Roxie | Portuguese Water Dog | Long Beach, CA

Meet Roxie! This five-month-old Portuguese Water Dog from Long Beach, California is here with us for our Two Week Board and Train Program. Roxie is a friendly and very energetic pup, but she is easily distracted and struggles to maintain the focus needed to reliably listen to what is asked of her. She is very easily overexcited, likes to pull on the leash while walking, and sometimes gets into mischief at home such as getting into the trash. Roxie also has a habit of barking at and jumping all over people when she is excited, and will playfully nip at body parts, long hair, clothing, and her leash. She also is still in the potty training process, and tends to have accidents while indoors. Over the next fourteen days, we will be working to improve her obedience, manners, and potty training to set her on the right track to becoming a well-behaved pup both on and off leash! Stay tuned for her transformation!

Pupdate 3/21/2025

Today Roxie and I spent the day bonding and getting to know each other after her pickup! She was extremely excited to meet me, and greeted me with a lot of barking, jumping, and playfully nipping at me. After some time passed and she had the initial excitement of meeting someone new wore off, the barking seemed to subside, however anytime she became remotely excited again she would return to the jumping and nipping behaviors. She seemed to think this was a fun game, though this behavior is something we will need to work on discouraging, as she can get quite rough with it and could accidentally hurt someone, even with her playful intentions. We took some time to explore around the park together, and see how she responded to various types of distractions. The park was pretty quiet overall, though anytime a person, dog, or other distraction would catch her attention, she would often become fully focused on it and make it her mission to go play with them! This would include pulling heavily on the leash, occasional barking, and attempts to jump on or towards the distraction even if it was well out of her reach. After taking some time to explore the park and assess her general behavior and personality, I began testing her knowledge of basic commands to help me get an idea of her starting point and what areas of her training may need some extra attention. Since Roxie was so overexcited, she struggled heavily to follow any instructions as she was too busy trying to play and run around. She seemed to have no concept of the Heel command, and she was often pulling heavily on the leash in an attempt to get where she wanted to go. She would sometimes Come when called, though if something else had her attention, the chances of her recalling to me were very slim. If she did happen to come my direction when called, she would typically either begin jumping on me again or simply continue past me without stopping. Whenever she happened to have a brief moment of focus, she was able to perform Sit, though she was mostly inconsistent with following through with this command and struggled to hold it for more than a moment or two. She was unable to perform Down on command, however towards the end of our time here she seemed to be feeling a bit tired, and did end up laying down on her own accord, which is a good sign that she is at least comfortable with entering this position in a public place. One command that I think Roxie may be a fan once we introduce it properly, will be the Place command! She was very eager to jump onto objects we found around the park, and seemed to have a lot of fun while doing so. However, she would tend to play around on the objects by jumping on and off or even right over it, rather than staying still, which is to be expected as this command hasn't been properly introduced just yet.

After we'd spent some time together at the park getting to know each other, it was time to head home and get her settled in! Roxie was able to jump into my car without any hesitation, and also entered the kennel without any issue, which is a good display of Car Manners. Whenever Roxie is to ride in a car with me, she will be secured in a kennel for her utmost safety. She will also be in a kennel at home during nighttime or any other time she is unsupervised. This may be a useful tool in her potty training journey as well, as pups are instinctually discouraged from going potty inside their sleeping area. Upon arriving home, she quickly settled in, and had lots of fun exploring the new environment. Later, we went out for a walk around my neighborhood to let her go potty and become familiar with the location. When she did go potty, she was praised heavily to encourage this good behavior! Starting tomorrow, we will be taking walks around the neighborhood multiple times daily to work on potty and obedience training. When exiting the house to start our walk, Roxie kept trying to jump on me and run out the door as soon as it was opened, so we will definitely be working to improve her Door Manners to make sure she can respect the boundary a doorway creates, as this will help keep her safe. When dinner time came around, Roxie was quite excited and was set on running around the room and jumping all over me while I prepared her meal. She was also rather impatient and wanted to rush to the bowl as soon as I put it down, so we'll definitely need to work on her Food Manners to establish some better habits. Overall she seems to be settling in nicely, and we are so excited to begin this training journey together!

Pupdate 3/22/2025

Today Roxie and I spent the day working in various areas around my neighborhood. We focused on introducing the e-collar and the Heel command during our sessions today. We began our morning in a quiet, distraction-free area along my neighborhood streets to provide Roxie the best opportunity to learn and focus as we took these first steps in her training journey. Later in the day, the neighborhood got more busy with some people and other dogs out on walks, which helped serve as distractions during our evening session.

