Meet V! She is a six month old German Shepherd who has joined us for our Two Week Board and Train Program. V is here for basic obedience, jumping to greet, excessive barking and whining when not getting attention, and leash pulling. She is very friendly and likes to jump on anyone she meets. The goal for V is to give her structure on her manners, and prevent unwanted behaviors as she does not know her own strength. Over the next two weeks, V and I will be working on building a solid foundation to help her become the best pup that she can be. Check in to see her progress!
V and I spent the afternoon getting to know each other by going for a walk at a local park. As we were walking, V would fall behind, so I would walk a little faster, give her some verbal encouragement, and guide her back towards me with a little leash tension. She also did walk ahead of me a few times, and did pull on her leash when someone passed us by. To prevent V from this behavior, I introduced her to Heel, which is a technique that consists of having her walk next to me on my left side. Anytime V would get ahead of me, I would turn, walk in the opposite direction, and guide her back towards me. She is a smart pup and catches on to the concept quickly. She still needs some practice, so Heel will now be applied on every walk we go on from here on out.
V and I worked on her recall today which is known as Come to Sit. It consists of having V come towards my right side, going around behind me, and sitting on my left side. I worked on it by using leash tension as guidance to have her come towards my right side, as well as using the leash tension to assist her in going behind me. To have her Sit on my left, once she was behind me, I would take a couple of steps forward, and give her leash tension to bring her next to me. V is understanding what I am asking, but she will continue to work on it by using ninety degree wall barriers in order for her to have a better Sit. She did well overnight in her kennel, and does well in the car with no whining or crying.
V and I worked on Place today. This technique consists of having V getting onto an elevated object, and remaining there in a Sit or a Down. Place builds confidence in a dog, and it can serve great purpose anytime you have guests over, or if there is a knock on your door. V is a confident pup, and did very well learning her new behavior. I started by walking her towards the object, and by using leash tension, I guided her to Place fully onto it. Since V picked up on it quick, I took the opportunity to give her more of a challenge by asking her to Place on narrow objects such as a bleacher and a park picnic bench. She became hesitant, and would only place her two front legs on the object, which is normal for pups to do, since they can become unsure at times. Once her front legs touched the object, I would reward her with praise and release her with a āBreak.ā To help her into getting her back legs onto the bench, I used leash tension, and I also gave her legs a boost, which gave her some confidence into doing it on her own the next few reps we worked on. I will continue to work on Place with V and give her more challenges by working on objects of different shapes, surfaces, and sizes throughout her Training Program.
V and I worked on what she has learned so far with minimal dog and people distractions. Our morning and evening walks have really been helping V improve her Heel, as we are no longer needing to use the prong collar she came with. V has lots of energy, and in order to release some of it, our walks tend to be longer than most, and I let her run around in the backyard. Once she reaches a calm relaxed state, V does better with her behaviors and is not overly stimulated when working as you can see in this clip taken yesterday. She is doing well and continues to make good progress in her training.
V and I met with Q and her trainer today in a public setting. This is the first time they have seen each other since pickup day, so they were very distracted by each other and wanted to interact together. I took V for a walk around the pier with Q behind her, and although she kept looking back at Q, she did very well at not approaching anyone passing her by. I was also able to walk both V and Q on each side, which went well despite Q looking back for her trainer. V adjusted very well to her surroundings today, and I will continue to expose her to public settings, as well as bringing her around other pups.Ā Ā
V and I have been working on Down. This technique can be difficult to teach a dog considering it being a submissive position, which can make a dog feel vulnerable. V came into her Program having an idea of what Down consisted of, but she needs a little reconditioning. V had a tendency of slamming herself towards the ground, and would occasionally nip while giving her a hand signal. To condition her into not doing so, I began to work her through it with a different approach. I began to use leash tension with my foot to guide her towards the ground. She is following through and nipping a lot less. To keep her from slamming herself onto the ground, anytime she makes that intent, I pull up on her leash, and slowly release tension as she starts going Down. It is still a work in progress, but with consistency and repetition, I have hopes that V will improve her Down.
