Mars, a Standard Poodle from Los Angeles, CA went through the Balanced Canine Training SoCal Board and Train dog training program . Mars was trained by Tanner Strong in Alhambra, CA.
Mars came to Balanced Canine Training SoCal with varying behavioral issues, including pulling on the leash, squirrel chasing, jumping up when greeting, counter surfing, generally not listening to commands, and barking at strangers. Balanced Canine Training SoCal was successful in transforming Mars into a well-managed pup.
The dog trainers at Balanced Canine Training SoCal are here to help you and your dog be as amazing as our before and after videos! Contact us today 562-448-3774
Pupdates:
Meet Mars! He's an eight month old Standard Poodle from Los Angeles, California here for our One-Week Board and Train Program! Mars is a sweet and loving boy, but he often takes his affection too far by jumping all over people. He has a lot of trouble following his basic commands, and gets extremely excited when he sees other dogs and people. If he sees something he wants he will pull towards it and bark to try to get to it! Over the next seven days, we will work on Mars' obedience skills, his manners in and out of the house, help him with his jumping and pulling, and show him how to be the best pup he can possibly be! Stay tuned for Mars' one week transformation!
Pupdate: 9/8/2024
After picking up Mars, we went home to get out of the heat. He's a very friendly dog, although he wasn't a huge fan of me once it was time to say goodbye to his mom! By the time we got home, though, he was wagging his tail and sniffing me vigorously. I let him sniff around my home to start getting settled in. We went outside a couple times to potty, but only for minutes at a time because it's been so hot. Those times, he definitely tried to pull me around at the slightest sign of anything interesting. I think we will work well together and I believe he's starting to like me!
In addition to his pictures today, I'm adding a tutorial video and picture of the E-collar we will be using with Mars. This tutorial will be a good way to make sure his transition back home is as smooth as possible!
Pupdate: 9/9/2024
Mars and I mostly stayed indoors today. We started working on his Heel, Come To Sit, and Place commands. He had the most success with Place, and he seems to like it. For his Come To Sit command, I want him to come to my right side, walk around my legs and sit at my left side with his ears at my knee. He didn't like this at all and lashed out at me several times. After a break in the middle of the day, we tried again. He was still unhappy being told what to do, and wanted to bite his leash. He's slowly starting to respond to the commands.
Pupdate: 9/10/2024
We continued working on Mars' Heel and Come To Sit commands today. He tried nipping my hands a few times during his Come To Sit, but didn't really get me until he went for my foot, puncturing my toe in the process. After that we took a break, and Mars was back to his normal self as soon as he was allowed to play around at home and relax. When we went back out, I used a muzzle on him, and he was mostly calm. His Heel is much better, but his Come To Sit is still extremely difficult for him. Simply walking around the neighborhood, he was doing a great job, until a small dog walked right by us, and he jumped at it, hit the end of the leash then turned on me once again. I am fairly confident he would have bit me again in that moment if he didn't have the muzzle on. Again, once we were back inside for the night, he was wagging his tail and behaving normally.
Pupdate: 9/11/2024
Mars and I took it very slow today, going to the park a couple times throughout the day. He had his muzzle on for a few minutes at a time when we worked on Come To Sit, which is his least favorite command. When we worked on Place, he was allowed to have it off since he likes that command! There were some other dogs at the park, but we gave them a wide berth, sticking mostly around the pond. The geese around the pond served as great distractions, adding a small amount of difficulty, without having Mars get too overwhelmed.
Pupdate: 9/12/2024
Mars and I went to Santa Monica Promenade today! We went with a few other trainers, and Mars worked with another trainer as well as me. We made quite a bit of progress with Mars today, but he was still showing a lot of unwillingness to work. One issue we've been working on is his aversion to sitting right next to his handler. He likes to spin around and try to face you, moving his hind quarters as far away as possible. This can be a big problem when walking, especially in public places. To work on this, practice heeling and performing his Come To Sit while next to a wall or other solid object, so he can't swing around. When practicing this way, he sits much more politely, but then still has trouble with these positions as soon as we move away from the wall. This is something we will simply need to repeat and practice to make better. Mike, the other handler we worked with today, made some progress on his Down command. So far, the most success with Down that I've had is when at home on his place cot, but he was able to perform Down a few times in public today. Down can be a very difficult command to achieve, especially in a new area, as we are essentially asking Mars to assume a pretty vulnerable position.
Walking through the promenade was a bit tough for Mars, and he clearly was not a huge fan of the new area. I managed to get a few tail wags out of him, but only when we stopped for a break. He did, however take treats from me today. Previously, he would only take treats when we were at home and not working, and simply spit them out if he was asked to perform any commands or hold any given position. If I can get him excited about the treats when we're working, I may be able to use them to curb his distaste for training.
Pupdate: 9/13/2024
Today was by far Mars' best day. We went to Santa Anita Mall for his training. He wasn't nearly as nervous as yesterday, and remained fairly receptive to his training throughout the day. Walking through the mall, he would sometimes try to stop or slow down to look at something, but was relatively quick to adjust his position as we kept walking. Aside from some light distractions in this new area, he behaved very well. After some time in the mall, even some tough distractions didn't seem to phase him all that much, two of which you can see in the above video. When we stop by the bench, someone's meal is sitting there, which Mars looks at a few times, but doesn't hyperfixate. A lady and her dog walk by us a couple times, and Mars does a great job remaining in his Sit position, then his Down position. He also waits politely in these positions as I talk to one of the people sitting on the bench, only breaking his position when I'm done talking, and give him the okay to come to me.
His behavior was markedly better today, but what about his commands? They were also much smoother today. He's starting to get more comfortable sitting directly next to me, which we were still having trouble with yesterday. His Down is getting easier as he becomes more comfortable in these new areas, and he's getting way better about holding his positions. Today, the command we had the most trouble with was actually his Heel, which got better and better throughout the day. There's still a lot I want to work on with him, but he did a great job today.
I noticed Mars shake his head a few times today, though, so I administered his ear drops to soothe his ears.
Pupdate: 9/14/2024
Mars and I went back to the mall today for training! We continued working through all of his commands and helping him remain calm and well behaved out in public. Most notably, his Heel was much better today, he was lagging behind me less, doing a better job staying in his proper position as we walked. It was much busier when we went today, and Mars was slightly less comfortable, but the only time I noticed was when he started looking around every once in a while. We went to the food court, which was a little more difficult than the spots we went yesterday, but Mars continued behaving well, even around all the people and restaurants.
Back at home, we gave him a break before continuing to practice his indoor manners. His Food and Door manners are very important for Mars, as they help a lot with his impulse control. For Door manners, I want to be able to open the door without him trying to rush through before me. Opening the door should not be an invitation for him to go out, so we have him hold his Sit, Down, or Place while I open the door, wait for a random amount of time, then walk through together when I'm ready. Mars had a lot of trouble holding his positions, so this started out tough for him, but he's gotten much better with it in the last few days! For Food manners, I want to be able to wait politely when I place his food in front of him. This can make dinner time run much more smoothly, but can also be a great safety measure to prevent him from eating something dropped accidentally that could be harmful. Similarly, he would struggle to hold his position, but has been doing well with the manners themselves!
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