evening after a challenging, yet successful, day at the park. He loves getting brushed, and I was able to get a ton of shedding fur out. I am continuing to apply ‘nose butter’ several times a day, and Ollie’s snozz continues to improve.
Pupdate 1/21/2023
Ollie and I practiced his obedience cues in the home, and he was introduced to “come-to-sit”. His new cue requires him to not only come when called, but loop around to the left side of the handler, and sit in a “heel” position at their leg. I used food lures and/or leash pressure to guide Ollie through the process, and replaced both with hand gestures of an open palm, which he has been conditioned to ‘target’ (touch with his nose) either for affection or a food reward— Ollie prefers affection. Ollie caught onto this behavior quickly, however it is a cue that some dogs struggle with. We also worked on “place” using an elevated cot by the entryway. I tell Ollie to “place” there when practicing door manners, and it helps him to have a fixed, reliable object.
After some in-home-training, Ollie and I returned to TeWinkle park to practice his obedience in public, where his anxiety levels are higher. We stuck to heel, extended sit, extended down, and come-to-sit. We decided to stay primarily in one area, so we could have dogs come & go on the path near us. Ollie was introduced to long-line (15ft leash), as we can use this tool to gauge how a dog will perform with limited leash pressure.
Although Ollie vocalized via whining heavily when dogs would approach, he maintained his cues (aside from breaking them to seek comfort closer to me), and did not charge at the other dogs. During our training session, an offleash dog ran up to us when we were practicing extended down. I was quick to respond to Ollie’s accelerated anxiety, and promptly got ahold of the long-line and reeled in the slack. Ollie reacted when the dog came very close a couple times, and lunged forward barking. When he did this, I would pull up on the line so that he couldn’t gain distance to the dog. Overall, he was somewhat easy to gain control of, and the owner came by and apologetically got his dog.
After the park, we went home for a refresher on his cues again. His extended down & place has become much better. Ollie gets a bit confused on which behavior I'm asking if him occasionally, but is eager to get it right.
Ollie is doing well on his medications, and doesn't seem to be experiencing any negative side effects. Laying down and getting up are much more fluid, and effortless. Ollie is no longer vocalizing from pain when doing either, like he previously had been.
The old, caked & dead skin on Ollie's nose is falling off— fresh, healthy tissue has been taking its place and the deep cracks above his nostrils are filling in.
Pupdate 1/22/2023
A long-term walking/boarding client came by for a sleepover last night. His owners wanted him to get an afternoon walk today since they would be out of town, and I offered him to come stay the night so he could stay the day here with someone around while his owners were away. Rascal is a ‘marshmellow’ dog, and gets along with everyone. He is a bit socially awkward, and doesn’t play as much— he is also very considerate of other dogs when interacting with them. I thought he would be the perfect dog for Ollie to gain exposure with in order to create positive associations with strange dogs.
After I picked Rascal up, they were introduced with Ollie wearing a muzzle and his ecollar. The initial intro went great— Ollie had his hackles (shoulder/back hair) raised from excitement & anxiety, however he only followed Rascal around and sniffed him. I took the muzzle off and switched it out for a regular leash so we could practice heel. The three of us went on a 2 mile late-night walk through TeWinkle Park, and the two dogs did amazing. However, upon arriving home, Ollie had a ‘flip switched’ and tried to go after Rascal when he was sniffing something on the cot. Ollie lunged for him, barking, but I was able to get control of the situation quickly. I had the two of them settle in a down next to each other until everyone relaxed. The two of them mingled fine afterwards.
The next day, the two of them weren’t on the same page. They shared the same space just fine, but when one tried to instigate play, the other wasn’t into it. I am cautious of a reactive dog playing, as the excitement in the moment can quickly escalate and turn to reactivity. We went on another walk together around the neighborhood before Rascal went home.
After Rascal left, Ollie and I worked on his obedience cues in the home— using some cheese as rewards. We focused on come-to-sit, extended sit, extended down, extended place, and sit-from-down. I used ecollar stimulation only, to further Ollie’s understanding of what the stimulations mean.
After homework, we went on our usual evening stroll to TeWinkle park again on the long-line & ecollar. Ollie finally seems to be gaining confidence off the property, and was more enthusiastic about his training and focus. We practiced “place” on some easy-to-get-up rocks, as well as park benches and picnic tables. Ollie is a lot less hesitant about elevated surfaces, and surprised me with his gusto.
Ollie only had a few whining-spells when he saw dogs or strange objects (like a stroller), but he was considerably less reactive to the ducks and other dogs. Towards the end of the walk & training session, Ollie started to bark at a border collie in the distance, however I used redirection and ecollar stimulation until his anxiety settled to manifest in a whine, and eventually settle down. When we were walking back to the house, I stopped on the corner when I saw a dog running with his owner across the street, and asked Ollie for an extended sit. Ollie watched the dog run by, but didn’t even whine.
