Control Unleashed - My thoughts

I have just finished reading 'Control Unleashed' by Leslie McDevitt and found it to be an interesting read with many useful ideas. I wrote this review for our club newsletter and thought I would post it here too.

Although I originally purchased the book as a reference for instructing classes, I gained a lot of great ideas that I intend to implement with my own dogs - even though my kelpies would not be classed as typical 'CU' candidates.

McDevitt originally devised the program as a behavioural program for dogs that had difficulty fitting into mainstream agility classes due to them being either too reactive or too distracted when asked to work around other dogs. Although dealing with these behavioural issues is the main focus of the program, the book takes on an agility related focus in several ways.
Firstly, most of the dogs taking part in 'CU' are 'agility dropouts' - dogs that were unable to work calmly around other dogs for various reasons. Many of the exercises in the program could also be successfully incorporated into a foundation program for a future performance dog, where teaching and proofing focus is very important.

The program teaches dogs to focus in difficult situations by learning how to relax when other dogs are nearby. The end result of this is that the dog can begin to work unleashed, hence the title of the book.
McDevitt identifies what she calls 'low end and high end CU dogs' and lists typical behaviours associated with each one to aid with identification.

The book provides a six week class outline (although the reader is advised that this timeline is flexible) and presents this as a progressive sequence of exercises that build on each other.
These are based on operant conditioning, where the dog learns that his behaviour is directly linked with earning a reward. This is paired with a clicker for maximum effectiveness, but a bridge word (such as 'yes') may be used in its place if you are not clicker training your dog.

The program also centres around the use of desensitization techniques. I found McDevitt's use of these to differ somewhat from other trainers who reward the dog for ignoring their triggers and focusing on their handler instead. (ie: teaching a behaviour that is incompatible with the dog checking out its environment.) In the 'CU' program, dogs are rewarded for actually noticing and looking at their triggers (other dogs in this case) before checking in with the handler. McDevitt believes that this approach is more effective as it gives the dog a greater chance of learning to cope with its environment, therefore genuinely lowering the dog's stress level rather than just sticking a 'band aid' on it. This idea makes a lot of sense to me and I would have liked to implement it when I was running my ACD in agility - the poster child for reactivity.

All of the exercises in this program are presented as games - in a similar manner to the way Susan Garrett presents a lot of her material. I find this approach very appealing in the context of agility as it is a good reminder that agility is just that - a game we play with our dogs.
The program devotes a lot of attention to the importance of understanding what your dog is feeling, a concept central to connection and relationship building which is another vital part of agility training, if not the most vital part. The importance of being able to stay connected with your dog during class is stressed through active and passive attention exercises which are provided as part of the program. McDevitt cautions against expecting attention from your dog every single minute you are together and highlights the importance of letting your dog check out its environment before you ask for focus. This also makes a lot of sense to me and I believe it is a commonly misunderstood part of dog training.

Recognising your dog's optimum arousal level is also discussed and the reader is reminded that arousal is NOT drive, another concept often misunderstood. I really liked the term for finding your dog's 'just right' stimulation level for working. McDevitt refers to this as the 'Goldilocks rule'.

After the series of exercises are presented, the book goes on to explain how to introduce the 'CU' principles into an agility setting.
Many of the games would be beneficial for developing start line stays. My favourite game was the 'Give me a break' game which is great for keeping your dog wanting more and improving focus. Although the value of training in very short sessions is well documented, having it presented in the context of a game made it more fun and easier to remember to implement into my training sesisons - which 'Cruz of very little attention span' will be very grateful for.
'Reframing the picture' also gave me some ideas on how to retrain Cruz's A Frame contact which I have been thinking about for a bit now.

Using food drive to create toy drive is also discussed and here McDevitt refers to her 'Clean Run' July '05 article titled 'But he only wants to play at home !' This article provides ideas on how to help dogs feel comfortable enough to tug in unfamiliar environments and around other dogs.

Throughout the book, lots of real life case studies from 'CU' dogs are presented, including McDevitt's own terrier Snap - one of the inspirations for this class being created.

I really enjoyed reading this book and it's an 'all 4 paws' score from me.
I am going to recommend that my agility club purchases a copy for the club library as I believe it would be a worthwhile addition.

So, that's my article and I'm now almost stuck to the computer in my non airconditioned study in the middle of an unprecedented March heatwave. (I'm over it and so are the kelpies as it has dramatically decreased their training time)
Thoughts anyone?