Meet Tonka! Mr Tonka is a five and a half month old Cane Corso from Alhambra, California here for our world famous Three-Week Board and Train Program! Tonka is a very lovey pup, but he has a lot of anxiety. Occasionally on his daily walks he will plant his paws and refuse to follow his human because he is a little anxious and wants to get back to the safety of his house. Tonka also likes to nibble at things when he is exploring them. He knows a couple of basic commands like “sit” and “no” but he has a lot of puppy energy and tends not to follow through with the commands for long. Tonka has recently started barking at strangers as well. Over the next twenty one days, we are going to expand Tonka’s list of commands and his ability to follow through with them, build up his confidence around new people and in new places, improve his manners in and out of the house and help him become a calm, confident dog that can enjoy the outdoors with his family. Stay tuned for his 3 Week transformation!
Pupdate 11/10/2024
Today Tonka was feeling anxious after realizing his humans were not with him. He made his kennel his safe space and it took a few hours to get him comfortable enough to come out and explore his new environment.
Tonka and I spent a lot of time bonding to make him feel safe and comfortable.
Once Tonka was feeling more comfortable and curious we spent some time assessing his understanding of commands and introduced him to the rest of my family.
Tonka had good interactions with my wife and three pups at home.
After feeding Tonka we worked on place and the come commands.
Tonka ate half his serving of food this evening and had several treats during our bonding and home acclimation time.
Stay tuned for tomorrow's pupdate.
Pupdate 11/11/2024
Today Mr. Tonka and I worked on several of his commands, We worked on the "sit", "heel", "come to sit", "place", "down" and "off" commands. Tonka did great with all of these tasks. He is a quick study.
Tonka was still distracted occasionally by the other dogs and things that he wanted to explore but by using the "off" command paired with pressure applied to his collar I was able to keep him focused on his tasks. As the training went on I had to use the "off" command less and less.
Tonka is still slightly anxious when exiting his kennel but he is showing more improvement each time.
Tonka also spent some time exploring the yard with my dogs and they are getting along great. This should also help lower his anxiety when meeting other new dogs in the future.
Stay tuned for tomorrow's pupdate!
Pupdate 11/12/2024
Today Tonka and I headed to Stearns park to continue working on his “come to sit”, “place” and “down” commands.
Tonka did great with his “place” and he stayed for over a minute several times before I gave the “break” command and rewarded him for being such a good boy. I use the “break” command to release Tonka from whatever task he was asked to do.
Tonka struggled a little bit today with his “heel” command as we switched to the E-collar and he is still trying to adjust to it. He got better as the session went on.
Tonka is back to eating his full meals and he is doing great at home with our pack.
He still tries to nibble at things but the E-collar paired with the “off” command has already helped to stop the behavior when applied.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Pupdate!
Pupdate 11/13/2024
Today Tonka and I did some work at home and continued to work on his “heel” command and his “come to sit” command.
Tonka got a little scared when he heard the trash truck but we were able to work through his anxiety and make it a positive experience for him.
Inside the house Tonka continued to test his boundaries by nibbling on things but the “off” command paired with a stimulation from the E-collar has started to clean up those issues. Now 1/2 the time when he hears “off” he will stop nibbling without the assistance of the E-collar.
This will be important to continue in your household when Tonka returns. Consistency is key!
I will go over all of these steps during the drop off in a couple of weeks.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Pupdate!
Pupdate 11/14/2024
Today Tonka and I worked a little more on his “down”, “sit”, “place” and “come to sit” commands. Tonka has made a lot of progress with his “down” command and tomorrow we will start working on his “under” command. Tonka is still showing some hesitation when on walks, wanting to pull back toward where we started from and is still a little weary of new people. More exposure to new people and places will be a part of his training in the coming days. Tonka has learned to hold his “sit” for longer periods of time and is very obedient when asked to sit prior to entering or exiting doorways now. He’s not ready to be off leash yet as he’s shown some tendency to default to a flight response when he is feeling anxious. The E-collar is helping and I’m hopeful that the added exposure to new people and places will continue to help him with his anxiety. The first few days I like to spend in lower stress environments like my home or a less populated park in order to ensure his focus is on the task at hand and that he knows what all the commands mean. That way when we are in higher stress environments he will be able to default back to his learned commands. He’s doing really well with my pack and loves trying to instigate play time with my larger German Short Haired Pointer.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Pupdate!