Pressure is a fundamental tool used in teaching basic obedience commands. The idea is that whenever pressure is applied, be it from a leash or an e-collar, it is paired with a command. The pressure then remains present until Roxie follows the pressure and the command being given. The moment she follows through, the pressure immediately turns off and a reward is given. In order to properly introduce the e-collar, it's helpful for Roxie to first have a solid understanding of leash pressure, as this is the most simple form of pressure due to the clear directional guidance it provides. As such, we first practiced some simple leash pressure exercises to help her become familiar with this concept. Once she showed a solid understanding of the leash pressure, we began adding in a new form of pressure from the e-collar. By pairing these two forms of pressure simultaneously, she will come to understand that each pressure has the same meaning. With time and practice, this will allow the leash and e-collar to be used interchangeably, and eventually allow the opportunity to begin training with the e-collar only, without the need for a leash! Be sure to check out today's video for an in-depth e-collar tutorial!

Heel is an important command for Roxie to begin developing early on in her training, as her habit of pulling every which way on the leash makes walking with her a challenging task. The goal for the Heel command is for Roxie to follow directly alongside her handler on their left side at their heels, and maintain that position while walking unless released or given a new command. This precise positioning takes a lot of practice to master, but it will effectively eliminate pulling on the leash or veering off in different directions, and allow her handler to take the lead on walks instead of her trying to pull them around wherever she pleases. To introduce this command, I kept the leash short but loose, and ensured she stayed on my left side in roughly the Heel position as we walked. If she began to veer off, pull ahead, fall behind, or otherwise create tension on the leash, then leash and e-collar pressure were applied, and the verbal command Heel was given until she returned to the desired position. During Heel, her sole focus should be following her handler's lead, and as such she needs to remain neutral to and ignore her environment, which means no sniffing, staring at distractions, barking, or otherwise becoming distracted, which will take some practice for her to achieve. When walking in the correct Heel position, the leash was loose, no pressure was applied, and lots of praise and rewards were given to create value in this position. As she gets better with this command, she will have an easier time staying in the Heel position without as much guidance needed, and will need to be given reminders less frequently. Overall she did a good job today and seemed to catch on pretty quickly, though more work will need to be done before she can Heel reliably, especially around distractions.

As for an update regarding Roxie's potty training, so far she seems to understand to not fully relieve her bladder or defecate while inside my home and she has been doing well with the schedule we are beginning to develop for potty breaks. However, she does have a major habit of excited urinating and submissive urinating as well. To help reduce the excited urinating, we have been working to teach her that inside the home is a calm space where she should be relaxed, and we've been trying to keep high-level excitement and playtime for when we are outside so if she happens to lose control of her bladder, we will be in an appropriate area for it. She does tend to get very excited whenever I approach her while she's in the kennel however, so each time I go to let her out she tends to urinate a small amount both in the kennel and on the floor directly outside of it, so we'll need to work more on solving this issue. The submissive urination seems to mainly occur when I go to put a leash or collar on her, as she tends to enter a submissive appeasement gesture while I do this and ends up urinating in the process. Hopefully, this will be resolved with time as she comes to trust me more and understands that she does not need to submit to me or attempt to appease me in this manner.

Pupdate 3/23/2025

Today Roxie and I took a walk over to a local park, where we practiced her training around some distractions. The park wasn't overly busy, but did have some common distractions around including people, playing children, other dogs, food, and small animals such as birds and squirrels.

Roxie is often easily distracted, as she tends to focus on her surroundings even when asked to perform commands, which often results in her becoming too distracted and excited to listen reliably. Moments like this are a great opportunity to implement the Off command. The goal for the Off command is for Roxie to stop whatever she is doing, and focus on her handler. This is a very versatile command, similar to "no" or "leave it", and can be used in various situations, such as to interrupt fixation on distractions, barking, jumping on people, eating or sniffing things she's not supposed to, or any other behaviors that are undesirable or inappropriate at that time. The verbal Off command when paired with leash pressure allows us to interrupt the behavior and help her to refocus so that she is in a better mindset to listen for upcoming instructions. Once the Off command is given, it's beneficial to immediately follow it with another command such as Sit, Come, Heel, etc. Once she stops whatever behavior she was doing, asking her to set her focus on a task will help keep her attention away from what initially distracted her or caused the undesirable behavior. Roxie has shown good progress in understanding the Off command so far, and with each repetition, she seemed to be quicker to respond and refocus when prompted.

