Remy
Golden Retriever
Cypress, Ca | Puppy Board and Train
Welcome Remy the ten-week-old golden retriever! She is joining us for the next 21 days to work on potty training, crate training, puppy socialization, bite inhibition, manners, and the foundations of obedience. Follow her on her journey!
January 26, 2024
Remy spent her first evening with us getting to know everyone and her environment. She began clicker training by pairing it with her kibble. She didn’t finish all her meal but she is also working for her toys which is very excellent. She is going potty on her fake grass and reusable pee pad and in a few days, we will be working on taking her outside once her body has time to adjust. Right now we reward her whenever she goes potty on the fake grass. She also got acquainted with some place objects and immediately loved them. She weighed in at 10.1lbs.
January 27, 2024
Remy spent the day working on building her engagement. She’s definitely more toy-motivated than food motivated but she does work for her food really well. She is continuing to learn the clicker, pairing it with her name, and her first command, touch. She’s struggling with potty training right now but that’s normal, she no longer wants to go on the grass she wants to nap and play on the grass. She ate all of her breakfast, she didn’t finish her lunch, but she ate most of her dinner with probiotics. Her stool is much firmer now! She’s learning how to initiate play and ask permission and that’s exciting to see. She does get overexcited when working on handling and grooming skills but it’s very understandable for a ten-week-old puppy.
January 28, 2024
Remy worked on her grooming skills today. We spent some much-needed time in the shower getting her comfy with water so she could take a puppy bath from all her adventures in her fake grass. She enjoyed the water; she got lots of treats and enjoyed eating the water and splashing. She wasn’t overly excited so she’ll still need more desensitizing to enjoy water thoroughly, but she is a retriever so I’m hoping that helps us. She worked on the beginning of her leash manners she’s not a fan of the leash, but she got good towards the end of the day coming back when she hits the end of the leash and asking permission when she wants to go somewhere that’s out of leash bounds. She ate all her food today which is very excellent, and her stool was nice and firm. We introduced her to some puppy enrichment toys and chews, significantly decreasing her mouthiness. She loves frozen carrots.
January 29, 2024
Remy spent the day working on pivoting and heel positioning. She was introduced to puppy pushups as well as settling. She’s getting much better with her trading for food rewards. She still struggles with dropping people and food but she’s getting much better with toys and trading the leash. She’s also showing improvements in going #2 on the fake grass she’s looking for the fake grass now instead of just trying to squat anywhere. She’s also learning how to drink out of different surfaces bowls, shower heads, faucets, for future water endeavors. She’s spending more supervised time getting introduced to my cat she’s working on engagement while he’s out and remaining neutral. It’s hard for her, she does get frustrated and then throws a tantrum or gets mouthier. But she’s improving on how fast she recovers from her tantrums and being redirected.
January 30, 2024
Remy worked on socialization and desensitization today! She learned about umbrellas wheelchairs, drills, different types of collars, and harnesses. We’ve been working on building her impulse control and frustration tolerance. This isn’t going to happen overnight let alone over the next few weeks as she is a puppy with puppy brain. She’s getting really good at asking for permission but if you don’t give her what she’s asking for she does throw a puppy tantrum and go on a biting fit. So much of the time is spent on being more stubborn than her, waiting for her to ask permission politely and only rewarding when she stays calm and not give in to the tantrum. We are still working on body handling and conditioning. That one will take some time just because she is not a fan of things on her and she’s having trouble understanding the leash, but slow and steady wins the race and she’s coming along nicely. She’s very smart and she tries to figure out ways to get what she wants, it’s really nice to see her try to problem-solve for herself noggin working hard, she just can’t always get what she wants which is most dog’s problems. We are also making progress with crate training, she is getting the concept of going in the crate when told but I don’t think she understands the word yet. I think she’s just thinking going inside gets her treats and it’s just a coincidence when I point and say CRATE she hasn’t connected the dots yet but she’s processing.
