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Mission Control
Do you have a high-drive dog that's raring to go?
That's great! A motivated dog is fun to work with and clearly enjoys the challenges you are setting.
But do you sometimes wish you could reign in some of that enthusiasm and produce the results you both deserve?
That's great! A motivated dog is fun to work with and clearly enjoys the challenges you are setting.
But do you sometimes wish you could reign in some of that enthusiasm and produce the results you both deserve?
- GenresDogs
208 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2020
8 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 24, 2020
'Mission Control' - Jane Ardern - *****
I loved this book. It's got a fitting title, nice pictures throughout, step by step instructions for exercises and a nice healthy dose of realistic training. If it needed an alternative title I'd suggest The Dog Trainer's Textbook of Self Control.
I find the topic of self control is a little bit blurry in the dog training world, there's Its Yer Choice and people who hate that. There's dogs laying down with lines of treats around them and people who hate that. There's people training using other animals to teach self control in a realistic setting and people who hate that. Personally my experience with it has felt a little damned if you do damned if you don't. This book takes all of that away. I didn't realise how many self control exercises there were between the exercises I generally did and the first stages. If you're struggling to break self control training down this book is perfect.
I loved the introduction and background theory. I find when you've got an understanding of this down some books can make it very dull and dry to read which loses me in the first few chapters. Jane does no preaching, she states the facts, the importance and drops these awesome little nuggets of mind melting clarity that had me walking around the house trying to fit my skull back together.
The science dropped into the book is awesome, relevant, and so well translated from science talk to normal human language. I have some serious writing skill envy there. It's enough for those who are more experienced to take a cool thing away to go and research, and for those who are less experienced to still digest the simpler level of a paragraph but a seed for something more advanced will have been planted.
This book is perfect for owners and trainers alike. Those who need more advanced stuff will find it in the writing, and those who need to simply follow steps and start have that offered up on a plate with solid reasoning to help them understand the why behind the what when they're ready for it.
In short, go buy this book. Jane needs to write lots more please.
I loved this book. It's got a fitting title, nice pictures throughout, step by step instructions for exercises and a nice healthy dose of realistic training. If it needed an alternative title I'd suggest The Dog Trainer's Textbook of Self Control.
I find the topic of self control is a little bit blurry in the dog training world, there's Its Yer Choice and people who hate that. There's dogs laying down with lines of treats around them and people who hate that. There's people training using other animals to teach self control in a realistic setting and people who hate that. Personally my experience with it has felt a little damned if you do damned if you don't. This book takes all of that away. I didn't realise how many self control exercises there were between the exercises I generally did and the first stages. If you're struggling to break self control training down this book is perfect.
I loved the introduction and background theory. I find when you've got an understanding of this down some books can make it very dull and dry to read which loses me in the first few chapters. Jane does no preaching, she states the facts, the importance and drops these awesome little nuggets of mind melting clarity that had me walking around the house trying to fit my skull back together.
The science dropped into the book is awesome, relevant, and so well translated from science talk to normal human language. I have some serious writing skill envy there. It's enough for those who are more experienced to take a cool thing away to go and research, and for those who are less experienced to still digest the simpler level of a paragraph but a seed for something more advanced will have been planted.
This book is perfect for owners and trainers alike. Those who need more advanced stuff will find it in the writing, and those who need to simply follow steps and start have that offered up on a plate with solid reasoning to help them understand the why behind the what when they're ready for it.
In short, go buy this book. Jane needs to write lots more please.
February 27, 2023
Really helped me to get inside the head of my working cocker. As well as the theory, there are lots of great, step by step games and exercises to help your dog build up the ability to think and make the choices you’d like them to make rather than only performing to cue. Now I just need to try and put it all into action!
January 22, 2024
I would recommend it to anyone who seems overwhelmed by their dog's activity levels.
This is an enjoyable book that covers training and managing your high drive/high arousal dog in basic english. This book is the niche book for those suffering from a dog with more energy and more excitement than them. It has a substantial section explaining theory and concepts before getting into the practical exercises.
I did find at times some exercises were a bit outdated - not overly so, still progressive by dog training standards - but that was slightly disappointing for me. It is to be expected in a way - training methods are constantly changing and improving and this book is a few years old by the time I read it. For example, the clicker training method within is the old style of clicker training. Positive reinforcement paired with negative punishment. Correct = click + treat and incorrect = no click + no treat. Versus the modern day clicker training in 2024 where correct response = click + treat (two reinforcers, positive and secondary) while an incorrect response = no click + reset treat (single reinforcer for trying).
I am being nitpicky however, as the author goes into great depth on the pros/cons and risks of the negative punishment. I appreciate an author who does not gloss over the fallouts, and indeed she goes into detail of the fall outs you can expect for each of the quadrants and makes a point of highlighting positive methods as not immune to fall out.
None of this detracts from the book, it still provides good exercises despite the old-style clicker method and her exercises translate well to new-style clicker methods.
A good all rounder book that would be a nice gift under the tree for the person with the high energy over aroused dog who needs a plan of approach.
This is an enjoyable book that covers training and managing your high drive/high arousal dog in basic english. This book is the niche book for those suffering from a dog with more energy and more excitement than them. It has a substantial section explaining theory and concepts before getting into the practical exercises.
I did find at times some exercises were a bit outdated - not overly so, still progressive by dog training standards - but that was slightly disappointing for me. It is to be expected in a way - training methods are constantly changing and improving and this book is a few years old by the time I read it. For example, the clicker training method within is the old style of clicker training. Positive reinforcement paired with negative punishment. Correct = click + treat and incorrect = no click + no treat. Versus the modern day clicker training in 2024 where correct response = click + treat (two reinforcers, positive and secondary) while an incorrect response = no click + reset treat (single reinforcer for trying).
I am being nitpicky however, as the author goes into great depth on the pros/cons and risks of the negative punishment. I appreciate an author who does not gloss over the fallouts, and indeed she goes into detail of the fall outs you can expect for each of the quadrants and makes a point of highlighting positive methods as not immune to fall out.
None of this detracts from the book, it still provides good exercises despite the old-style clicker method and her exercises translate well to new-style clicker methods.
A good all rounder book that would be a nice gift under the tree for the person with the high energy over aroused dog who needs a plan of approach.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews