San Diego is a place that Happy Doodle Farm has delivered many goldendoodles and bernedoodles over the years and most of those were trained dogs. It seems like the Southern California region’s weather and culture combine to make an unbeatable atmosphere for dogs when it comes to quality of life. People are out with their dogs in public constantly. This makes having a doodle that is already exposed to training even more important than in most areas. Having a doodle that is predominantly in your home means that the number of rules to follow are fewer and the repercussions for failure are not as great. We offer many levels of training from basic command training to introduce them to good behaviors in the home all the way up to complete turnkey service dogs that are trained to fulfill special duties for their families. People in San Diego may not realize this, but in many parts of the country people just go to work, maybe go shopping and then go home. Their dogs are loving members of the family to be sure, but since the humans just sit at home much of the time, the dogs do too. In San Diego I am sure that is the case too, but it seems like a greater percentage of people are active and doing activities. The first time we went to Torrey Pines we were absolutely blown away by the sheer number of people out and about at a random time of the day. So many had dogs who had varying degrees of training and discipline. The California coast is gorgeous. We made our way down to La Jolla Cove and Scripps Park. Even though it was bustling with activity it is still super peaceful and an unbeatable place to watch a sunset. On one trip we stayed in the Mira Mesa area which was close enough to La Jolla, but out of the city. We went to the San Diego Zoo and decided that it was how Disney would build a zoo if they were building one. Meaning it was a better zoo than Animal Kingdom in Orlando. It just has so much character and the plants and trees were all very well thought out in the design. The animals are obviously great too, but it is just hard to beat the whole atmosphere. Unfortunately, as dog breeders and trainers, we are always keeping an eye out for service dogs. We saw one at the beginning of the day wearing a vest. It was a big standard poodle that looked a lot like our Toby. However, he did not act like Toby. Understandably at the beginning of the day, regardless of how much training a dog has attended there is often a bit of excess energy. This guy was pulling his owners through the crowd and did not only look unfit to be a service dog, but I would not have been comfortable taking him on a walk through my neighborhood. I am not totally faulting the dog, he did not choose to put on a service vest, he is also only as good as his handlers allow him to be. Training Tangent: Since I do not know his history I will assume that he had 8 months of intense service dog training, but even the most thoroughly trained dogs need to constantly be worked with once they get home. Dogs are very much like children, especially these really smart dogs who understand humans better than a typical dog. What these dogs learn is that they can get away with different things depending on the handler. Just like children may be perfect angels for one parent or teacher and disrespectful to another, it is all about building that consistency and trust. Setting those rules and expectations is vital. If you have a dog who is well-trained and can stay on place for hours, but you start letting him come off place whenever he gets bored, he will realize that your rules are not rigid and that you do not expect him to follow you perfectly. The same is true with any command. We had one family complain that their dog was good with commands, but she would jump up on their daughter and sometimes mom. We did not want to hear that, but we also know that those types of behaviors need fixed quickly once they are identified. Within moments we discovered the issue. The daughter taught the dog to not only jump up on her to give hugs, but also to leap into her arms. As tricks, these are good, but her sweet doodle was really being rewarded for these behaviors with extreme affection. A hug from your owner is a huge reward for a loving dog. So by teaching the behavior and not adding in commands to stop it or let the dog know when it is acceptable to engage in these actions she was unknowingly teaching bad habits. If you live in the San Diego area give us a call. Many people who are looking for a puppy are worried about finding a breeder close to home rather than just the best breeder they can find. The problem with this approach is that you do not realize that most of the work in those first 8 weeks are done with puppies, mommas, and breeders. We take care of them, socialize them, expose them to other animals and get them ready for their future home. Living close to us does not really change any of these truths. After 8 weeks, depending on the level of training you choose, the puppy starts school.