Control Unleashed Reactive To Relaxed

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Whether you’re training a challenging dog on your own, an instructor trying to figure out how to help dogs in your classes, or an instructor who wants to design a special program just for stressed out dogs, this book is for you.

I love this book so much, it's changing how I relate to my dogs and I think it's going to overall improve their wellbeing so much. Letting the dog make choices and actively participate not only gives the dog control over his own learning, but it also establishes trust and fosters a spirit of communication. In this classic book, Dog Behaviour Consultant Leslie McDevitt provides us with a programme to help ‘dogs with issues’ learn how to relax, focus and work reliability off lead in a distracting, stimulating or stressful environment. She explains in detail how to use parallel racing, giving advice on working with motion-triggered dogs and training a reactive dog to watch other dogs in motion. As with the previous books it does suffer very slightly from the descriptions of procedures being (despite the author's best intentions) a bit opaque and hard to be sure you're following correctly.Not only does this give the dog control over his own learning, but it also establishes trust and fosters a spirit of communication. but, I think all things requiring tact and judgement (not just dog training) just ARE kind of hard to set down unambiguously in words. Later I heard this handler "had a little talk with his dogs, behind a trailer before entering a ring. Voluntary behaviors have always played a role in Control Unleashed® games, and now more than ever Leslie is focused on giving dogs a "voice" through their behavior; a voice that handlers can easily recognize and respond to. Learn how to turn stress to confidence and distraction to focus using methods that are 110% positive.

McDevitt begins by looking at whether control unleashed is for you, explaining that the book is aimed at two audiences; students of dog sports or companion dog owners whose dog has difficulty concentrating or working off lead near other dogs in an exciting situation, and instructors looking to get a handle on dealing with disruptive dogs in class. One of the most common challenges faced by dog trainers is how to effectively manage “problem” dogs in their classes. Dogs that are uncomfortable or unable to work off lead around other dogs Dog that are easily distracted and have difficulty concentrating Dogs that are reactive or easily aroused Dogs that are anxious or stressed and shut down Dog that are unable to control their impulses when excited This training program can change your dog's life! This book was recommended by a friend who thought it could help overcome problems I have with one of my dogs.Her background in behaviour modification and her experience working with dog sports clients led her to create her popular course, Control Unleashed. These work by teaching your dog default behaviours to help them cope with potentially stressful situations. They've helped my Patterdale terrier with her focus and self control generally and that's beginning to have affect when we do agility. In chapter nine, McDevitt discusses applying control unleashed to agility contexts, starting with the warm up before moving on to running the sequence.

I haven't yet reached the end, but the the advice and training exercises so far are having a good effect, and I'm very pleased. Thankfully there is a book that walks both instructors and dog owners through creative, positive, science-based methods for transforming dogs in an anxious, excitable state into one that is calm and in which they are able to focus and learn. I especially like her methods of reducing anxiety and conditioning a relaxed response in a dog, thereby changing their internal state and response to stimulus. Leslie McDevitt’s versatile Control Unleashed program is designed to help “dogs with issues” learn how to relax, focus, and work off-leash reliably in either stimulating or stressful situations.

She specializes in creating operant counterconditioning procedures to empower working, performance, and pet dogs to feel safe and comfortable so they can function confidently in stressful environments. The book is laced with examples of her techniques in practice for both her own dog and others who try her approach.

She then goes through some targeting tasks to perform loose around other moving dogs, and provides details on how to customise the control unleashed approach, so we understand which aspects of the programme to apply and when. I bought it to learn thoroughly about LAT technique that has been mentioned in so many reactive dog topics, but in addition, have learned much more.Aimed at both the professional dog trainer and dog owners alike, it is well written and clearly explains a programme of practical exercises which can be undertaken as part of a class or on your own. If the answer is no, your dog is not wrong about anything; he is just giving you feedback, so you know if he is in the right learning situation.