Sumo | American Akita | Castaic, CA | In-Training
- Amanda Lascari
- Sep 1, 2024
- 10 min read
Updated: Sep 21, 2024
Sumo, a two year old Akita, has joined OffLeash SoCal for our Three Week Board and Train program. He comes to us knowing commands but not always following them, pulling and dragging the owners on walks, being very distracted out in public, excessive barking when people come to the house,and having dog aggression and reactivity. Over the three weeks Sumo will be working towards his on leash obedience and manners. Check in to see his progress!
Pupdate 9/1/2024
Sumo is getting settled in at my home. I let him meet the other dogs through their kennels. He wasn’t really reactive until one of the dogs began to bark. That is when he reacted back by barking and trying to fight through the fence. I will keep him separated for now. I am letting him get adjusted to his new surroundings today and we will begin his training tomorrow. Above is a tutorial video for the Ecollar. I didn’t get to send you home with one, but please watch this video as many times as you need to become familiar with the training collar.
Pupdate 9/2/2024
Today Sumo and I trained at home. I introduced and conditioned him to the Ecollar. We practiced commands Sit, Down, and Place. Place is a command where Sumo must sit or lay on a defined object. This could be his bed, a blanket, scale at the vet’s office; anything different from the floor. This command is great for confidence building, working on duration and distance, and teaching Sumo to be calm and relaxed. Sumo did a great job and caught on to his new command quickly. We had a great first day of training!
Pupdate 9/3/2024
Today I took Sumo to the park to work on his commands. We practiced more of his Sit, Down, and Place commands. We also started practicing Heel. Heel is a structured walk where Sumo must walk at my side. He is not allowed to pull ahead, lag behind, or walk too far away where people can walk in between us. He needs to follow beside me and focus on where I am walking. It is still a work in progress but Sumo is doing much better; he is staying closer to my side and watching me and where I am going. We came across two little dogs while we were at the park. He noticed them, but wasn’t reactive. He was able to hold his command and just watch them as they walked by (at a distance).
Pupdate 9/4/2024
Today Sumo and I stayed home to train. We worked more on his Sit, Down, Place, and Heel commands. He is doing very well with Place. I think that might be his favorite command. Heel we are still working on, but he is getting better. Sumo can be stubborn at times when he doesn’t want to do something. He definitely tries to push his weight around, but I make sure that he follows through with his commands. He hasn’t made any friends yet at the house. Sumo gets to see them through their kennels, and he is actually neutral towards the dogs. He has one arch nemesis that he cannot get along with. Sumo will run up to the dog’s kennel and try fighting through the fence. Once I have solid obedience with Sumo, we can try socializing with other dogs, but for now he will be kept separate.
Pupdate 9/5/2024
Today Sumo and I went to Lowe’s to work out of the heat and practice his obedience around distractions. He was a little distracted when we first arrived, but as we walked around he was able to settle down and focus. We practiced all his commands and worked on his distance and duration. He tried to be stubborn and ignore me when I asked him his commands, but I made sure that he followed through. Once he realized I wasn’t going to give in to him, Sumo started following commands the first time I asked (but chose to do it at a slow pace, haha). Sumo received a few compliments from the employees and customers on how handsome and well behaved he is.
Pupdate 9/6/2024
Today Sumo joined me on a little shopping spree at the mall. It was pretty busy, so we had plenty of people distractions to work around. He was a little distracted when we first arrived, trying to walk ahead of me and paying attention to his commands. As we walked around and continued to train Sumo was able to settle down and focus. We came across another dog in the mall. It was a small dog that was pulling and barking at Sumo. Sumo tried to react, but I told him ‘off’ and gave him a tap on the Ecollar and he immediately stopped. I put him into the Down command and let him observe the dog as it passed by, continuing to bark at us. Sumo stayed calm and focused on his command. He received a lot of attention today. He sat nicely and patiently as people approached to give him pets and affection.
Pupdate 9/7/2024
Today Sumo and I went to Lowe’s to train out of the heat. He did much better today. He was less stubborn. He received more compliments. One of the employees came up to pet him, but she was a little nervous and Sumo could sense it, so he was a little hesitant. He did really well following his commands. The only distraction that Sumo was not a fan of was the Halloween monsters. We made a big improvement today! He jumped into the kennel on his own, haha. Usually he resists and I have to lift Sumo into the car.
Pupdate 9/8/2024
Today the heat was too unbearable, so Sumo and I did some light training at home. It worked on his place command and worked on his duration. Sumo spent the rest of the day, relaxing and staying cool.
Pupdate 9/9/2024
Today Sumo and I went to the park to work on his obedience. We practiced all his commands and worked on his distance and duration. He did pretty well. Sumo can be a little stubborn with his recall, but I make sure that he follows through with what I asked of him.
Pupdate 9/10/2024
Today Sumo and I went to another park to work on his commands. Usually this park is filled with dog distractions, but there were very few. It’s okay though, we were able to focus on perfecting his commands and working on Sumo’s duration. He did very well. We were even able to do some semi-off leash training, letting Sumo drag the leash around while we worked. At home Sumo is still being separated from the pack. He doesn’t want to be a nice boy. He tries to run up to the other dogs cages to start barking and trying to bite through the fence. The Ecollar helps stopping him during that moment or stopping Sumo before, when I can see he wants to rush over the dogs. We will continue to practice and work around dog distractions so he can become more calm and neutral.
Pupdate 9/11/2024
Today Sumo and I went to the shopping outlet to work on his obedience around distractions. We met up with another Offleash trainer and his dogs. There were quite a few dogs at the mall as well, so Sumo had plenty of dog distractions to work around. Sumo did a great job around the other dog. He wasn’t reactive; he didn’t try to lunge or bark. We were able to walk nicely and close by the other dog. Sumo stayed focused and followed his commands.
