Titan | Doberman Pinscher | Glendale, CA | In - Training
- cristianoffleash
- Apr 9, 2023
- 22 min read
Updated: Mar 4, 2024
Meet Titan, a 5 year old Doberman Pinscher from Glendale, CA coming to our 3 Week Board & Train program. Titan is very smart and does come with some basic obedience training already but can't hold certain commands for an extended amount of time.
Titan can be overstimulated when going on a walk so he will pull and try to lead. Titan also needs help inside the house from peeing and marking certain parts of the floor. Titan will learn proper obedience training and will have tasks that are to set him up for success. Check out his progress with me as his trainer!
Pupdate 4/9/2023
Today was the first day of Titan's 3 ween board and train and we got to know each other going on a walk with his owner before heading back home. Titan was very respectful in the car being silent throughout the whole ride. Once we got to my house his behavior to get overly excited kicked in and we went for a walk to get that pent up energy out. We found a grass area near a church to take a break and relax. Titan started to act silly and roll over. After laying on the grass for some time Titan seemed happier with me and we made our way back home to settle in. Titan meet my personal dog Hunter through his crate but as the days pass by ill take the time to introduce them to see if they want to be friends and play.
Titan was ok with going into his crate but the moment I closed the gate he started to howl and cry. This actually didn't last long and lasted about 10 minutes before Titan went to sleep. While titan was crying in his crate when he would stop and be silent I would praise those moments and give him treats and hand feeding it to him. He seems ok as I'm home but if I walk out with Hunter to use the potty outside Titan will cry for attention. I will continue to monitor these moments and progress towards keeping him more silent.
Later in the day I introduced the e-collar to Titan and we started some obedience training. I focused on conditioning Titan's heel which is to walk beside me. He picked this up fairly quick and not having too much issue with his e-collar. We continued our practice and Titan seemed to be enjoying himself.
Pupdate 4/10/2023
Last night while working with Titan I noticed he can't actually hold a sit since it irritates his hips. Even using a place pad I had he would adjust himself to lay down towards me.
I'm going to add fish oil to his kibble to help with his hip issue.
Today I took Titan to work on his obedience training and get to know him more. While working outside he had the intention to pee on every tree or corner he looks at. I redirect him with the remote any time he tries to keep that habit going since he's been doing this for so long. I will give him the opportunity when I say go potty, at that moment I will give him more room on the leash to walk around grass and sniff but he has no intention to pee on the grass until he's by a tree he will target that. I will monitor him and make sure he will only go on areas that won't be areas he has to mark.
While walking around we started to fix his heel and this picked up pretty fast. When it came to practicing sit he had issues holding or putting himself in a comfortable position. I didn't do this for long because he will cry or yelp going into the sit as if he's irritated. If it gets to the point that it hurts he will go into a down which is fine for him. When practicing down he takes his time but will perform the task until he's given his break.
Titan would cry as well when working around other dogs. The closer we got he would keep this up so we would practice our heel obedience around them. After a while he started to settle but every couple of minutes he would cry again. The longer we stayed with them Titan would be able to find moments he could relax and be neutral around them. At those moments I would be able to praise him and let him know he's being a good boy. I will monitor these moments as well to help build Titan's confidence being around other dogs.
Pupdate 4/11/2023
While sleeping Titan barked in the middle of the night. He only did this once and stayed silent after verbally redirecting him. It was possible it was from my neighbors going to work and starting their cars which might have alarmed Titan.
Once we woke up and went for our walk Titan tried to go to the first plant or tree he saw to mark. I redirected him each time he did this and continued our walk. Once I found an area of just grass he showed no interest at all going on flat grass. As much as I waited Titan would not go potty and we would have to find a specific tree for him to go on. I found a tree in the neighborhood he can go on but he will still mark it as usual. I will keep him here and walk him back and forth trying to have him continue using the restroom and empty his bowls rather than holding his pee for every single tree we pass by. Once I notice he seems completely finished Titan has to stay in his heel for the remainder of the walk and anytime he walks away towards a tree I will administer the e-collar to have him walk back towards me.
