This is Sam, a 4 month old English Springer Spaniel from Fullerton, CA here for our puppy Board and Train program! Sam is a very happy and excited pup who loves to play with his cat brother. Sam is here because he pulls and bites on the leash, jumps on the counter, and chases the cat around! We will be working on increasing his confidence and being able to go potty outside each time. Sam will learn basic and fundamental commands so keep checking his PAWsome transformation!
PUPDATE 4/24/2022
Today mostly consisted of getting used to everything new for Sam. There were moments in the car going home that he would whine but for the most part he was silent. I took him out for a walk to see what we need to work on and he definitely pulls on the leash, excited to go on a new adventure. He peed and has not pooped yet. Later, I put him in the crate in my house and he complained for a couple minutes. I can tell you worked on treat training because that is how I got his attention! He ate all his food which is a great sign. I am excited to work more with him tomorrow!
PUPDATE 4/25/2022
I worked with Sam on the first lesson of Come to Sit and overall he did okay. He is still getting the hang of what the leash is. He is listening well and is happy to do what is asked so I have not tried putting on the e collar but I will update you if that changes. Going on small walks around my neighborhood has been helping him pull less on the leash. Short and small amounts of working is going to be important for his training since he is a puppy. He is eating, peeing, and pooping great. He did have some soft stool this afternoon but this morning it was fine.
PUPDATE 4/26/2022
Sam had a very productive day today. I took him on a walk to a local outlet to work on all his commands. We practiced a duration sit while waiting for all the lights and he only got up a couple times. He was heeling very well until someone or something passes by us and he veers off course. Sam was unsure about most of the place objects he went on top of so we spent most of the training time working on him getting familiar with jumping on objects. The command he really struggled with today was the down command so we did a lot of reps working on that. Giving him a lot of praise helped him understand what I was asking him to do each time and there was progress in each rep. He is eating and drinking normally however he pooped in his crate during the night and he still had soft stool today. His energy is normal.
PUPDATE 4/27/2022
Sam's stool was better today and no accident throughout the night. I took Sam to the park to practice the Place command. As you can see in the video, he is still uncertain with going on new objects at first and then he gets acclimated after each rep. It is important to note that just because he is apprehensive about something, does not mean I stop trying to help him with what I am asking him to do. He is eating and drinking normally.
PUPDATE 4/28/2022
I took Sam to a different park to work on all his commands in a new environment. I met with another trainer who has a training puppy as well and Sam loved the other dog. He was very gentle and submissive. I think messing with the cat at home had some role in that! Sam is doing much better with going on different place objects so that is increasing his confidence. There were a lot of dogs and people walking by and he was very excited to say hi to everyone. He was Heeling well until something exciting happened at the park (a leaf going by or a person walking). He struggled with staying in command because he was so excited. He is eating/drinking/peeing/pooping normally. No accidents in the crate!
PUPDATE 4/29/2022
Sam had a big day today at the local outdoor mall. Today was his first day training in public and overall he did much better than expected! His duration commands need more focus but I am very happy with how well he heels with me. He continues to improve on going to different place objects. Sam did well going into a down command but he has trouble staying in that command. To help this, I put my foot in the leash close to the buckle to help maintain a down command. His poop is much better.
PUPDATE 4/30/2022
I took Sam to a new park to practice all of his commands and overall he did very well. I am happy with all the progress he has made so far. The commands that were difficult for him today were: Come to Sit and Duration Down. Sam understands the idea of Come to Sit but gets more excited as he gets closer to me. He was able to hold a Duration Down command longer than he has ever had before but he still gets out of the command. We walked by a couple dogs and his Heel command was awesome. He had an accident in his crate this morning. He is eating/drinking/peeing/pooping normally.
PUPDATE 5/1/2022
Since Sam has been working really hard the past week, I decided to go to the park to film Heel and Down. I wanted to show you the progress he has made in such a short amount of time. He has really improved each day and I am very proud of him. Like I mentioned in his Heel video, it is important to allow him to make mistakes so he knows what we are asking him to do. Since he is a puppy, giving that extra praise helps encourage him to do it. The Down video was a good example of the struggles Sam faces sometimes with the distractions. Later, I took him to meet my family and he was a hit! Everyone thought he was so well behaved and soft! We were practicing greeting manners and he was doing well.
PUPDATE 5/2/2022
He was able to stay in his Down command while the people were walking near him!
I took Sam to a mall to increase the distraction work of training and overall he did very well. He was Heeling with me nicely the majority of the time and when he was not Heeling well, it was because he was distracted by the people walking around him. Sam went on every place object without any hesitation except one that was a little too high for him to jump on. It is important to follow through with the command given even if you need to give him a boost! He did much better with the Duration Down command and I was impressed he stayed in the command when people walked by! There were some moments when he got nervous like when he was next to the water fountain. Great job Sam!
PUPDATE 5/3/2022
I worked with Sam at the Simi Valley mall where there were little distractions. I did not want to over-stimulate him with a huge crowd until I feel he is ready. As you can see in the video, we passed by a couple people and he did not try to say hi to them which is a great improvement! When I know I am about to pass by a big distraction, I praise Sam for the command he is currently doing to encourage him to keep doing it. I prepare the prong collar and leash in case he tries to veer off from my left leg. You can see how I used the prong collar when he tried to eat a flower on the ground in the video. Then, when the distraction passed us, I praised him a lot. He is still working on his Duration Down command as he was interested in how the flowers smelled and got out of command a couple times. Overall, he did a great job today.
