Porsha | Doberman Pinscher | Garden Grove, CA | In Training
- Tanner Strong
- Jul 14
- 8 min read
Updated: Jul 30
Meet Porsha! She's a nine month old Doberman Pinscher from Garden Grove, California here for our Two-Week Board and Train Program. She's friendly and fun, however she wants to go after any animal she sees, pulls on her leash to get to them, and cries whenever she isn't allowed to chase. She is familiar with some commands, but often decides not to listen, especially if there are distractions around. Over the next fourteen days, we will work on her obedience commands, help with her impulse control, especially around distractions, and show her how to be the best pup she can possibly be! Stay tuned for Porsha's two week transformation!
Pupdate: 7/14/2025
After picking Porsha up, we headed over to a nearby park to meet up with some other trainers and their dogs. I started by putting her on a long line and asking for a few commands to see what she already knew. At first, she had a hard time focusing—understandably excited and much more interested in pulling toward the other dogs than paying attention to me!
That said, she began offering a Sit about half the time I asked, and even gave me a Down once or twice, which was a great surprise. She stayed pretty distracted overall, but after some time to settle in, she began to calm down and check in with me a little more. She still let out the occasional vocalization when she wanted to greet someone, but nothing unmanageable.
Back at home, I let her explore and get comfortable in her new space. She seems to like it here already! We also practiced going in and out of her crate a few times to help her feel more at ease for her first night. So far, so good!
Pupdate: 7/15/2025
Today we focused on building Porsha’s skills with her Place command and refining her Heel. Her Heel work was pretty solid overall—aside from a few distracted moments, she stuck with me nicely and showed she’s starting to understand the rhythm of walking politely by my side.
For Place, we used both a cot and a picnic table. Porsha had no problem at all hopping all the way onto the top of the table, which was great to see! Interestingly, what gave her the most trouble was the lower seat. She seemed unsure of her footing and hesitant to believe she could sit there without falling off. We spent quite a bit of time helping her work through this uncertainty. By the end of the session, she showed a little more confidence, but there’s still plenty of room to grow.
Place is a fantastic tool for building both impulse control and confidence, so we’ll continue working with this and introduce more varied objects as she progresses. She's got the heart for it—just needs a little more belief in herself!
Pupdate: 7/16/2025
Today we focused on building Porsha’s Place command and, just as importantly, her confidence! We revisited some of the same objects she was unsure about last time.
At the beginning, she was still hesitant with the trickier spots, especially lower or more awkward surfaces—but by the end of the video she was hopping on and balancing much more easily. That shift is a great sign that she’s starting to trust herself—and us—a bit more.
We’ll keep working on exercises like this to help her confidence grow across a variety of situations. Proud of her progress today!
Pupdate: 7/17/2025
Porsha joined me for a training trip to Home Depot today, alongside another dog I’m currently working with. Since both girls absolutely love to play and can get easily distracted by other dogs, this outing was all about practicing polite behavior and focus in a busy, high-distraction environment.
At first, they were definitely interested in each other and ready to play—but once we got moving through the store, they settled into work mode pretty quickly. Porsha did a great job staying composed, even in tight aisles where we had to walk close to other people.
The biggest challenge today was turning in her Heel position. Porsha has a habit of swinging her back end out to face me when we stop or make a U-turn. To help with this, I had her Heel directly between me and Lily—so if she tried to turn out, Lily was right there blocking her. She still gave it a few tries, but it didn’t take long for her to figure it out and start sitting much more neatly and parallel to me.
It was an excellent learning opportunity for both girls, and we’ll definitely be back at Home Depot for more of these focused field trips!
Pupdate: 7/18/2025
Porsha was back at Home Depot today for more practice in a distraction-filled environment! It was a bit more crowded than yesterday, which made things slightly more challenging, but she still handled it well. We focused on her biggest goals: maintaining focus around another dog and staying parallel to me during our work.
She made some nice progress with her Heel—especially during turns, which were a little tricky for her yesterday. While working on her Come To Sit command, she still wanted to spin around a few times, but with a little guidance, she figured it out and finished strong.
Overall, it was a solid session for Porsha, and she continues to show growth each day!
Pupdate: 7/19/2025
Porsha took on a big adventure today—we headed to the Santa Monica Pier! Despite the busy crowds, ocean breeze, and tons of new distractions, she did a great job navigating the environment. She maintained a pretty solid Heel for most of our walk, only breaking position a few times when we got a little too close to another dog. She was especially interested in a few cute puppies we passed, but with a quick reminder, she got back on track.
Aside from the occasional dog distraction, Porsha was fairly well-behaved for her first time at such a challenging location. One of the tougher moments was working on her Place command using the smaller benches along the pier. That said, she gave it her best effort and did much better than she has in the past! Overall, it was a great day full of progress, and Porsha handled it with confidence and curiosity.
