Sassy | Labrador Retriever | Downey, CA | In Training

Meet Sassy! She's a six month old Black Labrador Retriever from Downey, California here for our Three-Week Board and Train Program! She's a sweetheart, but she needs some work on her basic obedience. She loves to jump, pull on her leash, and she also needs potty training! Over the next twenty one days we'll work on Sassy's potty training, her manners in and out of the house, and show her how to be the best pup she can possibly be. Stay tuned for Sassy's three week transformation!

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Pupdate: 4/2/2023

After I picked up Sassy, we went to Highlands Park to get to know each other! She is a sweetie, and she took a liking to me right away. She definitely loves to pull on her leash and jump, but she seemed very comfortable in her kennel while we were driving! Her biggest issue today was climbing up a set of stairs. She hated the stairs and needed constant encouragement to make it up a flight. When we got home, I let her sniff around my house, and she seems to be settling in very well! She had a potty accident on the way home, but it could have been from the nerves of being in a new place. She'll be starting work on her potty training right away!

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Pupdate: 4/3/2023

Sassy behaved well at the park today! We worked on her Heel command and her Sit! For Heel, I want Sassy to walk nicely at my left side with her ears at my knee. As you can see in her video, she's learning very quickly! For Sit, Sassy seems to have an alright understanding of the command, however I'd like to her to be able to hold her position for much longer and work her responsiveness when asked to Sit. 

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Pupdate: 4/4/2023

Sassy and I went to Almansor Park today for training! Her ability to Heel is coming along nicely! We also started working on her Come To Sit command. For Come To Sit, I want Sassy to come to my right side, move around my legs and sit on my left side with her ears at my knee. She's starting to pick up on this one! No potty accidents so far today!

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Pupdate: 4/5/2023

Sassy and I went to Almansor Park today for her training! Her Come To Sit is improving, although she likes to try to stop and sit behind me sometimes. When this happens, I take a small step forward if needed, reiterate the Come command, as well as apply a light stimulation using her E collar. Sassy, had a potty accident in the car, which seems to be where she has accidents the most. That being said, she also pottied outside at the park! When she potties somewhere I like, she gets a ton of praise and affection to let her know she's doing a good job!

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Pupdate: 4/6/2023

Sassy and I went to the Santa Monica Promenade today for training! She continued working on her Heel and Come To Sit commands, and we introduced her to the Place command! For Place, I'd like Sassy to hop up onto a raised object, such as the platforms in the above pictures! I'd like her to be able to hold her position here for about two minutes around distractions. This command can be great for building Sassy's confidence! Sassy got distracted fairly easily today around all the people and smells, but she behaved generally well. She piddled in the car today, but she managed to hold her poo until we were outside!

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Pupdate: 4/7/2023

Sassy went to Home Depot today! She started out a bit nervous but quickly came around to the environment. She did quite well around all the noises and distractions. For example, in the above video, there are several times where Sassy is surrounded by moving carts and people and she does a great job of holding her sit! She had an accident inside today, it was right when I got her out of her crate, and she got a little excited to see me. We also noticed that Sassy has an old puppy tooth on her left side that is turning gray and sticking out from an adult canine. I think the old tooth never fell out, and could be worth mentioning to Sassy's veterinarian.

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Pupdate: 4/8/2023

Sassy had a fun day at the park today! We mostly worked on her basic commands, and started practicing her Heel with her leash dragging. Allowing the leash to drag gives me some idea of how she might perform off leash while still having access to the leash should I need it. She still wanted to veer off from time to time, but she's doing much better! I asked her to Place on a large rock and it took a few tries, but she eventually gained the confidence to jump on! She hasn't had any potty accidents so far today!

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Pupdate: 4/9/2023

Sassy went to Garfield Park today for training! We continued working with the leash dragging! I added her Come To Sit with the leash dragging. In the above video, she performs the commands several times, and she only really struggles with it once or twice! As far as her Heel, she did a really good job walking around the park with the leash dragging and mostly focusing her attention on me. There were a few times she got distracted by smells and wanted to break her heel, but generally she did a great job all day. She had an excited pee accident this morning, but held her stool until we went outside!

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Pupdate: 4/10/2023

Sassy went to Studio City Recreation Center today for training! She did a good job with most of the commands she's learned so far, although she was a bit stubborn with her Down command for the first part of the day. We also started working on some slightly more advanced commands! For Come To Heel, I want her to go through the same motion as she does for a Come To Sit, except instead of sitting at the end, go right into a Heel and start walking! She picked this up immediately, which means I need to be careful to continue practicing her Come To Sit, so that she doesn't want to start heeling every single time I ask her to come! No major potty mistakes, other than a small piddle accident first thing this morning.

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Pupdate: 4/11/2023

Sassy and I spent the day at Almansor Park! I hardly had to touch the leash today, as Sassy was being very attentive and there weren't a ton of distractions around. We started working on her Send Away To Place command! This command is an extension of Place, except the goal is for Sassy to go to a place object from several feet away. She's managed to perform this command from a few feet away some of the time, but she still needs a little more confidence in order to build more distance. Right now, Sassy is a little too dependent on being right next to me to perform her commands, so we're going to work on increasing the distance she's comfortable with to help! No potty accidents today so far!

