Fitz | Mini Goldendoodle | Santa Monica, CA | In-Training

Meet Fitz, a four-month-old Mini Goldendoodle from Santa Monica, California! This sweet and playful pup is here with us for our Three Week Puppy Board and Train Program, where we will work on teaching him basic obedience and manners, as well as provide potty training. He doesn't have much knowledge of basic commands yet, and has a short attention span which causes him to be easily distracted. Fitz comes to us with some undesirable behaviors that are common with puppies, such as barking for attention, eating things off the ground, pulling on the leash, jumping up on people, play biting, and having potty accidents indoors. Over the next twenty-one days, we will be working on improving his obedience, discipline, and manners to set him on the right path to becoming a well-behaved puppy. Stay tuned for his transformation!

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Pupdate 4/6/2025

Today Fitz and I spent the day bonding and getting to know each other at the park after he was dropped off with me. He was a bit unsure of what to think when he realized he was left with me and did seem a bit anxious about being away from his family at first, though he quickly warmed up to me and we became fast friends! However once the initial excitement of meeting me wore off, he was generally more interested in exploring the area and investigating everything around us rather than focusing on me.

While at the park, I tested his current knowledge of commands to get an idea of where his starting point is and what areas may need some extra focus going forward. I asked him for basic commands, including Come, Heel, Sit, Down, and Place. He would sometimes Come to me when called with enough excitement to motivate him, but it often took several asks before he responded, and once he got to me he was quick to either jump on me or wander back off again. When asked to Heel, he didn't seem to recognize the command at all and was almost always at the end of the leash attempting to walk wherever he wanted to go. He also liked darting off in random directions or trying to run towards things he found interesting. He seemed to possibly understand Sit, however he was very inconsistent about following through with it. On the rare occasion he did Sit, he would almost always stand back up and start walking away after a second or two and wasn't able to stay still for very long. He wasn't able to perform Down on command, and didn't seem to understand what was being asked of him. I also asked him to Place on some low, easy to reach objects, but he didn't seem to understand what was being asked of him and seemed to lack the confidence to attempt any jumps even with plenty of encouragement. He didn't seem to have any understanding of leash pressure either, and would often ignore or try to pull against the leash when pressure was applied, so this is another area that will need some work in the near future!

After our time at the park, it was time to head home and get him settled into my home. He wasn't able to jump into the car on his own, but was comfortable with being picked up and placed into the car. He wasn't quite sure what to think of the kennel in the car, but he went inside easily enough with some gentle guidance. He did whine for the first few minutes of the ride home, but he settled down eventually and was quiet the rest of the way. Anytime Fitz is to ride in a car with me, he will be secured in a kennel for his utmost safety. He will also be in a kennel at home during nighttime or any other time he is unsupervised. This may be a useful tool in his potty training journey as well, as pups are instinctually discouraged from going potty inside their sleeping area. We will be working to ensure he sees the kennel as a safe and relaxing space so that he develops a positive association with it during his stay with me. Upon arriving home, he had some time to explore around and become familiar with his new environment. When I offered him some food, he jumped on me a lot and was very impatient, so we will definitely be working to improve his Food Manners! Later, we went out for a walk around my neighborhood to let him go potty and become familiar with the area. When exiting the house to start our walk, Fitz kept trying to run out the door as soon as it was opened, so we will also be working to improve his Door Manners to make sure he can respect the boundary a doorway creates, as this will help keep him safe. During the walk, he went potty a few times in some grassy areas, for which he was heavily rewarded to encourage the good behavior! Starting tomorrow, will be taking walks around the neighborhood multiple times daily to work on potty training and obedience training alike, alongside our other outings. Overall he seems to be settling in nicely, and we are so excited to begin this training journey together!

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