Meet Wolfy! Wolfy is a 11 month German shepherd returning to offleash for his 1 Week board and train. Wolfy is a very sweet dog who goes to doggy daycare and gets along with other dogs. Wolfy has been through his basic obedience training but needs a touch up with improving on old bad habits. Wolfy does well with distractions but needs to be constantly playing to keep his attention on his owners. Over the next two weeks, we'll work on these problems and identify the issue to keep Wolfy a well mannered dog. Stay tuned for Wolfy's improved obedience training with his previous trainer Cristian.
Pupdate 6/10/2023
Today I got to meet my old friend Wolfy who I've trained and took care of before. I was very excited to see him, as much as he was to see me. When walking Wolfy around at the park we were at, I noticed he was very stimulated and couldn't keep his attention on me at all. I had Wolfy heel with me but it wouldn't matter since he kept trying to lead in front of me. When I used his e-collar to redirect him he started to slow his pace and give me his attention. Each time he would give me eye contact again, all I had to do was verbally praise him. I gave him a break to sniff around and give him his time to desensitize. Once he seemed calm I took him home with me and on the way home he was completely quiet.
When we arrived at my house he took a look around my neighborhood and started to familiarize his surroundings again. The first thing we did was get water and train in my backyard. I wanted to see if he remembered all of his obedience commands with the e-collar. We started to train and he seemed completely fine as if he never left my house the previous time he trained. When he saw my family member it didn't bother him but when he saw my little brother he automatically went down for my brother to pet him which was very impressive to see. We walked around the neighborhood and as he looked around he seemed to recollect the houses we used to pass by. He seemed more confident by now and as we came to corners on the sidewalks I would ask for a sit and he would follow through each time without the use of the remote. We went for a walk with no issues and he settled in with ease.
Pupdate 6/11/2023
Today I took Wolfy to a park near my house to see how he is training again in public. Around the neighborhood he did very well walking with me and maintaining his heel. He had habits branching out to the grass to pee without my permission but when redirecting him he was able to wait for my permission. When I train him on the pavement he's pretty good but when he's on grass he seems to change his behavior a little.
In the video above I'm asking for all of Wolfy's basic obedience commands that we have worked on. He seems to follow through with everything I ask but keeps some of his attention on his surroundings. We continued to train and eventually had playtime with a boy and tug toy. When playing with Wolfy I noticed he has more drive and willingness to give me his attention. We played for a while and went for one last walk around the park and through the grass.
Wolfy and Hunter have been smelling each other but haven't been playing yet. They will stay in the same room separate from each other but don't seem to have interest this time.
Pupdate 6/12/2023
This morning I took Wolfy to Wilderness park in the morning to work on his obedience and socialization amongst other dogs. When we first arrived we primarily worked on his obedience commands such as recall, place, extended down and heeling. Throughout this training session Wolfy showed no issues performing his tasks besides ending up somewhat spaced away beside me for his recall. Asking Wolfy to redirect himself once without the use of the e-collar was very common so he's very aware of what to do with me.
When a offleash friend of ours, Jose showed up we started to train the dogs near each other. At this moment I noticed Wolfy started to stimulate only because Jose's dog had consistent eye contact rather looking once than looking away. This seems to instigate Wolfy to stimulate which is where I redirect him with the use of obedience. When placing Wolfy on the bench in the video he wants to keep getting up for the moment but shortly he settles with few redirections and still training near the other dog. The longer we practiced sit, down & heel, Wolfy seemed confident again and willing to give me more of his attention and engagement.
When working on extended down the closer I break Wolfy he can run towards me but the farther I get he would sprint and end up passing me. I will work on breaking him from a far distance while keeping him calm instead of being overly excited.
Pupdate 6/13/2023
Today I took Hunter and Wolfy on a walk together around the neighborhood with no issue, even when going potty. When we returned home I gave the dogs time to socialize but Hunter doesn't seem to have as much interest in Wolfy. They will smell each other and engage for very little moments but tend to keep space away.
They both took a nap after eating so once the dogs woke up from their nap I took each outside to train. In the video above was Wolfy's play time with me, as well as improving on his drop it obedience command. When grabbing a toy I noticed Wolfy has a habit of just trying to grab it out of my hand which is inappropriate. I take my time with different toys getting Wolfy used to letting them all go. I have one of his toys he's familiar with and continue going back and forth grabbing the toy and letting it go. He is typically aware of my fingers but also keeping in mind what toy I have in my hand and how to maneuver it around Wolfy without instigating his urge to grab it. Once he's rewarded with the toy I will still ask for him to come and he will follow through coming back to play again. We had some neighbors pass by with their dogs and Wolfy seemed alerted once seeing a dog, but I redirected him as usual and asked him to go into a down which he did. He cried a little but I continued to be verbal with him by asking him enough, which is to calm down.
After we got some water then continued on his door manners. When Im ready to take him outside I've noticed he's trying to pass by me at times. It hasn't been all the time but randomly he just wants to go. I took the time to keep this improved and maintain a better heel once walking out the door. Asking for his heel out the door keeps him more calm and relaxed rather than giving him the initiative to run out the door controlling the situation. I will continue to work on this making sure he's not so energetic leaving the house.
Pupdate 6/14/2023
This morning I took Wolfy to Hillcrest Park in Fullerton alongside my little brother. The goal for today was to remain calm and slow walking throughout the park. My little brother would be a distraction running or walking around me and Wolfy.
