Thor Lazarus | Belgian Malinois | Los Angeles, CA | In Training
- Tanner Strong
- Feb 1
- 7 min read
Updated: 2 hours ago
Meet Thor Lazarus! He's a five year old Belgian Malinois from Los Angeles, California, here for our Two-Week Community Board and Train Program! Thor is sweet and loving, although sometimes skeptical of people, leading to barking. He's a big leash puller, and often decides for himself when he wants to listen and follow through with his commands. Over the next fourteen days, we'll work on Thor's obedience skills, help with his confidence and impulse control, work on his manners in and out of the house, and show him how to be the best pup he can possibly be! Stay Tuned for Thor Lazarus's two week transformation!
Pupdate: 2/1/2026
After picking up Thor, we spent some time at the park getting to know each other, and he’s been a pretty friendly guy so far. He started offering the Sit command on his own a few times, which is a great sign, even though he couldn’t hold it for very long yet. He’s definitely a puller on leash, but that gives us a clear starting point to work from.
Thor hopped right into the car and got into his crate without much trouble, though he did start barking once inside. After arriving home, I let him sniff around and explore so he could begin adjusting to the new environment, and he’s been settling in fairly well.
Crate training will likely be our biggest early challenge, so we started working on that this evening, and he’s already made some initial progress. Overall, Thor has been fun to have around, and I’m looking forward to building on this foundation with him.
Pupdate: 2/2/2026
Thor and I spent both the morning and evening at the park today, focusing primarily on his Heel and basic Sit reliability. For Heel, the goal is for Thor to walk politely beside me without pulling or becoming overly distracted. Right away, Thor made it clear that pulling is his default, but with a balanced combination of clear corrections and food motivation, he began to understand fairly quickly where he needs to be. He’s already starting to show improvement and is becoming more aware of his position during our walks.
We also spent a good amount of time working on his Sit, especially because when Thor is distracted, he tends to avoid sitting when asked. Since Sit is such a foundational command and necessary for moving forward in training, we put extra focus there. With consistency and a mix of corrections and rewards, Thor made solid progress and, most importantly, began holding his Sit for much longer durations. This was a big step forward for him.
Overall, Thor is off to a pretty good start with his training.
Last night, Thor had a few moments in the crate where he wanted to bark or bite at the crate door, but he eventually settled and slept. After getting plenty of physical exercise and mental work today, I expect tonight to be much smoother and more relaxing for him.
Great first steps from Thor today!
Pupdate: 2/3/2026
Thor and I spent our time today focusing on his Heel and his Come To Sit command. For Come To Sit, the goal is for Thor to come to me when asked, walk around behind my legs, and sit at my left side with his ears lined up at my leg. This will be his recall command and is a very important part of his overall training.
Thor is doing well learning this so far and is starting to understand the pattern and positioning. With continued repetition and consistency, this command will become smoother and more automatic. Overall, Thor had a productive training day and is making nice progress with his foundations!
Pupdate: 2/4/2026
Thor and I made it out to the park today, but we kept our visit fairly short since it started getting hot. Even with the shorter outing, Thor still had a good day and did a nice job with everything we’ve been working on so far. He behaved well while we were at the park, stayed fairly composed, and continued showing me that he’s starting to understand the routine and expectations.
Once we were back home, we spent some time working on his Place command inside, and Thor is picking it up really well! He’s been showing good effort and is starting to understand that Place means to settle down and hang out calmly until he’s released.
One thing I did notice is that Thor has a little irritation on his nose from rubbing it on the crate at night. I’ll be keeping an eye on it, and the good news is that he’s doing better with each passing night. I’m hoping as he continues to adjust, he’ll start settling down faster at bedtime and feel more comfortable overall.
Great job today, Thor!
Pupdate: 2/5/2026
Thor and I had a really solid day today! This morning his stool was a bit loose, so I went ahead and gave him a bath and added a little pumpkin to his dinner to help get his stomach back on track. I’ll continue keeping an eye on that, but he still felt great overall and was in good spirits.
