E280: Sarah Stremming - "Helping Our Dogs to be Their Best Selves"

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. 

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  1977 Hits
1977 Hits

Rally: Teach Yourself or Take a Class?

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? 

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  2100 Hits
2100 Hits

E279: Dr. Kristina Spaulding & Irith Bloom - "Stress and Agency: Building a More Resilient Dog"

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.

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  2095 Hits
2095 Hits

E278: Julie Daniels: Learning More About Control Unleashed

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

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  2265 Hits
2265 Hits

E277: Dr. Jennifer Summerfield - Vet Medicine Today

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! 

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  1630 Hits
1630 Hits

E276: Watersports with Erin Lynes & Sara Brueske

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!

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  1432 Hits
1432 Hits

E275: Stacy Bols - Competing in Agility with a Little Dog

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

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  1547 Hits
1547 Hits

E274: Dogs with Big Feelings

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.

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  2912 Hits
2912 Hits

E273: Fundamentals for Training a Sports Dog

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.

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  1658 Hits
1658 Hits

Breed, Behavior, and Mutt Genomics

Note: the author of this summary is second author on the paper

This 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 associated with behavioral traits in dogs.

As is typical of papers published in the prestigious journal Science, this paper contains several related studies that inform each other.

The researchers collected and analyzed:

  • 16,000+ owner surveys on their dogs' physical and behavioral traits, through the website darwinsark.org
  • 2000+ genetic sequences of dogs with surveys (a subset of the first, larger set of dogs)
  • Guesses from the public via the website muttmix.org about the top three breeds in a set of 31 highly mixed mutts, based on images, video, and short descriptions of the dogs
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  3001 Hits
3001 Hits

E272: Laura Waudby - "Creating a Positive CER for the Ring"

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. 

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  2316 Hits
2316 Hits

Master the Moving Down!

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!

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  2849 Hits
2849 Hits

E271: Sara Brueske - What Does it Take to do Mondio OB?

Sara and I talk about training for Mondio Obedience - including who can compete and how varied the trials can be! 

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  2139 Hits
2139 Hits

E270: Dresden Graff - Training for the Sensitive Soul

National Agility Competitor Dresden Graff joins me to talk about his training journey and share some tips for training the see-saw when you have a more sensitive dog. 

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  2835 Hits
2835 Hits

Ancestry-inclusive dog genomics challenges popular breed stereotypes: A discussion with Jessica Hekman, DVM, PhD (2nd Author)

If you've seen the buzz over the recent study, "Ancestry-inclusive dog genomics challenges popular breed stereotypes," join Dr. Jessica Hekman, 2nd author on the paper, for a discussion on the topic.

What does it say? What does it not say? Let's get the facts!

Jessica will share her knowledge and help you understand this fascinating topic during this FREE Q&A discussion. 
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  3090 Hits
3090 Hits

E269: Amy Cook, PhD - "A Deeper Look at The Play Way"

Ever wondered how The Play Way differs from other methods for treating reactivity? Amy and I talk about how she developed the ideas from her work on her PhD in Psychology.

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  3996 Hits
3996 Hits

Is a Tired Dog Really a Good Dog?

We've all heard it, the advice that says "run him out, a tired dog is a good dog". Well, if the dog is actually asleep then yes, he is a good dog – sleep being incompatible with hyper, pain-in-the-bum type behaviours. However, usually it doesn't work like that.
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  6673 Hits
6673 Hits

E268: Sharon Carroll - "When Competition Performance Falls Apart"

Common advice is that a green dog just needs more ring experience but... is that really true? What's going on when a dog gets gradually worse the more they compete? Sharon and I talk about breaking that down and more!

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  3147 Hits
3147 Hits

Failure is my Friend: Redefining the meaning of Failure

Failure is a word that has a bad bad bad rap. I mean the poor word really did get the short end of the stick. People just have it all wrong. They see failure as something bad. Failure means you're not good enough, you didn't try hard enough, people look down at you, you're a loser. 

Failure evokes a host of negative feelings… depression, unworthiness, fear, anxiety, shame, disappointment, being less than, not measuring up, thinking that everyone else has achieved while I have not… I have "failed". We obsess about how it makes us look in other people's eyes. We define our self-worth by external accomplishments and when we don't achieve them, once again we have failed. 

The truth of the matter is everybody's got it all wrong.

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  3069 Hits
3069 Hits

E267: Ashley Escobar - Talking Canine Fitness & Cavalettis

Ashley and I talk about what led her to become interested in fitness and she shares why cavalettis are such a powerful tool for canine fitness. 

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  1772 Hits
1772 Hits

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