
Meet Ruby! A loving and playful 7 month old pup from Glendale, CA who has joined us for our Two Week Board and Train Program. Ruby is here to work on behaviors such as Greeting Manners, following through with commands, and walking nicely with the ultimate goal of being Off Leash! Stay tuned for her 14 day transformation.
Pupdate 5/29/2022



Today Ruby and I worked on getting her all settled in and comfortable with her new environment. It took Ruby no time to get comfortable with playing fetch and tug of war. We played a bunch and worked on introducing her to the Sit command as well as her recall. I practiced calling Ruby and the second she offered me her attention I rewarded her with praise or treats. She is very attentive already! As you know Ruby has a wart on her bottom lip. Due to this she will not be able to play with the other board and train dogs that I have. We will introduce her to more commands tomorrow and work some more on obedience.

Pupdate 5/30/2022
Today I introduced Ruby to the E collar and prong collar for the first time. She responded quickly to the prong collar and performed a nice Heel. Heel is the action of Ruby walking on my left hand side, turning when I turn and sitting when I stop walking. I guide her with directional changes of leash pressure and the second she follows it I release that pressure and offer her a lot of praise. She caught onto this quickly and followed the pressure path I created for her. Once Ruby got used to the prong collar I worked her with the E collar stimulating her along with leash pressure so she can pair the two together. Ruby resisted following leash pressure with the E collar at times so the levels fluctuated according to whichever she responded to. Once she began to catch on to the E collar she became consistent. I also introduced Ruby to the Down command. I guided her with the leash towards the floor and gave her a lot of praise when she went Down. Towards the end of our session she hardly needed any leash pressure to go Down. I then had her practice with another trainer to help her get used to listening to different people. Great work Ruby!

Pupdate 5/31/2022



Ruby and I took a field trip to the local park today. We began to work on the Heel command. She stayed on my left hand side as I made frequent turns with her. Every time I turned I gave her a heads up we were turning by reminding her to Heel. If she turned with me I offered her praise and if she didn’t I stimulated her with the E collar. I then introduced her to the Place command. Place is the action of Ruby jumping onto a surface and staying there until released with the cue Break. This helps create a calm state of mind for Ruby. She learned to stay there for a minute and 15 seconds consistently, in the Down position. I rewarded her in intervals of 30 seconds as she stayed in Place, even as dogs passed by. We will continue to proof this by building duration, distance and distractions with this command.

Pupdate 6/01/2022
Today Ruby and I ventured out to the Brea Mall. There were a lot of new distractions there for Ruby and she worked through it. Her Heel is consistent, I did not have to guide her as much with the leash or E collar today for her Heel or her Come to Sit. Come to Sit is the action of Ruby coming around me to Sit on my left hand side. This is the command I use with her prior to Heel to get her into position. At times she struggles with going into the Down position right away so we are working on building fluency with that command. Ruby naturally holds her Sit and Down for long periods of time which is great! She is almost at her two minute mark already which shows me she is catching onto things quickly. Excellent progress Ruby!

Pupdate 6/2/2022



Ruby and I took a trip to the Outlets! There were other trainers dogs we had the chance to work around. Today was her first day on the 15ft leash. Ruby performed all of her commands consistently as I added more and more distance. Towards the end of our session she was able to Come and Sit by my side while I was 15ft away from her. She is consistent with her commands. The only thing she had seemed to struggle with was the Place command. She is a big girl so at times the Place command takes a lot of energy out of her which is why I give her frequent breaks. If I get her really excited for Place she works up the energy to jump onto surfaces. Her crate training is going good and she is now going in the crate on command more consistently!

Pupdate 6/03/2022
Ruby and I had the chance to expose her to a highly distracting environment today, the Santa Monica Pier! There were crowds of people, loud music, and plenty of dogs we had the chance to work around. Ruby did well with all of these distractions and worked through it. We Heeled around the whole pier. She was able to hold her Extended Place command for 2 minutes while I walked away from her. Her Come to Sit is consistent with distance. Ruby has improved her Place command by jumping onto surfaces more quickly as well. We will continue to add more and more distractions. Good work Ruby!

Pupdate 6/04/2022



Ruby and I Heeled to the local school park today and began to work on everything she has learned so far, with the leash dragging. At first Ruby had to do some problem solving, correcting herself with no leash guidance from me. I used hand signals to help guide her which helped her become consistent with her Come to Sit. She was able to perform her Come to Sit from 15ft away and reliably Heel as well. At times Ruby falls behind during her Heel. I stimulate her with the E collar and that helps her catch up to me at my pace. The next step is Off Leash work! Excellent progress Ruby!

