Fostering Excellence in Agility

Addressing Bar-Knocking Behavior Mar 22, 2024

035 Megan unpacks her thoughts about bar-knocking in this requested episode.

Megan's favorite jumping experts:
Linda Mecklenburg https://awesomepawsagilityacademy.com/current-classes/
Dr. Leslie Eide https://www.thetotalcanine.com/online-learning.html

Join the coaching program https://fxagility.mykajabi.com/fx-agility-waitlist

Sarah Stremming's Webinar, Bravery School https://sarahstremming.com/products/webinar/bravery-school/

Teeter training program https://fxagility.mykajabi.com/offers/sUU48VFG/checkout

Adjusting Criteria in Training Feb 22, 2024

034 Should you make something easier in training or try to pivot in another way? Find out what Megan thinks in this episode!

Recapping Sprint's Agility Debut Aug 10, 2023

033 Megan shares her experience debuting Sprint, her two-year-old Border Collie, in agility competitions. Find out insights into what Megan saw change in Sprint's behavior over time and how well the debut strategy worked.

Resources:
Episode 32: Are You Ready to Compete?

Youtube: Sprint's First Trial Highlights

Youtube: Sprint's Second Trial, Novice Jumping

Youtube: Second Trial, Novice Agility

Episode 28: How Outside the Ring Behaviors Impact Inside the Ring Behaviors

Episode 31: Using FEO and Fix & Go Effectively

Are You Ready to Compete? Jul 20, 2023

032 When should you start competing and what does that look like for each team? How to plan to maximize success all comes down to the splits in behavior that we need our dogs to understand.

Using FEO and FnG Effectively Jun 08, 2023

031 For Exhibition Only and Fix and Go On are two tools we have in the competition ring that can help us narrow the gap between how our dogs perform in training versus how they perform in trials. In this episode, Megan breaks down the pros and cons of each and talks about how she would use either of these options.
Mentioned in this episode:
Using FEO/NFC with a toy in the ring: https://youtu.be/C6z7UqyPzDo
Proactively helping a dog before they make a mistake: https://youtu.be/xq4oobNp2wo

The Pitfalls of Cue Escalation --> https://fxagility.com/blog/the-pitfalls-of-cue-escalation/

Different Types of Training --> https://fxagility.com/blog/reducing-delaying-reinforcement/

Beginning of Run Routines --> https://fxagility.com/blog/beginning-of-run-routines-evaluating-your-dogs-readiness/

End of Run Routines --> https://fxagility.com/blog/end-of-run-routines-do-you-have-it-do-you-need-it/

Episode 29, Startlines with Sarah Espinoza-Sokal --> https://fxagility.mykajabi.com/podcasts/fostering-excellence-in-agility/episodes/2147886802

Agility Course Analysis Jun 01, 2023

030 Megan talks about learning the course from the dog's perspective, the importance of sticking to the plan, the five phases of course analysis, and course memorization tips.

Join Megan on June 1st at 6pm PT for her FDSA Webinar, Agility Course Analysis

Repairing Startline Behaviors with Sarah Espinoza-Sokal Mar 02, 2023

029 Megan interviews Sarah Espinoza-Sokal about her experience repairing her Kelpie, Zi's startline performance. Megan and Sarah unpack the unique pieces of the training puzzle and discuss why each piece was important and how Sarah was able to implement it in training and in competition.

You can follow Sarah on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/agilityodyssey

Sarah invested most of her first 30 years into a passion for horses. In 2016, she decided to rehome her last horse and devote herself to agility instead. She quickly fell in love with international-style agility, and set her sights on one day competing in Europe.

Sarah’s first agility dog suffered a career-ending injury in 2017, retiring before he earned Novice titles. She started over with agility dog 1.5 — a Working Kelpie puppy named Zi — in September 2017.

Sarah and Zi competed in their first national competition at Cynosport in 2021. In 2022, they were fortunate enough to run at World Team Tryouts, the West Coast Open, the US Open, and European Open Team Tryouts, vastly expanding their skills as a team.

A lifelong writer and obsessive nerd, Sarah shares her story of pursuing excellence in agility on her Agility Odyssey Facebook page, where she loves to discuss both the smallest of training details and the largest of life lessons.

How Outside the Ring Behaviors Impacts Inside the Ring Behaviors Feb 16, 2023

028 Optimal level of arousal is necessary for optimal performance. Does your dog's arousal increase in the parking lot of the agility trial or is it later in the run, like at obstacle 15? Let's take a look at how your beginning of the run AND end of the run routines are impacting your dog's performance. In this episode, Megan mentions several other resources, including:
Episode 27 How Trialing Informs Your Training

Cog Dog Radio, Reinforcement Misunderstandings

Training on Their Timeline with Sarah Stremming

Check back next week for an interview with Sarah Espinoza-Sokal to talk about the training that we did together in order to address Zi's startline in competition. Spoiler: the outside-the-ring behaviors were impacting the inside-the-ring behaviors!

