Osa | St. Bernard | Venice, CA | In-Training
Updated: 10 hours ago
Meet Osa! Osa is a two-and-a-half-year-old St. Bernard here for our Two-Week Urban Board and Train Program. Osa was recently adopted by her pup parents. Osa came to establish a solid foundation of obedience. She is a loving pup that has a few unwanted behaviors. Osa pulls hard on the leash when distracted, can mouth at people when she wants their attention, and plays too rough with other pups at times. Her obedience is unreliable and inconsistent. Osa can perform a command or two with proper motivation; however, she lacks structure and performs tasks inconsistently. Over the next fourteen days, Osa will learn to be an obedient pup through consistent, clear communication and balanced training at home and by discovering new people and places. Osa will learn to perform all these things on leash through a positive and balanced training environment. Through structure and consistency, Osa will demonstrate how great a pup she can be! Stay tuned for Osa’s two-week transformation!
Osa | St. Bernard | Pupdate 08/30/26
Today, Ms. Osa joined me for her Two-Week Urban Board and Train Program. On the way home, we stopped at a local park to see what commands Ms. Osa could perform. She jumped out of the car, very excited! So excited that she performed zero commands! She performed about as well as you would think, which is not very well. She was running all over the place and checking everything out. She ignored my command at all costs, even though there was no one else at the park. I think you know all that, and that's why she's here. After I tested her skills, we had a mini photoshoot to obtain her profile picture for her blog. I don't know if you know this, but as soon as dogs see a phone or camera in front of their face, you are now invisible to them, and they must ignore you at all costs. Once we got what we needed, we loaded up and headed to Ms. Osa's temporary residence for the next two weeks. Ms. Osa was fine during the car ride home.
Once we got home, I took a minute to set up Ms. Osa’s crate. Ms. Osa got to meet my mini trainer while I was working on setting her crate up. It was love at first sight (more for my mini trainer, but I think Ms. Osa won’t mind the extra attention). I let Ms. Osa smell Ms. Toji and Ms. JoJo through the front gate. Ms. Osa had her tail wagging and was interested in the pups. Ms. Osa sniffed them through the fence. I observed for reactivity in this initial meeting. Ms. JoJo did bark at Ms. Osa, and I had to let Ms. JoJo know that it was ok. Ms. Osa had no problems getting into the house. I let her explore each room and meet everyone. Throughout the introductions, Ms. Osa showed a happy, excited interest in everything in the new environment. She was excited to meet everyone.
Then, I let Ms. Osa smell Ms. Toji and Ms. JoJo through my screen door to the dog run area. Here, I did not observe any adversity. I took Ms. Osa outside to meet Ms. Toji and Ms JoJo. I tethered Ms. Osa to a post on my gazebo while I went and brought one dog at a time to meet her. I started with Ms. Toji meeting Ms. Osa. This meeting went well. Ms. Toji let Ms. Osa know what her boundaries were with a quick, loud, impactful bark. So impactful that Ms. Osa fell back in surprise. This is how dogs communicate and work together. Ms. Osa respected Ms. Toji’s space after that. Then, I put Ms. Toji away. Then I went and brought over Ms. JoJo. Ms. JoJo had her e-collar on in case of any adversity. Ms. JoJo is a sweet pup but can be kennel proud, which is why she barked at Ms. Osa initially. During the actual meeting, Ms. JoJo wanted attention from me and let Ms. Osa check her out. Ms. Osa hung out with Ms. Toji for a while tonight, and they seem to get along fine. I’ll allow Ms. Osa, Ms. JoJo, and Ms. Toji an opportunity to hang out together tomorrow. I will supervise this initial group meeting and ensure that they are ok.