Come to Sit is another important command to begin practicing early on in Roxie's training journey, as it will be our main form of recall. The goal for Come to Sit is for Roxie to come directly to me when called, and circle around to perform a Sit on my left side. The Come to Sit command when performed in its entirety, ensures that she not only comes when called, but also requires her to sit beside her handler and not leave that spot unless released or given a new command. By having her Sit on the left side facing forward, we are setting her up for success to begin walking in a Heel, as she is already in the desired position for it. We introduced Come to Sit today by combining the verbal command "Come" with some other visual cues to grab her attention and guide her towards me. If she failed to begin coming to me on the first ask, leash pressure and e-collar stimulation were added to provide clear communication and reinforcement. Once she approached me, she was guided around to my left side, where she was then asked to perform a Sit. As we practiced more, she began to rely a bit less on the leash pressure to grab her attention and guide her, which is a good sign of progress! She would tend to sit slightly out of the desired position once she got to me, though for her first day, she did a good job overall! With each successful repetition, I made sure to reward her with lots of praise and affection, to build up a positive association with the command and coming to me when called.

Pupdate 3/24/2025

Today Roxie and I visited a park, where we met up with some other OffLeash SoCal trainers and their pups! This provided a great opportunity to practice her commands in close proximity to other dogs and people in a controlled environment. Roxie was pretty excited when we first arrived and wanted to play with everyone, though she quickly came to understand that the other dogs were all focused on their own handlers and training, which helped set a good example for Roxie to follow! She was still pretty wiggly whenever a person or dog got close to her, though she gradually became more neutral about this the longer we spent here, as it became a normal occurrence and thus helped her become more desensitized to it. During training today, we focused on introducing two new commands, Place and Down.

The goal for the Place command is for Roxie to jump or climb onto a designated object, such as a bench, a bed, or another object with defined borders, and hold a stationary command while remaining on the Place object until released or given a new command. Roxie loves jumping, and even from day one, she has shown a keen interest and enthusiasm about doing so, which is a good trait for this command! However if left to her own devices, she tends to use her skills for mischief, such as trying to jump onto counters, over fences, or other objects. As such, teaching her Place is a great way to provide her with an outlet to enjoy her love for jumping, while using these skills in a way that is beneficial for both her and her handler. Place is a very useful command in many real life scenarios, as it helps give her a very clear idea of where exactly she is to remain at, and helps to teach the concept of boundaries. As expected, Roxie loved this command and quickly picked up on the idea of it! The main thing was teaching her to stay still once on the object, and continuing to reinforce the idea of an implied stay-which refers to the concept that when Roxie is asked to perform any command, she must remain in that position or continue doing that task until she is released or given a new instruction. This applies to all stationary commands including Place, and also other commands like Heel!

The goal for the Down command is for Roxie to lay down completely when asked, and remain in that position until released or given a new command. She loves lying down and relaxing on her own accord when she is feeling calm, though going into a Down on command is a rather foreign concept to her, especially when there are distractions around. To introduce this, we used some leash pressure, physical guidance, and occasional food lures to help guide her until she entered the Down, rewarding her with each repetition. After some practice, she quickly seemed to catch on to the expectations set for her, so we began adding in the e-collar stimulation as reinforcement and gradually using fewer food motivators until they were removed completely. We kept the duration for this command pretty short at first with lots of breaks and praise, as this helps make the training fun and rewarding. As we continue to practice this we will continue increasing the duration gradually so she can learn to remain in this position for extended periods of time. We will also continue adding in more distractions so she can be reliable with the command in any situation or environment.

As for Roxie's potty training, she unfortunately had a bit of a rough start to her morning. She began whining in her kennel last night around 3am, so we went out for a late night potty break, though she only chose to urinate during this time. Then, sometime between this 3am potty break and 6am, she had a fecal accident in her kennel. She seemed to have an upset stomach, and was having loose watery stool that she seemed unable to control. She needed a bath to get cleaned up, and she was a very good girl for it and seemed to enjoy bath time! This was good, because about ten minutes after her bath she had another fecal accident and managed to get it all over herself again, and needed another bath. Thankfully, this was the last of the upset stomach issues today. We added some pumpkin puree to her meals today to help settle her tummy, which seems to have done the trick as by evening her stool was firm and normal again. Seemingly random bouts of diarrhea like this are not all too uncommon, especially in the first few days of a board and train program. Some pups have this response when adjusting to big changes in environment, routine, and other factors associated with being away from home, though generally this resolves itself quickly as seen in Roxie's case today.

Pupdate 3/25/2025

Today Roxie and I visited a park, where we practiced all of her commands around distractions. The park had a decent amount of distractions present, including people, children, other dogs, ball games, toy electric cars, squirrels, and more!