I was very proud of Ollie during our outing today. He continues to improve, however he is still unpredictable at times when other dogs are involved.
We have been practicing “food manners” during his meals, where Ollie must maintain a sit or a down while I’m preparing his food, and after the meal is put down. “Extended place & down” works best, and I will typically use a dog bed or the cot as ‘home base’. Ollie must wait for "break!" before gobbling down his meal.
Pupdate 1/23/2023
Ollie and I went on a midnight stroll around the neighborhood last night. He was completely offleash! I fitted him with his ecollar, and I brought a slip-lead on me just in case it was needed in a pinch. My goal was to work on Ollie’s “heel” position (he had a tendency to walk slightly ahead) and test his obedience in a very-low distraction environment without any tethers beyond the ecollar. Ollie performed well, but needed continuous correction to maintain the appropriate position. He also broke his extended-sit & extended-down multiple times. The walk certainly took effort.
However, that effort paid off… Ollie blew me away with his training today, and if I had to sum it up in one word, it would be “wow!” His confidence and engagement from yesterday was greatly amplified during our work today. We met with other OLSC trainers & their dogs at William Peak Park in Buena Park, and it was evident that our persistence in repeatedly visiting familiar, low-stimulation environments helped Ollie overcome some anxiety.
Ollie was worked on a long-line. For the most part, it was left dragging on the ground, but it was there as an ‘emergency brake’ should the situation arise. Ollie performed all of his obedience well, and was a lot more comfortable around the other dogs. Ollie was also handed over to the other trainers so he could gain experience performing his obedience for other people. He worked on heel, sit, down, & come-to-sit with them. Ollie didn’t seem reactive, and Mike suggested that the residual whining may be genetic— shepherds tend to whine to communicate, much like huskies vocalize. If Ollie whined excessively, I would provide a low-level stimulation paired with “quiet” to prevent the behavior from continuing or escalating. If this is a stress response, the low-level correction will also serve as an anchor to bring Ollie back to a calmer state.
Ollie did really well today, and I was very proud of him. We will begin work in higher-distraction environments to ‘keep the ball rolling’ and increase his exposure and reliability.
Ollie is maintaining his weight— and then some—probably all the cheese and other “yummies”. I will be limiting his evening portion by 1/2 cup.
Pupdate 1/24/2023
My father came by the house today. While he was visiting, he helped me work on Ollie’s reaction when people shake hands, hug, or pat backs. He has a tendency to whine/cry when his owner gives or receives physical contact with other people. When Ollie would whine, I would provide a brief low-level ecollar stimulation and continue to provide corrections as he repeated the crying behavior. Ollie may be getting overly excited, or even slightly concerned, about exchanging physical contact. I want to show him that nothing bad is happening, and the whining is unnecessary. When Ollie would remain quiet, he would be pet and praised. This desensitization training will likely need repeated sessions, as the behavior diminished fairly quickly, however it it’s liable to resurface until the response is better conditioned.
Later in the day, Ollie and I went to the local park to continue practicing his obedience cues on a long line. He was less whiny today, but sometimes a dog would trigger vocalizations. I would correct using low-level stimulation, and praise Ollie and offered affection when he became calm & quiet. The low-level stimulation prevents Ollie from breaking his extended sit/down/place, while providing feedback to his behavior.
Ollie needs more work on holding his sit/down/place for longer durations and distances. He becomes uneasy when I venture too far away, and attempts to break cue to get back over to me. This behavior will likely decrease as he gains more confidence and experiences less anxiety about being alone in public spaces. If Ollie breaks cue, I will tap the stimulation on the ecollar remote saying “ah-ah!” and re-cue for the position. If Ollie stops and offers the requested cue again, I will tell him “good”, have him hold the position for a brief period, and then “break”. I want Ollie to realize that he can save cues and still get rewards if he follows verbal prompts. If Ollie continues to approach me despite stimulation and verbal re-cues, I will guide Ollie back to the previously designated spot of his sit/down/place and have him maintain it for a shorter distance and/or duration.
Ollie has much more mobility and comfort placing on higher objects. He was able to leap onto the highest rock in the photo easily. Although he can jump up to that height, I do not ask him to do it often— I do not want to cause him additional soreness later on, so we take it easy. I do try to encourage Ollie to try new things, because once he is successful it really gives him a confident boost.
Pupdate 1/25/2023
Ollie and I went to Petco to work on his obedience. Now that he is performing his cues well in open, public spaces such as parks, he will begin working in higher distraction environments. We want Ollie to be able to listen and focus in a variety of settings. There were many new smells to sniff, and new things to see. Ollie whined a lot when we first got to the store, new places can be overstimulating. I let him investigate his surroundings with a leisurely walk around the store prior to commencing our training, and Ollie settled in.
