Meet Danny! Danny is a 8 month old German Shepherd/Rottweiler mix coming from Long Beach, CA and has joined us for our 2 Week Board & Train program. Danny is a sweet dog who gets along with humans & other dogs and just wants to play. Danny has some insecurities when seeing strangers outside, leash pulling, and a lack of maintain his position when performing sit or down. When Danny trains he picks up commands very quickly so with my guidances and help I'll be able to help him build his confidence and show Danny new ways of learning things to stay a well mannered dog amongst others. Check out his two week transformation!
Pupdate 7/2/2023
Today was the first day I got to meet Danny with his owners. Danny was very calm getting to know him and we even practiced some obedience commands that he knows. Danny is very smart and acknowledges me very fairly and is barely distracted. When walking him around a park in Cypress he had every intention to lead and guide me where to go like most dogs do when pulling. I asked Danny for his sit and he recognized what I asked and followed through. I gave him some time to smell around but he rolled onto his back for me and started requesting that I pet him in the shade. We took some pictures and headed back home for him to adjust to his new environment.
Upon arriving Danny was very calm in the car and had no issues crying or whining. Danny met my family and didn't bark or react in any negative way. Danny also met my personal dog through his crate and it went very well for 2 dogs who don't know each other. I walked Danny throughout my house and had him get familiar with his new surroundings. We stayed in the backyard for a moment to relax before resting and being introduced to his crate. Danny had no issue walking in but the moment I left the room he started to cry instantly. I would verbally interrupt his crying and Danny did pick up on this so I was able to walk around the house more. Once he heard me in the front of the house he started to cry again but this didn't last for long.
After some time I took Danny out for a walk and he was very consistent in trying to lead me the entire way. During our walk I introduced Danny to his heel obedience command. We took some time before returning home but the more I was able to teach him during this walk he started to pace back and keep a better consistency staying next to my side. It wasn't perfect but as the days go by we will progress and learn new things to help educate Danny.
When I fed Danny he didn't want to eat right away so I left his bowl in his crate until he decided to eat. I will monitor and note if he eats his meal tonight.
Pupdate 7/3/2023
This morning I took Danny to a park in Anaheim to train around some of the other trainer's and their dogs as well. We first kept practicing some leash pressure to have Danny engaged with me, as well as signaling him with hand signs to see if he understands cues associated with verbalizing. Danny seemed more responsive today and even practiced his sit and recall with me without the use of his e-collar.
I introduced the e-collar to Danny and he became defensive rolling on his back acting like a baby. Even though this behavior is cute and seems friendly it's a way of him getting his way and controlling the situation. I had him placed back into a sit and was patient with him putting on his e-collar. Danny allowed me to put the e-collar on and we started to walk towards our friends. Danny got to meet two other dogs but had the intention to pull as soon as he saw them. During this situation I had Danny distant from the other dogs and started to work on his obedience. We worked on heel, off, sit, and recall which Danny was able to perform very quickly once he started training. He whined at some points of his training but this wasn't consistent and eventually stopped.
In the video above Danny is behaving very well being distant from the other dogs and as he's performing his recall I'll break Danny as well letting him know he's done for the moment and can be rewarded with praise and affection. Just after a couple of practices Danny showed his confidence following through with more of his obedience training.
Danny ate all of his food last night but has been eating about half of his meals so far. Each time he's eaten it has been after training so he should be hungry but seems to choose how much he wants to eat. I'll monitor to see if I can motivate his hunger if possible.
Pupdate 7/4/2023
This morning I took Hunter and Danny on a walk together. In their first interaction Danny and Hunter smelled each other and were fine being in each other's presence. When walking around the neighborhood Danny wanted to stay behind the both of us. I would always signal to Danny his heel obedience command to identify I want him in his heel position when we go for our walks when we go out by ourselves. They did really well together after some time keeping a pace together until we walked home.
