My grandmother’s house, which for all the usual purposes was my “childhood home,” had a round traffic pattern. As a kid, I could run from kitchen to front room to hall to den to
kitchen. When you’re little, that’s some serious fun. Well, my current house also has a couple of round-running spots. I’ve started using the carpeted one upstairs to practice high-speed heeling (and
frankly to burn off some energy). …
As a kid, I was a pretty good student. My work as a writer also means I spend a lot of time learning new things. I thought maybe my study tactics might help others sort through the many
ideas in Leslie McDevitt’s book. So, here it goes. …
You found the right place to learn more about the Relaxation Protocol for Dogs! When I first read about Dr. Karen Overall’s Protocol for Relaxation in Leslie McDevitt’s book “Control Unleashed,” I had NO idea what it was about. None. Never heard of it. It’s considered baseline work for serious behavior modification training, like what I’m doing with Lilly. That much I got from the book, but it wasn’t until I saw the whole thing in print that a sinking feeling sunk me. I’m feeling better about it now, but here’s a bit about my journey so far …
As part of our background work using ideas from the new book “Control Unleashed” by Leslie McDevitt, I went in search of a portable mat that I could use for Lilly’s mat training and
relaxation work. Here’s what I chose. …
We’ve all seen people do it. And, let’s be honest … We’ve all done it. Repeat commands, hoping it’ll work. Generally, it just erodes the word’s power. So much so that Patricia McConnell included a section subhead in one of the chapters of her books called something like … “Don’t repeat commands. Don’t repeat commands. Don’t repeat commands.” That still cracks me up. But, it is important to know what words we use with our dogs and what we expect them to mean. Enter the Command Log.
Lilly likes to play hide-and-seek. But, she’s a total cheater. She often breaks her stay before she’s released, or she sneaks a peek when we slink off to hide. To prevent this, Tom
often hides while she’s outside. Then, I let her in and say “Where’s daddy?” Lilly loves this game. Perhaps her calling is in tracking.
…
My name is Roxanne, and I hug my dogs … a lot. After learning how much dogs hate hugs, I’ve tried to stop, but it’s very hard. Maybe we should form a support group.
There are two kinds of fear. Fast fear and slow fear. (FYI – slow fear takes a whopping 24 milliseconds.) Either way, Lilly can react faster than I can even process what she’s seen or heard. Author Temple Grandin explains it like this: “The reason fast fear can be so fast is that accuracy is sacrificed for speed. Fast fear gives you a rough draft of reality.”
Fear recovery may change outward behavior, but research shows that real fear is NEVER forgotten. Even reactions trained to “extinction” can come back in a flash.
There is one ball Lilly loves more than any other toy in her sizeable toy basket. I had to teach her to love the ball, but once I did, there was no going back. I now use it to train her to play with new toys or to do agility (at home). Tug on the rope, get the ball as reward, for example. Or, if she’s learning something hard, we’ll take a break and play. However, she gets food rewards when she’s learning something new or when she’s working in public because the ball doesn’t cut it when Lilly feels nervous. She won’t play … at all. And, that fact blows a big hole in the make all learning like play theory (at least now that we’re already in trouble).
