Wally, a three year old Labrador Mix, has joined OffLeash SoCal for our three week board and train program. Wally is a playful dog, but he lacks confidence when it comes to unfamiliar environments. At times he can be fearful, lunge at other dogs and children, and is easily distracted when outside. Over the three weeks Wally will be working on his off leash obedience and manners. Join us to see his progress!
Pupdate 9/10/2023
Wally did well settling into my home today. He was a little nervous to walk around and come up to me, but he soon warmed up and explored. He also did good meeting his new friends. Since it's a hot day, we had a little pool party. Wally did not want to jump in, but he hung around the pool and watched his new friends slash around.
Pupdate 9/11/2023
Today Wally and I started off his first day of training at Whittier Narrows park. He got to work around distractions like other people and dogs. I introduced him to the e-collar by starting off a low numbers. When I taped the simulation, I was looking for signs that he was feeling it, like him turning his head. Once he felt the stimulation I would give him to treat. The first command we worked on was place. He was quick to learn this command, but I noticed at times Wally can be stubborn.He would not want to walk with me and he would stand his own as I tried applying leash pressure to get him to come my way. Wally are I are still working on building our relationship. As we practiced the place command, I saw that Wally was showing signs of confidence. His tail was not tucked between his legs, his ears were up, and he jumped on and off the place cot without hesitation. Although his excitement lasted a short period of time, it still shows me he is improving already!
Pupdate 9/12/2023
Wally and I stayed home to train and work on his heel, down, sit, and place. Throughout the video I gave verbal feedback on the command heel. Wally seems to have an understanding on down already, so now we are going to build off that and get him to be confident doing down on new surfaces and also in unfamiliar environments. He does well holding his commands while also having distance between us as well. With heel, Wally can be a little stubborn by coming to a stop and not wanting to heel with me at all. I made sure to hold Wally accountable so I would implement the e-collar and stimulate until he began to heel with me.
Today I notcied Wally becoming more comfortable around me and my home. He started to come up to me on his own and even wags his tail when I pet him. He has barked at my brother a few times when he walks by, but we are continuing to work on Wally not being fearful around new people.
9/13/2023
Wally and I trained at Hacienda Park today. We continued to work on his commands and he also learned a new command, come to sit. With this command, I want Wally to come to me, walk around my right side, and go into a sit on my left side. Having him come to sit on the left side sets him up for success to go into a new command right after, like heel. Wally is a fast learner, but he still can be stubborn when he does not want to do something. I continued to hold him accountable to follow through with all the commands. As we took a walk around the park, there were two parents with their kids. Wally had started to growl but I gave him a correction with the e-collar, told him 'off', then he stopped and continued to heel with me.
Pupdate 9/14/2023
Today Wally and I trained at the Cerritos Mall. At first he was nervous to work with all the distractions but as we walked around the mall he started to relax. Wally did well staying focused especially walking by people and dogs. We practice down which Wally had a hard time doing at first. In an unfamiliar place, it can be uncomfortable for dogs to down since it is a more vulnerable position. After a few tries, Wally had finally gone into a down. Working him though the uncomfortable situation he became more confident and relaxed. Overall he had a great first day out working around distractions!
Pupdate 9/15/2023
Wally and I came back to Cerritos Mall, but this time Wally got to work around all the other pups in training as well! He did great staying in command while the other dogs walked next to him. At first he seemed overwhelmed, but as we continued to work, Wally's nervousness went away. I can see Wally is becoming more confident in himself the more we work around distractions. He also learned a new command today which is under. Here we are teaching Wally do go under objects and lay down. Once again he was quick to learn this new command, and he even did great holding duration with distance!
Pupdate 9/16/2023
Today Wally and I worked at home. We started practicing his commands without me hold the leash or having to use leash pressure. He does well holding his command like always but we still need to work on his come to sit. Without the leash he tried to not follow through with the command, but we continued to practice with lots of repetition. Wally has even gotten better socializing with his friends. He still rather stand back and watch them play. Before he would want to stay in his crate, but now he enjoys hanging out with the gang.
Pupdate 9/17/2023
Today Wally and I trained at Hollenbeck Park. We got to worked around many distractions like people, bikes, ducks, and loud noises. One parson had come up to say hello and Wally did well not reacting. He is showing improvement in being more confident, especially in unfamiliar places. Still Wally can be stubborn and not want to do some commands. We are still working on his come to sit. With the leash he does this command well, but without leash pressure, he tries to get away with not coming. With his other commands, Wally is great at following through without needed leash pressure. Overall, I am proud of Wally and how much he is breaking out of his shell.
Pupdate 9/18/2023
Wally and I worked at Ronald Reagan Park today. We tried to do a heel without me holding the leash, but Wally needs a little more practice. His heel is great when I am holding the leash, but once he feels it drop, Wally starts to push his boundaries by not heeling with me. He was also a little nervous to heel past some of the other pups in training, but as we continued to work around them he was no longer worried. Wally's come to heel has improved a lot, even with the leash dragging. Wally worked so hard today that he took a little nap next to all his new friends.
