Meet Ruger, a seven-month-old Rottweiler from Canyon Country, California! He's here with us for our Two Week Board and Train Program, where we will be working to improve his obedience and manners. This friendly and playful pup has some general knowledge of a few basic obedience commands, but he is very easily distracted by his surroundings and struggles to maintain focus when in busy environments. He likes to use his strength and size to pull heavily on the leash while walking, and has a bad habit of trying to jump on people when he's excited. He also has been developing some resource-guarding issues, causing him to be reactive about his food and toys. Over the next fourteen days, we will be working to improve his obedience and manners to set him on the right track to becoming a well-behaved pup! Stay tuned for his transformation!
Pupdate 8/18/2024
Today Ruger and I spent the day bonding and getting to know each other after his pickup! We walked around and explored the park a bit, and I worked to develop a positive relationship with him to help him feel comfortable and happy training with me going forward. While he warmed up to me very quickly, overall he seemed to be much more interested in his surroundings and struggled to maintain focus for any period of time while we were at the park together. Whenever people were around he often tried to pull towards them or jump on them if they got close. He also tried to chase after every bird, bug, ball, scooter, or bike that he saw. He was also very interested in attempting to taste-test things he found on the ground, such as sticks, rocks, grass, and dirt. After taking some time to explore the park and assess his general behavior and personality, I began testing his knowledge of basic commands to help me get an idea of his starting point and what areas of his training may need some extra attention. Ruger didn't seem to have any understanding of the Heel command, and regardless of leash pressure used or verbal commands given, he was pretty determined to pull on the leash as hard as he could to get where he wanted to go when something caught his attention. He was generally unreliable with the Sit command, and if he did Sit when asked he would usually break the command after only a second or two had passed. He was unable to perform Down on command, but once he got tired out he did seem to enjoy laying down in the shade on his own accord.. as long as he could try to nibble on the grass. He didn't seem to understand the Place command, and was unwilling to climb or jump even onto any objects when prompted. His recall was generally unreliable too, though he did seem to have some concept of the command. When called he would often ignore his name, leash pressure, and the Come command completely, especially if he was focused on something else, which was almost always the case. Sometimes he would come my general direction when called, however he did not stick around for more than a moment or two before immediately rushing back off in a different direction. He doesn't appear to have any knowledge or understanding of leash pressure either, and consistently chose to firmly pull against it whenever it was applied using a standard flat collar and leash, or with a slip lead. After we'd spent some time together at the park getting to know each other, it was time to head home and get him settled in! Ruger wasn't quite sure about the car at first, but with a bit of encouragement and a small treat, he managed to jump up on his own and enter the kennel. The goal for Car Manners is for Ruger to jump into the car and enter the kennel without needing any physical assistance or food motivators, so we will continue working on this! Anytime Ruger is to ride in a car with me, he will be secured in a kennel for his utmost safety. He will also be in a kennel at home during nighttime or any other time he is unsupervised. Once home, he quickly settled in and made himself at home! Later, we went out for a walk around my neighborhood to help him become familiar with the area. We will be taking walks around my neighborhood daily, so getting him used to this environment will be good for him. When exiting the house to start our walk, Ruger kept trying to run out the door as soon as it was opened, so we will also be working to improve his Door Manners to make sure he can respect the boundary a doorway creates as this will help keep him safe. At dinner time, he was very eager for his food and tried to jump on me and the counters as soon as he saw me preparing his meal. We ended up splitting his meal into two methods, as a way to assess and begin improving his resource guarding. I started by hand-feeding him some of his food, and while it was a bit messy and excitable, he did eat it without any issues and he even performed some tricks for me! I then asked him to enter his kennel, which he did eagerly, and then I placed a bowl inside with the rest of his food in it. This gave him a safe place to eat his food without feeling exposed or bothered, and I was able to walk around near and touch his kennel without him having any issues. Overall Ruger seems to be settling in nicely, and we are so excited to begin this training journey!
Pupdate 8/19/2024
Today Ruger and I visited a park, where we met up with some other OffLeash SoCal trainers and their pups. Ruger was introduced to the concept of leash pressure and e-collar stimulation, along with the Heel command. The park was pretty quiet except for the other trainers and their dogs, but there were a few occasional distractions such as bicycles, squirrels, and birds. Despite the low distractions, he was very excitable and quite unfocused at first, but once he began to understand that training could be fun and rewarding for him, he began to pay closer attention to me and became more willing to learn and practice. We used some treats as a reward occasionally throughout the process, as this really helped to motivate him and keep him in a good mood!
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 Ruger follows the pressure and the command being given. The moment he follows through, the pressure immediately turns off and a reward is given. Yesterday, whenever the leash was used to apply pressure, he would firmly resist it, try to pull in the opposite direction, and made no attempt to turn the pressure off, so it was clear he didn't quite understand the concept of leash pressure just yet. He also seemed to completely ignore pressure from a normal collar or a slip lead, so we practiced with a prong collar today which is a very helpful tool to both discourage pulling and help him develop a clear understanding of pressure. We spent a good amount of time focusing on teaching him what leash pressure means, and how to turn off the pressure once it's applied. He learned that trying to resist it was not successful or rewarding, and that simply following the directional pressure and paying attention to what I was asking of him was very simple and rewarding! After a while of practicing with this, he did much better and began showing a good understanding of leash pressure! In order to properly introduce the e-collar, it's very helpful for Ruger to first have a solid understanding of leash pressure, as leash pressure is the most simple form of pressure due to the clear directional guidance it provides. Once he understood the leash pressure, we began adding in a new form of pressure from the e-collar. By pairing these two forms of pressure simultaneously, he will come to understand that each pressure has the same meaning. Be sure to check out today's video for an in-depth e-collar tutorial!