When we first arrived Roxie was pretty excited and was feeling very playful, which sometimes caused her to become distracted and lose focus on commands asked of her. The Off command proved to be a valuable tool here, and when used she seemed to understand to disengage, calm down, and listen to instructions better which was great to see! With time, she did seem to settle down a lot as well, and distractions that were once very interesting to her gradually became surroundings she could more easily remain neutral to and tune out as we trained.

Roxie did a good job with her commands overall, and seems to be developing a clear understanding of each of them. She was able to Heel with pretty good reliability, though consistent verbal praise and reminders were typically needed to keep her engaged with me, as her attention span is still on the lower end. When she began to drift out of position, she was able to correct herself with only a little bit of leash pressure needed, which shows she is coming to understand the goal of this command! Her Come to Sit was also rather good, and she always came to me when called. She typically needed some guidance from the leash to perform the maneuver properly, though it was noticeably more smooth today than it has been in previous days which is a good sign of progress. Her stationary commands of Sit, Down, and Place were all good, and she didn't seem to have an issue with them during training today. We began working to add some slightly longer durations to these commands, as well as teaching her to remain in these positions while I moved around a bit. This helps these commands be more useful and practical in real-life situations, as her handler cannot always be standing directly beside her and ideally should be able to move around freely while she remains in position until released.

Roxie's potty training was off to a good start this morning, however after our afternoon training session during nap time in her kennel, another bout of an upset stomach presented itself. This issue persisted through the afternoon and evening, and is still ongoing currently. Often times she will whine momentarily or show other signs of needing to go outside before doing so, such as sniffing the ground or pacing around, which allows me to catch it and promptly bring her out to go potty before an indoor accident occurs. However, there have been some instances when she does not give any warning and abruptly begins having an accident wherever she may be, though this does not seem to be something she can control at the moment due to her upset stomach creating the sudden urge to go unexpectedly. She ended up needing a few quick baths today to get her cleaned up, as she tends to step in it or otherwise get it on her fur before I'm able to move her away from the mess, though thankfully she was a very good girl for her baths and seemed to view it as a fun activity, which was a plus! Despite her potty struggles, she seems to be feeling her usual happy self and is not showing any other signs of feeling unwell, though we will continue to monitor her closely for any changes. We will continue adding pumpkin to her meals, and if it does not improve tomorrow we may also add some white rice, probiotics, or other bland gut-healthy foods to her meals to help resolve the issue.

Pupdate 3/26/2025

Today Roxie and I visited a local shopping strip, where we practiced all of her commands around distractions. This location had a variety of distractions present, including groups of people, other dogs, food, music, and some noises such as car engines, honks, and sirens from the street nearby.

The narrow sidewalks of this location often put us in close proximity to various distractions. This was a great way to put her skills to the test and challenge her focus, and she ended up doing a good job overall! She would sometimes be a bit distracted by other dogs or people and want to look at them for a moment, but she understood not to fixate on them and her attention was able to be diverted away with use of the Off command.

She was able to perform Heel well, though she did occasionally veer off slightly when she became distracted by something, such as a person baby-talking to her in passing or an excited dog walking by. When asked to correct herself however, she was able to do so with minimal leash pressure needed, and once reminded of Heel she seemed to engage with and focus on me more for a good period of time afterward. Her recall for Come to Sit was consistent and reliable, though she did seem to rely on some leash pressure to position herself again. She was able to Sit, Down, and Place here without much issue, though she did tend to need some guidance for Down in the earlier portion of our visit as she was pretty excitable and wasn't too keen on entering this relaxed position at first. The longer we spent here though, the more reliable she was about performing Down on command without physical guidance needed.

Roxie's upset stomach persisted throughout most of today, so we swapped out some of her kibble for plain white rice in addition to the pumpkin to help settle her stomach. By evening it seems to have improved a bit, as she is no longer having sudden and frequent urges to potty, though as she hasn't defecated since the afternoon it's too soon to tell if the issue is resolved. She seems to be in good spirits still and continues to show no signs of discomfort or other health concerns.

Pupdate 3/27/2025

Today Roxie and I visited an outdoor mall, where we continued practicing each of her commands around distractions. The mall wasn't overly busy, but there were still some good distractions around such as other dogs, food, music, birds, small groups of people, and also noisy sounds from the busy nearby street.

She seemed to adjust to the environment pretty quickly, and her excitement of being in a new environment seemed to fade just a few minutes after arriving, which allowed her to have an easier time staying focused. Naturally, she still got distracted from time to time as she's still working on her impulse control, but the Off command proved useful in regaining her attention and getting her back on track with her training.