We had a practice session in my backyard today working and focusing on Danny's door manners. This is our first real practice with the door so Danny had every intention to leave when he wanted. When redirecting him with the remote with the door he was adamant to pursue through the door. Even asking for a sit he was more focused on figuring out how to pass me than complying. Danny also gets distracted trying to bite random things from the floor as he walks towards me. I remain calm and patient until he gives me his sit obedience command. Once he gives into his obedience he starts to wait patiently and lets me have the ability to show him different variations of what can happen when the door opens. This would be things such as me walking through the door, waiting on the other side, or fully leaving the entire backyard to walk to the front.
In the video above Danny is starting to become more aware of what I'm asking him and lets me redirect on the opposite side of the door. When we started to focus on his down obedience command he became very still and didn't bother to try following through. Starting on low level stems had no effect on Danny so I started going up in levels. One by one with the remote we got to low-medium numbers of the e-collar to get Danny into his down obedience command. Once Danny followed through he turned the complete opposite direction of the door notifying me he has no need with the door at the moment. I was able to walk out a short distance and walk back into the backyard to heel Danny for his walk. Danny did fairly well walking out and for the short distance he stayed next to me I stopped and freaked Danny ending the training session on a positive note.
Pupdate 7/5/2023
Last night when the fireworks were going off I was surprised at how quiet and calm Danny was compared to my personal dog who wanted throw a tantrum in his crate. During the whole night of fireworks going off Danny didn't bark or have an accident in the crate.
This morning Danny got to go on his usual walk with Hunter and have been slowly interacting with each other at times. Danny had his breakfast and was given his allergy pill in his food. He ate everything and we rested for a moment before meeting with some of our friends from offleash at a park.
Later on in the day we went to a park in Santa Fe Springs to work on more obedience training around other dogs, as well as confidence building. When we arrived Danny was fine until he saw a dog again, but being redirected once this time he was able to settle himself and give me more engagement and a willingness to work faster around these dogs than before. We practiced the following obedience commands such as place, extended sit, extended down, and off. Danny did well being greeted by the other trainers giving them kisses for their pets. When walking around the other trainers trying to create distance from Danny I was surprised at how far he would let me go at times. Danny only got up twice from his down obedience command to just follow me when I would walk around. Any time this would happen I would place him back into a down and restart the practice.
By the end of the visit, Danny was relaxed and almost fell asleep in the last picture being distant from me. Danny is very knowledgeable once training is going on but has a very lazy personality and can just go into a down once he's out of energy. I will see if more exercise or playtime can help motivate Danny.
Pupdate 7/6/2023
This morning Danny has been having some diarrhea when we first went on our walk this morning. I'm going to provide Rice and pumpkin to help with his digestive system. Last night he ate his bowl again entirely so I'm going to cut back on some of his food intake.
I took Danny to a park in Downey, CA today to focus on his leash obedience and place obedience command. When we first arrived Danny wanted to start adventuring right away but I had to place him into a sit to retrieve my belongings before being able to walk him around. We found some benches in front of a pond to work on his place obedience. In the beginning of our practice Danny had some ambition to train but quickly started to get lazy and would always want to place himself into a down at times.
In the video above, Danny shows every moment he truly doesn't want to train. As he's redirecting with the e-collar I'm working from low level stems going up in levels to keep him from having a habit of always wanting to do things on his terms when I'm asking at the moment. Danny does follow through for most of his obedience training but this is another threshold as his door manners. These moments need to be taken more seriously but done accordingly to help educate Danny into understanding these on just basic terms. Danny takes some time in the beginning in the video being consistent with his place but wants to stay down. As we continue he is more consistent with placing but takes some time going up. I keep Danny up for a brief moment and then break him for his praise. We continue to do this until he's willing to go up without help with the e-collar and leash tension.
