Blog

Lucy and I chat about the skills your dog needs to hone to learn to track, and she answers that frequently asked question: Can you dog do both nosework and tracking? Transcript 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 pro

​Many students take classes both online and in person — so how do you make the most of both options and integrate both into 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 dedicated to providing high quality

Heather Lawson, Julie Symons, and Ashley Escobar join me to talk about how they handle it when their dogs are stuck indoors for an extended time... and what they train when limited to a small(er) training space.   Transcript Melissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau, and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast, brought to you by the F

Laura and I talk about how sniffing can help dogs heal from trauma and how it's critical for all of our dogs — because it's one of their key senses!  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

Whether we are providing advice in our role as a professional instructor, a volunteer instructor, or a supportive friend, knowing how to give training and competition advice in the most beneficial way is critically important.To be effective and well-received, training and competition advice needs to be delivered at a time when the handler is unemot

Denise Fenzi, Nancy Gagliardi Little and Megan Foster join me to talk about working with a dog sports coach — the differences between a coach and a trainer, the advantages to having a coach, and how to get some of the benefits even if you can't find one.   Transcription Melissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the

Many dogs struggle with the handler walking around the dog during a stay exercise. The key to success for stays is to break it down! Stay training consists of slowly and carefully increasing difficulty to ensure success. When you first start stays, you want to make sure you are really splitting, meaning you are breaking down the behavior into tiny

Have you heard of the 3 D's of dog training? It's a pretty popular term that many trainers use. The 3 D's refer to Distraction, Duration, and Distance. These are one way to categorize the difficulties or challenges in dog training.Distraction refers to both the environment and things in the environment that are distracting. Generalization (moving t

Julie Flanery and I talk about what shaping is, and how to use it effectively and efficiently... including putting behaviors under stimulus control! 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 qu

 Can you create an optimistic dog? How DO you get to know a new puppy? What are the first steps to teaching quiet crating? Julie Daniels and I discuss all that and more in this 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,

Recently I posted this question in the FDSA Alumni Facebook group – "What training tip or approach gave you that magic touch or simply surprised you with how easy it was to implement and see results?" Rarely are there training hacks or magic wands in dog training, but sometimes there is something THAT simple that gets results. Based on th

Sometimes dogs totally grasp our criteria - they just can't do the thing we're asking at speed. Mari and I talk about how she works with dogs to teach them to use their bodies more skillfully... and therefore more quickly in sports like agility!  Transcription  Melissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Spo

 I am always looking for a good vest for dog training. Ideally, I love it when I can find a vest that can hold all my things without needing to rely on additional clothing pockets, backpacks, treat pouches, fanny packs, etc. I also personally have great danes, so most of my gear (lotus ball, toys, volume of treats) is super-sized. I've tried s

Why is trotting the most important gait to teach your dog? Dr. Chris Zink and I talk about why understanding gaiting is critical for the dog sports handler.   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

Living with and loving a sensitive dog comes with pros and cons, lessons and blessings. This week Hélène Lawler, Barbara Lloyd, Amy Cook, PhD, and Dresden Graff joined me to talk all about sensitive dogs.    Transcription Melissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast, brought to you by the

Deb and I chat about her latest book, currently running workshop, and upcoming webinar... and yes, it really is possible to build better focus in just 7 days.  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 p

Being able to successfully compete in obedience requires a dog who has a confident understanding of each skill and exercise. In this episode Petra and I do a deep dive, talking through what, why and how to build confidence for training and the ring!   Transcription Melissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenz

Why would you want to use props to teach front? Because, used PROPerly, they can make your life a lot easier! Keep reading to find out why I love using props to teach fronts!In my opinion, it's easier to fade a prop than it is to fade extraneous body movements and cues. Trying to show your dog where "front" is with treats and your hands isn't easy!

There's raising a puppy... and then there is raising a pushy, drivey sports dog puppy. In this episode Shade and I talk about her experience raising bitey breeds and what she recommends for raising these puppies in a way that brings out their best selves for life and sports.   Transcription Melissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau, and you're

Most people know heat can impact air flow — but what else can impact where odor pools and how it moves? Join me and Stacy for a discussion on everything air flow... and the balancing act between learning to read your dog and training them.  Transcription Melissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau, and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast