Sufi | Shih Tzu | Sherman Oaks, CA | In Training
- Tanner Strong
- Sep 6
- 9 min read
Updated: Sep 20
Meet Sufi! She's a nine month old Shih Tzu from Sherman Oaks, California here for our Two-Week Urban Board and Train Program! Sufi is incredibly sweet and cuddly! She'll go up to anyone she can time and try to play with them or roll over to try to get belly rubs. She is familiar with a couple basic commands, but doesn't always listen or follow through with what is asked. She can also be very submissive around other dogs, especially large dogs! She also needs a bit more work on her potty training! So over the next fourteen days, we will work on Sufi's obedience skills, help build her confidence levels, show her proper manners in and out of the house, work on her impulse control, and show her how to be the best pup she can possibly be! Stay tuned for Sufi's two week transformation!
Pupdate: 9/6/2025
After picking Sufi up today, we spent a little extra time at the park to ease into things. She did a great job following me around and started sitting on cue about half the time — a solid start! She was curious and engaged, and it’s already clear she’s incredibly sweet. I think we’re off to a great start in building a trusting bond.
Once we got home, I gave her some time to sniff around and explore the house, helping her get settled into the new environment. She quickly found the place cot and became an instant fan — that’s going to be a great training tool moving forward.
We did have a brief moment of surprise when Sufi spotted my dog around the corner. My dog was calm and quiet in her crate (she’s used to new pups coming through), but Sufi was startled and ran back over to me. Understandably so — my dog is about thirteen times her size! We’ll take things slow and work on building Sufi’s confidence around other dogs.
One big win so far — no potty accidents yet! That’s always a great sign early on.
Sufi is already showing a lot of promise, and I’m excited to keep helping her grow and gain confidence!
Pupdate 9/7/2025
Sufi had a big day full of fresh air, training, and tail wags with two visits to the park—one in the morning and one in the evening! We’re using these outings to work on some foundational skills and build confidence, and she’s showing steady progress with each session.
Today, we focused mainly on reinforcing her Sit command, especially helping her understand how to hold that position a little longer each time. She’s catching on quickly, though still gets easily distracted by the world around her (totally fair—there’s a lot going on out there!). While walking, she did a nice job of generally following my lead. She’s not quite in a Heel position yet, but she’s staying close and clearly learning how to move with me, which is a great foundation.
In the evening, once things cooled off, we headed back out for another stroll. This time, Sufi decided to show a bit more of her stubborn, independent side—choosing to stop or pull back when she felt like it. Because she’s so small, I’m taking this part of the training nice and slow. When she stops, I gently add a bit of leash tension and wait her out. As soon as she takes a step toward me, we celebrate big—lots of praise, energy, and encouragement. That approach is working really well; she usually perks right up, starts wagging her tail, and walks with a little extra bounce in her step.
All in all, Sufi had a fun and productive day. She’s making solid progress and clearly enjoys the process, especially when there’s a party for every little win. Looking forward to more good work (and more happy tail wags) tomorrow!
Pupdate: 9/8/2025
Sufi had a lovely outing today! We met up with some other trainers and their dogs at the park, and she handled the new environment really well. She’s showing great progress with both her Sit and Auto Sit — that’s when she sits automatically every time we stop walking, and she's starting to make the connection nicely!
Her Heel work was also solid overall. There were just a couple of moments when she pulled back, seeming a bit unsure about continuing, but she recovered quickly and stayed engaged.
Sufi didn’t seem too fazed by being around the other dogs — she stayed pretty calm and only got a little startled if another dog suddenly ran or made a quick movement. That’s a totally natural reaction and something she’s already improving with.
At home, Sufi has been doing great with her place cot, and today we introduced it in a public setting. She took to it beautifully — clearly, she’s starting to generalize those skills to new environments, which is a big step forward!
Way to go, Sufi!
Pupdate: 9/9/2025
Sufi had another lovely day today! We continued reinforcing her basic commands during our morning walk and again later at the park. She remained focused and responsive throughout, even with a few new distractions. I had my dog running and playing nearby (though still at a distance), and Sufi handled it like a pro—she didn’t seem bothered hardly at all and kept her attention on our work together.
One thing that continues to stand out is her potty consistency. Sufi has not had any accidents at home or in her crate, which is fantastic progress! Each time we head outside, she goes potty right away as soon as we reach a grassy area. That kind of reliability is a great foundation, and we’ll keep building on it.
Looking ahead, we’ll start working toward a stronger, more reliable "go potty" cue—something you can eventually use with confidence whenever you need her to go on command. For now, though, it’s great to see her holding it comfortably through the night and during the hotter afternoon hours when we’re staying cool indoors.
Pupdate: 9/10/2025
Today we’ve been focusing on Sufi’s recall skills, using the Come To Sit command — and she’s really starting to get the hang of it! This command helps build a clear, consistent response when she’s called, and we’re adding a fun twist by having her finish in a very specific position.
When Sufi hears the cue, the goal is for her to come straight to me, loop around behind my legs, and end in a nice, clean sit on my left side, with her ears lined up to my leg. It’s a great way to build not only responsiveness but also body awareness and precision.
She’s starting to sometimes show great enthusiasm and focus, and you can really see her thinking it through in the video above. With each session, she’s building confidence and refining the movement — and I’m so proud of her progress!
Stay tuned for more updates as we keep building her skills. Go Sufi!
Pupdate: 9/11/2025
Sufi worked through some tougher distractions today—and handled it like a champ! We found ourselves in a lively environment with multiple games and activities happening around us, including tennis, basketball, dancing, and even some Tai Chi.
