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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  6002 Hits
6002 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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  2442 Hits
2442 Hits

E266: Stacy Barnett - Advancing in Nosework

What skills do you need as you build from the basis to more advanced levels in nosework? Stacy and I talk about breaking that down and more — PLUS we share an exciting new announcement from FDSA! 

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  3107 Hits
3107 Hits

E265: Dr. Chris Zink - Evaluating Puppy Structure

Your dog's structure factors largely into how long they can compete in dog sports — this week Dr. Chris Zink and I talk about how to judge structure in a puppy when choosing your next sports partner! 

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  3735 Hits
3735 Hits

Dog Sports For Fun: Why Sports Training is Worth it – Even if You Never Compete

"But I don't want to compete!!!" 

I hear it all the time. People take their dog to training classes or see a private trainer to fix problems and get the basics. And then they stop. Just like that. The problem is fixed. The dog civilised. Why do more? 

Well, there are some VERY good reasons to continue training after 'the basics' have been installed. Let's look at some...

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  4025 Hits
4025 Hits

E264 - Petra Ford - "Thriving Under Pressure"

Walking into the competition ring comes with pressure! Petra and I talk about how to create a positively conditioned emotional response to pressure... and how to prep for Utility with your obedience dog!  

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  3117 Hits
3117 Hits

Boring Fronts? Use These Games to Mix it Up!

Fronts are one of those behaviors that just need practice. There's no way around it. However, practicing fronts doesn't have to be boring! I play all sorts of front games with my dogs to keep fronts fresh and fun!

You can play these games with or without props, depending on what stage your dog is at. Play with several different props to increase generalization skills. Pick and choose which ones you like, or play them all, just have fun!

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  4252 Hits
4252 Hits

E263: Denise Fenzi, Heather Lawson, Alycia Rogal, and Nicole Wiebusch - "Year 6 of TEAM + A New Program..."

This year is the 6th anniversary of the founding of the Fenzi TEAM titles program — and we take a look at how it's grown and reveal a new, up-and-coming addition! 

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  2220 Hits
2220 Hits

How to Train Two Dogs Simultaneously

Do you have a new dog or puppy? Are you struggling to find opportunities to train with them because your older dog kicks up stink? When a second dog is added to a household, things can change in unexpected ways. One of those is that training stops. 

Why is that? 

Usually it is because the first dog objects strongly to being 'left out' while the new addition receives attention and play/food.

This is both difficult to deal with and causes us to feel guilty. Training is no longer fun and rewarding for us so we stop doing it. Rest assured, the guilt thing is totally normal. If you've not had two dogs before it can be a bit of a shock and the dynamics certainly get turned upside down.

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  4024 Hits
4024 Hits

E262: Simone Mueller - "Predation in Dogs"

Often referred to as dogs that "chase," predation in dogs can be frustrating — Simone and I talk about what's really going on and what you can do about it. 

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  4742 Hits
4742 Hits

Isolate that marker cue!

Clear communication and clarity are really important in dog training. The more clear we can be with our dogs, the faster they can learn what we want. One area that can sometimes get a little messy is marking behaviors. Most trainers understand that the correct behavior should get some kind of marker, like a click or a verbal marker such as "yes". But often, novice (and sometimes advanced, too!) trainers will mark and move all at the same time. However, it's very important that we isolate that marker cue!

While doing a chicken camp with Terry Ryan, she would always say "click THEN treat." What trainers often are told is "click and treat" or "mark and treat", but if you specify "mark THEN treat", it makes sense to put a pause in there.

So why is this important? Does it really matter?

Well, yes, it does.

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  3373 Hits
3373 Hits

E161: Julie Symons - "The Multi-Sport Dog"

Julie Symons joins me to talk about nosework, obedience, and the pros and cons of training for multiple sports!

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  2276 Hits
2276 Hits

The Lemonade Conference 2022 Lunch Panel: It’s All In How They’re Raised… (Or Is It?) (Sat, Feb 12)

Host Melissa Breau with panelists Jessica Hekman, PhD, DVM; Kim Brophey; and Sharon Carroll to talked about "It's All In How They're Raised (Or Is It?)" during our lunch break for the Lemonade Conference on February 12th, 2022 — and we've shared it here for those who missed it live!

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  2906 Hits
2906 Hits

E260: Karen Deeds - "Reactive Integration: Talking about our options for reactive dogs"

There are a ton of different methods out there for working with reactive dogs — how do you decide what to use when and with which dog? Karen and I talk about in this week's podcast. 

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  7716 Hits
7716 Hits

The Lemonade Conference 2022 Lunch Panel: The Future of R+ Training

Host Melissa Breau with panelists Denise Fenzi; Kamal Fernandez; and Dante Camacho talked about The Future of R+ Training during our lunch break for the Lemonade Conference on February 13th, 2022 — and we've shared it here for those who missed it live!

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  2128 Hits
2128 Hits

E259: Jake Schneider - "Adding Precision in Play and Balance in Bitework"

Jake Schneider joins me to talk — we discuss how to stop your dog from biting your hand instead of the toy and add value to yourself even when there's something else valuable in the environment (like a decoy!). 

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  3720 Hits
3720 Hits

Managing Errors in Behavior Chains

Clarity is critical for any learner. Whether we use an errorless learning approach, or we use a method of training that incorporates highlighting errors to our dog, it is still essential that we maximize the likelihood of success through careful set ups. It is also necessary to always be prepared to rapidly change strategies, as soon as we notice our dog is not becoming more confident, and more successful, throughout our training sessions.

Before we dive into the specific issues that can occur in our attempts to create successful and confident complex behavior chains, let's look at the broader area of managing errors.

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  4426 Hits
4426 Hits

E258: Sara Brueske - "Teaching Toy Play with Food"

Sara Brueske joins me to tell me why she teaches toy play with food — and all the benefits that come with it.  

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  2642 Hits
2642 Hits

The Lemonade Conference Free Lunch Panel on Mental Health for the Reactive Dog

 On Feb. 11th, 2022, the first day of The Lemonade Conference, our free lunch panel was on Mental Health for the Reactive Dog. Melissa Breau was joined by Amy Cook, PhD; Sarah Stremming; and Sophie Liu, DVM. The recording from the live stream is available below. 

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  2504 Hits
2504 Hits

E257: Shade Whitesel - "Training Toy Behaviors + Shaping Heelwork"

Shade comes on the podcast to talk about training toy behavior to create cooperative play, and the process of shaping heelwork. 

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  2863 Hits
2863 Hits

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