Welcome to Gambi! Gambi is a playful 7-month old puppy bursting with that puppy energy. She is here for a 2-Week Board & Train to get a jump start on her basic commands and skills, as well as, address some of those unwanted puppy behaviors. We are going to keep it fun and get her on the right track before she heads back home. As always, we start with the long-line to build up the focus we will leverage to teach her everything else we want her to learn while she is here. I also included a shot of her getting the zoomies because who doesn’t want to see a dog filled with this much joy?

We are nearing the end of Biscotti’s stay, so we are going over everything he has learned on a daily basis. This video is a compilation of the commands and hand signals we use for Sit, Down, Place, Heel, and Home/Kennel. This also includes the markers and accompanying hand signals for Good/Yes and No, as well as, the release command, Break. Biscotti does a good job showing us he knows his commands and even gives us a chance to cover how to address some stubbornness with a simple No and repeat of the command.

Our goal while Biscotti is here is to help him learn to exist without demanding our attention. One way to do that is to bring him along for all the jobs that need done around the house, so he can just learn to hang out, take it all in, and not cause a fuss. In this sped up video clip, you can see Biscotti is hanging out on the patio as I repair one of our rocking chairs. Biscotti’s only job in this exercise is to chill out while I get my work done and as you can see he does an excellent job and gets rewarded with a ton of praise once I have completed the task.

Here we are with Biscotti testing out his recall. Biscotti is deaf, so we are using visual cues to get Biscotti’s attention before issuing the Come command. We will be using the eCollar to assist with this soon, but are keeping it simple for now. We are marking completion of the command with the word Good and a thumbs up gesture, before delivering a food reward and a break command. His owners have given him a great foundation, so he knows his commands well and the long-line is just there for safety. Typically the long-line would help us guide the dog to us, but Biscotti is a pro so he doesn’t require that this session.

Say hello to Biscotti! He is a handsome Red Heeler who will be with us for a 2-Week Board & Train to address some issues with settling down. He is smart and independent, but tends to make a fuss to get what he wants. We will be working Biscotti through the basics and paying specific attention to his problem areas along the way. Our first exercise is always leash pressure, so here we are feeling out his level of respect to follow his handler through the pressure of the leash. We will be working to get on the same page, so we are on a loose leash 99 percent of the time. We want the 1 percent of leash pressure to be brief and meaningful and clearly communicate our direction to Biscotti.

Here we are running Aliyah through Sit/Stay and Recall drills. We are using her daily meal as a reward for compliance, which is a great way to reinforce the behaviors we want from her. The leash provides us with a way to ensure compliance with our commands in case she breaks a Sit/Stay too soon or is too distracted to come when we call her.

Today we have Aliyah and Suri walking alongside each other. The additional dog provides a new distraction for Aliyah to overcome on the loose leash walk. After a few corrections for tuning out and forging ahead you can see she is getting it and walks in a perfect Heel position for my wife.