Later on we started to work more on Titan's door manner since he's known to run out of the house. Anytime I open the door and Titan takes the initiative to just go out. Each time this happened I would redirect him and have him lay down or keep his position of stay. We worked up to 30 - 45 seconds and when I would walk back into my backyard I would say break to have Titan get up and come to me for praise. The more we practiced Titan started to improve and keep his position showing no sign of leave. Now we will try to have dogs pass by or any other type of distractions to challenge Titan.
Pupdate 4/12/2023
This morning I took Titan to a park in Cerritos, CA to work on more of his obedience training. When we first arrive Titan always tries to jump in the direction of a tree to mark so as always he's redirected and I wait a moment after walking to let Titan use the restroom. Today I noticed he pee'd somewhat longer than usual but it was clear he didn't finish so I walked back and forth giving him the opportunity to keep going. He didn't want to so we continued our walk and found an area to work on his obedience. We mostly focused on making his down obedience better since Titan will sometimes get up to come to me without giving him a cue. As we worked on this more he actually did better but I only kept him in a down for 1 minute before breaking him.
After taking a break I walked Titan to an area which had ducks and geese which made him uneasy. Titan started to walk in front of me and forget about his obedience. Once I put him into practicing his heels and after 5 minutes he started to walk with me but he wasn't confident. Titan was more tolerant but willing to stay neutral walking through the ducks and geese. Once we were able to walk through them once I told Titan to break and dropped to the ground to give him a lot of love and praise for being brave. I will bring him here more often to help desensitize him seeing a bird.
Pupdate 4/13/2023
In the morning Titan was more excited than normal and seemed to not care about obedience. Once being redirected once going outside he was able to settle and we were able to go for our walk. When walking on the Main Street I noticed Titan wasn't comfortable with cars passing by. I kept confident and had redirected Titan any time he would travel forward from being uneasy and it helped with making Titan realize he needs to keep his heel and the cars passing by is normal.
When we went home I put Titan into more training and focused on conditioning him inside the house. I grabbed a blanket and used it as a place pad for him to sit and stay on. Once I walk him up to the blanket I will say place and Titan follows through. He did very well having not really much issue besides getting up once while filming. I would be able to open the front door and walk out and he stayed until he was given his break. After we were in the backyard practicing Titan's recall.
In the video above when working on Titan's recall it's important that Titan comes from the right side of me going around and ending up in his heel position. I will walk in front of Titan and signal him with my right hand to come towards it. From that point I ask Titan to come and have him walk straight towards me with some leash pressure assisted. At one moment he tries to end up walking to the other side of me but I'll redirect him into the correct direction so he can walk around me. After that he was more consistent in performing the task.
Titan has been well behaved, better at not barking at noises coming from inside my house. I noticed he barks when he hears a dog bark outside of the house. I will monitor him and watch his behavior towards this scenario.
Pupdate 4/14/2023
This morning I took Titan on a trip to Home Depot to see how he would be around people and noises. I was very impressed today with how calm he was compared to walking in my neighborhood. Before entering I made sure to let him use the restroom so he won't have the mindset to mark his territory.
When entering the building we started in the garden center walking next to the plants. Titan showed no interest but I was communicating with him saying heel and praising him as we walked through. After we walked through the store and Titan showed interest just looking around being somewhat amazed. As we started to get closer to people he seemed unsure whether or not to approach but he kept himself as close as he could next to me. Every couple of aisles we passed by I would ask Titan for a sit or down and he would follow through. We were able to practice throughout the store without much issue. As we went back to the car I rewarded Titan for being a well behaved boy and a man passed by and wanted to say hi to Titan. With my permission I allowed the man to say hi and Titan did well but he went up to the man's hip and leaned against him just for more praise. I will make sure Titan doesn't make this a habit when being greeted.