We then went on a long walk around the block so that she could get used to the sights, sounds, and scents of her temporary new neighborhood. She didn’t pull too hard at all. As a matter of fact, she lagged. She didn’t win the record for slowest walk around the block, but she deserves an award for lack of interest in the walk. She did stop occasionally and sniff a few spots, but nothing excessive. My mini trainer could have walked her without any issue. As a matter of fact, my mini trainer would go get Ms. Osa and have her speed up. I didn’t let her walk Ms. Osa for fear of Ms. Osa becoming stimulated and trying to pull away for some unknown cause. She ignored all the other dogs in the houses that barked at us as we went around. I did notice the slight stiffness in her right rear leg. It looks like she’s not bending her knee, but it doesn’t seem to cause her any discomfort. I know she has the energy to be a playful pup because I saw it when we went to the park; she was bucking like a bronco.
After the walk, I gave her plenty of water and let her relax. She’s a mouth breather! Although her crate was set up and open, she relaxed on the hardwood floor to cool off. I’ll use food as needed to motivate her to go into her crate.
I expect to see her work well with the structure and positive reinforcement. I expect her to respond well to treats if she isn’t overwhelmed by the structure and e-collar. With clear, persistent communication and expectations, she will learn to be a well-mannered pup!
I gave her dinner and observed how much she ate. I keep track of her weight and will ensure that she maintains her weight while she is with me, although she doesn’t quite fit all the way on the scale in a sit position. She might need to just stand on it.
I've attached the e-collar familiarization video. Please review the video a few times before Ms. Osa's turnover. We'll practice together to make sure you are comfortable with the system before using it with Ms. Osa. There is one small difference between the unit I review in the video and the one you will receive. We are going to start her on the e-collar 1200 model, which does not need to be paired after every charge! Probably the best feature of the 1200. I will work on finding a good level for Ms. Osa tomorrow.
Osa | St. Bernard | Pupdate 08/31/26
Today, Ms. Osa and I headed over to Lady Riveter Park in Long Beach, CA. We met up with Mr. Mike and his pups, Oso and Ruby.
I started the training with a slip lead on Ms. Osa. I wanted to see how she would react to the pressure of the slip lead giving input to Ms. Osa. With a pup as large as Ms. Osa, a prong collar may not give enough pressure through her double coat. A slip lead slides over her head, and we put it up by her ears to apply pressure in the correct locations. I started by working on the "heel" while Oso and Ruby were hanging out on the dog cot. Ms. Osa was actually pretty good with this one. I then had her perform a "sit" and "down" near the two pups. She was able to do this pretty well. I was using treats to keep her motivated. When she performed the command properly, I released the pressure and gave her a treat. Releasing pressure, combined with a well-timed treat, is how we reinforce the desired behavior.
I then introduced the e-collar. I started at 0 and worked my way up. I saw the first signs of responsiveness at level 10. Level 15 seemed to give a good response too. We don't want to have too low a level, as it is more of a tickling sensation than a stimulation. I worked up to about level 30, where I saw the most significant reaction. This is good to know the upper limit. If we go beyond that, then we need to check our equipment or reassess the amount of stimuli. The e-collar is a much better communication tool than the pressure of the leash when it comes to Ms. Osa. The pressure is a lot harder to apply on such a big pup like Ms. Osa. She was quite responsive to the e-collar in a meaningful way. I ended the training with her at about level 15. The e-collar goes up to level 100, so these levels are really good.
We also went for a walk through the park after the video turned off and worked on her "heel". She did well with this task. She did stop and go potty despite letting her out for over an hour before heading out. I think she was more excited to play with Ms. JoJo and Ms. Toji and forgot to use the restroom.
I introduced "sit", "down", "place", "heel", and door manners. I was also able to introduce "Off!" as she was being quite intrusive with Ruby and Oso. Things like door manners are going to go a long way in establishing boundaries and limits with Ms. Osa. She lacks impulse control. She is happy, excited, and intrusive at the wrong times. Due to her large size, it can be overwhelming at times.
She did sleep in her crate last night. She barked for about 15-20 minutes before finally relaxing and calming down. After our training, I had her relax in the crate again.
