Canine High Jinks

In today’s episode, Whitney and Elissa are joined once again by Sarah Baker, multi-time world team member with dogs at 24”, 16” and 12”. With Sarah’s experience as a guide, the trio discuss the differences between running and training large and small dogs. There are lots of things to consider and we fear we may have missed a few things! If so, let us know in the comments! Link to the treats Sarah...

Course design is ever a hot topic. Join us as we discuss with Ashley Deacon.

Whitney and Elissa talk about what they wish we knew sooner in our agility journeys.

Whitney talks about her experience at World Team Tryouts this year. Learn about how to qualify for WTT, what it's like to prepare, the atmosphere, scoring, and so much more. We talk at great length about the course maps and Whitney's performance on course. So here are all the links you need to follow along! Course maps, results and run orders: https://akccompanionevents.com/ *If it doesn&#...

Today Whitney and Elissa talk about handler speed and if it is required to do well in agility. Below are some examples of handlers discussed during the episode: Example of distance: https://youtu.be/fNwhp6EbvYI?si=Jfg67BDgzUbjT70H Same guy running: 2019 AWC 3rd place: https://youtu.be/ZaJhJ2OCewU?si=YTZkIZOe9oAk5yVS   NADAC: Fluid Motion Agility – lots of distance videos at NADAC trials: https://y...

Today’s tough question, how do you know if you should retire your young(er) dog from agility? We may wander off track here and there, but you know, it’s all about dogs and agility 😆 Resources referenced in this episode: Sarah Stremming - Cog-Dog Radio https://open.spotify.com/show/71GlfUQ2CvecAuVHAe6p5s?si=e961646d5dc9480e Liz Randall and Rachel Downs - Strategies for Resilience  https://www.patr...

All about startlines!

Peyton Green, agility instructor at Corral Creek Dog Sport Center, talks through obstacle commitment: how to build it, test it and fix it when you broke it. We dive into the difference between sending, and opposite handler motion and what this means for distance handling. And...maybe why those verbals aren't the salve you thought they were.

Whitney and Elissa tackle a big topic...feedback. We get it from each other, our instructors, our dogs. We give it, maybe when we shouldn't. Listen in as we walk through many of the permutations of feedback and how we can maybe be a bit better at it overall.

It's here! Our long awaited episode that we recorded all the back in May of 2023. This episode has a bit of a different flavor since we are sitting outside under a canopy of trees surrounded by fellow agility competitors. We are so grateful to Sarah for joining us for this episode, so many pearls of wisdom in this one. If you want more of Sarah's wisdom, you can find her blog, Agility Odys...

Here it is! A brand new episode! Listen and learn what we have been up to while we have been away from the mic. We will also tell you about what is changing with the podcast and what will stay the same. We hope you will tune in and listen.

Are we gluttons for punishment? Or just curious? Or is this just part of dog sports? Tune in to today’s episode, chock full of memeable nuggets, as we more fully explore what it means to fail in dog sports. And how to both embrace failure and move on from it.

Elissa and Whitney tackle a topic that can be hard to get at through all the “pressure to be positive” on social media, failure. What do you do when you set big goals, work your butt off, make sacrifices, and then…you fall short, you fail to meet your goal? Whitney talks a lot about the Growth Mindset during this episode, if you are unfamiliar with the concept, here are some resources to get you s...

In this episode Elissa and Whitney discuss how they get it all done, or more accurately, spoiler alert, how they don’t. There are a lot of tangents and stories in this one. In fact, see if you can guess which one of these things is NOT covered in this episode: where Tatum would like to go on vacation, what food Elissa can’t stand, or what Whitney needed to buy to get through working in the office...

This episode with Dr. Mandi Blackwelder, DVM, CCRP is focused on helping us learn more about cruciate tears, which dogs are most at risk, and what the options are for helping our dogs when they experience one. For a visual representation of the anatomy of the dog knee and the TPLO procedure; we recommend watching this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsCq353sy14  At the top of the episode, D...

Have you ever felt like your dog was just guessing when you gave a verbal cue? Or wondered how on earth you can train verbal discriminations with your dog at a huge distance away from you? Fanny Gott sits down with us and talks about her approach to training verbals, which, when trained with clarity, result in amazing discriminations. Fanny strives for errorless learning and broad generalizations...

In this installment of Canine High Jinks, we discuss the power of better reinforcement strategies and the seminar by the same name with Liz Randall and Rachel Downs. You can sign up for their session in Oregon in April 2023 here: https://www.corralcreekdogsportcenter.com/specialevents This seminar is appropriate for dogs of all ages and abilities. It is geared towards handlers with some experience...

Are there only certain breeds that can be successful in agility? It is a fair question and one that MANY people have wondered about, your hosts included. We ask someone uniquely qualified to answer, someone who has never owned a border collie nor a sheltie, yet has represented her country in all three size categories. Tune in to learn more about what is really means to train the dog in front of yo...

Have you ever thought about trying a second dog sport but worried that the skills and training would be at odds? Then this episode is for you!  Kirstin O’Neill joins us for this episode to talk about the multiple sports that she trains and competes with her dogs in. Learn about what skills are handy in multiple sports and what skills don’t mix. Thanks to listener Rebecca P. for the topic sugg...

In this episode Whitney talks to Elissa about the multi-year journey that led her to being on the cusp of opening a dog sport facility. We talk about all the different iterations of the idea that we explored together and separately and the lessons learned along the way. This is must listen for anyone who has been dreaming of starting a sport facility of their own. If you want to find out more abou...

In this episode, we talk with Agility World Championship Team USA member Michaela Krohn about her experiences prepping for and competing at the Agility World Championship that was held in Austria this year. Michaela lives in Alaska and has competed with several different breeds, and was a first time world team member. After we discussed the AWC, we talked with Michaela about goal setting and how s...

Just in time for the UKI US Open, in this episode we talk about our experience attending the inaugural UKI West Coast Open in Paso Robles California! At this big National event, we learned some good lessons and had a lot of fun, and one of had some great success on paper!  Listen in to hear more about the event, our experience, how we did, AND....what our plans are for the podcast moving forw...

In today’s episode, Elissa and Whitney dive in to comparison. It’s said that comparison is the thief of joy - but does it have to be? Listen in as we discuss this topic to help you leave comparison at the door when it’s not helpful, and use it when it is!

In this episode, Elissa and Whitney talk about attending dog sports seminars, including how to know if you should attend, and how to maximize your time and dollars if you attend them. If you want a few more tips to prepare for seminars, we’d suggest listening to our episode about traveling, which is Episode 13 ! If you enjoyed this episode, please pass it on for others to learn from, and be sure t...

In today’s episode, we tackle the tough topic of rehoming dogs. When it happens, why it happens, how a trainer can help you decide on the appropriate action for your situation, and more. Joined by Liz Randall of Devoted to Dog LLC, we take a dive into this tough topic with sympathy and understanding. Listen in for more. And if you like it, give it a share? If you’re looking for a trainer, Liz can...