Bad Dog Agility Podcast

Jennifer, Sarah, and Esteban are joined by Chris Durkee of 4 Legged Flix to talk about Video Assisted Review (VAR), a technology now being used at the highest levels of agility competition in the United States. VAR was deployed at both the recent AKC National Agility Championship and the UKI Invitational, with video services provided by 4 Legged Flix.

• Why contact obstacle judging is so difficult
• How VAR works and what triggers a review
• How judges interacted with VAR and whether it affected their confidence or decision-making
• Whether VAR more often adds faults that were missed or overturns faults that were incorrectly called
• What events may adopt VAR going forward

• Episode 151: Judging with Video Review

• Canine Handler Fitness

Esteban, Sarah, and Jennifer share personal experiences and unpack the common stereotypes around male and female dogs in agility. With Esteban running girls, Sarah running boys, and Jennifer having trained both, the trio brings a range of perspectives and lands in the same place: the sex of a dog matters a lot less than people think.

• Why Esteban, Sarah, and Jennifer each gravitate toward (or away from) a particular sex and what actually drove those choices
• The most common stereotypes about male vs. female dogs in agility, and how much truth the three coaches find in them
• Why limiting your puppy search by sex may cause you to overlook the dog that could be your best partner yet
• How other factors like temperament, drive, relationship, and timing outweigh sex when it comes to finding and developing a great agility dog

• Canine Handler Fitness
• Saint Rocco's Treats

In this episode, Esteban, Sarah, and Jennifer sit down with Peter Wirth, the handler of that amazing Corgi, 8″ National Champion Welly. We also discuss the challenges of this year's courses, including the low Q rates, multiple falls off the dogwalk, and the weave pole challenge that eliminated half the Finals field.

• What Peter and Jennifer thought about the high number of weave pole faults in the Finals
• What the Q rates were in both Prelims and Finals and what they tell us
• What this year's NAC might signal about the future direction of course design

• Hammy the Corgi as a Potato
• Episode 379: The Medium-Speed Dog's Guide to NAC

Does the difference between 4-foot and 5-foot bars really matter in dog agility? In this episode, we dig into how bar width impacts everything from course design to your dog's performance, and why this seemingly small difference can have bigger implications than you might think.

• How 4-foot vs 5-foot bars affect course design and handling decisions
• Whether bar width changes your dog's jumping mechanics and consistency
• Why Jennifer and Esteban don't like opening a course with a tire followed immediately by the dogwalk

• Episode 129: The Connection Paradigm

• Canine Handler Fitness

In this episode, Sarah, Jennifer, and Esteban explore what a dog agility series on Netflix or another streaming platform could look like. They discuss several possible formats and why agility has the ingredients for mainstream success.

• Different formats a dog agility series could take on a streaming platform
• The kinds of stories and personalities that would make the sport compelling for a wider audience
• Why dog agility has strong potential as a binge-worthy series
• What makes the sport visually exciting and emotionally engaging for viewers

• A Different Breed: a docuseries on Amazon Prime
• Race for the Crown

• Canine Handler Fitness

In this episode, Esteban and Sarah explore what dog agility can learn from Olympic swimming, two fast sports where performances last seconds but preparation takes months or years. They discuss how tiny technical details, mental preparation, and strategic training decisions can dramatically impact performance when the margin for error is so small.

• Why the swimming concept of tapering may apply to preparing dogs for major agility competitions
• How the first few seconds of a run, from the lead-out to the first obstacle, can set the tone for everything that follows
• Why both sports demand trust in training and muscle memory during short, high-stakes performances
• How mental preparation and pre-run routines can help handlers manage nerves and perform at their best

• Visualization and Mental Preparation
• Episode 189: How to Structure Your Dog Agility Season

• Canine Handler Fitness
• Saint Rocco's Treats

In this episode, Jennifer, Sarah, and Esteban talk about the realities of raising and training puppies alongside someone else. We explore how shared puppy journeys can strengthen relationships, strain them, and ultimately teach us a lot about expectations, pressure, and perspective.

• Jennifer's experience raising littermates with her mom and later with her best friend and training partner
• Why getting puppies at the same time can create both the best and the hardest moments in an agility partnership
• How side-by-side progress can make you feel behind, increase stress, or quietly shift expectations
• The upside of having a training partner going through the same puppy stage at the same time

• Episode 157: The Comparison Trap

• Canine Handler Fitness

In this episode, Jennifer, Sarah, and Esteban dive into the often-debated world of purpose-bred sport mixes, purpose-bred mixes in general, and how they compare to rescues, mutts, and "All American" dogs. We explore why these dogs exist, why they generate strong opinions, and how much of the controversy is rooted in history, philosophy, and expectations. Most importantly, we unpack how dogs from many backgrounds can thrive in sport while serving very different goals within the broader dog world.

• The difference between purpose-bred sport mixes, general mixes, mutts, and rescues
• What the "All American Dog" designation really represents in competition
• How breed recognition and performance success address different priorities

• Episode 288: Interview with 2-Time Highest Scoring All-American Westminster Winner Lisa Topol
• All American Dog Ranking by PowerScore for 2025

• Canine Handler Fitness
• Saint Rocco's Treats

In this episode, Jennifer, Sarah, and Esteban break down how the format of the AKC National Agility Championship impacts strategy, especially for handlers with medium-speed dogs. Most competitors at Nationals are not the fastest dogs in the country, and they're not the slowest either. They're somewhere in the middle. And that middle is where smart strategy matters most.

We talk about how the structure of the event affects qualification paths, what realistic advancement looks like, and how to approach Nationals in a way that gives your dog the best chance to succeed. Most importantly, we discuss how to set expectations so that no matter the outcome, you don't feel like you wasted your time.

• How the NAC format shapes strategy for medium-speed dog handlers trying to qualify for the Finals
• Why your dog may have a better chance of making the Finals than you think
• How to set realistic expectations so you walk away from Nationals feeling proud, not defeated

• How to Make the Finals at AKC Nationals
• How to Make the Finals at AKC Nationals
• Episode 292: What To Do When Things Start Off Poorly at a Big Event

• Canine Handler Fitness

In this episode, Jennifer, Sarah, and Esteban are joined by Masters Agility Champion Amber McCune to break down the 2026 Westminster Masters Agility Championship. The conversation ranges from course design and footing to venue history and how the event experience has changed over the years.

• How course design, footing, and venue choices shape both performance and the competitor experience at Westminster.
• How Jenn and Amber adjusted their handling to account for the unique format for making finals.
• Why Amber didn't get to wear a sparkly dress.

• Canine Handler Fitness