Meet Sonny! She is a sweet 4 month old French Bulldog from San Pedro, CA. Sonny has joined Off Leash So Cal to work on a few behaviors such as puppy nipping, loose leash walking, Greeting Manners and proper socialization. Over these next three weeks we will build a strong foundation for her obedience. Stay tuned for her 21 day transformation!
Pupdate 11/4/2022
Sonny and I spent the day bonding together in the backyard with the pack of pups. She had the opportunity to properly socialize and let out some energy with all the other board and train pups. She was a bit vocal at first when in the crate but became more comfortable after releasing her energy with some playtime. We will begin working on some new commands tomorrow!
Pupdate 11/5/2022
Sonny and I worked on introducing her to the 2.25 mm Herm Sprenger prong collar today. The prong collar is a communication tool that is utilized to help guide Sonny when on a walk or training. I used the leash to guide Sonny with slight leash pressure in the direction I wanted her to go, then released that pressure as soon as she followed the path I created for her. I marked it with a Yes then rewarded her when she quickly followed the directional changes of the leash.
Once Sonny learned what leash pressure was, we worked on her Come to Sit which is the action of Sonny coming around my right side to Sit on my left hand side ready to Heel. I reward Sonny on my left hand side to continue to build value in that position. Sonny is a quick learner, and definitely food motivated! Good work Sonny!
Pupdate 11/6/2022
Sonny and I worked on her Heel command as we walked around the neighborhood together towards the local park. She did well with staying by my side and checked in with me frequently. If she strayed away I popped the leash in the direction I wanted her to go. She follows leash pressure well and has not resisted it. I introduced her to the Down command today by guiding her with leash pressure towards the floor, signaling Down with my palms facing the floor. After a few puppy push ups, she became more fluent in her Down. Great work Sonny!
Pupdate 11/7/2022
Sonny and I took a trip to Home Depot today where we exposed to her a very new environment with plenty of distractions. There were crowds of people, large machines being driven around, loud noises, and a bunch of new smells for her to acclimate to. She did well with all of these distractions and although curious, worked through it. Her biggest distraction was other pups so we will continue to work near other dogs to build that impulse control.
When working with Sonny, I call her name frequently and mark it with a Yes as soon as she offers me her attention. This is called the name game and helps significantly with building engagement during training.
Pupdate 11/8/2022
Sonny and I ventured out to the mall today to work on her Heel, Extended Sit, Down and Greeting Manners. She did well with holding her Extended Sit and Down as I rewarded her in increments of 15 seconds. She was a bit skeptical about walking down the stairs, resisting the leash pressure at first. After some encouragement and rewards as she took a few steps, she worked up the courage to go down the stairs with me. This exercise is great for confidence building!Â
Pupdate 11/9/2022
Sonny and I went on a trip to the outlets today to work on proofing her commands while in a new environment . We worked on her Extended Sit, Down and Place with some added distance between us . She did well with holding her Sit after a few corrections to her getting up. I then marked and rewarded her for holding her Sit as she reached a minute and a half today for her Extended Sit and Down.Â
Sonny practiced her Greeting manners with friendly new people that wanted to say hi. As long as she is guided with proper introductions when new people are present and with the leash on to reinforce commands, she will remain consistent with holding her Sit while being pet.Â
Pupdate 11/10/2022
Sonny and I went to The Citadel Outlets today to work on exposing her to more new environments, and get some proper socialization. She has improved with her Heel cue, staying by my side and responding to leash pressure when I guide her. At times she tests the Down cue. When she does not go Down the first time I cue it, I guide her with leash pressure towards the floor. We then emphasized our work on her Down, practicing puppy push ups and rewarding her for the Downs she performs fluently.
Sonny is a cutie who receives a lot of attention! We allow her to say hi only when she is sitting and waiting to be pet patiently. If she struggles to hold her Sit we withhold any petting. It is important to communicate this to whoever is petting her as well so Sonny continues to receive love when all four paws are on the floor.Â
Pupdate 11/11/2022
Sonny and I went on a trip to the local park today where we emphasized our work on her Place command. Place is the action of Sonny jumping onto any surface and performing a Down until released. Down is the preferred cue while in Place to help promote a calm state of mind. Place is great to use to build confidence, and can be used both inside & outside of the house. Practicing Greeting Manners while in Place helps give Sonny a visual target to stay on while being pet. Dogs are very visual learners!Â
After encouraging Sonny to jump onto the bench by guiding her with leash pressure, she worked up the courage to jump up all on her own. We will now keep building duration, and distance between us as she holds these cues in different environments.Â
Pupdate 11/12/2022
Sonny Spent the day working on proper socialization while playing with my other board and train pup Trigger. She does well with responding to her name, even while playing. We then worked on crate training which she has improved with, going into the crate on cue. Good job Sonny!
Pupdate 11/13/2022
Sonny had a fun day running around and learning proper socialization while playing with other pups. She has responded to the Off cue much more consistently. The Off cue is very important for a puppy to become familiar with as they often love to get into things that they shouldn't. Her potty training is improving also. As long as she eats her dinner at an early time and water intake is limited at night, she does not have any accidents over night anymore.
