I want to talk to you about settling behaviors today. I've had a few discussions recently with folks struggling to help their dogs chill out when not actively working. Maybe you too have a dog who barks at you with any break in the action? Or perhaps the more subtle behaviors of huffing, tap dancing, or poking the treat pouch? There are 2 common responses I see in handling these behaviors and I want you to stop doing both of them Ignoring it Feeding them, when they finally shut up (Disclaimer: This blog focuses on settling cues when you have the dog out to "work", not settling around the hou ..read more

There's just one of them in novice but 6 by the time you get to utility obedience. Fronts are what define the ribbon holders of the upper levels at dog shows! For the rest of the class, having a consistent front seems like a mirage we just can't grasp onto. Some dogs are windshield wipers swishing back and forth until they hear the marker cue! Other dogs seem always to be leaning off of to the side where the cookies are held, or in expectation of that finish into heel. Unlike finding heel, fronts have 2 directions the dog needs to pick from to know which way to rotate. And there isn't a clear ..read more

There have been lively discussions lately about "baby dogs" starting to trial in agility! Some heated thoughts surrounding how to both support our fellow community members and how to make sure dogs entered in trials are truly ready to be there. One thing that's certain is starting off with a new dog is an exciting and often nerve-wracking experience, whether it's your 5th agility dog or your first! We don't yet know what our dogs are going to do out there even if we have a pretty good guess. Are they actually ready?! Do they just need more "ring experience?" Much of the discussion has been aro ..read more

If you're lucky enough to have UKI agility around in your area, you'll (hopefully) see a "food box." Picture a small xpen, often with a table or chair inside, that juts out on the edge of the ring, with an accordion gate or another way of blocking off the small area from the ring when not being actively used. Outdoors it looks a bit silly for rings that have just posts and tape blocking off the ring. But it's still a clearly defined area that is outside of the ring! The idea is to give people the option of running "not for competition" (i.e. you can't qualify), be able to reward their dog wi ..read more

Backchaining is one of the best ways to learn a behavior. When you backchain, you start with the end behavior and gradually add one more piece before it. That way you're always moving into the next behavior that is even more well-known, and well-reinforced! With a retrieve, the last part of the formal chain involves the dog sitting in front of us, holding their dumbbell with a firm and still grip, and waiting calmly until we touch the item and verbally cue the release. The most common way to teach this formal retrieve is to start with that sit and hold in front of us. Building from biting the ..read more

Whether it's your 5th sports dog or your first, that leap into your dog's first trials is a huge mix of emotions. Lots of excitement, and then that pit of dread as you put that entry envelope into the mail (side note, why can't everything have electronic entries in 2023?!?). We often picture the worse. Our dog runs wildly around the ring sniffing, or runs up to punch the judge. Perhaps the dog sits there at the start as you heel a large portion of the heeling pattern all by yourself. Maybe the dog even poops in the ring and everything has to come to a halt while you clean it up. I don't know a ..read more

Note: This blog was originally written for and published on FDSA's blog! I do a lot of trial prep classes and classes designed to help dogs overcome their trial stress. One plan I hear over and over again from students is how they are going to enter a show for "ring experience." The dog is a bit unsure, and the only plan they know to try is getting the dog into the ring so they can get used to the environment and see that it's ok!! Unfortunately, going to a trial for the pure sake of getting experience is a plan that usually leads to problems. In a trial you can't support the dog if they are ..read more

When you're thinking about preparing your dog for future trials it can feel overwhelming. There are so many things to train and prepare for and it's hard to prioritize what to work on. I like to divide my thinking into "skill development" and "ring prep" for trials. The categories aren't neat; they overlap greatly. But it's helpful for me to have 2 buckets to pull from. Skill Development Skill development sessions are focused on the specific skills I need at each level of competition. Not the full exercises, but the individual pieces. I'm specifically working on training a new behavior or chal ..read more

I work with a lot of students who really struggle with duration behaviors and getting behaviors on cue. Their dogs love offering behaviors and jumping from behavior to behavior as they try to stumble upon the one thing that will get the reward. Offered behaviors are great. I wholeheartedly believe that when you have a behavior that the dog is purposefully offering to get a reward, then the foundation for that behavior is strong. They are more likely to hold up as we start making the conditions around that behavior harder and eventually get it into a trial setting. However, at some point, we al ..read more

As my understanding of training has continued to evolve over the years, the biggest development that I see surrounds the delivery of the reward. Everything from where the reward is located, to the marker cues used to communicate to the dog, to how that reward is actually delivered to the dog. There are SO many pieces in there that can be played with that can have a massive impact on the actual behavior you are trying to change!!! When I first started training it was pretty much Behavior- Mark- Reward Well actually I'm not sure how much that "mark" was consistent and paid attention to in terms ..read more