V and I worked on her recall a little more today. She was having trouble with it, as she would sit in front of me, or stop and sit behind me when performing the behavior. There were also a few times in which she would sit off to the side, so I used the walls in my yard as barriers to help V sit straighter on my left side. I also worked on Place with her, and she did very well remaining in her position as I walked around her. V has also been doing well with her Down, as you can see in this clip, she is starting to go into her Down a lot more gently than before, and is not nipping when I give her a hand signal. With week one coming to a close, V will begin to work on distance and duration with a longer leash, and will be gradually exposed to different distractions.
V and I went for a walk around my neighborhood today. Since she is very energetic, I usually let her run around my backyard before going on walks to release some of it. We began working on some leash dragging exercises in my backyard since it is an enclosed area, and she did really well. She did get ahead of me a few times, but she remained at my side and did not try to veer off. When she did get ahead, I kept her next to me by making u-turns as needed. Once I was comfortable enough, we went for a walk outside, and even though she became distracted by the grass smells, I reminded her to stay with me with a verbal āHeelā and āOffā anytime she made an intent towards the grass. She still needs a little practice, but I will continue to condition V with her leash dragging, as she prepares for her off leash experience.
V and I worked on some leash dragging exercises at a local park today. In this clip, you will notice the difference in Vās energy. The first one is V working on her behaviors without releasing some of her energy. She did well, but does become very excited during our session. After working her through a few reps, I give her a little water break, and give her some time to relax. Once in a calmer state, we resume with training, and as you can see in the second clip, she is much more mellow, and works a lot more calmly. She is doing really good with her behaviors, so remember to always give her a good amount of exercise so she can decompress.
V and I worked on her Place a little more today at a local park. We practiced on objects with different textures and surfaces such as a rock and a park bench. We began with a walk throughout the park and she did really well with her leash dragging as people walked by us. She was a little curious about them and almost made an approach, but by reminding her to āHeel,ā I was able to keep her on track next to me. Placing on the rock was a little tough for V given the shape of it, as she would initially slide off, but after a few attempts, she was able to figure out how to position herself without sliding off. V and I are still working on some minor details that need a little cleaning up, but she is just about ready to begin working fully off leash.
V and I worked on her Door Manners today. She has made a big improvement since the day of pickup. V used to always want to be the first one through any door anytime I opened one. To keep her from doing so, I would first ask her to Sit or Down before opening it, and remind her to remain in position as I opened it. If she sat up, I would close the door and repeat the process as needed. It took her some time, but I gradually increased her distance and duration, which led her to accomplish two minute Door Manner goal.
V and I worked on some off leash exercises in a public setting today. We began with a walk throughout the shopping center to have her adjust to her surroundings and release some of her pent up energy. Once V was in a more calm relaxed state, I proceeded to remove her leash and work on her Heel with people distractions. She was a little curious and would use her nose to sniff, but she never made an intent to veer off and interact. She also did really well with her stationary positions as she did not come out of any despite the distractions around her. V is ready to be working off leash as she prepares for her Final, which will be the main focus from here on out.
V and I worked on her Final today and she did really well piecing everything that she has learned together around different distractions in a public area. She has come a long way in just a short amount of time, and she has shown that she is capable of much more as long as her training remains consistent. Always remember to make her sessions fun so that she may have a positive association with the behaviors she is performing, and to also remain patient, as dogs themselves will also challenge us as owners from time to time and not want to follow through. Plenty of exercise is also a major key for V, which will help her release pent up energy, and it will also help her work in a much more calm relaxed state.
V has completed her Two Week Board and Train Program and is ready to come home. I want to thank you for trusting me with V while she was under my care these last two weeks, and for also giving me the opportunity in being her trainer. It was a pleasure to work with her, and I will miss her companionship. Remember to always give her plenty of exercise and to always remain consistent with her training. I look forward to showing you what she has learned. Thank you V!
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