I walked him around the park as well passing by joggers and other people walking their dogs. I was surprised that certain people he was ok with passing with their dogs but when it came to a dog walking with their owner that wasn't under their obedience, Danny became vocal and alert. It seems to me if a dog is trained and doesn't mind seeing Danny, Danny feels the same way compared to a dog that's energetic and stimulated giving Danny a different reaction to their actions. As we continued to walk round we passed ducks and geese that were walking around as well and Danny didn't seem to care as long as I was verbal with him giving him his off obedience command. We made it back to my car to go home and he seemed happy with the rest of his visit at the park today.
Pupdate 7/7/2023
This morning when walking Danny he used the restroom and had some diarrhea with some thickness to his stool but liquid at the same time. I will continue to provide him more rice and canned pumpkin to help with the quality of his stool. As we walked around the neighborhood Danny was very close to me but would seemed distracted by the smells around us at times and can drift his head in other directions. I will be verbal with Danny and just ask for his name keeping his attention on me rather than using his nose on the ground. The longer we walk I've noticed Danny doesn't keep a pace and can fall behind. Once he tries to fall behind I will stop myself in my tracks and help lure him back into his heel using the leash for assistance. Once he's back to my left side I continue our walk still praising Danny verbally with "good boy."
In the video above is our first attempt with this door, creating a new threshold that Danny might not be familiar with but Danny shows his confidence this morning. He goes into a down with ease making the practice as easy as it should be. I'm fully able to walk throughout the house keeping an eye on Danny. I walk in and out of the house multiple times and as I close the door I break him to have him acknowledge he has done what I asked for and can be rewarded with praise.
It was hot for most of the day so we continued most of our training went the heat cooled down. I took Danny to a big open grass field at a park near my house to work on his recall for conditioning. More content with his recall will be posted tomorrow when we visit a new location for obedience training!
Pupdate 7/8/2023
This morning Danny's stool was better and solid compared to yesterday. I'm still going to provide some rice and canned pumpkin for his breakfast but will go back to his normal meal plan.
I took Danny to a park in Cerritos, CA to work on loose leash to leash dragging. This way we can still work up to offleash obedience. In the video above Danny can be seen keeping his heel with no leash pulling. Danny has learned how to keep his pace next to my left hand side when walking out in public and rather than always wanting to leave he's more adamant about staying next to my side even when given his break or potty command. When perfecting his heel obedience, turning a full 180 degree or pivoting while walking a dog at the right moment helps create the idea of Danny's placement. Danny is seen doing his place command after and going into a down while some people pass by running. This didn't upset nor catch Danny's attention too much compared to his thresholds which would be scooters or people with other dogs.
In the second part of the video, we are working on Danny's recall near a playground and open field with some people in it. Danny has progressed pretty well at this point of his training without needing so much assistance for this specific command. Most days Danny's laziness would come into play interfering with our consistency. Now Danny is more aware about fully committing to walking around me and ending up on my side to sit. When directing come to sit Danny needs to come from the right side of me ending up on my left. I will signal to Danny my right arm and point it behind me and as Danny starts to walk I'll be verbal with him and continue to say "come" until he's on my left hand side. From there I can praise Danny and continue the practice and watch him act independently for this now. If there's some issues when practicing just the use of some leash pressure can be there for assistance just in case.
Later on in the day we continued to work on house manners and had Hunter and Danny spend some time together. They have been interacting and being respectful of each other's space but haven't been trying to play too much. When I take them to the backyard they play for about 5 minutes before stopping entirely for some rest. They usually don't play after that and will walk around the backyard smelling things. This is common with some dogs but walking them together hasn't been an issue even as they are side to side on our walks.
Pupdate 7/9/2023
This morning I took Hunter and Danny on their usual walk in the morning together which they did well. Danny will sometimes get up from his sit while picking up the dogs pooped but being redirected can help get him back into a sit.
I took Danny to a park nearby my house for some leash dragging to offleash obedience training. The park was empty and small so we had most of the space to use when heeling around. At one point in our training session Danny was listening so good that I dropped the leash and had Danny work only off the e-collar. Danny does well when heeling but can be distracted by smells from the ground so he can sometimes branch away from me. During these moments I will ask for his heel still to keep a pace rather than letting him become distracted. We stayed at the park for about 20 minutes before Danny's laziness kicked in. I've noticed Danny still doesn't have a drive like most energetic dogs when training but when it comes to playing with Hunter in the morning he's the most energetic I've seen.
Later on in the day we worked more on house training and since Danny has been doing so well I decided to teach him his under obedience command for fun. For Danny's first time to work on this obedience command he was very adamant about leaving from under the table each time I placed him under. Even if he followed me back to go under the table after being redirected he would get up so as time passed by with each redirection happening the consistency of the practice eventually paid off.
In the video above is when Danny starts to listen and keep himself under the table willingly. This is when I can take advantage of the situation and show variations of distractions to Danny as I open cabinets, drawers, and doors. I verbally redirect Danny while pouring water for him and was surprised he listened. Since he listened right away I break him to have his water break. I will continue to work on this with him since he's progressed very well in his training.
Pupdate 7/10/2023
This morning Danny and Hunter had their usual walk together with no issue this time with Danny getting up after going potty. Since this was his first time not breaking his position while I picked up his stool. We made our trip around the neighborhood before going to a park in downtown Fullerton to walk then our pet store visit for distractions.
We went to Hillcrest Park in Fullerton before the heat started to pick up. While walking around the park we had a lot of people passing by us which never bothered Danny. There were moments Danny wanted to keep his head down smelling random things from the ground. I keep Danny from doing this to maintain his walk to prevent his adamant behavior about it. I would do a random sprint/jog with Danny keeping him engaged since he has a lazy puppy personality for most things even though he's very smart and aware of his training.
After we went to the local Anaheim pet & feed supply store in Anaheim to work around people shopping. When we arrived Danny was pretty tired already but as soon as he stepped outside someone else with another dog was leaving the store. Danny started to whine somewhat and slowly walk towards the dog. He didn't lunge or pull so this moment was more out of curiosity rather than being fearful. When walking into the store Danny right away wanted to smell every corner our item hanging from the shelves. After some redirections from the e-collar, Danny started to ignore the smells and look around the store instead. We practiced recall in the aisles and sit each time we would exit one aisle going into another. I had to get some food for Hunter as well so as we go our items and waited in line Danny was fine and automatically went into a down as we waited our turn. Once we were at the register Danny had an interest to just greet the cashier but since it wasn't on my terms of obedience, I asked Danny for his recall and to be back into a down to finish the transaction. She was able to greet Danny after he gave her a bunch of licks and kisses on her hand.
Pupdate 7/11/2023
Today I woke up early to take Danny to Hillcrest Park in Fullerton for more loose leash to offleash walking. When we arrived we had very little traffic so after some time of walking I dropped the leash entirely. Since it was still early and the Main Street had more traffic and distractions we walked along the Main Street leading into downtown Fullerton. I kept Danny close to me reverting back to loose leash walking but for the duration of our walk he was very persistent being next to me. He had some moments as usual trying to mark other dogs pee if he found the chance to do so. It is important to still verbally speak to Danny just to have his attention back on me. He did well walking into the Downtown district but on our way back he was very slow and wanted to take breaks by going into a down automatically. I provided Danny with water and gave him a short break to relax, even though he's tired this is still part of his personality trying to stop me from doing something even if it's walking.
Later in the day it was hot but the dogs still needed their play time so I brought them out in the backyard to play. Most days when Danny and Hunter play, Hunter has been redirecting Danny and being verbally signaling him to behave in a proper way. Hunter knows how to tolerate behavior that shouldn't happen and spending his time with Danny he's been consistent until today. Today was slightly different since they actually got to play for longer and were socializing in a more positive way. In the video above were the first interactions between them while still understanding each other. If there were any misbehaving behavior while socializing I would intervene and just ask the dogs to relax and they would take some steps back from each other bringing their attention to me then breaking them to resume playing. Today was something new and special between them so they were given most of today to play with obedience training resuming later in the day once it cooled down.
