E349: Irith Bloom - Dealing with Feelings

Fear of the vacuum. Barking out the window. A dog that struggles with grooming. Handling the seemingly unfounded feelings our dogs sometimes have about certain things can be complex; join Irith and I as we talk about the training tools and techniques we can use to change the behaviors we see and relieve those feelings. 

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  399 Hits
399 Hits

Why you should care about Classical Conditioning

The dreaded mistake

You're at an agility trial with your dog. You point to the tunnel, but they go over the jump next to it instead. You're pretty sure you called out the right word, and that your body language was solid, but your dog went to the wrong obstacle anyway.

So what do you do? You go back to the club. You practice a lot with jumps and tunnels next to each other. You drill yourself to ensure you say the right word and move the right way. And everything goes GREAT… until your next trial. This time, your dog goes over the A-frame instead of through the weave poles. Different specifics, but you're off course again.

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  851 Hits
851 Hits

E348: Kelly Daniel - Beyond the Basics: Getting Geeky About Fitness

Canine Fitness is one of those topics that can become as sophisticated as you want to make it! Today Kelly and I talk about what it's like to get geeky about fitness. 

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  344 Hits
344 Hits

E347: Deb Jones, PhD, Crystal Wing & Nicole Wiebusch - How Do You Get a Focused Dog?

Join us for a panel discussion all about focus! What IS it? How do you train it? And what do we do if our dog doesn't seem to have it? 

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  718 Hits
718 Hits

What is flexibility, and why does it matter?

Flexibility is the ability of muscles (and muscle groups) to lengthen and move a joint through range of motion. Mobility is the ability of a joint to move through range of motion. Movement is a complex marriage of biology: joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles, neurological input and control, pain, medical conditions and medications, and behaviour. So it's important that we are aware of all the different things that can impact movement. 

Here's the thing — without flexibility, and strength, bodies are not good at mobility! To move fluidly to the end of a range of motion for a joint the muscle has to comfortably lengthen to it's full extension, and then needs the strength, power, and control to shorten and create flexion.

Flexibility can be a gamechanger for sports dogs, both in the positive aspect and the negative. A dog that vastly lacks flexibility can have a huge impact on being physically able to perform some movements and skills. A dog with too much flexibility can get sore, and easily injured as the joints lack support.

Think about our sports skills. These are complex both in terms of learning and understanding, but also biomechanically what our dogs need to do with their body.

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  481 Hits
481 Hits

E346: Pat Stuart - The Benefits of Box Feeding

In this episode Pat Stuart joins me to talk about box feeding - a method he's helped popularize! We talk about what it is and how it can be used in training and distraction proofing.

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  1091 Hits
1091 Hits

Have a dog on crate rest? Here's how to keep you both sane.

All dogs at some time need confinement to a crate, or an X-pen for recovery. Rest and a reduction in physical movements are required to enable the body to heal, and recover.

Keeping dogs calm, and occupied over this period is not only vital to their recovery, but their mental health. We don't want sad confined dogs, or conversely dogs confined and going stir crazy.

It's important to note here that you should always consult your dogs healthcare professional if you are unsure if a certain activity is suitable for your dog and it's circumstances. 

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  1015 Hits
1015 Hits

E345: Bronagh Daly - The Power of Agility + Control Unleashed

Worried about the wheels coming off while playing the game of agility? Join Bronagh and I as we talk about the ways that Control Unleashed can help your agility dog adapt to experiencing the unexpected in a trial, seminar or even group class environment. 

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  673 Hits
673 Hits

Chin Rest: A Useful Behavior for Lowering Arousal

Chin rests are useful for so many things! It's one of my favorite behaviors to teach. I use chin rests for obedience behaviors, such as teaching a close front and getting a quiet hold, but it's also useful for cooperative care, consent, and start button behaviors. In addition, chin rests help the dog be still, so it's helpful to settle the dog and lower arousal.

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  1305 Hits
1305 Hits

E344 - Nicole Wiebusch: Dogs Get FOMO Too

Have a pup that struggles to wait their turn? Nicole and I talk about the forms that FOMO (fear of missing out) can take when it comes to our dogs, how to prevent it, and what we can do about it. 

