At A Glance
Lola is a 5-month-old mini Bernedoodle who completed a 2-Week Board and Train with Off Leash K9 Training under the care of Emma. Lola had already completed four weeks of Marker Mastery (clicker training), so she came in with a solid foundation. The focus of the Board and Train was not starting from scratch, but refining commands, adding structure, improving greeting manners, and strengthening listening around other dogs while keeping her fun, happy puppy personality.
Dog: Lola
Breed: Mini Bernedoodle
Age: 5 months
Location: Fredericksburg, VA
Program: 2-Week Board and Train
Trainer: Emma
Main Focus: Polished obedience, structured routines, calm greetings, focus around dogs, impulse control
Outcome: Cleaner commands, calmer manners, better listening in distracting environments, and improved boundaries
The Challenge
Lola was full of energy and affection, but her excitement often came out as messy manners, especially during greetings and around other dogs.
Before training, Lola:
- Had a good training foundation but needed more structure and consistency
- Got overly excited when greeting people
- Needed better impulse control so she didn’t “launch” into people
- Struggled to use her “listening ears” around other dogs
- Needed real-world polish to turn skills into dependable daily habits
Her owner wanted Lola to stay playful and silly while learning when and how to be calm.
The Training Approach
Lola completed a 2-Week Board and Train designed to refine and polish her existing foundation.
Training focused on:
- Adding structured routines to her day for clearer expectations
- Polishing obedience commands for cleaner follow-through and reliability
- Teaching calm greeting manners instead of jumping or launching
- Improving engagement and focus around other dogs
- Building impulse control so excitement doesn’t override listening
- Maintaining Lola’s playful personality while teaching appropriate boundaries
The goal was to help her become a well-mannered puppy who’s still fun, just with better control.
The Results
Over the two weeks, Lola made strong progress in both manners and responsiveness.
What improved:
- Cleaner obedience commands with stronger reliability
- Calmer greetings and better manners around people
- Improved focus and responsiveness around other dogs
- Better boundaries and impulse control
- A more structured, predictable routine that supports good behavior
Lola stayed happy, playful, and full of life, now paired with clearer expectations, solid structure, and better manners.
Trainer Insight
When a puppy already has a foundation, the next level is structure and proofing. Polishing commands, adding boundaries, and practicing around distractions allows a dog to keep their personality while becoming far easier to live with.
Ready to Keep the Personality and Fix the Manners?
If your puppy is sweet but overly excited, struggles around other dogs, or needs better structure at home, a Board and Train can take your foundation and turn it into real-world reliability.
You can have a fun dog and a well-mannered dog.
Schedule a consultation today to get a clear plan and start building calm manners, better focus, and dependable obedience anywhere you go.
