Meet Roxie! Roxie is a 4 year old Belgian Malinois coming from Orange, CA who has joined us for our 2 week Board and Train program work on her obedience and improvement with her temperament. Roxie has moved into a new home and has been adjusting but has shown aggression towards the men of the house except the women. Roxie knows her obedience well when she's not distracted but if something comes into her sights she doesn't like she will become reactive. Over the next fourteen days, we will be working to improve Roxie's obedience and manners, as well as address her reactivity, to set her on the right track to becoming a well-behaved pup! Stay tuned for her transformation!
Pupdate 2/19/2025
Today, I began Roxie's obedience journey, focusing on addressing some challenges we've encountered together. Roxie and I have worked together before, and I’m happy to report that her owners have been putting in a lot of effort with her. As a result, she seemed very confident during our outing to Hillcrest Park in Downtown Fullerton. We took a lap around the park, allowing Roxie to roam and express herself freely. She remained calm, even when people passed by, but I kept her close just to prevent any potential lunging. Throughout the walk, Roxie showed affection by rolling over, sitting in my lap, or resting her head on me—all signs of submissive behavior. I decided to remove her muzzle, and she was overjoyed, accepting face rubs from me, something she hasn’t done much lately. I left the muzzle in my car and continued to work on her obedience as we walked, confident that she wouldn’t nip at me.
Once we returned to my house, I gave Roxie the opportunity to explore and familiarize herself with her surroundings. When we entered my side of the house, I let her sniff my dog Hunter through his crate. She spent just a few seconds sniffing him before walking away, and I praised her for that calm response. While I worked on the computer, I placed a mat next to my chair for Roxie, where she quickly settled down and fell asleep. She stayed on the mat without getting up, even while I went into the kitchen and returned. Later, I placed her in her crate, where she fell asleep easily, undisturbed by the other dogs playing outside.
I'm already seeing significant progress with Roxie, and I’m excited about the next two weeks of training. Stay tuned for more updates on her board and train program!
Pupdate 2/20/2025
Today, I took Roxie to a park near my house for exposure and to work on our training. Before we left, I took her out of her crate, and although she wasn’t having any issues, she quickly became excited. I decided to use a slip leash to keep her close, rather than letting her run freely around my room.
Once we were at the park, Roxie was very enthusiastic about sniffing around and exploring. This seemed to help desensitize her, but when I acted happy or excited, she interpreted it as an invitation to play and started jumping on me. To redirect her, I used her e-collar only when she jumped. In the video above, we began practicing the "place" command, which Roxie is already familiar with. However, she was so excited that she got a bit confused about what to do, even though she’s performed the command before. Since she was overstimulated, I focused on helping her perfect the command to avoid her stopping just before completing it. I tried to ask her to perform the command without using the leash, but due to her excitement, I had to assist by guiding her with the leash to prevent jumping.
After the training session, we went to the outside of the dog park to see how Roxie would respond to the dogs inside. To my surprise, she didn’t bark or lunge at any of the dogs that passed by us. At one point, a Doberman stood at the gate, showing interest in Roxie. I gave Roxie the chance to say hello if she wanted, and they sniffed each other for about 10 seconds before Roxie walked away. I praised her for calmly interacting with the other dog. We stayed for about 15 minutes, practicing obedience while Roxie had the opportunity to observe the dogs playing inside the park.
Pupdate 2/21/2025
Today, we returned to Hillcrest Park in Fullerton to give Roxie some exercise and practice her obedience in a more dynamic setting. The park wasn't too crowded, but there were enough people for us to encounter during our walk. Roxie remained unfazed and showed no interest in anyone we passed. We focused on having her practice obedience by placing her on every platform we encountered, which helped reinforce her training. Her heel command has been consistent, and she no longer pulls, though when she gets excited, she tends to move slightly ahead. However, she can easily be redirected with just my voice. I spent some time working with her near the main street, practicing the "sit" and "down" commands while increasing the distance between us. She performed well, and we gradually built up to two-minute holds for each position before I allowed her to take a break and rewarded her.