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  717 Hits
717 Hits

Improving Handler's Balance: As Easy as 1, 2, 3

Balance can feel elusive. It gradually walks towards the door, slipping behind other guests and furniture unnoticed until it's gone or thinking of leaving. A loss of balance can significantly reduce your quality of life and the activities safely available to you. It's helpful to look for ways you have power in situations, from both a physical and a mental standpoint.

Balance is important for handlers for a number of reasons. The first one that comes to mind is injury prevention! Nothing will sideline your team faster than injuries and staying ahead of that is so important. Speed is improved, a reduction in trip or fall risk, a better ability to handle powerful dogs all improved through better balance.

When you think of building better balance does your mind drift to standing on a balancing device? Or perhaps standing on one foot with your eyes closed? Or walking in a straight line with your eyes closed? While these are all ways to work on balance, there are things you can do to expedite balance improvement.

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  949 Hits
949 Hits

E343: Ashley Escobar - Conditioning for Sports Dogs

Ever wondered why canine conditioning matters, or why it's become so popular? In this episode Ashley and I dive into its importance for sport dogs of all types.  

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  597 Hits
597 Hits

Precise Position Changes: Foundations

Position changes are a skill needed in both rally and obedience. Taking the time to teach a good foundation will make the more advanced position changes much easier. In this blog, I'm working with Excel, who wasn't quite two when I videoed these sessions.

Excel is a dog who finds movement very reinforcing, and therefore, stillness is difficult. For this reason, I spend a lot of time reinforcing him for doing nothing. This helps with anticipation and also helps him keep his body quiet and still. If your dog is like Excel, reinforce for waiting for the next cue and stillness even more than you reward the movement behaviors.

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  846 Hits
846 Hits

E342: Karen Deeds - When Behavior Goes Wrong

Behavior problems can wreak havoc on our lives with our dogs. So when issues occur what options are there? How do we decide which to pursue? Karen and I take a deep dive into what factors to consider when making those difficult decisions, including the choices no one ever wants to make: rehoming and behavioral euthanasia. 

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  1229 Hits
1229 Hits

What Now? My Dog has behavior problems and I don’t know how to decide what to do!

Serious behavior problems are not the norm in the competitive sports world, but they do happen. Training can certainly affect behavior, and behavior can influence training! They are not the same!

Most behavior problems have underlying 'emotional' issues and training alone isn't the answer. If your dog is barking at someone, which is commonly a 'distance increasing' behavior that comes from the place of fear, we need to acknowledge that emotion, not suppress it. We can certainly use positively trained skills like obedience to replace an undesired behavior, but it needs to come from a place of confidence and choice, not force or coercion. 

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  921 Hits
921 Hits

E341: Janice Gunn - "Maintaining Connection in the Obedience Ring"

This week Janice Gunn joins me to talk about how she evolved her finger follow method to encourage connection while competing in obedience — from ring entrances to exercise transitions to leaving the ring for your jackpot! 

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  949 Hits
949 Hits

E340: Kayla Dever - Balancing Trialing and Training

Join me for a conversion with Kayla Dever as she shares her story - starting in the service dog world, evolving in flyball, and now hosting and competing in nosework!  

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  1520 Hits
1520 Hits

E339: What is a Confident Dog, Anyway? with Dr. Amy Cook, Julie Daniels, Petra Ford, and Sara Brueske

In preparation for the upcoming confident dog conference at FDSA, I invited 4 of the presenters for the conference on the podcast to talk about what confidences looks like in our dogs, how much of it is innate vs. something we can instill, and what the process of building confidence looks like. Join us for this fascinating conversation!  

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  1700 Hits
1700 Hits

E338: Preparing Young Sports Dogs for Competition (Part 2)

Join me, Megan Foster, Stacy Barnett, Barbara Lloyd, and Hélène Lawler for a continuation of our conversation about preparing young sports dogs to compete - including the good, the bad, and the ugly! Note: This episode ran long so we've split it into two parts.

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  630 Hits
630 Hits

E338: Preparing Young Sports Dogs for Competition (Part 1)

 Join me, Megan Foster, Stacy Barnett, Barbara Lloyd, and Hélène Lawler for a conversation about preparing young sports dogs to compete - including the good, the bad, and the ugly! Note: This episode ran long so we've split it into two parts.

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  785 Hits
785 Hits

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