Pupdate 11/15/2024
Today Tonka and I took a trip to the Cerritos mall!
He was a little anxious as we were walking from the car to the mall but once inside he settled down and was doing a great job of walking in a “heel” and several “extended sits” over 5 minutes without breaking.
We also started to work on his “under” command. It took him a few tries to figure it out but he got it and I was able to get him to stay there for 30 seconds or so.
In the coming days we will continue to extend that time out.
Overall he did great around a lot of people and had no barking or anxious behavior inside the mall. I attempted to have a couple different people say hello while he was in a sit. He was curious but not comfortable enough to let a stranger pet him yet. I used a treat as a lure and he took a treat from a stranger's hand but then reverted to being uneasy once he had the treat and was back in a sit.
He is ok going up and sniffing people but as soon as they reach to pet him he gets a little uncomfortable. Hopefully continued exposure to new environments and more people will help him overcome this.
Overall it was a great day of training!
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Pupdate!
Pupdate 11/16/2024
Today Tonka and I took a trip to a local park where he was able to work on his commands with little league games and pick up basketball going on in the background.
Tonka is improving while walking in a “heel” with the E collar and voice commands as the primary form of motivation. He still has a ways to go here and he has a tendency to want to run toward something he wants and is willing to ignore the stimulation from the E collar when set at the lower levels. That said, he has done less and less of that each time we go out and train.
We are definitely moving in the right direction.
Tonka was curious what everyone around us was up to but he didn’t show any signs of fear or anxiety. He’s definitely making big strides in that area.
We ended the training session with some work on his “under” command. It’s still taking him some convincing and we will continue to work on this over the next couple of weeks.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Pupdate!
Pupdate 11/17/2024
Today Tonka and I headed to Lowe’s to continue working on his anxiety around new people. Tonka showed a little anxiety with the first person that walked by us but after that he showed more curiosity toward everyone. I allowed him to sniff a little as they walked by rather than correct him for not being in the “heel” position. At this stage of his training it’s more important for him to have those positive interactions vs feeling the stim of the E collar in those moments.
We also continued to work on Tonka’s “down” command but this time in a more public setting. Part of today’s training included practice “loading up” into the kennel inside of my vehicle.
Today I also introduced the “come to heel” command to Tonka. He is doing a good job so far but has the tendency to want to pull past me when he comes trotting up to the “heel” position. We will continue to shape this behavior over the next two weeks.
Tonka got a little boo boo on his paw last night. He had the zoomies and his brakes didn’t work as well as he thought they did and he slid his paw into the baby gate that I have in our living room. He had a small cut but I cleaned it, disinfected it and the bleeding stopped quickly. It’s very superficial. I will keep it clean and keep an eye on it but it seems very minor and not in need of a vet visit.
Overall Tonka had a great day of training today and I’m happy with the progress that he is making.
Pupdate 11/18/2024
Today Tonka and I headed to the park to continue working on his “Place”, “Down” and “Send away to place” commands.
Tonka is doing very well with “place” and he is able to hold it for around a minute without breaking on most occasions. He is also improving on his “puppy push-ups” where he goes from a “sit” to a “down” and then back to a “sit” again.
His “down” still requires me to lower myself closer to his level 1/2 of the time but I am starting to phase that out and he is responding to the voice commands and hand signals the other 1/2 of the time.
Tonka’s cut on his toe is healing nicely and should be back to normal in a couple of days.
Tomorrow we will continue working on his “under” command and possibly some “door manners”
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Pupdate!
Pupdate 11/19/2024
Today Tonka and I went for a couple of long walks through the neighborhood, worked on his “send away to place command”, his “come to heel” command and his “place command.
Tonka does really well on the prong collar when on walks but so far he is struggling to make the transition from the prong to the e-collar in regard to his “heel”. I will focus more on his “heel” with e collar in the next couple of days and we will get it cleaned up.
Tonka has shown a tendency to get distracted often and likes to pick and choose the tasks that he wants to accomplish. It will be extremely important for your family to hold Tonka accountable when he is asked to complete a task. If he is allowed to ignore the command I can see him reverting to this type of behavior. I will spend time going over all of the training techniques and commands in detail when we do the drop off.
