Bad Dog Agility Podcast

In this episode, Sarah and Esteban talk about the concept of handler focus versus obstacle focus, and how to apply it to your own agility training.

• What it means for your dog to be handler-focused or obstacle-focused.
• Which focus you need in order to excel in agility.
• How a dog's focus can be obstacle-dependent.

Why is it sometimes so difficult to make changes in your handling? In this episode, Sarah and Esteban apply the concept of homeostasis to dog agility, and explain how you can "reset" your agility equilibrium.

• The definition of homeostasis.
• How to leave jumps sooner.
• A helpful tip for handlers who "body block" their dogs on down contacts.
• How to get ahead while your dog is weaving.
• The real secret behind Romeo and Juliet's love affair.

• Episode 46: Expanding Your Comfort Zone
• How Your Mindset Affects Your Agility Performance
• Episode 65: Recognizing Artificial Limitations

In this episode, Sarah and Esteban talk with Jennifer Crank and Sarah Baker about how they manage their time and their dog from the moment they take them out of a crate for a run to the moment they put them back in the crate after the run.

• When and how to get your dog ready to run.
• How to structure your dog's reinforcement schedule around each run at a trial.
• Common mistakes people make before and after runs.
• The big mistake people make when using food before their run.
• How to use toys or your dog's leash effectively.
• Why bicycles are so unstable.

• Our Facebook LIVE Show
• Interview with Jennifer Crank on Using the Practice Jump

In this episode, Sarah and Esteban discuss how to recognize and combat tilt in your dog training.

• How a moment of tilt can set your dog back in their training.
• How to recognize and avoid tilting in your agility training.
• Which dogs are most affected by a handler on tilt.

• Episode 160: How to Work Through Mistakes in Your Agility Training
• Our LIVE Facebook Show

What can you do when something works for everyone else's dog but not your own? In this episode, Sarah and Esteban talk about understanding your dog's issues in the context of the agility spectrum.

• How many dogs earned a qualifying score in the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 2016.
• Why you shouldn't feel like you're the only one dealing with a specific problem in agility.
• How to find help for your specific problem.
• Why you should leave your poker chips at home before going to the jungle.

• Our Facebook Live Show

In this episode, Dr. Brittany Schaezler joins the podcast to get you and your dog ready for summer.

• When you should stop your training sessions due to heat and fatigue.
• How you can cool your dog during and after training.
• Where dogs have sweat glands.

• Episode 8: Using a Camcorder in Training; Heat Stroke & Water Intoxication

In this episode, Sarah and Esteban explore how a minimalist approach to dog agility training can protect people from feeling overwhelmed–especially if they have a dog new to agility.

• Why Esteban thinks he's an agility minimalist.
• How minimalism can protect you from feeling overwhelmed with your new dog.
• How to identify the essential skills and behaviors needed for the minimalist approach.
• Proper traffic etiquette.

In this episode, Sarah and Esteban discuss the impact that external influences can have on your agility, and how you can use them to advance your own training.

• Who/what your biggest outside influences are.
• How they affect your training.
• Why you should embrace outside influences.

• Episode 148: The Paradox of Choice in Dog Agility
• Episode 42: The Internet, Dog Agility, and You

In this episode, Sarah and Esteban help you memorize your courses by figuring out the dog's line and the handler's path and combining them with visualization.

• Why you should focus on your own path as well as your dog's.
• How knowing your dog's line can reduce your memorization burden.
• The 3 different views you can have during visualization.

• Episode 87: Improving Your Course Memorization

Sarah and Esteban talk about dogs that perform better at home than at shows. Some dogs slow down at trials while other dogs run fast but consistently make mistakes on the same thing like start lines or weave poles. We share some tips for both training and trialing to help handlers work through these issues.

• Why some dogs run slower at shows than at home or practice.
• Why you need to make your practices harder than the trial.
• How to "practice" with your dog at a trial.
• Proper attire for weddings!

• Episode 104: Building Confidence Through Challenges (not mentioned, but should have been!)
• Facebook Live on Weave Poles (where this question came up frequently)