Welcome Wyatt! A two-year-old Labrador Retriever from Sierra Madre, CA. He loves everyone he meets and is a great companion. However, he gets so excited that he pulls on the leash and jumps on people quite frequently. Wyatt also loves food and tries to sneak a sniff on the kitchen counter top. Over the next two weeks, Wyatt will learn basic and fundamental commands to make him a well rounded pup for his family so stay tuned for his PAWsome transformation!
PUPDATE 11/29/2021
Wyatt had a very eventful day today. We went to a park to work on Come to Sit. He is so energetic! He is still getting used to the feeling of the e collar but overall he is doing good. I saw some improvement today. He started off unable to stay in a Sit position while I moved away a little to allow recall. About 15 minutes later, he was staying in a Sit position long enough for me to recall him to me with the 15 ft leash. I noticed he sometimes has pouting moments so following through with commands while he pouts will be important. Eating/drinking/peeing/pooping normally.
PUPDATE 11/30/2021
I took Wyatt to the local park to practice his commands at a new location. We worked on Heel and Place mostly today. The most challenging thing for him right now is Heeling without pulling and staying in one place for an extended amount of time. Putting Wyatt on small Place objects helps him stay in one place for longer. There were a couple of dogs around and he was more interested in them than training so we will be working on that as well. He is eating/drinking/peeing/pooping normally.
PUPDATE 1/1/2021
I worked on Place at the local park with Wyatt. Overall, he is slowly getting the hang of it. He has mellowed out a little bit since being here which is good progress. I put him on other Place objects at the park and it took him a couple tries to get on objects like benches and chairs. In the video, I demonstrate how I use the e collar and the OFF command for unwanted behaviors such as jumping. Every time we walk to the car, I make him practice Heel. He did not pull on the leash as much but he tried to walk ahead of me. Since he gets very excited to get in the car, I make him stay in a sit command while I open my car trunk and the crate door. Wyatt is improving on that.
PUPDATE 12/2/2021
Wyatt had a great day today! Today was his first day in a very public setting and he did fantastic. He was very excited in the beginning but he surprised me how well he was behaving and doing the commands. There was some progress today with his Heel. He did great with the different Place objects even the smallest one seen in the picture. The one thing I noticed we really need to improve on is getting him less distracted when people walk by. There were a couple times he would smell people as we walked very close to them. We are continuing to work on stating in a command for an extended amount of time. Worked on having better manners going in the car as well and he is improving on that. Overall, I am really proud of how well he did today!
PUPDATE 12/3/2021
We mostly worked on Heeling today at the local park. Wyatt's Heeling is improving each day he is here so that is great! Having Wyatt slow down with my pace instead of me trying to keep up with his pace is making him think more and work harder. He does shake his head a lot still but his ears are not red or have discharge. I can already tell he is more controlled than when he first arrived. As I mentioned before, his Heel seems like his most difficult command so make sure to pay extra attention to the explanations in today's video. Wyatt is eating/drinking/peeing/pooping normally.
PUPDATE 12/4/2021
I took Wyatt to a local town center to expose him to a different environment and work through new distractions with all his commands. Overall, he did okay. There were some moments when he was stubborn and not listening well. His Duration commands are improving. For now, it is important for his progress to keep him close to a barrier while we are Heeling because he tends to drift off sometimes. He does excellent on different Place objects. He sometimes struggles with Come to Sit still so we are working on that. Today he had diarrhea so I will be keeping watch of that.
PUPDATE 12/5/2021
We worked mostly on the Down command today and overall he did well. The more we practiced staying in the command with distractions, the better he was at the command so that is great progress. Later, I went on a walk with him to practice Heel and he was distracted with the people walking by. I noticed he did not do well with recall/Come to Sit so we will be practicing that. His stool was better today.
PUPDATE 12/6/2021
Wyatt had a very productive and great day today. First, we went to the park and went to a tennis court to work on his off leash commands but especially Come to Sit. It is important to note a couple things. Since he is a very high energy pup, he works and trains better when he is a little tired. I used a tennis ball as a high value reward when practicing commands. For example, I had Wyatt about 15 feet away from me and I had the ball in my hand. I told him to Come and he came right to me. It seems like he understood to sit on my left side easier when I tapped my leg. Another thing that is important to note is that when he had the ball in his mouth, I used the OFF command and he would drop it. We also worked on Distance Down and Distance Sit where I tell him Sit or Down while I am far away from him. Wyatt still needs to work on Heeling a lot closer to my leg. He still barks at me when he does not want to do something. Later, I took him to an open mall to work on his commands and he did great. Eating/drinking/peeing/pooping normally.
PUPDATE 12/7/2021
took Wyatt to an outdoor mall in the valley to practice all his commands in a new setting. Overall, he did great for his own progress. As you can see in the video, his Heel is not sharp but there are a lot of positive things he is doing right. For example, he is making eye contact with me, walking by people without being distracted, and keeping at my pace. You can also see in the video that he shakes his head. He is still shaking his head frequently even when I am not using the e collar. He did great with Duration Down and Place. He did so well on Place we have been practicing Send to Place which is an advanced command! He is eating/drinking/peeing/pooping normally.
PUPDATE 12/8/2021
Wyatt had a great day today at the outdoor mall in Oxnard. It was a big day for him because I felt confident in his training to have him off leash and he did great. His Heel is still a little too far but it has improved. I noticed when I pet his head it helps get him closer. I also tried to use treats to motivate him to get closer and it worked. He did drift off when he saw another lab so we will be working on that. I have noticed that I must walk with intention when Heeling with him to encourage him to walk next to me. Using barriers I found at the mall really helped him stay on track. He did Send to Place on all the Place objects and did Distance Down. Great Work!
PUPDATE 12/9/2021
Wyatt did great today at the Northridge mall! We practiced all the commands off leash in the entire mall and he did awesome! We walked by people with no problem and his Heel has really improved. His still continues to shake his head even when no stim is applied. We have been working on Send to Place and he does well with that too. I think it helped that I played ball with him in my backyard before I took him to the mall. Awesome day!
PUPDATE 12/10/2021
I took Wyatt to the Century City mall to work on all his commands off leash. Before we arrived, I played ball with him in the backyard again to help get some energy out. He did not do so great staying in command while other dogs passed by or sometimes people when they used a high pitch tone seeing him. As seen in the video, he stayed in Extended Place while a dog walked by so it seems like he gets out of command for large dogs. His Heel was not as tight as I have seen him do, but he stayed with me the whole time Heeling next to me. Wyatt did good on Extended Place and Extended Down at the mall so that was great to see. His Come to Sit seems difficult for him sometimes. Eating/drinking/peeing/pooping normally.
PUPDATE 12/11/2021
I went to Petco today with Wyatt to work on distraction work. Overall he did well. We went through each isle and when he was not Heeling close, we used the isle as a barrier and it worked very well. I put toys around him as distractions to make sure he stayed in a Down command. I worked on Door manners there with people coming in and out and he did great at that! Can't wait to show you his new skills tomorrow!