All About Dog Sports Podcast

Once clients are introduced to the concept of dog sports, a common question is: do I need my dog to be confident before tackling dog sports or will dog sports make my dog more confident? This is actually a rather meaty question and we delve into different ways you can tackle it in this podcast episode! ----more---- Want to learn more about Dog Sport University? Check out our website and look over our Dog Sport Online Courses. You may also be interested in our informative webinars as well as the Dog Sport University blog.  Have you heard about Scent Work and want to delve deeper into that activity? Perfect, we have just the thing! Check out our sister online dog training platform, Scent Work University where you will find courses and webinars suited for both those dog owners who simply want to have fun, and those who are seriously competing with their dogs. Maybe you're looking to help your puppy or dog in the manners department. Then your need to check out Family Dog University where we provide a variety of programs to help your dog be the best canine family companion they can be!

For those of us involved in dog sports, we know that oftentimes the skills obtained in one sport will carry over to other sports. This can include such things as increased confidence, better body awareness and more. In this episode, Lori Timberlake walks us through how training and playing in Canine Parkour can translate to a more a confident and successful Scent Work dog, especially for those dogs were naturally more reserved and sensitive. Learn more about the International Dog Parkour Association here. Enroll in the Intro to Canine Parkour course here. Check out Scent Work University for online courses, seminars, webinars, blogs, podcasts and training tips all focused on one thing: Scent Work! ----more---- Want to learn more about Dog Sport University? Check out our website and look over our Dog Sport Skills courses. You may also be interested in our informative webinars as well as the Dog Sport University blog.  Have you heard about Scent Work and want to delve deeper into that activity? Perfect, we have just the thing! Check out our sister online dog training platform, Scent Work University where you will find courses and webinars suited for both those dog owners who simply want to have fun, and those who are seriously competing with their dogs. Looking to get fit with your dog and ensure your dog doesn't suffer from injuries? Go check out the programs offered through Canine Fitness University today! Maybe you're looking to help your puppy or dog in the manners department. Then your need to check out Family Dog University where we provide a variety of programs to help your dog be the best canine family companion they can be!

With so many different dog sports to choose from, it can be overwhelming to try to decide which ones play with your dog. But, if you are looking for something that will really take your training chops, and the relationship with your dog, to the next level, Treibball is for you! In this episode, we speak with Michael McManus, founder of the Treibball competition organization, PUSH Treibball, and someone who is truly passionate about this sport. Michael discusses how he personally got involved in Treibball, the history of the sport as a whole, mistakes that have been made in how people were training and how the sport itself was being described and promoted. At the core of it though, Michael breaks down the benefits of this gem of a game, why he is so passionate about it and how it is a great game for all dogs to play. You definitely need to check out this episode! ----more---- Want to learn more about Dog Sport University? Check out our website and look over our Dog Sport Skills courses. You may also be interested in our informative webinars as well as the Dog Sport University blog.  Have you heard about Scent Work and want to delve deeper into that activity? Perfect, we have just the thing! Check out our sister online dog training platform, Scent Work University where you will find courses and webinars suited for both those dog owners who simply want to have fun, and those who are seriously competing with their dogs. Maybe you're looking to help your puppy or dog in the manners department. Then your need to check out Family Dog University where we provide a variety of programs to help your dog be the best canine family companion they can be!

There is a fun new game in town and it is Canine Parkour. It helps build confidence. It cultivates and nurtures the relationship and bond between dog and handler. It is FUN! Learn more about Canine Parkour in this podcast episode. We speak with Lori Timberlake who points out how wonderful this activity is, who should be playing this game (hint: everyone) and provides some previews of the new Canine Parkour program she is developing for Dog Sport University. You want to listen to this episode, you NEED to listen to the episode. Enjoy!   ----more---- Want to learn more about Dog Sport University? Check out our website and look over our Dog Sport Skills courses. You may also be interested in our informative webinars as well as the Dog Sport University blog.  Have you heard about Scent Work and want to delve deeper into that activity? Perfect, we have just the thing! Check out our sister online dog training platform, Scent Work University where you will find courses and webinars suited for both those dog owners who simply want to have fun, and those who are seriously competing with their dogs. Maybe you're looking to help your puppy or dog in the manners department. Then your need to check out Family Dog University where we provide a variety of programs to help your dog be the best canine family companion they can be! Want to get fit with your dog? Check out the various programs we offer through Canine Fitness University.

You've got plans for your puppy or dog. A long list of dog sport activities that you will train and tackle, jammed into an otherwise full schedule. Always looking ahead, you find yourself flying through life. That is until life throws you a heart-wrenching curve ball that stops you dead in your tracks.  In this podcast episode, we discuss how difficult it can be balance choosing WHAT you will do with your dog, WHY you are doing it, HOW you are going to it and WHEN you are going do it. No absolute answers are provided in this episode, rather a plea that we all be more mindful of how we are spending time with our dogs...since that time may be cut shorter than we care to admit. ----more---- Want to learn more about Dog Sport University? Check out our website and look over our Dog Sport Skills courses. You may also be interested in our informative webinars as well as the Dog Sport University blog.  Have you heard about Scent Work and want to delve deeper into that activity? Perfect, we have just the thing! Check out our sister online dog training platform, Scent Work University where you will find courses and webinars suited for both those dog owners who simply want to have fun, and those who are seriously competing with their dogs. Maybe you're looking to help your puppy or dog in the manners department. Then your need to check out Family Dog University where we provide a variety of programs to help your dog be the best canine family companion they can be!

No dog sport is without risk for physical injury. However, it is our job, being the caretaker for our dogs, to be mindful of this possibility and to make the best decisions possible for them. In this episode, Dianna shares an experience where her personal dog was injured at a CAT (coursing ability test) lure coursing test and outlines ways all dog owners can better advocates for their dogs. ----more---- Want to learn more about Dog Sport University? Check out our website and look over our Dog Sport Skills courses. You may also be interested in our informative webinars as well as the Dog Sport University blog.  Have you heard about Scent Work and want to delve deeper into that activity? Perfect, we have just the thing! Check out our sister online dog training platform, Scent Work University where you will find courses and webinars suited for both those dog owners who simply want to have fun, and those who are seriously competing with their dogs. Maybe you're looking to help your puppy or dog in the manners department. Then your need to check out Family Dog University where we provide a variety of programs to help your dog be the best canine family companion they can be!

When we are choosing which dog sport, or dog sports, to do with our dog, it is important to give our dog a vote. However, it can be incredibly painful when what our dog wants to do, and enjoys doing, is drastically different from what our preferred dog sport may be. We delve into this touchy, tricky and emotional topic in this podcast episode. ----more---- Want to learn more about Dog Sport University? Check out our website and look over our Dog Sport Skills courses. You may also be interested in our informative webinars as well as the Dog Sport University blog.  Have you heard about Scent Work and want to delve deeper into that activity? Perfect, we have just the thing! Check out our sister online dog training platform, Scent Work University where you will find courses and webinars suited for both those dog owners who simply want to have fun, and those who are seriously competing with their dogs. Maybe you're looking to help your puppy or dog in the manners department. Then your need to check out Family Dog University where we provide a variety of programs to help your dog be the best canine family companion they can be!

Trick Dog Titles are one of the newest options in the dog sport world and have been met with both enthusiasm and a fair amount of grumbling. In this episode, we discuss if tricks as a whole have a value and whether they should be welcomed within the dog sport realm (hint: they should). ----more---- Want to learn more about Dog Sport University? Check out our website and look over our Dog Sport Skills courses. You may also be interested in our informative webinars as well as the Dog Sport University blog.  Have you heard about Scent Work and want to delve deeper into that activity? Perfect, we have just the thing! Check out our sister online dog training platform, Scent Work University where you will find courses and webinars suited for both those dog owners who simply want to have fun, and those who are seriously competing with their dogs. Maybe you're looking to help your puppy or dog in the manners department. Then your need to check out Family Dog University where we provide a variety of programs to help your dog be the best canine family companion they can be! PODCAST TRANSCRIPT Coming Soon!