Osa | St. Bernard | Pupdate 09/01/26
Today, Ms. Osa and I headed straight to my backyard! Such a long journey! This was a good, zero-stimulus training opportunity. We have to start with zero to low stimulus to ensure that she can learn in a clean, quiet environment. I went with the slip lead again. We kept the e-collar stimulation between level 10 and 15. I even used a few vibrations only to not overwhelm her. We have to make sure that we find a nice patch of skin to ensure that the e-collar is making good, firm contact with her skin.
We practiced "heel", "extended sit", extended "down", and "Break!". I need to work on "place" and "come-to-sit". I was going to introduce "come-to-sit" by using some food to motivate her, but she was giving up the food before we got to that point. Ms. Osa can sometimes give up on herself. She gave up on the food because she was not overly thrilled about being asked to perform so many tasks in a row. It was a lot cooler today than the last few days, so she wasn't tired from the heat, nor was she tired from playing. She was relaxing before we started the training.
I'll keep making things as positive as possible as we proceed. She has the fun, playful energy of a young pup, but we need to channel that into productive, wanted behavior.
Osa | St. Bernard | Pupdate 09/02/26
Today, Ms. Osa and I swung by Liberty Park in Cerritos, CA. We were finally able to introduce "place" and "come-to-sit". She's been taught everything she's going to need while here with me. I want to focus more on her obedience in low-level parks and with stimuli before I take her to a few parks where I suspect squirrels hang out. It's not fair to her to take her to those parks too early when she isn't proficient in the commands.
As you can see in the video, we continue to reinforce a good "heel" using the slip lead and e-collar. The slip lead is a helpful tool, but she definitely responds much more to the e-collar stimulation. Once again, we are operating between the vibrate function and level 10-15. If I get up to 20 or so, she does get a little overwhelmed by the sensation. This is good because when I do take her to a higher stimulus environment, we won't have to go too high to redirect her to the task at hand. I worked on the "place" by jumping up on the benches with her. She may be a little awkward and clumsy, but she is big and strong. I know she can do stuff like jumping onto a small bench. Obviously, with a dog as large as this, we want to manage the amount of hupping (dog world term for jumping up) to manage the stress on the hips and knees, but this training and the occasional loading into the car should be fine.
We introduced the "come-to-sit'. We will practice this many, many, many more times. We also worked on her "down." I usually reinforce the "down" during the "place," but due to her large size, I'll focus on it only on benches and things that are large enough to comfortably fit her.
Her "heel" was the best feature she had today. It's coming along quite nicely with little to no stimulus, which is good to see. I used very little leash pressure to keep her next to me. We practiced turning right (away) and left (into) her without any issues.
Osa | St. Bernard | Pupdate 09/03/26
Today, Ms. Osa and I headed over to Heartwell Park in Long Beach, CA. I wanted to see if we could catch a few squirrels or other dogs; however, I caught about ten soccer practices for kids. Almost every square inch of the park was being used for practice.
I think Ms. Osa did absolutely amazing today! She was calm, consistent, and performed all of her tasks so well! We started with a nice "heel". Then went to extended "place" and extended "down". No issues there. Then we practiced "come-to-sit". No real issues there. We performed more "heel". Next was an extended "sit". Once again, no real issues there either! I had her perform another "place" and "down" and then gave her the "Break!" command. Wow! She did so many commands chained together for only being on the fourth day of training!
An important note: we need to ensure that the e-collar is making adequate contact with Ms. Osa's skin. When I started, it wasn't quite right, and I had moved up to level 34, and she still wasn't responding. I mentioned it before, but if we are over level 30 for any reason with her, we need to stop and check our equipment or whether she is overstimulated. I stopped and rechecked, and it wasn't applying firm enough pressure to her skin. I adjusted it, and then immediately got a good response from her at level 14.
Osa | St. Bernard | Pupdate 09/04/06
Today, Ms. Osa and I reviewed her manners around the house. We reviewed her door manners, food manners, and car manners. We conducted all of the training today on the flat collar and e-collar combo. I left the slip lead off so she can show me what she can do with the e-collar stimulation, doing most of the communicating for me.
