Meet Reggie, a three-year-old Dachshund from Santa Monica, California! This sweet and playful pup is here with us for our One Week Board and Train Program. He has some knowledge of a few basic obedience commands, but he tends to be easily distracted and has a hard time following through with what is asked of him. He tends to veer off in different directions while walking, struggles to stay still when asked to, and can be a bit nervous and reactive when around other dogs. Over the next seven days, we will be working on improving his obedience, confidence, and manners to set him on the right track to becoming a well-behaved pup. Stay tuned for his transformation!
Pupdate 3/26/2025
Today Reggie and I spent the day bonding and getting to know each other after he was dropped off with me. We had met a couple of times before today and he did seem to remember me, though working to establish a positive relationship will be an important step towards success! We spent some time exploring around the park together, and while he seemed happy to be spending time with me, he was often quite distracted by our surroundings, and generally struggled to focus on me, which is to be expected for his first day with me.
Before beginning any training, I first tested his knowledge of commands to get an idea of his current capabilities, and what areas may need some extra focus on going forward. I asked him basic commands such as Come, Heel, Sit, Down, and Place, but he was typically more focused on his surroundings rather than anything I was asking of him. His recall was unreliable overall, and he often ignored the cues and attempts to guide him to me when called. When he did come my direction when called, he often would walk right past me or immediately walk away once he got to me. He didn't seem interested in Heeling for the most part, and was often walking around where he pleased rather than following my lead as we walked. He was able to Sit on command sometimes, however he would often need to be asked multiple times before he would follow through. He was unable to perform Down on command, and didn't seem to show any understanding in what was being asked of him. He wasn't able to perform Place either, and seemed confused on what he was being asked to do. Even when working with relatively low and easy to reach objects, he seemed to lack confidence or interest in jumping or climbing up onto it.
Once we had spent some time at the park testing his command knowledge, we headed home to get him settled in before jumping into our first training session! During today's training, we focused on re-introducing him to the e-collar, as well as the Come to Sit and Heel commands. He has some understanding of the e-collar, though we opted to condition him to it as if it were brand new to ensure he has a solid understanding of it going forward. The e-collar will be an important tool in his training program, as it will allow for effective communication with minimal to no leash pressure needed. By pairing the e-collar stimulation with leash pressure, we can teach him that these two forms of pressure mean the same thing, allowing them to eventually be used interchangeably. I have included a tutorial for the e-collar in today's pupdate, so be sure to check that out!
The commands introduced today were Come to Sit and Heel. The goal for Come to Sit is for Reggie to come when called, approach his handler's right side, circle around their back, and finish with a Sit facing forward on the left side. This ensures he not only comes when called, but also that he remains stationary until told otherwise, which will be a common theme among all of his commands, as they each come with an "implied stay". Implied stay refers to the concept of having Reggie continuously maintain the most recent command given to him until either given a different command to do, or released with the cue "break!". The Come to Sit maneuver when completed in its entirety also sets him up to be in the perfect position to begin walking in a Heel! The goal for the Heel command is for Reggie to walk nicely alongside his handler on their left side, without pulling ahead, veering off, or falling behind. His job during Heel is to focus on his handler, follow their lead at all times, and remain neutral to his surroundings. Reggie seemed to pick up on these commands quite quickly overall, and we will continue working on these commands every day to help him become more reliable and consistent with them!
Pupdate 3/27/2025
Today Reggie and I trained around my neighborhood, where the relatively calm environment helped to encourage focus, learning, and success! While it was pretty quiet here overall, there were still some common distractions around, such as people, other dogs, and the occasional bicycle or car passing. Reggie's habit of sniffing trees and bushes also meant that these became natural distractions during training as well. We focused on introducing the Off, Place, and Down commands during training today.
