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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!   Transcription Melissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports

Running agility courses isn't just about learning the handling moves or teaching your dog the obstacles. There is also a lot to learn about course analysis and planning your strategy. That piece can be the most challenging part for some times: what to do where?! In my handling class, Smoother Moves, I have designed a series of technique quizzes for

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. Transcription Melissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast brought to you by the Fenzi

This week I'm joined for an extra long episode by several of the presenters for the upcoming Aggression in Dogs conference to talk about how we can better handle these types of cases and debunk some of the many myths out there about aggression.   Transcription Melissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Spor

Today Megan Foster, Denise Fenzi and Stacy Barnett join me to talk about building balance into our training, how your dog's natural traits factor in, and when you might not want balance after all.  Transcription Melissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast brought to you by the Fenzi Dog Sports Acad

Pressure in dog training can have a lot of different meanings and factors in a variety of ways — in this episode we talk about both unintentional pressure and the kind you need to train for if you want to compete.  Transcription Melissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast brought to you by the Fenz

What would it be like to forage for wild food with your dog? In this episode Kristin and I talk about truffle hunting — from what it takes, to what truffles actually taste like!  Transcription Melissa 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 scho

I have been spending the last two years playing with and training my young Labrador Retriever, Dare. He just turned 2 in July and he is a lot of fun! We are just getting started dipping our toes into the competition world and trial prep is at the front of my mind. The inability to get the same performance in the trial ring that we have in class or

Dog powered sports are growing in popularity — Erin and I hopped on a call to talk about what they are, what you need to do to train for them, and to give you a sneak peek at her upcoming course!   Transcription Melissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast brought to you by the Fenzi Dog Sports

My dogs were always fine going to the vet's office, until they weren't. Typically we did 'happy puppy' visits, used lots of food to distract them during exams and shots, and let the very friendly staff make a big fuss over them. That worked fine, until it didn't.At some point in your dog's life he's likely going to need to have stressful and/or pai

Skills are only the most obvious thing you need to train before trialing — in today's episode, Ann and Shade talk about the additional skills you need both inside and outside of the ring to compete successfully.    Transcription Melissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast brought to you by the

This is something that many people new to positive reinforcement (R+) training struggle with: Why can 'fixing' behavior problems (or any training problem) seem so much harder usingpositive techniques than using punishment or force? I mean, you're rewarding the hell out of the behaviors you want so why are things s

​In this episode Deb and I talk about the overlap between zen work and cooperative care, plus Deb shares what, why, and how consent can be important in your training.  Transcription Melissa 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 dedicate

Today we talk heeling with Nancy Gagliardi Little — where people tend to get stuck, why, and how to get back on track and keep moving forward!    Transcription Melissa 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

Petra Ford and I talk about how fitness can help optimize your dogs performance in the sport or sports of your choice!   Transcription Melissa 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 fo

Fear and anxiety underly many of the behavior issues in dogs. Understanding the subtleties of how fear works can help us prevent and address it more effectively.First, it's important to understand how fear develops in the first place. Certain things are innately frightening for animals. This is controlled by genetics (by definition, innate refers t

​Sharon and I chat about what it means to train an atypical dog — what it looks like, and how these dogs end up that way.  Transcription Melissa 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 c

In this episode Laura and I talk about how to build and then maintain behavior chains, and how to change those that may have been taught unintentionally.  Transcription Melissa 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 providin

I watched the dog and handler carefully. They were practising their heelwork and it looked lovely! The handler strode out, confident and sure; her dog trotted along next to her, attentive and happy. Then I noticed the fly in the ointment…"Can you do that again for me please?" I felt bad about breaking into her 'happy place' but that'

​Kim joins me to talk about ethological contributions to behavior problems in our pet dogs, and how her L.E.G.S. system can help us look at the bigger picture when working on these issues.  Transcription Melissa 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