Bad Dog Agility Podcast

In this episode, Sarah, Jennifer, and Esteban are joined by Lisa Topol, the 2021 AND 2019 Highest Scoring All-American dog at the Masters Agility Championship at Westminster.

• How Lisa is like Lebron James.
• What you should expect from your rescue dog.
• How Plop got his name.
• Why shelters and rescues are full of great agility prospects.
• Why it is important to know your goal for every agility run.

• https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/sports/training-agility-apartment/

Lisa will soon be offering training at her new facility. Check out the website https://www.weavegottheruns.com/ for details (currently under construction!)

What would you do if you were without an agility partner for two years? In this podcast, Sarah and Jennifer talk with Collene Gaolach, an agility competitor without a partner who has continued to learn and improve as a handler WITHOUT a dog.

• Why Collene does agility with "her invisible dog".
• How walking and running a course without a dog can improve your handling skills.
• How you can quickly set up full courses with placeholders.
• Why the "why's" of agility are so important.

This podcast is taken from a live video presentation. In this episode, Jennifer, Sarah, and Esteban explore WHY people love agility and how trainers can use their WHY to map out the next 12 months of their agility lives.

• The 9 categories of why people do agility.
• How your "why" affects your planning.
• What happens when your goal setting doesn't match up with your "why".

In this episode, Jennifer, Sarah, and Esteban talk about private lessons in dog agility and how you can use them more effectively.

• Differences in private lessons between novice and advanced handlers.
• Why setting expectations is important.
• How to maximize your learning during a private lesson.
• How private lessons can be used in a variety of ways.

In this episode, Jennifer, Sarah, and Esteban apply concepts from "How to Get a Perfect 1600 SAT Score" to dog agility. Implement these study habits to your training for maximum results!

• How to distinguish between high-quality and low-quality practice.
• How to emphasize quality over quantity.
• How to be ruthless about understanding your mistakes.
• How to find patterns in your weaknesses.
• How to eliminate careless errors.
• How to develop amazing study habits.
• How to deal with pressure.

• The "Inspiration" Article
• Episode 14: Agility Instructors, They're G-r-r-reat!
• Episode 30: Analyzing Mistakes and a Look at Systems
• Episode 212: Do You Really Need Video Analysis?

In this episode, Jennifer, Sarah, and Esteban talk about running other people's dogs, including why and how they do it.

• Why people ask other people to run their dog.
• Why you need the "keys to the car" to make it work.
• How your training and handling strategies depend on exactly why you're running someone else's dog.
• Why you should consider pet insurance for someone else's dog.
• Why people co-own dogs in agility.
• Tips for a successful team approach to dog agility.

In this episode, Jennifer, Sarah, and Esteban reveal the many factors handlers have to take into consideration when they answer the question, "Should I convert my stopped contact to a running contact?"

• Why there's sometimes a penalty for teaching old dogs new tricks.
• What makes you and your a stronger or weaker candidate for retraining.
• The difference between converting a dogwalk or a-frame.
• How much time you will likely gain after making the switch.
• Whether your dog's breed or size really matters.

In this episode, Jennifer and Esteban share their not-so-secret agility trial eating habits with Sarah.

• What Jennifer and Esteban eat at big agility events.
• How they time their meals around agility runs.
• What snacks they prefer for quick energy.
• The #1 thing agility competitors forgot to consume, especially in the winter.

In this episode, Sarah and Esteban welcome special guest Tim Verrelli, judge of the AKC National Agility Championship Finals. Podcast co-host Jennifer Crank doubles as a special guest as she won the 16″ Finals at this event.

• Who won the NAC and PNAC titles this year.
• Which podcast participant has been doing agility the longest.
• What breeds Tim has run in agility.
• When Tim designed the Finals course.
• Why Esteban loved the Finals course.
• What obstacle replaces the chute in AKC.
• How Jennifer won her 2nd NAC in 3 years with P!nk with the fastest time in all heights.
• How the ESPN broadcast affected the Finals.
• Why ESPN cut 10 dogs out of the Finals broadcast on ESPN2.
• How livestream comments about preferred dogs created a controversy.
• When and where the Premier Cup will take place.

• Esteban's AKC NAC Finals Map Analysis
• Watch Jennifer and P!nk's Winning Run

In this episode, the BDA team discusses one of the most classic jump sequences in all of agility: the pinwheel.

• What a pinwheel is.
• How most people handle pinwheels.
• Problems people encounter on pinwheels.
• Why dogs sometimes mistakenly turn away from the handler on pinwheels.
• How to handle pinwheels better.
• How to vary your reinforcement schedule to help your dog stay motivated on pinwheels.