Pupdate 6/05/2022
Ruby and I worked on all of her commands today with the leash dragging. At first she still needed a little bit of guidance from the leash because once she has to do problem solving without any leash pressure, she decides to walk away. After I helped guide her again with the leash pressure she remembered what she had to do and became more consistent. I always have Ruby rearrange herself whenever she passes by me during her Come command or sits too far away from me. It is imperative to have a solid recall before having her completely Off Leash. She is rearranging herself more quickly now when she strays away which is showing me she is one step closer to being Off Leash!

Pupdate 6/6/2022



Ruby and I took a trip to the local park where a dog park was near. We worked on all of her commands, Off Leash. Ruby was consistent with her Come to Sit, even from a distance! There were a few dogs Off Leash running around which did not phase Ruby at all. We practiced her Extended Place command, and Ruby was able to hold it for two and a half minutes which is already past the goal set for her, great job Ruby!

Pupdate 6/7/2022
Ruby and I worked on proofing all of her commands Off leash at the local park. There were a lot of distractions and other trainer’s dogs that we had the chance to work around. Ruby was curious of the other dog’s but did not approach at all. She stayed by my side and any time that she strayed away, I stopped walking and had her reposition herself to Come and Sit by my side before we began to Heel again. I remind Ruby to Heel every time we step forward from a stationary position and anytime I am about to change direction. We practiced Extended Place on top of a wobbly board and Ruby worked through it! Initially she did not want to jump on it but after some leash guidance and helping her up she was able to do it all by herself. If the board became too wobbly I helped her stay on. This is great for confidence building and teaching Ruby how to balance herself.
The scale that I have was not calibrated correctly and I was able to fix it today. I weighed Ruby again and her weight is updated at 63 lbs!

Pupdate 6/8/2022




Ruby and I worked some more on proofing all of her commands, Off Leash at The Citadel Outlets. There were plenty of distractions which Ruby did well with. She was able to hold her Extended Place for 2 minutes straight. Her Come to Sit is consistent even from a distance and her Heel is right by my side. Ruby struggles the most with holding her Extended Sit which mainly happens when she gets hot or tired. When she is feeling this way she goes straight into a down which is why I give her frequent breaks and try not to walk her too much, to save her energy. Other than those small challenges, Ruby is meeting all of her goals. Great job Ruby!

Pupdate 6/9/2022
Ruby and I ventured out to the Home Depot store today. There were plenty of distractions we had the chance to work around, especially loud machines and crowds of people. Ruby Heeled with me around the whole store and was very consistent with staying by my side. I purposely sat her close to loud areas to desensitize her working through these loud crowded environments. At first Ruby was interested in these distractions but with some practice she overcame the curiousness and held her Extended Sit until I released her with Break. My coworkers love saying hi to Ruby which we use as an opportunity to practice Greeting Manners and have Ruby hold her Sit the entire time. Ruby’s door manners are improving as well, she knows to wait at the door until I release her with the cue Break.

Pupdate 6/10/2022



Today Ruby and I worked on building fluency with all of her commands at the local park. We worked on her Come to Sit, building more distance away from each other. We repeatedly worked on her Come to Sits and Extended Sits as well. A reliable Come to Sit means she will be reliable Off Leash. Her Heel is consistent as well. Ruby sits whenever I stop walking and slows down whenever I slow down, always staying on my left side. I reward Ruby occasionally while we are out in public and she offers me her attention on command. Ruby looks whenever I call her name which is exactly what I am looking for!

Pupdate 6/11/2022
Ruby and I took a trip to the Santa Monica Promenade where we filmed for her final video, Off Leash. Ruby has become very consistent with all of her commands. Her Heel is reliable, always staying by my left side even around reactive dogs! Ruby pays no attention to them and keeps walking next to me as I remind her to Heel. Her Come to Sit is reliable from 15ft away or more. She can hold her Place and Extended Sit command for a minimum of 2 minutes but has shown she can do even more than that. Ruby gets very excited when meeting new people. She can hold her Sit while being pet but definitely needs a lot of reminding to Sit. If she gets up from the Sit the petting should stop right away to not reward her excitement. Ruby’s Door Manners and Food Manners are consistent as well. She knows not to eat or cross a doorway until she is released with the Cue Break. Thank you for the opportunity to work with your furry friend, we cannot wait to show you what she has learned!

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