With the start of a new year, many of us will begin creating trialing goals, such as our desire to obtain a certain title by a certain date. In this podcast, we discuss the benefit of designing smaller, obtainable goals that are laser focused on building specific skills for both you and your dog, and how these smaller goals will ultimately help you achieve the "big" goal of earning your desired title. ----more---- Want to learn more about Dog Sport University? Check out our website and look over our Dog Sport Skills courses. You may also be interested in our informative webinars as well as the Dog Sport University blog.  Have you heard about Scent Work and want to delve deeper into that activity? Perfect, we have just the thing! Check out our sister online dog training platform, Scent Work University where you will find courses and webinars suited for both those dog owners who simply want to have fun, and those who are seriously competing with their dogs. Maybe you're looking to help your puppy or dog in the manners department. Then your need to check out Family Dog University where we provide a variety of programs to help your dog be the best canine family companion they can be! PODCAST TRANSCRIPT Welcome to the All About Dogs Sports & Training Podcast. In this podcast, we talk about all things dog sports as well as all things dog training. We'll provide you a behind-the-scenes look at what your instructor may be going through, what your trial officials may be going through, provide you some training tips and much more. In this episode, we're gonna be talking about how in a new year, we can start designing some trial end goals and how we have to make certain that those are ideal goals and that we're not setting ourselves up and our dogs up for failure. Before we start diving into the podcast, I'm just going to do a very quick introduction to myself. My name is Dianna Santos. I'm the Owner and Lead Instructor for both Dog Sport University and Scent Work University. Dog Sports University is an online dog training platform where we provide online courses, webinars and seminars covering such topics as dog sports, such as agility, competition obedience, treibball and tricks as well as good manners courses such as our Family Dog Program, our Perfect Puppies Program, Canine Good Citizen Prep, Real Life Skills, Shaping Behavior and much more. In addition to being a professional dog trainer, I'm also an approved trial official and have actually worked with a competition organization. So, now you know a little bit about me, let's dive into the podcast. So, at the start of the new year, it's very common for all of us to start designing some goals, some resolutions, things that we would like to do. And when we're involved in dog sports, one of the most common things that people do is that they will start designing some trial end goals, some things that they want to achieve in that given year in regard to dog sports if they happen to compete. And that may be that they're going to start competing or that if they are competing, they want to obtain a certain goal as far as a certain title. What I'd like to do in this podcast is to really nail down what I would claim would be a better way of designing those goals, so that you can actually achieve them in training and so that you're not setting your dog and yourself up for failure. Because sometimes when we put out a goal post, it's just so incredibly vague such as, "I want to obtain that title," it can be a little difficult in order to put together a plan to actually achieve that goal. So, in this podcast, we just wanna talk about some of the better ways that you may be able to design your new year goals, so that you can maybe ultimately obtain that title, but you're actually working towards very specific goal points instead. I'm going preface this by saying I personally have a love-hate relationship with competition. I personally can take or leave dog sports a lot of the time as far as the competing piece. I really enjoy the activities, I enjoy the training part of it. And there are times when I really enjoy trialing and there are other times where I find it really super stressful. And a lot of that just has to do with the fact that I get stuck in my own head a lot of the time. My dog is brilliant. If he had a better handler, he would have a lot of letters behind his name. By coming at it from that perspective and because the titles themselves don't hold any inherent value all within themselves in that I need to have a title in order to get up the next day. That's just not how I'm wired. I can come to the place of putting together goals a little bit differently than someone who really thinks that having the titles is really, really, really important. And it's not to say that either approach is wrong. It's not. What I'm hoping to do in this podcast is just outline some of the ways that all of us can at least do a better job of our designing our goals so that they can actually be obtained. I have actually done the whole thing of saying, "Oh, well I would like to achieve this title by this date." This has never worked for me. Now, the argument could be made that maybe that's just because I don't have a good approach, maybe it's because I'm competitive enough. Who knows? My guess is going to be that for me personally, and this is probably true for a lot of people is that that goal didn't provide me with a whole lot of information. It was just a date on a calendar that seemed to get closer and closer way too quickly 'til all of a sudden, we were there and there was no way that we were gonna be prepared in order to obtain that goal, in order to do well in whatever sport it may be. Whether it be rally, obedience, barn hunt or scent work. So, what I want do in this podcast is to outline some of the things that I've found to have been successful as far as helping me really design some good goals that can be obtained through training and practice that are all pointing towards ultimately ending up at that title. So, the way that this would work is you, of course, will have a big goal. And the big goal can absolutely be the title. So, for instance, in scent work, one of the goals that I would have for 2019 is that we do go back to trialing. That would be goal number one. And goal number two would be that for one of the competition organizations, which is NACSW, that we would obtain our NW2 title, which is the level two title. So, that is a big goal. But from that, what I need to do is I need to figure out well, why are we obtaining that right now? What is missing? What is missing training-wise? What is missing skill-wise? Why is it that we don't have that already? What is it that we need to do as a team, both on the dog training side and on my skill side together, what is it that we need in order to obtain that title? And this is where I think designing some very specific goals will help, so for instance, for NW2, you're gonna be dealing with more distractors within the search area, so we would need to have a very specific exercise set up where we are working on those kinds of things where now there are distractors within the search area itself. So, then we have a general premise, but now you need to break that down into smaller goals. An example of that would be I would like my dog to work a container search where there is two distractors out within the container search and he successfully finds the hide without hitting on the distractors. Perfect. And then from there, you can start making it a little bit harder. There's going to be five distractors out and there's only going to be one hide. He successfully finds the hide. He does that, great. That goal is checked off. Then, we wanna do it within a time limit, then we wanna do it when he's both on leash and off leash. Then, we wanna do it where the hide is actually blind to me where I don't know where it is. So, I hope you can see that even with this very simple example, that's starting with the big goal of we would like to obtain our NW2, you can then from that, figure out what your actual actionable goals would be. And then, from there, you can make it even more specific where you can actually come up with a game plan of how it is that you're going to be developing your training program so that you can obtain those skills. And the key here is that it shouldn't just be focusing on the dog. Nine times out of 10, with dog sports, it's a team effort. It involves both the dog and the handler. You both have to be showing up and doing well. You have to have good skills. So, you want to make certain that you're focusing on both. You're not putting all of your emphasis on the dog and you're just kinda sitting at the sidelines saying, "Eh, well we'll figure it out." You wanna make certain you're working on both of you. So, to take another dog sport as an example, one of the things that I would like to do this year is to get more involved in our rally and our competition obedience trialing and a lot of that's gonna depend on my body, whether or not it decides to cooperate or not. But instead of just falling back on that excuse, so saying, "Well, there's a really good chance that my body isn't going to cooperate, so we're just not even gonna try." This year, I'm actually going to put a training plan in place where we are going to at least training wise be prepared to go into certain trials. Whether or not we actually make it on trial day is an entirely different question. That all depends on what my body says that day, but it's no longer going to be an excuse of saying, "Well, you know, we don't need to perfect this stuff, because I probably won't be able to do it anyway." Just recognizing that if this is an important goal that we have to work on it and it's going to require work. I'm going to have to make certain that I have a certain period of time of practicing these specific skills that I am videotaping my practice sessions, that I'm seeing where things could be improved, where it is that there are weaknesses either within the training itself or even with my own handling. What am I doing with my body? So, particularly with rally or a competition obedience, one of the things that I tend to do when I'm heeling, is I'll tend to look over my shoulder down at my dog. And what that does, it pushes him back, because I'm looking backwards. The other thing I've had an issue with is having a very good rhythm when I walk and that can make things very difficult for the dog, because they're constantly flowing between a fast walk and a pace and a trot whereas if you can just find a really good rhythm, it makes things a lot easier for them. So, what I would need to do, because we would like to go forward and actually compete in both rally and competition obedience is I need to do two different things: I need to work on my dog skills, so that he understands the various things that he would need to do both at the entry level of that dog sport as well as a level ahead of it, because you never wanna just prepare for the bare minimum. You don't wanna go in there just by the skin of your teeth. You want to be able to go into that trial knowing that your dog could actually enter the level above and do well. That way, it's easy peasy. So, I need to work on those things with him. A lot of it's just cleaning it up and finessing stuff. But a lot of it's gonna be on me, that I need to make sure that my handling skills are up to par, that I'm doing my piece. So, those are the kinds of things that all of us can do where if you have said to yourself, "I want to obtain this title in 2019," that's great, that's fine, but what is it you're actually going to do to obtain that title? And then be really brutally honest about it. Where are you right now? Where will you and your dog be able to go within a reasonable period of time? And it very well may be that you may not be able to obtain that goal within that time frame and that's okay. That's one of the big things that I think a lot of us put way too much pressure on ourselves and our dogs, because we're worried about the calendar and a lot of the calendar stuff is because we're worried about other people. So, we're thinking about what other people would think about us, whether it be our dog's breeder, whether it be our friends, our colleagues, whatever. None of that matters. You wanna make certain that you're doing this in a way that both you and your dog can be successful, you're not biting off more than you can chew and you're designing goals that are actually obtainable. So an example of an unobtainable goal would be if you had just purchased a 12-week-old puppy from a breeder and you wanted to obtain your OTCH or your MACH within that year. That's not going to happen. Now, are there people who have done a MACH in a year? There are. It's really very rare and it's not a really good idea. You're not gonna be able to get your OTCH in a year. It's just not gonna happen. It doesn't mean that you and your dog are bad. It just means that it's gonna take more time to develop those skills. So, make certain that you're being realistic with your goals. Don't shoot yourself in the foot by asking what would take normally two, three, four years of skill building to be jammed all into one for no other reason than to say that you did it in that time frame. You're just gonna drive yourself crazy, you're gonna make it so that your dog hates whatever activity that you're doing and it's probably not gonna work out for the best. Just be realistic with these sorts of things. Design goals with the undercurrent that you're going to enjoy this. The one thing about dog sports is that this entirely elective. You don't have to do any of this. It's supposed to be fun, even for people who do this for a living. They enjoy doing it, even if this is what they do in order to pay the bills. They still like the sport. They still enjoy it. Don't design goals that are basically guaranteed to make you miserable at the end of the day, because they're so incredibly difficult. And that also doesn't mean that your goals should be really gimme, like, "Oh, I'm gonna get up and I'm gonna feed my dog a treat today. Oh, I did my goal." You know, there has to be a balance. But make certain that it's being realistic, you're keeping in mind all the various things that are gonna go into obtaining that goal and then it's not just such a broad thing such as, "I'm going to obtain this title by this date." That's not going to help you. You need to be able to break that down into very specific skill sets that both you and your dog are gonna have to work on and ideally when you're designing your goal, you have an idea of how it is that you can then obtain that goal and you may even wanna break it up into smaller steps. The more short-term goals you can set, the better it is. Because that way, it feels as if you're making progression. If you only have giant goals, it's never going to feel as though you're getting there. It's gonna be like three months down the line, you're gonna be like, "I'm nowhere even close to where I wanna be right now." But if you actually break that up into smaller pieces, you can keep track of it whichever way works best for you, on a piece of paper, on your smartphone, however. But just jotting it down, we've done this, we've done that, we've done the other thing. You know what, we're making pretty darn good progress. But by also keeping track of it, you can see when you're back sliding. You can see when you're not on track. You can see when you veered off the path completely and you ended up in Osh Gosh Land. So, the whole premise behind this is with the start of a new year, a lot of us are gonna start making goals and we're gonna be saying how we would like to do this, that, and the other thing. And there's nothing wrong with that. All I'm suggesting is that we be a little bit more mindful of it, particularly when we're interested in competing. It's great that people do a reset and that people have nice, fresh eyes in the new year and there are things that they would like to try and do with their dog. Maximize on that positivity and this is coming from someone who is a lifelong pessimist, but maximize on the fact that you do feel this sense of revival. Maximize on the fact that you are excited to try these new things. That you are excited to try to obtain these different goals. But set yourself and your dog up to succeed by breaking those up into smaller pieces, so that you can actually obtain them. So, I hope you found this podcast helpful. Thank you so much for listening. Happy training and we look forward to seeing you soon.

