Zuri | Lagotto Romagnolo | Los Angeles, CA | In Training

Meet Zuri! She's a five month old Lagotto Romagnolo from Los Angeles, California here for our Two-Week Board and Train Program. Zuri is very sweet and playful, but she has trouble with play biting, pulling on her leash, barking at other dogs, and following basic commands. She also needs potty training, and work on her household manners, as she likes to try to chew and eat anything she can get her paws on! Over the next fourteen days, we'll work on Zuri's manners inside and outside the house, get her up to speed with her potty training, work on her basic obedience skills, and show her how to be the best pup she can possibly be! Stay tuned for Zuri's two week transformation!

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Pupdate: 3/19/2023

After picking up Zuri, we stayed at Highlands Park for a while to get to know each other. She is very friendly and she's starting to warm up to me! She seems to understand the Sit command, however we definitely need to work on her ability to hold a sit and her responsiveness when asked to perform the command. After the park, we went home and I let Zuri sniff around my house and got her used to living here. She seems to be settling in well so far!

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Pupdate: 3/20/2023

Zuri and I went to Belvedere Park today for training! She had a potty accident this morning, which is perfectly normal on her first day of potty training, but she lashed out at me when I took her to bathe. Zuri managed to bite me a couple of times during this interaction. Strangely, she was calm again when she was actually in the tub. She also let me pick her up after the bath and she got into the kennel in my car without complaint! After arriving at the park, she was very reluctant to come out of the crate, though. When coaxing her out of the crate she had a small reactive moment again until she walked out of the crate. Once she did she tucked her head under my arm and side of my body. Although the morning was a bit rough for Zuri, she started picking up on her first new command fairly quickly! For Zuri's Come To Sit command, I want her to walk to my right side when asked, move around my legs and sit at my left side with her ears at my knee. She definitely still has a lot to learn, but she progressed very well with this command today! We just worked with leash pressure today to not overwhelm her after the morning.

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Pupdate: 3/21/2023

Zuri and I went to Almansor Park a few times today when the rain allowed! The rest of our day was spent working at home. Zuri didn't have a potty accident this morning, and hasn't had one so far today! In today's video, you can see Zuri perform a few Come To Sit commands, and she's getting better at it at a steady rate. We also worked on her Heel command. For Heel, I want Zuri to walk nicely at my left side with her ears at my knee. As you can see, she still likes to try to pull in a different direction than I'm walking, but she's already improved her Heel since I picked her up! Zuri's stool was a little loose this morning, so I added some pumpkin to her dinner, which should help settle her stomach.

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Pupdate: 3/22/2023

Zuri and I went to Home Depot today to try to escape the rain! She generally did a good job performing her commands. She was a bit wary of passing carts, and there were several larger dogs around us which she needed warming up to. She also liked to try to say hi to other people. She definitely needs more work in these types of environments, but for her first outing with me to a relatively crowded space, I'm very pleased with her performance today! She piddled a little bit in her car kennel, but no major accidents today! Her stool was also normal, but I added pumpkin to her meals today just in case!

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Pupdate: 3/23/2023

Zuri and I went to Montebello Mall today for training. She did very well! She was still a little bit nervous around all the distractions, but she seemed to ease into it as the day went on. She still likes to look around and gets distracted while Heeling, but she's getting better each day! While recording the above video, someone came up and wanted to pet the dogs. Zuri did a great job of holding her sit while the man petted her. When he stopped to pet my personal pup, who was riding on my back, Zuri got a little jealous and tried to jump to get his attention. When Zuri jumps or does anything I don't want, we use the Off command, as well as a light stimulation with her E collar. Off is our "do not do" command, and can be used when Zuri jumps, chews, barks at another dog, and a variety of other situations. Great job today, Zuri!

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Pupdate: 3/24/2023

Zuri and I went to Santa Monica Pier today! This was definitely the most commotion Zuri's been around with me. She was a little bit nervous at first, but she very quickly cheered up when she found out there were pigeons on the pier! Her nerves turned into excitement about the distractions, but she behaved well throughout the day nonetheless. We had several people come up to us to pet Zuri, and just like yesterday, Zuri did an amazing job sitting for her pets, but then kept wanting more when the petting stopped. She hasn't had any potty mistakes yet today!