Later, we introduced her to my brother while she was muzzled, to assess her temperament around new people. While we were training in front of the house, Nick came outside, and Roxie initially growled upon seeing him. I quickly redirected her using her e-collar and the "off" (leave it) command. Nick was able to approach her and walk around her without any issues. He then took the leash and continued training her while I supervised. Roxie followed all of Nick's obedience commands, and when he asked for a break, she allowed him to pet her. Roxie is making great progress in her board and train program, but we will continue to work on refining her skills with new goals and objectives as we move forward.
Pupdate 2/22/2025
This morning, I took Hunter, Roxie, and Pepper out for a pack walk to provide some exercise and to observe Roxie’s behavior around the other dogs. This was Roxie’s first walk with other dogs, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that she was not overly interested in them. Instead, she kept pace with Hunter and Pepper, maintaining a steady rhythm. We walked around the neighborhood for about 45 minutes before heading home for breakfast and a nap following some training sessions.
Later, around 1:00 PM, Roxie and I returned from another walk where she went potty. Upon coming back home, we went to the backyard to focus on house training. We started with door manners conditioning to prevent Roxie from bolting out of the house. The goal is to help her understand that she should stay behind the gate rather than impulsively rushing toward me. If she tries to pass the gate, I use the e-collar to gently redirect her, walking her back toward the backyard and restarting the exercise. Roxie did well staying behind the gate, and every time she maintained her position, I praised and rewarded her for not acting on impulse. We still need to work on walking through the gate together, as Roxie tends to bolt when I try to walk past her, but we’ll continue to improve with time.
We also spent some time around my brother, and I was happy to see that Roxie didn’t growl when he entered my room or came to the front of the house for training. We muzzled Roxie again, and Nick spent about 10 minutes training her. As the session went on, Roxie seemed more confident and eager to work with him, responding well to his commands. When Nick asked for a break, Roxie would run to him, nudging his legs and seeking praise just as she does with me. Eventually, she even rolled over for belly rubs from him, clearly enjoying the interaction.
Pupdate 2/23/2025
Today, I took Roxie to a pet-friendly store to work on exposure and obedience training in a busy environment to observe how she would behave. For safety reasons, I muzzle Roxie when she interacts with people, particularly men, as she has shown reactivity towards them in the past. Upon entering the store, Roxie remained calm and obedient, walking with me through the aisles and allowing people to pass by without issue. We worked through every section of the store, exposing her to new smells and sounds, and to my surprise, she handled the stimuli well without reacting unnecessarily.
During our training session, we used a stool, where I asked Roxie to place her front paws on top. She was able to stabilize herself, giving me the opportunity to capture the second photo above.
At one point, when I asked Roxie to lie down, the store became increasingly crowded. I stayed close to her, observing her body language as different groups of people entered. While she occasionally watched people, she remained calm and ignored others, comfortably lying down without appearing anxious. Each time Roxie allowed people to pass, I praised her and reset our training by asking her to lie down again while people continued to shop around us. By the end of our visit, Roxie showed increased confidence, allowing people to pass her and performing her obedience tasks with ease.
Pupdate 2/24/2025
Today, we visited Whittier Narrows Park in El Monte, CA, to focus on obedience training and work with Roxie around the men I would be interacting with throughout the day.
In the video above, you can see Mike and Jose working with Roxie. Mike does well in getting Roxie to perform her heel command and respond to him, but her body language suggests discomfort—she is avoiding eye contact and has her tail tucked, which indicates she’s uneasy. They trained for about three minutes before giving Roxie a break, though Mike does not offer any physical praise. When Jose works with Roxie, he gives her more commands, and she performs well for him. However, at one point, when Jose signals Roxie with his hand, she unexpectedly nips at him. While the reason for this behavior is unclear, we suspect it could be linked to possible past physical abuse.
With me, Roxie shows more trust and courage, as we’ve been training together for several months. However, when interacting with strangers, she still seems to be on guard. The muzzle she wore for safety is not as effective as it should be, so I plan to replace it with a more secure one to prevent her from lunging at anyone.