I've been introducing Hunter around Titan but Titan wants his space and nothing to do with him. They have smelled each other and walked around the room but titan will go into my kitchen or back into his crate to be away from Hunter. It's a possibility this could change but Titan is aware of what he wants and minds his business as he likes and there's nothing wrong with that.
Pupdate 4/15/2023
This morning I took Titan to a park in Fullerton to practice leash dragging to offleash obedience. When we first arrived I walked Titan around the park to get some pent up energy out. After our walk I found an open area to focus on heeling Titan but with the leash dragging. Since Titan has shown a lot of improvement with walking around in public it's time to challenge him some more.
In the video above is our practice with the leash dropped and just the use of the e-collar. Titan had some issues walking into when turning left but he adjusts and can figure out what I want quickly. As we kept walking in every direction whether it's left or right I will say heel and depending on the direction Titan see's my body, he follows through. At the end of our practice I had Titan hold an extended sit before breaking him. Titan did very well so I rewarded him today with throwing the ball with him. He tried running away with the ball and I told him his drop it obedience command and he let go of the ball. As we played together more Titan would try to keep the ball under him so I knew I had to put him into obedience again. Once we practiced dropping the ball Titan picked this up quickly but needed assistance with the e-collar.
I bought wet food for Titan since Titan has been uninterested with his food at times. Not often he will take up to 10 minutes just to eat his food. I thought if I make his food more appetizing and appealing to him he might show interest. I showed him his food this morning and he ate it without issue.
Pupdate 4/16/2023
Today we focused on more house training but offleash with Titan's door manners. Titan has done well waiting patiently and showing me I can leave the house and go towards farther lengths to walk out of Titan's sight. The goal now is to have Titan walk out as calmly as he can especially if it's our first walk. He does well at times but some mornings still I have to be repetitive with 2 to 3 reps the most but after that he really has no issue waiting by the door. Titan has seen some neighbors pass by with their dogs and as long as he hears his off obedience command when he sees them he will stay neutral.
After we practiced our recall in the front of my house, Titan started to get lazy when contributing to his recall. In the video above Titan tries to come to the other side of me instead of where I showed him. Since I didn't want to assist him with the leash I relied only on the remote. With the remote I started to find myself going up on numbers with the remote to get him to commit. After a couple repetitions he started to make practice easy again. When he comes around me once he almost lays down so I redirect him to stay in his sit instead. I'll adjust him to the remote with some use of leash tension still, but not as much for his recall. Everything else for his obedience is fine without leash assistance.
Pupdate 4/17/2023
Today I took Titan to a park in La Habra, CA to work around some of the other trainers and their dogs. I arrived early so we started to practice our training before some of the other trainers got there.
In the video above I have a microphone on in the first part of the video. The beginning part is just on how to hold Titan accountable for breaking himself when he wants. Everything is done just with the use of low level settings with the e-collar and Titan is fully aware of most of the things we do now. My body language towards Titan is very positive but once I see him make a mistake I catch him with the tone of my voice with the use of the remote following through with the commands I'm asking for.
In the second part of the video Titan was trying his best not to lunge or go towards Oso the chocolate lab, who is seen with his trainer. Oso is a well behaved dog and shows only positive body language when around other dogs. Even though Oso was just laying down, Titan was whining and couldn't control his temperament being around dogs at time. As we kept walking around Oso, Titan was settling and would keep his down around the dogs but would continue to whine. At a distance he will still cry and get jealous when I pet a dog. I will continue to monitor this behavior when we socialize around dogs and figure out what method is best for Titan's insecurities with dogs.
Pupdate 4/18/2023
This morning I took Titan for his walk and he did well walking offleash until we got home. We played in my backyard for a while before practicing more house training.
In the video above is our training session of how to redirect Titan inside the house. By today he is more aware of what to do when coming to that door once we come back from being outside. This is a rule I've seen for my own personal dog as well since I first brought him into my house. When Titan is at the kitchen door he will still whine and cry but not as intense as before. Titan has let me leave his view entirely and walk out to the front in case I need to do something or grab something. Before he would get up with being redirected with the e-collar he was able to learn and thrive.