When it comes to dog training, there are lots of terms that go along with it. Lingo and jargon that professionals throw around, which can cause a layperson's head to start to spin! In this episode, we will break down what exactly is meant when someone is called an "instructor" as opposed to a "trainer", whether these terms are truly interchangeable...and what being either of them should entail.  This discussion is designed to be helpful for those individuals contemplating entering into the professional dog training realm...while also ensuring current professionals are approaching their roles with the ideal perspective. ----more---- Want to learn more about Dog Sport University? Check out our website and look over our Dog Sport Skills courses. You may also be interested in our informative webinars as well as the Dog Sport University blog.  Have you heard about Scent Work and want to delve deeper into that activity? Perfect, we have just the thing! Check out our sister online dog training platform, Scent Work University where you will find courses and webinars suited for both those dog owners who simply want to have fun, and those who are seriously competing with their dogs. Maybe you're looking to help your puppy or dog in the manners department. Then your need to check out Family Dog University where we provide a variety of programs to help your dog be the best canine family companion they can be! PODCAST TRANSCRIPT Welcome to the All About Dog Sports and Dog Training Podcast. In this podcast, we talk about all things dog training. Whether it be dog training tips, insights of what your instructor or a trial official may be going through, why you may want to consider getting involved in dog sports, and much more. In this episode, we're gonna be talking about what the difference is between an instructor and a trainer and if there's any difference between them at all. Before we start diving into the podcast, let just do a very quick introduction of myself. My name is Dianna Santos. I'm the owner and lead instructor for both Dog Sport University and Scent Work University. These are online dog training platforms that are designed to provide high quality instruction as well as flexibility and convenience so that you can receive the dog training assistance that you need no matter where you're located. So without further ado, let's dive into the podcast. In this episode, I wanted to dive into what the difference is between being an instructor or being a dog trainer and whether or not there really is a difference. And also to really help cement what I think those roles really entail. So just as a quick caveat, I am a professional dog trainer as well as an instructor. I have been for a number of years. I've worked specifically within the realm of scent work since 2011. But I've also specialized in working with reactive dogs, aggressive dogs, fearful dogs. I've taught a variety of different group dog training classes. I've spoken at seminars, I've worked with competition organizations, I've provided private lessons, day training programs, I've managed dog training facilities. I've done a little bit of everything. But one of the things that I wanted to really touch upon in this podcast was for those individuals who are interested in becoming a professional in the dog training industry. I think it's helpful for us to understand what it is that that role actually entails. And to really underscore the skills that you need as an individual and what each of those roles are. And in my opinion, an instructor and a trainer are actually two different things. And there are very few people who actually are good at doing both. That's basically what this podcast is going to be all about. So I hope you have a better understanding of what it is that you would need in order to be successful in either of those roles. So in my opinion, and again, I do not claim to be the end-all and be-all about all things dog training, dog sports, scent work, anything. I'm not. There are definitely people who are far more experienced than I am. Who are very well accomplished and have a lot more accolades than I do. But in my opinion, there are indeed two different things when we're talking about instructors or trainers. In my opinion, an instructor is someone who is taking information and they're trying to translate that to a human client who can then help teach their dog how to do a particular behavior. So just within that simple definition, you need to have a certain level of skills in order to do that successfully. Because you have to take the knowledge that you have about how you can help a dog learn a particular behavior. And then you have to translate that to a person who may or may not have any background in dogs so that they not only can understand it, but so they can actually do it with their dog. And then they have to actually successfully be able to do that. That's really hard. It's not easy in the least. Even just trying to walk someone through how to teach their dog how to sit, it seems like such a simple behavior. And the one thing that I've noticed throughout my years of being within the dog training world, is that those of us who are more experienced seem to ... And people who are far more experienced than I am seem to forget how simplistic we can make it all appear. And that it's almost natural that we understand how to use our bodies, where to place the treat if we're gonna be using treat training. What it is that we're looking for. How it is that we're able to communicate to the dog, "This is what I would like you to do." What is lacking, more often than not, is the ability to translate that almost natural ability that you have to do that skill to another human being who doesn't have that background. That's the biggest lacking piece that I see with people who are interested in becoming instructors is they may very well be able to work with a dog one on one, but then trying to get them to explain what they did to another person so that person can actually do it, that's a really big gap. So now that we kind of understand what instructor is, now we want to talk about what trainers are. As far as I'm concerned. A trainer is someone who is working with a dog or a number of dogs one-on-one without having to do the piece of working with a person. So this is typical when you see a client hire you. I just want you to come. I'm gonna pay you a segment for a month, two months, six months, whatever. You come in. You train my dog. I go to work. I come home and my dog is trained. Now, ideally, in an ideal world, you are still bringing that person up to speed because you could get that dog to do all kinds of things. But if the other person who actually owns the dogs and lives with the dog doesn't have the skills, then they're gonna be in the same boat they were in to begin with. But a trainer is someone who is working directly with the dog. And we see this a lot for business models who offer day programs or day training services for training facilities where people will drop their dogs off, the dogs are trained by these professionals, and then maybe another staff member will bring the person up to speed when they pick the dog up. Sometimes there are programs where they do that every time they pick the dog up. Sometimes they have a particular times slot where they will work with all of the clients that are in that program where it's basically like a little mini class. But what's interesting to note is that the people who are doing the training, more often than not, are not actually the people who are then communicating to the person, being the actual owner, what it is that they need to do. As far as to cement those skills. Now that's not true across the board, but it's very, very common that you'll have a trainer work with a dog during the day and you'll have somebody else be the face to then communicate what those skills are. So again, in my opinion, I do think these are two completely different things. Of being able to work directly with a dog, to get that dog and a variety of dogs to do a particular behavior. To get them to understand certain sets of skills. And then you have an instructor who has to take the knowledge of what you need that dog to do, communicate it to a human who then has to translate it so that they understand what to do with their dog. I would say that neither of these is harder than the other. They're both actually fairly complicated because if you are able to work with your own personal dog, let's say as the trainer category, that's great, that's wonderful, that's a good thing. But let's say that your dog is really super food motivated, and they also really love toys, and they love to give you lots of attention. That's great. That's wonderful. Those are all fabulous things. But now I hand you a dog who doesn't have a whole lot of social ability, who is not very toy motivated at all. They don't understand what toys are. And they actually have a lot of stress issues where they will disconnect and they will just walk away from you. And it's very difficult to find out what's motivating for them. How are you going to train that dog? So for trainers, you have to be able to be able to pull upon a large swath of tools that you would be able to apply to a variety or vast number of different dogs. Different breeds, different personalities, different backgrounds because that's what you're going to be seeing. You're not just going to be working with your one dog. Not if you're doing this professionally. You're gonna be getting a lot of different types of dogs. So you can't even just box yourself into a corner of I only will work with dogs of this profile. You could, I guess, but as far as other people contacting you and saying, "Well, I have this other type of dog. Can you help me?" If you only have the skillsets to work with dog A but they're bringing you dog Z, then that's not gonna work. So the reason why I wanted to do this podcast is the dog training world is exploding in popularity, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I mean, obviously, I'm in it. It is my business model. I love that it's doing well. And there's a very strong desire for people who want to do something. Maybe they're stuck in an office job. They're stuck in another kind of job. A career they're just not that happy with. And I've had this happen throughout my career. People saying, "I wish I could do what you did. I'm gonna research it. I'm gonna do my education. I'm gonna intern. And I'm gonna quit my job and I'm gonna become a dog trainer," is typically what people will say. And that's wonderful. If someone is actually serious about that, I'm more than happy to have that conversation. And the first thing they say is, "I can't wait to stop working with people. I'm so tired of working with people. I just want to play with puppies all day." It's like, well, that's not really what this entails. So even for the individuals who if you can get into a position where you are truly a dog trainer, meaning that you are working one-on-one with dogs primarily, you're still going to have to work with people. Because the last time I checked, all dogs are owned by people. Even if you're just working within a shelter, you're still gonna have to be working with people. You have to work with the shelter volunteers, the shelter staff, the people who run the adoption department. You're not just working with dogs. So you have to have good people skills. Even for trainers who may not have to communicate specific training things to another person, which I would argue they still have to do to a degree, you still have to have good people skills. So it's not simply I love dogs, and I hate humanity, and therefore I will become a dog trainer. That doesn't work. When you're an instructor where you're actually going to be teaching other people, whether it be private lessons, whether it be group classes, whether it be both, this need of having good people skills is magnified to the nth degree. Because you are educating these people. You are teaching them what they need so they can be successful with their dogs. What that requires is you have a level of empathy so that you don't get burned out and you don't start stressing out when you get the same question from 10 different people over, and over, and over again. Particularly when someone is starting out ... Again, this is very general terms. But if someone starts out as either an instructor, or a trainer, or they call themselves either or, they're offering basic manners classes. Regardless of how it is that you teach, your first year is probably gonna be a little rocky. You'll work some of the kinks out and whatnot. But you'll have a certain array of questions that you receive such as what should I be feeding my dog? And why is it that I need to do that? And oh, my dog does this and I just want them to do something else. Runs the gamut. You get through your first year, and that's fine, but then year two comes around and you're getting the same exact questions. And then year three, and year four, and year five, and so on. One of the things that happens particularly for instructors is they begin to lose their empathy, their ability to listen to people asking questions. And remember that these people have no reason to not ask that question. It's not as though the client that you have in year three heard about the client in year one when they asked the question, you gave the answer and they just decided to ignore it. The client in year three is in the same exact knowledge position that the client in year one was. In other words, they have no idea what the answer would be, that's why they're asking. But as an instructor, you have to remember that. You can't just say, "Well, of course that's what you do. Why would you even ask that?" That's not gonna help you retain clients. And that's also not gonna help you reach them. They're not going to be as receptive to the information that you give to them. So why is all this important? Why are we even discussing what the difference is between instructors and trainers? Why is this even a topic? And the reason being is that, again, the industry is exploding in popularity, which is not a bad thing. But I think it is important that all of us, including the professionals who are working within this industry, understand what our roles are and are always mindful to ensure that we are meeting our duty to our clients. Whether they are the humans directly that own the dogs or the dogs that we're working with. We always have to assess, as a community, where our skills are, where our strengths are, and where our weaknesses are, and how we can sure those up. So as an example, I am not a very big fan of people at all. I'm totally contradicting myself here. But I am not a big people person. But I know that. And I also recognize the fact that I cannot just work directly with dogs. Dogs don't own themselves. They are owned by people. And I also can recognize and empathize with why someone would want to have a dog in their life. All the benefits that comes along with that. And more likely than not, people who own dogs tend to have a lot of the qualities that I like. They tend to be very sympathetic and empathetic. They enjoy having this little creature in their life. They are caring. They get so excited when their dog does something that a non-dog liking person would be like, "Why are you so excited about that?" Oh, but look, they looked at me, and they wagged their tail. It made my day. That's adorable. That's a really nice thing to have happen. So I'm able to remember all those things about why it is that I enjoy working with the people because I know that working with the person is going to improve the quality of life of the dog. So again, while humanity as a whole I'm not a huge fan of, I can recognize on an individual basis by working with this client, and making a connection with them, and ensuring that I can give them the knowledge and the information that they need. I am directly improving the quality of life of their dog. That's impressive. That is a great motivator. But that also means that I'm setting a pretty high bar for myself where if I am not able to communicate to this person or educate them in a way that can help their dog, then I'm failing. I'm not meeting my own metric. And in my opinion, that metric should be true for everyone who is a professional instructor or trainer within the dog community. The one thing that I've noticed over the years, particularly as I've become more involved with dog sports, is there is a assumption that if you have achieved a certain number of titles or accolades, that automatically guarantees that you would be an excellent instructor and trainer. And nothing can be further from the truth. I'm not trying to bash anyone who has achieved things. At all. Not in the least. But to just assume that someone can have an incredible run with their own individual dog in whatever sport. Pick one. It doesn't matter. And then say that that one person with that experience with that dog can now help all types of dogs, and all types of people, and both is just simply not true. As an example, my very first Doberman is the reason why I became a dog trainer. He had all kinds of aggression issues, but he was also brilliant as far as clicker training was concerned. He made me look as though I was brilliant, and I'm not. I do not claim to be the best clicker trainer in the world. There are people who are far better than I am. But he was incredible in how he was able to pick up what we were covering in a given clicker training session. He taught me a great deal. I then began interning with shelters and with dog training facilities and realized that he was at a different level than a lot of other dogs were. Meaning that he was able to pick up on things a lot quicker. And he was more engaged in the game right at the beginning. And it's not as though he had any background in clicker training because he didn't. It was just his personality. And it was the bond that we had because he was my personal dog. So during my time of interning at the shelters, I had to figure out how can I now broaden my understanding so it's beyond this fear of just my dog. I had to make a bigger tool box. I couldn't just do things that would work for Zeus. I had to develop skills that would work for a wide array of dogs. And I was fortunate in having a large number of teachers. The dogs are the best teachers that you can have. Anyone who's interested in becoming a professional, volunteer at shelters. The more access you can have to dogs, the better it is. But I also was extraordinarily fortunate with the mentors that I had as far as professionals, instructors, and trainers, and both. Some truly incredible people that I had the privilege of working with. It was because of all of that that I was able to then transfer what I was able to achieve with Zeus to maybe even a fraction of that being able to teach and help other people. But that's not to say that everyone is able to do that. I would not have been able to be successful if I just simply said, "Oh, look. I took my dog from here to there. We accomplished these things. I'm now gonna go out and teach everyone and their mother how brilliant I am. And I'm going to share my experience. And therefore, they will all be successful as well." That wouldn't have worked because the things that worked for him, he was able to skip a bunch of steps that other dogs wouldn't have been able to in certain regards. So if I was working with either the dogs or the people in that situation, I would not have been able to help them. They would have been lost. Or at the worst case scenario, I would have set them back in their training. So the reason why I really wanted to bring all of this up is that as a community, we have to be very aware of what it is that each person as a professional is offering to their clients. Are you being clear to the human client? Are you being empathetic to the human client? Are you providing the human client with everything that they need so they can internalize that, turn it into something that they can actually understand, turn it into something that they could actually put into motor skills more often than not. And sometimes those are extraordinarily alien to them between holding onto leashes, and treats, and toys, and do this movement with your shoulders and your feet. It's crazy. Are you able to communicate all that without making the person feel bad? And so that they can then still do something with their dog so their dog understands what you want them to do. That is incredibly difficult. That is really hard. And it's no easier just being a trainer. How is it that you can take everything that you understand about dogs, and dog training, and behavior that may have only applied to a certain segment of the population? And now you receive a dog, or you're working with a dog who's outside of that segment, how can you now apply all your knowledge to help that dog understand? How are you going to be able to motivate them? How are you going to be able to bond with them? How can you help them achieve the skills that they need so they can be successful? This is all really important. And the one thing that I've been seeing a trend of is as the consumers, they're assuming that the only thing they need is to work with someone who has achieved a certain accolade. And that's simply not true. Again, I'm not trying to say that the accolades don't matter. They do. I think that it should be part of the consideration process. But you would be able to, in all reality, run through with your dog in any sport, go to the top, and be wonderful. The two of you are just in sync and incredible. And you would never be able to share any of your knowledge with anybody else. Not in an effective way. And I've seen this happen firsthand where people have given it a try and it failed miserably. It was not pretty. And they luckily realized it and said, "You know what? This isn't for me. This isn't what ... I don't want to go down this road. I thought about it and it's just not gonna work." But for those of us who are in this realm of being professionals, always remember what your role is. You're here to educate. You're either educating the dog directly or you're educating the person who then has to educate the dog. You are an educator, which means you have to stay on top of your own education and anyone who comes up to you and says, "I know everything. I am the best thing since sliced bread," they're lying. Don't listen to that because it's just not true. You need to keep up on your own education. You have to be humble. You have to recognize what your strengths are, what your weaknesses are, what it is that you enjoy, what it is that you excel at, what it is you still need to work on, and also be willing to refer things out. This is another thing that is getting ... I don't know if it's a trend so much as maybe that it's just something I'm noticing more where there are these really deeply embedded camps in certain segments of the community. So if a client works with trainer A, they will never be referred to trainer B. Even if trainer B would actually help them with a specific problem that they have. And to me, that is just short sided and it's not appropriate at all. I have personally no problem referring anyone to any reputable trainer, behaviorist, whomever if I think that they're gonna help that person. Including instructors. And I've done it before. I've had it where I was not connecting with a client. Where we just were on different wavelengths. I could not reach them so that I could actually help them, which is my job. So I referred them to another colleague, and they meshed a lot better, and all was well. You're not gonna be able to help everyone as a professional. So knowing your limitations is really helpful. And this is where understanding what the roles entail I think is crucial. If you wanted to be an instructor, which means, by definition that you're gonna be teaching people, you have to have good people skills. You have to be able to communicate. You have to have a number of different ways of saying things, of getting your point across, of relaying the information, of noticing if you have a class of eight people and six of them look at you as though you have three heads, you better find another way of explaining that. Not just simply plow ahead. And if you're a trainer where you're working directly with the dogs, you had better have a really big tool box where you can work with a wide array of dogs. And you shouldn't just be assuming, oh, well this is a lab and that's a golden, oh, this is gonna be easy. Really? I have some news for you. That's not necessarily true. So again, another rambling podcast. But the point being that there are differences, in my opinion, to these roles. People do use the terms interchangeably. Does it mean that we now have to go an ensure that everyone uses them properly? No, but I think as professionals, if we can remind ourselves, okay, I am teaching a class, meaning that I'm teaching people and dogs. I need to ensure that I'm able to digest that information properly to these people so they can then help their dog. If I'm the assistant trainer or even the head trainer for a shelter where I'm working directly with the dogs, I'm not teaching anyone per se, but I'm trying to give these dogs skills so they can either be adopted hopeful, or if they're gonna be staying in the shelter for any period of time, I can improve their quality of life, or I can assess where they are and what may need to be done in the future, then I have the skills to do that. I mean, this is the ... The whole point of this is just to question and to really assess where do I stand now, and am I actually meeting the needs, and am I doing my due duty, my due diligence by my client? Whether they be the owner, or the dog, or both. The one thing that I'll say just in closing is that I'm hoping that people aren't taking this as though I don't want people to be entering into the dog training profession. It's just the opposite. This is my third career. I started off with horses. I was then a litigation paralegal. I then came into dog training. And I've done those other two careers for a period of years. This has been the most gratifying for me. Even though at this moment, I'm not able to teach in person anymore, I'm not able to train dogs in person anymore because of the fact that my body is horrendously broken, but being able to teach people virtually is extraordinarily gratifying. Being able to review videos that clients send me of what it is that they're doing with their dogs and noticing the joy, and the bond, and the dogs light up when they get the exercise right, and the people laughing as they're doing the exercise. They just even forget they're being filmed. That makes my day. I can be having the worst day ever. And I watch those videos and I cannot stop smiling. That's the beauty of being in this profession. That's the beauty of being a dog trainer or instructor. When you are able to do those things. When you are able to educate the person and the dog. When you're able to share with them the knowledge of how it is that they can live a more harmonious life together. We're trying to get these little, furry creatures, these little aliens to live a better life with their people. And that means that you have to translate sometimes. You have to say, "Your dog is doing this because in dog world, this is completely normal. In people world, not so much. So maybe we can teach your dog to do this, and this, and this so that they don't do those things and they're still fulfilled and they're still happy. And oh, by the way, you're probably gonna really like it when they do those things. You may actually like it so much that you teach them other behaviors. And you start on this big, long, wonderful journey where the two of you really cultivate your relationship and you think that training is a blast." As a professional, you get to cultivate all that. As a professional, you get to help people begin their journey and help them through it. And that can last the lifetime of a dog, which is pretty awesome. So I'm hoping that by talking bluntly about these things, about what I think instructors should do and what I think trainers should do, is not that I'm saying we should have less of those. I'm just saying that the people who are out there need to make certain they're doing their job. And always assess. You don't have to be quite as neurotic as I am as far as second guessing yourself. But just always ask yourself, "Am I meeting my criteria?" We're always very worried about criteria for our dogs. Are we meeting the criteria for ourselves? And if you're not, how can you improve upon that? And could it be that you're trying to be in the instructor category, but you would be more comfortable in the trainer category? And if you're in the trainer category and you're finding that you're constantly hitting your head against the wall with certain dogs and you're never getting anywhere, maybe you just need to develop some more more skills so you can have more tools in that tool box. So you can help more dogs. And also be certain that whatever specialty that you decide upon, whether it be a really big net, such as basic manners, or if it's gonna be a niche, such as working with separation anxiety, for instance, that you have the actual skills and the knowledge to help those people and dogs. Because if you don't and you're just offering that because you think that that's the thing that people need and you're just guessing, you could actually do a lot more harm than good. And it's gonna burn you out awfully because you're not gonna get results. So I hope that my fellow professionals can just be aware of these different things. And also those of you who may be interested in becoming a professional, have an idea of what these things are head of time so as to prevent you from being crestfallen when things don't work out so well. Just know what your personality should be. Know what it is that you likely need to do. What your day would normally entail. The kind of skills you'd have to cultivate. And the continuing education you're going to have to be involved in so that you're able to help all these people and all these dogs. So I hope you found this podcast helpful. Thank you so much for listening. Happy training. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Here is a shocker for you: dog training is a rather polarized activity. It is common for everyone to retreat to their respective camps, defensive, backs up, lips curled back with their teeth showing. In my opinion, this is the wrong way to go about things. Do I have preferences on how I will train my dog and my client's dogs? Yes. Are there certain techniques and tools I simply will not use in my training program? Yes. Does that mean the people who use those techniques or tools are inherently evil and incapable of having any value in their overall knoweldge about dogs or dog training? No. In this podcast we will discuss how, as your dog's advocate, you owe it to them to always have an open mind, so you will be able to pick out the diamonds among the poop piles. ----more---- Want to learn more about Dog Sport University? Check out our website and look over our Dog Sport Skills courses. You may also be interested in our informative webinars as well as the Dog Sport University blog.  Have you heard about Scent Work and want to delve deeper into that activity? Perfect, we have just the thing! Check out our sister online dog training platform, Scent Work University where you will find courses and webinars suited for both those dog owners who simply want to have fun, and those who are seriously competing with their dogs. Maybe you're looking to help your puppy or dog in the manners department. Then your need to check out Family Dog University where we provide a variety of programs to help your dog be the best canine family companion they can be! PODCAST TRANSCRIPT Welcome to the All About Dog Training and Dog Sports Podcast. In this podcast, we'll be talking about all things dog training. We'll also be giving you a behind the scenes look as far as what your instructor may be going through, a variety of dog training tips, how you can succeed in various dog sports, and much more. In this episode, we'll be talking about finding diamonds in poop piles. Now, I don't mean this literally, but rather we'll be discussing how it is that we can go about approaching dog training in a way that we are not discounting valuable information, and that valuable information could actually be hiding in some pretty obscure places. Before we get started in the podcast, let me just do a very quick introduction for myself. My name is Dianna Santos. I'm the owner and lead instructor for Dog Sport University. Dog Sport University is an online dog training platform where we cover everything from good manners training to helping you succeed within a variety of dog sports. We provide online courses, webinars, and seminars. So, we urge you to check that out if you do have any dog training needs. But without any further ado, let's get started in the podcast. The whole purpose behind this podcast episode is to talk about finding diamonds in poop piles, and no, I don't want you running out and actually going through all of your dog's poop piles to see whether or not there's a diamond in there and you could retire. This is a metaphor. So, the one thing that I'm hoping that we can achieve with this podcast is an understanding that knowledge is knowledge. It can always help us regardless of where it may have come from. One of the themes that I'm noticing within the dog training community as a whole is that we can be very cliquey and we can also blind ourselves to potentially good information simply because of who is saying that information. So, there's a couple of topics within this general idea that I'd like to cover. The first is the fact that it would be helpful for anyone involved in dog training, whether they be handler, a dog owner, a competitor, or an instructor, or a trainer, to just be open-minded, and that someone may have a completely different approach to training than you do, but they may also have something valuable within their bag of tricks that will be valuable for both you and your dog. It could even just simply be looking at things through a different lens. Or you may discount everything else that they do, but that one thing, that one different perspective, may be able to help you and your dog. It's also taking away some of the portrayal that we are all displaying all too often in our conversations about other types of training. So, for me, personally, I am a proud member of Karen Pryor Academy. I'm a Karen Pryor-approved instructor. I use positive reinforcement training and I adore clicker training, but that doesn't mean that if someone is a balanced trainer or if someone uses corrections that by default, I think that they're evil. I don't. I simply disagree with how it is they go about training. That also doesn't mean that if those people are doing those things, that there is absolutely nothing that I couldn't learn from them. There very well could be. There could be things that they're doing intertwined within their approach that could actually be valuable, not that I'm suddenly going to start using corrections. I'm not. But there could be something of value in there. But I'm also going to be valuing them as a fellow dog lover. Just because someone uses corrections doesn't mean they don't love dogs. They just have a different approach than I do, and that's okay. And for anyone else who is a positive reinforcement trainer, just a word from someone within your community, make sure you're not looking down on anyone else, and this is very hard to do because, quite frankly, positive reinforcement training is still on the newer side. It's been a revolution within the dog training community, but it hasn't been around that long in the grand scheme of things, so there are a lot of people who are making a transition into positive reinforcement training, and that can be a very painful process for that person because they're almost shamed during the process. "Oh, well, you finally saw the light. What took you so long?" That's terrible. I would never wanna talk to someone who talks to me like that. That's not helpful in any way, shape, or form. So, we all can do better, and the same applies for those who are balanced trainers or are using corrections who say, "Ah, those stupid cookie feeders," and, "Oh, they do their little click, click, click, and ... What's next? They're just going to throw some essential oils on the dog and we're all gonna sing Kumbaya and everything's gonna be great?" There's, again, a level of just venom of how people talk about each other that just isn't helpful at all 'cause at the end of the day, I'm pretty sure everyone just wants their dogs to be better behaved, so that we can all have a better life co-existing with these little aliens who share our homes with us. That's the whole point of all this stuff. So, if we can bring the temperature down a little bit as far as how we talk about one another and we start seeing each other as dog lovers first who just simply disagree on how you can get to the same point, then that's a much better approach than what, typically, is happening out in the community right now. The other thing to be mindful of is the fact that there are many different ways to achieve the same goal in dog training, even within the same method of training. So, what I mean by that is, for myself, I use positive reinforcement, I use reward-based training, I use clicker training. If I'm trying to train a dog how to sit, there's multiple ways that I can do that, even under that umbrella. There is no 100,000% way, everyone must do it this way, and there's no other way that you can do it. Of course not. That's not the way that dog training works because every single dog is different. Teaching a standard poodle how to sit may not be an issue. Teaching a greyhound who's off the racetrack how to sit could take you a little bit more time. You have to be mindful of those things and be careful not to think that your way is the only way. Always be open-minded. Someone may have a suggestion for you. It could even just simply be something easy that you do with your body as far as how you hold yourself, maybe with where you look, maybe with where you step, maybe if you're using treats, where you hold the treat, when you deliver the treat. There's all these little intricacies that if you have an open-minded and an open approach to training, if you go to a lot of seminars, if you watch a lot of videos, if you talk with other professionals, even as colleagues, you can pick things up. Always be learning. Don't ever think, "Oh, I know how to do that. I don't ever need to know about that ever again." The second that you do that, that's the second that you're basically turning your back on you being a better professional or a better trainer, and I'm not just speaking to professionals. I'm speaking, also, to dog owners. The second that you think you know everything, your dogs have a very good way of humbling you, so make certain that you are figuring out ways that can help you and your dog be successful. The other big thing that I really want to ensure that we understand, hopefully, by the end of this podcast is that simply because you do not agree with someone, even within your camp of training ... So, let's say that you are talking with another positive reinforcement trainer and you are also a positive reinforcement trainer, but you start talking about training a particular behavior, and you simply have a disagreement on how you can do that, you both have completely different approaches, doesn't mean that either of them is better than the other, they're just different. That doesn't mean that that person is now somehow lesser than you are or that you are lesser than they are. It's just, simply, different. Instead, honestly listen to the person as they're giving what their approach would be and see how that may be able to apply to either your personal dog or your clients or your future students. Is this an approach that maybe you could have in your back pocket and take out if your normal go-to approach doesn't work? Again, the more tools you have in your toolbox, the better, but you're only gonna be able to develop those tools if you can learn them, and the best way of learning them is from other people. The other thing I really wanna nail down this podcast is a need for everyone to really understand that just because you disagree with someone, even if it's something as touchy as training methodology, so positive reinforcement versus balanced training as an example, just because you disagree with them doesn't mean that you have to hate them. Those are two completely different things. Again, just because someone wants to train differently than you doesn't make them inherently evil, it doesn't make them inherently hate dogs or want to hurt dogs or want to do terrible things to the owners or steal the owner's money or waste their time or whatever other outlandish thing that people may think. That's not the case. They simply train differently than you do. Nothing more, nothing less. On the flip side of that, if you happen to agree with someone 'cause they do the same type of training that you do or they would approach a problem the same way that you do, that doesn't mean that you have to love or idolize them. Be very, very careful about idolizing anyone. This can be almost more detrimental than if you despise someone because if you idolize someone, then you're basically going to be looking at everything that they do through these rosy glasses where, in reality, maybe there are things that they do that don't make sense or they wouldn't apply well to you or your dog, but then you're trying to emulate what you see, and lo and behold, it doesn't work. So, you have to be careful with both of these extremes. Just because you disagree with someone doesn't mean that they're the devil incarnate, and just because you agree with someone doesn't mean that they're a saint. We have to be realistic about these things, and the dog world is a very passionate one, and we're all very passionate about dog training, and that doesn't mean that I want you to be less passionate, I just want you to be rational in your passion and see these people as for who they are. They are people. Take everything with a grain of salt. Just because someone has a lot of accolades and a lot of achievements, whether it be certifications with different organizations for training, whether it be titles and ribbons if they're doing dog sports, that doesn't mean that's going to translate into them being a good teacher. So, a better way of thinking about it is this. If you have someone who is an instructor, my opinion of an instructor is someone who can actually take knowledge they have and then teach it to a handler who can then train it to their dog. That's really hard. You then have a trainer, which, again, from my definition is someone who primarily is working directly with dogs, so they can take the knowledge that they have on how they can manipulate behavior and they can train the dog. You then have people who are competitors or trainer competitors, who are working, primarily, with their own personal dogs, so they're campaigning out with a variety of different dog sports and things, so they have the knowledge of how they can manipulate the behavior of their own individual dog. So, from these three different categories, those are three completely different skill-sets. Can I, for the trainer competitor, can I actually communicate to my own personal dogs, so we can achieve our goals? For the trainer who's working with other people's dogs, can I take my knowledge and then relay that to these dogs that I may or may not know. And then for the instructor, can I take the knowledge that I have, translate it into human terms, so another human being can understand it enough to train their dog? Those are all really super complicated, and quite honestly, there's very few people who have all three all bundled up into one. For instance, there are people who are excellent trainer competitors, meaning that they have achieved the highest accolades within their given sport. They're amazing. They and their dogs are an incredible team. At the same point, they would never in a million years be able to translate that to anyone else. They wouldn't be able to share that knowledge in a helpful way to someone else. There's also some times where you may be able to have all the accolades and titles in the world, but if somewhere else were to watch that team work, go like, "I can't learn anything from you. That handling is not very helpful. Nothing you're doing is helpful to anyone else but you." and there's nothing wrong with that. But we have to be mindful of these things. So, as consumers, even if you are a professional trainer, even if you are a professional instructor, if you are taking any classes, seminars, webinars, whatever else with anybody, be mindful of who it is. Know what they're saying and see what is valuable and then leave behind the rest, and that's okay. That doesn't mean the person giving the information is bad and that doesn't mean that you're not loyal enough 'cause you're not taking it hook, line, and sinker. Just look at things through a critical lens. What is valuable to you and what isn't? The big thing that I'm hoping that everyone can walk away from this podcast understanding is that there really is an art to all this dog training business. I say it a lot in my classes for both Dog Sport University and Scent Work University, but it's true. You have to be an artist when it comes to training dogs, but it also applies to how you understand dog training and how you're able to internalize that, really understand it, and then apply it to whatever dog is in front of you, and if you're an instructor, to another human being, who can then translate it to their dog. This is hard stuff. This isn't easy. So, we have to learn how to take in information so that it's helpful to us and it's useful and then how we can customize it so that it's even more helpful in the end, and that can be really challenging because there's all these other things that are attached to it. There are personalities, there are allegiances, there are groups, and cliques, and all kinds of stuff. Try to ignore all that stuff. Even if there's someone who you vehemently disagree with 99.9% of the things that they do, there may be that 1% of things that either they do, they talk about, or concepts that they at least bring to light that could be extraordinarily beneficial. Use those to your advantage. That will help you in the end. I hope that these concepts make sense. The big thing is that the way that, in my opinion, we should be approaching dog training is how it is that we can get the most information that we can so that we can better help our dogs. For me, personally, I learn a lot about what not to do in a situation. So, even if there is someone that I don't agree with as far as how they train, I'm not looking only for what I could do in a given situation, I'm also gonna be looking for what not to do. That's still just information. It's still learning. So, having an open mind and approaching this without all the emotion attached to it, that you are simply just learning, that you are trying to be the best trainer that you can be to help either your own personal dog or to help your clients. It takes some of the pressure off to join into these camps, and the more that we can get away from that really negative association of the other, "You don't do it the way that I do it; therefore, you are bad," the better it would be for our community. It can be challenging, particularly if people vehemently disagree on things, but if you can just remind yourself that the person on the other side of that topic or that stance more likely than not also loves their dog, you can still see them as a fellow dog lover, and it can help prevent a lot of issues down the line, and particularly if you are in your own journey of training. If you have more of an open mind, you will be more open-minded to other ways of training, of other ways of achieving that goal, but if you're very steadfast in how you approach things, you may actually be limiting yourself as far as any potential options or solutions that are out there for both you and your dog, which could cause issues down the line. So, again, the whole point of this podcast is to just try to remind everyone that we're all dog lovers. At the end of the day, we are just trying to figure out the best way to live with a completely separate species within our homes and to maybe do some other fun things that are dog sport specific and how it is we can achieve our goals, whether it simply be just living at home peacefully without us pulling our hair out or it's achieving the highest title and accolade, and again, in dog sport. But we're all in this, typically, for the same reason, that we love dogs, and if we could look at one another in that lens, it can really help. So, I hope this podcast was helpful. Happy training. We look forward to seeing you soon.

