top of page

Samantha | Labrador Retriever | Lakewood, CA | In-Training

Writer's picture: Sheena ChavezSheena Chavez

Meet Samantha, she is a 3-year-old Labrador Retriever from Lakewood, CA and she has joined us for our famous 2 Week Board and Train Program. Samantha is generally your typical overfriendly canine who loves everyone. Which of course isn't a bad thing but that causes Samantha to rush up to everyone in an effort to say hello, jump on them, and get some attention. This results in heavy pulling making it difficult for her owners to manage her on their walks. Samantha is also very curious, loving to go nose safaris while out and about which also causes some heavy pulling. Miss Samantha mostly knows some of her basic commands, but she frequently chooses to do her own thing. Inside the home Samantha has a habit of running out the front door and loves to wait in the kitchen for any food that may come her way. Over these next two weeks we will work on curbing these behaviors and make it easier for everyone to enjoy her company. Stay tuned for her transformation!

 

Pupdate 1/16/2024




Samantha settled into her temporary home just fine. She napped in her crate with no issues and did well meeting all members of the family. Both humans and canine. When meeting the humans she did not jump initally, but once they had something she was curious about she did try to jump up and see what they had. When meeting Oso (our chocolate lab) they immediatly said hello and tried to start playing. Samantha seems to tire out quickly so we will keep her training times in small incriments.

We did notice a small wart that sits on the back of her neck. A photo has been attached above. It doesn't seem to bother her at all but we will keep an eye on it.


 

Pupdate 1/17/2024

Today we spent some extra time working on Samantha’s Heel command. This will be the command to use any time you are taking her on a walk no matter the distance. Even if it is only 200 feet. Heel is where Samantha will walk on your left-hand side, with her ears directly in line with your knee. Preventing any pulling if she is on a leash. If Samantha is in a Heel, she must stay in the proper position. Not only does this mean no pulling, but it also means no veering off to smell the grass, greeting other humans, eating things off the floor, etc.

It shouldn’t matter how fast you’re walking, how slow, turning right, turning left, we need to keep her in that proper Heel position. When we come to a stop the goal is for Samantha to go into a seated position. We practice this before crossing any street, before releasing her with Break! to go potty or stopping for any reason. Maybe it is to drink water, tie your shoe, or speak to someone. Break is her release command each time we are going to take pause from training. In this situation allowing her to go potty. Theoretically Break time can be anywhere from 30 seconds to 8 hours. It largely depends on what you are doing at that moment. Regardless, it should be your decision.

Please listen to the audio on the video as well.



 

Pupdate 1/18/2024

Our command for today is Place. Place is where we want Samantha to sit or lie down on a specified object. Objects that can be used for Place include a dog bed, dog cot, small area rug, blanket/towel, a park bench, the car, the possibilities are endless! But of course, there are some rules to follow for this command as well. When Samantha is on Place she must have all 4 paws on the object and hold her position there until released with Break! or asked for a new command. Samantha can be hesitant to Place on new objects, but we follow through to have the training be a success. Once she realizes there was nothing to be alarmed of, she was placing with ease.


Never have her place on anything you typically would not want her on. Such as the kitchen chairs/table, home furniture, counter tops, etc. This is a great command to use inside and outside the home. Inside the home, use Place while you are cooking, cleaning, or answering the door to have Samantha in a safe space out of the way. Outside the home it can be used while having a picnic, have her in a space out of the way (in general), or get some good photo-ops!


 

Pupdate 1/19/2024




Samantha had a big adventure out to the Santa Monica Pier today. This presented so many different distractions, sounds and smells, so she had to work extra hard to keep her focus on the tasks asked of her. Which posed a struggle with this level of an environment.


When walking down to the pier from the parking structure to the pier Samantha was not a fan of all the noise. She became extremely startled by the delivery trucks, buses, and loud cars that passed by. Any time they made noise she would pull back panicked and try to go in any direction away from the sound. This occurred while on the pier as well if a performer was making a lot of noise or if someone was pushing something around. Such as the cleaning crew pushing around trashcans or someone pushing strollers. 


