Yoshi | Rottweiler | Downey, CA | In - Training
- priscillaoffleashs
- Aug 21, 2022
- 9 min read
Updated: Sep 4, 2022
Meet Yoshi! She is a 6 month old Rottweiler from Downey, CA who has joined us for our 2 week Board and Train program. Over these next two weeks we will be working on building a strong foundation for Yoshi’s obedience to create consistency with her commands, teach her how to properly play without the puppy biting, and practice Greeting Manners when around new people. Yoshi tends to become very distracted when around her own shadow, chasing it whenever she gets the chance. Our ultimate goal is to have her Off Leash trained! Stay tuned for her 14 day transformation!
Pupdate 8/21/2022
Today Yoshi and I went on a small stroll in my neighborhood before getting her settled in. We played in the backyard together and hung out. We then worked on some crate training and Yoshi took very well to the crate. We will begin introducing her to some more training tomorrow!
Pupdate 8/22/2022
Yoshi and I began our work today focusing on teaching her how to Come to Sit by my left hand side and how to hold her Extended Sit. We started by guiding her with the leash to Come from the right hand side to turn behind me and stay seated on my left hand side ready to Heel. Since Yoshi already had a private lesson with me before I can tell she remembered how to follow leash pressure when I helped guide her.
Yoshi is very playful and loves to jump to initiate play. I correct this by popping the leash upwards and reminding her to Sit. Once she sits for an extended period of time I reward her. I was able to circle around her and step away a few steps while she stayed seated. We will begin working with the E collar tomorrow!
Pupdate 8/23/2022
Yoshi and I went on a trip to the local park. We worked on our Heel, Come to Sit, and Extended Sit. Heel is the placement of Yoshi walking with me on my left hand side, checking in with me frequently, sitting when I stop walking and turning when I turn. If Yoshi didn’t turn with me I applied a leash pop in the direction I wanted her to go. After a few frequent turns, Yoshi Heeled next to me consistently. I cue Heel whenever we move forward from a stationary position and before we turn so Yoshi knows to turn with me. Whenever she voluntarily looks at me I mark it with a Yes and reward to build engagement. Yoshi began to offer me her attention more often. We then worked on Come to Sit. Yoshi responds well to hand signals. I utilized hand signals and footwork to help her come behind me and Sit on my left hand side.
When we are out and about together, Yoshi tends to be very alert of her surroundings. She barks when she sees people passing by us. I cue Off to Yoshi when she does along with a leash pop and stimulation from the E collar. We began to walk by more crowds of people to desensitize Yoshi around unfamiliar faces. When she looked at a crowd then checked in with me I rewarded her. This helps teach Yoshi to check in with me in those uncertain situations, instead of feeling the need to make her own decision to alert me. Towards the end of the session I gave her frequent breaks to give her some time to explore her surroundings. Good work Yoshi!
Pupdate 8/24/2022
Today Yoshi and I ventured out to a regional park. We had the opportunity to work near other trainer’s and their dogs. After we Heeled together around the park, I introduced Yoshi to the Place command. Place is the action of Yoshi jumping onto an elevated surface, ready to Sit or lay Down. We haven’t worked on Down yet so we had her perform an Extended Sit while in Place. In order to build drive, I sprinted towards the bench with Yoshi to motivate her to jump. Once Yoshi jumped onto Place, I rewarded her then released her. I wanted to first focus on getting her up and down from Place fluently. Once she felt comfortable with just jumping up, we then worked on building duration. If Yoshi tried to release herself, I stepped forward then reminded her to Sit. Yoshi was able to hold her Extended Place for up to 30 seconds. We then worked on her Come to Sits. Yoshi is very consistent with her Come to Sit which is great! I hardly have to add any footwork or leash pressure to help her come towards me. Next we will work on Down together.
Once we got home I introduced Yoshi to my other Board and train pup Red. They got along great and chased each other around the whole backyard.
Pupdate 8/25/2022
Yoshi and I ventured out to the beach today! We had a long walk around the beach to let Yoshi sniff around and get some exposure to her new surroundings. We then began to work on our Heel. Yoshi is very consistent with her Heel, checking in with me frequently and matching my pace. We came across many crowds of people and although Yoshi was curious, she did not alert bark. Anytime I saw her fixate on anybody I cued Off along with a pop of the leash. It is okay for Yoshi to look but not fixate because fixating leads to her becoming reactive. I reward her more frequently for eye contact when we are around men or crowds of people which are triggers for her barking.
We then worked on Place paired with Down. Since this was our first time working on Down together I added slight leash pressure towards the ground as I gave Yoshi the hand signal of my palms facing the ground. At first Yoshi resisted to go Down. I helped her go down by stretching out her feet and rewarding her as soon as she went Down with relaxed elbows. The more we repeatedly practiced this, the quicker she was with performing Down. We will keep working on Down to build fluency but we are off to a good start!
Yoshi was able to hold her Extended Sit for a minute and a half in a moderately busy environment with kids running around behind her at the jungle gym. Excellent work Yoshi!
