The biggest lesson I learned from Lilly this week is that you can’t assume any behavior is rock-solid on every single day. It’s all too easy to get complacent or to take our brilliant
dogs for granted. We cut back on treats. We verbally fuss on them less. We assume that they are the same minute to minute, day to day. And, that’s simply not the case. …
There is one truth that rings clear when training Lilly. If what I’m asking makes sense, she catches on very quickly. Sometimes, it’s just 3-5 clicks. Sometimes, it’s just 10 minutes. And, she’s totally on board. Other times, I’m clearly doing something wrong, and she simply doesn’t get it.
Since it’s been 3 months since Lilly started taking an anti-depressant, I can probably stop naming Friday’s entry with a number. So suffice it to say that Fridays will continue to be a
big picture update on our progress and the week’s work. …
I’m feeling fairly overwhelmed by all the things I should be training Lilly to do as part of our new behavior modification plan. Each little shaping event only takes a few minutes, but
it feels like a lot some days. This week, I tried a new coping strategy, where I only try to do 1-2 things other than the Relaxation Protocol. Here’s how things went. …
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 …
Lilly went to our Sunday drop-in class for the first time in a few weeks. It was the first time we tried some of the strategies from the book “Control Unleashed” in a class setting.
There were a few challenges since there were many new dogs in the class, so it was a big group. Here’s a rundown of our efforts. …