Pupdate: 7/20/2025
Porsha went back to the Santa Monica Pier today and showed some nice progress! She did a little better with her distance work—holding her position even as we created space between us, and staying more focused overall. There were definitely a few moments where she got excited, especially when other dogs passed by, but she was able to recover quickly and remained pretty responsive throughout.
Despite the busy environment and all the distractions, Porsha stayed well behaved for the most part and continued to check in often. She’s learning how to manage her excitement better and is showing more maturity with each visit.
Great job today, Porsha!
Pupdate: 7/21/2025
Porsha had an exciting and productive day at the park! We met up with some other trainers and their dogs, which definitely got her energy up—she started out super excited and eager to go. It took a good amount of warm-up time to help her settle in and focus, but once she dialed in, we got to work.
Today we introduced leash-dragging exercises, dropping the leash while practicing her commands. This gives us a great read on how she might perform off-leash, while still keeping control if needed. Porsha did really well with it! Even with a couple of adorable puppies just a few yards away, she managed to stay mostly focused and responsive.
One challenge that popped back up was her tendency to turn her butt out when sitting next to me—something she's worked hard on correcting, but it reemerged a bit once the leash was no longer in hand. We'll continue reinforcing those clean finishes.
We also noticed some swelling around her vulva, which likely means she’s going into heat soon. We'll keep a close eye on that and adjust her outings accordingly. Overall, great job today, Porsha!
Pupdate: 7/22/2025
Porsha had a fun and productive morning at the park! We started the morning with some light work and play — she was in a great mood and seemed to enjoy herself. After a bit of downtime, we headed back out to get some extra reps in before her pickup.
She was focused and responsive during our second session, clearly benefiting from the warm-up earlier in the day. We made the most of our time, reinforcing her commands and keeping things engaging without overdoing it. It was a solid note to end on before she was picked up by Mike.
Pupdate: 7/25/2025
Today Tanner and I took Porsha to the Santa Monica Pier for some off leash work. Since Tanner has had the majority of work with Porsha he became the one working her in the video. In the video she did very well greeting a stranger that took interest in her. Later she was off leash heeling, placing, downing, and sitting. Truthfully I think we asked too much work at one time and she became a bit distracted and wanted to stop which is why we will continue to lengthen her ability to work out in public over the next few days.
Pupdate: 7/26/2025
As previously mentioned, my goal is to continue to work with Porsha to improve her HEELING off leash. Today we have done four separate HEELING sessions with various distractions.
While this may seem like a step backwards from yesterday, I (Mike) am working Porsha and not Tanner. Porsha needs to understand that anyone who knows how to administer the commands needs to be listened to.
The HEEL in my neighborhood was very good. Low distractions and generally on verbal commands is all it takes.
Pupdate: 7/27/2025
Today’s video features some more off-leash work with Porsha at the pier. We started the session on leash to warm up and help her get into the right mindset before taking the leash off for short stretches at a time.
That said, there were definitely moments where the leash had to come back into play. When she started to lose focus or drift a little too far, we used it to reset and refocus her. The good news is that she handled the pressure well and bounced back quickly.
Overall, Porsha showed great potential. These kinds of sessions are helping her build the focus and reliability she needs to succeed off leash.
Pupdate: 7/28/2025
Today we have continued to work on all the commands with Porsha. On one of our walks we choose to focus on the PLACE command- asking Porsha to get on to a selected object and either sit or down on the object until we release her from the command. Overall, Porsha knows her commands but from day to day or hour to hour she will push back and not perform the command. Given that she is in heat we don't think this a problem but more of a circumstance radiating from her heat.
I will also note that she is spotting now on a regular basis.
Pupdate: 7/29/2025
Porsha's final day of full training took place around and with the other trainers from Offleash SoCal. We focused primarily on off leash walking with canine distractions in a park environment (something you'll likely encounter). Porsha mostly did well with an occasional step out of line.
It did give us an opportunity to have new and different eyes on Porsha as never before. Collectively we noticed that Porsha tends to walk, in HEEL, with her hind quarters out of line, and slightly to the left, of her shoulders. We don't know what this means, but, it tends to be a behavior consistent with a much younger (four month old) puppy.
In addition, when working PLACING on a picnic bench, we all couldn't help but watch as Porsha struggled to balance when attempting to sit. You'll notice in the picture that her left leg is hanging off the bench. I had previously noticed when placing specifically in my neighborhood, but today it seemed normal instead of an anomaly.
We bring this to your attention so that you can have further discussions with your veterinarian should you choose.
I'm going to miss Ms. Porsha. She can be very loving and sweet when she wants to be.
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