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Pupdate: 4/12/2023

Sassy and I started our day at Almansor Park, but then it started sprinkling a bit so we decided to pack up and go to Petsmart for some more exposure and training! I'm glad we did, because the scents around Petsmart were the perfect distractions for Sassy! Sassy gets much more easily distracted by smells, and the inherent dog smells as well as all the treats and food were great for her to work around. She definitely succumbed to those distractions a few times, but she quickly learned the boundaries of being in such an environment and behaved very well!

No potty accidents yet today!

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Pupdate: 4/13/2023

Sassy went to the Santa Monica Pier today for training! She did well with all the commands she's learned and she started working on a new command! The Under command! For Under, I want Sassy to lay down underneath an object such as a bench. I started off by having her hold a Down on one side of a bench, moving to the other side and releasing her toward me. She crawled under to get to me and began to get comfortable moving under the bench! After that, I started asking her to Down when she was all the way under the bench, which she did a pretty good job with! Pretty soon, she became fairly comfortable laying underneath the bench until I ask her to come! She still has a little work to do with this command, but she did a great job for her first day practicing it! She had a little potty accident in the car this morning.

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Pupdate: 4/14/2023

Sassy and I went to the Santa Anita Mall today! We spent most of our time in their outdoor areas, and some time inside. Sassy behaved well all day, and she made a lot of progress on her Send Away To Place command! She's been having some issues gaining the confidence to cross any distance away from me to a place object, but today she did a great job with it! No potty accidents today!

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Pupdate: 4/15/2023

Sassy spent the day at Almansor Park today! She was off leash for a lot of the time, and she did a good job behaving herself while her leash was off. In the above video, you can see Sassy practicing her Send Away To Place command! She's been gaining a lot of confidence with this and she's doing a great job! You will also see Sassy perform her Come To Sit and Come To Heel commands without much trouble! Sassy had a long day at the park, so afterwards, she took a nice nap. No potty incidents yet today!

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Pupdate: 4/16/2023

Sassy spent the day at Garfield Park! She was off leash for most of the time. We practiced all of her commands off leash, and she did well with each! There was one bench in particular that she was a little uncomfortable placing on, but she did it! After working, she got some playtime and exercise, which she definitely loves! She is getting much better at holding her pee and learning what I mean when I ask her to "go potty" outside, so no potty accidents so far today!

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Pupdate: 4/17/2023

Sassy and I went to Hacienda Park today! She behaved well on and off leash. There were several other trainers and dogs around, and Sassy seemed comfortable working in close proximity to them! For today's video, I wanted to show her performing the Under command off leash. She seems completely comfortable crawling under the picnic table, but I have yet to ask her to perform Under in a smaller space while off leash. We will try that tomorrow, but I think she'll be fine with it! Sassy held her pee until we walked early this morning, and held her stool until we arrived at the park, so no potty accidents so far today!

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Pupdate: 4/18/2023

Sassy and I went to Almansor for today's training! She was off leash in all areas of the park except near the parking lot. The most difficult area for her was by the pond near the geese and ducks! She was constantly putting her nose up and sniffing the air, then looking at the geese. Despite the smells, Sassy behaved well, rarely broke her commands, and performed each command with great accuracy! She also performed her Under command with a much smaller area, and did so very happily and easily! Sassy excitedly piddled a little bit when she first got out of her crate this morning, but no major potty accidents.

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Pupdate: 4/19/2023

Sassy and I went to Cheviot Hills Recreation Center this morning! She was off leash the whole time and she did very well! We mostly worked on her ability to her positions without breaking. For her Sit, Down, and Place commands, I want Sassy to be able to stay put for about two minutes around distractions. There were a few times when Sassy caught a scent and got distracted, but for the most part she did a great job of holding her Place when asked! No potty accidents so far today!

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Pupdate: 4/20/2023

Sassy and I went to the Santa Monica Pier today for training! She did a great job! She didn't seem too bothered by the large crowds, and didn't seem distracted by anything in the environment. The only thing she had any difficulty with today was her Send Away To Place command. She wanted me to walk with her up to the place object for the first several attempts at this command, before she got comfortable! This was our first time doing Send Away To Place in such a populated area, so she just had to get more used to the space to be confident moving away from me.

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Pupdate: 4/21/2023

Sassy and I went to Santa Anita Mall today for training! She behaved well and performed her commands on and off leash. It was hot today so a lot of our time was spent inside. After the mall, when the temperature started to go down, we went to the park for fun and a little bit more training! For Sassy's video today, I wanted to show some of the manners we've been working on. For Sassy's greeting manners, I want her to sit nicely while being approached by a stranger, without jumping up! For her car manners, I'd like Sassy to hop into the car and walk directly into her kennel when asked. For her food manners, I want her to sit patiently when I place food in front of her, and wait for me to release her before she starts eating! No Potty accidents so far today!

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Pupdate: 4/22/2023

Sassy and I went to Almansor Park this morning! We went home for the hotter hours then back when it started to cool down. For her video today, I wanted to show one more of the manners she's been working on. For door manners, I want Sassy to wait patiently when the front door is open, without trying to rush out before me. We practice this each time we go in or out of the house, so she's gotten pretty good! Sassy will be going home tomorrow, and I'll miss her very much! She's a sweetheart and she's done a great job with her training! No potty accidents so far today.