Pupdate 10/25/20
Welcome Shadow to Off Leash Socals 1 week board and train program! Shadow is an 11 month old McNab who is here to learn some basic obedience skills to be able to enjoy daily life with his owners. Shadow is a very fearful dog who isn't used to city life. He does have reactivity and has shown signs of aggression toward strangers, little kids, and other dogs. While Shadow is in training he will be learning a basic foundation that his owners can use to help him become a well mannered dog.
Pupdate 10/26/20
Shadow worked on heel, down and place today. He is learning how to give into the leash pressure and to not fight it when being asked to do something. Meaning when Shadow feels me pulling the leash to the right, instead of fighting that feeling by stopping in his tracks he is learning to follow that feeling till it stops. Shadow went to a park today and worked around some people and dogs that passed us by at a distance that was comfortable for him. As these people walked by he was quite fixated on them but did not vocalize or lunge at them, he just watched. As these triggers passed by Shadow worked on giving into the leash guidance and coming towards me when I called him. Shadow also worked on car loading and the down command. Shadow is still putting up a fight to go into his crate at night but he has been doing really well learning to jump into the crate in the car.
Pupdate 10/27/20
Shadow worked on heeling today with the ecollar on so he could get used to the weight of it before feeling the stimulation. He was thrown off at first by the feeling of the ecollar stimulation. Once we started using the stimulation he did try to bite at it just like when he felt leash pressure for the first time. We worked him through this promblem by having him heel causing him to focus on something other than the stimulation. He eventually started to relax when he felt the stim and was able to focus on what was being asked of him instead of trying to bite at the collar. Shadow went into the crate on the floor today all on his own without fighting! Getting him out was a little tougher this time so we worked on going in and out willingly before he was given full down time to stay in there like he was wanting to.
Shadow ate some of his breakfast this morning but left the majority of it still in his bowl. He was given the remainder of his meal later in the day.
Pupdate 10/28/20
Shadow did very well today. He worked on his heel command while walking past people and he did very well ignoring them. Shadow was noticeably uncomfortable around a very small public sitting area and had his tail tucked for a portion of the outing. I was able to purk him up enough to help him feel more comfortable in the environment with his commands. Shadow worked on place while in this sitting area and he is a pretty good jumper. He was fairly comfortable with jumping up on a small secotion of a sitting area when asked. Shadow is learning how to hold his commands for longer than a few second.
Pupdate 10/29/20
Shadow did very well today during his training. He worked on heeling past a small amount of people and did good. He was unsure of the people who walked behind us and wanted to keep an eye on them. Shadow worked without the muzzle a few times today and he did very well. He did bite the leash a few times when he felt he was being nagged to much to do a command. We worked through this problem a few times until he relaxed enough to stop trying to bite the leash.
When asking Shadow to "down" using the stim he will try to avoid it or give a very dramatic reaction. The more he is worked through this and not allowed to avoid the command nor the stim the more accepting he will become when asked to do something using verbal direction or e-collar stim.
Pupdate 10/30/20
Shadow did very well today and had a big outing. He got to work around a big flock of birds and a couple of squirrels that passed our way. He was distracted by the birds at first so we worked on heel and holding his commands while theses distractions happened around us. Shadow worked on heeling through weave poles and placing on a picnic bench by lots of birds. He got to meet another trainer today and wasn’t very interested in engaging with her at first but after giving him a second he warmed up to her and melted in her lap. He did show signs of being uncomfortable as a few young children messed around in our area so Shadow worked on holding a down and worked on relaxing more in the presence of an uncomfortable trigger.
Pupdate 10/31/20
Shadow worked on his door manners today. He was very excited to go out the door and did try to follow me through so we worked him just sitting in the doorway as I walked away. Shadow has velcro tendencies and if he could he would stay at your feet for awhile. It is important for him to learn that he can be asked and expected to stay somewhere near his handler without having to follow their every move. Shadow did put up some resistance when asked to go into his crate today. We worked on him willingly going in and out of the crate nicely, in the end he did good.