Tonka is doing extremely well with his “place” command and is regularly holding the place position for 2-4 minutes and beyond in some cases. It will be important to set up a spot for him at home where you can send him to “place” and continue this training. It will be very useful when someone is at your door or you need him to stay in one spot while you are dealing with other things.
Tonka’s “come to heel” is improving as well. I can put him in a sit and start walking and then give him the “heel” command and he will catch up and get into the “heel” position as I continue to walk. Overall it was a productive day!
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Pupdate!
Pupdate 11/20/2024
As mentioned in yesterday's pupdate, Tonka likes to pick and choose what he wants to do and with that, he also becomes easily tired and wants to rest.
To work on building obedience and stamina, today we went on a 2 1/2 mile walk and used the E collar primarily to keep Tonka in the “heel” position. Tonka did really well on the walk but when faced with larger distractions like loud noises (sirens, planes, trash trucks) or dogs barking he still has the tendency to want to pull away. That said, he was much improved today vs previous sessions.
He walks very well in the “heel” about 90% of the time at this point which will make your daily walks with him much more enjoyable. We will clean up that last 10% over the next few days and hopefully get him off leash by the end of the week. He still has a few hurdles to clear but he’s moving in the right direction.
When he's back home, be sure that you are holding Tonka accountable when on your walks. He may try to see what he can get away with when he’s not walking with me and it’ll be important for your family members to keep up the consistency when it comes to walking him.
Also keep in mind that when he returns he may possess the ability to walk off leash with you, but you should always obey leash requirements in the areas you take him. Realistically it may take a few more months of training and of him maturing before he really gets the confidence to walk off leash without having the bouts of anxiety that he displays from time to time. He’s still very much a puppy and some of that maturity just takes time.
We also worked on his door manners again today and he did amazing! We have done a lot of work on the “place” command and he stayed there the entire time that I walked around outside with the door wide open. Again it will be very important to keep practicing this skill with him at home. Overall Tonka had a great day of training today!
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Pupdate!
Pupdate 11/21/2024
Today Tonka and I took a 3 mile walk to continue improving on his ability to consistently walk in a “heel”. I switched Tonka to a leader type leash that allows for more control on his head and snout. Tonka didn’t enjoy the leader but that allowed me to focus on the E collar as his primary source of correction. We were able to make big strides today and by the last 2 miles of the walk he was responding to E collar stimulation only with zero leash pressure required. That was a big step forward for Tonka.
During our walk we stopped by a local park and continued working on the “place” command on different objects like park benches and bleachers.
We also worked on Tonka’s food manners and he is now sitting patiently until given the “yes” command to allow him to start eating his food. This is something you can practice every day with him at home. Just place him in the “sit” position, place the food in front of him and then perform a task or two before allowing him to leave the “sit” and eat his food. If he gets up or starts to eat before given permission, use the E collar stim and give him the “sit” command. Don’t let him leave the “sit” until you allow it. You can extend the time further and further out each day and this will reinforce the training.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Pupdate!
Pupdate 11/22/2024
Today Tonka and I took a trip to the local Lowe’s hardware store for some training.
We continued to work on the “come to sit” command and he’s showing steady improvement there. We will spend more time on that in the next couple of days to get him complying more consistently.
We also continued work on his “heel” and within a short amount of time he was walking with the leash dragging and nothing but the e collar and my voice for direction. This was a big step forward for him today!
Tonka still had some anxiety during the first 5 minutes in the store but we worked through it and he was sniffing people on his own as we walked by over the last 30 minutes of walking the aisles. I stopped several times and put Tonka in the “sit” position and had a few people offer him a treat from an open hand and then we continued on.
The goal is for him to start to see new people as a potential for a treat and positive interaction. He is still not ready to be pet by a stranger, especially on the top of the head, but he is more willing to take the treat and sniff around the person now.
I allowed him to do this and asked them not to pet him due to the training and we would continue on to keep the interactions positive. He will eventually come around but again he is a puppy and it will take some time. Try your best not to avoid these interactions though as that will only strengthen his insecurities around new people.
Also you will need to be careful using the e collar in those situations as well as we don’t want him to associate new people with the correction from the e collar.
Overall we made a lot of progress today!
