At A Glance
Sally is a 6.5-month-old Chocolate Lab who enrolled in a 2-Week Board and Train with Off Leash K9 Training of Fredericksburg. She’s a sweet puppy with a great temperament, but her family needed help with nuisance barking, poop eating, and overall reliability. Her program focused on obedience foundation and everyday manners to help her make better choices at home and in new environments.
Dog: Sally
Breed: Chocolate Labrador Retriever
Age: 6.5 months
Location: Fredericksburg, VA
Program: 2-Week Board and Train
Main Focus: Nuisance barking, poop eating (coprophagia), basic obedience, everyday manners
Outcome: Stronger obedience foundation, improved manners, better responsiveness, and calmer routines at home
The Challenge
Sally needed help reducing nuisance barking and poop eating while building reliable obedience and everyday manners at home and around distractions.
Before training, Sally:
- Had barking episodes that were hard to stop
- Was eating her own poop often, which upset her stomach
- Got anxious when left behind
- Had no prior formal training
Her family wanted structure and reliability early so these puppy behaviors didn’t become long-term habits.
The Training Approach
Sally completed a 2-Week Board and Train designed to create clear communication and better routines.
Training focused on:
- Teaching foundational obedience (come, sit, down, place, heel)
- Building better follow-through so commands mean the same thing every time
- Teaching calmer routines at home to reduce barking cycles
- Practicing independence routines to reduce anxious behavior when separated
- Creating management habits to prevent poop eating and redirect into trained behaviors
The goal was simple: better obedience, better routines, and fewer nuisance behaviors.
The Results
Over the two weeks, Sally began showing more structure and better day-to-day behavior.
What improved:
- Obedience became clearer and more reliable
- Responsiveness improved with repetition and consistency
- Better settling routines helped reduce barking episodes
- Clearer management routines helped reduce poop eating opportunities
- More predictable behavior at home and on outings
Sally stayed sweet and social—now paired with better manners and a stronger obedience foundation.
Trainer Insight
Labs are quick learners, but without structure, puppy habits like barking and mischief can snowball. Early obedience and routine-based training helps prevent those behaviors from becoming permanent.
Ready for a Calmer, More Reliable Puppy in Fredericksburg, VA?
If your puppy is barking, developing bad habits, or ignoring commands, early training can make daily life easier fast and set the tone for adulthood.
