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The moving down is incorporated into both obedience and rally exercises. Having a prompt response to the down cue, even in motion, is important but sometimes difficult to achieve. Let's talk through some games that you can use to teach or improve your dog's moving downs! PreReq - Stationary Down at a Distance In order to do a moving down, your dog

It's never too early to begin building a positive conditioned emotional response to the ring. Laura and I discuss exactly how to go about that in the latest podcast episode.   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 sc

Note: the author of this summary is second author on the paperThis paper describes multiple studies, which assess the effects of genetics and breed on canine behavioral traits; assess the difficulty of visual interpretation of mutt breed ancestry, and the morphological traits people use to guess breed ancestry; and find new genomic regions associat

Join Chrissi Schranz, Deb Jones, PhD Julie Flanery and I for a discussion on the fundamentals of positive training — including the things most trainers overlook when working with their canine partners. 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

​Join Julie Daniels, Sophie Lui, Karen Deeds, and Sharon Carroll for a chat about living with and loving dogs with big feelings — and for a sneak peek at what each will cover during their sessions at our upcoming conference.  Transcription Melissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast brought to you

Stacy and I talk about what it's like to compete in agility with little dogs who are not a "traditional" sports breed.   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

​Join Erin, Sara, and me for a conversation about all the ways we can play with our dogs in the water, including Paddleboarding, SUP-ing, and Dock Diving!  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 provid

In this episode I chat with Jennifer Summerfield, DVM, about what it's like to be a general practice vet right now and how you can do your best for your dog despite long appointment wait times. We also chat about her upcoming webinar on emergencies on the go and her class on behavior disorders!   Transcription Melissa Breau: This is

Have a dog with big feelings? Julie and I talk about the upcoming conference, and her journey to becoming a certified control unleashed instructor!    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 pr

Understanding the role stress plays in training and living with our canine partners is essential to optimizing our lives with them! Agency provides one of the most powerful options for empowering our pups and creating an optimistic dog.  Transcription Melissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast bro

If you want to learn the sport of K9 Rally, there are so many great resources out there! I see this question all the time: "I want to learn rally, where can I start?" There are YouTube videos, phone apps, free blogs and articles, and so much more. So why consider taking a rally class or working with a coach?   Do You Really Need A Rally I

In this episode Sarah and I talk about the common thread that seems to run through everything she teaches — the idea of loving the dog you have, while also trying to help them become the best version of themselves.   Transcription Melissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast brought to you by t

Join Andrea and I as we talk about how to recover when things go wrong — whether that means a bad training session or a bad trial!  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 instruct

For those who have just brought your new puppy home, this lecture is for you! Puppies need some time to get settled into their new homes, get acquainted with human and pet family members, and become accustomed to their new routine.I find that often, we are really eager to get our puppies started on socialization - and forget that everything in thei

Loretta and I talk about what it takes to create the balance needed for a responsive agility dog — including how to rehab things!  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 instructi

What's the difference between impulse control and stimulus control? What about when we throw "zen" behaviors into the mix? Deb and I talk about all that and more in this week's episode!   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,

Today Megan and Liz join me to talk about the role of handler fitness, handler skill building, and contact behaviors in agility!   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

Nicole joins me to share her inspiring story and how she's handled health setbacks in her multi-dog, competitive agility household... including how she's preparing for additional months of restricted (human) activity.   Transcription Melissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau, and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast, brought to you

Dr. Jen joins me this week to talk about the growing awareness of chronic canine pancreatitis and for a discussion on behavior disorders in our dogs.   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 prov

Can you, should you, teach toy play with food? Sara's answer is a resounding yes — in this episode we talk about why and how.   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 instr