In dog sports, it's easy to get caught up in striving for the next big goal—new titles, clean runs, more Qs. But sometimes, the most powerful thing we can do for both our dogs and ourselves is to slow down, take a breath, and celebrate how far we’ve come. Enter the “celebration session”: a short, fo...
We spend so much time attending class, taking seminars, doing online lessons, and listening to experts, but have you ever paused to create a true training plan for yourself and your dog? It seems like we are so busy going from lesson to lesson without first identifying the holes we have, and how bes...
Back when I rode horses, it was common to take longer breaks - sometimes six weeks of horses just being horses in a field. When I started competing with my dogs, I was surprised that handlers and dogs just seemed to compete all year in addition to taking classes. Where was the break?
With my first ...
I get hung up on words or concepts periodically. “Curiosity” was my word pre-2020. I was trying to get myself and others to look at training challenges with openness and wonder instead of judgment and failure. I still love curiosity and it has shifted my training and feedback habit, but now the word...
Photo by Marie Acosta
In our day-to-day life with dogs – living with them, training, and competing – it’s easy to forget about the bigger picture. We focus on the goal or activity that’s right in front of us instead of taking the longer view. We easily misplace our reason for working with dogs in t...
Photo by Ruth Nielsen
If you’ve ever longed for connection with your dog but aren’t sure what that looks like or how to get it, this blog’s for you!
With some dogs, connection comes easier than others. My connection with Indie seemed to be instant – she has understood me since the day I brought he...
Photo Kim Perry
When we go into the ring – any ring: conformation, agility, obedience, draft, etc. – there are SO many components that go into making a performance excellent. Yet one of the main causes of not feeling confident is rooted in feeling unprepared or even just less prepared than we would...
