Blog

When we talk about the foundations for a good retrieve most people think a take and a hold are the place to start — Sara and I talk in this episode about smaller splits that can give your dog even stronger foundations.

With Sue retiring, Heather has stepped in to ensure students can continue to benefit from Sue's awesome Levels program at FDSA — for those not familiar with the program, we chat about how it came to be, and why Heather is excited to teach it! 

Wondering where to start with your performance puppy? Barbara Currier shares her take after 25 years of raising performance puppies! 

Sharon joins me to talk about her 10-step process for working with reactive and hyper-around dogs through Offered Durational Engagement. 

Deb recently brought home the newest member of her household... a koolie puppy named Wizard! Today we talk about what she's been working on since bringing him home and how she approaches building a relationship with a new puppy! 

In this episode, Ryan and I talk about the idea of overcoming differences in mindset and training, having difficult conversations, and building better relationships for it!  

The state of the rescue world and the breeding fancy have changed significantly in the last 50 years... Dr. Hekman and I chat about what those changes are, and what they mean for pet and sports dogs in the future.  

Nancy shares how she's redefining the way we all think of our walks with our dogs... and why it matters 

In this episode Kathy and I talk about the "LIMA Being" project, and the key to a really good cue.  

Julie and I chat about some of the key questions nosework newbies need to know, and what it takes to prep for competition — plus, how and where to look for novel search environments! 

Learning agility and having the skills to be able to learn agility well are two separate things! In this cast, Nancy and I talk about the critical but often overlooked skills dogs need to be able to learn and compete in agility. 

Amy and I talk about what it takes to get great photos of our canine companions — we cover tips for photographer and subject alike! 

If you're getting tired of hearing from your agility coach that your cues were late AGAIN, Loretta and I talk about why we end up late and what we can do about it in this week's cast.

Stacy recently designed a new working model to visually represent the various capabilities successful nosework dogs need — and on today's podcast we chat about the pieces, and how they help you get trial ready.

Dr. Amy Cook and I go deep in this episode on management vs. training, her approach to treating reactivity, and what to do while you work on it.

For this week's show, I brought on 3 freestyle stars to talk about the sport, what got them hooked, and how they approach training.

Known as "Whataboutbunny" on Instagram, Alexis has taught her dog Bunny to talk using talking buttons. Bunny has learned over 70 words, including concepts like "you" and "human."

Dog parks can be a wee bit controversial — Barbara and I talk about how to keep things as safe as possible, why many trainers don't like them, and the key pieces you should train if you plan to use them. 

Shaping is all about the ABCs... and Sarah and I go into what that means in today's episode all about shaping!

Starting to think about obedience competition? Laura and I talk about the aspects of competing folks tend to overlook in training, and how to truly prep for heading into the ring!