She did a pretty solid job with Heel and Come to Sit here, so we ended up spending a good portion of our time here focusing on improving her ability to remain calm and stationary in either Sit, Down, or Place, and encouraging her to be neutral to the distractions that passed by around us. Distractions that were further away were naturally easier for her to ignore, so we challenged her by placing her in areas that put her in closer proximity to distractions, such as along pathways, by store entrances, or in other areas with higher chances of foot traffic. She ended up doing a pretty good job overall, and seemed to understand that regardless of distractions moving around us, she still needed to focus on the task at hand and not get up unless released from the position. Many people stopped to awe at her cuteness or made noises at her in passing, so this was one major distraction for her today that really put her focus to the test. Usually she was able to mostly ignore this, though there were a few times when she would start to get wiggly and be tempted to break commands to go say hello, and thus need a reminder to settle back down and/or return to the position asked of her.

Also, Roxie's tummy seems to be feeling much better today! She had no indoor accidents, and the one bowel movement she did have today was a more normal consistency. It was still on the slightly soft side, but the diarrhea seems to have stopped, which is very good to see. We will continue with the rice and pumpkin in her meals until everything is fully regulated again, then they will be gradually weaned out to return to her normal feedings.

Pupdate 3/28/2025

Today Roxie and I visited a Petco, where we practiced all of her commands around distractions. This was a great location to work in close proximity to common distractions such as people and other dogs, as well as some more unique distractions such as shopping carts, small animals, toys, and treats!

Roxie was pretty excited about visiting this location, though she did manage to settle down pretty quickly and began having an easier time staying focused the longer we spent here. As far as distractions went, the toy and treat aisles were some of the more challenging areas, as they were literally lined with distractions! It took many passes through these areas, but eventually she seemed to understand not to investigate or become too distracted by these surroundings, unless on a break and given permission to do so. Other dogs were also a good distraction, as the narrow aisles of the store often caused us to be in close proximity to them. Roxie did a good job staying neutral and ignoring dogs that were calmly walking past not paying her any mind, though dogs that showed interest in her or were excited tended to catch her attention and get her a feeling excited too. She was however quick to disengage and refocus, which helped to prevent her from breaking commands due to this excitement. After having trained here for a while and encountering multiple situations like these, she became less likely to get overexcited and opted to display her happiness in more polite ways such as tail wagging, while still being able to stay focused on commands.

Roxie ended up doing a great job with Heel today, and even when faced with major distractions, she generally was very reliable about staying next to me and understood not to try to lead or leave my side. Every now and then she would begin to drift off slightly if distracted by something, though she was quick to step right back into position the moment she was reminded. Her Come to Sit is seeing some good improvement as well, and she is beginning to rely less on physical guidance to help her perform the maneuver and position herself. She was able to perform Sit and Place each with great reliability today, and just about always performed these commands on the first ask. She was generally good with Down too, though in a few cases she needed to be asked more than once or provided with some minor guidance to get her into the position. She did very well with staying in any stationary position she entered, and very rarely broke commands to stand up before she was released, even with distractions around. Funnily enough, her biggest challenge was staying in position for photos, as me making silly noises to get her attention would sometimes prompt her to stand up to come over, thinking I was initiating play. We spent some time working to clarify that noises do not equal "break" and that the only time she is released is when the specific verbal cue is given by her handler. This will be important, as her cute looks will sometimes cause passerbys to make noises at her, and we don't want her to break commands due to this.

As for Roxie's potty training, it is going very well! Her upset stomach seems to have been resolved, and her bowel movements appear normal in both consistency and schedule. She had no major accidents indoors today, and seems to be back on track to success! One area that still needs work is her submissive urination however, as she still tends to urinate a small amount when I go to touch her neck area, which is required for daily tasks like putting a collar or leash on her. We have been diligently working to improve this by desensitizing her to this situation by doing repetitions of it and rewarding her anytime she does not urinate in the process. This practice has helped reduce the issue significantly in the past couple of days, though more work will be needed until she stops doing it completely.

Pupdate 3/29/2025

Today Roxie and I visited an indoor mall where we practiced all of her commands around distractions. The mall had a decent amount of distractions present, including groups of people, food, music, and a few other dogs.

The new environment was pretty exciting for Roxie at first, though she managed to adjust pretty quickly. She generally was able to stay quite neutral to most distractions without much trouble, though she did occasionally get distracted by people and was prone to making minor mistakes when large crowds moved around us due to brief lapses in focus. She also struggled a bit when it came to ignoring people who made noises at her or made other distracting gestures towards her like waving.