I demonstrated for you the types of door manners. The first and most frequently used method is to have Ms. JoJo perform a "sit" at a closed door. We then open the door and go through the door first. Then we allow Ms. Osa to come through. She never goes first. She can go through with us or after us, but never before us. This a very structured system. If she is off-leash or not on an e-collar, this method does not guarantee that Ms. Osa won't go through an open door. The second method is to have Ms. Osa perform a "down" and/or "place" near the door. This method allows you to bring guests in and out, bring groceries in and out, or even go check the mail and come back in. Once again, this is a structured process. Ms. Osa is in an on-leash program, which gives us more accountability for her. As she progresses in her skill level, you shouldn't need to put her on the leash to conduct the "place" and/or "down" command for door manners.
Next, I demonstrated her car manners. I miscalculated how much space Ms. Osa actually needs to perform this task. Usually my car is backed up to my porch, and she can walk straight in. Yesterday, after our training at Heartwell Park, she jumped in on her own. I appreciate her trying. She is willing to go into the crate on her own without any sort of food motivation. She can do it. As you can see, her going in and out of the car is awkward. She has very little agility.
Lastly, we practiced her food manners. She needs to perform a "sit" and patiently wait for us to put the food down. She did ok with this command. I'll mix it up with this command, as I've been feeding her in her crate to get her more comfortable with it. This seems to have helped her be more comfortable and able to relax in the crate whenever I need her to. This is usually around dinner time at my house, and it lets me enjoy dinner and take care of things around the house while she relaxes in the crate after dinner. For breakfast, it gives her time to relax after her morning break and let her food settle before we do training or she goes to play with Ms. Toji and Ms. JoJo (she doesn't do much playing with them, but she watches them).
Osa | St. Bernard | Pupdate 09/05/26
Today, Ms. Osa and I went by Petco in Lakewood, CA, to see how well she can perform her commands in a higher-stimulus environment. She was a little excited when we got into the store. When I say excited, I mean for Ms. Osa. She was pulling a little hard on the leash, but nothing overwhelming. I raised the e-collar level to 30, and that got her attention. Once that kicked in, she was perfectly calm and fine. There were a few pups in the store, but she was ok.
We were able to practice "sit", "down", "place", "come-to-sit", and "heel".
It was another hot day, so I managed her time inside and outside of the house. Ms. Osa is quite the water drinker! As far as the heat goes, I've noticed her front paws are a little pinkish. I don't know if it is a hot spot or if it got irritated from going into the grass at the park a few days ago, or if it's from the slobber. I have paw wipes, and I'll make sure I clean her paws whenever we go on the grass to make sure it isn't anything related to that. I also bought some Hot Spot spray at PetCo today in case it persists. It doesn't seem to bother her, but I will keep an eye on it. It was hard to get a good picture of the color because her paws are wet all the time from her slobber. Once again, it is only her front paws, which leads me to believe it's related to the constant wetness from slobbering. I'll try to keep it clean and dry as best as I can.
Osa | St. Bernard | Pupdate 09/06/26
Today, Ms. Osa and I had to wait for the rain to subside before heading out and working on her training. I was hoping to go to a park with a known squirrel population, but that will have to wait until later this week. We headed over to Liberty Park in Cerritos, CA. Lucky for me, there were a few pup parents and their pups out for walks. Even luckier was that there were a few little pups, like a pug, walking around.
We reviewed all of her commands: "heel", "sit", "down", "place", and "come-to-sit". The latter command will be practiced extensively this week. I think she did well today. I didn't have many issues with the basic commands when they were chained together, as I demonstrated in the videos. She is mouth breathing constantly, but I can see the difference between her panting and her being tired. There were few distractions and stimuli during our video since people were barely making it out after the rain. It was still good to get out and practice.
