Blog

One of my dogs has a rather unfortunate habit. Lyra comes into the house from the yard like a demented bat out of hell, with both of my other dogs after her in hot pursuit.The results are an impressive combination of screaming, careening into walls and a generic cacophony of noise and energy that is rivaled by few. The mayhem lasts for about a minu

Pet Grief Counselor Kevin Ringstaff joins Melissa to talk about the inevitable, and how to find support when it happens. TranscriptionMelissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast brought to you by the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy, an online school dedicated to providing high-quality instruction for competiti

​Stuck at home and looking for new ways to expand your dog training knowledge? Or maybe you're a Fenzi fan looking for more from your favorite instructors... either way, this list is for you. In it, I share a full list of books from our various instructors! And we'll plan to come back and update it, so if you want to bookmark it and check back

Befriending a dog is a special gift — in this weeks podcast, Denise and I talk about her latest book, which takes readers through the journey of exactly how special that friendship can be. TranscriptionMelissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast brought to you by the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy, an online

I think playing with dogs is a really good idea.When people play with their dogs, they like them better. They smile more. Their dogs start to look towards them more easily and frequently.In short – it's just nice. It's nice for people and it's nice for dogs.So. How does one play with a dog? How to Play with DogsHere's a video example of play with B

Kamal and I talk about proactive socialization for lockdown, life, and longevity — including how to tailor socialization to the dog in front of you, and why socialization isn't a one-size-fits-all process. TranscriptionMelissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast brought to you by the Fenzi Dog Sports Ac

Does your dog heel wide? Does he forge or sit crooked? Is she wrapping around your body? It's likely that your reward placement has contributed to these problems!Heeling is such a complicated behavior. Pair that with the fact that dogs want to go where the rewards come from, and you can have a mess on your hands pretty quickly!When I help my studen

How do YOU choose which technique(s) you'll use for a particular behavior? We do a deep dive into that question with Julie Flanery in this week's podcast. TranscriptionMelissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast brought to you by the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy, an online school dedicated to providing high

I love shaping as much as the next trainer — but I occasionally come across a dog who does better with luring and prompting (including my own young dog, Levi). So I combined a few concepts I've seen elsewhere and used what I'm calling "Restrained Release" to teach him a targeting behavior.What concepts? Well, I'm making use of opposition refle

You may have heard of Loopy Training, but have you heard of loopy listening? Helene and I talk about why loopy training is making waves and what she means by loopy listening! TranscriptionMelissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast brought to you by the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy, an online school dedicat

Position changes are super important in both obedience and rally! Your dog needs to do position changes both in heel position (without going wide) and in front of you (without creeping in). Platforms can help teach your dog both of those concepts!The position changes are sit, down, and stand. Your dog should be able to do these in any order — in ot

Do you struggle with getting ready for competition or with reducing reinforcement in training? You're in luck! That's what Laura and I chat about in today's episode. TranscriptionMelissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast brought to you by the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy, an online school dedicated to pro

It's been a strange year to say the least....Many of us found that in trying to deal with the day to day stress of living in the year 2020 our motivation to train has suffered. I did not train at all yesterday. Though that's not all that unusual. I often skip days and find that my dogs, based on their desire to train after a day (or more!) benefit

Sharon Carroll comes back on the podcast to talk about what we know about the psychological issues possible in dogs — and some of what we can do about them. TranscriptionMelissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast brought to you by the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy, an online school dedicated to providing hi

You don't have to be raising the next Nosework Star to get massive benefit from a little Puppy Nosework. In fact, you don't need to be interested in searching at all! However, if you play some of these Nosework games with your puppy, your puppy will really reap the rewards!We all want puppies who are comfortable in the environment and eager and foc

On Dec. 8th FDSA will launch a brand new Nosework titling program as part of the TEAM titling options! Today we have Melissa, Julie, and Stacy on to talk about the program and what you can expect! TranscriptionMelissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast brought to you by the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy, an

My answer — chin rests! Incorporating chin rests into your fronts causes the dog to shift his weight to his front end and encourages a very tight tuck sit. This process can take a little work at the beginning, but will pay off in the long run! How to Teach a Chin Rest  First, your dog needs to know how to do a chin rest. If you have a nose tou

Dr. Jen and I talk about how to tell whether a behavior is problematic or outright abnormal, plus what some of the options are for working on problem behaviors, including medication, management, and more.TranscriptionMelissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast brought to you by the Fenzi Dog Sports Acad

Recently, I asked the Fenzi Dog Sports Alumni Group about Running A-frames: What do you struggle with most when teaching it?What do you struggle with most when handling a running A-Frame on course?What questions do you have about running A-Frames or myths that need debunking?The questions were fantastic and they were plenty, so read on for all of t

Petra joins me to chat about her recent first place at the National Obedience Championship and what it takes to get to the top. TranscriptionMelissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast brought to you by the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy, an online school dedicated to providing high-quality instruction for co