We went to a local park near my house later in the day to practice more offleash obedience and focused on learning Titan's under obedience command. We had no issue practicing any of the commands today. Later in the day I had Hunter around Titan again but no luck on having them socialize and play. Titan seems fully uninterested in playing but has the will to sniff and just walk away.
Pupdate 4/19/2023
This morning I was able to walk Hunter and Titan on a walk together. I had both on leash and e-collar to train them around each other while keeping a heel. I was surprised at how they were able to ignore each other and keep their pace, even when telling them to use the potty. Once we returned home they both got to eat and take a break.
After I took Titan to Hillcrest Park in Fullerton to work on his obedience and take him for a longer walk around the downtown area. When we first arrived I took him for a walk around the park and he seemed fine being exposed to a new area. While walking we passed by numerous squirrels and Titan started to get overstimulated seeing them. I redirected Titan and did some obedience training near them. We got back to our walk and as we passed by the squirrels Titan was neutral and didn't seem bothered by the squirrels each time we passed by different squirrels.
We walked through downtown on the mainstreet with cars coming our direction. This didn't bother Titan whatsoever, however on our way back from walking cars passing from behind us that come fast would somewhat startle Titan. I would continue to ask Titan for his heel obedience command he seemed uneasy but he would follow through and we continued our walk as if nothing happened.
Titan had his first accident inside my house marking his territory on the inside of the door frame which leads outside. It was easily cleanable but I will monitor his behavior on marking since he still has the instinct to do it.
Pupdate 4/20/2023
This morning Hunter and Titan went on another walk together. I had them socialize one more time to see if they are over their insecurities with each other. Titan started to bow down to Hunter signaling him that he is being neutral and showing positive body language. Hunter noticed this and started to show playful behavior to Titan and they played for about 2 minutes. After those 2 minutes were over they were done and went into a down laying towards each other giving eye contact.
We had our daily obedience training and took our time to focus on his send away to place. This obedience command is to tell Titan to place himself on his obstacle but from a distance now. I will start short being next to the obstacle asking Titan for his place. Once he completes the task I will create space and distance to challenge Titan and see if he knows what the objective is. With some redirection he was able to pick this up quickly and now we have to find other obstacles outside to try this on.
Later on in the day I took Titan to the block of orange which is an outdoor mall. I took Titan with me shopping since I needed some items to pick up. While visiting stores Titan had no issue being in a down, but when people noticed Titan and gave him eye contact he put his attention on them. This will get Titan to start whining or crying since he wants attention from them. I will draw Titan's attention away by calling his name and having him look at me, as he does this I will praise him and pet him. When walking around and going into Zumiez for some shoes, Titan had no issue being in that store and was quiet.
Pupdate 4/21/2023
Today I took Titan to Huntington Beach to get some sun and exercise along the walkway. When walking towards the pier Titan kept his heel but had a habit of leaning in front of me to check around my surroundings, even though he seems to be acting in his nature as a Doberman, he kept himself next to me letting people pass by.
When walking along the walkway on the beach Titan was somewhat nervous when people on bikes passed by but nothing else. The longer we walked and did obedience Titan settled and became neutral to visiting the beach. When practicing extended down near a traffic way of people Titan would cry so I would continue to walk him and repeat his down obedience command just for practice. Eventually he would settle again and become neutral each time we sat down for a break. We saw some of our friends with their dogs and Titan had no issue being around them. We had random greeters with their children that were able to say hi to Titan. Instead of a sit I ask Titan for his down as he's greeted. As we went back to the car, anyone or anything passing by didn't seem to bother Titan anymore after being at the beach for so long.
Pupdate 4/22/2023
This morning I got up early to walk both of the dogs since it's starting to pick up with the heat again. Both Hunter and Titan were walking together with no issue but didn't want to play today when going back home. I did some obedience training early in the morning and let the dogs take a break before their second training session.