After the video, we walked around the entire park. I went straight for the other pups. I was able to get Ms. Osa to want to pull to a few of them. Perfect learning opportunity! I gave her an "Off!" and redirected that energy towards performing a "heel". We were able to practice this a few times, and she started to get it. I also gave her an "Off!" as needed when she would stop to smell the ground for possible other spots that dogs have marked. By the end, she was locked in and doing well. She kept up the whole time while being in the proper position. I have been relying heavily on the e-collar for communication, so we aren't relying on physical strength but rather allowing the e-collar stimulation to guide her.
Last note for today: Ms. Osa has been observed and has displayed mouthing of people's hands. A well-timed "Off!", as well as consistently enforcing this behavior with an "Off!", will continue to diminish her desire to do this. Remember, "Off!" is a command just as "sit" or "down. We don't go up on the e-collar remote to give Ms. Osa an "Off!"; however, "Off!" is always accompanied by a stimulation. There are no freebies with "Off!". If we don't have her collar on or a way of stopping her from doing unwanted behavior, then she wins that one battle. We reset and/or put the proper equipment on her and ensure we are prepared for the next time.
Osa | St. Bernard | Pupdate 09/07/26
Today, Ms. Osa and I headed over to the Citadel Outlets in Commerce, CA. It was much warmer and more humid than I expected. We walked through most of the mall, but I stayed in the shade as much as possible.
Several other pups were out and about. Ms. Osa ignored them. She did start to lag due to being tired. I brought plenty of water with me and offered it to her several times. I was worried about her overheating, but she was ok. It's still hard to tell when she's panting to cool off or stressed. There were a decent number of people out and about. Due to the weather, I stuck to focusing on the "heel". We did throw in a "place", a few "sits," and "down" where possible.
We did receive many, many, many looks! Everyone was excited or in awe of Ms. Osa. She was well-behaved throughout and had no issues. Today was a good day of training and completing some good training in a high-stimulus environment.
Osa | St. Bernard | Pupdate 09/08/26
Today, Ms. Osa and I headed over to El Dorado Park West in Long Beach, CA. This weather has been bipolar!! I was waiting for it to cool off and stop randomly raining. There was even lightning today! Sheeesh!
I chose this park because it has a large squirrel population. I wanted to get Ms. Osa near the squirrels and see her reaction. There were none in the immediate area when I set up. We reviewed "heel", extended "sit", "place", extended "down," and "come" to sit.
Once we practiced all those, I spotted a squirrel and tried to track it down. It ran up the tree before I got there. We then went for a patrol around the park. I did find another one! Ms. Osa spotted it and went for it. I gave her an "Off!" and "heel," and she went right back to her "heel". The e-collar remote stayed at level 14, and I did not need to go up.
Lastly, someone stopped to ask about Ms. Osa's training, and she maintained a nice "place" and "down" while I discussed her training. She was a role model pup!
Osa | St. Bernard | Pupdate 09/09/26
Today was a scorcher! Holy moly! I decided to work on Ms. Osa's manners around the house as late in the day as possible. We conducted our final review of all the manners around the house. These are the door manners, food manners, and car manners.
The door manners took a little bit of resetting to get her locked in. I could probably drop the leash, leave her on the cot, and go in and out without any issues.
Sometimes, when the leash pressure pulls on her collar when she's lying down, it will cause her to get up. Other than popping up one time too early, she was overall good. She was hesitant to lie down at some points, but we just need to stay consistent with what we are asking of her. We also need to be patient in ensuring she has enough room to properly lie down.
For car manners, wow! Did you see her jump in? That was awesome! I gave her enough room this time, and she went right up in there. It was still awkward and clumsy, but she did it! She does not do it every time. I think it has to do with her size and hips. I'll take that for today!
For food manners, this is one of her favorites! She's good at the eating part! The best part about food manners is the instant positive reinforcement of her performing it correctly. When she patiently sits and waits, she gets her breakfast or dinner!
Lastly, I brought home a new board and train today, Mr. Beans. A goldendoodle. I am not sure if they are going to get along. Mr. Beans was barking at Ms. Osa, and Ms. Osa seemed skeptical of Mr. Beans. With only a few days left in Ms. Osa's training, I'll probably just keep them separated to be safe.
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