Meet Sundara! She's an eight year old, Pitbull Mix from Long Beach, California, here for our Two-Week Board and Train Program! Sundara is extremely sweet, and very friendly, however she struggles with a lot of her basic obedience commands. She's a huge leash puller and often barks at people from the car. She loves to chase critters in her yard, and has a strong aversion to skateboards, and other wheeled objects. Over the next fourteen days, we'll build Sundara's confidence in public, help her with her manners in and out of the house, teach her basic obedience skill, including how to walk properly without pulling, and show her how to be the best pup she can possibly be!
_________________________________________
Pupdate: 10/8/2023
After picking up Sundara, we stayed at the park for a little while to get to know each other! She was very sweet immediately, and allowed me to pet her all over without seeming nervous at all. While walking around the park, she pulled back some of the time as if she didn't want to walk, but generally speaking, she did an okay job of walking with me. At one point there was a Poodle off leash running back and forth fetching a ball across the field. Sundara got pretty excited and wanted to pull toward the running dog, but when we started walking away she came with me fairly easily. Sundara got in my car without much issue. She needed help to hop up, but she went into the crate with little hesitation. When we got home, I let her sniff around my home to try to get her settled in! I think she is making the transition fairly easily. When it was time for her to get into her crate at home, however, she really didn't want to get in. It took a lot of coaxing and leash pressure for her to go in the first time. After that she went in and out a little easier. So far so good with Sundara!
_________________________________________
Pupdate: 10/9/2023
Sundara went to Almansor Park today for training! We started working on her Come To Sit, and Heel commands! For Heel, I want her to walk politely at my left side, without pulling. She sometimes did a really great job with this! At certain points, including during the above video, there were lawn mowers and golf carts driving near us, and she didn't want to walk in their directions at all. For her Come To Sit command, I want Sundara to come to my right side, walk around my legs and sit at my left side with her ears at my knee. She seemed willing to come when asked, however she was thrown off by the idea of walking around behind me. With a little leash tension, I had her follow through to the correct position, and then she would sit next to me very willingly! Sundara didn't want to eat her breakfast this morning, but I'm hoping her appetite comes back soon.
_________________________________________
Pupdate: 10/10/2023
Sundara and I went to Garfield Park today! Her Heel and Come To Sit improved slightly, although she's still a bit slow with her Come To Sit. We started working on her Place command as well! For Place, I want Sundara to hop up onto a raised object such as a bench. This is a great command to practice to increase Sundara's confidence! She was very nervous when we first started this command, but after a few repetitions, she started jumping up onto the bench by herself.
Sundara still didn't have much of an appetite today, so tomorrow I'm going to add some warm water to her kibble to get those aromas rising and hopefully make the kibble more appealing!
_________________________________________
Pupdate: 10/11/2023
Sundara and I went to Santa Anita Mall, and Almansor Park today for training! We went to the mall first, and Sundara had quite a tough time. She was very nervous and didn't want to perform most of her commands. She actually did a great job with her Place command, but she had a hard time Heeling around the mall and doing her Come To Sit. At certain points, she opted to bite at the leash instead of come to me, which I was told was something she did, but I hadn't seen it until today.
After the mall, I decided we should go to the park so Sundara could cool off and work in a slightly more comfortable environment. At the park, she did a much better job, however I could tell she was still a bit worked up from the difficulty of the mall. After a few minutes of working, then a long session of just sitting around in the grass, Sundara opened up a little and we had a good rest of the evening!
Sundara's elbows seem to be rubbing raw in the crate. She's had her personal blanket in her crate, but I opted to line the bottom with towels and add an extra blanket. I'm hoping this extra padding allows her to make a more comfortable nest inside her crate.
_________________________________________
Pupdate: 10/12/2023
Sundara and I went to The Santa Monica Promenade today for training! She actually did much better here than she did at the mall yesterday. She was extremely nervous with her tail tucked and her head held low nearly the whole time, but she didn't try to pull back, bite the leash, or flail around like she did sometimes yesterday at the mall. She got to see her brother, which was one of the few times she opened up slightly. Her commands were a little more smooth than yesterday, and she only refused to perform her Place command once, when I asked her to Place on a ledge a little too close to the fountain. She would hop onto the ledges on either side of the fountain, but not in the middle, where the pouring water can be heard louder. Sundara can be very happy and playful, especially while we're home. The eventual goal is to have her as comfortable in distraction filled environments as she is at home! Tomorrow I will see if I can get a video of her being more playful either inside or somewhere easy to show the difference in her demeanor in the varied locations!
Adding water to her food seemed to help a little bit with her eating! Also, the extra padding in her crate seems to be much more comfortable for Sundara.
_________________________________________
Pupdate: 10/13/2023
Sundara and I went to Almansor Park today! She had more of a fun time at the park. In today's video, I paired a short video from yesterday with clip of her at the park today. In the first clip, notice how much tension there is in the leash. I have to constantly apply pressure to help Sundara navigate to the correct position, or even to have her walk with me. In the second clip, notice how easily Sundara moves around with me and the large amount of slack in the leash. This is all coming down to Sundara's confidence. At home and at the park, she is becoming very good with her commands, and I don't think she'll have much issue being off leash in these areas soon. In the areas where Sundara is more nervous, I'm uncertain of her time line. Either way, she's doing a great job!