The Heel command is an important concept for Ruger to begin developing early on in his training, as his strong pulling while on the leash can pose dangers to his handler, himself, or others in the area if it is allowed to continue. The goal for the Heel command is for Ruger to be able to follow directly alongside his 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 reduce and eventually eliminate pulling on the leash or veering off in different directions, and allow his handler to take the lead on walks instead of him trying to pull them around wherever he pleases. To introduce this command, I kept the leash short but loose, and ensured he stayed on my left side in roughly the Heel position as we walked. If he began to veer off or pull ahead, leash and e-collar pressure were applied, and the verbal command Heel was given. He eventually began to grasp the concept, stopped trying to pull as much, and instead learned to follow the guidance of the leash. When walking in the correct Heel position, the leash was loose, no pressure was applied, and lots of praise and rewards were given to communicate that he was in the desired position. As he gets better with this command, he will have an easier time staying in the Heel position without as much guidance or pressure needed, and will need to be reminded less and less to return to position. For his first day with this, he seemed to catch on quickly and is making good progress!
Pupdate 8/20/2024
Ruger and I took a walk to a local park today, where we worked on the Off and Come to Sit commands, as well as continued to practice with his Heel. The park was not overly busy, but did have some distractions around such as other dogs, people, small children playing, as well as sounds from the busy street nearby. Ruger also often found himself very distracted by interesting smells in the grass, and small animals in the area such as birds and squirrels. He also tried to eat things like sticks and leaves he found laying around.
Ruger will often become hyper-fixated on distractions, which makes it difficult for him to regain his focus or listen to any instructions being given to him. His tendency to pick items up and refuse to drop them is also a problematic behavior. Moments like these are a great opportunity to implement the Off command. The goal for the Off command is for Ruger to stop whatever he is doing, and focus on his handler. This is a very versatile command, similar to "no" or "leave it", and can be used in various situations, such as to interrupt hyper-fixation, jumping on people or counters, or any other behaviors that are undesirable or inappropriate at that time. The Off command when paired with leash and e-collar pressures allows me to quickly grab his attention and get him to focus on me so that he 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, Heel, Come, etc. Once his focus is regained, asking him to then focus on a task will help keep his attention away from what initially distracted him or caused the undesirable behavior. Ruger has shown great progress in understanding the Off command so far, and with each repetition, he seems to be quicker to respond and refocus when prompted! He was even able to drop some items that he had picked up while at the park, which before today was not something he would do willingly unless an exchange was offered such as a toy or treat.
Come to Sit is another important command to begin practicing early on in Ruger's training journey, as it will be our main form of recall. Having a solid recall is important for any pup's obedience training. The goal for Come to Sit is for Ruger to come directly to me when called, and circle around to perform a Sit on my left side. While Ruger has some general understanding of the Come command already, he is largely unreliable and often chooses to ignore what is being asked of him, and is quick to run back off if he does come when called. The Come to Sit command when performed in its entirety, ensures that he not only comes when called, but also requires him to sit beside his handler and not leave that spot unless released or given a new command such as Heel. By having him sit on the left side facing forward, we are setting him up for success to begin walking in Heel as he is already in the desired position for it. We introduced this concept today by combining the verbal command with leash and e-collar pressure to grab his attention and guide him towards me. Once he followed the guidance and approached me, the leash was used to then guide him around to my left side, where he was then asked to perform a Sit. As we practiced more, he began to rely less on the leash pressure to grab his attention and guide him, which is a good sign of progress! He would sometimes sit slightly out of the desired position once he got to me, though for his first day, he did a great job overall! With each successful repetition, I made sure to reward him with lots of praise and occasional food rewards, to build up a positive association with the command and coming to me when called.
Pupdate 8/21/2024
Today Ruger and I began our training session at home, where we introduced two new commands, Place and Down. Once he made some progress with these commands, we took a walk outside and eventually over to a local park to continue his training for each command he has learned thus far. While at home Ruger was able to show an increased level of focus, due to the environment's familiarity and low distraction levels. However, when outside he was as usual very excited and energetic, which caused him to quickly lose focus at the sight of distractions. We continued practicing with the Off command, to help improve his impulse control and ability to regain focus and ignore distractions when asked. He has shown some good progress with the Off command, however when he is very focused on something he often needs to be asked a few times before he snaps out of it and returns his attention to me. I also noticed he has a tendency to bark and lunge at strangers at times, particularly if they catch him off guard such as if someone comes around a corner or appears behind us. After the Off command is used he does appear to settle down and relax again, although this tendency is something we will focus on reducing.