That's all for this week! Follow on FB, IG, TikTok, and Youtube: @fxagility

How Trialing Informs Your Training Jan 28, 2023

027 Data from our training sessions inform future training sessions, right? What about trial data? Are you practicing during the week the issues that come up on the weekend? Is your current way of analyzing that data producing results for you? If not, it may be how you're analyzing the data is missing a few key questions that I'm always asking myself when watching my trial videos. Let's dive in to what "competition-only issues" may really mean and how to set up training to start improving those sticking points.

Mentioned in this episode: Different Types of Training and Training vs Working

Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, & Youtube: @fxagility

Training on Their Timeline with Sarah Stremming Jan 19, 2023

Sarah Stremming, Cog Dog Coach, joins Megan to discuss how their two youngest dogs, Rayya (Sarah's Icelandic Sheepdog) and Sprint (Megan's Border Collie) have completely different training plans and are on really different paths, but how those paths ultimately lead to the same place. These two coaches dive in to why these differences are so important and the reality of the extra time and care it takes to adjust each detail depending on the day.

To learn more about Sarah and her online offerings, visit her website: thecognitivecanine.com, and follow her on social media:
Facebook: The Cognitive Canine, LLC

Instagram: Cognitive_Canine

Tiktok: @sarahstremming

Listen to her podcast: Cog-Dog Radio and subscribe to her Patreon Platform

Megan has a new website domain: www.fxagility.com and her social media channels all use the same handle: @fxagility to easily find her on Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, and Youtube.

Thanks for listening!

Who Should Know Better? Jan 12, 2023

025 When I hear, "Oh, they should know better", I cringe a bit. In this episode, I unpack how I understand the reality of needing to let criteria go sometimes, and what that means for the big picture of competing with our dogs.

I talk about cue escalation during this episode. To learn more about that I mean, read this blog post.

Follow me on Facebook and Instagram!

Increasing Motivation Jan 07, 2023

024: In this episode, Megan shares her thoughts on building more desire for training in our dogs. Using reinforcement consistently and in the right situations gives our dogs the confidence to be all they can be! Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and Tiktok: @fxagility

Principles of Teaching Dec 08, 2022

023 Today I'm sharing my thoughts on teaching and coaching dog agility, or any situations where a human and dog are learning together.

Why Do We Enter Competitions? Nov 10, 2022

022. Let's all own up to our competitive nature AND hold up to our values of training and competing with excellence. We owe it to our dogs and to ourselves to be mentally, physically, and technically prepared for each competition, but now all competitions should be treated equally. Listen in to find out how Megan prioritizes different phases in training while at competition throughout the year.

Assessing Your Handling System Nov 03, 2022

021 When you learn something new, how do you know what to do with that information? How do you decide if you should put effort into using this new skill, or if you should put it on the back burner for another time? In this episode, Megan gives you a series of questions for handlers to dig into in order to filter and file new information.

What Are Seminars For? Oct 20, 2022

020 - What are dog agility seminars for and how can you prepare to get the most out of one? In this episode, Megan talks about different seminar formats, how to get the most out of your time as a worker AND an auditor, and the different perspectives of seminar-ing: student, host, and instructor.

Join the community --> www.synergydogsports.com/community

Community Q&A: Teeter Training Sep 29, 2022

019 In this episode, Megan answers questions from community members about all things Teeter Training. Listen in for insights, tips, and tricks for teaching and maintaining a confident and reliable teeter performance.

Concept Training for Improved Homeschooling Sep 08, 2022

018 It's a fact that instructors wish students would practice more outside of class AND students wish that it was easier to practice outside of class. Dive into this episode to learn how Megan uses foundation skills and a little bit of creativity to continue building skills, repairing skills, and teaching new skills to dogs of all ages and experience levels.

Essential Skills for Stopped Contacts Webinar

Synergy Dog Sports Community

Synergy Dog Sports Homepage

Improving Training Habits Based on Brain Research Sep 01, 2022

017 Megan draws parallels between how we practice dog agility and how musicians practice and her ah-ha moments when applying current brain research to both.

Megan references Dr. Molly Gebrian's excellent and insightful youtube series "What Musicians Can Learn about Practicing from Current Brain Research" Please go have a listen to that series and ALL of Dr. Gebrian's work - she makes the neuroscience very easy to understand and apply.

Join Megan for her webinar on Essential Skills for Stopped Contacts on September 8th 2022 or purchase ahead of time to get access to the recording!

Subscribe to the SDS Community on MightyNetworks to gain access to extras!

Happy Training.

Stopped vs Running Contacts Aug 25, 2022

016 Today Megan breaks down why someone may choose to train stopped contacts vs running contacts and how the choices for each contact obstacle are not exactly equal. Spoiler: it has a LOT to do with your big picture!

