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Zoro | Goldendoodle | Paramount, CA | In - Training
Meet Zoro! A 9 month old energetic Goldendoodle from Paramount, CA who has joined us for our Two Week Board and Train Program. Over these next two weeks Zoro and I will be working on his puppy nipping while overstimulated, pulling on the leash, and recall as our ultimate goal is to achieve Off Leash obedience! Stay tuned for his Two Week Transformation!
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Pupdate 11/13/2022
Zoro and I had the opportunity to bond together as we got him all settled in to his new temporary home. He was a bit resistant to the kennel and needed help with leash guidance to enter. We will begin working on obedience tomorrow!Â
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Pupdate 11/14/2022
Zoro and I took a trip to the park today where we introduced him to the e collar and at first, a 3 mm herm Sprenger prong collar. Zoro resisted leash pressure initially with the prong collar, putting his arms up on top of the leash and vocalizing as he rolled around. He tried to redirect his frustration towards me and nip. I applied spatial pressure as I stepped into his space, which helped him yield space to me and eventually calm down. Once we worked through this I switched him to a slip lead which he responded much better to and did not resist nearly as much.Â
Whenever we come across other pups, Zoro tends to fixate and not follow through with his Extended Sit until I apply a few leash pop along with stimulation of the e collar. We then began to work on the name game with him which is the action of rewarding him whenever he offers me his attention on cue (after hearing his name) or voluntarily. This builds engagement during training and teaches him to check in with me.Â
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Pupdate 11/15/2022
Zoro and I had a fun day of training as we introduced him to Heel, and Come to Sit. Heel is the action of Zoro staying by my left hand side, turning when I turn, sitting when I stop walking, and checking in with me frequently. I mark it with a Yes and reward whenever Zoro checks in with me on cue or voluntarily. If he pulls ahead, I pop the leash upwards and turn the opposite direction. There were plenty of distractions to Heel by, which was a challenge for Zoro. He has a high prey drive and wanted to chase the squirrels that were surrounding us. I popped the leash, applied stimulation of the e collar  and Cued Off, which he responded to.Â
We then practiced his recalls. When I call him to Come he is expected to come around me and Sit on my left hand side. Having a reliable recall is extremely important since our ultimate goal is for him to be Off Leash! He is responding quicker to this which is great.
Good work Zoro!Â
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Pupdate 11/16/2022
Zoro and I ventured out to The Citadel Outlets today where we introduced him to the commands Place & Down. The Place command is great to use to build confidence with Zoro, as well as prevent unwanted behaviors such as jumping on guests when greeting them at home or using a familiar cot in an unfamiliar environment to help acclimate him to his surroundings.Â
Zoro at first was a little hesitant to jump onto a small surface. After some encouragement and guidance with the leash he worked up the courage to jump and perform a Down until released with the cue Break! We will now work on building duration and keeping distance between us for his commands.Â
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Pupdate 11/17/2022
Zoro and I had the chance to proof all of his commands & work on his Manners as he said hi to friendly people that wanted to say hi. With plenty of structure and guidance from me, he did well and sat while being pet. There were a few reactive dogs that I had to create distance from. Once we Heeled a bit further away at a threshold he responded to, he did well with his Heel and was able to pass by them. Good work Zoro!Â
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Pupdate 11/18/2022
Zoro and I worked on all of his commands while weaning him off leash pressure. Not using leash pressure to guide him anymore gets him in the habit of figuring things out with more body language/ visual cues. After a few repetitions he began to grasp what was asked of him and followed my signals to Come and Sit by my side. He is much more fluent with his commands, now we will keep working on getting him more responsive to the e collar and less reliant on the leash.Â
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Pupdate 11/19/2022
Zoro and I spent the day working on all of his commands near distractions like groups of people, dogs, Santa taking pictures with kids, etc. Zoro practiced his greeting manners as he said hi to friendly kids that wanted to say hi to him. He was such a sweet boy and let her hug him as he sat. I rewarded him for this interaction as well as other behaviors he has begun to offer voluntarily, for example checking in with me frequently.Â
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Pupdate 11/20/2022
Zoro and I spent the day weaning him off leash pressure. A reliable recall is imperative when Off leash training.  Initially in our training session I warmed him up with slight leash pressure to Come to Sit. After he demonstrated consistency, I dropped the leash and utilized more visuals along with stimulation of the e collar. If he sat facing me, I stepped into him to help straighten out his posture, facing the same direction as me. We then Heeled together practicing figure 8’s. He did well with staying by my side, turning when I turn and sitting when I stop walking. Great job Zoro!Â
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Pupdate 11/21/2022
Zoro and I had the opportunity to work on proofing his commands with many dogs present as a distraction for him. We practiced his Heel with the leash dragging as we made some laps around the park and explored. His Come to Sit is improving however he still needs help at times with slight leash pressure. At times he can resist e collar stimulation and tries to avoid it by turning the opposite way. I will keep guiding him with leash pressure when he does this and only stop the stimulation when he is coming back to my direction.
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Pupdate 11/22/2022
Zoro has learned boundaries, not jumping on the door to open it anymore. He has learned that when he sits and wait patiently, the door will open. If he gets up, the door closes on him. The door is an important threshold to remain consistent with so Zoro won’t have a habit of being the first one out.Â
We then worked on his Off leash obedience at the citadel outlets to help prepare him for his final video!Â
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Pupdate 11/23/2022
Zoro and I went on a trip to the Outlets today to work on his Off Leash obedience some more. He has been able to perform his commands more fluently Off Leash as we only use the leash the initial 15 minutes or so of arriving somewhere new. Once Zoro has warmed up to his environment and shows consistency, I take the leash off to practice proofing all of his commands. He can come to sit from a distance of about 10 ft away and Heels next to my left hand side, even as reactive dogs passed by us. He kept checking in frequently. At times he is hesitant to jump onto Place so we have been emphasizing our work on that today. After practicing on different surfaces he did not hesitate nearly as much.
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Pupdate 11/24/2022
Zoro and I enjoyed the day together practicing his Door Manners, Food Manners, and Greeting Manners as we had visitors at home. He is such a friendly pup who loves people and even kids! Zoro ran around with the pack and had a blast his Thanksgiving with his furry friends! I included a video of our training day yesterday while at the Outlets.Â
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Pupdate 11/25/2022
Zoro and I Heeled together to the local park to work on all of his commands near plenty of distractions such as dogs, squirrels, ducks, etc. He did well with staying by my side with all these distractions present and reliably came to sit by my side when cued to. He does not try to approach other dogs while in the Heel. We passed by a reactive dog and Zoro did not break his Heel.Â
Once we got back home he ran around with the pack and socialized!Â
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Pupdate 11/26/2022
Zoro and I started our day with working on his Food Manners. He is expected to hold his Sit or Down while being fed. After the food bowl is placed on the floor, that is not his cue to get up. His cue to eat is when I release him with the Cue Break. Although tempted, Zoro was able to hold his sit while I eventually went out of sight.Â
Zoro has overall become more confident, can hold his Place and Extended Sit for a minimum of two minutes, and can Come to Sit Off Leash from about 20 ft away. I recommend constantly taking Zoro to new environments. Since he can be a nervous boy at times, desensitization to new places will only further improve his training. He is a loving boy who needs a lot of guidance, structure and leadership to thrive and follow instructions. He has come a long way and we can not wait to show you what he has learned. Thank you for trusting me with Zoro!Â