In our very first podcast, we will answer the burning question of: what is the deal with dog sports and why would anyone ever want to get involved in one?! We discuss the benefits of dog sports as an activity, and how competition is a separate route that some dog owners may want to check out. And yes, we will also go into how online dog training really DOES work. This is going to be fun, and we thank you for listening. ----more---- Want to learn more about Dog Sport University? Check out our website and look over our Dog Sport Skills courses. You may also be interested in our informative webinars as well as the Dog Sport University blog.  Have you heard about Scent Work and want to delve deeper into that activity? Perfect, we have just the thing! Check out our sister online dog training platform, Scent Work University where you will find courses and webinars suited for both those dog owners who simply want to have fun, and those who are seriously competing with their dogs. Maybe you're looking to help your puppy or dog in the manners department. Then your need to check out Family Dog University where we provide a variety of programs to help your dog be the best canine family companion they can be! PODCAST TRANSCRIPT Welcome to the All About Dog Sports and Training Podcast. In this podcast, we'll be talking about all things dog sports. We'll be giving you a behind the scenes look at what instructors and officials are considering, what they're looking for in competitive teams. We'll also be providing you training tips and answering your questions. All right, let's get started. Before we start diving into the podcast, I just want to really quickly introduce myself. My name's Dianna Santos, I am the owner and the lead instructor for both Dog Sport University and Scent Work University. I've been training dogs professional since 2011. I am certified through the Karen Prior Academy of Dog Training. I'm also certified through the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers. In addition to that, I am also an official with several scent work organizations including AKC Scent Work, as well as United States Canine Scent Sports. I'm also the Judge and CSD Coordinator for United States Canine Scent Sports, where I oversee several officials. I'm coming at this with a variety of different view points. As both a professional dog trainer, as well as an instructor, as well as a competitor and an official and someone affiliated with an organization. My goal is to give you as many different perspectives as possible to help you reach your training goals and to make sure that you and you're dog are having the best time possible as you go for those titles. All right. Without further ado, let's jump into the podcast. For our first episode, we wanted to answer the question of, why would you want to get involved in dog spots in the first place? With that in mind, I actually reached out to several of my clients to see if they would have other questions that would spring off from that, to see if I'd be able to help people wrap their heads around the whole concept of what dog sport is, and why it is they should even get involved with it in the first place with their own dog. I think one of the best ways of doing this, is to actually start off with how I got involved with dog sports. The way I fell into it was very similar to how many people do. My very first Doberman was dog aggressive. He was not dog reactive, he was dog aggressive. If he had the opportunity to eat other dogs, he would. I had found a professional trainer. I wasn't a trainer at this point. They were working with me in figuring out what it is that we could do for behavior modification and for training, to improve this quality of life as well as keep everybody safe. In the process of doing that, I found out about set work. He was not a candidate at all in order to trial, but as with most people, I decided to try out for what's called an odor recognition test for NACSW, which is a Scent Work organization. In the process of doing that and both preparing for and actually doing it, that was my first foray in dog sports. I had never actually been to a trial before at that point. It was intriguing. It was very, very interesting. I have to say that we never did any trials with Zeus again after that point. It wasn't that he did badly, he actually did really, really well. He didn't have any explosions, he didn't have any behavioral issues, he passed all three tests. He did great. A lot of people who were there didn't even know just how much he was not suitable to be trialing, 'cause he did a really great job that day. He was under really good management, and he was just set up to succeed as much as he could within the confines of that space. But what I found was that the groups of people who were there as far as the competitors as well as the officials and the trial hosts, were all very supportive. It was this sense of accomplishment for everyone. There were people who have been trialing forever. It's as though they've been trialing since the day they were born. Dog sports are a second nature to them. Even those people were very kind to people like myself how had no idea what I was doing. That was pretty much how I was introduced to dog sports as a concept. I had Zeus for another couple years after that point until he passed away. Then I got my second Doberman who I have now, and he doesn't have any behavioral issues. He's fabulous and he's athletic and he's just game for everything. The idea was that we would be able to trial. He's introduced me to all kinds of different dog sports, 'cause he can do pretty much everything. I've had a lot of firsts with him as far as, going into a space and not knowing anything about it as far as a trialing aspect. I may know how to train for it, but I'd never actually been to a trial. That's pretty much how I got started. It was really through both of my boys. I have to say that, before that I would hear about trials and I'd be like, "I don't know about all that. That's not really what I'm looking for, I just want my dog to be happy and healthy and well behaved." But I have to say, since I've started trialing, it's definitely something where they say that you get bit by the bug, that's definitely true. It's not just about the titles and it's not just about the ribbons. Those matter, I'm not gonna lie, but it's the community and it's also the incentive to keep going. It's the incentive to keep practicing and training, and it's an opportunity to have these bonding moments with your dog. Traveling to and from trials, being able to hang out in a hotel every now and again, to just being at a trial site. Even though you're surrounded by all these other dogs and people, at least for me personally, I find it to be an opportunity for me to just spend time with him. Where he may just be hanging out in his crate, but I'm sharing granola bars with him and I'm giving him plastic bottles and we're going for potty breaks, whatever else. But it's just us, it's just the time for us to hang out. That was how I fell into it. I fell in love with it, a lot more than I anticipated. I really did not think at all when I first started, that I would be the kind of trialing person that I am now. Quite honestly, if my body cooperated a little bit more, I think I would trial a lot more. That's basically how I got started. Honestly, that's how a lot of people get started. They get started because they are doing an activity that would be beneficial for their dog, either for behavioral issues or just to provide their dog with something else to do, because they are smart little creatures. Then they go to a trial for the very first time, and if it's a good experience, then they're like, "Oh, I think I'd like to do that again." Then before you know it, they're part of the traveling masses that just go in droves over the weekend to go do stuff. I think that ties in really well with the second question that I received from one of my students was, "Why is it that trials are so popular in the first place? Why are dog sports popular? Why is trialing with your dog popular at all?" These are actually two separate questions, because I think it's a misnomer to assume that if you are going to do a dog sport, that means that you have to trial. I really hope to dispel that in this podcast. It's probably something I'm going to be repeating over and over and over again. The story that I said with Zeus is actually a really good example, where we fell into Scent Work because it was part of his behavior modification program. It worked wonders, it really helped improve his quality of life. He was a lot calmer, he was more fulfilled because we weren't able to go out and do things. We couldn't go for walks, we couldn't go for hikes, it just wasn't safe. We were able to do things at home using Scent Work to help use his brain, 'cause he was extraordinarily smart. It helped improve his quality of life. Now even though we did that ORT and we had done well, we did not enter in anything else, 'cause it was not good to test fate. But that didn't mean that I stopped doing Scent Work. If anything, we did Scent Work more, because now we realized just how awesome it was and how much I loved it as an activity. He really enjoyed it. I just hope that that's clear, and there's a lot of people who just assume that, "Well, I'm never interested in competing," or, "I don't want to compete," or, "My dog wouldn't be suitable to compete." "Well that means I can't play that thing." Of course you can. There's nothing preventing you from doing that. Another example of that would be with the boy I have now. As of the recording of this podcast, he is coming off an injury. We're not really sure the extent of it. It doesn't seem to be that serious. It's probably just a muscle strain at this point. But he's five years old, and something I've been going back and forth over, is agility. Is whether or not we should be competing in agility. I am not very well put together myself. I am a physical mess, and I'm also terribly uncoordinated. It just would not be very pretty. He is very athletic, he's very fast, and he loves to play agility. We just do really short sequences in our backyard. But I've been going back and forth for years, like whether or not competing with him would be a good idea, because the jumps are a certain height and you have certain obstacles you have to do. There are different venues that you can choose to make sure that the courses were suitable for him and maybe there would be certain obstacles we wouldn't do, and all this other stuff. But that doesn't mean during that whole time that I've been going back and forth about it. That because we weren't competing or there was a chance that we would never compete, that I never played the game at home. We do, we play the game at home when he's not sore. Once or twice a week, if not more. He loves it. He thinks it's the best. I'm hoping that that makes sense, that just because you are either not interested in competition or you're not sure if it would be a good match for you or your dog, that you wouldn't be able to do that activity. The activity of a dog sport, such as agility, is a great thing for a lot of dogs to do. Competition is a completely different thing. As far as why it is that these things are so popular, it depends on the activity, because each activity is gonna bring you a different benefit, it's going to reward you and your dog something that's unique for that activity. As an example, we'll just take agility. Agility is so incredibly popular, because it's combining so many different elements of the relationship that you have with your dog. First of all, it's the opportunity once they understand the equipment and they've been training, whatever else, that now they're able to run along side you and do this obstacle course where there are jumps and there are tunnels and there are things like A frames that are like these little mini mountains. There's all these really interesting things that you can do with your dog, that you can showcase their athleticism, they get to run free with you. It's a partnership. Both of you are going through this together, it's not as though you are going over the jump with them, they're running along side you. But you're directing them to go do these things in a very harmonious way when it's done well. That's very addicting, that is something for a dog owner, is spectacular. It's awe inspiring, because this is another species, this is not a little person running along side you, this is a completely different animal. For them to understand a slight flick of the hand or a turning of your shoulder or the directions of your feet, that is incredible that those very slight signals and cues from you, can cause your dog to do a series of obstacles, one right after another. It almost seems like a seamless flow of just awesomeness. It's addicting to watch and it's very addicting to be a part of. People who fall into agility, really do fall in love with it. There are people who are able to do it, they've done it in wheelchairs, and they've done it in automated wheel chairs, or there are people who just stand stationary and they direct their dogs with a variety of different verbal cues or whistles, it's amazing, it really is incredible at the end of the day. Dogs who do agility, love agility. The ability to actually be able to do all this is fun, it's just enjoyable for them. To have that partnership with their person is also a very big plus. That's only one example, I mean there are so many different dog sports that are out there. The overarching reason why it is that dog sports are popular is, it's maximizing on a couple of different things. It's