The third video clip shows Roxie without her muzzle, working with me by her side. In this session, she is more focused and responsive, even with male distractions. You can also see Tanner and his dog training nearby, and Roxie seems noticeably happier, likely because she is familiar with Tanner. We continued to reinforce her obedience training, working on all her commands until the end of our visit today.
Pupdate 2/25/2025
This morning, I took Hunter and Roxie on a walk together, and it went well with both dogs displaying good behavior and being obedient towards each other. The only issue we encountered was when I gave Roxie the chance to go potty. She would suddenly bolt away from me and Hunter, but I was able to redirect her and ask her to go potty again. After running, she slowed down once we got to the grass.
When we returned home, I allowed the dogs to greet each other in the backyard. They sniffed each other, and Roxie started running around, which caught Hunter's attention. This led to them chasing each other, but without actually playing. Later in the day, we focused on home training, specifically conditioning Roxie’s "place" command. We made the exercise more challenging by having her follow through to the place mat from a distance when asked. In the video above, you can see us working on improving her place command by asking her to go to the mat from farther away. She performed well, even while excited, though sometimes she tends to get overly energized during training.
Our second session focused on door manners, where we worked on improving her obedience in this context. Roxie does well staying in her down position while I come in and out of the house. However, if she gets up, she needs to be redirected back into the down position, as she does this out of excitement. At one point, she stood up, but I was able to easily redirect her from inside the house using her e-collar.
The rest of the day was spent reviewing all commands and introducing small variations in the practice. For example, my brother knocked on the door and entered to give Roxie a new perspective. We also did some training with my brother, keeping the sessions short to ensure I could supervise Roxie’s behavior and make sure she remained calm and confident while working with someone else.
Pupdate 2/26/2025
Today, I took Roxie to Citadel Outlets in Commerce, CA, to work on her obedience training in a busy environment, like a shopping center. When we first arrived, I put her gear on and we headed downstairs from the parking structure. As we made our way down, Roxie tried to pull ahead, so I focused on working with her to walk together calmly.
As we walked around the shopping center, I was pleased to see that Roxie didn't react to people walking by, whether they were male or female. We spent some time walking around the area to help her get used to the sights and sounds. After completing one lap of the outlet, I praised Roxie for her good behavior and took a short break to hydrate and rest.
Next, we selected quieter areas of the outlet to practice her obedience commands. Roxie was very attentive and well-behaved, with minimal need for her e-collar. At one point, a FedEx driver walked by, and we chatted for about ten minutes while Roxie stayed in a down position the entire time. After the conversation, I praised Roxie for her excellent behavior and continued walking with her, reinforcing her obedience commands. After about an hour, we headed home to wrap up our outing.
Later, Roxie spent some time with Hunter. Although they chased each other around, they didn't engage in play. Instead, Roxie preferred to chew on a toy and lay down while Hunter explored, which didn't seem to bother her at all as I supervised them.
Pupdate 2/27/2025
Today, I took Roxie to the Santa Monica Pier to practice her obedience training in a highly distracting environment. The pier is filled with many people and various distractions, so I wanted to observe how she would behave in such a setting. For safety reasons, Roxie was muzzled during the visit, but she handled the situation very well, allowing numerous people to pass by her at close range without reacting.
In the video above, you can see Roxie's obedience training in action, which she performs effortlessly. She doesn’t attempt to remove her muzzle and continues walking along the boardwalk while following commands. Throughout the video, she successfully completes her recall, heel, extended sit, and down commands, maintaining focus despite the surrounding distractions. Once the training session is finished, I release Roxie to praise and reward her for her good behavior. Afterward, we walked the full length of the pier and back, giving Roxie the opportunity to experience the beach environment. We also spent some time sitting on a bench, allowing Roxie to observe people passing by, and I rewarded her for staying calm and allowing this interaction.
When we finished our visit, we headed home to enjoy the rest of the day.
