Roo | Chihuahua/Cocker Spaniel Mix | Alhambra, CA | In Training
- Tanner Strong
- Mar 15
- 5 min read
Updated: Mar 22
Meet Roo! Roo is a three year old Chihuahua/Cocker Spaniel Mix from Alhambra, California, here for our One-Week Board and Train Program! Roo is a little sweetheart, however she can be a little nervous around new people, and sometimes shows a bit of reactivity to other dogs and children. She also needs some work on her obedience skills, especially her recall! Over the next seven days, we will be working on those obedience skills, helping with her confidence and reliability, working on her manners in and out of the house, and showing her how to be the best pup she can possibly be! Stay tuned for Roo's one week transformation!
3/15/2026
Roo and I spent some time at the park after pickup so we could get to know each other a bit before heading home. She was a little nervous at first, which is very normal on the first day in a new environment with a new person. Because of that, she wasn’t very interested in taking treats from me yet. Even so, she was willing to work with me a bit, when I asked for a Sit, she followed through about half the time. She’s still a little unsure and didn’t want to hold the position for very long, but that’s something we’ll build on as her confidence grows.
Once we arrived home, Roo started to relax and become more comfortable. It was great to see her beginning to open up, she even started wagging her tail for me as she settled in. Those little moments are always a great sign that a dog is starting to feel safe in their new surroundings.
So far, Roo hasn’t shown any reactivity toward other dogs, which is great to see early on. Overall, she’s been a pleasure to have around, and I’m looking forward to continuing to build her confidence and working on her commands as she gets more comfortable each day!
3/16/2026
Roo and I spent our time today continuing to build her confidence, while also working on her Sit command and walking politely in Heel. She’s still not very interested in taking treats, but she was much more willing to give and receive affection during our training today, which is a great sign that she’s starting to feel more comfortable working with me.
There were a few distractions around that made her a little nervous, but she handled them well overall. Even when she felt unsure, she didn’t bark or lunge at anything, which is great progress. Instead, she was able to move through those moments and continue working.
Her Sit command has improved a lot, and she’s starting to sit very nicely when asked. We also spent time working on Heel, where the goal is for Roo to walk calmly right next to me instead of wandering or pulling. She would occasionally get distracted and stop to sniff or fixate on other dogs, but her overall behavior was noticeably better today, and she’s starting to understand what I’m asking from her.
Roo made some really nice progress today, especially with her confidence and engagement. As she continues getting more comfortable, I’m hoping we’ll keep seeing her confidence grow and her focus improve even more!
3/17/2026
Today we started working on her Come To Sit command, which will be her official recall. This goes beyond a basic “come,” as I’m asking Roo not only to come to me when called, but also to move around into position at my left side and sit with her ears lined up at my knee. It’s a more detailed behavior, but it will be incredibly useful once she fully understands it.
Roo is doing an excellent job with the “come to me” portion of the command, she’s very willing and responsive there. The more nuanced part, where she comes around my legs and settles into the correct position, is a bit more challenging for her right now. That’s completely normal, and with continued practice, she’ll start to piece it all together more smoothly. The important part is that she’s trying and making steady progress!
Be sure to check out the video above to see her progress in action!
3/18/2026
Roo and I headed to the park today where we met up with several other trainers and their dogs! It was a great opportunity to work around real-world distractions and help build her confidence.
Roo was definitely a bit nervous throughout the session, and she did get startled once by another dog. That said, she handled everything really well, no reactivity, lunging, or barking at all, which is a huge win for her in that kind of environment.
We focused mainly on her Place command. For Place, I want Roo to hop onto an object, like a place cot, and remain there until she’s released or given another command. She’s been doing well with this at home, but adding in the distractions of other dogs made it more challenging today.
At first, Roo was a bit skeptical of the cot and unsure about getting on, but she worked through it and caught on pretty quickly. Once she understood what was being asked, she started performing much more confidently.
Place is going to be one of Roo’s most important commands, not just for structure, but for building her overall confidence. Today we already started to see little glimpses of that growth, which is awesome to see. Great progress for Roo!
3/19/2026
Roo had a great start to her day with a morning trip to the park, where we spent some time exploring around the ponds! She was a little skeptical of the geese and ducks at first, but did a nice job working through it. When asked, Roo was able to ignore them and bring her attention back to me, which is great progress!
We also continued working on her Place command using a variety of different objects to help build her confidence. New surfaces can be a bit challenging, but Roo did a great job stepping up and becoming more comfortable with each one.
Good job today, Roo!
3/20/2026
Roo and I spent more time working around distractions at the park this morning, as it was a bit more crowded than usual. This gave us a great chance to continue building her confidence and composure in a busier environment.
We made a point to spend plenty of time near the playgrounds, since Roo can sometimes be reactive to children. I’m very happy to say that I didn’t see any of that today! She did a great job staying calm and composed, even with kids playing and running around nearby.
Roo also did well with her commands and showed nice focus on me throughout our session. She’s continuing to make steady progress, especially in these more challenging environments.
Good job today, Roo!
Pupdate: 3/21/2026
Roo had her busiest day yet today! We spent most of our time near the basketball games, which was definitely the noisiest and most active area of the park this morning.
She started off a bit hesitant with all the commotion, which is completely understandable, but I’m very proud of how quickly she began to settle in and build confidence as we worked. With some guidance and repetition, she started focusing on me more and handling the environment much better.
Today was a big step for Roo in learning how to stay calm and composed in busier, more distracting settings. She showed a lot of courage, and it was great to see her push through her initial nerves. Great job today, Roo!
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