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