Meet Rocco! He is a 7 month old German Shepherd dog from Oxnard, California here for our Two-Week Board and Train program! Rocco is a playful pup who gets distracted easily and likes to jump on guests and nip at your hands when he gets excited. Over the next two weeks, Rocco will learn how to behave on and off leash, how to properly greet people and other dogs, and how to be the pup he can be! Stay tuned for Rocco's Two week transformation!
____________________________________________________________________________
Pupdate 12/11/22
Rocco and I headed off to a local park and spent some time walking around and seeing what he knew. He was a bit timid when he first came out of the kennel but warmed up quickly. He was distracted and liked jumping up at times. He wanted to pull on the leash and struggled getting into a sit. We then headed home and let him get settled into his new environment. He is taking a nice nap and we are headed out shortly to get spend some time bonding and exploring the neighborhood.
_______________________________________________
Pupdate 12/12/22
Today Rocco and I worked in the backyard and around the front of the home. We introduced the e collar along with the come to sit command. He was a bit confused his first session but got into the swing of things halfway through his second. For come to sit the the expectation is that he comes all the way to me and pops into a sit on my left side. He has settled in nicely and is a sweet, fun and loving pup.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Pupdate 12/13/22
Rocco and I started off with some training in home and then headed off to a couple local parks. Today we introduced the “place” command. Place is any elevated object or surface and he needs to hangout there until I give him the break command. He did show some nervousness around the loud trucks coming down the street and was very excited when other dogs passed us and wanted to pull towards them. With a few reminders he got back into his heel command.
_______________________________________________
Pupdate 12/14/22
Rocco and I headed off to a couple different local parks today. We worked on him holding his sit and place command for longer periods of time. He needed a couple reminders but did well. We also did some leash dragging practicing his “heel” command. We then added in some distance sending him to place. He does get very excited when he sees other people and struggles to keep focus at times.
_______________________________________________
Pupdate 12/15/22
Rocco and I headed off to Tractor Supply and a local park. He did well but struggled holding a sit around distractions and was very excited when people walked by at the store. We then headed off to a local park to work around some birds. He did fantastic and only needed a few reminders to stay in “heel” You will see I added a voiceover in the second half of the video explaining the hesitation I saw in him getting up onto the bench.
_______________________________________________
Pupdate 12/16/22
Rocco and I did some training in home this morning and then headed off to a couple local parks. Today we focused on increasing distance with his commands. He is struggling getting into his down position when there is activity going on around him and his head goes side to side trying to see what is going on. He did much better holding his sit command and not chasing the birds. His “heel” command is going well but I still have to pick up the leash when we see another dog as he struggles not getting overly excited. We practiced place on different objects and that seems to be his biggest struggle currently and a main point of focus as it will boost his confidence!
_______________________________________________________________________________
Pupdate 12/17/22
Rocco and I headed off to a local park when we saw a busy softball game. We headed through the crowds and he walked well except for when he first saw a new dog. His ears perked up, he jumped and wanted to pull towards them. All of the loud noises going on at the game were a distraction and you will see when the crowd cheers and I asked him to come he became a bit concerned with the noise around him. We will continue exposing and socializing him to as many new opportunities we can!
_______________________________________________
Pupdate 12/18/22
Rocco and I headed off to a local park and Home Depot today. We worked on him holding his sit and down command around distractions. We were also able to pass a few dogs today and he did better remaining in that “heel” position with a few reminders. He is still struggling with the “place” command when we introduce a new elevated surface to him but we are working through it and finding as many new objects we can place him on. He mainly struggles with getting onto the objects that are higher off the ground.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Pupdate 12/19/22
Rocco and I headed off to a couple local parks to focus on his come to sit command and holding downs out in public. We then headed off to Lowes to work around some shopping carts and other odd noises. He did fantastic today passing by people and we passed by two barking dogs in Lowes that he paid little mind too. He is making progress with his downs and does much better holding but struggles getting into the position when distracted. We also practiced place and he got up on a couple benches. He needed some motivation with treats and verbal praise but he got on up there today!
_______________________________________________
Pupdate 12/20/22
Rocco and I headed off to Tractor Supply to grab some dog supplies and practiced his greeting manners along with holding downs. He struggled wanting to nibble once people started to pet him. Even with a few reminders not to he still struggled with it. He did have 2 huge successes today. He peed out in public twice and got on the table all on his own. His confidence is boosting daily and he is learning to relax.
______________________________________________________________________________
Pupdate 12/21/22
Rocco and I headed off to meet up with some other trainers and work around dog distractions today. The first dog he saw he was very excited and wanted to go towards, with a reminder he got back into his heel position. The next few dogs we passed he was curious but did not break his “heel” command. He is also making great progress with place and is having no problem jumping onto new surfaces!
_______________________________________________________________________________
Pupdate 12/22/22
Rocco and I worked on all his commands off leash today. We focused on his down and place command. There was one new bench he hesitated placing on, but got on it with some treats easily. We passed a couple dogs from a distance and he was curious but didn’t break his heel command. There was a loud car that came zooming through the parking lot that spooked him and he broke his heel command but came back with a reminder. We then headed off to tractor supply to work on holding downs around distractions and he did great.
_______________________________________________
Pupdate 12/23/22
Rocco and I headed off to Santa Monica to work around some distractions and then headed home to work on his crate manners. He did great at Santa Monica, but at first was a bit distracted when we saw other dogs but paid no mind to people. After about 20 minutes he got into the swing of things and did very well! As for the crate manners, he needs to sit nicely when I open up the car door and not jump into the crate until he is given the command.
_______________________________________________
Pupdate 12/24/22
Rocco and I headed down to Orange County for the holidays. We headed off to the local outlets and practiced around all the last minute shoppers. We focused on holding downs and his come to sit command. He did well around the distractions and paid no mind to the couple of dogs we passed. We then headed home to work on his food manners. He is making great progress and ready to show off all his new skills!
