Meet Zero, the spirited German shepherd pup! He's all about playtime, cuddles, and chewing on everything in sight. Still figuring out the world, he might bark at new faces and every dog at the park, but it's just his curious nature. He is on a two-week journey to fine-tune his manners, potty skills, and socialization.
During this transformation, He's not just about refining obedience – he's also diving into the art of doggy manners. Whether it's learning the ropes of polite behavior or figuring out the right spot for potty business, he's on a mission to be the most well-behaved pup in town. Socialization is key, so plan to see Zero out there, mingling with other furballs, making friends, and soaking up those valuable life skills. Watch out for this curious and pure-hearted pup as he embarks on this adventure of growth and discovery!
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Pupdate: 1/4/2023
After picking up Zero, we headed over to the park to get to know each other! He was a little standoffish at first, and barked at me a few times, but he pretty quickly warmed up to me. He definitely likes to pull on his leash, so a lot of our time was spent working on his Heel command, but we also started on his Come To Sit command. For Come To Sit, I want Zero to come to my right side, walk around my legs, and sit at my left side with his ears at my knee. This is our basic recall command, and it flows very well into our heel! After warming up to me, he started responding fairly well and he seems to be getting the motions of these commands down!
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Pupdate: 1/5/2024
Zero and I went to Almansor Park today! He wasn't very happy when I first woke him up this morning, and he snapped and barked at me. We walked to the park which served as a great way to work on his Heel! There are a couple points we have to cross the street at crosswalks, which I noticed Zero didn't like very much. He pulled back on the leash a little bit and whined. These streets are fairly quiet, so I don't think it was from vehicle noises. On our walk back, he was much more comfortable.
At the park, we worked more on his Heel and his Come To Sit commands! He's getting pretty good with Heel, and he's only hesitating a little bit with Come To Sit. Other than snapping at me, Zero did a great job today!
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Pupdate: 1/6/2024
Zero and I went to Almansor Park today! It was actually way more crowded than yesterday, but Zero still did an okay job! While working in the less populated areas, he did quite well with his commands and behavior. Even walking by the loud basketball games, Zero's Heel wasn't too bad! While passing a group of kids kicking a soccer ball around, Zero got pretty excited and wanted to chase the ball, barked at it, and wanted to keep looking at it as we were leaving. For a situation like this, I want to use the Off command! This is our "do not do" command and can be used whenever Zero displays a number of unwanted behaviors, such as barking at people or jumping! He's still learning this command, so he found it very difficult to stop staring at the ball, but generally, I'd like Zero to bring his attention away from a distraction when asked. Great job today, though!
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Pupdate: 1/7/2023
Zero had a potty accident in his crate this morning, which he stepped in, so he got a bath before we set out for the day! Other than this, he's been very good so far about holding his potty breaks for outside.
At Bell Gardens Veterans Park today, we started working on Zero's Place command! For Place, I want Zero to hop onto a raised object, such as a bench or the place cot used in today's video. Ideally, I want him to get all four paws on the object, and remain there until I either release him from command or ask him to perform a new command. So far, he's doing extremely well with this one, and he seems to love jumping on the cot. A lot of the time, he would excitedly hop on and then curl up and look up at me with his puppy eyes.
He's doing well with his commands, however he definitely got distracted quite a bit anytime another dog walked by. He didn't bark at all today, but he was still staring at potential playmates from miles away!
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Pupdate: 1/8/2023
Zero went to Maple Park today for training! We were around several trainers and their dogs, as well as some other patrons of the park. Zero did a fantastic job around each distraction except for one that we hadn't run into until today. There were a couple toddlers that Zero was very perplexed by, and he wanted to bark at them. The second time, I noticed his curiosity just before his bark could come out and used his Off command, along with his E-collar, to direct his attention back to me. He didn't seem to have the urge to bark at anyone else today, just the very small children.
For his commands, he did much better with his Come To Sit today! His Heel is still coming along nicely, as is his Place. We worked on his Down command today, which he wasn't a huge fan of, but he ended up doing a good job with it!
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Pupdate: 1/9/2024
Zero and I went to Almansor Park today for training! We spent a lot of our time walking by the playgrounds, since Zero seems to have an aversion to small children. Today he didn't have quite as much of a reaction to the babies, but he still showed a lot of interest.