Pupdate 9/19/2023
Today Wally and I went to Lowe's to train. He is doing well on all his commands around distractions. Lowe's was pretty busy with all their employees restocking so it was a little loud, but Wally did well staying focused. His come to heel has improved! His positioning is great and he does not try to walk away during the command. There was one time Wally had gotten scared which was not his fault. When I asked him to place on the cart, he stepped on it and it had moved so he jumped off. I also noticed him getting nervous when we walked past the Halloween decorations. I had heeled him around them a few times and he started to relax. We started to practice Wally's send away to place which he is already starting to understand. We worked at a short distance at first with lots of repetition. With all his progress, Wally will soon be ready to be off leash!
Pupdate 9/20/2023
Wally and I worked at The Block of Orange today. He was not nervous at all coming to a new place. Wally is starting to heel with the leash dragging. He did well staying focused, especially around the crowds and other dogs. The only time Wally got scared was when a skateboard road past him. With all the other distractions, Wally did great staying focused on his commands. We had practiced place with duration and distance, and Wally stayed in command even when groups of people walked around him. I had also asked Wally to go into a down in the walkway which he also did well holding command.
Pupdate 9/21/2023
Today Wally and I stayed home to train. We worked more on his send away to place. Since he is already comfortable placing on the cot, practicing with it will help him get better. He can't go a far distance yet, but he still is understanding with some space between us and the cot. He is also doing great with his come to sit off leash! We practiced his heel off leash around the house as well. Wally looks to be ready to show off his off leash skills around distractions!
Today Wally finally jumped in and played with his friends. He even was excited to play with all the toys we have. Now when Wally comes out of his crate, his tail is wagging and he is ready to play!
Pupdate 9/22/2023
Today I had taken Wally to meet some of my family. He did so well and was not nervous at all! They all said he was so well behaved. I can see that Wally’s confidence has gone up since his training. We then took a walk around the neighborhood. We practiced his off leash walk and his sit and down. I did see that Wally gets scared around skateboards. There was a kid who was riding a skateboard in his front yard and Wally did not want to walk by him. I worked wally around the distraction by having him sit, down, and heel and we worked through his nerves. We were then able to walk by without Wally being scared.
Pupdate 9/23/2023
Wally joined me to go see my little cousin's soccer game at Behringer Park. He did so well working around all the noise, kids, and some dogs. He showed off all his skills with the leash dragging. At first Wally was hesitant to do the under command because all the distractions but I corrected him which put him back into focus. He did not try to growl or lunge at any of the kids. He even took a little nap next to cousins as we watched the game.
Pupdate 9/24/2023
Today Wally got to put his off leash skills to the test at Whittwood Town Center. He also joined me for some shopping and did well in the busy store. He stay in his sit command while people walked around him and stood close to him in line. He is doing great with all his commands around distractions. One thing we had to work on today is Wally’s fear of skateboards. At first when Wally saw the skateboard, he wanted to walk the other way and when I put him in a sit he was shaking. I continued to have him follow through with the commands around the skateboard. When I noticed him fixated on the boy riding the board, I would say off, press the e-collar, and reward him when he looked away. It took him some time but he stopped shaking and was able to keep his focus on me. Other than that, Wally is still doing great with under, place, heel, and duration/distance of sit and down.
Pupdate 9/25/2023
Today Wally and I worked at Whittier Narrows. We met up with some trainers and the other pups in training. He is doing great with all his off leash commands. We spent a little more time on Wally's send away to place. We still are working at a short distance but I was able to take one step further today. He still is doing great with all his other commands and I am even happy to see him not be scared of new environments. The rest of the day Wally got to enjoy his time playing and relaxing with his friends at home.
Pupdate 9/26/2023
Today Wally and I trained at The Pike Outlets in Long Beach. He was excited to work in a new place and he did so well too! He heeled all off leash and of course followed through with every command. He even joined my sister and I for lunch. I had asked him to 'under' underneath the table, and he layed down and relaxed while we finished our food. He has been having a little too much fun this past week that Wally was in need of a bath. This wasn't his favorite part of the day, but once he was done getting washed, he ran around and chased his friends as he dried off.
Pupdate 9/27/2023
Wally and I stayed home to work on his door and food manners. Door manners is great for when you need to head out the door to grab something and you don't want Wally running out. Another thing it's great for is when you have guests coming in, Wally will wait in a down or place command instead of being right in front of the door. With food manners, Wally knows to patiently wait till I say break to eat his food. This is great not only during feeding time but also if food falls or there is something he shouldn't eat in front of him, he should wait till you say it is okay for him to have. Dinner time is Wally's favorite time of the day, so no matter how excited he is, he still does great sitting patiently untill I tell him break.
Pupdate 9/28/2023
Today Wally and I went to the Cerritos Outlets. He did well around all the distractions. Wally did lunge at another dog but it was not his fault. A women had let her dog run towards Wally without asking. I had corrected him and told him off. Another dog had come up to Wally calmly later on and Wally stayed relaxed.
Pupdate 9/29/2023
Wally and I trained the the Del Amo Mall in Torrence. He showed off all his off leash skills around distractions. We even worked on his greeting manners. Someone wanted to pet Wally, so I made sure he was in a sit and stayed calm as he got to meet a new person. He is more confident and is not scared to walk through the crowds. Wally can't wait to go home to show you everything he has learned!
Pupdate 9/30/2023
Today Wally got to have a day off to run around and play with his friends before he goes home. He loves playing fetch, but sometimes he thinks it fun when I chase him for the ball rather than just bringing it to me. Wally had so much fun playing with his friends and tomorrow he is ready to head home to show off all his skills!
Comments