Meet Ozzy! Ozzy is a 9-month-old Leonberger from Culver City, CA who joins us for our Two-Week Board and Train Program. Ozzy is a gentle giant. He is kind to people and little humans. Ozzy comes to us knowing a few commands and doesn't pull too much on the leash. Ozzy also likes to eat grass and other things off the floor. Ozzy is here to learn how to be consistent with his obedience and how to properly behave around other pups. Ozzy doesn't know his size and needs to work on his manners. Ozzy is a sweet puppy who is going to be transformed into a puppy who can go on hikes with his owner while being respectful of other pups and hikers! Stay tuned for Ozzy's 14-Day transformation!
Pupdate 3/25/23
Today Mr. Ozzy came home to meet my pack. I introduced him to my family and they all loved Mr. Ozzy! He is so sweet and kind. He has gentle playful puppy energy about him that is hard to resist. I then gave him some time to play with the other puppies I have here. Mr. Ozzy was playing like one of the kids with them and they were having fun with him.
We then took a walk to my local park to see what Mr. Ozzy knows. He is not the best with his obedience but he is gentle. He pulls a little bit on the leash but nothing too crazy. He gave me a few hugs when I was trying to figure out what he knows but I'm glad he is taking well to me. He was nice to my little human and he enjoyed trying to eat my oldest's shoes. I'll do my best to work with his stamina while being cognizant of his mild dysplasia.
Pupdate 3/26/23
Today I let Ozzy get more situated in the housing environment. I made room for Ozzy so that he doesn't have to sleep in his crate and can sleep in a controlled environment where he can be comfortable and nice and cool.
Ozzy got to play and socialize a lot more with Ms. Toji. Ozzy and she seem to be getting along well as she doesn't let anyone take advantage of her. Ozzy was a little overbearing with my other board and train but hopefully, they will get along when she gets more confidence.
I tried introducing the Model 300 ecollar to Mr. Ozzy but he was not giving many signs of it being effective and added in mine might be a little faulty, the first trial didn't go well. As you can see in the video, I started at 5 and just kept moving up 5 at a time looking for any sign that he received the stimulation. I managed to work my way up to 70 and it wasn't really showing too much. I am going to charge up the 1200 and see if that works more consistently until my new model 300 e-collars arrive hopefully on Monday or Tuesday. I even made sure to use the titanium contact points and peeled all his hair back so that I ensured there was good contact with his skin and he still didn't show much until about 70 which is too high. Then he didn't like it all but that could be my collar's effectiveness. I'll try the other collar later this evening to make sure that we stay on track with his training. Once I realized that wasn't working, I just went ahead and worked on his "heel" and "sit" with the slip lead collar.
Food note: Although I put 100% for last night, Mr. Ozzy did not eat his food. I usually put that much because they will eat their food at some point in the evening. I let him out this morning and tried presenting his food for him around 10 am and nothing. I tried again around 2 pm and nothing. After your input, I tried sprinkling the food around the outside without any other pups around to get him to eat it. He started to eat a few bites and then I hand-fed him about 2/3s of the food. I'll be administering his medicine at approximately 645pm to try to get him back on track. I did notice that the last 1/3 was wet which I don't know how that happened since his water and food were separate but I'll keep an eye on this as well. He does drink lots of water throughout the day but no worries, we just keep replenishing it for him. He has had no signs of vomiting or diarrhea. I am glad I was able to get him to eat some of his food. We need to take care of our pup's basic needs such as food, water, air, and bio-breaks to make sure our training sessions are effective. Think of in elementary school how you had recess, lunch, free play, p.e., bathroom breaks, etc. so that you could learn most efficiently. The same goes for the pups so I am glad that I was able to get him to eat some of his food. I have one or two more ideas to try to get him to eat without my hand feeding him every meal. Will keep you updated on his food and medicine progress. Hopefully, in the next day or two, we will get him back on a better routine.