One goal of today's training was to practice all of Roxie's commands with minimal to no leash pressure. In order for Roxie to be reliable with her commands while off leash, she first needs to master her performance with them on leash, without the leash needing to be used to guide or reinforce. This is done by focusing more on the verbal cues and hand signals for the commands, and using only the e-collar as reinforcement. By reserving the use of the leash only for when she truly needs it, we can wean her off the concept of always needing physical guidance for his commands, and instead teach her to problem solve and use her knowledge of commands to follow instructions given to her. We have been gradually working up to this over the past few days, though today we specifically avoided using the leash unless it proved necessary. Overall she did a very good job, and seems to be well on her way to having off leash success soon! Very rarely was leash pressure needed for any commands, and for the most part we were able to train without any assistance from it. We will continue shaping this concept over the next few days, and take the next steps to prepare her for off leash training.

Pupdate 3/30/2025

Today Roxie and I visited a local shopping strip, where we practiced all of her commands around distractions using no leash pressure. This location had a variety of distractions present, including groups of people, lots of other dogs, and loud noises such as car engines, honks, and sirens from the busy street nearby.

Despite the busy surroundings, Roxie did a great job with staying focused on her commands! She started off being slightly distracted on the walk there, though once we got to the main strip, she had warmed up to training and remained neutral to any distractions we encountered. Many areas of this location involved narrow sidewalks, which often put us in close proximity to people and other dogs, though despite them being only a foot or two away from us, she understood not to interact with them or get too excited about the situation. Roxie also did an impressive job with staying calm when people who walked by made noises at her, and while it would catch her attention sometimes and cause her to look at them, she understood not to break commands or completely lose focus due to this.

We worked with a long leash during today's training, which is a great tool to provide Roxie with some additional physical freedom to make choices and mistakes without interference from the leash. By giving her extra room with the long leash, we can begin to simulate how she may behave while off leash, while still having a tether should it prove needed. While in very busy areas with lots of foot traffic we made sure to not let out an excessive amount of leash to avoid creating a tripping hazard, though when in more open areas or when less foot traffic was around, we practiced giving her the entire fifteen feet of room on the leash. She did an impressive job with this today, and even when given full physical freedom, she always made good choices and followed instructions. When Heeling, she did so without ever straying too far from me, and her recall was also consistent despite it being from further distances than she is typically used to. Her stationary commands were each reliable and consistent, and she was able to both enter any position asked of her and remain in position until released. The long leash also allowed me to separate myself further from her and test her ability to remain calm and stationary as I moved around and away from her.

Pupdate 3/31/2025

Today Roxie and I visited a park, where we practiced all of her commands around some distractions. We met up with some other OffLeash trainers and their pups during our time here as well, which similar to the last meetup we attended with Roxie, this was another great opportunity to train in close proximity to dog distractions.

Roxie was significantly more calm about being near the other dogs and trainers today compared to our last meetup, and she was able to maintain a good level of focus even with the distractions they created! We practiced having the other dogs walk around her, and the other trainers took turns trying to distract her by talking to and making noises at her while she trained. While she occasionally got a bit wiggly due to her tail wagging as an expression of her excitement, she impressively was able to contain herself and did not break any commands during these exercises!

We continued to utilize a long leash during today's training, to continue working on the transition to off leash work. We started off with a similar approach to yesterday by holding onto the end of the long leash only and providing her with fifteen feet of physical freedom. She ended up doing a great job with her commands even with this extra freedom, so we proceeded with the next stage of this training by going ahead and dropping the leash completely and allowing it to drag along the ground as we practiced. Leash dragging is a great way to test out her off leash skills while still having the leash readily available to grab should it prove needed. She didn't seem to notice or mind the fact that I was no longer holding onto the leash, and performed her commands with the same reliability as she normally would! She naturally made some minor mistakes here and there, such as getting confused on her positioning with her Come to Sit, though she was able to correct any mistakes without the use of the leash most of the time, which was great to see and is a good sign of progress!

To update on her potty training, she continues to do well overall! She has not had any major accidents indoors, and seems to be doing well with the routine we have established. She understands not to defecate or fully empty her bladder while indoors, and can wait for at least six hours during the day between potty breaks, as well as sleep throughout the night for at least eight hours without issue. The only potty related issue that we're still experiencing to some degree is her submissive and excited urination. While it is only a small amount each time, it does seem to be a habit that is proving difficult for her to shake. At this point, the excitement urination typically only happens when she is exiting her kennel, as she tends to get excited about coming out of it and will urinate a small amount in her kennel and/or on the floor directly outside of it upon exiting. We've been working to establish calm behavior while exiting the kennel to reduce the chances of this occurring, though it is still a work in progress.