Ollie was kept on a long-line to work on his obedience after we started training, that way I could grab him if needed. He responds well to the ecollar, especially after switching the contact points out for titanium ones. We primarily worked on heel, come-to-sit, and extended sit & down. When in the correct position for heel, Ollie can receive constant ear-rubs— his convenient height and love for affection makes rewarding easy! Ollie needs some work polishing up his turns, since he has a habit of running into me when turning left. When we worked on his extended cues, I made a habit of leaving his line-of-sight and asking him for “blind” come-to-sits where he could only hear the verbal cue. When he got to where he could see me, I would offer visual cues.
Ollie was very well-behaved, and got some nice pets from strangers. He veered off a couple times when he smelled something interesting, but that will also be something we continue to work on while polishing up his obedience.
Pupdate 1/26/2023
Last night, Ollie attended me on a walk with Rascal in his neighborhood. I put Ollie’s muzzle on during the first couple minutes to make sure he was calm, however it wasn’t needed. The two of them walked great together, and both of them had their leashes dragging. Ollie reacted to a barking dog that was behind a glass door (who typically barks a lot when we pass by on our route). In public, Ollie may still react to a dog that’s being reactive towards him, which is natural and something to be aware of.
Today, Ollie and I went to Fashion Island in Newport Beach to work on long-line obedience, and get a good feel for what needs attention for his training prior to going home. Since it was a new environment, Ollie was a bit overstimulated, but did well. He still needs to build his confidence in this type of environment, but today was great exposure. He whined a lot, but was able to perform his cues, and his heel was looking good. We will be focusing on holding extended sit/down/place for longer periods of time and with greater distractions.
Ollie avoided a dog that ran at him, barking, although he was a bit worked up about it, and took a bit of time for him to get back into the groove of training. There was another dog (also small, white, and fluffy) that ran up to Ollie while he was in an extended down— Ollie reacted by barking at the dog. Ollie was responsive to ecollar stimulation. Ollie walked fine around all of the other dogs today, but definitely doesn’t like it when dogs run at him with the ‘wrong’ energy (excited, uncontrolled, anxious).
After Fashion Island, Ollie joined Kona and I for a walk in Irvine. Kona is a small labradoodle, and can be a bit grumpy when first meeting dogs, so I fitted Ollie with his muzzle for the first couple minutes again. Both dogs are trained to walk on the left side, and would be walking close together, so better to err on the side of caution. Time in the muzzle was brief, as the two of them seemed more-or-less disinterested in each other. They walked well together, and Ollie got to practice his heel.
Ollie and I went to my parents’ house afterwards. He got to practice his “greeting manners”, as well as desensitization to people hugging, shaking hands, and patting backs.
Pupdate 1/27/2023
Ollie had a BIG day today! We went to the Santa Monica Pier to work on his obedience around a ton of distractions. It was super busy! Ollie was calm walking down, however once we started training— particularly with extended cues— he started getting a bit antsy. Despite his overstimulation, Ollie performed very well, and was neutral to all of the distractions (although he whined a bit).
His obedience was performed on a long-line, however leash-pressure was rarely needed throughout his training session. Ollie was a bit more reluctant to go into a “down” position, and did break his cues a few times, but he did a remarkable job considering the environment. He was able to walk closely with other OLSC dogs while leaving the pier, and paid them little-to-no attention. He did not have an issue with any other citizen-dogs either, and even held his extended sit & place when a toddler came up and sat on the same bench, touching Ollie.
A boarding dog came to stay this morning, a social-butterfly, female golden retriever. Ollie absolutely loves her, and tried to initiate play within seconds of being introduced to her. Ollie was wearing his muzzle during the initial intro, since she is the most exuberant dog he has had a 1-on-1 with while in the program. Ollie got a little too excited and tried to mount Hazel. I knew Hazel would correct his behavior, and wanted to see how Ollie would react to a correction from a strange dog. Ollie responded very well to being told “no” by Hazel, and I knew it was safe to remove the muzzle. I want Hazel to feel comfortable, so from then on, I would correct Ollie via ecollar stimulation so that she wouldn’t have to.
Pupdate 1/28/2023
Ollie and I returned to Fashion Island to work on some finishing touches to his obedience training amongst distractions. He did well, but still whined a bit occasionally. His duration cues are being held for longer periods of time, and he is a lot more focused.
Later in the day, we worked on home manners, including door manners & car manners. Ollie is able to hop up into the tailgate of my car if he’s got a small platform midway as a booster. Door manners are looking good, and he knows he is supposed to stay on his “place”.
Ollie will be so excited to see his owner tomorrow and show her all the awesome stuff he has learned, and all his progression in decreasing his reactivity towards other dogs. He knows the phrase, “do you wanna go on a walk?” and now he will be able to accompany their other dog during their outings!
Kommentare