Reggie is often easily distracted, as he tends to focus on his surroundings even when asked to perform commands. Moments like this are a great opportunity to implement the Off command. The goal for the Off command is for Reggie to stop whatever he is doing, and focus on his handler. This is a very versatile command, similar to "no" or "leave it", and can be used in various situations, such as to interrupt fixation on distractions, barking, jumping, eating or sniffing things he's not supposed to, or any other behaviors that are undesirable or inappropriate at that time. The verbal Off command when paired with leash pressure and the e-collar allows us to interrupt the behavior and help him to refocus so that he is in a better mindset to listen for upcoming instructions. Once the Off command is given, it's beneficial to immediately follow it with another command such as Sit, Come, Heel, etc. Once he stops whatever behavior he was doing, asking him to set his focus on a task will help keep his attention away from what initially distracted him or caused the undesirable behavior. Reggie has shown good progress in understanding the Off command so far, and with each repetition, he seemed to be quicker to respond and refocus when prompted. Today this command came in handy especially when he began to veer off from his Heel to try to sniff something, or if another dog was nearby and he began to stare at it.
The goal for the Place command is for Reggie to jump or climb onto a designated object, such as a bench, a bed, or another object with defined borders, and hold a stationary command while remaining on the Place object until released or given a new command. We introduced this command at home using a familiar object, a dog cot. He is comfortable climbing onto and relaxing on the cot in his own time, so this was a good object to use and help set him up for success. We used some leash pressure to guide him onto the cot while giving the verbal Place cue, which he quickly picked up on. Once he seemed to understand the behavior, we began pairing leash pressure with e-collar stimulation as additional reinforcement and communication when needed. We then applied this concept to other objects we encountered around my neighborhood, such as low walls, rocks, and other types of platforms. He did well with this overall, and while he was sometimes a bit hesitant with new objects, just a bit of motivation and encouragement helped to build his confidence and willingness to Place on cue. We will continue practicing this command with different objects in a variety of environments to improve Reggie's skills with this command!
Another command we focused on today is the Down command. The goal for the Down command is for Reggie to lay down completely when asked, and remain in that position until released or given a new command. We introduced the command by using some leash pressure, physical guidance, and occasional food motivators to help him get into the position. Once he seemed to begin understanding the goal of the command, we layered in the e-collar as well. We kept the duration in which he was asked to hold his Down or other stationary commands on the shorter side today. This helps to keep training engaging and increase his chances of success with each repetition due to the realistic goals set for him in these early stages of training. As we continue throughout the program, we will work on increasing the duration gradually so he can learn to remain in this position for extended periods of time. He seemed to catch onto Down without too much trouble, though generally was only willing to Down on command when there were virtually no distractions around, as if something was distracting him nearby he almost always needed some assistance to help guide him.
Pupdate 3/28/2025
Today Reggie and I visited a local park, where we practiced all of his commands around distractions. The park had a variety of distractions around, including people, children, dogs, and small animals such as birds and squirrels. The grassy fields also proved to be another distraction during our visit, as Reggie seemed to very much enjoy rolling around in the grass, which was cute, but needed to be discouraged when he actively broke commands to do so.
The Off command was effective in helping to refocus his attention onto me and his training when he began to take too much interest in our surroundings. Off was also useful in ensuring he did not fixate on the other dogs in the area, as many of which were large dogs that Reggie is known to be nervous and reactive around. He did bark once at a dog that had ran past us while playing fetch, though after being asked to disengage he did so immediately and seemed to understand that he did not need to display this behavior again. The dog took no interest in Reggie, which provided him with some reassurance, and he stayed neutral to its presence for the remainder of our time here, which was great to see! In most cases, it's best to avoid areas with off leash dogs nearby to ensure Reggie's space can be easily advocated for in the event one tries to approach. However in today's case, there was only one off leash dog at the park and it was one that I happened to be familiar with and knew it is well trained and does not approach random dogs, which allowed us to train around it and use its presence as a distraction without the worry of an unwanted greeting taking place.
Reggie did great with his Heel today, and seems to be developing a clear understanding of the expectations set for this command. He did well with following my lead, not pulling on the leash, and generally staying close to me as we walked around. He was able to Heel along the pathways very well, though when walking over grassy areas he would occasionally plop down and rub along the grass which would cause him to fall out of position, so we'll need to spend some more time working with this specific terrain to discourage this habit. He did good about always recalling when asked to Come, and generally always came right to me when called on the first ask even with moderate distractions around. He usually needed some guidance for his positioning, though he appears to be getting the hang of the concept as a whole. His stationary commands were good today overall, and he was able to perform Sit, Down, and Place without too much issue. His Sit was the strongest of his stationary commands today, and he seemed comfortable with performing it immediately when prompted and holding it for longer periods of time compared to previous days. His Down was okay overall, as it is rather new to him, but there's lots of room for improvement! He was usually able to perform it when asked, though there were some instances when I would need to either bring out a treat to lure him or provide physical guidance for him to enter the Down. His Place was pretty good, though he did seem to lack confidence when working with brand new objects we had not practiced with before, such as picnic benches. However, after the initial introduction to the object and some encouragement to motivate him onto it, his confidence grew significantly and he had an easier time with each repetition.
Pupdate 3/29/2025
Today Reggie and I visited an indoor mall where we practiced all of his commands around distractions. The mall had a decent amount of distractions present, including groups of people, food, music, and a few other dogs.
Reggie did seem a tad unsure about the new environment at first, though after spending a few minutes here he seemed to adjust and feel more at ease. When large groups of people moved around us he would sometimes become a bit distracted, though he was generally quick to refocus when prompted.
Reggie was able to Heel with good reliability today, and understood to stay close to me when we walked around the mall while practicing this command. He would sometimes lag behind slightly, though with a quick reminder he understood to match my pace and remain in position. He was reliable with his Come to Sit, and understood to always come right to me when called. He was even able to perform the maneuver and position himself with very little leash pressure needed, and sometimes was able to do it without any extra help! Reggie did well with entering his Sit as usual, though he sometimes became tempted to break the command if I moved too far away, as he would tend to shift closer to me. By remaining consistent with the expectations for this command, this was discouraged and he got better about staying where he was asked to even if I moved around him. He was able to Place quite well too, and after a quick introduction to any new objects he was confident about jumping up onto them and remaining on them without issue. Reggie did sometimes need to be provided with some guidance for Down, though once in position he did well with not breaking the position unless released or given a new command.
Pupdate 3/30/2025
Today Reggie and I visited a local shopping strip, where we practiced all of his commands around distractions. This location had a variety of distractions present, including groups of people, lots of other dogs, and loud noises such as car engines, honks, and sirens from the busy street nearby.
When visiting locations like this where encountering unknown dogs is a common occurrence, it's important to always be aware of your surroundings and to advocate for his space from these dogs if needed. Reggie came to us with a tendency to sometimes feel nervous around other dogs, especially if they are bigger than him. Given his rather small size, it's not uncommon for dogs to be larger than him. This nervousness can lead to him being a bit defensive of his personal space, which in the recent past had been known to cause reactive behaviors such as barking and lunging at any dogs who got too close, as he felt it was his only option to keep himself safe. At the shopping strip, keeping an excessive amount of distance between us and potentially triggering dogs was not always an option due to the narrow sidewalks, so this was a good opportunity to put our training in this area to the test!
We practiced walking past other dogs while in a Heel when there was enough room to do so, and practiced stepping off to the side slightly to have him hold a Sit while dogs passed by if there was not enough room for us to pass one another. If any dog made an attempt to approach him or begin to enter his personal space, I made sure to advocate for him and prevent the interaction from occurring. This can be done by either using my own body as a barrier by placing myself in between them if needed, or if the other dog's owner is paying attention, simply ask them to keep their pup to themselves. This is an important factor in helping him develop a more neutral mindset towards other dogs, as we want him to always feel safe and secure. The goal is for him to understand that he can rely on his handler to deal with and prevent these situations, rather than him having to do it himself. He seems to have caught on to this idea during our time together so far, and as a result he did a wonderful job staying calm and neutral even when in close proximity to other dogs. He had no negative reactions whatsoever, and seemed happy to ignore other dogs and put his trust in me to advocate for him!
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