Later, I had my younger brother continue Roxie's training while she was still muzzled, which has been going well. While Roxie is in my room with my brother, she tends to ignore him. During this time, I either train her or play with her to keep her attention on me and help her stay focused. On her own, Roxie has occasionally approached Nick to smell him for a brief moment before walking away.
Pupdate 2/28/2025
This morning, the dogs went on a 30-minute walk together before returning home to play and socialize. The video above was taken after our walk, once we got back and let them into the backyard. Before allowing them to play, I ask them to sit as a way to calm them and prepare them for playtime. Hunter loves chasing Roxie around the yard, usually for 5 to 10 minutes. Their play often involves using their teeth, which is typical behavior for breeds like Shepherds and Malinois. As a result, their play can appear rough and intense, but this is normal for them. They usually settle into a gentler play style after a few minutes. After their play, Roxie tends to lose interest and seeks out other activities. She’ll often look for a toy or come back to me for attention.
Roxie has generally been comfortable wearing a muzzle around people, but something unusual happened yesterday. While I left her in my room with my brother, he stood up from the chair he was sitting in, and for no apparent reason, Roxie reacted toward him. She didn’t lunge at him, but she got up and started barking excessively. I quickly redirected her behavior and placed her in her crate. Despite several days of training with my brother, she still reacted within moments of me leaving the room. For her safety and others', I will continue to muzzle her more often.
Pupdate 3/1/2025
Today, I took Roxie to Hillcrest Park in Downtown Fullerton for some exercise and to practice her obedience in a public setting. Upon arrival, I decided to walk her along a specific route, away from crowds, so we could enjoy the visit without the muzzle. Roxie has been doing great with people passing by at a distance, even when I'm not very close to her. During our walk, we went through all of her obedience commands and also practiced leash dragging, as she tends to stay close to me and hasn't shown any desire to run off. I focused on introducing something new for her to learn.
While practicing the "place" command on a platform near a group of people, Roxie remained calm and unfazed by their presence, keeping her attention on me. I would occasionally break her from the command to reward her, reinforcing her ability to stay neutral in public settings. As we trained, a few people who recognized her breed complimented her, commenting on how well-trained she is and how happy she seemed with me. During these moments, I continued to pet Roxie, praising her for her obedience.
Later, we had a family gathering at home. After our training session, the noise from the party seemed to upset Roxie while she was in her crate. Since our house is usually quiet, the unfamiliar sounds and conversations from the other room disturbed her. To help her settle, I put her e-collar on for the night, and she calmed down immediately when redirected. Towards the end of the evening, I kept one door open to the noisy area, but blocked off the hallway leading to it, allowing Roxie to roam freely in my part of the house with Hunter. By this point, the noise no longer seemed to bother her, and she was able to relax and enjoy her time with us.
Pupdate 3/2/2025
This morning, we followed our usual routine of a walk and some playtime for the dogs before having breakfast. I kept Roxie in my room, and she has been doing well with both my brother and Hunter nearby as she roams around. However, she often barks randomly when she hears my parents on their side of the house. Fortunately, I can redirect her, and she is able to settle down and stop barking or growling after hearing them.
In the video above, we focused on a new objective: off-leash training, but only in front of the house. Roxie has consistently shown good behavior by staying close to me and always responding to her recall command. Today, we tested this out, and as usual, Roxie was eager to train and kept her attention on me. Recently, I’ve also been teaching her to walk under me, which is demonstrated in the video. When I ask her to "down," I walk away, and she remains calm and focused, showing no signs of impulsiveness.
In the second video clip, we worked on conditioning her to follow the "under obedience" command and sending her to a specific spot. Since Roxie already knows most of her commands with ease, I hadn’t spent too much time introducing this new one. However, she picked it up quickly after just a few attempts. As she got more comfortable with the command, it became easier for her to place herself under the chair. At first, her rear would stick out too much, so I used a treat to guide her into the proper position. Once our practice session ended, I released Roxie and rewarded her with praise. After the video, we stayed in the front yard to relax.
