Teddy | Pomeranian | Monterey Park, CA | In Training
- Alex Kruse
- Sep 21
- 7 min read
Updated: Sep 27
Meet Teddy! He's a 3.5-year-old Pomeranian from Monterey Park, California, and he's here for our One Week Board and Train Program. Teddy is a happy little guy who seems content just hanging around people or sitting in the sun, but he's gotten into some arguments with his sibling, he does a little too much barking at any noises he happens to hear, and he isn't fully housebroken. He's got a pretty decent natural Heel, but doesn't know too many other commands. Over the next week we'll teach Teddy how to calm down and not bark so much when something catches his attention, work on his manners around other dogs, teach him some foundational work with his commands, and work on getting him housebroken. Stay tuned for Teddy's one-week transformation!
9/21/25
Upon drop-off, we stayed at the park a little bit just to see what Teddy already knew. He's got a really great natural Heel, so I think that'll just need a little bit of refining and he'll be an expert with that. He clearly knows how to do a Sit, so we'll just need to work on getting him to do it every time he's asked, and how to hold it until released. I'll teach him how to do a Place, which just means to go to a designated spot and stay there until released, and we'll work on "Off" to teach him to leave things, people, and other dogs alone when he shouldn't be trying to interact with them. At home we spent some time getting acclimated. I didn't put him out with the other dogs directly, but did let him sit in one of the dog runs off the main yard so he could observe their play and sniff through the fence. He had no issues with that at all, and while he didn't seem overly interested in saying hi to the other dogs, he didn't bark or snap at the fence at all. He just sat there looking pretty, blinking in the sunshine. Overall, for his first day he's doing well, not showing any big signs of anxiety or reactivity, and I look forward to working with him through the rest of the week!
9/22/25
Teddy had a good day today! We met up with Shadow at group practice and worked on walking together, sitting by each other, and brought out some toys to see if we could spot any of the concerning behaviors. Teddy was pretty much a perfect gentleman through all of it, and he even caught on to his Place really quickly. He had no issues with other dogs or people at the park either. At home I introduced him to my dogs and he did great with them as well. He barked just a little bit in agitation when the puppy was being a little too energetic with him, but there was no snapping or otherwise concerning behavior. The only issues I've had with him being noisy at all are when he's been outside for a little bit and wants to come in. He only picked at his food a little bit last night and this morning, but he is taking treats and ate his dental treat no problem. That's fairly normal for boarders for the first day or two when they're getting acclimated, and otherwise he's doing really well for his first couple days!
9/23/25
We met up with Tanner and Shadow again at a big park in Temple City where we worked on their commands together. There were lots of people walking around the track, other dogs, kids, and people playing sports, but Teddy wasn't bothered by any of it. He let other dogs sniff him no problem, didn't bark at anyone, and got along with Shadow just fine. We put them in a little play area with some toys to see how they would do, but didn't see any reactivity at all. Teddy chased one of the tennis balls a little bit but otherwise paid Shadow no mind when he was playing with some of the toys. At home he's starting to grasp the housebreaking rules. We've had one small accident inside, but otherwise he's been going outside where he should. His bigger issue is trying to dart through doors and gates, so we're working on having him Sit before I open a door, and he can't go through it until I give him a release word. We're also working on his barking, and he's pretty quick to quiet down when asked. He's catching onto things very quickly, he's a smart boy!
9/24/25
Today I worked Teddy by himself at the park with lots of distractions going on behind us. His Heel continues to be pretty good, needing only light leash reminders to keep him in position. He does try to grab the occasional thing off the ground so we've been working on his "Off" command to remind him to leave things alone. His Place on the bed is coming along nicely. He only needs to be reminded sometimes to stay in that Sit until he's released, which he's getting better at doing. For our Recall we teach them to come around behind our legs and stop in a Sit at the Heel position. He caught onto that one really quickly, so mostly we just need to remind him that he has to stay in position until released. With the toys, I finally saw him get a little fussy with my dog this morning when I was tossing a ball around. He didn't get snappy or even lunge at my dog (he's a large Border Collie so Teddy probably realized he shouldn't be taking that on!) or at the much smaller puppy who was running around with him, but he did look agitated and barked any time I threw the ball and my dog went after it. From what I could see, it didn't look like he was doing any guarding behaviors or had any interest in the ball itself (he stayed laying down on the bed as he was barking); it appeared more like he was wanting to police the situation. As in, he simply doesn't like the chaos and energy levels of the other dogs when they get excited about the toys. He calmed down as soon as I put him on the other side of the room divider where he could still see us playing, but he wasn't in range of the other dogs so he didn't have to be anxious about where they might go or what they might do. I'll continue to monitor the behavior to see if he does anything differently over the next few days, but for right now it seems like it's him wanting the other dogs to just calm down when he's trying to get some zzz's in!
9/25/25
We worked quite a bit on Teddy's house manners today, making sure he can Sit politely and wait before he gets certain things. As mentioned before, he can be a bit of a door and gate dasher, so we put a lot of focus into making sure he know he has to wait at the doors before he's allowed to go through. He has pretty solid natural food manners anyway, but we've been refining that Sit while he waits for his food bowl to be put down. And then with the Place we've been working on extending that time to longer and longer periods. That one will come in handy when Shadow is trying to play toys, or vice versa - one dog can be put in their Place while the other plays for a little bit, then they can trade out so they get used to being in the same room with each other, but will know to stay calm and out of the way until it's their turn to play. Or, if they're getting a little wound up and just need a break, they can each get sent to their Place to bring the energy down a little bit before they resume playing. Just make sure they each know where their Place spot is, and they can learn to go right to it on command as needed!
9/26/25
We met up with Shadow again at the park for a little sibling practice. They each got worked on all their commands separately and then Tanner and I took turns walking them on their Heel together. They both did incredibly well, without getting too distracted by the people moving around them or the sports being played in the background. We're really pleased with how far along they've come in such a short amount of time! Teddy's also doing well at home, barking a lot less and he's going potty outside every time now. It seems like the few negative behaviors I've seen come more from a place of anxiety than anything else, so more positive exposure to new experiences, to people, and to things moving around should help build his confidence right up!
9/27/25
It's our last Pupdate in your one week program! We went back to Live Oak Park to run through all our obedience drills one last time, and to just let him run around a little and be a dog. He was his usual sweet, happy little self, minding his own business as the world moved along around him. He's generally pretty willing to go with the flow on whatever I ask of him, which has made him pretty easy to train, especially considering the one week limit we had.
Teddy has been a great house guest all around, and it's been an absolute pleasure having him stay with me for his training and growth process. He got along great with my dogs, slept well through the nights, and was a fun little lapdog to hang out with. Thank you so much for letting me be a part of his learning journey!
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