Blog

What can commitment do for your agility team? Laurie and I chat about what it means and the difference it can make when playing the game!  

In prepping for the Adolescent Dogs One Day Conference, we brought on a number of the presenters and panelists to chat about what changes we see during adolescence and how we can best handle them.  

Shade Whitesel joins me to talk about how fluent toy play skills allow for more two-way communication during training, and how toy skills can be used to build a faster, better formal retrieve. 

What is a threshold? Does it matter? Join Amy and I for a fascinating discussion on how what we know can impact or enable our choices when we're out with our dogs. 

What do position changes have to do with maintaining a startline stay? Join Megan and I as we chat about teaching and maintaining your startline... even once you begin competing! 

Hélène joins me to talk about the power of start buttons, stop buttons, and arousal checks when training our dog sport behaviors... and our life skills.

Have a problem when you want to do your dog's nails? Or maybe for you it's some other aspect of grooming or vet care! In this episode Deb and I talk about cooperative care training — what it is and why it matters. 

Join Teri Martin, Melissa Breau, Hélène Lawler and Sara Brueske for a conversation about the "other" dog sports offered at FDSA — treibball, herding, and disc!  

What do you do when your agility startline breaks down? Whether your dog is the type to anticipate their release, stress sniff, freeze, or leave the line to visit the volunteers, this episode with Nancy is the one for you! 

If you've thought about leveling up your personal fitness level so you can be a better dog sports competitor, but have been consumed by "yeah buts" (yeah but my knees... yeah but my age... yeah but my weight) this podcast is for you! 

What is prey drive anyway? Tracey McLennan has spent years studying prey drive in our canine companions and this week she joined me to talk about what it is, why we breed for it, and both the pros and cons of having it in our dogs. 

Julie joins me to talk about the importance of building enthusiasm into your heelwork right from the start, and how to avoid (or overcome!) training plateaus during the process of training your dog a beautiful heel. 

Join me, Crystal Wing, Denise Fenzi, Hélène Lawler and Jane Ardern — all presenters in the upcoming High Drive Dog Conference — for a honest conversation about the best and worst parts of living with and training high drive dogs.

 In this episode, I interview Canine Bodyworker and Scent Work Trainer Aleks Woodroffe on the benefits and application of canine massage for our sports dogs.

The level of fitness a dog needs to do well in obedience is often overlooked - but the level of core work and conditioning required for obedience exercises shouldn't be ignored. In this episode Petra and I talk about her approach to keeping her dogs fit for obedience.

It's rarely talked about — but intra-household dog-dog aggression is more common than many realize. Join me and Michael Shikashio for a deep dive into why, what to do, and how you can prevent issues. 

Traveling with your pup this summer? Looking for other fun activities to capitalize on the awesome summer weather? Sara and I talk about preparing to travel, the benefits of road tripping with a young dog, and more!

Amy joins me for a conversation on managing life with a reactive dog, recognizing the early signs of sound sensitivity... and more! 

What should you expect when that perfect puppy reaches adolescence? What's "normal" and what deserves another look and more consideration? Sharon and Julie join me to talk about all things adolescent in this episode.  

There are lots of different approaches to dealing with reactivity — but how do you choose between them? How can you combine them? Can you combine them? Karen and I dig into that very question and more in this new episode.