Pupdate 11/23/2024
Today we did some training at home to continue to sharpen his “come to sit” command.
After that we went on an hour long walk through the neighborhood and were able to transition his leash dragging “heel” outdoors with a lot more distractions.
Tonka started the walk a little rough and we had to transition back to the leader I had used with him on previous walks.
We walked about 5 minutes until he stopped fighting it and then he got into a good rhythm so I removed it and went back to leash dragging with voice and E collar commands only.
He did great for the rest of the walk that way.
There were only two times where loud noises (neighborhood dogs barking through their gates and car doors closing simultaneously) distracted him enough to want to leave the heel but I was able to use the E collar to get him into the “sit” position and then get him back in the “heel” position.
I also discovered that when the e collar contact points are directly on the back of his neck, I was able to get a lot more follow through out of him even at a level 10-15 where as typically he requires closer to the 30 range. This will be helpful for you to remember when placing the e collar on him. The lower on the setting we can go and still maintain positive control and a willingness to comply with commands the better.
Tonka did great today and we achieved a positive transfer of learning from the indoor environment to the outdoor environment. Not sure he’s ready to be fully off leash yet but he is definitely making strong progress in that direction.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Pupdate!
Pupdate 11/24/2024
Today we focused in on the “under” command for Tonka and he picked it up fairly quickly. We started with the leash and with getting down on his level to teach him the task and by the end of the session he was going under the chair off leash with a verbal “under” command. I also trained him to use my legs for “under”, so if you are sitting on something that he can’t get underneath, he will still be able to lay under you and hold that position.
Tonka does well with holding his “place” and “under” commands for extended periods of time. Make sure you keep up with this training and extend the times out further.
We also took a trip to a plant event in Los Angeles and got lots of exposure to a crowded environment with lots of people.
Tonka did great.
When we got out of the car there was very loud music playing and that triggered a small amount of anxiety in him. I gave him the “sit” command to refocus him and then the “heel” command and he followed me right in. Once inside the event he was sniffing people as we walked by and not showing signs of anxiety.
I gave several people the opportunity to say hello to Tonka and those interactions were his best to date. Be sure you explain to people that he is in training and to not reach for his face. If they hold their hand slightly out and allow him to sniff and become more comfortable with them, he tends to instigate further interaction. If they reach for him, he tends to withdraw from the hand and on occasion give a warning low growl.
By the end of our time at the event he was allowing people to pet him on his head and even rolled on his back for some belly rubs. Overall a big improvement for him.
Continuing to get Tonka out to socialize with people at this age will make things so much easier for you when he’s older and weighs 150 pounds. Just pay attention to his warning signs like hair on the back of the neck and growling. If you see those things you should calmly ask the person to remove their hand and allow Tonka time to investigate at his pace.
He’s a cute dog and people are going to want to pet him. It will be up to you and your family to set the ground rules for those interactions to ensure more and more positive interactions.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Pupdate!
Pupdate 11/25/2024
Today Tonka and I headed to Whittier Narrows park to meet up with a few other OffLeash Socal trainers and their pups.
We continued working on all of Tonka’s commands today and he got to meet a few new people and new dogs. He is very curious of other dogs and has a playful energy with them but his eagerness to run up to them will override his willingness to follow commands when off leash. You can see in today’s video that he breaks the “heel” position and runs to the other dogs and ignores the E collar stimulation at 18 and didn’t obey the “off” command until it was at a 45.
Later in the session with fewer distractions, I was able to get him walking off leash with me for about 2 minutes. While this is a step in the right direction, I still have overall concerns about his maturity level at this age to be able to walk off leash where there are lots of distractions. He has done very well on leash to this point and the times he tries to pull away are getting fewer and fewer each day of training.
That said, I will continue to expose him to distraction heavy environments and walk him on a very loose leash so he feels as though he is off leash, in hopes that he continues to focus on the commands and ignore the distractions.
Another thing I have noticed with Tonka is that he has a tough time taking commands from other trainers. I purposely had multiple trainers work with him today so that he gets more comfortable doing that. Tonka has built rapport with me and I feel that plays a big role in his willingness to follow commands from me. I am hoping that will quickly transfer over to your family members and that because Tonka is bonded with you, he will quickly learn to obey commands from you as well. It will be important for different members of your family to spend time taking Tonka for walks and training with him so that he learns that the commands can come from any of you and that he still has to follow through with them. We will go over all of this on drop off day.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Pupdate!