Pupdate 4/1/2025

Happy April Fools Day! No pranks for us today, but we did have a great day of training! We visited a local park, where we practiced all of Roxie's commands around various distractions. The park was quite busy, with many people, children, and other dogs around. My personal pup, Percy the mini Australian Shepherd, also tagged along and was a great distraction to add into our visit here.

Despite all the exciting and distracting surroundings here, Roxie ended up doing a fantastic job with managing her excitement levels and displaying self control. Even when faced with major distractions such as her buddy Percy zooming across the field playing fetch with a ball, she understood to stay calm and focused on her commands. We did of course make sure to make time for breaks and playtime throughout our visit, and she had lots of fun playing around and exploring the park with me too!

We continued focusing on cleaning up Roxie's commands without the use of the leash. We were able to carry out most of our visit here with the leash dragging and remaining completely unused during training. When we first arrived we opted to keep a hold of it just as she adjusted to the new environment and warmed up to training, though she quickly proved it to be unneeded so we continued the rest of the session with it dragging. She had no notable issues with any of her commands, and while there were a rare few mistakes every now and then, they were very minor and easily corrected without any need for physical interference.

Pupdate 4/2/2025

Today Roxie and I continued working on each of her commands without the use of the leash. We started off practicing commands with the leash dragging and she continued to do very well! It was clear she was ready for the next step, off leash training! She didn't appear to notice or mind the absence of the leash, and was able to perform any command given to her with great reliability. We also spent some extra time working on her house manners today, which are featured in today's pupdate! These manners include areas such as Food Manners, Door Manners.

The goal for Food Manners is for Roxie to be able to hold a stationary command while her food is prepared and set in front of her. She is then asked to remain in that position until she is released before she can get up and eat her food. Roxie tends to get very excited about her food, and in the early stages of her training she was prone to barking, nipping, running around, jumping on me, and putting her paws up on the counters when anticipating food. She would also try to rush to the food bowl the moment it was set down, even if it meant trying to shove me out of the way to get to it! With daily practice, we have helped her replace these poor habits, and taught her to be polite and patient even when faced with very tempting distractions such as food directly in front of her! She still of course gets excited during mealtimes, but these new skills allow for a more structured routine rather than chaos, and her drive for food is a great way to sneak in some extra training each meal time!

Another area of manners we have been working on is Roxie's Door Manners. The goal of Door Manners is for Roxie to hold a stationary position while near a door and remain there until released or given a new command, such as Come or Heel. She is asked to hold the position at the location asked of her, and not break the command even if the door is left open, if someone is knocking on it, or if people walk in or out of it. This practice teaches important boundaries and the importance of thresholds, and prevents impolite and possibly dangerous behaviors she once displayed, such as trying to escape through open doors, shoving through people's legs when walking through doors, or rushing over to jump on or bark at people who enter through the door. Roxie has made a massive transformation with her manners related to doors, and now understands to follow instructions and remain focused no matter what distractions the door may present!

Pupdate 4/3/2025

Today Roxie and I took a trip over to Santa Monica, where we continued to practice each of her commands while off leash. We worked into two different locations today, both the pier and the promenade. The pier was extremely busy and had large crowds of people, tons of birds, other dogs, loud music, food, and various other distractions. The promenade was a bit less crowded, though had a good variety of distractions to train around.

When we arrived at the pier, Roxie was a bit overwhelmed and overexcited, and needed ample time to adjust before she could reliably follow commands. We started out the session on leash while she took this time to adapt, though we were gradually able to work our way to leash dragging and eventually off leash training over the course of our time spent here. Even after we had been here for a while and she was in a more focused mindset, the chaotic surroundings often created small lapses in her focus which would result in minor mistakes with commands happening more frequently than usual. These mistakes were generally related to positioning, such as falling slightly out of the Heel as we walked or sitting out of position for Come to Sit. She did however manage to retain the core structure of each command and was able to perform them with decent reliability given the circumstances.

After a short break to relax after our time at the pier, we headed over to the promenade to continue training. The promenade's slightly more relaxed environment allowed for Roxie to have a much easier time staying calm and focused, and she quickly adjusted to the new environment. We were able to begin training off leash here shortly after arrival, as she proved ready for the challenge! She was able to perform each of her commands with good reliability, and we were able to capture some great footage of us training that will be used in putting together her final video, so be sure to check out today's clip for a sneak peek!

