E430: Liz Joyce - "Starting A Handler Fitness Habit"

Join handler fitness trainer, Liz Joyce, and me for a podcast all about how you can start — or restart — your fitness journey, gently.

Continue reading
  111 Hits
111 Hits

E430: Liz Joyce - "Starting A Handler Fitness Habit"

Join handler fitness trainer, Liz Joyce, and me for a podcast all about how you can start — or restart — your fitness journey, gently.  

Continue reading
  77 Hits
77 Hits

E429: Heather Lawson - "CGC & Therapy Dog Work"

Heather and I discuss what skills you need to earn your CGC, the sticking points that can cause trouble for some teams, and how to decide if your dog is a good fit for therapy work from there.

Continue reading
  461 Hits
461 Hits

E428: Kim Palermo - Advancing CU into the Real World

Control Unleashed games and patterns can be a powerful tool whether you're working to rehab reactivity or build bomb proof sports behaviors. But how we do go from just learning the games to actually using them in the real world? Kim and I discuss exactly that in this week's podcast! 

Continue reading
  1137 Hits
1137 Hits

E427: Ashley Escobar - Fitness, Agility, and Jump Training

Agility puts a lot of strain and stress on our dogs' bodies... but fitness training can go a long way to ensuring they still enjoy a long sports career. Join me and Ashley for a conversation on how workling on canine fitness can improve your dog's agility skills, especially when it comes to technical jump training!

Continue reading
  1077 Hits
1077 Hits

E426: Karen Deeds and Dr. Sophie Liu - A Real Look at Negative Reinforcement

Talking about Negative Reinforcement can cause some big feelings in the positive training community - but in this episode Karen and Sophie take a look at when it's inevitable in our dogs' lives and what we should be thinking about for our own dogs. 

Continue reading
  1487 Hits
1487 Hits

E425: Erin Lynes and Tracey McLennan - Meeting Your Dogs Needs

Dogs with a lot of interest in the environment, who come to the outside world with big feelings or who need an outlet but aren't safe off leash are our topic in this episode! Erin shares how dog powered sports can help and Tracey shares insights from working with prey-driven dogs. 

Continue reading
  869 Hits
869 Hits

E424: Michael Shikashio - Arousal and Aggression (Plus a Peek at CANIS 2026!)

Michael Shikashio joins me for a conversation around the impact arousal has on aggression, and how we should think about the two when working on behavior cases... plus, he shares a bit of behind-the-scenes info on the planning for the 2026 CANIS conference!   Transcription Melissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the F...
Continue reading
  2068 Hits
2068 Hits

E423: Julie Flanery - "Building A Musical Freestyle Routine"

Curious what musical freestyle is and whether it might be for you? Join Julie and I for a conversation that includes tips and tricks for laying out your routine, choosing which tricks to train, and more!

Continue reading
  2450 Hits
2450 Hits

E422: Petra Ford - Competing in Obedience at the Top

In this episode, we talk to Petra Ford, the 2025 National Obedience Champion, about her recent win and what it takes to compete at the top levels of obedience here in the US, how she approaches training, and more!
Continue reading
  1535 Hits
1535 Hits

E421: Jane Ardern - Anticipation vs. Relaxation: Training Release Cues

Jane Ardern joins me for a conversation about how our release cues can influence our dog's state of mind and ability to learn. She shares what the field-bred spaniels she's owned have taught her about frustration, frantic behavior, anticipation, and relaxation... with several helpful takeaways bound to apply to any dog sports team. 

Continue reading
  1895 Hits
1895 Hits

E420: Sharon Carroll - "A Real Look at Reducing Reinforcement"

If you plan to compete, you need a plan for reducing reinforcement - but so often this is where trainers go wrong! Join us for a conversation about how Sharon recommends you reduce reinforcement to maintain attitude and correctness.  

Continue reading
  2664 Hits
2664 Hits

E419: Nancy Little - "Weave Pole Performance"

Thinking about weave pole training? Whether you're troubleshooting a problem or beginning to teach weaves to a new dog, in this episode we dive into Nancy's thoughts on how to approach things... and where so many teams seem to go wrong.

Continue reading
  1786 Hits
1786 Hits

E418: Irith Bloom - "Getting Geeky On Behavior Change"

What is Applied Behavior Science? Learning Theory? Why bother, if folks have been training dogs for more than 10,000 years? Irith and I get into all that and more in this episode on the science of behavior change!

Continue reading
  2672 Hits
2672 Hits

E417: Focus and Engage with Denise Fenzi, Petra Ford, and Karen Deeds

With the upcoming Focus & Engage one-day online conference only a few days away, join us for a preview of what you can expect, and an in depth conversation on acclimation, arousal, focus, and engagement.  

Continue reading
  3919 Hits
3919 Hits

E416: Tracey McLennan - "A Framework for More Efficient Training"

Tracey McLennan joins me for a conversation on how her software background has informed her approach to dog training and led to her framework for smarter, faster, training progress. 

Continue reading
  1970 Hits
1970 Hits

E415: Denise Fenzi - Contact Heeling v. Precision Heeling: What's the Difference?

Precision heeling and contact heeling may seem similar in some ways - but they're also very different. Join me for a conversation with Denise Fenzi on when she uses which one and how (and why) she approaches training both!  

Continue reading
  3033 Hits
3033 Hits

E414: Crystal Wing - The Role of Relationship in Dog Training

Looking to improve your relationship with your dog and improve your teamwork? In this episode, Crystal breaks down the factors that go into fostering that relationship in a healthy way. 

Continue reading
  2434 Hits
2434 Hits

E413: Sara Brueske - What's UpDog: A Conversation on Frisbee Games

 Have a dog who likes frisbees? Join us for a conversation about UpDog — including What's UpDog and how you can compete!

Continue reading
  2341 Hits
2341 Hits

E412: Petra Ford - "Balancing Motivation & Precision"

Do you find your dog tends to fall flat as you continue to raise criteria in training? Or maybe you have a dog that is SO enthusiastic that precision feels like an impossible dream? Join us for a conversation on balancing motivation and precision in your sports training. 

Continue reading
  3387 Hits
3387 Hits