Since Ruger is often very distracted and excited while in public, we first introduced the Place and Down commands while at home, where there are virtually no distractions to take his focus away from learning. The goal for the Place command is for Ruger to be able to jump or climb onto an object, such as a bench, bed, or other platform, and hold a stationary position such as Sit or Down. We introduced Place using a comfortable dog cot that Ruger is already familiar with climbing onto and relaxing on in his own time, which helped to promote confidence and learning. By using leash pressure paired with the verbal command and a hand signal, he was able to follow my guidance and Place onto the cot when asked. When asked to Sit on the cot, he had no issue doing so. After practicing with this for a while, he seemed to understand what was being asked of him. Using the comfortable place object again, we then introduced the Down command. Down can be a tricky position for some dogs to perform on command, especially for dogs who tend to become anxious or over-excited and struggle to relax. While on the cot, I used leash pressure, physical guidance, and occasional food motivators to help lure and guide Ruger into the Down position, and the moment he followed the guidance and laid all the way down, lots of praise and reward was given! He seemed to catch on to this pretty quickly, and soon was able to perform Down while on the cot with minimal physical guidance needed. We then practiced Down on the floor and other surfaces, to get him comfortable with performing the command on surfaces apart from the cot, which he did well with.
Once he got the hang of both Place and Down while at home, we began working around the neighborhood and at a park to continue his training out in public where more distractions would be present. We also brought the dog cot with us, as this helped to serve as a familiar object to work with. There were lots of other suitable Place objects around, such as a variety of benches and other low platforms. Ruger did well using the Place cot while outside, but was much more hesitant about other types of objects that we had not practiced with before. He needed lots of reassurance, guidance, and some food motivators to help introduce him to the new objects, but he eventually got the hang of it. While practicing Place outside on different objects, he was often a bit unsure of his footing and was hesitant to perform Sit or Down during the first several attempts. He eventually became more confident with performing a Sit while on Place, however he protested a bit against performing Down and needed consistent guidance to lower him into the position. We also practiced Down around some other areas outside, such as on the grass, pathways, and other surfaces. He seemed most willing to perform Down while on the grass, but was stubborn about performing the command on harder surfaces like concrete. Wearing out some of his energy by playing and working on Heel and Come to Sit seemed to help him become a bit less hesitant about performing Down.
Pupdate 8/22/2024
Today Ruger and I visited an outdoor mall, where we practiced all of his commands around distractions. The mall was decently busy, with a good amount of people walking around as well as a few other dogs. There were also restaurants around with tempting smells of food, and a busy street nearby for some added noise distractions. Overall Ruger was pretty excitable, though as we practiced he began settling into a more focused mindset which was good to see! Ruger also seemed to be scared of certain distractions while at the mall, such as the sudden movement and sound of an automatic sliding door, a fire hydrant, and a clothing mannequin. When encountering these distractions his initial reaction was to cower or run away from them and begin barking towards them. We worked to improve his confidence and help him overcome his fears by reassuring him and encouraging him to stay calm as he observed them. Once he had the chance to investigate them for a moment he no longer seemed scared and was able to train around these distractions without reacting to them, however it was a bit unpredictable as to which objects would happen to cause this behavior until it occurred.
Ruger did pretty well with his Heel today, and seems to be catching onto the command! He did pull on the leash a bit at first when he struggled to pay attention to me, though after a few minutes of practice he began engaging with me more and focusing on his positioning beside me. He still needed some leash pressure to guide him more often than not, though he does seem to be developing an understanding of the e-collar when it is used to communicate with him during Heel, as he was sometimes able to correct himself with minimal leash or no pressure needed. His Come to Sit was good overall, and his recall was solid! He always came when called which was fantastic, though sometimes he would end up running past me instead of stopping and sitting, so some leash pressure was often needed to help guide him to the correct position. He did well with Place today as well, and showed a good amount of confidence when practicing with different objects. The command Ruger seemed to struggle with the most today was Down, as even after being at the mall for a while he still seemed a bit too excited to relax into this position. He was a bit stubborn at times, but was able to perform it with consistent guidance.
Ruger did seem to have an upset stomach today, and had some loose watery stool that started in the afternoon. I fed his dinner in smaller portions throughout the evening to not overwhelm his system. He did end up vomiting some of his meal after consuming about half of the portion, so we waited a bit before feeding again. I added some pumpkin puree to the rest of his meal which was also fed in small portions, and he was able to keep that down however he his stomach seems to still be upset. He has needed to go potty frequently, and each time it is runny and watery. I will continue monitoring him closely and doing what I can to help settle his stomach so he hopefully will be feeling back to his usual self soon! Despite his upset tummy, he does seem to still be in good spirits and is still very active and playful which is a good sign.
Pupdate 8/23/2024
Ruger and I visited a local shopping strip today, where we continued practicing each of his commands around distractions. This location provided a variety of distractions to work around, such as people and dogs along the sidewalks and noises from the nearby street. Overall Ruger was quite excited and distracted by his surroundings, though he was able to maintain focus more reliably today, and seemed to have an easier time ignoring distractions when asked with the Off command. He did get spooked by a few things here and there, but with a bit of help he was quickly able to overcome his fears and train around them without issue after that point.