Pupdate 8/26/2022
Yoshi and I went to the beach today! There was a lot going on there which was great exposure for Yoshi. As soon as we got there I noticed that Yoshi was nervous around bicycles. We began to Heel together near the bicycles. I encouraged Yoshi to stay on my left side and not veer off to my right side in order to avoid the bicycles. As she worked through this and checked in with me instead of fixating on the bikes, I rewarded her. Through classical conditioning Yoshi will begin to pair the sight of bicycles with rewards which helps change her negative perception of bicycles. As we worked through this she began to confidently Heel by the bicycles in no time! We then worked on her Place with Down. She was able to hold it for a minute and a half as crowds of people, dogs and bikes passed her. Great work Yoshi!
Pupdate 8/27/2022
Yoshi and I began our day by Heeling together to the local park! Yoshi’s Heel has remained consistent and she makes sure to match my pace. She is very attentive, Coming to Sit by my side frequently with hardly any leash pressure needed to guide her. When she is interested in something while working, I cue Off. Her Off has improved and she no longer tests it, immediately stopping what she is doing to offer a Sit or Come. Since Yoshi has shown such an improvement, we will begin to use a 15ft leash tomorrow and are one step closer towards our Off Leash goal. We will continue to add distance, distractions and a longer duration for all of her commands.
Pupdate 8/28/2022
Yoshi and I began our work with the 15ft leash today which added distance between us and helps prepare her for being Off Leash. I hardly gave Yoshi any leash pressure which helped her figure out on her own what I was asking of her when calling her to come. It is important to have a solid recall before completely practicing Off Leash which is why our focus today was her Come to Sit. In the beginning Yoshi was unsure what I was asking of her without guiding her with the leash. I then offered hand signals and used my footwork to help her Come and Sit by my side. I only rewarded the Come to Sits that she performed perfectly. We then worked on her Place command which she was able to hold for two minutes as I rewarded her in increments of 30 seconds while she was in the Down position. Towards the end of the session we worked on Heel while the leash was dragging on the floor. Good work Yoshi!
Pupdate 8/29/2022
Yoshi and I ventured out to the local park today! We worked on everything she has learned so far, with the leash dragging. Yoshi is able to perform all of her commands from a distance of 15ft. She Came to Sit by my side consistently, even while dogs were all around us. There was a jungle gym that we had the opportunity to work with. I cued Yoshi to Place on top of a wobbly board where she had to balance herself in order to stay on. At first I helped her balance herself and as her confidence improved, she was able to do it all on her own! I then had her climb onto an elevated ramp, that moved as she climbed it. It was challenging yet she performed quite well and confidently! Excellent work Yoshi!
Pupdate 8/30/2022
Yoshi and I practiced proofing all of her commands at the local park today. She was able to perform all of her commands from a distance of 15 ft. or more. She held her Extended Sit and Down for 2 minutes minimum and was fluently coming to Sit, even away from distractions! We are working on keeping her Heel even closer to my left leg by making frequent turns and encouraging her to catch up.
Pupdate 8/31/2022
Yoshi and I worked on proofing all of her commands that she has learned so far Off Leash! We came to the Del Amo Mall where we prepped her to begin filming for her final video. She did well with staying by my left side during her Heel. She struggled with staying in the Sit position while I walked more than 10 ft away from her in a crowded area. This was Yoshi’s first time practicing in a highly distracting environment Off Leash. Once we repeatedly practiced gradually building distance between us she became more confident with her Sit. Her Place command was great! She let friendly people say hi to her while staying in Place and waited for my release cue Break. Great work Yoshi!
Pupdate 9/1/2022
Yoshi and I went on a trip to the mall again today. We added some distance between us and worked together on all floors of the mall! We practiced proper greeting manners with new people and worked around a lot of distractions as the mall was very packed today. Yoshi went into an elevator for the first time today and was very confident during the entire process. I reassured her with a yes as she sat during the elevator ride, then rewarded her. She has held her commands in a crowded environment for up to two minutes. She no longer barks at new people that pass by and checks in with me instead. We focused our work on her Extended Sit today as she struggled with it when we initially arrived. I believe this was due to the slippery floors because she did well with it once in Place. Good work Yoshi!
Pupdate 9/2/2022
Yoshi and I ventured out to Fashion Island today! When we first arrive somewhere Yoshi is a bit unsure of her environment. Once we Heel around together, Yoshi then appears to be more relaxed in her new environment. She performed all of her commands fluently, Coming to Sit by my side every time I call her. We had the chance to practice her Extended Place and Down command while I walked over 15 ft away from her. She can hold her Place command for up to two minutes in distracting environments. Excellent work Yoshi!
Pupdate 9/3/2022
Yoshi and I enjoyed our last day together by working on proofing her manners that she has been practicing with me daily. Her routine has been to wait Sit or Lay Down while her food is being served. Once the food is put on the floor, that still is not her cue to be released. It takes great impulse control for Yoshi to stay in position until released with her Cue Break. If she ever gets up before being released, I body block her from getting to the food and pick the food up. Yoshi learned that the food will soon be available once she waits patiently for it. I then have her check in with me by calling her name. Whenever Yoshi hears her name being called, she knows to look my way. After offering eye contact, I then release Yoshi with her cue Break.
Yoshi has also been practicing Door Manners with me daily. She sits voluntarily now whenever approaching a door, which is her way of asking permission to cross. Routine is extremely important when applying boundaries. With consistency, Yoshi will always see the door as a boundary.
After training together she had a fun play date with her friends that she has made during her Off Leash So Cal journey. Although she will be missed from her furry friends and I, we absolutely can’t wait to show you what she has learned and the progress that she has made!
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