CRITERIA FOR WORKING DOGS IN THE SEMINAR

 

Dogs in any type of environment that has the possibility of presenting unusual stimuli can be considered Control Unleashed candidates. These could be agility dogs, obedience dogs, herding dogs, therapy dogs, service dogs, rally dogs, freestyle dogs, gun dogs, SAR dogs or family dogs.

Though her book and her classes are centered around agility classes and the stimulus of agility action, any environment can be an overload for some dogs.

 

From CONTROL UNLEASHED, by Leslie McDevitt, pg 24-25

 

 

Dogs appropriate for a CU class (or in this case a working spot)

 

Leslie calls these "low-end behaviors"

 

· Dog gets sniffy (very often but not always a stress-displacement activity

· Dog wanders away on course

· Dog is environmentally oriented out of mild concern or normal behavior (knowing which is important)

·  Dog's mind drifts off easily

· Dog listens to his handler but his body language continually shows that he feels stress (Leslie gives an example in the book)

· Dog barks and/or pulls and lunges at dogs and objects he is uncertain about but can be interrupted before having a reactive response or he recovers quickly from a response and continues working

· Dog is mildy responsive to sudden environmental changes (such as a falling chair or a person entering the far end of the room) but recovers quickly

 

 

Dogs that would need to be in private lessons before being in a CU class (or in private lessons in the case of this seminar)  NOTE: These dogs would most likely be appropriate for my Relaxed and Ready class for reactive dogs.

 

 

Leslie calls these "high-end behaviors"

 

· Dog is hypervigilant (can't stop scanning and worrying about everything in his environment) and extremely responsive to sudden environmental changes

· Dog has low arousal threshold (as in a "hair-trigger dog" that is always ready to go off)

· Dog cannot easily or quickly recover from a stressful event (she gives an example in the book

· Dog barks almost nonstop and pulls/lunges so forcefully at dogs or unfamiliar objects that his handler is in danger of dropping his leash, being pulled off her feet or being injured.

 

 

Please email Helix Fairweather if you have questions about your dog.