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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 unemotional, focused, and receptive to learning. Most competitors will be able to effectively process new information during a routine training session, but for others new information is best delivered at times separate from active training sessions or competitive events. Often the biggest "aha" moments occur for competitors when they are:

• Listening to an instructor present a topic in a lecture-style setting (e.g. webinar, seminar, class).
• Discussing training in an informal way with another trainer (e.g. when chatting before a class, or when on a break between periods of active training; or when meeting up for coffee, lunch, etc.)

The reason beneficial learning occurs at these times is because in these settings the individual is receptive; the person has the mental and emotional capacity to take on new information, process what they are hearing, and consider how it may relate to their current training sessions or competition performance. 

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!

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. 

When your dog has big feelings it can often inspire big feelings in you, too. In this episode, Hélène Lawler and I talk about how handlers can bring their best selves to the training picture by diving into their own big feelings. 

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?

There are a number of factors that we need to take into consideration when we're thinking about handling large dogs without compromising our own bodies. I am looking forward to sharing with you how I coach my large dog clients so they can interact safely, comfortably and effectively.

The first is general safety and injury prevention because large high-drive dogs put a lot of force and torque on our bodies. In particular our spine, knees and shoulders. I'm going to use the example of an intense tugging session throughout this post, although this same information will help with carrying crates, helper work, being pulled on a leash etc.

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?

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?