Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast

By Melissa Breau

Education Sports & Recreation Training

What's Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast about?

Published every Friday, the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast is brought to you by the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy. Each episode of the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast will feature an interview with a leading name in the competitive dog sports training world, talking in depth about issues that often get overlooked by traditional training methods.

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LAST EPISODE

E330: Shade Whitesel - "Fro...

09.22.2023

Shade Whitesel joins me to talk about how fluent toy play skills allow for more two-way communication during training, and how toy skills can be used to build a faster, better formal retrieve.

Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast episodes:

09.22.2023 E330: Shade Whitesel - "From Toy Skills to a Formal Retrieve" Shade Whitesel joins me to talk about how fluent toy play skills allow for more two-way communication during training, and how toy skills can be used to build a faster, better formal retrieve.
09.15.2023 E329: Amy Cook, PhD - "Thresholds and Decision Making with a Reactive Dog" What is a threshold? Does it matter? Join Amy and I for a fascinating discussion on how what we know can impact or enable our choices when we're out with our dogs.
09.10.2023 E328: Megan Foster - "Building & Maintaining Your Agility Startline Stay" What do position changes have to do with maintaining a startline stay? Join Megan and I as we chat about teaching and maintaining your startline... even once you begin competing!
09.03.2023 E327: Jennifer Henion - "R+ Training for Retriever Hunt Tests" Jennifer Henion joins me on the podcast today for a conversation about hunt tests — what they are, how she wound up focused on them, and managing the culture that comes with them.
08.25.2023 E326: Hélène Lawler - Start Buttons, Stop Buttons, and Arousal, Oh My! Hélène joins me to talk about the power of start buttons, stop buttons, and arousal checks when training our dog sport behaviors... and our life skills.
08.12.2023 E325: Deb Jones, PhD - "Canine Cooperative Care" Have a problem when you want to do your dog's nails? Or maybe for you it's some other aspect of grooming or vet care! In this episode Deb and I talk about cooperative care training — what it is and ...
08.05.2023 E324: Other Dog Sports with Melissa Breau, Hélène Lawler, and Sara Brueske Join Teri Martin, Melissa Breau, Hélène Lawler and Sara Brueske for a conversation about the "other" dog sports offered at FDSA — treibball, herding, and disc!
07.28.2023 E323: Nancy Gagliardi Little - "Startlines Under Stress" What do you do when your agility startline breaks down? Whether your dog is the type to anticipate their release, stress sniff, freeze, or leave the line to visit the volunteers, this episode is the one for you!
07.21.2023 E322: Liz Joyce - Fitness for Your End of the Leash If you've thought about leveling up your personal fitness level so you can be a better dog sports competitor, but have been consumed by "yeah buts" (yeah but my knees... yeah but my age... yeah but my weight) this podcast ...
07.14.2023 E321: Tracey McLennan - "Studying Prey Drive" What is prey drive anyway? Tracey McLennan has spent years studying prey drive in our canine companions and this week she joined me to talk about what it is, why we breed for it, and both the pros and cons ...
07.07.2023 E320: Julie Flanery - "Learning to Love Heelwork" Julie joins me to talk about the importance of building enthusiasm into your heelwork right from the start, and how to avoid (or overcome!) training plateaus during the process of training your dog a beautiful heel.
06.30.2023 E319: The Truth About High Drive Dogs Join me, Crystal Wing, Denise Fenzi, Hélène Lawler and Jane Ardern — all presenters in the upcoming High Drive Dog Conference — for a honest conversation about the best and worst parts of living with and training high drive dogs.
06.23.2023 E318: Aleks Woodroffe - "Canine Massage for the Sports Dog" I interview Canine Bodyworker and Scent Work Trainer Aleks Woodroffe on the benefits and application of canine massage for our sports dogs.
06.16.2023 E317: Petra Ford - "Fit for Obedience" The level of fitness a dog needs to do well in obedience is often overlooked - but the level of core work and conditioning required for obedience exercises shouldn't be ignored. In this episode Petra and I talk about her ...
06.09.2023 E316: Michael Shikashio - "When Housemates Fight" It's rarely talked about — but intra-household dog-dog aggression is more common than many realize. Join me and Michael Shikashio for a deep dive into why, what to do, and how you can prevent issues.
06.03.2023 Sara Brueske - Making the Most of the Summer Traveling with your pup this summer? Looking for other fun activities to capitalize on the awesome summer weather? Sara and I talk about preparing to travel, the benefits of road tripping with a young dog, and more!
05.28.2023 Amy Cook, PhD - Sound Sensitivity & Managing Reactivity Amy joins me for a conversation on managing life with a reactive dog, recognizing the early signs of sound sensitivity... and more!
05.24.2023 E313: Julie Daniels and Sharon Carroll - "The Science & Strategy Behind Raising Adolescent Dogs" What should you expect when that perfect puppy reaches adolescence? What's "normal" and what deserves another look and more consideration? Sharon and Julie join me to talk about all things adolescent in this episode.
05.13.2023 E312: Karen Deeds - "An Integrated Approach to Reactivity" There are lots of different approaches to dealing with reactivity — but how do you choose between them? How can you combine them? Can you combine them? Karen and I dig into that very question and more in this new ...
05.05.2023 E311: Erin Lynes, Megan Foster & Shade Whitesel on Puppies! Thinking about your next sports dog puppy? Join us for a conversation on choosing your next puppy, what skills to start out with (depending on your sport), and what a day in the life looks like!
04.30.2023 Kelly Daniel - Fitness for Performance Years of competition led Kelly to a focus on fitness — join us as we talk about her journey in this new podcast episode!
04.22.2023 E309: Crystal Wing - "FUNctional Obedience" Crystal shares the story of how she ended up doing bitey sports and Search and Rescue, and then gives us a sneak-peek at what she plans to cover in her upcoming FDSA-hosted webinar!
04.14.2023 E308: Chrissi Schranz - From Free Roaming Dogs to Recalls Chrissi joins me for this episode to talk about their recent adventures and observations — and to talk about training a recall that will stand up even out in the real-world.
04.07.2023 E307: Stacy Barnett - Understanding Airflow in Nosework Most people know heat can impact air flow — but what else can impact where odor pools and how it moves? Join me and Stacy for a discussion on everything air flow... and the balancing act between learning to read ...
03.31.2023 E306: Erin Lynes - "Shed Antler Hunting with Your Canine" Searching for and retrieving antlers — either as a pursuit in the wild or for competition — is one of the fastest growing activities that appeals to a large variety of dogs. If you enjoy being outdoors with your dogs, ...
03.24.2023 E305: Shade Whitesel - Raising A Pushy Puppy There's raising a puppy... and then there is raising a pushy, drivey sports dog puppy. In this episode Shade and I talk about her experience raising bitey breeds and what she recommends for raising these puppies in a way that ...
03.18.2023 E304: Petra Ford - Confidence for the Obedience Dog Being able to successfully compete in obedience requires a dog who has a confident understanding of each skill and exercise. In this episode Petra and I do a deep dive, talking through what, why and how to build confidence for ...
03.10.2023 E303: Deb Jones, PhD - Grief, Focus, and Negative Reinforcement Deb and I chat about her latest book, currently running workshop, and upcoming webinar... and yes, it really is possible to build better focus in just 7 days.
03.04.2023 E302: Diamond in the Ruff: Loving and Living with Sensitive Dogs Living with and loving a sensitive dog comes with pros and cons, lessons and blessings. This week Hélène Lawler, Barbara Lloyd, Amy Cook, PhD, and Dresden Graff joined me to talk all about sensitive dogs.
02.24.2023 E301: Chris Zink, DVM - "What Your Dog's Gait Can Tell You" Why is trotting the most important gait to teach your dog? Dr. Chris Zink and I talk about why understanding gaiting is critical for the dog sports handler.
02.17.2023 E300: Mari Valgma - Teaching Your Dog to Move" Sometimes dogs totally grasp our criteria - they just can't do the thing we're asking at speed. Mari and I talk about how she works with dogs to teach them to use their bodies more skillfully... and therefore more quickly ...
02.10.2023 E299: Julie Daniels - Every Baby's a Genius Can you create an optimistic dog? How DO you get to know a new puppy? What are the first steps to teaching quiet crating? Julie Daniels and I discuss all that and more in this episode.
02.03.2023 E298: Nicole Wiebusch and Petra Ford - "Proofing for Performance" Nicole Wiebsuch and Petra Ford joined me to talk about what goes into training fluency that will hold up under the pressures of competition.
01.28.2023 E297: Julie Flanery - "Shape Up Your Shaping" Julie and I talk about what shaping is, and how to use it effectively and efficiently... including putting behaviors under stimulus control!
01.13.2023 E296: Working with a Dog Sports Coach Denise Fenzi, Nancy Gagliardi Little and Megan Foster join me to talk about working with a dog sports coach — the differences between a coach and a trainer, the advantages to having a coach, and how to get some of ...
01.06.2023 E295: Laura Donaldson - "Stop and Smell the Pee Mail" Laura and I talk about how sniffing can help dogs help from trauma and how it's critical for all of our dogs — because it's one of their key senses!
12.31.2022 E294: Dealing with Cabin Fever Heather Lawson, Julie Symons, and Ashley Escobar join me to talk about how they handle it when their dogs are stuck indoors for an extended time... and what they train when limited to a small(er) training space.
12.23.2022 E293: Hélène Lawler - Big Feelings at Both Ends of the Leash When your dog has big feelings it can often inspire big feelings in you, too. In this episode, Hélène Lawler and I talk about how handlers can bring their best selves to the training picture by diving into their own ...
12.16.2022 E292: Denise Fenzi - "Integrating Online and In Person Classes" Many students take classes both online and in person — so how do you make the most of both options and integrate both into your training?
12.11.2022 E291: Lucy Newton - "Foundations of Tracking" Lucy and I chat about the skills your dog needs to hone to learn to track, and she answers that frequently asked question: Can you dog do both nosework and tracking?
12.02.2022 E290: Erin Lynes - "Keeping Senior Dogs Fit" As our dogs age their needs and preferences change; Erin and I talk about what it takes to keep senior dogs fit in mind and body, and how to decide when it may be time to retire them from the ...
11.25.2022 E289: Kellie Snider - "Constructional Aggression Treatment" Kellie Snider helped develop the Constructional Aggression Treatment as part of her thesis in grad school — today, she joins me on the podcast to talk about what it is, how it works, and why negative reinforcement, in this case, ...
11.18.2022 E288: Sara Brueske - "Teaching Toy Play with Food" Can you, should you, teach toy play with food? Sara's answer is a resounding yes — in this episode we talk about why and how.
11.11.2022 E287 - Jennifer Summerfield, DVM - “Canine Pancreatitis & Behavior Disorders” Dr. Jen joins me this week to talk about the growing awareness of chronic canine pancreatitis and for a discussion on behavior disorders in our dogs.
11.04.2022 E286: Nicole Levesque - "When Handler Health Impacts Dog Training" Nicole joins me to share her inspiring story and how she's handled health setbacks in her multi-dog, competitive agility household... including how she's preparing for additional months of restricted (human) activity.
10.28.2022 E285: Petra Ford - "For Better or Worse: Sticking with Training" Training and trialing with our dogs isn't always easy — Petra and I talk about how to handle it when errors happen, and what it's like to stick with one goal for 6.5 years.
08.26.2022 E284: Megan Foster and Liz Joyce - "Increasing Your Handling Options for Agility" Today Megan and Liz join me to talk about the role of handler fitness, handler skill building, and contact behaviors in agility!
08.19.2022 E283: Deb Jones - "The Art of Impulse Control" What's the difference between impulse control and stimulus control? What about when we throw "zen" behaviors into the mix? Deb and I talk about all that and more in this week's episode!
08.12.2022 E282: Loretta Mueller - Creating a More Responsive Dog Loretta and I talk about what it takes to create the balance needed for a responsive agility dog — including how to rehab things!
08.05.2022 E281: Andrea Harrison - "The Human End of the Leash" Join Andrea and I as we talk about how to recover when things go wrong — whether that means a bad training session or a bad trial!

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