After a few laps of walking up and down the pier we provided Samantha with ample time in the shade to relax and observe her environment. Because she was so consumed with the distractions, having her walk around keeps her mind busy on Heel and exerts some of the excess anxiety. While Samantha was sitting/lying down she was more uneasy of various items being pushed around and the arcade areas’ noise.


Throughout our time there we kept everything structured, working on commands, and not giving up or giving in to her anxiety. Remaining consistent with any task at hand helps Samantha tremendously overall.


 

Pupdate 1/20/2024

We worked on Samantha’s recall, which is her Come to Sit command. We teach this command with a specific motion in mind, rather than having her simply come into our space. When we call her to Come, we want Samantha to come to us, loop behind us, ending in a sit directly on our left-hand side. We do not want her sitting/leaning on us, sitting behind/in front of us, or sitting too far off to the side. We would like her ears to be in line with our left knee. Think back to her position for the Heel command. The idea is this type of recall will prepare Samantha for the heel command because she will already be in the correct position.

Please listen to the audio on today’s video.


 

Pupdate 1/22/2024



To stay out of the rain Samantha ventured out to our local mall. We reviewed all of her commands while walking around a new distracting environment.


Immediately upon arrival Samantha starts panting and breathing heavily, which is a form of anxiety being displayed. This began to subside some after a few laps around the mall. After taking those laps around the mall we spent more time working in the food court area because this is where the most foot traffic was. However, when a sound would set her off (like the noisy food court) the heavy panting came back. Samantha still had some adverse reactions to the cleaning crew pushing trash cans around, chairs making noise, etc.


When being compared to Santa Monica Samantha did better, keeping in mind that the levels of distractions is much lower and not as intense. 


 

Pupdate 1/22/2024

On our trip to Home Depot Samantha was quite uneasy of her environment. She did not like the sound of the carts and flatbeds being pushed around. Especially when the lumber was being moved or the forklift was used. Even if they were another the other aisle. Samantha responded by looking all around her in a panicked manner, getting up and breaking position frequently, and trying to move away from the sounds.


During our video you can see she becomes quite consumed with some sounds. This is where she intensely stares at something or completely moving in a different direction than the handler. You can also see how uncomfortable she becomes when a family walks down the same aisle where we are working.


Throughout our entire time working, we leave a loose leash, providing minimal assistance if needed. Although you can see during moments when she is uneasy, Samantha uses the full length of the leash and requires that extra assistance.


Samantha needs to build confidence and create a sense of independence in herself. If we were to move away from the things that make her uncomfortable or pet her while she is in a frantic state that will reinforce her reactions. Leading her to believe that what she is doing is okay and wanted.


 

Pupdate 1/23/2024




Throughout Samanthas time here we have been keeping up with her general manners around the house. Oso (the chocolate lab) has been a great helper in showing Samantha the ropes around the house. Along with being a great play buddy!


She has been doing well with her Door Manners but keep in mind that Samantha does need a reminder to sit/down at the doorway before it is opened. Samantha still has a habit of going into the kitchen when someone walks in, opens the fridge, etc. To keep her from doing so and out of the way, we have been telling her “Out” while backing her up. Once she is at a desired distance, we ask her for the Down command. The best practice is to keep consistent, just like with any other parts of training. We are consistent with keeping her out of the kitchen space and have her back up to the same area each time. Essentially creating an invisible boundary line.


The overall idea with any house manners is having you (as the humans) to make the decisions and remain consistent. Canines are like toddlers, if you give them an inch, they will take a mile. For example, if you allow Samantha on the couch just this one time; she will begin to think it is okay to go on the couch as she pleases. Creating a bad habit that you then have to work on counter conditioning, leaving more struggle for you overall.


 

Pupdate 1/24/2024

Please listen to Mike’s instructional video on his work with Samantha today.

After filming we encountered a small poodle mix. This small dog displayed some dominance by kicking/scratching at the ground and making scoffing noises. Engaging Samantha to react by growling, barking, and lunging. At this point we had a loose leash attached to her. With swift verbal and e-collar reinforcement we were able to remove her focus off the other dog, but that did not happen before she hit the end of the leash. It is crucial that you are always aware of your surroundings and provide Samantha with a consistent structure.


