Thanks for a great 2023 Fenzi

This isn't really a "Brag" in the sense of a title or even one specific training breakthrough. But someone recently reminded me that as we transition to the new year (and always really), to keep in mind how far we have already come and not just how far we have to go to get somewhere. So I sat down and reflected upon how far my dog and I have come over the past year — and it is in fact brag-worthy! Because discovering FDSA was such a big part of that, I wanted to put out a big Thank You. Since most of my involvement has been through Bronze or webinars, this seemed like the best place to put it.

First off, thanks to Denise Fenzi for this platform, her candidness on social media, and for getting me to more deeply consider motivation and frustration for both me and my dog with the Circle Walking webinars.

Thanks to Nicole, Megan, and Helene for introducing and explaining the concept of location specific markers to me. We've gone from a fuzzy "Yes" to having 10(!) LSM for treats and toys, with soooo much more clarity in training as a result.

Thanks to Julie Daniels for totally changing what happens after my dog gets out of the car (even at a hiking trail head!) and the other CU tools to help both dog and handler process the big exciting world.

Thanks to Helene Lawler for her compassionate teaching in R+2.0. You have simultaneously helped me clean up basics while still considering the why and how for each team... no cookie cutter plans here!

And last but definitely not least, a huge THANK YOU to all the fellow students, especially at Gold. I know there is a ton of work and vulnerability that goes into posting your videos, so I hope you know how appreciated it is by those of us who can only audit, to watch and learn along with you. Especially for those in the r+2.0 class, while everyone was so different, there was this recurring theme of intelligent yet quirky dogs with handlers who somehow felt they weren't enough (something I completely relate to).... watching the amazing progression of each team was so heartwarming and inspirational!

Here's to more great training in 2024!