January 31, 2024
February 1, 2024
Remy had a big day! She worked on wearing different things like raincoats, shoes, jackets, and onesies with this rain we are experiencing. She spent some time with my cat outside and today they booped noses. She also spent the day working on going potty outside and trading some of the leaves, plants, and mulch that she’s been finding. She’s getting better at her puppy push-ups. She’s eating all her food and some. There are times she prefers treats over her kibble but those are when we’re working on stuff that’s a lot more challenging for her or she views as more valuable like trading things outside. She’s gotten exceptionally well at telling us when she wants things like water, pets, or food. Her leash skills is improving she’s more likely to come when the leash gets tight as long as she’s not asking permission for something that’s farther away, that’s when she still doesn’t understand and wants to fight the leash but she’s making progress calling her over and making noises helps.
February 2, 2024
February 3, 2024
February 4, 2024
February 5, 2024
Today we began introducing more veterinary skills like being carried in certain ways and she was rather comfortable which will help when she gets older and potentially gets an injury or is too tired to walk. We are also celebrating her starting to ask to go outside by sitting by the door! It was 2 times today but it was big progress for her! She’s learning to target her feet so she can work on pushing the potty button instead of running around with it in her mouth as well as help her with her joint end awareness, as a large breed she will need growing up. She is also showing improvement around my cat. She still barks and jumps to get closer but she’s more easily redirected and the cat is able to get much closer before she gets too excited!
February 6, 2024
February 7, 2024
February 8, 2024
Remy had a busy day today! She worked on her button some more she’s getting the hang of pushing it but she also wants to run off with it in her mouth afterward. So still a work in progress. With a little break from the rain today we spent some time out working on recall and trading things she’s found on a walk. She’s getting good at dropping things and now we are writing on generalizing to more valuable stuff! She got to play with her friends today and work on doing some of her commands while playing. She worked on her nails again and she’s doing so much better now! Her door manners are getting really good and we are building them to other types of thresholds now and different doors. She’s holding it in much better inside now and is telling us when she wants water by asking permission!
February 9, 2024
February 10, 2024
February 11, 2024
After a long day yesterday, Remy spent the day at home working on potty training and using her button. We’ve also been working on settle which she is understanding but not in the way I want her to understand it so we’re compromising at the moment. Her DROP command is getting really good in the house, she looks forward to me saying the word because she knows she’s going to get a snack and I don’t have to worry or stress about her trying to eat the thing or continue chewing because for her its a game for attention and treats and she really likes playing it. She’s also had a turn in her relationship with my cat they are now on sniffing terms and sitting together terms. Most of the work comes from the cat adjusting to its new housemate but she’s also more relaxed around him now and less focused on trying to play with him or investigate him. She can just be calm around him for the most part, there’s sometimes when she’s trying to play with him, but she’s not as driven anymore she’s OK with just polite interactions now!
February 12, 2024
February 13, 2024
February 14, 2024
Remy had a fun day today being a distraction dog at work! She has been working on asking permission at all doors and generalizing to other people. She’s been working on her button and is getting more comfortable touching it but it’s still in the hopes that if she goes outside she will get more water but she does go potty as well! No matter how long she’s been holding it or not. Today we worked on engagement while people walked by the house. She’s getting more easily distracted but is quick to ask permission which makes everything easier to handle. She got to work on spending some training time with Elvis. It was hard for both of them to adjust to not playing but they settled in for some quality learning time then went back to playing.
February 15, 2024
Remy spent her last day getting groomed which was its own adventure! She is not a fan of the dryer but tuna can solve lots of problems. She enjoyed playing with her best friends on their many breaks but she definitely got cranky and needed a nap. We chose to celebrate her accomplishments by going to a coffee shop to work on polite greetings and telling me when she needed to go potty. She sat and people-watched while motorcycles, buses, bicycles, and crowds of people walked by and she seemed to ask permission more to males than females. She settled nicely and dropped anything she put in her mouth in exchange for her leash! After 3 weeks, she finally convinced Sergeant the German Shepherd to play with her! Today she began using her button on her own to let me know she needed to go potty! We were so proud! She was really proud of herself for how confident she was in what she thought it was getting her. Her final weigh-in was 17.6 lbs!