Blog

The challenge of connection while sprinting on course is real. It is a very hard skill! And while there are physical requirements, and we are going to talk about them, there is also an aspect of using your peripherals and general awareness of where you are on the course. Here you'll find a roadmap to prepare your body for the asks that you make on course, and how to pull the use of peripherals and connection into your sprint practice.

As our dogs age their needs and preferences change; Erin and I talk about what it takes to keep senior dogs fit in mind and body, and how to decide when it may be time to retire them from the sports you both love.  

The more ways we can incorporate fun moves into heeling, the more enjoyment our dogs get out of it! I love teaching the dog to spin in heel! I use the left spin all the time. Admittedly, I'm not nearly as fond of the right spin and only teach that one for the rally master class.

Kellie Snider helped develop the Constructional Aggression Treatment as part of her thesis in grad school — today, she joins me on the podcast to talk about what it is, how it works, and why negative reinforcement, in this case, gets an undeservedly bad rap. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

Training and trialing with our dogs isn't always easy — Petra and I talk about how to handle it when errors happen, and what it's like to stick with one goal for 6.5 years. 

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

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! 

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

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 their life is already really new to them during this stage. Before you start taking your puppy out and about, we want to make sure that he or she is comfortable in their new home first! Puppies are hard wired to have a 'home base' and going from one home to the next—cold turkey—isn't really something we can avoid, but we can make it a bit easier by giving the puppy some time to adjust, and develop their new comfort zone in their new home base, before expecting them to deal with more and more new things.

Consider the puppy's first week with your family as 'orientation' week. During this week, the priority is to help the puppy get settled in and become accustomed to their new world, family and routines. This week does not require any road trips or excessive adventuring (perhaps you'll need a trip to the vet for a required checkup, shots or meet and necessary trips like this shouldn't be avoided—but you can definitely avoid extra or frivolous adventuring during this time).

What we want to establish during this orientation week are things like: Who are the puppies' family members? Who will do the puppy feeding and what time do meals occur? When is it time for bed and time to wake up? Where will puppy sleep and where will they be during the day? Who are the other pet members of the family and which ones can the puppy interact with, and which might need some separation for now? Which doors lead to the outdoors for potty business? How often does puppy need to potty? What are some of the regular sounds and smells in the neighborhood?

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!

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. 

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? 

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.

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

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! 

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!