What Foundation Camp Did for Hank
Before camp: Puppy mouthing, chewing, and low engagement with a trainer.
Before
Where Hank Started
Puppy mouthing, chewing, and low engagement with a trainer
Hank arrived at five months old, a food-motivated Labradoodle puppy who could already sit but stayed easily overstimulated and struggled to hold engagement and eye contact with a trainer. At home he was mouthing and chewing the occasional flip-flop, ordinary puppy habits his family wanted to get ahead of before they became harder to break.
The first individual session worked relationship-building and the place command, sending Hank to a bed, turning to face the handler, and holding a down. He picked up the patterning quickly, though holding duration under distraction remained the sticking point heading into week two. From there the team layered in send-to-place, recall, and heel drills, using pets and verbal praise on days Hank wasn't food-motivated, and added a leave-it and a done command around toys for impulse control. He thrived in daycare from his first day, playful and outgoing with new dogs even when a little pushy.
The program
Hank's Foundation Camp
Hank checked in for two weeks of Foundation Camp at five months old, food-motivated but easily overstimulated and light on engagement with a trainer. The first week built basic obedience and the place command, sending him to a bed and holding a down. Week two added recall, heel, and impulse-control work with a leave-it and a done command, while Hank also settled into daycare from day one. He graduated wearing a training collar upgraded from the slip lead he arrived in.
Episode by episode
Watch Hank's Journey
Filmed during the stay, in order. Nothing here is staged after the fact.
After
Where Hank Ended Up
By graduation, engagement and distraction typical of a young puppy were still Hank's biggest remaining challenge, and he went home wearing a training collar upgraded from the slip lead he arrived in. At a follow-up visit weeks later, he held place duration with the leash and equipment off, worked recall reliably on a long line, and stayed calm on leash when a trainer walked another dog past him to test his reaction.
The trainer credited his family's consistent practice at home and called Hank's training a success.
Published October 11, 2024
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