Meet Rosie. She is a Golden Retriever who has joined us for our Two Week Board and Train Program. Rosie is here for basic obedience, leash pulling, and jumping to greet. She listens when she wants to and has trouble maintaining her Sit. She jumps to greet when she gets familiar with somebody and she also has a tendency of running out the door. Over the next fourteen days, Rosie will be working on her behavior amd be set up for success, with the hopes of becoming a well mannered pup. Check in to see her progress!
Rosie and I, like Bandit, spent some time at the park by going on a walk to establish a bond. She is easily distracted by people and would walk in their direction whenever we passed by. To correct her behavior, I began to use leash tension. She is still getting used to it and can be stubborn about it as well. Throughout our walk she would only slightly get ahead of me, so by making a quick turn in the opposite direction and using tension to guide her back towards me, we began working on Heel. She is still trying to understand the concept, which is normal for dogs when learning a new behavior. Throughout her Program, Rosie will continue to work on it by applying it on our walks. She did not eat her dinner but like Bandit, I will leave it in her kennel as well with hopes of her eating through the night.
Rosie and I continue to make progress with her Heel and we met with other trainers and their dogs who assisted us by serving as a distraction. She was introduced to her recall technique which is known as Come to Sit. This consists of having Rosie come towards my right side, going around behind me, and sitting on my left. By guiding Rosie with leash tension, she caught on to the concept fairly quick and understood what I was asking. The trouble she was having with following through, were the distractions of the other pups in the area, but I was able to work her through it. She still sits off to the side of me at times, but I will work on that by using walls as barriers to have Rosie in a straighter Sit next to me.
Rosie and I have been working on Place. This technique can be of great use whenever guests are over or if there is a knock on your door. Rosie is a confident pup and will get onto an object anytime it is introduced to her. What she had trouble with, was remaining in a Sit when she was on the object. Once I praised her for following through, as soon as I stepped away, she would almost immediately come out of her Place and make her way towards me. To correct her behavior, I would reset and ask her to Place again. It took some time for Rosie to understand what I was asking, but I was able to work her through it.
Rosie and I continue to work on her recall and she is showing improvement the more we stay consistent. Our morning and evening walks have also helped with the progress of her Heel. I brought her out to a local shopping center to work around people serving as distractions, and she adjusted to the environment around her fairly quick. Working on Place at home has also helped Rosie maintain her Sit for a good period of time, so I decided to work on it in a public setting. She did really well and even though she did come out of it, I was able to reset her and work her through it.
Rosie and I have been working on Down. She knows what it means but needed some a refresher and guidance to help her learn it once again. Rosie was not taking any treats and we worked on it by using leash tension. She was being quite stubborn and hesitant, and would also stiffen up anytime I applied leash tension to help her towards the ground. Like Bandit, I rewarded her with praise whenever an intent was made, and released tension immediately. We took breaks in between our sessions to avoid frustration, as well as walking it off to help Rosie get into a more calm relaxed state. By remaining patient and staying consistent, Rosie slowly began to comprehend and began to follow through. It is still a work in progress but she is understanding what I am asking and working through it.
Rosie and I have been making progress on her recall. By using walls as barriers like I mentioned before, her Come to Sit is looking better than before. There are times that she will test me and not follow through, but with the use of the E-Collar along with the verbal cue, I am able to correct her behavior. Throughout our walk, I noticed that Rosie was having trouble with anything on wheels, as she would either stop, or jump up and try to cower behind me. To work her through that, I would keep her at a distance from anything approaching, and once she began to adjust, I would slowly get closer as we continued with our walk. Patience once again played a big role in this exercise, as we do not want to rush the process to get the behavior that we want out of our pups. It can traumatize the dog, and it can also be very difficult to counter condition it as well. She is also doing very well with her Down, and like Bandit, I will also begin to increase distance with her beginning with low level distractions.
Rosie and I began to work on distance and duration with a fifteen foot long line. As soon as I took a step back, Rosie would come out of her stationary position and would come towards me. I corrected her behavior by placing her back into position and asking her to Sit or Down once again. I work with five second increments, meaning one foot back is five seconds, two feet back is ten seconds, three feet back is fifteen seconds and so on. With Rosie I worked with three second increments and released her with a “Break” anytime she followed through. She still needs more practice but she is beginning to understand what I am asking her to do.
Rosie and Bandit spent some playtime with each other today. They both did really well in the backyard and did not react to my lawn mower or weed eater while I did some gardening. They enjoy each other’s company and they behave very well together when they roam around the house. I had a cookout in my backyard and they did very well with guests that came over. Although Rosie did jump to greet a few times, I corrected her behavior with an “Off” command, and she was able to follow through. She is very friendly around people and loves to get attention. We had dinner in the backyard and spent the rest of the day lounging inside the house.
Rosie and I began working on leash dragging exercises. She was having some trouble with her recall as she is used to leash guidance from me to move her in the right direction. After a few reps, Rosie began to grasp onto the concept and work through it. We also ran into the same issue when working on Place. To work her through it, I stepped onto the object myself and had Rosie follow with verbal encouragement. Once Rosie understood what I was asking, she would then Place on her own but would not hold her Sit for very long. Like Bandit, I used the E-Collar and also reminded her to Sit anytime she made an intent. We will continue practicing as she prepares for her off leash experience.
Rosie and I have been working on her Door Manners ever since her Program began. Anytime I would open a door, Rosie would try to run out of it. I would close the door as soon as she began to make the intent in order to let her know that her behavior is not ok. Throughout this training process, we have been using a fifteen foot long line, and gradually increasing distance over time. Anytime Rosie came out of her stationary position, I would close the door and reinitiate the process once again. By staying consistent and practicing everyday, Rosie is following through and achieving her goal.
Rosie and I drove out to a local shopping center and worked on some final leash dragging exercises around distractions. She was having some trouble maintaining her Down and would immediately sit up when I tried to walk away. To work her through it, I remained next to her for a few seconds while reminding her to Down and praising her for not sitting up. I then began to step away and repeating myself with a “good girl, good down,” to encourage her good behavior. Rosie did very well following through, and she is just about ready to be working fully off leash.
Rosie and I took a drive to the beach and we did some off leash conditioning around different distractions. She did well around people, dogs, skateboards, bicycles, and roller blades. During our session, Rosie did come out of her Extended Down as a bicycle drove by really close to her. Once she sat up, I then proceeded to reset her by asking her to Down again. This time, Rosie was able to follow through, as two bicycles drove past her at a very short distance. She is now ready to begin working on her Final, as it will be the main focus for the remainder of her Program.
Rosie and I have been working on Greeting Manners throughout her Program. She also jumps to greet new people, but unlike Bandit, Rosie was a little nervous around new people, and would try to cower behind me. By taking her out to different public areas, she began to get more comfortable around new people that wanted to greet her. With time and consistency, Rosie has made a big improvement and is adjusting to people being around her. She can now be approached and be greeted without coming out of her Sit.
Rosie has completed her Two Week Board and Train Program and is ready to come home. I want to thank you for trusting me with Rosie while she was under my care, and for the opportunity in being her trainer. She was a great companion and we became great friends. I am looking forward to showing you what she can do, and always remember to stay consistent to keep up with her training. Thank you Rosie!
