Fenzi Food For Thought

Decision making about when to apply pain to others, how and when we use force or restraint, and our thoughts about balancing autonomy and control are heavily influenced by culture - and are very much shades of grey. We work to balance the needs of all the parties - physical, emotional and financial - to come to our best possible decisions. Yet, there is never a right decision. Only possibilities. Make your choices with compassion, kindness and knowledge and you'll get where you need to be. Follow my training! The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

If learning cues is not what people need to live in harmony with their dog; if the goal is habits… What exactly does that mean? How do we get there? What role does a dog trainer play? Where does communication fit - and is the dog talking back? What is failure about, what makes failure more or less likely, and…do we even care if the dog is on board with our plans? Wow. Covered a lot of territory today! Follow my training! The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

About that trained dog….does it even exist? Training is a process, not an end (trained) state of being. Only behavior that makes it's way to "habit" can truly be called "trained". Which is fine. How about we "raise" our dogs and try to live in harmony, while working hard to get everyone's needs met. Follow my training! The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

Words matter. Don't water down powerful words simply because you don't agree with another's choice or situation. Follow my training! The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

From the Facebook vaults: remarckably, and sometimes despite us, our dogs get trained! Follow my training! The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

From the Facebook vaults! My thoughts on eye contact with your dog. Follow my training! The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

What does it mean to treat a dog like a dog? Start by recognizing that in modern society, dogs are captives. If they are going to have any sort of interesting life at all, you are obligated to provide it. Beyond that, dogs are individuals. What one dog likes or needs is going to be different than what another dog likes or needs. Same as people! And this affection thing… Being affectionate with your dog does not cause behavior problems, same as with small children; if they enjoy the attention, then you're good to go. If they don't, then don't do it so much. You're being annoying. Do you know what I think our society needs around dogs? Many fewer rules. Don't worry so much about what people say your dog must or should do. Watch your dog. Are you happy? Is your dog happy? Is society happy? Then you're good to go! Follow my training! The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

Do we need to add stress to our formal training or behavior work in order to progress? Nope. This live explores why it's not logical to add stress when the root problems are emotional and not rational. Follow my training! The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

Training for competition doesn't mean your training should look like competition. Training for competition means that you are aware of the criteria required to successfully compete, and you have broken the exercises down into small pieces that you then teach individually in training. When you have those pieces, you start to combine them and slowly…you end up with a routine that will hold up under the pressure and complexity of the competition ring. Hopefully! Since sometimes you'll miss things, and that's okay too. Live and learn. Follow my training! The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

Absolutely! I can't even believe that's a question. Does positive reinforcement work? Absolutely! That also should not be a question. From there, this live goes a little deeper into the similarities and differences of choosing reinforcers or punishers in training. Follow my training! The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy