Meet Whiskey! He is a one year old Golden Retriever who has joined us for our Two Week Board and Train Program. Whiskey is here for basic obedience, leash pulling, and jumping to greet. His inability to stay calm and his inconsistency to follow commands is a challenge for his owners to go about their daily lives. One of the goals for Whiskey is for him to remain in a calm relaxed state when guests are over. Over the next fourteen days, Whiskey will be working on his behavior and be set up for success, with the hopes of becoming a well mannered pup. Check in to see his progress!
Whiskey and I spent the evening getting to know each other. We went for a walk in the park to establish a bond. He was easily distracted by the grass smell, and would try to approach anyone passing us by. He was heavily pulling on his leash, so I introduced him to Heel. This technique consists of having Whiskey walk next to me on my left side. Anytime he would pull away from me, I would turn and walk in the opposite direction, then guide him back towards me with leash tension. Whiskey still needs more practice, and will be introduced to a prong collar to better assist him with his walks. I will remain consistent by implying Heel on every walk we go on from here on out. He had both meals before pickup, and I will feed him in the morning.
Whiskey and I continued to work on his Heel a little more today. With the use of the prong collar, I was able to steer Whiskey in the right direction, and is making a much better improvement on his walks. He is pulling a lot less, and is learning to remain on my left side throughout our walk. Whiskey was also introduced to his recall which is known as Come to Sit. This technique consists of having Whiskey come towards my right side, go around behind me, and sitting on my left. We worked on it by using leash tension as guidance. Whiskey can be very stubborn, and will resist or go into a down to avoid performing his behavior. He needs a little more patience to avoid frustration and to prevent him from shutting down. I would keep the leash tension on him, and only released him when he made movement towards me. Once he took the steps toward me, I released tension and rewarded him with praise. It took some time, but by remaining consistent with Whiskey, he is learning to follow through.
Whiskey was introduced to Place today. It is a technique that consists of having him get onto an elevated object, and remaining there in a Sit or a Down. It serves great purpose whenever guests are over, and it also builds confidence in a dog. To teach Whiskey, I introduced him to to the object by walking up to it, then tapped the object to see if he would put his paws on it. At the same time, I used leash tension as guidance, which did help as he was able to follow through. Once his front legs were on the object, I released him with a āBreak,ā and rewarded him with praise. We then reset and repeated the process. Now that his front legs were on, I gave his back legs a boost to fully have him on. After a few repetitions, Whiskey began to catch on, and would start to Place with little to no leash tension. Although he is climbing onto the object rather than hopping on, it is important to understand that teaching a behavior is a learning process. As of now, I will reward him for performing the behavior any way he can, and as long as I stay consistent with him, Whiskey will continue to build the confidence needed to have him hop on rather than climb.
Whiskey and I drove out to the beach today and worked on what he is learning so far in a more public setting with different distractions. He has made a big improvement on his Heel thanks to our morning and evening walks, and he continues to progress by not pulling like he used to. I have been remaining consistent with his Place, and he is now building the confidence to hop onto an object when introduced. I noticed during our session, that Whiskey becomes easily distracted when another dog is around, so it is something that he and I are going to focus on and work through. Other than that, Whiskey is doing very well with his training, has adjusted very well at home, and enjoys lounging in my dining room when he is not running around in the backyard.
Whiskey and I have been working on Down. Down is one of the most difficult techniques to teach a dog considering it making a dog feel vulnerable being down on all fours. To teach Whiskey, I asked him to Sit while placing on an elevated object, which was followed by leash tension to guide him towards the ground. Whiskey was very hesitant and would stiffen up his paws once I applied leash pressure, and would almost immediately come out of his Sit. To keep him from doing so, I placed my free hand above his back to keep him from sitting up, all while applying leash tension to have him go Down. Any intent Whiskey made to go Down to release pressure, was a win in which he was rewarded with praise. Once he began to understand the concept, Whiskey began to work through it and eventually accomplish his Down. It takes time and patience, and always be sure to take a breather in between reps to avoid frustration on your end, as well as the pupās.