Pupdate 3/27/23
Mr. Ozzy is such an amazing guy. I might consider getting my own Leonberger one day! Well, maybe one that actually eats regularly! I am working my tail off to get Mr. Ozzy to eat but he is just not excited or interested in his food at all. He didn't eat anything last night for dinner. I left it with him, he was alone and had no distractions, nothing. This morning, I was able to administer his liver supplement without too much trouble. After dealing with some of my other board and train issues, I attempted to feed Mr. Ozzy again. I was able to get one kibble in his mouth and that kind of started him up. Then I had to hand feed him again about 2/3 of his meal. I let him rest for a little while and then we headed out for some training. I'll try again this afternoon and tonight to get him to eat more food. Per your email, I'll administer his anti-nausea pill and hopefully, this helps mitigate some of his food hesitancy.
Due to my crates being unavailable, I decided to take a walk with him to my local park. I used the slip lead, the upgraded 1200 e-collar model with 3/4" titanium contact points. I also took off the collar you sent him with and switched him over to a regular flat collar with my GPS tracker. He is so gentle and happy! Except he did give me one tantrum where we laid down and didn't want to come along anymore. No big deal, that's why we have the slip lead and the e-collar. I applied pressure with the slip lead and continue to increase the stimulation until Mr. Ozzy decided he wasn't going to win. He's a bigger guy with a lot of fur so I plan on switching him to the 1" contact points when I get them sometime this week. You will receive these when you pick Mr. Ozzy back up. As with all puppy training, it is important to stay consistent and persistent. Don't give up! Once Mr. Ozzy decided to join me again in the proper "heel", I praised him up and we kept on trucking. Mr. Ozzy did great in the "heel" and received some compliments when we were at the park. Despite his extra-large size, he does well staying by my side in the "heel". I worked on reinforcing his "sit". "Sit" and "heel" are the two tasks that he will perform the most while with me and it is important to make sure the pup understands those from the beginning. He seemed to be doing really well with those and I had noted that you put him in a "down" when you dropped him off so I decided to start working on that as well. He did ok but was definitely inconsistent. He isn't too resistant toward it so I think he just doesn't fully understand what I am asking him to do. We'll keep at it to help him understand so that he does it more consistently.
Tomorrow, I am planning on taking our first trip in the vehicle and we will see how he does getting in and out of the vehicle. I'm cognizant of his hips and not putting too much pressure on him or taking him too far so as not to make anything worse but we do need to go and get out in the world so that he gets the training that you requested. He does have to be transported in the vehicle crate for his safety.
Pupdate 3/28/23
Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy! Oi, Oi, Oi! What is there to say about the most lovable and gentle giant I have ever met? Ozzy is doing fantastic with his training. Today I introduced everything that he needs to be successful with his training. As of today he has been introduced to or taught "sit", "down", "place", "come to sit", "heel" and "break". He doesn't need the command "off!" very much because he's so compliant. I was able to even do some leash dragging "heel" with him. Tomorrow I'll start using my regular nylon lead to continue to work toward being off-leash. A few kids even came up and say hi to the super-friendly Mr. Ozzy. His only issue at the moment is going to be getting in and out of the vehicle. I tried using my ramp but he was a little intimidated. I'll try another way of getting him to use it or get into the vehicle. He does fit in the XL crate in my vehicle which is good.
Now his food and medicine are another story. With his food, I was able to get him to eat about a total of 5 1/2 cups yesterday. Today he is on track for about 6ish cups. My wife who supports my pup training life isn't always involved but today she even came over and helped hand-feed Mr. Ozzy. I gave him his liver supplement and his anti-nausea mid-morning, I was able to feed him about 2/3 of his food and then administered his anti-biotic. I will keep doing whatever I can to get him to eat or be interested but he is really picky and will get over eating. I'll keep an eye on his weight and keep doing everything I can to get him to eat his food.
