Course Details
In dog sports, we often dedicate significant time and energy to preparing our dogs for competition. We build their technical skills, develop their ability to work in distracting environments, and support their emotional and physical readiness. Far less attention is typically given to preparing ourselves.
Yet in competition, our performance, decision-making, and emotional state play a critical role in the outcome. We are not only handling our dog, we are simultaneously managing our own thoughts, emotions, and arousal, while also balancing multiple roles, including trainer, competitor, and caregiver. This combination creates a level of cognitive and emotional demand that is unique to dog sports and often underestimated.
This presentation focuses on understanding and developing the human skills required for effective and sustainable competition. Rather than relying on general “mindset” advice, we will look at the underlying mechanisms that influence performance, including cognitive load, arousal, emotional responses, and attentional focus.
We will explore how our reasons for competing shape our expectations and experiences, and how different types of motivation can influence pressure, enjoyment, and resilience. We will also examine what typically happens to us under competition conditions, including why decision-making can deteriorate, why errors occur even when we “know better,” and why emotional responses can feel difficult to manage.
A central focus of this presentation is the concept of tolerable discomfort, and the role it plays in performance. Rather than attempting to eliminate nerves or discomfort, we will look at how to function effectively within them, and how this supports both performance and long-term enjoyment.
Practical strategies will be discussed for maintaining present-moment focus, responding to errors, managing arousal, and assessing readiness to compete in a way that considers both human and dog factors.
This presentation is designed for competitors at all levels who want to better understand their own experience in the ring, improve consistency in performance, and develop a more stable, sustainable approach to competition.
About the Instructor:
Sharon Carroll has been a professional animal trainer and behaviour consultant for over 30 years and currently operates a dog training and behaviour consulting business based in Newcastle, Australia.
Alongside her work in animal behaviour, Sharon is a highly experienced coach and mentor for competitors across multiple sports. She attained the highest-level coaching qualification through the Australian Institute of Sport (Level 3), qualifying her to coach athletes through to Olympic level. During her equestrian career, she both competed and coached at an elite level, representing Australia and competing at the highest levels of dressage and eventing. She has coached international teams and individuals to high-level competitive success. This background includes extensive formal training in sports psychology and athlete preparation, which now underpins her work supporting dog sport competitors.
Sharon actively trains, competes, and coaches in a range of dog sports; her current dogs have achieved titles in obedience, rally, tricks, heelwork to music, musical freestyle, and scent work. She works extensively with competitors at all levels, supporting both the technical training and mental preparation of the dog, as well as the mental and emotional preparation of the handler.
With a strong focus on understanding how animals learn and respond to their environment, Sharon completed a Bachelor of Applied Science, a Graduate Diploma in Captive Vertebrate Management (wildlife and exotics), and a Master of Animal Science. She is a fully certified behaviour consultant with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) for both dogs (CDBC) and horses (CEBC), and a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA). Sharon is also a full faculty member of Fenzi Dog Sports Academy, where she regularly teaches 6-week courses, webinars, and workshops.
Sharon has published scientific papers and review articles in veterinary and behaviour journals, and regularly guest lectures to post-graduate veterinarians and behaviour professionals worldwide on topics including animal behaviour, training, species-specific cognition, welfare, and psychological trauma.
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