While Roxie was in the "down" position, a few neighbors passed by, and each time, she would growl while lying down. I had to redirect her to prevent her from reacting to each person passing. We did have one successful moment where she didn’t growl, but we will continue to work on this behavior. It seems that Roxie is territorial about the house and reacts to strangers walking on the sidewalk.
Pupdate 3/3/2025
This morning, Hunter and Roxie enjoyed their morning walk together, which lasted about 30 minutes. After returning home, I gave them some playtime in the backyard. Today’s play session seemed to last a bit longer than usual. However, when Hunter is ready to stop, Roxie becomes somewhat needy, continuously seeking more play even when it’s clear Hunter is done. To manage this, I either intervene directly or redirect her using her e-collar to curb her overexcitement. I then follow up with a command before allowing her to resume her activities.
Later, we headed to Whittier Narrows Park to train with some friends from Offleash. Our visit had a mix of successful and unsuccessful moments. Roxie worked with several trainers, and one of her notable interactions was with Tanner, who was able to pet her today. This was particularly noteworthy because she has been quite distant with any male trainers in the past.
In the video above, you can see our new friend Priscilla working with Roxie. During this session, Roxie was calm and obedient, which was a positive development. In the second video, I had Roxie work on her recall command with Priscilla. I wanted to challenge her with a new handler, but Roxie performed the command with ease. After a brief conversation with Mike, which wasn’t recorded, he threw his arm out unexpectedly. Roxie lunged toward him, which was a random and unpredictable reaction. We redirected her and started recording to see if she would react again. To my surprise, in the third video clip, when Mike threw his arms out again, Roxie remained in her down position and didn’t react.
Before the video started, I had Roxie greet Ruby and Oso, Mike's dogs. She greeted them and then walked away without showing any interest in playing. In the final video clip, I’m working with Roxie on impulse control around other dogs. She remained very obedient and calm during this exercise. One consistent behavior I’ve noticed is that she tends to tap her muzzle against my leg, which I redirect using the e-collar. When I ask her to down, she relaxes and lies on the ground while others continue their training around her.
Overall, our visit went well. However, Roxie still shows unpredictable reactions, especially when it comes to arm gestures from males. She was able to greet Tanner, which was a significant accomplishment, so it seems there may still be certain male gestures or body language that confuse her.
Pupdate 3/4/2025
Today marks Roxie's last day of training, so we began with our early morning walk with Hunter, followed by playtime for both dogs.
In the video above, I recorded a grooming session with Roxie. She's been shedding quite a bit and starting to smell, so I decided to give her a grooming session before returning her home. I wasn't sure how Roxie would react to the grooming, but she handled it quite well. I massaged her while offering plenty of verbal praise, which seemed to help her stay calm. Occasionally, I would need to ask her to sit again, but as soon as she did, I praised her, which helped her relax and allowed me to continue cleaning her. Throughout the process, Roxie was calm, never growling or showing any signs of aggression. After she was all cleaned up, we spent the rest of the day reviewing her obedience commands and did some additional training with my brother when he returned from school.
Roxie has completed her two-week board and train, and it has been a true pleasure working with her. Over the course of her training, she has made significant progress in several areas, particularly in socializing outdoors and demonstrating exceptional obedience. Her drive and energy can be challenging at times, but she is incredibly intelligent and responsive when given tasks to learn. Roxie has shown noticeable improvement in managing her reactivity, though there are still moments when she can be unpredictable. That being said, her reactivity is now much more manageable. We've also focused on her ability to work with others, and there has been progress, particularly with a few males. This indicates that Roxie is not aggressive by nature, but rather uncomfortable in certain situations. When training outside and interacting with other people, Roxie’s confidence has grown significantly. A great example of this was our visit to Santa Monica, where she demonstrated a much more relaxed demeanor in group settings. It’s truly rewarding to see her becoming more confident and content when we go out on a daily basis.
Though I’m sad to see her go, it’s time for Roxie to return home to her family. I’m excited for them to see the progress she’s made, and I’m confident she will continue to thrive with the foundation we’ve built together.
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