Stealie’s 10 Week Journey

Training Begins: March 15th, 2026 | Training Ends: May 24th, 2026

Behaviors Stealie will learn or begin learning during his stay here:

BEHAVIOR	PROGRESS
Sit	Stealie is really good at “sit”! He sits very well to be let out of the playpen, his crate, and at doorways. He also sits before he gets his meals and sits for attention. If he is jumping and I ignore him, he sits quickly.
Down	Stealie is doing well with “down” and follows a hand signal of pointing at the ground very well. He also responds to the verbal cue nearly every time now. Dogs are very visual beings, so verbal cues can take far longer than visual cues. We introduce verbal cues in this manner: “Stealie, down.” Pause. Point to the ground. New cue (verbal) > Pause > Old cue (visual)
Name Recognition	Stealie knows his name very well! He has nicknames of “Steels” and “Stealie Bealie.”
Touch	Stealie knows “touch” very well and loves to do this behavior! I hold out my hand and say “touch,” and he touches his nose to my hand. This cue is very useful for getting them to redirect and focus on us.
Recalls	Stealie has a great recall, though sometimes patience is required if he has zoomies or he is playing with his friends. With no distractions, he recalls nearly instantly. In a stimulating environment (such as friends running around), it can take him a few seconds to realize he’s been called. Overall, he’s doing very well with this, and we will continue to practice it around distractions.
Go Into Crate	Stealie has been doing really well with his crate. He picked up on it pretty quickly and runs to his crate to eat his snack. He typically eats his snack and settles in for sleep with no fussing. He has woken up in the middle of the night a couple of times in the past 2 or so weeks to go potty (on warmer days when he’s drank more during the day, is what it has been caused by) but otherwise sleeps through the night. I much rather a puppy who signals they need to potty than one who has an accident in their crate, and he’s really good about middle-of-the-night potty runs. He goes out, goes potty, and goes right back into his crate (I do not treat when we do this; it’s just back in the crate and back to bed). He never fusses after going back in.
Leash Walking	This is one of the harder behaviors for Stealie. He’s such an energetic, curious, and amped up puppy that he has a hard time keeping cadence with a slow human (that’d be me). He really, really tries, but you can tell he’s very antsy and wants to race ahead. Occasionally, he does, but as soon as he feels leash pressure, he comes back to me. Every once in a while, he will get zoomies on the leash. The best thing to do when that happens is to stand still and let him get them out, and proceed once he gives you eye contact and shows he’s ready to move on. He does a good job for short walks (10 minutes or so) and does even better if he has a chance to burn some energy off first by playing in the yard.
Place	Stealie loves “place”! He runs right to the training platform I have and often does this while we are trying to work on something else, too. He is also learning “place” with a dog bed, so he can transition to a dog bed in your home more easily. He’s doing great with the bed, too! I think he likes the training platform more because it’s up higher… and he’s shown me plenty of times he likes to climb and be up high!
Stay	Stealie, despite his energy, actually does a really good job with “stay”! He stays while I walk around the room and is starting to learn to stay when I throw toys and give him other distractions. He’s flown through this cue!
Drop It	Stealie hasn’t gotten to work on this one too much because while he loves playing tug, as soon as he thinks he’s training, he won’t play. He’s way too focused on training to tug! That being said, the little we have practiced, he does great at dropping because of that focus!
Leave It	Stealie is progressing nicely with “leave it”. He will leave treats that are in my hand and leave treats that are dropped from a small height.
Wait	Stealie is learning to “wait” at thresholds such as in his crate and at gates and doorways. He was pushy around doors when I first got him, but is getting much better at waiting until he’s told he can go through them.
Potty Training	Stealie has made a lot of progress with potty training. He does not soil the playpen at all anymore and very rarely has accidents anymore (maybe 1-2x a week). The accidents he does have are on warmer days when he’s drinking a lot. He does the typical puppy behavior of playing and just stopping to pee real quick before he resumes play. He developmentally does not have full bladder control yet, so this is very normal, and also a very rare occurrence. He goes potty quickly when he goes outside and is starting to show signs at the door (walking around in front of it, standing near it, sniffing the rug in front of it), so he clearly is indicating he wants to potty outdoors.

Stealie’s Detailed Update

Stealie began his training journey as the quiet, calm puppy and has progressed into a party boy! One trait that has been there since day one, though, is his love for climbing. Did you know there are dog parkour organizations? Well, I think Stealie aspires to become a parkour champion! He loves being up on anything high. He often lies down on the training platform instead of on dog beds so he can survey the other puppies from up above. He just really, really loves heights.

Stealie is a very silly puppy who is just full of all kinds of fun antics! He really loves to run, run, run, and will greatly benefit from being able to get some outdoor time to just be a puppy. When he goes on sniffy walks around my property, he returns inside a much calmer, more well-behaved puppy. He just has a lot of energy to burn, and sniffy walks are such a good way to do it. You can put him on a long line and let him just explore and have fun in nature as dogs are intended to do! Of course, just some time in your yard to zoom and play will be highly beneficial as well. I highly recommend getting him a flirt pole (he loves them!) and using that to burn off some energy as well. All of this being said, it’s equally important that he gets time to learn to relax and has plenty of downtime. Having an off switch is so very important, and he’s getting better at relaxing outside of a crate.

Stealie is smart – TOO smart! Because of how quick he is to learn, he picks up cues very fast, but he can also figure out how to get into things, too. Providing a lot of puzzle toys to satisfy that innate desire to scavenge will help him so much. I will list a few of my favorites below. Try to feed as many of his meals as possible in these puzzle feeders to help expend some of his energy. It’s so good for them to practice natural behaviors like foraging, and these puzzle toys help mimic those skills in the home.

Overall, Stealie is such a sweet boy. He just loves attention, loves being around people and other animals, and is always up for whatever you want to do with him. He will definitely keep you on your toes, but he’ll also keep you laughing the entire time!

Stealie’s Favorites

Food: Stealie is eating Pawtree Whitefish. You can find a link to Pawtree products through the information Foxcreek Farm gave you.
Puzzle Toys: Stealie really benefits from having his mind worked, and these are a great way to provide him with mental stimulation while getting a bit of a break yourself! We have one like this one here at puppy school, and it’s a favorite! The ball-type puzzle feeders are also really great.
Favorite Treats: Stealie is not picky at all when it comes to treats, but he really loves these Nibs, and so do I; they break in half very easily. He also loves chicken and turkey!
Favorite Frozen Treat (to stuff his hoof/Kong/etc.): Stealie really likes this canned food and also enjoys peanut butter and cheese whiz. I use a Toppl (size small) for all of his crate snacking. I coat the inside with peanut butter and add a spoonful of canned food. I am currently not freezing, but he will probably need his snacks frozen pretty soon since he cleans them out really quickly now!
Favorite Toys: Flirt Pole is really the only toy he absolutely loves. He also really loves these tug toys. He will play with other toys, but hasn’t shown a clear favorite other than these two. I recommend getting a variety of them – including plush, rubber, latex, etc. so he has plenty of textures to chew on!
Favorite Bed: This bed has become everyone’s favorite for around the house! He also likes having a Primo Pad in his crate, and I usually accompany it with a blanket like this. And, of course, he’s quite fond of the Klimb training platform – but for something similar, I think a cot would do just fine!
Favorite Chews: Beef Tendons, Twizzies & No Hide Chews

Stealie’s Photo Gallery

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