Stay ConnectedCatch me here telling stories, conversing with curious and warm-hearted friends, breaking down barriers in the training world, and of course, sharing my love for these amazing beings we share our lives with: the dogs!
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@fenzidogsportsacademy
@thehighdrivedog
About that trained dog….does it even exist? Training is a process, not an end (trained) state of being. Only behavior that makes it's way to "habit" can truly be called "trained". Which is fine. How about we "raise" our dogs and try to live in harmony, while working hard to get everyone's needs met.
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Words matter. Don't water down powerful words simply because you don't agree with another's choice or situation.
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From the Facebook vaults: remarckably, and sometimes despite us, our dogs get trained!
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From the Facebook vaults! My thoughts on eye contact with your dog.
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What does it mean to treat a dog like a dog? Start by recognizing that in modern society, dogs are captives. If they are going to have any sort of interesting life at all, you are obligated to provide it. Beyond that, dogs are individuals. What one dog likes or needs is going to be different than what another dog likes or needs. Same as people! And this affection thing… Being affectionate with your dog does not cause behavior problems, same as with small children; if they enjoy the attention, then you're good to go. If they don't, then don't do it so much. You're being annoying.
Do you know what I think our society needs around dogs? Many fewer rules. Don't worry so much about what people say your dog must or should do. Watch your dog. Are you happy? Is your dog happy? Is society happy? Then you're good to go!
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Do we need to add stress to our formal training or behavior work in order to progress? Nope. This live explores why it's not logical to add stress when the root problems are emotional and not rational.
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Training for competition doesn't mean your training should look like competition. Training for competition means that you are aware of the criteria required to successfully compete, and you have broken the exercises down into small pieces that you then teach individually in training. When you have those pieces, you start to combine them and slowly…you end up with a routine that will hold up under the pressure and complexity of the competition ring. Hopefully! Since sometimes you'll miss things, and that's okay too. Live and learn.
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Absolutely! I can't even believe that's a question. Does positive reinforcement work? Absolutely! That also should not be a question. From there, this live goes a little deeper into the similarities and differences of choosing reinforcers or punishers in training.
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What is high drive? Arousal? How are they to live with anyway? Listen to this chat between Crystal Wing and Denise Fenzi.
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When deciding how to train a young dog, I consider the dog's natural tendencies around arousal, the sports I am targeting, and the expectations of those sports. If you set a thinking foundation on a dog who's already calm and your goal is a higher arousal sport, you are going to struggle. If you set a high arousal foundation on a high arousal dog destined for a thinking sport, you are also going to struggle. Take a moment to think about where you are trying to take your dog, and what you need to be most successful. You will always be balancing precision, arousal, speed, etc., but since dogs tend to revert to their foundation emotions under stress, you'll want to think about these choices sooner rather than later.
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