Pupdate 3/29/23
Today Ozzy and I focused on his door manners. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows today. That's ok because that's how the pups learn. Some of it is his size and some of it is his resistance to the training. He's a puppy, despite his size, and still acts like a puppy sometimes. As you can see in today's video, he just got up and left when I was asking him to do something. This is where being persistent and consistent matters. Training doesn't cease because he decided to get up and leave in the middle of it. We restart and go again. It is important to follow through with the obedience tasks. Even allowing one time to slack off could set back days of training. But since we are still in the learning phases, I try to use my body position or body movements to encourage the pup into the right position or right task. This way I optimize their chance of getting it right and making it clear to them. An example is how he didn't want to really down on my doggy cot. I give him a lot of leeway for his size so I accepted a simple "sit" on the cot. Maybe when he gets better and more consistent with his down, I might try again but I understand if it's too small for him. He can still do door manners on the floor in a "sit" or "down" and there's nothing wrong with that. I should be picking up the 1" contact points on Friday and this will also help with consistency in the e-collar even though I do brush his hair back so that the 3/4" contact points are directly in touch with his skin. The last note on his training is that I did not use the slip lead today and that seemed to be a hindrance to the training. I might start on slip lead tomorrow, and switch to the flat collar and a leash with more grip like my leather or synthetic one because he burned up my hands when he took off on the nylon lead. He has been doing really well with the slip lead and I tried to see if he was picking up on things without it but he needs more repetitions of all the commands and then we can ease away from it.
Food note: Last night we got Ozzy to eat 100% of his food. It took me, my wife, and my little one hand feeding him but he got it all. Today, my mini-me helped again and we had another 90% feeding. I have never met a pup that is this resistant to eating. His weight came in good today and I've been able to give him his medicine. I think we are getting into a better routine and he's getting more comfortable.
Pupdate 3/30/23
Today Mr. Ozzy and I were going to head to a local park and work on our manners outside but the rain just won't stop around these parts so I decided to work on some more of the manners at home. One very important one as we do go places are his car manners. Please keep in mind, I was mindful of his early onset of hip dysplasia during today's training. These sessions are short and crammed full of learning so that we don't have to drag them out and put even more pressure on the pups. With that being said, I started off by going up and down my patio. My goal was to get him to understand to take the momentum up and onto something higher than his chest like getting into a vehicle. As you can see, he can be a little stubborn sometimes and that's why I am still using the slip lead. If he continues to be resistant, I might consider using the pinch collar for a day or two but I don't really think we need to go that way. He is understanding the tasks but is stubborn. He isn't showing any signs of being in pain or discomfort. As you can see we pushed through his stubbornness by being persistent and consistent with our obedience. Once I reset him and worked on his "down" a little more, we got back to work.
As far as the vehicle manners, I took the crates out of my vehicle at first so that he would have plenty of room to go in and out while it was close to my patio. I even tried to throw him one of his favorite toys. He gave me good behavior to just cross the gap and even walked on the ramp a few times. He seemed to be more confident just making the gap so I rolled with it. Once, he was good going in and out from there, I moved the vehicle up and worked on getting him up into the vehicle. Still, there was no crate in there. Then once he did it a few times, I put a crate right in the middle so he had to go in there. This worked out great and he was going up and down without any issues. While performing all these, I was able to reinforce the e-collar, the "come" to sit, "down", "sit", "place", and "Break!". We even got in some "heel" while we moved around the front yard.
Food: Mr. Ozzy is a handful when it comes to eating. I mean that literally, we have been hand-feeding Mr. Ozzy. I don't think he likes the food very much. The good part is that my family absolutely loves him so we all help out in making sure he gets his food. Other than that, he is doing well and he seems to be enjoying his time here.
Pupdate 3/31/23
Today Mr. Ozzy and I headed to Venice Beach, CA. What a beautiful day to head out to the beachside venue. Mr. Ozzy is always the star of where he goes! He is hard to miss. He did great on the ride over. I always enjoy taking him out to the public when I can.