Pupdate 9/12/2024
Today Sumo and I trained at home. We practiced all his commands and worked on his duration. Today I decided to introduce him to my pack. I introduced Sumo to the dogs one at a time. I started with my calmest dog that way he wasn’t overstimulated and would greet with calmer energy. Sumo actually did very well. He was respectful to all the dogs and showed no aggression. It could be that they were all female. His arch nemesis is a boy, so that could be a reason for not getting along. I am proud of Sumo with how well he did today. We will continue to work on more dog socialization.
Pupdate 9/13/2024
Today Sumo and I went back to the shopping outlets to work on his obedience around more distractions. It was pretty busy so Sumo had many people and dog distractions to work around. He did a great job! He was focused and obedient. At home we did some more socialization. Sumo Got to hang out with my three dogs again. He wasn’t interested in playing, but was okay being around them.
Pupdate 9/14/2024
Today Sumo and I went to a local shopping center to work on his obedience. He did very well with his commands. We were even able to practice semi-off leash. I dropped the leash and let Sumo drag it around while we trained. Right when we started training, there was a little dog that was passing by and barking at Sumo. I was unsure about Sumo’s reaction and grabbed the leash. I was surprised and proud of how he responded. He was very calm and I didn’t have to use any leash pressure to hold him back. You can see that Sumo notices the dog but continues walking with me. I did give him a little tap on the ecollar to get his attention off of the dog. Sumo looks away and goes back to following his commands.
Pupdate 9/15/2024
Today Sumo and I went to Santa Monica Pier to work on his obedience around distractions. He was a little overwhelmed at first with the crowds of people. As we walked around and trained he was able to relax and focus. He did very well with his heel command, staying at my side as we walked through the crowd of people. We came across other dogs. Sumo did a great job staying calm and ignoring them as we passed by them. He received many compliments on how well mannered he is.
Pupdate 9/16/2024
Today Sumo and I went to the park to work on his commands. We met with other Offleash Socal Trainer and their dogs, so he was able to practice around more dog distractions. Sumo did a great job! He was calm around all the dogs, and he stayed focused on his commands. Since he gets along well with the females at my home, I decided to let him meet a male dog to see how he would react. He greeted the male dog just fine. At home sumo helped introduce a new training buddy into my pack. He finally has a buddy to hang out with that enjoys following him around.
Pupdate 9/17/2024
Today Sumo and I went to Lowe’s to work on his obedience. He did very well staying focused and following his commands. We practiced a new command today, Under. Similar to Place, but instead of climbing up onto an object Sumo must go under the object. He did a great job and caught on quickly to his new command. At home we worked on his socialization. I introduced him to a new training buddy, a husky/shepherd puppy. Sumo was not a gentleman at all and tried to go after the puppy. It’s a typical puppy: energetic, overly excited, with no concept of boundaries. The puppy ran up to Sumo, licking him in the face, but Sumo didn’t like it and snapped at her. I continued to have Sumo out to socialize while the rest of the dogs played, keeping his muzzle and leash on him. He was okay for a while, just hanging out and watching the dogs. I threw the ball for the puppy and Sumo tried to go after her again. The other dog is fine and went back to her happy, rambunctious self. I can see that Sumo responds better around calmer/low energy dogs vs energetic/high energy dogs. So for this reason Sumo will have to stay on leash in public and around other dogs. Additionally, while having him out in public, a vigilant eye must be kept on the surrounding areas. You want to be the first advocate for Sumo and the space around him. If another canine invades that space, he may feel inclined to react. But, if we keep confident and control of the situation we can successfully direct Sumo into not having a reaction.
Pupdate 9/18/2024
Today Sumo and I went to the shopping outlets to work on his commands around distractions. Sumo did a great job staying focused and following all his commands. Only once did he break command, when a little dog tried running up and barking at him. Even though he did jump up, Sumo refrained from running towards the other dog. He looked back to me and followed my command of going back into the down position. We came across that same dog again, later on, and Sumo did very well, ignoring the dog as we passed by each other.
Pupdate 9/19/2024
Today Sumo and I trained at home. We practiced all his commands and worked on his duration. We also practiced his food and door manners.
The benefits of food manners is:
-Impulse control-Waiting for food helps your dog learn patience
-Reducing Anxiety and possessiveness- Good food manners can help reduce your dog's excitement, anxiety, or possessiveness around food.
-Not eating things he’s not supposed to- good food manners will teach him not to grab and eat things off the floor. Just because there is food on the floor does not mean it belongs to him.
The benefits of door manners is:
-Impulse control at thresholds- Typically the door causes excitement for a dog because they know they are going out (outside, for a ride, for a walk, etc.) Waiting at a doorway puts your dog in a calmer state of mind and you are able to have more control of the dog when you take him out.
-Safety- Teaching your dog to wait at thresholds will prevent bolting.
Sumo had more socialization with the pack today. He very well staying calm and observing the other dogs as they ran around. He also got a bath today. He stayed clean for about two minutes before he ran in the dirt to try and get dirty again.
Pupdate 9/20/2024
Today Sumo and I went to Birch St. to work on his obedience. He was a very good boy and followed all of his commands. We saw quite a few dogs while we were walking around. There was one little dog that popped to say hi (he was under a table where his owners were dining). Sumo was a little surprised, but did a great job not reacting and continued walking past the dog. We were even able to do some semi-off leash training. Sumo received a few compliments on how handsome and well mannered he is.
Pupdate 9/21/2024
Today Sumo took the day off from training and spent the day relaxing and socializing with his friends. I am very proud of Sumo and the progress he has made over these three weeks. He can’t wait to go home and show you everything he has learned
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