Once we got to the park, Thor did an awesome job. He walked on a loose leash for nearly the entire session, only needing a few quick reminders here and there. We were also able to get much closer to the ponds today, which added some big distractions like birds and lots of movement around us. I expected that to be a challenge for him, but Thor handled it really well and stayed fairly calm and responsive even in that tougher environment.
Right now, his biggest struggle is still settling down in his crate at night. He has a hard time relaxing quickly, but during the day when he’s out with me, he’s been very well-behaved and honestly a pleasure to have around.
Great work today, Thor!
Pupdate: 2/6/2026
Thor and I had a nice, slower paced day today, mostly spending our time at home and taking things easy. We kept the day relaxed and focused more on enjoying a calm routine together.
We spent lots of time outside throughout the day with a little time inside as well, and overall Thor behaved really well for me. This morning he did show me a bit more excitement than usual once he realized we weren’t heading to the park, but after a little time he was able to settle down and adjust to our slower schedule.
Overall, it was a peaceful and enjoyable day for Thor and I, and he did a great job staying polite and relaxed while we took things slow!
Pupdate: 2/7/2026
Thor had a really good day today, and I was especially happy with how he started his morning. He was much calmer in his crate, which is a great sign that he’s settling into the routine and becoming more comfortable overall. Once we got up and moving, he stayed in a good mindset and behaved well for me throughout the day.
During our time outside, we began working on a new step in his training by practicing his commands with the leash dragging. This is an important exercise because it gives me a better idea of how Thor may perform off leash, while still allowing me quick access to the leash if I need it. As expected, he wasn’t quite as responsive without the leash in my hand, but that’s completely normal for a dog learning this concept.
Even so, today was an excellent start toward building off-leash reliability. Thor showed effort, stayed engaged, and I could tell he was genuinely trying to make good choices and put his best paw forward.
Overall, I’m really proud of Thor today—he’s making progress and showing more confidence and maturity with each session!
Pupdate: 2/8/2026
Thor and I had a really productive day today, spending our time going in and out of the house while continuing to work on his manners and commands. Overall, he was in a great headspace and seemed much more calm and focused throughout the day.
On our walks, I was especially happy with Thor’s progress. He gave me noticeably calmer walks and only tried to veer off course a couple of times. For the vast majority of the walk, he stayed right where he should be in the correct Heel position without needing constant reminders, which is a huge step in the right direction!
When we were back inside, we continued working on boundaries and good home manners. Thor also got some time around my dog, and it’s safe to say Thor is officially a big fan and he loves her now!
Really good day for Thor, and I’m proud of the improvement he’s showing with his overall focus and structure!
Pupdate: 2/9/2026
Thor and I had a great training day today! We met up with some other trainers and their dogs, which was an awesome opportunity to work around higher-level distractions. Thor did pretty well overall ignoring the other dogs, and I definitely think the work we did around my dog yesterday helped a lot. He only got distracted a couple of times, but he was able to refocus quickly and get back to work.
Today we also spent time working on Thor’s Down command, which is coming along nicely. Down can be a tough command for some dogs since it puts them in a more vulnerable position, but Thor was pretty willing to work through it with a little guidance and support.
We also continued practicing his recall with the leash dragging, and I’m seeing improvement there too. Thor is starting to respond more consistently and make better choices even with a bit more freedom.
Overall, Thor had a solid day and made some great progress!
Pupdate: 2/10/2026
Thor and I made it back out to the park today, where we continued working on his Place and Down commands. Thor is making really nice progress with both, and I especially love working on Place in public since it’s such a great tool for building confidence and teaching him how to settle even with distractions around.
We’ve also been applying his Place command at home, especially during times when I’m busy doing things that don’t involve him, like cooking or eating dinner. Thor has been doing a pretty good job holding his position when asked, although he’ll still get a little curious every now and then and check to see what I’m doing. Overall though, he’s showing better patience and self-control each day.
Thor also got a bath today and did very well! He was calm and cooperative for the bath itself, and while he wasn’t the biggest fan of the blow dryer, he adjusted after a minute and handled it like a champ.
Overall, Thor had a really good day and continues to make steady progress!
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