When we first arrived Wolfy was excited trying to branch out and smell everything around us as always. I asked him for his recall then his sit to get him back into his obedience. Once he's placed by my side I'll ask for his heel obedience command and start the walk. While walking throughout Hillcrest Wolfy had small moments of trying to lead but just talking to him seems to keep his heel well maintained. We passed by squirrels which never caught Wolfy's attention, but when we passed by other people with dogs he seems to always take interest with dogs that stare at him for too long. This has been very noticeable since other dogs that glance at him for a second don't seem to stimulate Wolfy. When training near the fountain he didn't seem bothered by the splash noise which is good. As we went around the park we ended up on one side of the park that has a lot of stairs for exercise. We went up all the stairs together without any issue of Wolfy trying to lead or pull forward. I would randomly ask Wolfy for his sit command randomly throughout the park and make him wait for him break just to keep him calm without acting on impulse. Wolfy did really good visiting Hillcrest today and was rewarded heavily with love and praise.
Pupdate 6/15/2023
This morning Wolfy and I took a trip to Santa Monica Pier in LA to work on more obedience training. Wolfy did very well walking to the pier without being overly excited. As we passed people he had no issue letting strangers pass us, even if they gave Wolfy baby talk when seeing him in his heel. When practicing his obedience training we only had to redirect his place command when he wouldn't sit properly. This only happened twice and we were able to continue to do more throughout the pier. The longer we stayed Wolfy's heel was getting slower and very little did Wolfy try to stay far behind.
When we took a break by the end of the pier we had numerous guests come up to us to pet Wolfy and some of the other trainers' dogs from offleash. Wolfy had stayed in his down most of his encounters with his guests. There was only one child who said hi to Wolfy and I noticed he gets very excited greeting kids. Wolfy did get up but had no jumping issue and stayed by the Child's hip allowing him to pet Wolfy's belly. In the video above a woman said hi to Wolfy but I first had him get into his down. Once he did I took a step back and allowed her to go up to him. His down obedience command is very good so the quality of the command should keep him from getting up with so much practice. As soon as she's done I break Wolfy to let him know as always he's doing a good job.
Pupdate 6/16/2023
This morning I took Wolfy to Home Depot to work on more of his obedience training around people. When we first arrived Wolfy was very excited to be outside like always but was very vocal before going inside the store. I kept him outside working on his heel and sit until he seemed more relaxed. When passing by the garden door that led into the store I had Wolfy sit before asking him to heel again going into a new environment. Keeping Wolfy notified with his obedience commands when visiting every place we go to keeps him happy. I noticed at times when he heard random noises throughout the store he kept looking around to see where it was coming from. I would get his attention back on me and continue walking as if nothing happened.
We stayed by the lumber section for a moment working on recall and extended down. When Wolfy was in a down he had no issue letting people pass by. There were certain people who would give eye contact too long to Wolfy which started to get him excited. This seems to always work to stimulate Wolfy if it's just a tiny bit. I will still give him his off obedience command to ignore it and his attention will go somewhere else or to me.
If this continues to happen I'll remind Wolfy with praise when he does well ignoring his distractions.
I have been walking Wolfy and Hunter together and today they were both training next to each other mimicking the same obedience commands. Even though they can walk and train right beside each other they still don't interact or play as much. Wolfy does have interest but Hunter seems to want space which is fine. They both respect each others boundaries and try to engage with each other's at times but haven't succeeded in starting their friendship.
Pupdate 6/17/2023
This morning I took Hunter and Wolfy on their walk together this morning before it started to get hot. The heat started to kick in so I kept the dogs in for most of the day until the weather started to cool down. Once Hunter finished his training I brought Wolfy out to play first to get some pent up energy out. We played with his toy and worked on his off obedience command as usual and he was more persistent to give me his toy without being anxious. He is very aware of grabbing the toy from one side so I always stick one end of the toy out instead of grabbing it in a way that can allow my fingers to get caught while Wolfy tries to grab it from me. He has been very close to my fingers at times but has never actually bit me.
After playing we worked on Wolfy's food manners as usual. He does well waiting most of the time but can be vocal and start to bark if he's excited. Since he has been staying with me he has only been redirected once with the remote the first night we practiced our food manners. Everyday has been easier and just the sound of my voice Wolfy can catch his mistakes and redirect himself back into a sit or down. In the video above when I step outside Wolfy gets up but I noticed outside the window so I asked him to go back into his down. Wolfy follows through and I'm able to continue the practice as usual.
Later as the sun went down I took the dogs out again for another walk and went to a gated area where I was able to let the dogs roam around and relax. Hunter and Wolfy tried socializing but the dogs stayed distant as usual. We stayed here for about 20 minutes before going home and calling it a day.
Pupdate 6/18/2023
This morning I took Hunter and Wolfy on their usual walk together and after we finished I had them try to socialize one last time but it wasn't successful. This is more of Hunter's decision making and personality which I can't control when socializing dogs. Wolfy is very friendly with Hunter and has tried multiple times to signal him to play but hasn't happened, but they will socialize amongst each other even laying across from one another.
Later on in the day once it started to cool down I took Wolfy to a park nearby my house to work on a new obedience command. Wolfy's new obedience command is under, which is to place himself down under a table or something leveled for his height. This is very useful in case of dining situations, even keeping Wolfy in the shade in case it's an outdoor dining situation. I wouldn't recommend that this is something Wolfy does when first going outside. As long as he's had his walk and playtime after some time when relaxing he can be placed outside or under a table for certain scenarios.
I walk up to the side of the table and guide my finger right under the table. I will ask Wolfy for his under command and finish it by asking for down as well. Once Wolfy places himself under and into his down I'll make space and keep him there until he's given another obedience command. Once we finished I asked Wolfy for his break and his nose guided him to the left of me for a brief moment but I still asked for him to come to me so I could give him his praise.
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