I started with his slip lead as I had mentioned previously. This is how I get him to be more open to performing the tasks. I brought my smaller, lighter lead to try to work on him feeling like he wasn't on leash. Mr. Ozzy is a little overwhelmed in public spaces. An example is when we went over to the skatepark and he did not enjoy being there very much. He kept trying to break away and move away from all the people and activities. luckily, there were some people visiting from Spain who were willing to give Ozzy some of the attention that he loves so much. I even put him back on the slip lead to gain more control of him and he still didn't want to be there very much. Keep in mind that he did much better when he was on a leash and next to me. When we keep moving and don't let him get overwhelmed, he seems to be doing fine. I was able to perform leash dragging with the slip lead but once I switched to the flat collar he was more willing to test his limits. The flat collar sits the lowest on his neck and you better believe that the pups know the difference between that flat collar pressure versus the slip lead pressure or even the pressure from the collar that you had brought. He knows on that one that there are no real consequences for anything that he does. He's willing to push through higher levels of stimulation and do his own thing. He's not trying to run away (he's not very fast) but rather he knows the negative consequences aren't really so bad for a big guy like him. As you can see, on the basketball court, he performed well in an extended sit. There were not too many distractors close to him or nearby to overwhelm him. We will continue to push Mr. Ozzy and see what he can do. I did pick up the 1" contact points for him and hopefully, this gives me an even more effective way of communicating with him. Today was an example of, just because you can do something (such as off-leash or even placing on high objects), doesn't necessarily mean that you should, especially with Mr. Ozzy. I will keep doing my best to get him exposed to different things so that hopefully we can minimize that behavior in large distractor settings. He seems to be doing well in the quieter training areas like on a trail or corner of a park where there isn't much going on.
Food note: Mr. Ozzy is like clockwork at 2 out of the 3 cups of food, he just checks out on eating anymore. Although we have had a few successful attempts at 100% using all the happy family members other than that, at 2 cups, he is over the entire process.
Extra note: Mr. Ozzy does like to play fetch! (well sort of). He will definitely chase after the ball and as mentioned before loves this little squeaky ball my wife got him. It's good to see him running and exercising. I really enjoy making sure my pups get lots of time to just be themselves and play and socialize.
Pupdate 4/1/23
Today Mr. Ozzy and I headed over to a busy Rynerson Park in Lakewood, CA. There were plenty of birthdays, soccer practices, kids playing on the playground, and little league games going on. We took a stroll a little deeper into the park where there wasn't so much going on. As you can see in today's video, I had the slip lead and a regular lead attached to his flat collar. Overall, Mr. Ozzy did fantastic today! I was very pleased with him and I love it when he gets animated like a puppy. I've had pups half his size jump on me with all their force and Mr. Ozzy is just simply saying high real quick but knows not to just tackle. I didn't want to push him too hard as yesterday we had the long car rides and all the activity at the Venice Beach boardwalk, I figured we would keep it light, fun, and local so that he could rest up. This week will continue to work on his repetitions and hopefully push him to be off-leash.