While at the shopping strip, we continued working on his Heel and Come to Sit, both of which he has improved a lot with over the past few days! Ruger is developing a good idea of where he needs to be when the Heel command is given, and he can often correct his positioning with only minimal leash pressure needed. He is starting to pay more attention to the position of my legs, my hand signals, and the e-collar for guidance and communication. When in less distracting areas, Ruger can remain in the Heel position with relative ease, only needing occasional reminders if he happens to step slightly out of position. When in places with a higher volume of distractions, he usually does quite well with Heel overall, but many more reminders are needed to help him stay focused and in position and he seems to rely on the leash for guidance significantly more. This is something that should continue to improve with time and practice. Ruger's Come to Sit has also seen a lot of improvement, and he seems to be pretty solid with always coming to me when recalled when the command is given, which is great! Typically, he needs very minimal or no leash pressure needed at all to get his attention or guide him toward me, however he could use some more work on his positioning once he gets to me. Ruger often gets a bit too excited when recalled, and instead of maneuvering himself around me in a calm fashion, he tends to run towards me and then behind me, where he often gets distracted and fails to position himself correctly. When he is very focused, he's sometimes able to perform the command without leash guidance, though his focus while around distractions will need to improve before he can consistently perform the command without guidance from the leash.
Ruger did well with Sit and Place today, and seemed comfortable performing both commands with minimal to no leash pressure. He was also able to hold Sit for about one minute today, even while distractions were present, which shows great progress in his self-control and patience skills! We spent some extra time focusing on the Down position, as this is a command he often struggles with. When in slightly quieter areas of the shopping strip, Ruger seemed a bit more relaxed and willing to perform the command, and needed minimal to no leash pressure to guide him into the position. He was able to hold the position for about one minute consistently with minimal distractions, which is good! However when around increased distractions, such as if people or dogs were walking past or loud noises could be heard from nearby cars, Ruger was much less reliable with performing the command when asked, and was prone to breaking position more frequently, averaging about fifteen seconds before sitting or standing back up. Each time this happened, I consistently ensured he returned to position, and with each repetition he seemed to become less inclined to break position even if a distraction caught his attention. Also to update on Ruger's upset stomach from yesterday, this seems to have improved and his stool is returning to normal, though is still on the soft side. He happily ate some pumpkin with his meals, which were divided into slightly smaller portions to allow him time to digest. By tomorrow his stomach should be settled enough to return to his normal meal contents and feeding routine.
Pupdate 8/24/2024
Today Ruger and I visited an outdoor mall, where we practiced all of his commands around distractions. This is by far the busiest location we have visited so far, and there were tons of distractions around including groups of people, other dogs, food, new smells, music, occasional bicycles, rolling trash cans, and skateboarders. Ruger was extremely overstimulated here, and struggled to manage his excitement and energy levels around all the distractions. We ended up spending some time training in the parking lot before entering the busy mall area, and even with this extra warm-up time and exercise, Ruger was still struggling to contain himself once we entered the mall. The longer we spent here he did seem to calm down slightly, though he overall still appeared a bit anxious and consistently overstimulated throughout our session here.
Ruger was often pulling on the leash and attempting to approach or lunge toward various distractions, so his Heel wasn't the best today. He needed a significant amount of leash pressure to guide him, and while he did seem to feel the e-collar and understand the communication provided, he often attempted to ignore the command unless the leash was used in conjunction with it. He was able to Heel nicely for short durations, however he lost focus so frequently that he was unable to maintain it for more than a few seconds at a time. His Come to Sit wasn't bad, but once again his lack of focus meant he needed extra guidance from the leash, otherwise he would often run past me when recalled or sit completely out of the desired position. His stationary commands were another challenge for him today, as his excitement and antsy mood lead to him struggling to sit still for long periods of time. He often needed leash pressure even for commands he normally is able to perform without, such as Sit and Place. When practicing Down, he was hesitant to perform it and would resist against leash and e-collar pressure, however using small treats did help motivate him and encourage him to follow through with the command.
While at the mall, there were lots of nice people who wanted to come say hello to Ruger, which provided great opportunities to practice with his Greeting Manners. The goal for Greeting Manners is for Ruger to remain calm, collected, and polite while saying hello to people. Greeting Manners are something we have been practicing organically throughout his program, both with people out in public and with myself or guests while at home. Before allowing someone to approach him, we first ask Ruger to focus on holding a stationary command, such as Sit or Down, which helps to prevent over-excitement, jumping, or other impolite behaviors from occurring, as his focus is instead directed to holding the position. If he breaks position or begins behaving impolitely, he is immediately asked to refocus and return to the position asked of him. Before the greeting takes place, it's important to inform the person or people that Ruger is in training, and that they can help him learn by only petting him when he is listening and calm. Giving him attention or praise when he is over-excited, jumping up, or otherwise behaving impolitely will result in those behaviors becoming encouraged, which would be detrimental to his progress! By ensuring all praise and affection are reserved strictly for when he is holding the position asked of him and behaving calmly, we can work to encourage this good behavior. Over time, Ruger will come to understand that impolite behavior will not be rewarding for him, and that the only way to get what he wants and say hello to people is to listen and remain calm. He was able to greet many people today without trying to jump on anyone, but he was very wiggly and often tried to stand up out of the position asked of him. He also tried to playfully paw at a few people, which also caused the greeting to temporarily pause until he settled down again. With continued consistent practice, Ruger will continue to improve with this, and learn to replace his bad habits with good manners!
