Deep Dive into…toy play
Denise Fenzi Blog
by Denise Fenzi
1y ago
If you struggle with getting a release off of toys or bite objects, or if you just want a sophisticated look at a dog‘s motivation around toys via fight, possession, prey (chase) behavior, and getting cooperation (release or toy return), watch this video. Obviously, this video is about Xen. The ranking order that matters to Xen may well be different for your dog. But having a good idea of what factors matter to your dog; which of your choices lead to a clean release vs. possessive behavior…are going to be most of the battle if you are trying to balance the dog’s interests. For the biting sport ..read more
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Escort
Denise Fenzi Blog
by Denise Fenzi
1y ago
I know, I said I’d do a better job keeping up my blog.  What can I say?  I suck. Anyway, Xen is coming up on his one-year birthday!  He’s making really nice progress in his training.  The following video shows training for “object guard”. His job is to prevent me from taking the object. My job is to…steal it! I can try and intimidate him with noises, carry obstacles, pivot, go backward, etc.  He has to wait until..well.  It depends on what you choose to train. I am teaching him to bite when I’m within a meter.  And then he needs to release on his own when I s ..read more
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Don’t worry – I’m fine!
Denise Fenzi Blog
by Denise Fenzi
2y ago
I haven’t written on my blog in many months.  What happened?! All is well! I stopped running day-to-day operations at FDSA, and that freed up time to do what I am seriously passionate about – education.  Free education, for the most part, because I spend a very high percentage of my day on Social Media; Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.  I try to post educational content of various sorts; behavior, dog sports competition skills, getting along with people, etc…pretty much daily. And since doing this is extremely gratifying for me, it takes up quite a lot of time. Which is fine – I ..read more
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Nose Bridge
Denise Fenzi Blog
by Denise Fenzi
2y ago
There are at least three ways I use my hands around my dog’s head for positioning – Chin rest (dog places their head in my hand), Pocket hand (dog places the side of their head/muzzle against my hand) and Nose bridge (dog pushes their muzzle up into my hand). I use a chin rest to stabilize my dog in a position – usually a stand.  I can also use it for medical procedures and elements of the hold portion of the retrieve. I use pocket hand to teach heeling. I also use it for positioning straight fronts, in particular when using both hands at the same time. But today I’m going to show you a n ..read more
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Play – arm tunnels!
Denise Fenzi Blog
by Denise Fenzi
2y ago
I love playing with dogs – all dogs! How much do you know about playing with dogs? Take this short learning quiz if that interests you. Here’s a video to give you inspiration if you’d like to add play to your dog-focused activities.  Here I’m using an “arm tunnel” to help Dice come in sideways and low for…a cuddle! The more we practice play the stronger our repertoire of options becomes.  For the most part, he tries to be gentle with his teeth, even if we’re roughhousing a bit.  Which doesn’t mean I don’t get stepped on or hurt on occasion but hey – if you play physically with a ..read more
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Position Changes
Denise Fenzi Blog
by Denise Fenzi
2y ago
I am adding platforms to Dice’s position changes.  The long platform in front ensures that he move his body straight back and forth.  The back platform is perpendicular and has a different texture – that platform gives him a rear foot target, which encourages him to kick all the way back on his stand cue. I include the errors for learning purposes. This is a typical type of video that I share at my new online subscription service The High Drive Dog.  I post about five times a week, covering everything from working through reactive behavior to precision heeling to foundations of ..read more
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Stand out of motion
Denise Fenzi Blog
by Denise Fenzi
3y ago
Today I worked a little heeling (not shown), and putting some pieces of the moving stand together, along with adding a bit of endurance to our contact heeling. Steps for moving stand.  This will set up for for the AKC stand out of motion where a hand signal is allowed but for AKC my left hand would need to move to my waist.  For IGP (Schutzhund) I would keep that arm position but eliminate the hand signal. Since I have no particular plans to compete in either AKC or IGP, I’m mostly doing this to entertain myself as I prepare for my sport, Mondioring. The more you teach and train, the ..read more
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Training with Classical and Operant Conditioning
Denise Fenzi Blog
by Denise Fenzi
3y ago
Today is all about the video! I did a Facebook live yesterday on teaching with both classical and operant conditioning – both are valuable! Trainers tend to think in terms of operant conditioning – an “if/then” statement where the dog recognizes how their choice leads to a result; either a reinforcer or maybe a punisher.  But classical conditioning is also extremely powerful, low stress and…effective! Not only for conditioning emotions but for actually teaching behaviors as well. Here’s a video with subtitles that illustrates the difference between the two: If you’re intrigued and want t ..read more
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Www.thehighdrivedog.com is open!!!
Denise Fenzi Blog
by Denise Fenzi
3y ago
  Come visit my new business:  www.thehighdrivedog.com! The High Drive Dog subscription service is all about your driven dogs – the ones you love for their intensity and enthusiasm!  And, sometimes you wish they would just… Calm down.  Slow down.  Gve the toy back. Stop treating the entire world like their personal playground, at your expense. Join a group of individuals who love their high drive dogs and who want to bring out the best in them.  Here we’ll talk about all the things!  Gaining cooperation.  Balancing drives and control.  Raising a do ..read more
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Precision heeling – hand at waist and increasing speed
Denise Fenzi Blog
by Denise Fenzi
3y ago
I do the majority of my precision heeling training at a very slow pace.  The reason is precision – I want to see exactly what my dog is doing and speed masks errors.  Competition is another matter; move fast and keep the judge busy controlling you rather than counting up those exact errors I just mentioned :). What you’ll see here is refining precision heeling. My movements are slow and controlled and in that fashion, I am able to see what he does or does not know. The video is subtitled and should answer your questions about what I am doing.  The focus is hand at my waist, rear ..read more
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