Pupdate 4/2/23
Today Ozzy and I worked in my backyard. I attempted to get Ozzy to perform his commands off-leash in my controlled environment. As you can see in today's video, it didn't go too well. There are a few things working against me at the moment. 1. Even with the 1" contact points and Ozzy's size, he is willing to go to the highest level on the e-collar and resist the commands. 2. On just leash pressure of the flat collar, he is resisting the commands. 3. He is only really willing to do the commands with the slip lead. As you can see in today's video, I tried starting with little input from myself. Then he broke off and wouldn't come back to the training area. I reset, grabbed my slip lead, and tried again. He was not very comfortable doing the "place" on my dog bed despite my best efforts to convince him with compulsive and inducive measures. I gave that up for the day and switched over to working on his recall since he had blown me off earlier in the session despite my best efforts. I started with a slip lead, then used the flat collar with the 15' lead, then took off the slip lead and tried with the 15' lead, and then tried not holding the leash and he was like "nope"! So, I'm doing what I can to push him for his off-leash work but he seems to be more comfortable and confident while working on the slip lead or at least something that can apply the appropriate pressure to the proper location. As I stated previously, the flat collar is so low on his neck/chest that the leash pressure isn't discomforting enough to encourage him to perform certain tasks. Add on top of that his size and ability to ignore the capabilities of the e-collar. I don't like using the increase until compliance method because I usually feel like there's a break in communication somewhere but I've had Mr. Ozzy for over a week and he knows all the commands, he just chooses to not listen consistently when I give up full control and rely on the e-collar. His "heel" is fine off-leash and as you saw in yesterday's video, we did most of the commands in a quiet, distractor-free area but once the difficulty of the task increases, his willingness to perform the task decreases quickly. It's not like he's running away or becoming agitated, he just has no major consequence for his behavior. Switching to a pinch collar would give me the same results as the slip lead, compliance, and willingness to perform tasks. That's not the issue. The issue is that his titration level is significantly higher due to his size. We always go based on what the dog gives us and he is giving me that he can go way beyond what we have available. With all that being said, there is always a day or two of regression where the pup tries to resist and win. Usually, after this slump, the pups' training will skyrocket and we'll be off to the races. I hope we get the same result with Mr. Ozzy but there's another great K9 training saying "Hope is a bad plan". We will keep working and I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.
Also, I gave Mr. Ozzy a once-over with his comb and he enjoyed it. I also gave him some play time with the other pups and they had a blast. Mr. Ozzy is so lovable and gentle. I'm excited you get him back in less than a week but my family is really going to miss him.
Medicine note: Done with Antibiotics. No more anti-nausea pills.
Pupdate 4/3/23
Today Mr. Ozzy and I went over to Mayfair Park in Lakewood, CA. There were quite a few things going on today such as kids playing on the playground, basketball, skateboarding, and a rivalry softball game between two local high school teams. Mr. Ozzy and I took a stroll around the park and I tried mixing in the leash dragging. Once again, Mr. Ozzy does pretty well in low distractor areas. Also, his "place" is interesting to see him fit onto smaller items. I have been mixing in them for his confidence and to see if he will do them. He always gives them a shot but sometimes he is too large to "sit" or "down" on them. As you can see in the picture today where he was on a metal bench at the basketball court. I still am using the e-collar with the slip lead. I love taking Mr. Ozzy out as he instantly draws everyone's attention. Great job today Mr. Ozzy!
4/4/23
Today Mr. Ozzy and I worked on his house manners to make sure they were nice and ready to go for when you receive him back. He did amazing! For the door manners, I didn't use my typical dog cot because he doesn't like it that much. He did great jumping into the vehicle and didn't get overly excited as I ate some yummy food. I am pleased with his progress. We will keep pushing him in his training and setting up the best foundation I can.
Pupdate 4/5/23
Today Mr. Ozzy and I headed over to Liberty Park in Cerritos, CA. Mr. Ozzy did pretty well overall. He still struggles a little bit with the place but with a little upward leash pressure, he does just fine. There were some nice ladies who were impressed with Mr. Ozzy and I got to talk about how sweet he is at the house and what a good pup he is. We walked around the park with the slip lead dragging since he didn't want to stick to the program with the long lead and flat collar attached. His stimulation levels are doing better though which is a good sign. I'm going to get him into some higher-level distractor areas in the next few days to hopefully gauge how he is doing overall. I'll bring both leashes with me just in case.
Hope you enjoy today's video with me explaining the different collars. The important thing to remember is the purpose of each tool and when it is appropriate to use.
Lastly, last night while I was working on a project in the backyard, Mr. Ozzy and my two littles must have played for an hour straight playing fetch and running all over the place. He really is a great pup.
