....... from Dale
"Today was great - a learning experience for both of us!"
"We started off with a short leash and brisk walk. The object was to keep the clasp vertical and loose (lazy leash). This was a bit difficult for me at first because I have never used such a short lease (< 2feet). I had a hard time trying to keep the clasp vertical although there was no pressure on the leash. The route I selected had the busiest streets and the most dogs. I wanted as many distractions as possible. For every block we walked correctly we jogged the next. As much as Lily loves to run if I keep this up I will lose 10 pounds this month for sure. Today I was loaded with many high value treats. My goal was to go 5-6 blocks from her home and return on a different route. We encountered many distractions. There were dogs walking, people walking, kids playing, loud cars and motorcycles, etc. Lily was aware of her surroundings, she proved to me (because of the higher value treats) that I was more important than the distractions – except for one dog that lives closeby. She must really hate that dog because she wanted to attack him. The dog was very annoying, ran up to and hit the gate provoking Lily. We got out of that situation in a hurry.
We took a break and I re-loaded. I decided to work the gate with “wait”. We started in the yard with the gate closed. I open the gate, tell her “wait”, then I proceed 1 step. If she truly remained in the “wait state” I clicked and treated. Then we would go back and start over with me taking 2 steps. If we succeeded, then we would go for 3, 4, 5 etc. We made it to 3 steps twice, blowing it on the 3rd and had to start over each time. Finally, we made it to 8 steps and was attempting 9 steps towards the sidewalk when all of a sudden this cat (“Morris”) comes out of nowhere and plants himself on the walkway a couple of feet in front of me. I quickly glanced back at Lily – her gaze was fixed for only a moment and then she broke towards Morris, but only halfway towards me ending with a sit down. It was like she was thinking, “I’m going to get that cat”, but realized that she was in training. It all happened so fast that I couldn’t get a wait out of my mouth before she did a sit down on her own. Needless to say I was very impressed with what just happened before me.
We took another break and re-loaded. This time we ventured into the alley where several kids were playing ball and riding bikes and trikes. Lily was minding her own business on a lazy short leash again when one of the kids came up to us and said “I have known this dog when she was a puppy, may I pet her?” I popped several treats into Lily’s mouth one at a time and very quickly and said yes, it is alright. Lily enjoyed the contact and the treats. Shortly, all of the kids came over and touched her. I must say that I was rather amazed that she did not get hyper or try to ease out of the current situation. Again I was very proud of her!!!
I figured that I got 3 out of 3 today so we called it a day - Once we got inside her yard we grabbed-ass for several minutes, we both had a great time. She allowed me to pet and massage her from her head to her toes and all the way down her back. I can see that she is trusting me more and more.
I think that Lily could become a great service dog. She just needs to come out of her comfort zone and leave her shyness behind and meet and work with new people from time to time."