Pupdate 11/26/2024
Today Tonka and I took a trip to Cerritos mall to work on all of his commands. He did very well today.
He was able to perform every command on leash, with minimal input from the e collar and he did it in a very crowded high distraction environment.
Over the coming days I will continue to work on all commands with Tonka. We will also work more on food manners, door manners, greeting manners and car load ups.
It’s almost time for your giant puppy to come home! I have sent an email with meeting date,time and location for Tonka’s drop off. Looking forward to going over all of Tonka’s training with your family.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Pupdate!
Pupdate 11/27/2024
Today Tonka and I worked on his off leash car manners and “load up” command.
The session started off a little rough because the recycling truck was driving down the street and making lots of loud noises. Tonka was on leash at the time and tried to pull away from me several times but I used the “heel” command paired with a stim from the e-collar and he came hustling back to the “heel” position where I had a treat waiting for him.
I continued the on leash “load up” repetitions while the loud noises from the recycling trucks were happening and Tonka did well in spite of the distractions.
Once the loud noises subsided I removed his leash and went through a few more “load up” repetitions. He did very well. He is capable of completing off leash tasks, but he would benefit from continued on leash training in busy and or noisy areas.
I will be sending an email this evening with a guide on how to prepare for drop off day.
I’m sure Tonka is excited to be back with his family and that you all are getting excited to see him as well.
I’m looking forward to showing you all the progress he has made and all of the new things he’s learned.
Stay tuned for tomorrow's pupdate!
Pupdate 11/28/2024
Today Tonka and I continued work on all of his commands.
We spent a lot of time working on his door manners. He is doing very well with them.
You should continue to practice putting him in his “place” opening the door and spending longer and longer periods of time with it open so he gets accustomed to following through with the command for long periods of time.
You can have another family member hold the remote to the E collar so if he tries to get up before released, they can ensure he stays in place.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Pupdate!
Pupdate 11/29/2024
Today Tonka and I continued working on all of his commands off leash. He is doing better and better off leash each day.
Later, we spent time focusing on his food manners and he did very well. He was able to wait patiently for several minutes as I moved in and out of the room. He even waited as I reached down and talked to him and touched his food. As soon as I gave the “yes” command he broke from his sit position and started eating.
Just like with the door manners, you will need to continue varying the length of time between when you set down the food and when you allow him to start eating. This will help you in all other areas of training.
Holding him accountable is key. If he breaks position, he receives the e-collar stim paired with the “sit” command and you start again. If he was only able to do it for 2 minutes before breaking position then try 1:45 this next time. Get to a point where he is successful and then try to extend the time on his next meal.
Tomorrow we will be heading to the crowded mall to work on his greeting manners and all of his commands off leash.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Pupdate!
Pupdate 11/30/2024
Today Tonka and I headed to Cerritos mall to work on some greeting manners.
Tonka met several people at the mall and was very well behaved with all of them. Tonka has come a long way with his anxiety and he should continue to get more comfortable with strangers.
It will be important to continue to expose Tonka to new people and high traffic environments to counter condition his anxiety and help him gain more confidence in new areas and more trust in his handlers.
Something to keep note of is that Tonka does not like to be touched by people standing behind him and he does not like to be pet on top of the head by strangers either. I would ask people to allow him to sniff them without touching him until you see him start to engage with them on his own. That will be your cue that he is feeling more comfortable.
Then I’d ask them to pet him under his chin. Don’t let people get down on his level or in his face as this can be perceived as threatening by dogs. Also be mindful of children that want to interact with him. They have much less impulse control compared to adults, they can be unpredictable in how they interact with dogs and aren’t good at reading a dog’s body language.
I want to emphasize that Tonka is not an aggressive dog, he is anxious and uneasy by new people. Building trust with his handler(s) and positive interactions will will modify this response.
On to some exciting news. Tonka was able to complete every one of his commands off leash and in a crowded mall! He has made huge progress over the last several days.
I’m sure Tonka will be very excited to be reunited with his family tomorrow and I can’t wait to show you all of the progress he’s made.
See you tomorrow!
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