Pupdate 4/6/23
Today was a really great day for Mr. Ozzy! As you can see in today's video, we performed all his tasks, except for "place", in my backyard with no leashes or any other instruments besides the e-collar. Furthermore, most of the stimulation was pretty low. This was a trial run or practice run for our visit to the beach tomorrow. I wanted to verify that it was possible for Mr. Ozzy to conduct most of his obedience off-leash in a low-stimulus environment. The only noise or disturbance was a neighbor mowing their lawn. Tomorrow, I will give him one more chance to show me what he can do on the flat collar around stimulus and this will give me a great path for you forward. My goal tomorrow is to have him perform all his tasks while on the flat collar + 15' lead + e-collar and there be no breaking away or tight leash pulling. If we can achieve that on our last day of training, I will be highly satisfied with our progress.
Two more days until you get the big guy back!
Pupdate 4/7/23
Today Ozzy and I headed over to Main Street Huntington Beach, CA. Mr. Ozzy is always a show stealer. I am not sure how many times I said "Leonberger" today but it was definitely more than any other time in my life, to say the least. Everyone loves Mr. Ozzy and he is so kind and gentle that he wins over everyone immediately. We did all his commands on leash in the more high distractor environment. It was also a decent 65ish degrees with a slight breeze so I had to be cognizant of Mr. Ozzy's coat and temperature. We spent time in the shade when not working. Overall he did pretty well. His e-collar numbers were definitely much higher than at my house yesterday but also didn't elevate excessively high. Now that we have an extra week to work I'll focus on using the flat collar and long lead and of course the e-collar. Hopefully, the numbers keep coming down as he gains more mastery of the skills.
Pupdate 4/8/23
Today Mr. Ozzy and I headed over to a very crowded Los Cerritos Center in Cerritos, CA. As you can see in today's video, we actually performed off-leash "heel" throughout one of the more crowded parts of the mall. Please don't take this as the standard or measurement of where he is. This was a short clip of me trying it. He was overwhelmed a few times by simple commands and if it wasn't for my videographer being around he was headed in quite a different direction than what I was asking of him. The issue is not when he listens, it is when he decides he doesn't want to listen as happened today. He will do what he wants and due to his size, it's challenging to get him back under control especially when I have given up the leash and my only control mechanism is the e-collar. We will keep at it and ideally, some discrimination and mitigation of the stimulus will come down. I have to keep trying for him to perform tasks off-leash but it will depend on the environment. Lastly, I am keenly aware of my levels on the e-collar and aware of my surroundings when I am with him. So although I was able to perform the task, I am watching everyone and everything around me and luckily today, I even had my backup with me. The moment I sense or can see he is getting overwhelmed, I pick up the leash again because it is not worth a) having him perform unwanted behavior b) not being able to apply +p or -r c) or worst of all, having him break off out of my control (although he isn't very fast).
Also, Mr. Ozzy threw up this AM. He looks like he tried to eat a toy. I have the chew toys you sent me outside with him so not sure where that one came from. I'll make sure to double-check all his areas because it is a tremendous amount of work to even get him to eat and then having him expel it is not good for any of us.
Pupdate 4/9/23
Today Ozzy and I headed over to Home Depot as I was on the hunt for a certain tool. I used my tiny "cat" leash as I've heard it referenced. It's the last leash I use before going off-leash. It is tiny and lightweight as if it could be used to walk a cat. It's great because it is light and the dogs can't really feel it dragging or if I let go of it. For Mr. Ozzy, I can lay it on his back and he is none the wiser if I'm holding it or not. It wasn't that busy since it is Easter Sunday, nevertheless, we went out and exposed him to a higher stimulus environment. We will keep going and keep asking him to do his best!