_________________________________________
Pupdate: 10/14/2023
Sundara and I went to Almansor Park today for training! There were some soccer and baseball games going on, so she had a little more of a tough time today. She started redirecting toward the leash again, which she hasn't done for a while, and then she started redirecting toward my hands and leg. It's important to have Sundara follow through with each command that we ask of her, and this is her way of trying to get out of working.
To help with Sundara's appetite, I've added a spoonful of plain greek yogurt to her meals, and she seems to like it!
_________________________________________
Pupdate: 10/15/2023
Sundara and I went to the park today! I tried to drop Sundara's leash to see if she'll be able to go off leash safely in public. When I wasn't holding the leash, she responded to the commands roughly half the time. Usually if I picked up the leash she would immediately follow through. As far as Sundara nipping me, it seems as though she gets tired at the end of a workout session and resorts to nipping as a way to tell me she's done working. I included a short clip from the very end of our workout where Sundara goes to nip my leg, then jumps to try to nip my hand. I think taking it very slow with Sundara is the best thing for her right now, and we'll keep her work outs extremely short so that she feels like she is succeeding rather than being pushed too hard!
_________________________________________
Pupdate: 10/16/2023
Sundara and I went to Santa Anita Mall today! She did much better than last time we were there. Last time, she could hardly walk on her leash without digging in her heels and trying to bite the leash. Today she was still extremely nervous, but she walked on a loose leash very well as well as performed each of her other commands. The toughest part for her was when I asked her to lay down while inside the mall. The down position can feel vulnerable and she doesn't often want to lay down while in more crowded places, so her doing it at the mall when asked was a very nice surprise. I'll be making some boiled chicken for her tonight, because she seems to be losing interest in the yogurt, but I also think she earned a nice treat today.
_________________________________________
Pupdate: 10/17/2023
Sundara and I had a bit more of a relaxing day today! We went to the park in the morning, then spent the afternoon and evening working around the house. For her video today, I wanted to show one of the household manners we've been working on! For Sundara's door manners, I want to be able to open doors without Sundara feeling the need to run out. Ideally we want to practice this to the point where Sundara can sit right in front of the door without going through before I ask her to. We practice this at least a little bit each time we go in or out of the house, so she's getting pretty good! In this video you can also see her tail wagging. This is the demeanor I've come to expect from Sundara in and around the house! It's only when we go out into public spaces her tail starts to tuck and she starts to get more nervous. She also really enjoyed the boiled chicken and was willing to eat her food much easier with that added, so I will continue to add some chicken to her dinners!
_________________________________________
Pupdate: 10/18/2023
Sundara went to Belvedere Park today for training! She did alright at first, but then a nearby school had recess at the playground. The screaming children running around made Sundara a bit nervous. She still behaved well, however she didn't want to perform some of her commands around all the commotion. I gave Sundara a nice break where she could just lay down and relax for a while, then started working with her again a few minutes later. After some water and a break, Sundara was willing to perform all of her commands again! It seems this method works well with Sundara. A lot of short workouts with plenty of breaks allows her to regain her mental energy and allows her to be as successful as possible!
_________________________________________
Pupdate: 10/19/2023
Sundara and I went to Santa Anita Mall today for training! She was a little nervous in the indoor areas still, but outside she did the best she's done so far! In the above video, you can see her perform her Heel, Come To Sit, Place and Down commands all with very little leash tension. About halfway through the video, some children start gathering around the area by Sundara continued to behave well and even loose leash heel very close to them. Toward the end of the video, a fairly large crowd stands around us but Sundara does a great job of staying calm and holding her sit position until the crowd moves on! While watching the video, I also noticed her tail is less tucked than it normally is around such high level distractions like children.
I'm continuing to add chicken to her meals to help her appetite. Normally, I would try not to add it to every meal, but I think her appetite needs it, especially with all the extra exercise she's getting!
_________________________________________
Pupdate: 10/20/2023
Sundara and I went back to Santa Anita Mall today! We spent most of our time inside since that's where she struggled the most yesterday. Today, she did much better while inside! There was only one time I asked her to Place on a bench and she didn't want to. Other than that, her commands went very smoothly and she was well behaved, albeit a bit nervous.
In addition to Sundara's pictures from our adventures today, I've added a video tutorial of her E collar! I'd recommend watching it to make her transition home as smooth as possible.
_________________________________________
Pupdate: 10/21/2023
Sundara and I went to the park for her last full day of training! I'm very proud of her and the confidence she's built through her training. She's a great dog and I'm happy to have been able to help her on her journey to becoming the best pup she can be!
For her video today, I wanted to show some more of her manners! Sundara loves her chicken and she typically starts eating when I walk away from her. However, I'd like her to be able to hold her sit even when that tantalizing chicken is right there, then break to me after. This impulse control can come in handy in a lot of circumstances, particularly if you drop something dangerous that Sundara might want to eat.
Sundara is the sweetest girl, and I'll miss her greatly when she goes home tomorrow!
