Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast
Melissa Breau
Published every Friday, the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast is brought to you by the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy. Each episode of the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast will feature an interview with a leading name in the competitive dog sports training world, talking in depth about issues that often get overlooked by traditional training methods.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 30, 2026 • 28min
E445: Shade Whitesel - Reducing Reinforcement for Sport Performance
If your sport doesn't allow you to bring primary reinforcers onto the competition field with you, then at some point you need to work through removing those reinforcers from your training. This week Shade and I talk about the process of reducing reinforcement while minimizing frustration on the part of both dog and handler.
Jan 23, 2026 • 40min
E444: Sharon Carroll - "Talking About Differently Motivated Dogs"
Have a differently motivated dog? This episode is for you! Sharon and I do a deep dive into what it means to train and compete with these dogs.
Jan 16, 2026 • 45min
E443: Kim Palermo - What is ACE Free Work, Anyway?
Kim shares what free work is and how she's incorporated it into all aspects of her training — resulting in wide ranging benefits, from better arousal levels to better conformation. She says it's essentially meditation for dogs... join us to hear how you and your dog might benefit!
Jan 10, 2026 • 36min
E442: Petra Ford - Talking Arousal & Using Jackpots
Ever wondered how arousal impacts performance? Debated whether jackpots are worth using? In this episode I ask Petra Ford about both topics — and we do a deep dive on how to keep your dog at an optimal arousal level then chat about the trade offs that come with choosing to use jackpots in training.
Jan 3, 2026 • 35min
E441: Fitness and Injury Prevention for Active Dogs
With the Active Dogs: Fitness and Injury Prevention one day conference happening on Jan 10th, we took the time to sit down with 2 of the presenters to talk about what it means to keep our sports dogs in good health so they can play our games as long as possible.
Dec 26, 2025 • 50min
E440: Denise Fenzi - "Pre-engagement to Acclimation and Engagement 2.0"
Join me for a fascinating conversation with Denise on the ins and outs of engagement — from pre-engagement strategies to help young dogs to prepping for competition. We talk about the importance of acclimation, how the process differs for low drive vs. high drive dogs, and more!
Dec 19, 2025 • 27min
E439: Sara Brueske - "Arousal Regulation"
Does your dog struggle to regulate their own arousal? Join me and Sara for a conversation on how to help them manage things, and then (ultimately) teach them to manage it themselves!
Dec 14, 2025 • 27min
E438: Erin Lynes - "Building Canine Confidence"
Join me as I interview Erin Lynes about building confidence in our canine partners — we talk about clear communication, natural levels of confidence (and how much you should expect to be able to move the needle), the "Mr. Rogers" technique, and more!
Dec 5, 2025 • 33min
E437: Ashley Escobar - "Impulse Control, Body Awareness, and Precision... Through Conditioning"
In this episode Ashley walks us through why she's turned to conditioning to help her young dogs develop impulse control, body awareness, and precision — and how she's adapted it to help any dog that would benefit from strengthening those three skills.
Nov 28, 2025 • 32min
E436: Petra Ford - A Look at Open Obedience
The sport of obedience adds new challenges at each level of competition — in this episode, National Obedience Champion Petra Ford joins me for a conversation on what it takes to train for and compete at the open level.