Pupdate 8/25/2024
Today Ruger and I visited another shopping strip, where we continued working on each of his commands around distractions. The area was not overly busy, but still had a decent amount of distractions around such as people, other dogs, bicycles, and cars. Ruger was pretty excitable, especially when we first arrived, though the longer we spent here he did gradually begin to calm down slightly. He still needed lots of reminders to stay focused, though with some guidance he was able to stay on task for the most part which was good to see.
Ruger's Heel was a bit inconsistent when we began training, though after some time had passed he became more reliable with his positioning and was less prone to breaking position or pulling on the leash. When his positioning did need to be corrected, he did still seem to rely a lot on leash pressure, as the e-collar, verbal cue, and hand signal didn't seem to be enough to guide him to where he needed to be when distractions were around. Without distractions however, he was able to correct himself without help from the leash so we know he has some understanding of the command by this point. Similarly, his Come to Sit needed some leash guidance when around distractions, however when in quieter areas he was able to perform it and position himself correctly more often than not. We spent some extra time working on his stationary commands today as well, and helping him to work towards a duration goal of at least two minutes per position. When he first came to us he was prone to breaking positions almost immediately after entering them, though with practice he is now up to around a minute which is great! The command he struggled to perform and remain in the most today was Down, as when we first arrived his excitement caused him to struggle to settle enough to perform the command consistently. Though once we had been training for a while he began to tire out and was more willing to perform and remain in a Down.
To update on Ruger's progress with resource guarding, some improvements have been made overall, though there is still much work to be done before this issue can be considered resolved. On his first night he was able to eat from a bowl while in his kennel without issue, but nearly every day since then he has displayed behaviors such as growling, barking, and snapping whenever he eats from a bowl, even if I am at a distance of ten or more feet away across the room from him. Sometimes when he can't even see me, just hearing noises of me moving around in my home is enough to set this behavior off. We have also tried feeding him from a bowl while outside of his kennel, and he has a similar reaction each time but is able to actively charge at me, so this has been done with caution by having him tethered or behind a dog gate to prevent him from getting to me during these moments. We've found this behavior does seem to be mainly with bowls specifically. He has been able to eat from my hand without issue, as well as scattered food on the floor, on a mat, or on a flat plate. Hand feeding is a great way to teach him that humans and food have a positive relation, though getting him to eat from a bowl without guarding behaviors has yet to be consistently successful as of this point. He also will occasionally guard toys or chew treats, however this behavior has been improving drastically since he first arrived. A method that works well with him is to stay at a distance away which he is comfortable with, and approach momentarily to toss him a treat or bit of food before returning back to the distance. When this is done, he has stops his chewing, eats the food happily, then returns back to his chew calmly. This has been showing him that a human approaching while he has a valued toy or chew leads to good things coming his way! With practice, I have now been able to get much closer to him while he is chewing or playing with something without him feeling the need to guard. We will be spending some extra time working on this tomorrow with another trainer as well, so we will cover that session in tomorrow's pupdate!
Pupdate 8/26/2024
Today Ruger and I took a trip over to Amanda's house! Amanda is another trainer with OffLeash SoCal, and was willing to work with us on his resource guarding issues as well as provide him some practice with commands with another handler apart from myself. Amanda's yard was pretty quiet, but the new environment, smells, and other mild distractions were still enough to cause Ruger to be a bit excitable and unfocused at first. However after training for a while he did begin to have a much easier time focusing and he was able to do good work overall! To start the session, we first practiced each of his commands for a while to get him warmed up to training with each of us. Ruger is familiar with working with me and we have established a good relationship thus far, though we want Ruger to be handleable by people aside from myself, so Amanda was a great help in this matter. When first working with her, he was definitely testing a lot of boundaries, and would try to get away with behaviors he knew were not acceptable with me, such as ignoring commands, jumping, and trying to eat things off the ground. However as Amanda consistently upheld the same level of accountability and expectations that we have been practicing during his program, he eventually came to understand that even though his handler has changed, the rules of training have not. He still needed lots of reminders and some leash guidance throughout the session, though overall each of his commands were seeing good progress and he began to show good trust, respect, and listening skills with her.
The rest of our session together was focused on addressing Ruger's resource guarding. We used a pully system, with a long leash looped around a secure fence to ensure we could safely practice this training and could not redirect onto either of us during the process. While Ruger is typically a very sweet and friendly pup, the pully system along with a protective sleeve were used for the majority of the session, as his risk of biting is greatly increased when he is in a resource-guarding state of mind. We introduced the concept of the "Out" command today, which is a variation of our usual Off command, however it is geared specifically towards having him drop an item from his mouth or stop eating something, including his food out of a bowl. When practicing with his food bowl, we had one person giving commands by asking him Sit or Down before releasing him to eat his food. Then, the Out command was incorporated, where the goal is for him to stop eating, back up, and Sit or Down. If he did not respond immediately when the Out command was given, the other person would use the leash to pull him away back to the desired distance. When he did respond and complete the exercise properly, he was rewarded with high value treats and lots of praise to mark and encourage the good behavior. When first beginning this training Ruger was behaving as he usually does around his food bowl, with lots of growling, snapping, and lunging, though as he began understanding the Out command and the expectations we were setting for him during the training, he began displaying this behavior much less. By the time we were wrapping up the session he had made great progress, and was able to eat from his bowl and then Out when asked more often than not. Defensive behaviors were becoming milder, fewer, and further in between, however it was not quite resolved completely as there were still some instances where he would attempt to guard and refuse to move away, and the leash was needed to physically remove him from the bowl.
