Mark and Connie work Gunner and Tommy on Thing 1

  On  Tuesday the 16th of this month Mark, Connie and I met at a  beach on Camp Pendleton. I brought Gunner and Tommy to work with. There were some very interesting obstacles to work around, on and under. There was the standard issue picnic table to walk on, a few wobbly telephone poles in the sand to try to stradle [not an easy behavior when you have 4 legs] and a road side parking lot to practice LLW. And the road which had many distractions! Columns of soldiers and noisy tanks paraded up and down for the first hour we were there. The dogs took almost no interest in either.
  Connie worked Tommy on LL in the parking lot. He behaved very well for her taking into account all the distractions. The biggest distractions for him, in the first hour, were nearby seagulls and a rock on the pavement, that held his keen interest all morning. Connie was very relaxed with both dogs and is a quick study. The dogs visibly enjoyed working with her.
  We moved onto the sand at one point, where 2 multi-piece structures sat jutting out of the sand. They consisted of a main circular pediment about 20" in diameter, with 4 poles of varying heights stationed at varying distances from the center structure. Mark couldn't resist! He asked Gunner and Tommy to stand on the center obstacle and then to touch the ouside poles. Which they did willingly on the 2 shorter, closer poles. The 2 other poles were considerably farther from the center obstacle.With Mark's gentle coaching both dogs repeatedly made furtive attempts to reach the 2 taller of the 4 poles. Mark used  the "touch" signal to encourage them. The distance was just to great...Gunner tried so hard he lost his balance a couple of times and jumped to the ground.

Level 1 testing

Last Thursday Lynn held a L1 testing class. I was at the end of a particularily difficult 2 week period, dealing with a couple of stressful issues. By the time we got to this class I was "not in the game". Tommy picked up on that like stink on skunk. He was performing some behaviors okay, but in general was not particularily interested in anything I was asking of him. As I sat pondering the issues at hand I remembered a class last summer in which Chris pulled herself and her dog out of the process because the dog was over it's threshold. I decided to do the same with myself in Thursday's class. I/we sat and observed the rest of the groups and learned by watching and listening, and not stressing!

In the last few days I have recieved invaluable conseling from a number of the trainers present that day and have come to see we all hit these walls sometime and have to pull back and reassess our position. I know I have heard that a thousand times in class and in Sue's and everyone else's teachings but it never really sank in. This was a HUGE lesson for me. I am the kind who tends to forge ahead. I have pulled back from everything that even approaches L2. I do not work him unless I am relaxed and I have a clear sense of criteria [thank you Lynn]. I keep the sessions short unless he is showing continued enjoyment and offering behaviors I ask of him. It is his willingness to continue I pay attention to now.

As my attitude has changed, so have his skills. He is now, most of time, walking on a loose leash. Even at a ballpark with kids, other dogs and roasting hot dog scents wafting in the wind. I have a real sense of progress and growth for the first time in weeks. I had made the additional mistake of judging our progress by that of other trainers and dogs with whom we spend our training sessions. I was discounting my ability to mask my stress while working with Tommy... he knew! I now see it showed in his behavior.

I find myself excited again to be training, and getting to know L1 behaviors on a new level. I have also discovered, with Beth's assistance exactly what it costs for LL1 from Tommy. I now refer to it as PB/CCLLL1...that being Peanut Butter/Cottage Cheese Loose Leash Level 1. Sometimes I add liver bits to the mix as a surprise element.Which ultimately translates to the acronym PB/CCLLL1+LB's.

OH: Tommy Stays In The Game, Practicing L1 and LL

This flip was filmed at OH during our coaching session. Tommy does well even with many distractions near-by.

If someone had asked me a year ago what the letters LLW meant, I would have assumed they were referencing someones initials. I would never have guessed it is an excersise I would be practicing 4 to 5 times a day with Tommy.

LLW has become a very difficult concept for him to understand and me to teach. After last weeks coaching session and Thursday's class I have decided to work on LLW almost exclusively until we get it.

Through the process of elimination I have learned that his current, favorite treats are peanut butter and cooked chicken livers. They can and do hold or capture his attention when we are out walking. I recaptured his attention this afternoon relatively easily, with liver, after a poodle puppy escaped his patio and came running up to Tommy. After just a few seconds of puppy kisses Tommy refocused on me and the treat pouch. I can honestly say it was an "aha" moment for me.

My new mantra is lots of liver and peanut butter, quickly and often.

I doubt any of his other behaviors will suffer in the short term only because he is so proficient at them. As a matter of fact if I stand to long in one position, and he knows I have treats in my pockets, he will start targeting scratches on the wall or assuming a variety of sitting or down positions.

Tommy takes on July 4th at Liberty Staion

Long time no Blog. Sorry I have not been as diligent as the rest of you in cataloging Tommy's, and my progress. I think all of my computer problems are behind now, all of my fingers and toes are crossed! My Mom is also healthier and requiring less of my time.
I have been spending most of our training time on all L1 behaviors. His favorite behavior is Target, he is willing to play Target on a variety of objects for long periods of time. The hardest for Tommy being LLW.  He becomes almost uncontrolable if the stimuli is high enough, i.e. birds on the ground, children playing within 20 yards and other dogs nearby. Even when I use high value treats like chesse and hot dogs it is hard to keep his attention. At the OH coaching session yesterday, with pigeons everywhere, I worked him with peanut butter after cheese and hot dogs quickly lost their appeal. I think I have found his focus! With Beth's coaching I changed my response time and behavior which added to his better behavior.  For over 10 minutes I was able to walk with him, on loose leash, with only a few moments of distraction but not much pulling. I, of course, will be leaving greasy fingerprints on every surface I touch for the next few weeks, or months, whatever it takes.
I fear however we did fail Richard's challenge to have our grandaughter [2 1/2 years old] walk Tommy on a LL. She does it consistantly here in our cul de sac. There are very few distractions and the environment is very contained. The moment we bring out the camera she drops his leash and starts chanting "no more walking Tommy", and stomps off the roadbed. Enough said! Our current plan is to set up the camera BEFORE she sets out with him next time and film her on the sly.
I will be spending the next days and maybe weeks working primarily on LL when we are outside. Having 10 minutes of no pulling yesterday was a revelation. Tommy is 80 lbs now, that's a lot of weight to try and gather up and start over. I know I'm tired of it, I am assuming he is also.

Come game 7-13-10

L1 sit, down, zen

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LLW with distraction Oceanside Harbor 7-13-10

Tommy initially was over threshold and pulling at his leash ... when Patti moved him to below threshold, he could concentrate on the task at hand.

The Come Game

Floor ZEN

DOWN STAY: Level 2

Adding Duration.

Teaching one thing at a time.

Utilizing Chutes and Ladders.

DOWN: Level 1

This session was Flipped in real time.

Class: 6/24/10

DOWNSTAY: Level 2 (Chutes & Ladders)

Tommy sit challenge - 6-17-10

Sit Down Commands