Samson | Coton De Tulear | South Pasadena, CA. | In Training.
- heatheroffleashsoc
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 3 hours ago
Samson is a handsome 12-year-old Coton De Tulear from South Pasadena, California, who has just joined us for our Two Week Urban Board and Train Program!
This sweet boy has been described as quite the homebody, enjoying the comforts of indoor life and the familiar routines he knows best. But Samson is about to take on a big new adventure! With a move to a brand-new environment on the horizon, he’ll be learning some new skills to help him feel more confident, comfortable, and prepared for this exciting change.
Over the next two weeks, we’ll be working closely with Samson on his basic obedience, house manners, and confidence-building in new situations. Our goal is to provide him with the tools he needs to navigate his next chapter while helping him become a more confident and social pup.
Because who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? 😉
Stay tuned as we follow Samson’s journey and watch his transformation unfold!
6/14/2026
Today was all about introductions for Samson! We started the day with a walk at Lake Balboa Park so that he and I could get better acquainted with one another. This also gave me the opportunity to assess what Samson may already know while beginning to introduce a couple of new commands, including heel and sit.
We started with his heel command, which focused on encouraging Samson to walk nicely at my side without pulling. Using light leash guidance, I was able to communicate the expectation that he should stay with me rather than lead the way. Samson is still a little unsure that I might have some better ideas about where we’re headed (he seems to think he has a pretty solid itinerary of his own!), but we were able to make some progress with him walking ahead of me and beginning to understand the goal of staying connected.
Next, we worked on his sit command. It took Samson a few attempts to understand exactly what I was asking from him. Using a combination of leash pressure behind the ears and light pats on the bum to help communicate the position, we were able to start building that understanding. With some patience and repetition, Samson began making progress and showing that he was starting to piece together what I was asking.
After our walk, it was time to head back to the car and make our way to his home away from home for the next couple of weeks. With the temperatures starting to rise, it was time for Samson to get comfortable in a cooler environment and begin settling into his new routine. He did great on the ride home, which was wonderful to see!
Once we arrived, Samson had the chance to explore the yard and the house. So far, he has no complaints — just a very curious guy taking in all of the new sights and smells. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, decompressing, and helping him adjust to his new surroundings.
Samson does still have a tendency to pace around a bit as he takes everything in, but with a little more time and consistency, I’m sure he’ll start feeling more comfortable and able to settle. All in all, Samson had a great first day considering just how many new experiences he had! I’m excited to see him continue opening up and making progress over the next couple of weeks.
6/15/2026
Today Samson and I headed out to a park in Rosemead to meet up with some fellow trainers and their pups to continue building on the commands he has learned so far while also incorporating a couple of new ones!
We started by continuing to work on his heel command, and Samson is starting to get the hang of it! He’s beginning to understand where he’s supposed to be and what the expectation is when we’re moving together. His sit command, however, is still a little touch and go since Samson seems to believe that sitting still for too long is simply not part of his job description!
We worked on introducing his extended sit, which is just his regular sit command with added distance and duration between us. In some moments, Samson had no problem holding the command and showing off what he knew. In other moments… well, it was like rapid-fire corrections the second I released pressure and he would pop right back up again over and over. But this is all part of the learning process! The important thing is staying consistent, patient, and showing him that holding the command is what earns him success. With time and repetition, Samson is absolutely going to get it.
We also introduced his come to sit command today, which asks Samson to come around my right side and sit neatly on my left. For the most part, this seemed pretty simple for him! I will say, Samson does make things a little easier by handling leash guidance very well. Wherever I guide him, he is happy to follow with very little fuss, which makes introducing new concepts much smoother.
All in all, Samson is making some great progress, and I’m very proud of what he has learned so far. He’s continuing to build his understanding of his commands, and we’ll keep working on adding more reliability and duration as he continues his training journey!
Potty Training Update:
So far, so good on the potty front! Samson has had no accidents to report. I’ve been utilizing crate training to help manage his time when I’m unable to keep a close eye on him, and we’ve been taking regular leash walks outside every few hours to give him the opportunity to go potty. He’s been doing great with this routine!
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