In his video today, you can see Zero practicing his Place, Come To Sit and Down commands! This bench proved to be a bit more challenging than some of the other place objects we've been using. He had trouble balancing at first, and at one point he got slightly frustrated and tried to nip me. Aside from that, Zero had a great day at the park!
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Pupdate: 1/10/2023
Zero and I went to Eugene A. Obregon Park today! While working through each of his commands, I tried letting the leash drag on the ground. Allowing the leash to drag gives me some idea of how he might perform off leash while still having access to the leash should I need it. His Heel was actually very good with the leash dragging, however for his recall, he very rarely wanted to perform his Come To Sit command without me picking up the leash. He even tried to walk away from me a few times. We'll continue to work on this, however I'm currently unsure if allowing him off leash is the best option currently.
He was around several little ones, since the park features a large playground! He did a much better job today of trying to ignore the children.
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Pupdate: 1/11/2024
Zero did a great job at the park today. We continued trying to work with him with his leash dragging. He was still very much a puppy, but did an amazing job considering his baby brain. He understands where I want him at any given moment, he just struggles to get there! He's doing a great job, though!
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Pupdate: 1/12/2024
Wow! Zero did an amazing job at Santa Monica Pier today! This was by far the most distractions he has been around with me, but he really showed me how far he's come.
He performed each command around varying levels of distractions, and even did some leash dragging! In a strange turn of events, he actually did a better job working with his leash dragging at the pier than he did at the parks the last couple of days. We believe this is because he only wants to play while we're at the park, but at the pier, he was much more interested in staying close to me, which resulted in tighter commands.
He also got to practice his greeting manners! A couple people wanted to pet him, at which point I informed them that he is training, and needs to remain seated while receiving pets. He got up a few times, and let out a baby woof, but didn't fully bark at them and allowed them to pet him very politely! Great job, Zero!
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Pupdate: 1/13/2024
Zero and I took a walk to Almansor Park today for training! On the walk there, he showed a behavior I hadn't seen before. While sitting at a cross walk, he moved each time a car came by in a way that told me he might have chased the car if I wasn't on top of him. This is what it seemed like to me, however, he also could have been uncomfortable with the noise and stood up out of nervousness. We've walked this exact route several times prior to today and I did not observe this behavior. Either way, it is much safer to make sure he has a secure leash and collar when near roadways.
While at the park, however, he did much better than Wednesday and Thursday! He wasn't quite as responsive as yesterday at the pier, which is almost bewildering to me. I must assume that the grassy park shows Zero an environment in which he is used to playing rather than working, and the abrupt change to the pier had him on his toes and relying on me much more for guidance. Either way, he's showing good progress in every area!
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Pupdate: 1/14/2024
Zero, while still on leash, did a great job all day. No potty accidents. He held his need to potty until we went out in the morning. He did get excited while around the playground, but did very well to regain his positions when asked, and didn't try to jump on any of the little kids!
When approached by strangers, he wagged his tail, but refrained from barking, and showed much improvement with his greeting manners!
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Pupdate: 1/15/2024
Zero and I went to Studio City Recreation Center today! He got a lot of time around many children, as well as tons of other dogs! After being out and working for about an hour, I took his leash off and we went through his commands off leash for the first time! As long as I stayed on top of him and reminded him of the task at hand, he did a great job!
While on the playground, he managed to walk by dozens of running children without trying to chase them or jump on them! Also, no potty accidents today.
Zero and I went to Garfield Park today! There weren't very many people or other distractions around, so Zero was able to go off leash a little sooner, and more often than yesterday! He still definitely needs a lot of warmup before he's calm enough to be off leash, but with enough patience and repetition, he's been doing very well!
Pupdate: 1/17/2024
Zero and I went to Santa Anita Mall today for training! He was off leash for much of the time and did an amazing job there. There were a surprising number of children around, but he did a great job ignoring them, even off leash. In the above video, you can see him heeling around the mall off leash, and even holding a Sit position around lots of mall goers.
I also wanted to show one of the household manners we've been working on. At the end of the video you can see Zero holding a polite sit before being allowed to eat his food. Practicing this impulse control can be very important for his overall behavior, and is specifically useful if I accidentally drop something that he shouldn't eat while I cook. He loves his kibble, so this exercise has been tough for him, but he's doing a great job!
Zero will be going home tomorrow, and I must say I will miss him a lot once he's gone! He's made incredible progress, and I'm very proud of him!