The biggest challenge for Sufi was definitely the basketball games. The sudden noise and crowd movement seemed to catch her off guard, especially since it was the loudest and most unpredictable of the distractions. That said, once the treats came out, her focus snapped back quickly! She was responsive and able to follow her commands again with just a bit of extra encouragement.
Overall, it was a more demanding day, but a really valuable one for Sufi. These kinds of environments help build her confidence and reinforce her training in real-world situations. We’re proud of how she handled herself!
Pupdate: 9/12/2025
Today we focused on Sufi’s Place command! Place is such a fantastic skill—not only does it help build her confidence out in public, but it’s also super useful at home. Whether I’m cooking, cleaning, or answering the door, having Sufi stay on her place makes things so much smoother for both of us!
Check out the video above to see how we’re practicing the Place command together. Sufi is doing such a great job, and I’m excited to keep building on this!
Pupdate: 8/13/2025
Sufi had a big adventure at Home Depot today! At first, she was a bit nervous and definitely less focused on me than usual — so many sights, sounds, and smells to take in! But with time and patience, she began to settle and gain confidence in the new environment, which was wonderful to see.
There were a couple of moments when she wanted to sniff or approach people walking by, but overall, she behaved quite well. She even had the chance to say hello to a few friendly people who were excited to meet her! Initially, she tried to pull toward them, but we turned it into a valuable learning moment to work on her greeting manners. I asked the people not to pet her unless she was seated, and to stop petting if she jumped up. After just a few tries, Sufi caught on and sat politely, learning that calm behavior is the key to getting the affection she was after. A great win for her impulse control!
Another highlight: just before going inside, she went potty right on cue when I said, "Go potty!" It’s a small moment, but it really feels like she’s starting to connect the dots and understand the communication — great progress!
All in all, Sufi handled a challenging environment with growing confidence and showed some really promising behaviors today. Proud of her!
Pupdate: 9/14/2025
Sufi was back at Home Depot today for another round of exposure training in a busier environment. As I've come to expect from her, she handled it with her usual calm and focus — checking in with me regularly and staying engaged, with only a few brief moments of hesitation.
The highlight of today’s visit was Sufi’s incredible confidence with a completely new place object! As seen in the video above, she hopped right on without any prior practice. This was a brand-new object for her, and she trusted me completely when I asked her to give it a try. It was a great moment that showed just how solid our working relationship is becoming.
Really proud of Sufi’s progress — she continues to impress with her bravery and willingness to try new things!
Pupdate: 9/15/2025
Sufi had a great outing to the park today where we met up with a few other trainers and their dogs. She handled the environment like a champ! While she showed a little hesitation around a couple of the larger dogs, she bounced back quickly and carried herself with growing confidence throughout the visit.
She especially did well with the other dog I'm currently working with — he's larger than her, but they’ve really built a nice rapport! Sufi walked and sat calmly next to him, even sharing a place cot without issue. This is a great sign of her increasing comfort and social maturity.
It’s awesome to see her making progress and holding her own in a busier social setting. Go Sufi!
Pupdate: 9/16/2025
Today Sufi and I took a trip to Santa Anita Mall! We went to the park in the morning for a warm up, then headed to the mall! We started with a short walk around the outdoor promenade to help her get settled, then headed inside for the bulk of our outing.
Sufi came in with confidence and excitement—she was clearly thrilled to be at the mall! Her enthusiasm was contagious, and it was great to see her so happy in a busy public space. With that excitement, though, came a bit of a challenge: remembering that the mall isn't just a big playground.
Once we shifted focus back to practicing skills and reinforcing her impulse control, Sufi did a fantastic job. She was responsive, engaged, and worked hard to stay in training mode despite all the fun and distractions around her.
Overall, a joyful and productive outing for Miss Sufi! We'll continue building on this balance of confidence and self-control in new environments.
Pupdate: 9/17/2025
Sufi spent a lovely day back at the mall enjoying the cool indoors and making more progress on her social skills and confidence! She had another solid session, especially working alongside her new dog friend. Sufi tends to be quite submissive around other dogs, so these opportunities to work in close proximity without pressure are incredibly valuable for her growth.
Today, she really seemed to shine—very few signs of hesitation, and she even tackled a couple of benches that gave her pause yesterday! Small wins like that are a great sign her confidence is building.
Overall, she’s behaving very nicely in the busy mall environment. The main area we’re still working on is helping her stay calm when people call her over for attention—she’s just so eager for love that it can be hard for her to contain her excitement! We'll keep reinforcing polite, calm greetings to help her navigate those moments with more self-control.
Great work from Sufi today—she’s making steady progress and getting braver each time!
Pupdate: 9/18/2025
Today we practiced off-leash recall with Sufi — a big step! This is a skill that should only be worked on at home or in a securely fenced area for now, and we made sure to keep distractions to a minimum to help set her up for success.
At first, Sufi needed quite a bit of encouragement and support to follow through without the leash, but she warmed up to the exercise and ended up doing fairly well! True to her sweet nature, she often preferred to come and curl up right between my feet when called — which, while adorable, isn’t quite the full Come to Sit position we’re aiming for. Still, her response shows that she’s understanding the concept and seeking connection, which is a great sign.
We’ll continue to build her confidence and consistency with this command, and work toward tightening up that positioning over time. Nice work today, Sufi!
Pupdate: 9/19/2025
Sufi had a lovely day out at the mall! She seemed happy to be back and was her usual sweet self — calm, curious, and all-around pleasant company.
During lunch at the food court, Sufi settled in beautifully. She curled up on the floor and took a peaceful little nap while we ate, totally unfazed by the noise and foot traffic around her.
Once we got home, it was playtime! Sufi had a blast spending time with me and my girlfriend — lots of attention, fun, and tail wags all around. She definitely soaked up every minute of it.
Great job today, Sufi!
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