 

Pupdate 1/25/2024



Today we visited a park out in Alhambra. This park often has people walking the path, jogging, or walking their canines. It is a location that provided great squirrel distractions as many people here like to feed them. The park neighbors a golf course, which offered new distractions for Samantha as well.


Overall, she did well even with the squirrels. Our part in being diligent really prevented Samantha from feeling like she “needed” to chase after the squirrels. The moment anything has her attention you can tell by her body signs. This typically looks like her ears perking forward, forehead scrunching/wrinkling, tail becoming stiff, or intense staring. When any of these happen, we promptly provide her with the “Off” command paired with the stimulation. Then remind her of the last command that was asked such as Heel or Down.


We like to reference this as being proactive instead of reactive. If we are proactive in our structure for Samantha and being aware of our surroundings; it provides us with the ability to simply be able to manage her more efficiently. Should we always wait for her to be mid-reaction or so focused on one thing (and the rest of the world doesn’t exist) it is much harder to regain her attention.


 

Pupdate 1/26/2024

Samantha made a trip out to a new mall to continue to work around distractions in a new environment. We immediately made some laps around the mall to help familiarize Samantha with the new environment. At first, she started off strong with the exception of some minor distractions. Once we started to film, we found a small play area with a merry go round. You can see in the video that once it started to move, Samantha quickly became unsettled by the merry go round. She frequently got up and tried to look for an escape to move away. Keeping consistent with the last command asked helps her overcome/work through her fears. After walking away from the merry go round she was able to regain her composure.


Although, that only lasted until the next hurdles. First being the elevator, then walking on the second floor near the railing (where you can see the floor beneath us). Getting into the elevator she did just fine, but once it started to move, she wanted no part of it. Once the doors opened Samantha essentially crawled and pulled her way out. She behaved similarly when walking near the railing on the second floor. Pulling and crawling her way towards the stores to avoid walking near the railing. Should we have given into walking where Samantha wanted, this would only encourage her insecurities.


Instead, we continued to walk back and forth along the railing. After practice she was still hesitant but much more willing to walk closer without panicking as much.


 

Pupdate 1/27/2023





Our big adventure today took place at the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This environment is a guaranteed area for unusual sounds and distractions. When arriving, we needed to take the elevator to get to our destination. Samantha had the same reaction to the elevator here, just as she did yesterday. We are going to try and find an area where we can take frequent elevator rides and have her become used to the routine to mitigate nervous-like reactions.


When walking around the Walk of Fame Samantha did well with all the vehicle traffic, even an ambulance that happened to drive by. The people and street performers didn’t necessarily bother her this time around. Not like how they did last week at the Santa Monica Pier. Samantha became the most distracted when she encountered a nervous canine. They were essentially feeding off of each other’s anxiety. So, she would frequently break her stationary commands. As long as we were consistent with reminding her of the task at hand, she was able to follow though.


 

Pupdate 1/28/2024

On this sunny warm day, we took a trip to Fashion Island in Newport Beach. A good practice to uphold is taking the time to walk around the new area before asking Samantha to do anything else other than Heel. This gives her time to familiarize herself with the environment, decompress, and exert her excess energy. Samantha even did well walking past the janitorial staff pushing around the trash cans! That was something she really struggled to do before.


There were plenty of dogs out with their owners during our trip. When the other canines were well behaved or at somewhat of a distance Samantha paid them no mind. The moment we noticed a pup who was more energetic or pulling around; we created space and kept consistent communication to Samantha. Under no circumstances do we let other canines walk up to her. You never know how they are going to behave or how she is going to react. It is also not good etiquette. Overall, it was quite a successful outing!


 

Pupdate 1/29/2024

Over the last week we’ve been working on Samanthas ability to properly heel beside a walker. It took some time to teach, just like her proper heel command did, but she began to get the hand of it! A big part in our practice was pace variation. Although Samantha tires easily and slows down, she would suddenly have moments of walking ahead or simply go slower than us. So always keep in mind that no matter how fast or slow you walk (walker or not) she should be matching your pace.


 

コメント


bottom of page