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Pupdate: 3/25/2023

Zuri and I went to Almansor Park today for training. It was very crowded but Zuri still did a wonderful job. We worked on her Place command as well as all of her other commands! We also started working with Zuri with her leash dragging. Having the leash drag allows me to get an idea of how she might perform off leash while still having access to the leash should I need it. Her leash dragging commands started out a bit rough this morning, but she pretty quickly readjusted! She's doing well with each command now, however she still needs a lot of work on her ability to hold her positions. In the above video, you can see she does a great job of responding to me, but she breaks her positions several times in an attempt to stay closer to me. We'll definitely work on that, but for today she did a great job!

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Pupdate: 3/26/2023

Zuri and I went to Garfield Park today for training! It was a nice day, and Zuri enjoyed her time in the sun! She continued to further her skills with her leash dragging. She did a much better job than yesterday! She still has a lot of work to do, though. I'd like her to focus a little more on me while we work, instead of getting as distracted as she does. I'm glad she's still improving every day!

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Pupdate: 3/27/2023

Zuri went to Central Park in Pasadena today for training! She continued to work with the leash dragging, and I used a smaller leash to further replicate the sensation of being off leash. She did much better today, and made far fewer mistakes! Her Come To Sit still needs some work, but her durations are getting much better! There are a few times in the above video where she starts to move towards the bench to Place when I ask her to start Heeling, but after a while of working close to the bench, she started to understand what I was asking for with each command! No potty accidents today so far!

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Pupdate: 3/28/2023

Zuri had a successful training session at Almansor Park today, working on her off leash skills. Although she got distracted by a group of geese, she quickly refocused and continued to listen. Zuri is making great progress off leash, and we're proud of her. I'll continue to work with her on overcoming distractions and building her confidence. Overall, we're excited to see Zuri continue to improve and become an even more well-behaved and obedient pup!

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Pupdate: 3/29/2023

The day started off with some rain outside, so we decided to take Zuri to Home Depot for some indoor training. As soon as we got there, Zuri's eyes lit up with excitement at all the new smells and sounds around her. However, she also quickly learned that there were rules and boundaries that had to be followed in order to behave appropriately in this environment. We set up a few simple training exercises for her to work on in the aisle, such as Come To Sit and Place. Zuri was able to focus and perform these commands even with the distractions of other people and carts passing by. She was rewarded with praise for her good behavior, which kept her motivated and engaged throughout the training session. After a successful session at Home Depot, Zuri and I decided to head to Almansor Park for some outdoor fun. Today's video, however, shows Zuri's food manners. Zuri had a tendency to get very excited and jump up whenever food was in sight, so we've been working on teaching her to sit and wait patiently before receiving her food.

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Pupdate: 3/30/2023

Zuri and I started our day at Del Amo Fashion Center, where she worked on each of her off leash commands, and her greeting manners! At first, she was full of energy and a little overly excited. She wanted to say hi to everyone! After working through some commands, however, she calmed down and did a wonderful job. For her greeting manners, I simply want Zuri to sit nicely when approached by a stranger and stay calm when they pet her, without jumping on them! She loves to greet people so this one has been a bit of a challenge for her, but she's doing better each day! After the mall, we went back to Almansor Park for some more exercise and play time!

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Pupdate: 3/31/2023

Zuri went to Venice Beach today! All the excitement was a little much for her at first, but she grew accustomed to it, as she's proven herself capable of doing in a variety of areas. Zuri's potty training has been quite successful. I believe part of her issues were with her loose stool, as she hasn't had an accident since I added pumpkin to her meal and solidified her stool. She will still piddle from excitement if someone approaches quickly and excitedly. Although, I get excited when we play in my house and she does not do this, so I think it's from people she isn't familiar with. The best thing to do is to ask anyone new to approach her calmly, much like the stranger in the mall yesterday!

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Pupdate: 4/1/2023

Zuri had a fun day in the sun for her last full day of training! She was as playful as ever, and she did a great job! For her video today, I wanted to show her door manners! For Zuri's door manners, I'd like her to sit patiently when a door is open, without trying to rush out before me. She gets very excited a lot of the time, so she had a hard time with this at first, but we practice it each time she goes in or out of my door, so she's gotten good!