highlighting the fact that you and your dog are indeed a team, in one way or another. You're doing these things together. It's also allowing your dog to be a dog at some level. Whether it be like agility where you're doing obstacles or it's Scent Work, where they may be going off and they're hunting for a specific scent, or it could be competition obedience where they're using their brain to showcase how they can work as a teammate with their handler to do a certain routine with healing and staying, and retrieving and recalls. It's incredible. You then have things like lure coursing, where the dog is chasing a plastic bag, which is supposed to mimic a bunny. You can see them go through these courses where they're not going over or anything, there are no obstacles, but watching a dog really flat out run is amazing. They love it. They're able to tap into their prey drive, to do something that is safe and exhilarating and is so not stuck in the human constraint of things, and the construct of how we make them live their lives. It allows them to be a dog. The joy that they show is very reinforcing to the person. People who own dogs want to have fun with their dogs, I think generally speaking. The joy that your dog shows when they're doing something is extraordinarily reinforcing for you. When you're doing a dog sport that really helps your dog be a dog and allows them to use their brain, to have a physical outlet, to maybe even tap into an instinct, something like herding where a border collie would be herding sheep or even treiball, which his like urban herding where a dog of any breed will be pushing fitness balls along a course to get them into a goal. That's amazing. That's allowing the dog to tap into something that has been developed in them over a long period of time, over sometimes hundreds if not thousands of years. That's amazing, and that's why it's so incredibly popular is because, even though people may not be able to put that into words, they can feel that, they can experience that. It's completely worth all the time and effort it is to get good at such thing and to just practice it. All those practice sessions are opportunities for you to have even more fun with your dog. It's just this ever flowing, reinforcing circle of awesomeness. Which is why people do fall into dog sports, even when they're simply initially just looking for something to help their dog be better behaved. Then they stick with it because it is just so great. One of the other questions that I received from one of my clients was, what is it that they need to know before they take the plunge before going into a particular dog sport. I thought this was a really great question, because it's not one that many of us ask. Most of us who actually first start off in dog sports, don't even realize it's happening. We literally just step in like, "Oh, apparently I'm doing a dog sport now." Particularly with a lot of dog training programs at the moment, they are very good in how they very seamlessly fold in dog sports into even their basic obedience programs, to try to introduce people to the concept of, "Oh look, your dog can do an obstacle. Your dog can do this, your dog can do that." Because learning is good. Our dogs are very, very smart little creatures. The more that they can learn and the more they can have appropriate outlets, the less likely they are to do naughty things like eat your couch. But before you ever were to commit to an actual dog sport training program, I would say a couple things that you want to consider is, a really honest assessment of your dog is. I mean that both as a personality, as in age and also health. There are some people who will be really attracted to something like agility or another really high octane dog sport is flyball. Flyball is where you'll have three little jumps, they're not very tall, and the dog has to go run over them to hit a ball dispensing machine at the end of the lane. They have to retrieve that ball and then race back over those little jumps. They do this in teams. There's a multiple, I think there's four dogs who do it one right after the other. There's two teams that are competing against each other. It's basically a race. Which team can have their dogs go down, do the jumps, grab the ball and then run back the fastest? There are people who watch that and they go, "Wow, that looks like a whole lot of fun. My dog loves to run, my dog loves balls, they would love this." That's great. But then what you would want to figure out is, what's your dog's personality? Are they gonna be okay running along side another dog who's running at a fast speed? Are they going to be scared? Are they gonna be reactive? Are they gonna be like, "Hey, you. Get away from me." There's also a lot of noise associated with flyball, because the handlers are encouraging their dogs very enthusiastically to go off and get the ball and then to race back as quickly as they can. That enthusiasm and all that noise can be very intimidating to a lot of dogs, because it can be perceived as yelling and screaming. Where they're like, "Oh my goodness, everyone's yelling at each other." There's also a lot of barking that's very common at fly ball matches, because all the dogs are really, super excited. Those are the kinds of things you wanna consider is, the activity looks like a whole lot of fun, but is my dog going to be completely bombarded with all this stuff and then be freaking out 'cause it's so noisy and it's so stressful? Then you wanna ask yourself on a physical side, does my dog have the physical capability to do this thing? If your dog has had a knee replacement already or maybe they just have a really weak backend, maybe they have hip dysplasia, maybe they're just not fit, maybe they're just overweight, maybe they're elderly, maybe you adopted your dog as a senior. Should they be doing something that is so incredibly high-impact as something like flyball or agility? My suggestion would be no, that probably wouldn't be the best thing to do. Maybe you want to start off with something a little bit lower impact on them so that they're not sore, so that you're not potentially hurting them. The other thing that you wanna consider is, what is it that you're looking to do as far as, what your goals? What are you looking to get out of this? If you are interested in competing, that's great. Then you probably want to see whether or not you and your dog really could compete, and at what level are you looking to get to? What I mean by that is, if you're looking to compete at the World Team for agility, well then you have to have a really serious assessment of both you and your dog's skills, their age, and also how long it's gonna take you to get there. If you're just interested in maybe trialing at a lower level to just have fun, that's great. There's still a very big difference between doing something for fun, and also still competing if you actually wanna do well, anything above the very novice entry level level. You also wanna ask yourself what your situation is regarding finances. Because if you are interested in getting involved in a dog sport for the competition side, you actually do want to compete. You wanna do some of your research to figure out how much that costs. Whether or not that's going to be a drain on the other things you may wanna be doing with your dog or just with your life overall. It's so disheartening when I hear people get really super psyched about something revolving around dog sports, and then they get bit by the bug and everything is great and they're looking around twice and they're like, "Oh my goodness, there's no way I can pay for this stuff now." They just feel so deflated and so ... It's just really disheartening for them. You wanna come at this with as much of an eyes wide open approach as you can. Have just really realistic expectations for yourself. Understand what your situation is, where it is you would like to go, and give yourself a little bit of a time frame, and be flexible with yourself. There's no rush on these things. Understand that if you were to just find out about a dog sport today, it's very unlikely that you'll be able to compete tomorrow. It's gonna take you time in order to develop the skills that both you and your dog will need to be successful. Depending on the sport, it can take a significant amount of time. As an example, when I was considering doing agility competition with my dog. My goal was, we're gonna be training for at least a year before we actually ever compete. That time frame would probably still be correct now. Maybe we get it down to six months if I was really gung ho about it. But again, he's five years old and he's a Doberman. I'm probably not gonna be competing with him because of his age, and I wanna make sure that I don't hurt him physically. That's something that you would want to consider as well is, if you wanted to compete, then are you comfortable with the amount of time and training and practice it would take to do so. All that being said, does it mean that you shouldn't get involved in a dog sport at all? Of course not. You absolutely can play the game. You absolutely can do the training and the practicing and the working with your instructor and introducing your dog to all those different activities. That's great. But you just wanna know what the answers are to those questions, before you really take the plunge and actually try and compete. Another really interesting question that I received from one of my students was, "Are there any reasons that someone shouldn't get involved in dog sports?" The answer is, yes there are. But I would preface this by saying that it's more on the side of not getting involved in the competition side of it, as opposed to the actual activity. But there are definitely some activities that you may not want to do with your own particular dog, like the example we've given before with flyball. Maybe if you were doing it one-on=one with an instructor where there wasn't a whole bunch of other people practicing, maybe it'd be a fun thing that you do once in a while. That's fine. The other example again is lure coursing, where if you have a dog who is more on the senior side, maybe they have some structural issues, maybe having them running like that and doing the turns where there could be a variety of different turns on the course, maybe that would be hard fro them. Those are the types of reasons why you may not want to do a particular dog sport as the activity or it may just not be a good match for your dog physically. It may also be that you don't want to do a particular activity if it's going to exacerbate a behavioral aspect of your dog that you're trying to work on. An example of this would be, a dog who is extraordinarily, over-the-top possessive. Where they're almost resource guarding sort of thing. You've been working on that with a professional trainer and it's been going along really well. You probably wouldn't want to get into a situation where you were then testing whether or not that would come back. An example of that would be, let's say that that particular dog was also a terrier, and you were interested in doing something like barn hunt, where it is a course set up with a series of hay mazes, so there's hay or straw set up in the course like a maze. There are real live rats that are safely contained inside PVC pipes. Those are hidden throughout the maze. The goal is that the dog comes in and they have to do three different things in order to pass. They have to find all the rats that are hidden in the maze, and there can be between one and five, depending on the level. They have to do a climb, which means they have to get on top of one of the hay bales with all four feet. They also have to do a tunnel. There's actually a tunnel created with the hay itself. Those are three different things they have to do within any given run if they were actually competing in bar hunt. As far as why it is that you may not want to do barn hunt with a dog who is a terrier and has a history of resource guarding, is that that dog will be entering into the barn hunt ring, will probably find their rat, and will be very excited about it, and I'm going to assume, would be very possessive about it as well. Your job as the handler, is to either restrain your dog once they find it, rewarding them, telling them how great they are, so someone else can go in to retrieve the rat so they can be safely removed from the ring. Or that you would be removing the two of yourself to hand it off to somebody else. I'm hoping that you can kind of see where that would be a problem for a dog who has resource guarding issues. That either you or someone else is putting your hand to take away the very high value thing of a rat inside a tube, away from that dog. That's putting your dog, who's probably into a very higher state of arousal and probably tipping over into prairie drive, into a sense of conflict, where even though you and your trainer have been working on this dog not being quite as possessive or not demonstrating those really negative behaviors associated with resource guarding, you're putting them into a situation where they're now more likely to show those behaviors again. I would say, maybe that wouldn't be such a great idea to put that dog into that situation in the first place. That's a very long example of a situation where you may not want to participate in a particular dog sport with a particular dog. Even if you weren't interested in competition. Maybe even that dog wouldn't do well even in practice. 