Meet Shiloh! She's a thirty two month old Australian Shepherd from Newport Beach, California here for our Two-Week Board and Train Program! She's very sweet and she's had practice with her basic commands, but we'd like to tighten them up and work on her leash pulling. She sometimes has selective hearing when asked to perform commands and takes her time to follow through, especially with her recall. She loves people, but is less of a fan of dogs, and she will bark at dogs through her fence and while out for a walk! She also barks for attention inside and outside! Over the next fourteen days, we'll work on Shiloh's commands, help her with her manners in and out of the house, work on her skills on leash and off leash, and show her how to be the best pup she can possibly be! Stay tuned for Shiloh's two week transformation!
Pupdate: 6/2/2024
After picking up Shiloh, we stayed at Cerritos Park for a while to get to know each other! She's very sweet and she took to me very quickly. She did, however, want to pull me all around on her leash. In the above video, you can see me asking Shiloh for several basic commands. It took a while, but she finally started responding to her Sit and Down commands, although her recall is extremely weak.
One of Shiloh's main issues is barking/reacting to dogs, particularly large dogs. We came across dogs at the park a few times, and each time she pulled towards them hard, but didn't bark at them. I believe if she shows me the barking/reactive behavior, it will be when she is more used to me and likes me a bit more.
When we got home, I let Shiloh sniff around my house to get comfortable. I introduced her to my personal dog through her crate and Shiloh sniffed her and they seem to like each other. This is great since Shiloh has been known to be the most reactive/loud toward large dogs, and my personal dog is roughly twice Shiloh's size!
I also fitted Shiloh with an E collar pictured above. We will begin working with the E collar tomorrow, but in the meantime I'm adding a tutorial video to show how the device works!
Pupdate: 6/3/2024
Shiloh and I went to Whittier Narrows Park today for training! We made good progress on her basic Sit and Down commands, as well as her new Come To Sit command! For this, I want Shiloh to come to my right side, walk around my legs and sit at my left side with her ears at my knee. She still hesitates to follow through fully, but she's doing very well for her first full day!
We were at the park with several other trainers and their dogs, which seemed to make Shiloh slightly uncomfortable, but she didn't bark or lunge at any of the other dogs. She got a bit distracted and pulled toward a squirrel for a second, but other than that she behaved well. That being said, she was a bit nervous from the car ride, then getting out and seeing all the dogs. She was panting quite a bit and it took a while for her to get nice and comfortable around all the new friends! Great job today, Shiloh!
Pupdate: 6/4/2024
Shiloh and I went to Pasadena Memorial Park today for training! We continued working on her basic commands. In today's video, you can see us practice her Come To Sit command as well as a bit of heeling! Her Come To Sit is coming along nicely, and will dramatically help her overall recall! While heeling, I want Shiloh to walk politely at my left side without pulling forward, backward, or to the sides. She's getting good with this as well.
There weren't very many distractions around this park today, but the few dogs we came across got a small amount of excitement out of Shiloh, but not any barking or pulling.
Pupdate: 6/5/2024
Shiloh and I went to Almansor Park today for training! We started working on her Place command. Place can be a great confidence building tool while out in public, and also is extremely useful in the home. I like to use the place command, whenever I'm cooking, cleaning, or having guests over. For this command, I want Shilog to hop onto an object, such as a cot or a bench, and remain there until I release her from command or ask her to do something else. Having a bed or cot at home that she always goes to when asked can make everyday situations a lot more manageable!
Shiloh did great with the place cot today, and after some practice, she even started placing on a very thin wall, pictured above, which can be very difficult and took a lot of confidence and balance from Shiloh!
Pupdate: 6/6/2024
Shiloh and I went to Almansor Park today for training! We started working on some of her commands 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.
Without using leash tension to help her along, she was much more hesitant to follow through with the commands at first. After a lot of practice and repetition, she started to respond much more to the use of only the E collar, verbal commands, and hand gestures.
It was pretty warm in the middle of the day, so we spent much of the afternoon inside working on her manners, and went to the park in the morning and later in the evening.
Pupdate: 6/7/2024
Shiloh and I went to Garfield Park today for training! We continued leash dragging, this time with a much smaller leash. She did well with each of her commands, we still just need to work a little bit on her engagement to try to get her to have more rapid response times! She's doing a great job, though.
We went to the park this morning, then back to the air conditioning in the afternoon once it started to warm up. We'll be going back out tonight once it cools down a bit!