In the video above we are practicing Titans under obedience command. This command is to signal Titan when out socializing he can be placed under a table or something of his level he can get under. We practiced with some leash assistance but Titan is very smart and picked this up very quickly. Each time Titan would place himself under the table the exact way I wanted, I would then break him and praise him for being a good boy. We continued to train and only twice did I have to redirect him back into his proper position.
We waited for the heat to die down to go for our second walk later in the day. I took Titan on a different route going along the mainstreets until we walked back home and Titan did very well. Even if some cars that sounded loud passed by us, Titan was unbothered.
Pupdate 4/23/2023
I took Hunter and Titan out for a walk together and when we got home they started to play for a brief moment but didn't last as much as before. Titan is used to laying on the floor and being separate from Hunter if they are in the same room.
I took Titan to a park nearby my house to mainly focus on conditioning the commands he knows. We started off with his send away to place and having him do his recall after. Titan was very energetic and was messing around with me when training but redirecting him with the e-collar set his attention back on me. Titan is very aware of each command so there's no use of the leash anymore for assistance.
In his offleash heel part of the video he's very good at being in a pace but with his breed and genetics he does act like a true doberman is checking out the surroundings as much as he's giving me attention. Each time I turn I'm talking to Titan and asking for his heel obedience command. Even on our long walks I keep talking to him to identify with Titan, he's doing good since he seems to enjoy hearing my voice. In a part of the video I say go potty and Titan follows through. I'm able to walk away from Titan as well and he will come running towards me to catch up to his heel.
For the last part we are practicing his under obedience command with tables at the park. This is ideal in case Titan's owners want to take him out to eat publicly. Titan could be placed under a table if it has the right amount of room for him. He will take his time if it's a new table he's unfamiliar with but does follow through as long as he's motivated to do so.
Pupdate 4/24/2023
This morning we had our usual walk, having both dogs go on a walk together. When we got home the dogs didn't want to play together and just laid down on the ground.
Later in the morning I took Titan to a park by himself to work on his resource guarding issue with toys. This is gonna be a video of the progress so far. When Titan and I first played with a toy he had a very strong habit to keep any toy under him and not let go. Titan wouldn't bite me or anything of that nature but he would run away from me with a toy if he had to. With the use of the remote when first practicing his drop it command, Titan would try his best to tolerate the settings of the remote but eventually gave in to let me grab the ball. Each day that passed by I would only grab a toy if the e-collar was on already. If I play with him and he doesn't have the collar on he will try to rebel. His drive for toys is still intense compared to his reaction towards other things but he understands now letting me even tease the ball in his face. We took some time with a bench near us to work on Titan's under obedience command and he seems to be doing better and faster getting into his position.
A key detail when playing with a toy is to keep the pace normal and not be slow when interacting with the toy. This could intimidate Titan into breaking his command and just go for a toy.
Pupdate 4/25/2023
This morning I took the dogs out and tried to have them play again. It seems that they don't want much to do with each other besides smelling and being distant. This is typical between some dogs that when they get used to each other they just won't socialize but will tolerate and be neutral around each other without too much engagement.
After playing and training with the dogs separately it was time to eat. In the video above is the progress of Titan and his food manners. This is easy to work on without the use of the e-collar since Titan is very smart and listens to my verbal redirection at this point. Before Titan had a habit of always breaking his position to get to his food. Now he is aware of being redirected when he's too close to his food and can adjust himself back into his sit or down.
I took Titan with me to pick up my little brother from school and didn't have an issue when school was released. As parents and kids walked by they stayed distant from me and Titan since he looked intimidating. When my brother walked up Titan was calm and neutral and as we left I asked him to heel back with us going towards the car.