'Cause again, you're still going into, I need to take this thing away from you that you find really super rewarding and very high value. That could be a problem. As far as the competition side of why it is that you wouldn't want to get involved in dog sports, again, just to stress, the majority of time, you can play the activity at home or you can work with your instructor and you can do it that way, that's fine. I would urge people who have dogs who are aggressive, like I had with Zeus, they really should not, in my opinion, be competing at all. Full stop. Period. It's just not safe, it really isn't. It's not to say those dogs don't deserve to have a meaningful life, it doesn't mean that those dogs don't deserve to have fulfillment, they do. You can do those activities again at home or in a very well controlled training environment where you're working with a professional. But to put them into a situation like a trial that is extraordinarily chaotic, there's at least on minimum, on your very small trials for certain activities, 30 dogs at this location. 30 dogs, plus 30 people that are just competitors. Then you have the people who are running the trial, then you have the people who are volunteering at the trial, then you have the people who are officiating the trial. You have at least 50 people at this trial. Again, those are the smaller ones. You can have agility trials that have hundreds of dogs at them. You can have hundreds and hundreds of people at them. They could be located at a public facility, where not only is your event going on, but other things are going on. Where there could be hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people. Just think of the stress factor that that could do to a dog. Again, those situations you could be putting them into where they could make a mistake. For me, it is a no-brainer. If a dog is really, truly aggressive either to dogs or definitely to people, they should not be competing at all. The other reason why you may not want to do competition is, if you or your dog wouldn't do well in those kinds of situations. That's where you just need to have a really honest assessment about it. You personally are putting a lot of weight on the competition as far as trying to build up your own self worth. "If I get this title, that means I'm great," or, "If this dog gets this title, that means that I'm great." That's going to really bite you in the butt later, because even if you and your dog are fabulous, you have all the great training, they are just amazing with their skill set, all that's great. I don't care how good you are, there's going to be at some point that you and your dog are not going to get a placement or that you may not even queue. That's normal, but if you are approaching this as though you are tying and weaving in your self worth with your dogs ability to actually qualify or to earn a certain title, that's really not good. We see it all the time. On an organizations side, I see all the time people are just completely distraught. There's a difference between disappointment and just broken down and falling apart if you and your dog didn't do well. If that's the case, you have to have a really serious assessment of, maybe you can change the way you're approaching it. If you don't think that you can, then maybe you shouldn't be competing, at least at this time. Maybe you can do it a little bit later when you can change your outlook on it. Within the same vein of why I would suggest someone steer away from doing the competition side of a dog sport is, it's kind of the flip side of that coin. What we were just discussing is, "If I don't qualify or get the title, that means that I'm terrible." But the flip side of that is, because I have earned this and because I've done so well, that means that I'm awesome and so much better than everyone else. Now this is just a personal pet peeve of mine. When people are trying to attach too much value to what it is that they've earned within a certain dog sport, it's not to say it's not a testament to how you and your dog have done. It is, it is definitely proof that you and your dog have done well, that you've done your homework, you've done your training, and you're skilled. Great. But it pretty much ends there. It's not as though the heavens up and a key falls from the sky and you have the key to the world now. That's not how it works. What I have found, is that people who are really like, "I am the best thing ever because I have X title," the problem is that it may work for that dog, but a lot of times with their subsequent dog or sometimes even with that same dog, they then are still pushing the dog far beyond where that dog should be going or they're not reading when the dog may be sore or they may be sick, or maybe something didn't go well or whatever. What happens with that is, they are pushing the dog beyond where they should go, and it can really ruin the relationship with the dog overall, which is not the point of the whole thing. It could just set you on a really dark path, and there are people who have gone down that path and they get really far down and they look around and they're like, "Wow, this is not what I was doing this for in the first place." They have a really hard time getting back into it. But I do wanna note that dog sports overall, is a wonderful thing for dogs to get involved in. Again, there's two different tracks. There's the activity of the given dog sport, and then there's a competition side of the dog sport. Overall, I would say that the dog sport competition community is actually fairly supportive. Are you going to have drama? Are you gonna have drama queens? Yes you are. Are you gonna have certain venues that are stricter or more stringent than others? Yes. Are you gonna have others that don't have maybe as high standards as you would like as a competitor? Yes. Do you have to do your homework? Absolutely. But on a whole, the communities for all these different sports is actually really good. Everyone is in it for the love of their dogs. If there are people who start straying away from that, then as a community we just say, "Hey, why don't we come back over and have fun with our dogs." I would say that if you are on the fence, if you are getting into dog training because you want your dog to be polite with your company or you don't want them pulling on leash or you just adopted a dog and you just want them to be well behaved around the house. Maybe you're taking a basic obedience class, and you keep hearing these things like agility or Scent Work or obedience or rally or whatever, and you're like, "I have no idea what that is." I would say, why don't you watch one of those classes that may be offered. Maybe you should ask some questions for your instructor, maybe you'll be able to go to an actual trial and just watch for a little bit. It's really fun, and the dogs really enjoy these sports. They really enjoy the activity itself. Even if you never wanted to do competition, and maybe it's something that you don't want to do right now, maybe you'd like to try a little bit later, the activity itself can be an extraordinarily beneficial to every dog. I would definitely urge you to check it out. Just really quickly, I just wanted to talk about how all this ties into Dog Sport University, which is the online platform that this podcast is branching out from. Dog Sport University was formed in order to provide online dog training to as many different people, dog handlers and dog owners as possible. The common question that comes out of that is, "Wait a second, does online dog training really work?" The answer is, yes it does. The great thing about online dog training is that it offers three different things. It offers quality, convenience and flexibility. With Dog Sport University, all of our instructors have either taught the same exact course or a very similar course or course topic in person, and they've been doing so for years. They know what works and what doesn't. They also know the various types of modifications you can make for any given exercise. What they're doing, is they're taking all of that knowledge that they've accumulated over years of actual in person training, and they're transferring that to a virtual experience you can then enjoy no matter where you're located, either in the United States or in the whole world. We have students and participants, as of the recording of this podcast, seven different countries, which is amazing. I know for me personally, having lived first on the East Coast of the United States and now living on the West Coast of the United States, it can be extraordinarily frustrating to not be near someone that you wanna train with. There are such incredibly talented trainers everywhere. Our goal is to try to connect you with those really talented trainers. Even if you're not near them geographically, you can still benefit from their knowledge. The other part is the convenience factor. With online dog training, you don't have to be pigeon hold into a particular time frame. With our courses, we offer three different types of enrollment. Student, auditor and watcher. With students, there is a definite start date, but you still have access to all that course material for a year. With a student, it's the most intensive option that you can choose from. You will be submitting homework and video assignments for your instructor to review and to provide feedback on. They may also have an online chat with you several times throughout the course. You also have full access to the entire course forum, where you can ask questions, you can get feedback not only from your instructor, but also from your fellow course participants. The auditor is a really nice intermediary, where you will not be submitting homework or video assignments, but you can absolutely participate in the course forum asking questions, and again, getting that feedback not only from the instructor, but from other course participants as well. The watcher is the most laid back option that you can choose from. This is where we're offering the flexibility factor. If you wanna do something that was a little bit more self taught, where you knew that your schedule was already crazy, and you just wanna be able to come on, view some lessons when you can and work on it when you have a chance, then the watcher is probably the best option for you. You would be able to see the course forum, but you wouldn't be able to actually post. The reason why there's convenience and flexibility, is that you are able to do all this from the comfort of your own home. Better than that, you can actually view your course player on any mobile device, even offline. You can download it using a particular app, and you can view it while you're maybe training with your friends or maybe if you have an in person trainer that wanted to work on something with you, you can do it there, which is really super helpful. You don't have to try to memorize everything. You can also go over a course material over and over again. Maybe there was a side note that your instructor tried to emphasize that you were like, "I can't really remember what they said," but you can go back to the course player and you can play that part over again as often as you need to, so that you're able to get the information that you need. The other great thing about the flexibility, is not only with the enrollment options but also because you have access to all this course material for a full year, you can go at your own pace. The key with dog training is just like learning with people, is individualizing it. They are all individuals, no two dogs are gonna learn the same. Your dog may fly through the first couple of exercises, and then with the next couple, they may need a little bit more time. Where if this was an in person course, you would have to do, these are the exercises for week one, and these are the exercises for week two, and so on and so forth. With this format, even if you're a student, you are still more than welcome to take the time to adjust those exercises so that maybe it takes you instead of one week to do the exercise, maybe it takes you two weeks, maybe it takes you three weeks. It could take you longer. That's totally fine, there's nothing wrong with that. The ability for you to individualize this so it works for you and your dog, is really super helpful. All that to say that yes, online dog training does work. Our goal at Dog Sport University, is to provide as much quality as we can to help people reach their training goals and to connect them with some really incredibly talented trainers. We're adding new trainers all the time, and we're always looking to add in more content. As far as the types of courses that we offer, we offer our Good Manners courses, which we have everything from basic manners to preparing for the Canine Good Citizen Test, to applying for real life skills. Then we also have our dog sport courses. We cover a wide range of different dog sports. From agility to competition obedience, to try ball. Including tricks and tracking and weight pull, and all kinds of really great things. In addition to that, we also have things that's just canine fitness, where you can learn how to make sure that your dog is as fit as they possibly can and can avoid injuries. We also have things that can help you become a better handler, things that can be addressed across all the different dog sports. We offer a lot at Dog Sport University, as well as not only our courses but also our informative webinars. You're more than welcome to check us out at dogsportuniversity.com. I hope you found this first podcast helpful. At the very least I hope it sparked your interest a little bit in dog sports, so you can look into what dog sport may be a good match for both you and your dog. Thank you so much, happy training, and we look forward to seeing you soon.