The Duke | German Shepherd Mix | Bakersfield, California | Off Leash K9 Training of Bakersfield

Meet The Duke! He is a German Shepherd Mix joining us for our Two Week Board and Train Program. The Duke was a rescue who hasn’t had the greatest upbringing. When on leash he completely shuts down and doesn’t wanna walk. At times when he does walk, he will begin to bite the leash making walks difficult. During his stay with us, we will help build his self esteem along with creating a well balanced foundation of obedience for him to enjoy back home with his family. Check daily for his progress and Enjoy!

Pupdate 2:

Date: May 17th, 2022
Weight: 39.42lbs
Morning Feed: Half
Evening Feed: All
Training Summary: The Duke can be a bit shy and not always want to train. He has a hard time with leash guidance. Today we introduced all 5 commands with leash guidance. We take our time through these commands so he learns them properly and at his pace. When on heel he always wants to drop to a down and not walk. He had some diarrhea today. It could be that he is nervous to the change in his environment. I will keep monitoring The Duke throughout the day tomorrow. We will continue to build his confidence!

Pupdate 3:

Date: May 18th, 2022
Weight: 39.43lbs
Morning Feed: half
Evening Feed: All
Training Summary: Over at the park we continued to reinforce all five commands. He is getting much better with his heel. We can walk more instead of him dropping to a down. At times he will be heeling great and then he wants to avoid me and interrupt his heel. He is doing great meeting all the new dogs!

Pupdate 4:

Date May 19th, 2022
Weight : 39.63lbs
Morning Feed: All
Evening Feed: All
Training Summary: Today was a big challenge for The Duke! The Duke met two new friends, Dante and Freddy! He did really well around them. We emphasized the place command. This command is great for boosting his confidence. He is eating well and isn’t having anymore diarrhea.

Pupdate 5:

Date: May 20th, 2022
Weight: 39.64lbs
Morning Feed: all
Evening Feed: all
Training Summary: The Duke is gaining lots of confidence on leash. He will now follow me on leash without dropping to a down. He loves the place command. The place command is great for practicing his commands. I noticed sometimes he might have trouble downing on the floor but will down on a place cot.

Pupdate 6:

Date: May 21st, 2022
Weight: 39.64lbs
Morning Feed: all
Evening Feed: all
Training Summary: Today we continued to reinforce all commands. His favorite command is the place command. As I mentioned before this is a great command for building his confidence. He’s eating all his food and isn’t having diarrhea.

Pupdate 7:

Date: May 21st, 2022
Weight: 39.53lbs
Morning Feed: all
Evening Feed: all
Training Summary: Over at the park we challenged the duke with more distractions. There were lots of kids playing around him while he trained. We still need leash guidance for his down command. This week we will expose him to more distractions along with reinforcing commands.

Pupdate 8:

Date: May 22nd, 2022
Weight: 39.82lbs
Morning Feed: All
Evening Feed: All
Training Summary: Today we got a better version of The Duke! He had the eagerness to train and was responding well to commands. In the evening I took him on a neighborhood walk to expose him to the different dogs on my block. I noticed he can be skittish when he encounters another dog barking at him or if he hears a sudden noise. He is improving with his down command. We are working through the anxiety he has and building his confidence!

Date: May 23rd, 2022
Weight: 39.92lbs
Morning Feed: all
Evening Feed: all
Training Summary: Today was fun day. we started our day by training over at the beach. HE enjoyed the fresh weather and the people at the beach. He really loved the sand! Towards the evening we trained in the yard. We practiced off leash recall by playing fetch. He loves rope toys!

Pupdate 10:

Date: May 24th, 2022
Weight: 39.86lbs
Morning Feed: all
Evening Feed: all
Training Summary:Today we worked over at the skate park. Getting him used to moving objects like skateboards, bikes, and scooters. He can be frightened by these things so we trained around them but not too close. Exposing him just enough to but not scaring him.

Pupdate 11:

Date: May 25th, 2022
Weight: 39.93lbs
Morning Feed: all
Evening Feed: all
Training Summary: Today The Duke got to socialize with all of his friends. He did really well, he loves to play with other dogs! He does great with all his commands on leash and has improved really well with his heel off leash. His confidence continues to build. At times he can be nervous and begins to urinate. I’ve noticed new environments tend to get his nerves going, therefore we slowly begin socialize him in the new environment.

Pupdate 12:

Date: May 26th, 2022
Weight: 39.45lbs
Morning Feed: all
Evening Feed: all
Training Summary: Today we took our training to the Santa Monica Boardwalk! The Duke’s confidence has improved so much since his first day of training. He can still be timid in new environments but we must be patient with him until he warms up to the environment.He was even off leash! Great day work today!