After returning home he had a nice long nap, then we continued working on Out using toys and chew treats. He has become much less prone to resource guarding these items than he was when he first came to us, so this allowed us to focus on the Out command without much issue. While he was occasionally a bit stubborn and needed to be asked a few times, he was able to follow through with it most of the time, drop the item in his mouth, and move away from it. During part of this exercise we used some of his food as a hand fed reward which he of course was very motivated by, and for the rest of his meal he was fed in his kennel on a plate, during which he displayed no guarding behaviors.
Pupdate 8/27/2024
Today Ruger and I visited a park, where we practiced all of his commands around distractions. The park was fairly busy, with lots of people and other dogs. There were also many other distractions around such as people playing soccer, tennis, and basketball, all of which were very distracting for Ruger. When we first arrived Ruger was extremely distracted as usual, and struggled to focus on his commands reliably as he was quick to become fixated and attempt to rush towards everything that caught his attention. However after practicing his commands and spending a good period of time at the park, he began calming down gradually and seemed to have an easier time focusing. Using treats as occasional rewards also helped immensely to motivate Ruger and encourage him to focus.
One notable struggle today for Ruger was focusing when around items he perceives toys, such as tennis balls, soccer balls, and basket balls. Whenever someone would kick, throw, or move a ball near him he would immediately become very fixated on it and struggle to redirect his attention when asked. He would tend to assume they were playing with him, and he would try to chase after anything that moved, causing him to break positions frequently and ignore commands when given. We spent some extra time working him around these types of distractions and improving his reliability with the Off command. We focused specifically on getting him to break his fixation when the Off command was used, and encouraged him to provide eye contact with me to show his focus shift and engagement with his handler rather than the distraction. We found a distance away from ball games that was close enough to catch his attention but far enough away that he was not going into full play-chase mode every time something moved. With practice, we were able to close this distance and get much closer to these distractions without it being an issue, as he understood that he would not be able to go play, and that focusing on me was much more fun and rewarding. We also happened to have a tennis ball handy, so we used this as a close up distraction during his training by having it sit on the ground as we worked around it. At first he was fully invested in the ball and was constantly trying to lunge and pull towards it and attempt to grab it. Though as we trained more he began to understand that he was not allowed to leave positions to approach it, and that ignoring it while training was the better option. When he did a good job with this, he was rewarded with a break and allowed to play with the ball, which also provided some more opportunities to work with the Out command. At first he was a bit stubborn about dropping the ball, but quickly began to catch onto the idea and was successfully able to drop it and move away from it when prompted. We also continued practicing Out throughout the visit with other types of objects such as sticks and random things on the floor. He has been getting better about not picking up or trying to eat things while actively performing a command, however while on break he still tends to do this so this provided many opportunities to practice Out organically.
Pupdate 8/28/2024
Today Ruger and I visited a park, where we practiced all of his commands around distractions. The park was pretty busy, with lots of people, children, other dogs, bicycles, ball games, music, and other kinds of distractions around. Ruger as usual was very excitable when we first arrived, and frequently became distracted and fixated on his surroundings, particularly on distractions such as ball games, scooters, or small animals like birds and squirrels. His impulse control was on the low end, with these distractions often prompting him to fixate, attempt to play with, move towards, or interact with them. As we continued to train and practice his commands however, he gradually began to settle down, become desensitized to the environment, and less excited about our surroundings overall. He would still tend to lose focus now and then, though he was generally a lot quicker to refocus and respond to commands more consistently during the later portion of the session.
In today's video, we showcased the difference in Ruger's behavior and command performance with food motivators used versus when they are not used. Ruger is extremely food motivated, and as a result his motivation and ability to focus on training is drastically different when food is involved. In the first clip, we had been practicing for a while without any food used, and he was struggling to perform commands reliably as he was much more interested in his surroundings rather than me or listening any instructions. Firm leash pressure was needed much more frequently as he struggled to respond effectively with only the e-collar to communicate with him during these common moments of heightened excitement and arousal. While he knows each of his commands well by this point, he would often fail to perform them properly when asked unless the leash was used to physically guide him through it.