Pupdate 7/12/2023
This morning I took Hunter and Danny for their usual walk in the morning with no issues returning back home. We were up early so we decided to head to Huntington Beach before it got too hot to be outside. When we first arrived Danny had his usual tendency to try to smell things and mark other dogs pee if he was able to smell it. I kept him in his heel obedience command and would tell him "off" any time he was close to using his nose on a flower, plant and corner. As we got closer to the pier I noticed he was still close to my side and able to perform his obedience when asking him throughout the area.
When placing him on the walkway on the beach this is where Danny's insecurities started to kick in. Just asking him for his down obedience command took some time to work through but eventually we prevailed. Once Danny was able to hold his down, I was able to move around him and let him take in the scenery of people passing by on the walkway. When some people passed by with their dogs Danny started to become vocal and I would practice his obedience training to have his attention on me rather than the dogs passing. He tried to be persistent about it but being redirected by the e-collar helped with these specific situations. Most dogs who aren't in obedience with their own owner's seem to stimulate Danny more than a dog listening to its owner.
We started to walk along the walkway and surprisingly people passing by with bikes didn't seem to bother Danny. Something noticeable was when people make eye contact for too long with Danny walking he gets a little distracted but being verbally with him always gets his attention back to me. There was a summer program of kids practicing to be lifeguards in front of the main lifeguard station at the beach and we passed by a numerous number of kids with no issues. By the middle of our walk Danny started to slow down indicating he was already tired for the day. We took a break and had some water before walking back to the pier. He was in a perfect heel but was very tired so I kept a slow pace for him not having him try so hard to walk back to the car. Even performing sit before crossing a street was good but he seems to be a very lazy puppy at times. Our last highlight of the day was before getting to my car, a group of girls saw Danny and wanted to say hi. One of the girls said they had a dog who looked similar to Danny and was baffled to see another dog look like her. She asked with my permission to say hi to Danny and I asked him to sit before doing so. He sat entirely as he was petted but as she left Danny tried to follow her for more praise! He was only getting used to his new friend but we had to leave!
Pupdate 7/13/2023
Last night I was training Danny in front of my house with the leash attached to him practicing leash dragging to offleash walking. When walking around the neighborhood I haven't had an issue with Danny following through with his obedience after being redirected. Danny has his strong instinct to mark things and often becomes fixated on them for some time. So much so he was still fixated on a tree that we had already passed. I stayed persistent with continuing on with the heel and Danny was more adamant about going back to mark that tree. He then decided he was done with his walk and retreated back to the house. This can be the equivalent to a child throwing a tantrum and 'giving up' when they don't get what they want. It is crucial when taking Danny on any outing that the human is the one who manages and leads the walk. If not, you will continue to find yourself with a pup who does what he wants and is less likely to follow your lead.
In the morning we didn't go for our usual walk with Hunter but just ourselves and everything went well as normal. We passed by a bush he will sometimes try to mark and I verbally redirected him and he was ok for this compared to last night for a tree.
We went to Santa Monica Pier today for more obedience training and to see some of the other trainers from offleash. We walked around practicing our obedience along the pier as we traveled back & forth. Danny seemed confident so we continued our walk until we saw some of our friends from offleash. We took a break for some water and had the dogs sit next to each other for a moment. Danny did well being respectful only going for small sniffs then stopping for my affirmation. He quickly settled and enjoyed his time under the table as he watched people pass by.
In the video above after our break I had Danny practice his extended down with the crowd of people passing by. Any time Danny gets up he is redirected but something to note is when he lays on his side while on his down. When Danny does this it's very cute and seems as if he's listening but Danny could break his position and get up while doing this. I have him redirected into his down position and verbally praise that rather than him laying on his side since this can become a habit. Once he keeps his position as the crowd of people pass by I break him to reward him with praise as always. The rest of our visit Danny was calm and didn't mind when other random dogs passed by us.
