The seminar was fantastic! The more I think about it, the more I appreciate how much all dogs, not just reactive dogs could benefit from the basic ideas of Control Unleashed. Cynthia and I commented while driving home one of the days that we had expected to see more reactivity in the dogs in the working slots. The thing is that when I thought about it more…the whole purpose of Control Unleashed is to give you and your dogs the skills and tools you need to keep the dogs from ever getting over their threshold where you would have those big reactions!

Leslie McDevitt has a wonderful talent for reading both the dogs and their handlers and keeping them both in a optimal place for learning and working together. There were several things that I think I’ll try to use with Raven and even Twist, although I originally thought it would apply mostly to Rogue. For Raven I think I’ll try the “Gimme a Break” game to build enthusiasm for training with me, and some of the “parallel games” I think might help Twist when he gets so excited about dogs playing and running around. One of the things that I need to work on with both of them first though is mat work.

I’m still pretty wiped out, but I have lots more to write about Rogue and her visit to the vet and the private lesson with Leslie McDevitt on Monday, and what we’re going to do next. I’ll try to get some things done around here so I can write more later on tonight.