In the second clip, we were working with treats as an occasional reward and/or lure. While the distraction levels around us remained the same, he was very noticeably much more focused on his training, enabling him to perform commands with greater reliability. He was able to perform any command asked of him quite easily with food involved, with lapses in focus being rarer and easily corrected with minimal to no leash pressure and low-level stimulation from the e-collar. Normally by this stage in the program, the goal is to have phased out the need for food motivators in training to achieve consistent performance with commands, however since Ruger is still struggling at this point we have continued to use food occasionally during training. While it's still a work in progress, we have gradually reduced the need for food motivators and have improved his willingness to work for praise and affection as a reward. The method for this is to first slowly use food less frequently as a lure, and more as only a reward, meaning that the food does not become involved until after he has performed the command correctly. This allows him to perform the command without food being visible right in front of him for him to easily follow, and instead encourages him to use him to problem solve and perform the behavior being asked of him, and only then will food enter the equation. Another important part is to use food less commonly as a reward as well, as if food is always used with every single command or behavior he will learn to depend on it which will not be conducive to his training. Instead, we are shifting to using food only during moments when he either does an especially good job with a command or during breaks after commands have been completed. After some food has been used in training, Ruger also tends to stay focused for several minutes even after the food goes away, which is another way to help reduce the amount of treats used during training as it allows us to use them more sparingly.
Pupdate 8/29/2024
Today Ruger and I visited the Santa Monica Promenade, where we practiced all of his commands around distractions. The promenade was pretty busy, and there were many groups of people, dogs, bicycles, scooters, strollers, carts, and other distractions around. Ruger took quite a while to adapt to this new environment and all the different surroundings, and needed some time to adjust before he could focus reliably. When we first arrived he was prone to fixating on distractions around us, and would struggle to perform commands properly without consistent leash pressure. We used some food motivators during our training warm up here, which did help significantly to motivate his focus to shift towards his training and away from the distractions around us.
With time and practice, he was eventually able to maintain consistent enough focus to perform his commands with decent reliability with significantly less leash pressure needed. When his focus would begin to lapse, the Off command did come in handy and he was able to disengage from most distractions without too much trouble. He did try to pull on the leash a bit when we first arrived, though was able to Heel pretty well by around halfway through our visit with minimal leash pressure needed to provide reminders when adjustments were required for him to maintain positioning. His Come to Sit was pretty good overall, and he always knew to come my direction when called. He was able to perform the maneuver around to my left pretty well most of the time, though sometimes he needed some leash guidance to correct his positioning as he would tend to get a bit too excited and end up running past me and end up out of position unless guided with the leash. His stationary commands were a bit of a struggle when we first arrived as he was very antsy and struggled to maintain positions for long durations, though as he adjusted to the environment and his energy levels lowered a bit, he was much more willing to perform commands without leash pressure, as well as hold his positions until released. He was able to hold his positions for around a minute and thirty seconds today, which was good to see! While we were training around the promenade Ruger received lots of compliments about his looks, and once he was focused, on his good behavior as well! Some people approached us and asked to pet him, though we needed to be selective about these greetings due to Ruger's tendency to become overexcited and overstimulated easily. While Ruger has gotten very noticeably better about his Greeting Manners in calm and controlled environments, especially with people he is familiar with, practicing in such a busy environment with strangers seemed a bit too much for him today. While practicing greeting manners here today, Ruger tried to jump on someone a few times, which was quickly interrupted since we never want to allow him to jump on anyone due to his large size posing a risk of accidental injury. When he felt the leash restrict his movement and prevent him from jumping on them, this caused him to feel frustrated, and he responded by growling and lunging at them, which led to us immediately ending the greeting for safety reasons. We thanked all those who complimented him today, but after that mishap, we politely declined requests to pet him as he's not quite ready to be practicing greetings in environments like this. We know Ruger is a good boy at heart, though to set him up for success and help keep those around us safe we will not be attempting greetings with strangers in public going forward.
Pupdate 8/30/2024
Today Ruger and I visited a park to continue working on his commands around distractions as usual, which he did well with overall. However in today's pupdate, we wanted to take the time to focus on some of the more major issues Ruger has been experiencing. Particularly in regard to both his struggles with greeting manners and resource guarding issues. Today's video demonstrates the reality of these matters, and the original audio has been included as well as it provides important context clues into his behavior. The first clip was filmed yesterday during an attempted greeting with a passerby while in Santa Monica. Ruger at first appeared friendly, although a tad excitable, but was able to Sit when prompted. I gave the person a quick rundown on the expectations for Ruger, explaining to only pet him or give him attention while he is calm and stationary, and that if he stands up or breaks position for any reason to cease the greeting until he settles back down again. When the person made their approach to pet Ruger, he immediately left his position and tried to move towards her. If not prevented from continuing, he would have quickly escalated his approach to jumping, as has been seen often in past greeting interactions when he is excited like this. This first correction led to him returning to his Sit position, and he got to enjoy a few moments of affection. However soon after this, he made a second attempt to approach and jump on the person, and this time frustration and overstimulation set in when he was prevented from approaching. This led to the growling, mouthing, and lunging seen directly after. The video concludes a bit short, though it took him several seconds after the person had moved away before he settled back down. Thankfully no one was hurt and the person politely laughed it off