Whiskey and I met with other trainers who assisted us with their pups by serving as a distraction. Throughout his training, I noticed that Whiskey becomes easily distracted when a dog is around. He would pull on his leash to try and approach it, not in an aggressive way, but in a more playful manner. Meeting with other trainers has improved Whiskeyās behavior around other dogs, and he is learning to socialize around them in a calm relaxed state. His confidence also continues to boost as I am now introducing him to higher level platforms for him to Place on. Whiskey now knows all of his commands, and will now be working on holding them, as I will introduce him to distance and duration by working with a fifteen foot long line.
Whiskey and I began working on distance and duration. I used a long line and worked in increments of five. This means that for every foot I step back, I wait five seconds before releasing him with a āBreak.ā One foot back is five seconds, two feet back is ten seconds, three feet back is fifteen seconds and so on. Whiskey was having trouble maintaining his position, so I shortened it to three seconds. It took some time for him to comprehend, but he is now understanding what I am asking, and he is following through. The more we work on it, the more progress he makes. I will continue to practice with Whiskey, with hopes of reaching the end of the long line without him coming out of his stationary position.
Whiskey and I spent the day at home working on his distance and duration a little more. He had a little trouble maintaining his Sit initially, but after a couple of resets, Whiskey began to follow through. He is doing very well with our loose leash walks and remains walking next to me without him trying to veer off and smell the grass. I also had guests over and he did very well at not jumping on them when he was greeted. We ended the day with dinner in the backyard and some playtime with his buddy Homer. With week one in the books, week two will consist of having Whiskey work on leash dragging exercises, as he prepares for his off leash experience.
Whiskey and I took a drive to a local park and began working on his leash dragging exercises. Throughout our walk, Whiskey did very well remaining at my side, and not approaching anyone that was walking by. His recall needed a little more conditioning, as he would come towards me and Sit in front of me. To correct Whiskey, I took two steps back, recalled him again, and he followed through. We worked on it a few more times, until he fully understood what I was asking. His Place also needed some assistance since he was used to the leash tension I used as guidance. I worked on it with him by giving him a running start, and he is beginning to comprehend what is being asked. I will continue to practice with Whiskey by remaining consistent, and by increasing the levels of distraction as we move forward.
Whiskey and I have been working on his food manners. The first couple of days, as Whiskey was adjusting to his new environment here at home, he would only eat inside of his kennel, which is normal for a dog considering him being in a new place and I, a complete stranger to him. Once Whiskey began to get more comfortable, I would leave his food out and his kennel open, and he then ate outside of it. As soon as I saw consistency in his eating habits, I then proceeded to have him Sit and wait for my cue in order for him to eat. I used the same distance and duration approach that was done for his stationary positions, and Whiskey can now hold his Sit for two minutes before being released to eat his breakfast and dinner.
Whiskey and I have been working on his off leash conditioning in my backyard. He did very well with most of his commands, but still had some trouble with his Down. Whiskey and I worked on it repetitively and I rewarded him with praise as he remained consistent with it. We took a trip to a local park to practice around distractions, and he did very well maintaining his stationary positions around them. Whiskey is ready to continue working off leash as he prepares for his Final, which will be the main focus for the remainder of his Program.
Whiskey and I have been working on his socialization with other dogs and he has come a long way. He does great around them by not approaching them, nor does he try to lunge at them when they are passing by him. It took some time and patience to work him through this behavior, but the result is a great one, and here is a clip of Whiskey working in sync with his buddy Homer. It is very important for us as owners to remain consistent with our pups in order to avoid bad behaviors and keeping them on the right track.
Whiskey and I have been working on his Greeting Manners. Throughout his Program, anytime we were out training, if someone wanted to approach Whiskey to say hello, I would always ask him to Sit before he was greeted. It was difficult for him to do so initially, as he was accustomed to jumping on people whenever they got close to him. With time and repetition, Whiskey began to understand that his jumping behavior would not be rewarded nor praised. He now knows that he is to remain in a calm relaxed state if he wants anyone to approach him to say hello.
Whiskey has completed his Two Week Board and Train Program and is ready to come home. I want to thank you for trusting me with Whiskey while he was under my care, and I also want to thank you for giving me the opportunity in being his trainer. We had lots of fun throughout our time together and I will miss his companionship. His Final video will be coming soon, but here is a peek at Whiskey working on his Door Manners. Thank you Whiskey!
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