Meet Shaka, the Australian Labradoodle, from San Juan Capistrano. He is a sweet boy who is here for our 3-Week Board and Train Program. He is joining us to learn some manners; like not running away, listening around distractions, and not bothering his brother all day. Watch him as he progresses!
Pupdate 04/11/21
Shake spent his first day very confused. He was a happy-go-lucky boy but very curious as to what was going on. He wanted to inspect every crevice of my home and say hi to everyone. He went for a walk in my neighborhood and investigated all the smells. We worked on the basic commands before going to the car wash! This was a very good test to see how he handled loud unexpected noises in the crate, while also seeing the giant machine parts move all around the car. He did very great, not a single bark or cry and he stayed call throughout the whole event. He did however bark in the crate when we got home but he eventually settled down after some work.
Pupdate 04/12/21
Shake went to a new park today and we worked on learning the e collar with some new contact points. He seems to be more consistent with playing around with the collar itself and the long-haired contact points. He finally went potty today! He did not seem relieved at all but rather irritated that he could not go to the location of his choosing. but he has been drinking a lot of water and he finally gave up and waited till we got back home to go. He did not want to eat all of his food but for dinner, he ate about half of it. He learned recall which helped our walks go smoother.
Pupdate 04/13/21
Shaka went to a new park and worked on adding new objects to his place command. Worked on testing the textures of the objects he got on and he did really well. He did not go to the bathroom today but he did eat more food. He also got to work with other dogs today and work on loose leash walking and recall around other dogs.
Pupdate 04/14/21
Shaka is easily distracted by kids and other dogs. So today we worked on adding distractions to his commands. He worked around my friend's dog and she showed him the ropes! He worked on door and crate manners. She was picky with his food today, he did not finish his food today but he ate around half or most of it. More so the wet food over the kibble.
Pupdate 04/15/21
Shaka worked on his manners today. He got brushed and I worked on him politely eating his food. He wasn't a fan of being brushed but he worked on laying and sitting down while I brushed. He also did not want to eat his food I I tried a few different ways previously but he decided to eat the canned food alone.
Pupdate 4/16/21
Shaka went with me to visit my dad, we worked on some projects in the yard and Shaka did well hearing all the power tools. He was a little nervous being around my dad and it took him some time to come and greet him. Was a bit nervous being in a different house for the day, he is still stressed out about his surroundings and not knowing what is going on. It took him some time before he felt comfortable to go explore and check out the new smells. He was very excited when we went back to my house and he got to relax in his crate. He is getting better about eating all his food but he is eating more wet food than kibble and will run out much sooner. He likes the food almost soupy.
Pupdate 04/17/21
Shaka had quite the adventure! He went to the park to work around distractions. He met several other dogs and puppies. They all worked on polite greetings and investigating new textures and obstacles courses. He met some exotic animals and played with the other dogs until he pooped out. He didn't want to eat his breakfast but ate dinner.
Pupdate 04/18/21
Shaka had a full day of exploring! We worked around the house for the most part and he worked on being on place and door manners until we had to go run errands at home depot. There we worked on his loose leash walking and place. We also worked around the distractions and car and door manners. He did not eat all his food today, about half of each meal.
Pupdate 4/19/21
Shaka had a busy day going to some nearby pet stores. He saw lots of dogs, some friendly and some definitely not. He worked around the other animal species in the stores and was intrigued by the mice. We also worked on tucking under the table while I was eating. He is still picky with food but we seem to be getting better results with the canned food.
Pupdate 4/20/21
Shaka is working on dragging the leash out at the park with other dogs. Due to his previous training, he still likes to go away from the command but we are working on it and he knows that when in doubt come back to me. We are building his confidence around new startling things with place and working on adding duration to his sedentary commands. He is now auto sitting when we are done heeling and at all thresholds like the car to load up and the door. He is now getting more comfortable in the routine and is eating his food more regularly.
Pupdate 4/21/21
Shaka worked more off-leash today. We worked on adding duration to his down and place as well as his crate manners. He met my parrot which intrigued and confused him a bit. He wasn't sure what it was or what it was saying to him or why it was flying around the house. He also worked on his puppy push-ups and food manners. He's doing a lot better on his heeling and dragging the leash to stay with me. He is also eating more of his kibble now.