Pupdate 7/14/2023
Last night I took Danny for another walk at night and it was offleash. This time there were no interruptions with our walk. I was very impressed last night compared to the other night when Danny retreated back to my house.
In the morning we woke up early for some exercise with Hunter for our 1 hour walk. We traveled somewhat farther than normal and I had both dogs jog with me for the last 10 minutes of our walk. Later on I took Dany to Cerritos Mall to work on offleash obedience. Danny was excited at first but I gave him some time to potty before going in to settle himself. We had some small moments where Danny tried to branch out and mark certain furniture or corners. Each time I asked him for his heel he ignored what he wanted to do and kept his pace with me. There was a bench we worked on his place command but Danny has still been slow about being fast paced when it comes to this command and his recall. We will continue to work on these to see if there's any way to motivate Danny to be more energetic.
In the video above is our offleash heel to an open area of the mall which had people passing by. Danny's extended down just took one try and let me walk around him in this new environment which is a very big improvement with his confidence. Shortly after mall security asked if we would keep Danny on leash so for the remainder of our visit we continued to walk around people and Danny had no issue with the numerous people today. We followed up with more playtime and offleash training at home when the heat started to cool down.
Pupdate 7/15/2023
Today is Danny's last day of training so I wanted to make it as positive and fun for him.
We woke up extra early at 5 A.M. for our morning walk with Hunter. They got to play in the morning for an extended period of time before giving them their breakfast. Danny is eating but will sometimes refuse his food with his e-collar on. I've been able to give him his food outside his crate right away and he will eat but sometimes asking him to wait makes him insecure and he will retreat back into my crate. I have his crate closed so he doesn't retreat and still motivate him to eat in my kitchen. He hasn't prevailed when waiting but if it's given to him right away Danny won't complain.
We also worked on most of his house training and Danny had no issue completing his tasks he's performed before in my home. We started off with door manners which went well as usual. We worked on boundaries with my moms kitchen leading into my side of the house. I had Danny placed in a down next to the door that opens into my moms kitchen and performed variations of distractions. Danny let me perform my tasks and I gave him his break for being such a good boy today.
Later on we went to the Anaheim Pet & feed store for more training! I noticed there were more owners that brought their pets into the store so we had some distractions to work with if the dogs reacted towards Danny. We walked around the store and everything was fine until we saw some small dogs with their owners who immediately started barking towards Danny. This is a typical situation for most dogs once they see another dog from a distance but I kept Danny in his obedience working with him. There were moments he kept his attention on the dogs but with the use of the remote he would follow through with his recall. I had him practice between the aisles. Once he decided the dogs weren't important he would turn around and willingly walk to me for his praise. We also had an employee greet Danny who wasn't too patient when instructing her when letting her pet Danny. Each time Danny would break his position I would ask for his recall and start the practice over, even though he wasn't jumping he is visibly excited and the calmer someone is when greeting him he will remain in his sit.
She did take the time to be patient with him and eventually pet him without breaking his position.
In the video above is after our trip to the pet store. Danny is walking around the house and goes up to my younger brother. Danny even tried to paw my brother but he is very aware of making sure that dogs greet him properly without playing around too much with him. My brother even signals Danny to go into a down if he wants his praise from my brother. After we worked on his food manners again but right away I noticed Danny started to make his way to his crate. I closed my door and had him place himself back into a down on the other side of the room. I placed multiple varieties of snacks & food on the floor to see if Danny would attempt to go for his food or make a choice on what to select. Danny is seen in the video above being patient but he still doesn't choose any of the food I left for him even when given his break he would rather come to me for his praise.
Danny has completed his 2 week board and train program and I am amazed how much he has improved with most of his issues from before. He has learned to be patient, as well as coming to an understanding when listening to someone who wants the best for him. I am thankful for being Danny's trainer and helping him improve with his insecurities. He will be missed heavily for being a humble dog to my family and myself. It's time for Danny to go home to his parents!
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