Pupdate 4/26/2023
This morning I took Titan to a park in Downey and saw some of our OffLeash friends with their pups. I took Titan around the park to get some energy out and nothing really seemed to bother him as we walked around ducks and geese. Each time someone passed by us all I had to do was inform him of his off obedience command and he would ignore any distractions and continue walking.
I took Titan to an area that has a bench I was able to use for a place pad and worked more on his send away to place. He had no problem practicing but he will toy with me just like any other dog in the beginning but being redirected always set's Titan back up for success. After walking and practicing for so long eventually when Titan was tired I would ask him for his send away. I noticed he was genuinely tired and I had him take a break and rest near the dogs in the shade.
When working around the other dogs and trainers Titan was somewhat vocal at times. He's shown he's capable of letting dogs go around him without making so much of a fuss. I was even capable of leaving Titan with some of the trainers while I went to receive something from my car. By the end of the visit Titan stopped crying and just remained looking around at traffic, the dogs, or me.
Pupdate 4/27/2023
Today Titan and I went to Santa Monica Pier with some of our friends with offleash. Titan did really well practicing all of his obedience commands and behaving around a large amount of people walking left and right. The only issue noticeable was when one of my coworkers arrived with her dog, Titan started to cry. I redirected him verbally without the use of e-collar and he would listen but I would still praise and pet him to give him confirmation. I remained with my coworker and after 5 minutes of being around each other Titan settled and was neutral being around a new dog he hasn't met.
In the video above is us at the pier just walking around practicing our obedience training. Titan stays close to me except for when he starts drifting towards the entrance of the coffee store. He fixes his heel and I place him under a table for a certain amount of time before asking him for his heel again and making our way throughout the tables.
We took a break and sat with our friends and as we were talking a lot of people passed by saying how calm the dogs were behaving. We had guests come up to Titan and pet him and he remained calm as he always does.
Pupdate 4/28/2023
Today I took Titan for a walk around Hillcrest Park in Fullerton to get some exercise. We went around the park 3 times before taking a break as it was starting to get hot. Throughout the walk Titan had kept his heel and ignored everything passing by us with no issue. We saw squirrels on our walk and just by talking to titan he listened without the use of the remote.
I took Titan to an open area of the park to play with him after walking for so long. I let him have his free time walking around and just checking up on him by using his recall.
He seems to always want to explore his surroundings first and do his business but eventually I'm able to ask Titan to lay down and just relax. Once I brought a toy out I got him excited to play. In the video above he is fairly tired already but still giving me his attention. He hasn't tried to steal this toy as much but any toy that he does if it happens, just the use of the remote will make things easier.
When practicing his extended down he still likes to mess around and roll over but once he's redirected he's back into obedience. I walk at a distance away from him and once he's given his break he goes back into toying with me. I'll ask him for his come obedience command and he always finds his way back towards me. Once we went back home I had both of the dogs out and they were minding their own business as usual. They took their time to smell each other but I laid out Titan's blanket and placed him to take a nap which he did.
Pupdate 4/29/2023
Today I took Hunter and Titan for their last walk together in the morning and tried to have them socialize. They were roaming around each other and usually taking the time to smell each other for small moments but then lay down across from each other.
I needed to buy some items from a local dog store so I took Titan with me and shop with him again. He did very well keeping a pace with me as I looked along the shelves for several items. There were some people coming in and out of the store with dogs barking at him so this did alert Titan at times but just practicing his obedience and always giving him praise after helps settle him once he's around dogs. We had some guests come up to us and were amazed at how calm Titan was behaving in his down obedience command.
I took Titan back to Hillcrest Park for one more time to play with a tug toy and just feel free in an open area. Titan has finally finished his 3 Week Board and Train, improving on major areas where he had his main issues with. His crying has improved but is noticeable once around other dogs if they are instigating behavior towards him. With proper obedience training this will always neutralize the behavior and following through with obedience makes Titan's life so much easier. He is well mannered in my house and has been able to understand his boundaries even if I'm not asking for any. Titan is very sweet and I'll miss how easy each day with training was for our relationship to get better.
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