Pupdate 04/22/21
Shaka had fun playing in the tennis court after a hard day's work. We went walking around town dragging the leash to work on his distractions and heeling. He was not a fan of some skateboarders and kids in little cars so we will be working on that. But he did better with eating most of his food still a bit picky but improving. He is really enjoying being in the crate now and having some time to nap.
Pupdate 04/23/21
Shaka made a new friend today while working on distractions. He met my friend and his dog and they worked on heeling near each other around distractions. We worked around food places and trash. We also worked on his door manners and going potty off-leash and recalling. He didn't want to finish his breakfast but ate all his dinner.
Pupdate 04/24/21
Shaka worked on his off-leash skills today. We went to a few parks to work around distractions. He was not a fan of strangers going past him in his crate while he was taking his break but we will keep an eye on that and work on it. He also worked on being ok around people with skateboards and bicycles, he's improving slightly but he still tries to remove himself from the area, so we are working on him staying in a sit and feeling comfortable with me standing in between him as they go by. He is now jumping into the crate to load up and he is very proud of himself for that.
Pupdate 04/25/21
Shaka spent the day at a dog show with me! We worked around tons of other dogs! He saw dogs of all sizes, colors, and ages. He watched Stitch run around in the ring while he watched with my mom. He did really great listening to all the commands she gave him and ignored other dogs that walked by. He was really excited at first when we were starting to see a few dogs in the parking lot but as we got closer to the actual arena he was very surprised by how many dogs he was seeing. He quickly realized saying hi to every dog was not possible and he regained his focus. He enjoyed the company of my dog and they both did lots of sniffing together on their break command. We went to a different park after, where he got to walk around more off-leash practicing staying close to me and worked on tuck while we ate.
Pupdate 04/26/21
Shaka worked off-leash today. We went looking for traffic and worked around crossing the streets. We also worked on adding distance and distraction to his off-leash commands like down and place. At home, we worked on him doing all his commands around the house while we went about our day. In the evening he placed for an episode of The Black List and let us vacuum around him. He ate more consistently today.
Pupdate 04/27/21
Shaka had an exciting day today! He went to two parks and worked off-leash as a distraction for the other dogs. He then got to play with his friend Hannah and Stitch. He was so tuckered out he took a nap on place during class and was an excellent distraction especially when we woke up and did his little back stretches while making funny noises. It startled the puppy's owner walking past him! We all had a good laugh, he was ready to play again after that so he helped out and showed the other dogs how to off-leash heel to music and duration down while we used the heavy ropes. Later he worked on door manners while we unloaded my car. He ate most of his food and is getting a lot better about eating his kibble.
Pupdate 4/28/21
Shaka had a busy day today, he went to the park to work on adding distance and duration to his place command. He also worked on his tuck command with other dogs, he was not a fan of not being able to play. In the evening he worked on duration down while I worked on the computer. He is getting better at letting you brush his hair without having to keep him still. He laid down for me and would occasionally try to eat his brush like a toothbrush or eat the hair I pulled off the brush but for the majority of the time, he laid down and waited for me to pet him for being a good boy. He did not want to finish his food, at least the dry part but he did eat his dinner since it had more wet food.
Pupdate 04/29/21
Shaka did a little photoshoot today while we were out enjoying the nice weather after working around some other dogs. He worked on his off leash heeling and ignoring new dogs. He didn't finish his breakfast but ate all his dinner. He made new friends today but also worked around dogs he couldn't meet and stayed focused on me.
Pupdate 04/30/21
Shaka spent the day at an outdoor mall and the park. He worked around distraction, out in public, off-leash. He then went to the park to take his CGC test. And after a long day of work, he was able to make some new friends and play off-leash in the field. He did not want to eat breakfast but it was really hot this morning, however by the evening it had cooled down and he ate most of his food.
Pupdate 05/01/21
Shaka spent the day at the park supervising lessons and playing with his friend, Winter, on our breaks. He spent the rest of the day working on tuck and place and enjoying his accomplishment of the day. In the evening, he worked on duration down and place while I sent out emails. He was picky with his food today but he ate a little bit.