and wished Ruger well on his training journey, though after that point we opted to not continue with greeting scenarios as situations like this could have easily had a worse outcome. The second clip was taken during his feeding time after coming home from our Santa Monica trip. My neighbor's dogs began barking during some parts of the video, though the loudest and most clear barking and vocalizing is coming from Ruger alone. I have been prioritizing hand feeding at meal times as this seems to be the only method that has not sparked any resource guarding behaviors from Ruger, though showcasing the severity of this issue overall is important. In this case, I was preparing to hand-feed him as usual, and had placed some of his food in a bowl temporarily while he waited in his kennel. I had set the bowl down on a surface within sight of him as I went to wash my hands, and he began growling at me from in the kennel which prompted me to record the situation. Whenever the food bowl was set down within his sight, he would immediately begin trying to guard it by growling and trying to hover over it from within the kennel. If I made any movement at all, even if it was to just walk around the room, he would lunge at the gate, snarl, growl, and bark at me. If given the opportunity without the barrier of the gate, this behavior would have almost certainly resulted in a bite. While actively holding the bowl in my hand he was less likely to display this behavior, though he still seemed very tense and on edge so long as it was visible. Each time I set it down for him to see, he would resume right back to fully guarding the bowl. When the food bowl was removed from sight completely, Ruger would quickly cease the guarding behavior and had no issues with me getting close to him, talking to him, or moving around the room. To stay on the side of caution, we still ended up waiting about an hour after this video was taken before letting him out and feeding him, to ensure he had plenty of time to calm down and enter his mealtime in a relaxed mindset to ensure his success and my safety during the hand feeding process. It's also important to note that this resource guarding behavior mainly appears to occur when dealing with a bowl that is full of food, though has occurred in other feeding situations as well, albeit a bit less commonly. I have been able to feed him from a plate or a mat with better success, though if the food is put in a big pile instead of spread out, he will still tend to guard it. He is less likely to guard smaller portions, such as if only a small handful of food is added to the bowl, plate, or other feeding surface. He tends to eat quickly, so it's gone before the thought to guard it seems to cross his mind. This guarding behavior has also occurred with toys, chew treats, or other items he puts in his mouth, though we have had better success with reducing this behavior as opposed to with his food.
Pupdate 8/31/2024
Today Ruger and I visited a park and practiced all of his commands around distractions. He took some time to adjust to the environment, but once he began to have an easier time focusing he ended up doing a great job! We spent the rest of our park visit playing, exploring, and enjoying our last full day together. We also spent some extra time working on Ruger's house manners, which is something we have been working on little by little each day since day one. Even seemingly mundane day-to-day tasks can provide excellent opportunities for training. These manners include areas such as Door Manners and Car Manners. Basic Food Manners are typically included in this area of training, however Ruger's resource guarding issues required a different approach to this area of manners which have been highlighted in previous pupdates.
The goal of Door Manners is for Ruger to hold a stationary position while near a door and remain there until released or given a new command, such as Come or Heel. He is asked to hold the position at the location asked of him, 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 prevents impolite and possibly dangerous behaviors such as trying to escape through open doors, shoving past people when walking through doors, or rushing over to jump on people who enter through the door. Ruger struggled with Door Manners a lot when he first began his training, as he had a habit of immediately becoming overexcited and trying to sprint out the door the moment it was opened. With daily practice however, Ruger has made fantastic progress with his manners related to doors, and understands to follow instructions no matter what distractions the door may create. His patience, obedience, and ability to stay calm even in exciting situations like this have all improved so much!
Having good Car Manners makes transporting Ruger easy, safe, and as hassle-free as possible. The goal for Car Manners is for Ruger to be confident and able to jump into the car, as well willingly enter a kennel when asked without needing to be physically guided or lured inside. In the early stages of training, Ruger tended to lack the confidence needed to reliably jump into the car when prompted, and he would tend to hesitate unless lots of motivation and/or food motivators were used. Since he is a big dog, him learning to jump up on his own is important as we do not want him to rely on getting physical assistance by being lifted up. As we continued to practice, his confidence and skills with jumping improved drastically, and he can now jump into my car with ease whenever he is prompted to. Ruger also quickly learned to see the kennel as a safe and comfortable place to spend time in, so teaching him to enter a kennel on command was easy and natural for him which was great to see!
While Ruger still has a long training journey ahead of him, he has still made an amazing transformation in these past two weeks, and the differences in him are truly night and day! Before the program, he had a tendency to immediately become overexcited, overwhelmed, and overstimulated by everything around him, without the ability to settle down at any point. Since then, he has gained the ability to adjust to new and busy environments, allowing him to warm up to training and maintain focus even around distractions. He has learned many new commands, and improved drastically with his overall obedience skills. His tendency to pull with all of his might anytime he is remotely interested in something has been replaced with the ability to Heel. His recall is now much more reliable and consistent, and he has developed a positive association with coming to his handler whenever he is called instead of trying to ignore them. He has developed the patience, confidence, and focus needed to perform and remain in stationary commands such as Sit, Down, and Place, even for extended periods of time. While he may seem like a whole new dog in these ways, he is still the same goofy, loving, and playful pup he always has been, and with his new obedience skills he is even more of a joy to be around and take with on all sorts of adventures! He could certainly be a handful at times, though overall he was a pleasure to work with and I am forever grateful to have had the opportunity to help set this good boy on the path to success. I know he has a very bright future ahead in his continued training journey with his family!
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