Whiskey | Goldendoodle | West Covina, CA | In-training
- graceatoffleashk9
- Nov 27, 2022
- 7 min read
Updated: Apr 7, 2024
Meet Whiskey, the 8 month old Goldendoodle from West Covina, CA who is here for a Two-Week Board and Train Program. Whiskey is here because he likes to chew on furniture, is selective with when he wants to listen to his pawrent and likes to be stubborn during recall off-leash! During his two week stay with us, we will be working on house manners, general obedience and recall off-leash. Stay tuned for our progress!
Pupdate 11/27/2022
Today Whiskey and I took some time to get to know each other after he was dropped off. He knows some of his basic commands as he had completed a puppy board and train in the past, but due to his timid nature, he was not able to enjoy the full experience of his training. Like his pawrent had mentioned, Whiskey is certainly a little selective with when he chooses to listen but my goal is to make training fun for him so that he'll be more excited during our sessions. I introduced him to his new temporary home and took him on a couple of walks throughout the day to get him acclimated to the new city life. He certainly is a little overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of the city but I am sure with time, he will adjust well. He is a very sweet and gentle dog so I am interested to see if he will continue to tear up toys and beds when he gets comfortable. Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 11/28/2022
Today Whiskey and I went to the park to meet with other SoCal trainers and their pups. There were 2 other poodle mixes with the group and it was quite exciting to work with them altogether! Whiskey wasn't all too interested in the other dogs but that is okay! We still had a very productive training session and we worked on "heel, sit, down and come to sit". Because Whiskey has a little bit of obedience training already, I decided to introduce the e-collar to give him plenty of time to adjust with the new tool. He is certainly very wary of people and can be a little stubborn when I use the leash to guide him to the proper heel position. As we get to know each other better, I will be able to interact with him better and make training more fun for him. Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 11/29/2022
Today Whiskey and I went to meet with a couple of Offleash SoCal trainers and their pups at Home Depot! I love Home Depot visits because there is plenty of foot traffic and noise to distract our pups during our exercises. My goal is to help Whiskey feel like he conquered a new challenge and feel more confident in himself. Variety and exposure is key to helping pups like Whiskey be better at adapting to his environments and that is what I hope to continue in our sessions together. After working on "come to sit, extended sits, extended downs on place and heel", I asked a fellow trainer to work with him through some of his exercises. The purpose of this was to help Whiskey learn to enjoy working with different people and socialize him more as he is a bit on the introverted side! Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 11/30/2022
Today Whiskey and I went to the park today to meet with other Offleash SoCal trainers and their pups. We worked on fading away the use of the leash and I let him drag his long line for the most part while we worked through our “extended sits, extended downs and come to sit”. Whiskey did very well despite the distractions around him and is really grasping the concept of staying and recall. His car load up manners certainly will need the most work as it is a challenge for him to climb up into the crate in my vehicle as it is higher than most cars. I have no doubt he will be able to do it on his own soon as he has shown me that he is very willing to learn with the right handling. He made us all very proud today! Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/1/2022
Whiskey has really adjusted well into his new environment. He is happily taking treats now, doing better to go potty on his walks and wants to play and interact with the other dogs of the pack. He was in a very excitable mood for our afternoon session so I let him run around for a bit before introducing our new exercise "place". He was not too big of a fan in the beginning but settled in well. He learns quickly but still needs work on his durations. I have begun to challenge him with different words starting with the letters "co-" so as to teach him not to get off unless the word "come" is being used. It's a fun game for us both and he is loving the challenge! Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/2/2022
Today Whiskey and I trained indoors for most of the day. We worked on doorway manners and place on an elevated bed in the living room. After the rain stopped, we went to visit my friend for greeting manners and to take a nice walk around her beautiful garden. It was gloomy but Whiskey really enjoyed getting out of the house and exploring. Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/3/2022
Today Whiskey and I worked on our doorway manners completely off-leash after our afternoon session at a park in the neighborhood. He did very well considering that duration has been difficult for little Whiskey. He gets very excited when he gets home so it took a couple of tries before he settled down enough to work on extended sits and downs. His "come to sit and heel" is coming along very nicely and we will be working to fade out the use of the leash after tonight. One particular exercise Whiskey is struggling with is car load ups. Loading up in my car tends to be a little challenging but I can see that Whiskey does give it a try in the beginning but gets a little overwhelmed with the height. I will be introducing the pet ramp for him tomorrow to teach him to be more comfortable with loading up and coming off the car. Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/4/2022
Today Whiskey and I worked on “heel, come to sit and car load up manners”. Whiskey struggled a bit with jumping up into the trunk without the crate. I wanted to end the session with Whiskey being super proud of himself and feeling accomplished so I didn’t push him to jump into the crate in the car. We will definitely be working our way up to that challenge. Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/5/2022
Today Whiskey and I went to the park to train with another Offleash Trainer. I wanted Whiskey to learn to be comfortable around more people and be able to work on his exercises with whomever has the leash. As seen in the video, he often turns around to see who is walking behind him which can be distracting. By the end of the session, he was doing better to stay focused. He is doing very well with his exercises and will be moving to being more off-leash for his exercises. He still struggles to jump onto more elevated place spots but with enough encouragement, he is able to do so! Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/6/2022
Today Whiskey and I went to our favorite Home Depot! We not only got to practice all of our exercises off-leash, but he got to greet all of the friendly Home Depot employees! He did a great job with meeting new people and did not cower away from anybody in the store. He walked through crowded aisles with me and practiced place and extended sit by the cashier! This was a great way to assess whether he was ready for more exciting locations and I think he most definitely is ready. Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/7/2022
Whiskey and I went to the park today to work on all of our exercises completely off-leash! Whiskey has been such a star student and very responsive during our training sessions. He had his usually morning zoomies and then went right into our session with great energy and enthusiasm! His durations on his sits and downs are improving and his recall is really coming along nicely. I hope to continue to increase duration and distance with his extended sits and downs and will be taking him to an outdoor mall tomorrow! Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/8/2022
Whiskey and I could not make it out to the outdoor mall today as planned but we certainly made the most of our day by having some fun! We practiced all of our exercises and some fun tricks and then went on a 3 mile walk. Whiskey has been such a fun pup to teach and we are excited to show his pawrents what he has learned so far. Stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/9/2022
Today Whiskey and I went to the Westfield Century City Mall to practice for our final video. Whiskey did very well despite the loud music and the crowd. He also held his extended sits and downs well even when people approached me to ask about him. We will be going to a different outdoor mall tomorrow for our final video so stay tuned for more!
Pupdate 12/10/2022
Today Whiskey and I went to the Brea mall to take our final video! It was a lot busier at the indoor mall because of the slight rain but despite it being more chaotic, Whiskey did phenomenally well. Our biggest struggle throughout the video were the amount of people trying to approach and pet him while he was demonstrating his extended sits and downs. He did well for his greeting manners and it seems that he is a little less aloof about being touched by strangers but it's quite evident that he's more of an introvert. After our final video, we came home and finished practicing our doorway and car load up manners. We look forward to seeing his pawrents tomorrow to show off all he has learned.
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