Inside the BOX (or Bubble of LOVE)

Real or imagined, Leslie McDevitt believes in working inside boxes. It’s one cornerstone in the behavior modification plan in her new book “Control Unleashed.” I know, I’m talking about it a lot these days, but the system is designed for dogs just like Lilly, so I’m giving it a full shake-down in hopes that it just might be the solution to what troubles my best friend.

So, suffice it to say that working with Lilly in a protected space is important. Sometimes that’s the Bubble of LOVE I give her during praise. It’s a concept one of our agility trainers, Joy Bishop, taught me early on. When you praise, especially at the end of an agility run, imagine a bubble all around you and your dog. I think of it like the Cone of Silence from “Get Smart.” Are you old enough to get that reference?

Anyway, I imagine our Bubble of Love to be pink, like what you might blow while chewing gum, except it’s big enough for us both to relax within. It thwarts all bad energy. It reverberates all good energy, and it shows Lilly that she’s the most important thing to me at the moment. Not the run timer. Not how others are doing. Not what (likely) went wrong.

I think of my bubble as an ancestor to Leslie’s BOX idea.

So, while training with Lilly outside the entrance to a local mall, I realized that the vestibule between the outside doors and the inside doors is like a training box. The glass walls afford both the ability to see what’s coming and to feel protected.

Since Lilly is hyper-vigilant, letting her see what’s coming is important. The glass also dampens some of the sound from inside and out, which helps my super sensitive-sound girl.

We work inside this area only. We do not go inside the mall.

BUT, inside the mall vestibule, we heel back and forth. We do “Me Turns” with Lilly to the outside. We do “You Turns” with Lilly to the inside. We do lead changes to the front (“here”). We do lead changes from behind (“switch”). We practice sit-stays and down-stays.