PUPDATE 5/4/2022
I took Sam to the Citadel Outlets to work on his distraction training. He did well for the first time in a busier environment than the previous malls. His Down and Come to Sit were his difficult commands today. He struggled with staying in a Down command when he was there longer than 30 seconds. It was because he got bored not because he was distracted by people or things around him. We practiced Come to Sit from Place and would not come around me. I noticed today that he does well with verbal commands but he relies on them to do the next thing. His Heel continued to be great and he got on all the Place objects I put him on! He is eating/drinking/peeing/pooping normally. I’ve been removing his water in the crate at night and that helped eliminate him going potty in the crate.
PUPDATE 5/5/2022
Since Sam has been working so hard since he started training, we had a relaxing day and I took him to the park to play with the other training dog, Loki. They had a blast together! He kept running in circles around me, the tree, and the benches playing with Loki! It was good to see him having fun but also listening when needed. He never went too far away from me which was great. He tried to eat a couple sticks and other objects but when I said "OFF" and used the prong collar, he stopped. He did not try to eat too many things so I think it is an improvement since he started training. He was so happy when I sat down with him, they were fighting over who gets to sit on my lap! He is eating/drinking/peeing/pooping normally.
PUPDATE 5/6/2022
I took Sam to an outdoor mall in Northridge and he did good overall. I think he got a little overwhelmed with the new environment since it was more distracting. When a dog barked at him, he was timid but stayed next to me. We focused on Sam maintaining his duration commands while distractions walked by. This was good for him to work on since he has a tendency to get distracted easily. He was heeling nicely with me the majority of the time which was great to see.
PUPDATE 5/7/2022
I wanted to mainly work on Sam's duration commands today. I chose to practice in my house because I think that is the most practical place you are going to be using it when you get him back home. Using the dog bed as a place object really helps him stay in one area. At first, he gets off the dog bed and tries to follow me around but each time he does that I place him back on the dog bed and continue working. I enticed him a little more by sitting down around him and that triggered him because he just wants to play and is so excited. After 2 more reps, there was a big difference in how much longer he stayed on the dog bed while I was walking around. I wanted to show you this video because there are going to be things that are difficult for him. But after just a few reps of working on it, he kept improving.
PUPDATE 5/8/2022
I took Sam to an outdoor shopping center to work on all his commands. He did very well today. I am so proud of him! He was Heeling very well and even ignored two french bulldogs that were trying to lunge at him from afar! Amazing! I gave him lots of pets and kisses for that one. He was so brave and fearless on all the place objects he went on, even the rock near the water. Sam still does have a tendency to eat things so we are still working on that. He stayed in a Down command while the kids were playing on the playground. Later as a reward for all his hard work, I took him and the other training dog, Loki, to the park to play around and they had a great time.
PUPDATE 5/9/2022
I took Sam to the Northridge mall to practice more exposure to new places. Overall he did well. There were a lot of people walking by and he kept focused! There was also a cart that passed us once and he was a little hesitant but he kept heeling with me. His duration commands improved a lot so that is great news. He does get bored and wants to scratch or do other things than sit or lay there.
PUPDATE 5/10/2022
I worked with Sam at the local hardware store and overall he did well. He went on most Place objects with ease and the ones he had difficulty with were the ones that were a little too high for him. He is improving on his Come to Sit and we worked on his duration commands. There was another dog in the store and while the dog was very eager to play with him, Sam kept focused and I praised him a lot for doing that. He was heeling very well throughout the entire store so that was great to see. He is eating/drinking/peeing/pooping normally.
PUPDATE 5/11/2022
I worked on Sam's home manners including door manners and food manners. It took a couple reps for him to understand what I was asking but overall he did well. He is getting better at staying in command while I move around. I thought that food manners would be more difficult for him because of his love for food but he actually did well with it. Using the prong collar helped him to wait for his food. Later, I let him play with the other training pup and they had a blast together. He had some soft stool this afternoon but I am not concerned.
PUPDATE 5/12/2022
I worked on all Sam's commands to show you all the progress he has made! In this video, he demonstrates every command I have taught him in one recording. I was very proud of him! It only took two attempts as the first time we tried, he got out of the Place command because he anticipated when I moved. He really improved on his duration commands. He does sometimes let his nose get the better of him when we walk by a restaurant. Great nose though!! Later, I took him and the other training pup Loki to the park to run around and play as a reward for all his hard work. He is eating/drinking/peeing/pooping normally.
PUPDATE 5/13/2022
Sam had a good day at an outdoor shopping center. We worked on all his commands and he did great! He went on all the place objects but sometimes he needed a running start. He has really improved on his duration commands. He was heeling very well next to me. Since it was a warm day, I tried to carry him a little bit but soon after he just wanted to walk. I tried staying in this morning to see what would happen with his potty schedule. He is still on his 6am potty routine and if I strayed away from that by an hour, he pees in his crate.
PUPDATE 5/14/2022
I started the day with Sam going on a walk in the morning before it was too hot. Overall, he did great with listening to me and following all commands. Since he has been working so hard the last 3 weeks, I had all my pups together for socialization. Sam had a great time with everyone! Sometimes he plays too rough the other two pups do too so he learns he can't do whatever he wants! He has always been great with other pups but now I think he understands how to control himself a little better than before! Later, I gave him a bath so he smells great going back home. He was trying to be compliant in the tub and the blow dryer but overall he is not a fan of either one. Can't wait to show you everything he has learned!
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