Pupdate: 6/8/2024
Shiloh and I went to the park this morning for training! She was off leash about half the time, and did a good job. With her commands and recall, she got slightly distracted only a few times but stayed with me reliably. She did well with her behavior, and didn't seem bothered by any of the other dogs at the park, especially when I was fully engaged with her, working on her commands.
Shiloh had diarrhea last night and this morning, so I'm replacing her normal food with rice for the time being, as well as offering her a little extra pumpkin. Luckily, she seemed to like the rice, and I'm hoping it settles her stomach. Other than that, Shiloh had a great day!
Pupdate: 6/9/2024
Shiloh and I went to Home Depot today for training! We worked on her commands off leash. It took a few minutes for her to warm up, but once she got comfortable, she did well. She still sometimes hesitates but she's getting much better about that every day!
The abundance of distractions around the store didn't seem to phase Shiloh. The main distraction she struggled with was people walking up and calling her cute. When this happened she would often break her command and want to go to them.
Her stomach seemed a little better today, and she didn't have diarrhea, but her stool was still a bit loose so I'll continue to feed her rice for now.
Pupdate: 6/10/2024
Shiloh and I went back to Home Depot today to try to avoid the hottest parts of the day. She was off leash for most of the time, and again did a great job with her commands.
Her stomach seems to be back to normal today, which resulted in her being much more engaged with me and willing to work. I still made her rice for today, but tomorrow I'll start slowly replacing it with her kibble.
After Home Depot, we worked on some manners indoors, and Shiloh got a nice break before going to the park in the evening!
Pupdate: 6/11/2024
Shiloh and I went to Santa Anita Mall today for training! She was great on and off leash. It was relatively busy there, and people were constantly stopping to compliment and pet Shiloh. She didn't mind, and behaved well when meeting new folks. For these greetings, I want her to be able to hold her sit and politely receive her attention without jumping or breaking her positions! She is great with this unless the person approaches quickly or makes a loud noise. She still needs a little work on that!
Pupdate: 6/12/2024
Shiloh and I went to Almansor Park today for training! It was hot here for most of the day so we went out a few times and took breaks inside. Shiloh was great on and off leash. While we were by the pond she seemed interested in the geese and ducks, but did a good job listening to me and staying away from them.
She had a fun day, and relaxed on a place cot while we were at home for a nap.
Pupdate: 6/13/2024
Shiloh and I went to Santa Monica Pier today for training! She was a little nervous when we first got there, so we spent some time warming up. Once she got used to the area, she behaved well on and off leash and didn't have any issues.
Her recall has gotten much stronger and she's doing a great job staying on task and paying attention to me. She stayed nice and engaged most of the day and she didn't have any trouble around the numerous dogs or other high level distractions on the pier.
After we went home for the afternoon, we took a break then went to the park in the evening for a slightly more relaxing time!
Pupdate: 6/14/2024
Shiloh and I went the park several times throughout the day today! We're working on increasing her recall distance. Ideally, I want her to come when called whether she is five feet or fifty feet away from me. She's doing great with this as her recall gets stronger and stronger each day.
For her pictures today, I'm showing some cute pictures of her from yesterday at the pier!
It was pretty hot today, so we went to the park a few times but took breaks inside during the hottest parts of the afternoon.
Pupdate: 6/15/2024
Shiloh and I went to Home Depot today to get some extra work in without being in the sun for too long! She was off leash the whole time and performed wonderfully. For her video today, I wanted to show some of the manners we've been working on.
For her food manners, I want Shiloh to resist the urge to eat food placed in front of her before I allow it. Building this impulse control can be a great safety measure to prevent her from eating something dropped accidentally! She's been really good at waiting for her food, so to increase the difficulty a bit, I've started hiding out of her view before walking back and letting her eat. At first, she would try to sneak a bite as soon as I disappeared, but now she's getting much better at resisting the food even when she can't see me.
For her door manners, I want Shiloh to wait patiently when the door opens without trying to immediately rush out. I'd like her to wait until I ask her to walk through with me. When she first arrived, Shiloh would get excited to go somewhere fun and wanted to leave as soon as the door opened. Now she's doing better to wait until I'm ready for her to move past the threshold.
Shiloh was pretty timid about getting into the car when I first picked her up, but we've been working on her car manners! For this, I want her to hop into the car and walk directly into her crate when asked. She seems much more comfortable and confident in and around the car now!
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