Pupdate 4/10/23
Today I spent the day in the "lab" aka my backyard again. These training sessions are important and will continue to be important for continuing Ozzy's training. These sessions allow me to make sure that Ozzy is fully understanding the tasks with little to no distractions around. As you can see, he was not a big fan of the "place". This has been his biggest struggle and it's not because he doesn't understand or he physically is unable to perform the task. He definitely understands and I think that's why he doesn't want to do it. He's like I am comfortable standing on my own four paws and I dare you to make me do it. He has zero issues jumping up on me when its time for "Break!". As you can see in today's video, I guided him on the cot with his collar since we weren't using a leash at all. I tried raising the numbers on the e-collar to get him to perform the task and it only made him resist more which is why I went ahead and used the collar. Once I got him on one or two times, he understood. I didn't ask him to "down" since I was happy that he was willing to get on there and perform the actual "place" and "sit".
4/11/23
Today Mr. Ozzy and I headed over to Rynerson Park in Lakewood, CA to try his off-leash skills. To my great satisfaction, he did everything so great! I am super pleased with how he did. There were not a ton of distractors but there was enough to get his attention if needed such as kids playing at the park, pups going for walks and the usual bikes and scooters cruising by on the nearby riverbed trail. As you can see in the video, I did get a little bit too far from him and he broke his "down" but I kind of knew I was pushing it with him. The good part is that despite him breaking it, he was coming to me. Also, he chased after my camera daughter and was just having fun. Albeit he wasn't doing what he wasn't supposed to but he wasn't going anywhere. I did crank up the remote to get his attention and once again he was headed to max level. I stopped before going that high, called to him, and said "Come, Ozzy" and once I got his attention he went to the "come" to sit. I am good with this behavior.
After we had this session, I went ahead and gave him his weekly brushing. I'm glad we did this at the park instead of my house. We could have started making a beanie with the amount of fur that came out! Overall, great progress this additional week by Mr. Ozzy.
Pupdate 4/12/23
Today Mr. Ozzy and I took a walk over to Mayfair Park in Lakewood, CA. My mini-trainer went with me. I conducted the whole walk and training either with the 15' lead dragging or off-leash. This extra week has been tremendously helpful in making things clear for Mr. Ozzy. The usual numbers I was using for Mr. Ozzy have come down and it requires less and less which is what we needed for control over him when we are off-leash. He did chase after my daughter or go want to be with my tiny human when we got to the park but I was able to recall him without going too high on the stimulation. Once again, he wasn't breaking off to chase a squirrel or anything crazy like that, he simply wanted to go play with her. He still has a lot of puppy behavior and sometimes it's easy to forget that he's only a young pup because of his size.
Pupdate 4/13/23
Today Ozzy and I headed over to Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, CA. Today we spent about 90% of our day off-leash! Mr. Ozzy has progressed well into off-leash work. There are still a few hiccups due to his extravagant size but he is doing well. The trick with Mr. Ozzy is to be firm but friendly. He will listen to me a majority of the time but he can get overwhelmed and break his commands. The more stimulus, the more he gets frustrated. It is important to be patient with Mr. Ozzy and give him a chance to figure it out. He is still a puppy after all. From 1-2 years of age, he will mature a lot and things will come easier to him and he will be brimming with confidence if you carry on with the foundation I have helped form with him. I once had someone advise me for a pup I had that it needed to be my friend to work with me, and I think that is very reminiscent of Mr. Ozzy. You two have a good bond already and as that continues to flourish, I expect Mr. Ozzy will be all that you could ever ask for.
Pupdate 4/14/23
Today Ozzy and I worked on his manners around the house to clean them up before you get to take him home. Some were easier than others. During the door manners, he kept getting up to come outside but it wasn't like he was running out the door and on to do his own thing. He just kind of meandered outside like "Hey, what are you doing out here?" Overall, he performed great with car manners, food manners, and door manners. As a reminder; here are the commands Ozzy has been taught while with me:
Sit/Extended Sit
Down/Extended Down
Place/Extended Place
Heel
Come to Sit
Break!
Off!
Door Manners
Car Manners - "Load Up!"
Greeting Manners
Food Manners
Thanks for trusting me with your pup and we can't wait to show you how great a pup he has become!
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