As for her potty training, the days since the last update have been going very well! However, this morning before our trip to Santa Monica, another case of an upset tummy presented itself. We had already gone out for a potty break shortly before, though she only urinated during that time so we headed back inside to prepare for our trip. Unfortunately, she had a fecal accident in her kennel shortly before we were set to leave. She needed another quick bath, which she did well with as usual. On the drive there, she had another small fecal accident in the kennel and needed a wet wipe "bath" to get her paws and rear end cleaned up. Thankfully, this was the last of the issue we encountered today, and after we had returned home from our trip she had some pumpkin with her meal, and her stool returned to a more normal consistency and frequency for the rest of the day.

Pupdate 4/4/2025

Today Roxie and I visited an outdoor mall, where we continued practicing all of her commands around distractions while off leash. The mall was pretty busy, and had a variety of distractions including small crowds of people, children playing, lots of other dogs, food, and music.

Despite the busy surroundings, Roxie did a great job staying focused and on task. We spent a few minutes warming up her training while on leash, and were quickly able to transition to off leash training. She did a good job with each of her commands, and no notable issues occurred throughout the session.

While at the mall, Roxie got tons of compliments on her fantastic obedience skills and her adorable looks! Many people stopped and asked to say hello and pet her as well, which provided some great opportunities to work on her Greeting Manners! This is an area of her training we have been working on whenever the opportunity arises, whether it be at home with me or my guests, or out in public with new people. The goal for Greeting Manners is for Roxie to be able to greet people calmly and politely, whether in public or at home, both with new people and with people she already knows. To help Roxie display the desired manners, we first have her perform and hold Sit or Down, as this gives her a task to focus on and discourages poor behaviors such as jumping, pawing, or nipping. All of these issues were very common with Roxie when she first started her program, and despite her friendly intentions, this kind of overexcited behavior could accidentally injure someone, so working on this diligently has been important during her stay. When having a new person greet Roxie, it's important to inform them of her training and the expectations set for her, that way they can help reinforce the training appropriately. All praise, attention, and affection should be reserved strictly for when she is stationary, calm, and following instructions. If she is rewarded when behaving poorly in any way, then the training will be inconsistent and detrimental to her progress, so staying consistent with these manners has been key to her success. Over time, she has come to understand that jumping on people or other impolite behaviors is not rewarding, and only delays or prevents her from getting what she wants, which is to say hello to people and get attention from them! She did a great job with her greetings today, and was very polite, sweet, and calm with everyone she met.

On another note, Roxie's upset stomach seems to have been resolved, and she had no accidents related to this. Her potty training is generally coming along very nicely apart from when her tummy is giving her trouble. Under normal circumstances, she has been doing very well about waiting to potty outdoors, displaying good impulse control, communicating when she does need to go, and going potty on cue when outdoors! The submissive and excited urination issues have also seen some good improvement, though typically it has still been resulting in at least one small urine accident indoors each day. Just last week, this was happening at least five to ten times a day, so while it is still occurring to some degree, a lot of improvement has been made.

Pupdate 4/5/2025

Today was Roxie's final full day with me! While her board and train has officially concluded as of yesterday, we had the pleasure of spending an extra day with her for boarding! We focused on having fun today and enjoying the remainder of our time together. We visited a park, and Roxie had a blast playing fetch and running around in the field while off leash. Her learned skills thus far have allowed the opportunity for her to safely enjoy fun activities like this, as despite her excitement and joy, she was always able to follow commands and important instructions.

Roxie has made such an amazing transformation in these past two weeks, and the differences in her are truly night and day! She came to us with little knowledge of any commands, and had a tendency to become overexcited, distracted, and overstimulated by everything around her. She has since learned to stay calm, focused, and neutral to her surroundings even in busy places. She has also learned a lot of impulse control, and understands when it's time for play versus when it's time to focus on her training. Her confidence, patience, discipline, and overall manners both in public and at home have all improved so much! Roxie has done an excellent job learning every command taught to her, and is able to perform them with great reliability no matter the environment. While she may seem like a whole new pup, she is still the same goofy, loving, and playful pup she always has been, and with her new obedience skills, she is even more of a joy to be around and take with on all sorts of adventures! Roxie has been a pleasure to train and share my home with, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to help this good girl become the best version of herself! With her intelligence and eagerness to learn, the sky is the limit for Roxie, and I know she has a very bright future ahead in her continued training journey with her family!

Roxie | Portuguese Water Dog | Long Beach, CA | In-Training

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