Pupdate 11/14/2022
Sonny and I emphasized our work today on Place and confidence building exercises! She is now able to jump on elevated surfaces with a lot of motivation. This demonstrates to me her confidence is continuing to improve. She now automatically performs a Down when in Place and has practiced Greeting Manners while holding Place as well. It helps her to have a visual target to stay on while being pet to prevent jumping. We then walked around the playground together and went down the slide. At first she was unsure of it but after seeing me go down first, she worked up the courage to go down all on her own!Â
Pupdate 11/15/2022
Sonny and I had a fun day of training at the park where there were a lot of distractions to proof her commands around. There were packs of squirrels (who kept getting unusually close), wild birds in their sanctuary, ponds of water, and plenty of dogs walking around with their owners. Sonny at first was a bit interested in the squirrels. After working around them repeatedly, she became more engaged. I rewarded her for holding her Extended Sit for a minute and a half, as well as Place which is always paired with Down. She released herself the first few times she saw another pup. I corrected the behavior with a leash pop downwards reminding her to Down which helped prevent her from releasing herself again. We will keep working near other dogs, as that tends to be her biggest distraction.
Pupdate 11/16/2022
Sonny and I worked on proofing all of her commands at The Citadel Outlets. She had the chance to greet many friendly people who wanted to say hi to her. Although excited, she does not jump. It is important for her to have plenty of structure when greeting somebody new so every cue is reinforced when she is overly excited. Sonny has grown quite a lot of confidence, jumping onto new surfaces each and every day!Â
Pupdate 11/17/2022
Sonny and I went to The Outlets to proof her commands some more, practice proper socialization, and manners. She always gets so much attention and is improving with her impulse control each day. We make an emphasis on working her through everything near other dogs since that is her biggest challenge! She checks in more frequently than she did before near those big distractions.Â
Pupdate 11/18/2022
Sonny and I went to Bella Terra today to work on proper socialization in new environments, and proofing of her commands. She is able to hold her Extended Sit and Place for a minimum of a minute and a half while I walk to the end of the 15 ft leash. She responds much more consistently to the Off command and sits rather quickly when Cued Off. We have been emphasizing our work on her crate training as well. She now goes inside on command and sits. Good work Sonny!Â
Pupdate 11/19/2022
Sonny and I spent the day working on all of her commands as well as worked on proper body handling today. This is great to practice to prepare her for vet visits and trips to the groomer. Initially Sonny was very nippy when trying to pet her everywhere. I cued off and popped the leash whenever she tried to nip which helped prevent her from doing it again. She then sat politely while being pet as new people said hi to her.
She has remained consistent with her commands and hardly needs any leash pressure to follow through with  what is requested of her. Â
Pupdate 11/20/2022
Sonny and I started our day with working on her Food Manners. She is expected to hold her Sit or Down while being fed. After the food bowl is placed on the floor, that is not her cue to get up. Her cue to eat is when I release her with the Cue Break. Although tempted, Sonny was able to hold her sit while I eventually went out of sight. Great impulse control Sonny!
Pupdate 11/21/2022
Sonny had a relaxing day of training at home with her door manners, and greeting manners as we had a few visitors that said hi to her as she sat politely for petting. Whenever there are visitors I always put the leash on to be sure that Sonny follows through with what is asked of her. We then took a stroll around the neighborhood that was cut short as Sonny had diarrhea and appeared a bit lethargic. She is usually a very spunky pup! I will monitor her stool over this next day. I gave her anti diarrhea liquid along with her dinner today in hopes of it helping.Â
I included a couple of pictures of her outings over the weekend with some furry friends of hers!Â
Pupdate 11/22/2022
Sonny and I went on a trip to the outlets today to prepare her for filming her Final video! There was quite a lot going on at the outlets and since she wasn’t feeling too good yesterday I was not sure how she would respond. I have been giving her anti diarrhea liquid today as well in hopes of her stool not being runny. I took her a bath before heading to the outlets and she did well with being handled everywhere! After we took a lap around the outlets we worked on all of her commands which she did amazing with! I helped her with a few leash pops whenever she tried to pull which was a few times at the beginning. She was able to then hold her Extended Sit and Place for a minute and a half. She also practiced Greeting manners with friendly people and sat which is hard for Sonny since she loves the attention!
Pupdate 11/23/2022
Sonny and I ventured out to The Citadel today where there was quite a lot going on considering Black Friday is this week. She did well with all of these distractions and held her Extended Sit for a record of two minutes which is over what is expected of her! She jumps happily onto new surfaces on Cue and has improved with her impulse control when saying hi to new people. She has improved with her potty training and stopped having accidents in her kennel as her energy is back to normal but she is still having loose stool. I am giving her anti diarrhea liquid and will add pumpkin to her diet tomorrow.
Pupdate 11/24/2022
Sonny and I spent the day together working on her manners, and overall obedience with all of the commands she has learned so far on a 15 ft leash. She has overall become more confident, can hold her Place and Extended Sit for a minimum of a minute and a half, and can Come to Sit from about 15 ft away. I recommend constantly taking Sonny to new environments, as desensitization to new places will only further improve her training. She is a loving pup who needs a lot of guidance, structure and leadership to thrive and follow instructions. She has come a long way and we can not wait to show you what she has learned. Thank you for trusting me with Sonny!
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