Essential Skills for Stopped Contacts Webinar --> https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/self-study/webinars

From Trick to Treat 6-week Teeter Training Course --> https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/index.php/courses/28852

www.synergydogsports.com/community

www.synergydogsports.com

Feedback & Motivation with Liz Joyce Aug 11, 2022

Join me in this excellent conversation with fitness coach and my personal trainer, Liz Joyce. She is the founder of Canine Handler Fitness where she runs a speed and agility development program for agility handlers called Fast & Agile. She has been in the fitness industry since 2006 and has logged over 15000 client training hours to date. She has a gift at making fitness accessible, manageable and effective. To learn more about Liz, visit: caninehandlerfitness.com or follow her on social media! Send her a friend request on Facebook and follow her IG account @caninehandlerfitness www.synergydogsports.com/community www.synergydogsports.com

Technique Training Aug 04, 2022

Megan shares how she introduces new handling techniques to dogs and how she progresses the training overtime in order to build ring sustainability for both the handler and the dog.

www.synergydogsports.com/community
www.synergydogsports.com

Foundation Skills for Agility Dogs Jul 28, 2022

All agility behaviors, no matter how complex, can be worked backwards to a series of skills that I teach as foundation behaviors to my puppies and dogs new to agility training. In this episode, I unpack these skills and how they directly impact your agility training as well as other areas in your dog's performance career.

www.synergydogsports.com/community

www.synergydogsports.com

Essential Skills for Agility Dogs Jul 21, 2022

We all know how important foundations are, but what about the skills needed *before* foundations can begin? Those skills are what I refer to as essential skills, and I want to bring more awareness to them! These skills are puppy friendly and make life with your dog more civilized and enjoyable AND bring more clarity to your sport specific training. It's a win-win!

Why I Upgraded to Location Specific Reward Markers Jul 14, 2022

From frantic to fabulous! I unpack the turning point in my training, nearly 7 years ago, and how it has helped me reach unbelievable precision and clarity in my training.

www.synergydogsports.com/community

Puppies Part 3: Agility Foundations Jul 07, 2022

Ok, but what CAN we be teaching our puppies that directly impacts their agility career?! Megan goes through her list of essential skills that prepares her puppies for agility foundations that can build, stack, stagger, and inter-lock with all sorts of other skills, so that regardless of the pup's physical abilities, they are able to train for the end goal: competing confidently and comfortably in a variety of environments.

www.synergydogsports.com/community

Puppies Part 2: Stop "Should"ing Yourself Jun 30, 2022

009 Megan speaks to the mindset needed when embarking on raising and training your puppy for sports, and some top tips for planning your training with your puppy and how to maintain progress.

www.synergydogsports.com/fxagility

www.synergydogsports.com/community

www.synergydogsports.com

Puppies Part 1: Life & Dog Sports Jun 23, 2022

008 Megan opens this puppy mini-series talking about life and how to build the habits you want for that puppy long term and to recognize that the dog you live with is the dog you compete with and they are always learning about who you are as a trainer.

Reliable Recalls, by Sarah Stremming, host of Cog-Dog Radio

You can join the Community and get your questions answered.

Check out my free video course, Plan with Excellence to learn how to build your own training plans!

Fostering Excellence in Agility opens for new members in July! Learn more here.

& join me next week to hear more about PUPPIES!

Training Plans Jun 16, 2022

007 Megan breaks down her process for planning a training session, and gives her top tips for staying efficient and effective in your training. FREE video course on training plans: www.fxagility.com/trainingplans

Follow on FB, IG, Tiktok, & Youtube: @fxagility

Troubleshooting Your Handling Jun 09, 2022

006 Imagine it: you're running some sequences in your yard and something unexpected happens. Now what? Don't worry, there's a method for working out what went wrong and how to change it without sacrificing future progress. Listen in to learn the steps Megan takes to troubleshoot her own handling and her students' handling.

www.synergydogsports.com/community

www.synergydogsports.com

Breaking Down Splitting Jun 02, 2022

005 Megan shares her tips in splitting apart the job of splitting apart the behaviors we teach our dogs. Focusing on splitting during the acquisition phase vs the generalization phase and what we can be doing to improve our performance in competition without access to full rings of equipment.

www.synergydogsports.com/community

Your Mechanics Matter May 26, 2022

Be fair to yourself and your dog: practice your mechanics to fluency without them before adding your dog to the equation! Megan dives into why your mechanics matter so much in training, competing, and teaching.

www.synergydogsports.com/community

www.synergydogsports.com

Loopy Agility Training May 19, 2022

003 Let's break down the components of loopy training and how focusing on these details can help you identify and correct problems in your training sessions. www.synergydogsports.com/community www.synergydogsports.com

The Big Picture May 12, 2022

#002 Combat comparison by getting really real about your aspirations and all the variables that contribute to the path you take to get there.

Join the Community --> www.synergydogsports.com/community

Bookmark the website --> www.synergydogsports.com

Story Time! Who I am and why I'm here! May 05, 2022

#001 Learn about Megan and why she's decided to start podcasting. A brief history of her 25 years experience in sport and how Fostering Excellence in Agility was born!

Join the Community --> www.synergydogsports.com/community

Bookmark the website --> www.synergydogsports.com

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