Fenzi Food For Thought

If you judge quality training from social media, and then come to conclusions about training that differs from your own, you will always miss the mark. You'll lose the opportunity to become educated about what truly represents the best training out there. Follow my training! Instagram The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

Should you spay or neuter your dog? I have no idea. But we can talk about it, and maybe that will help you make a decision. Follow my training! Instagram The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

Which is better, choice or structure. It's not obvious. That's what this live is about.   Follow my training! Instagram The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

What does it mean to train the dog in front of you? Here I talk about Tye/Border Collie vs Xen/Belgian vs Brito/Terrier - Breed tendencies vs. individual quirks. In short, Tye is an odd duck, so I train him the way he prefers.   Follow my training! Instagram The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

Nope. You don't have to add intentional aversive so that your dog learns how to handle them.   Follow my training! Instagram The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

Learn to let misunderstandings stand - once you know someone is listening to misunderstand, you can comfortably move on. Don't get pulled into stupid conversations. For all you know, you're arguing with a 15-year-old… or someone who is deeply unwell and incapable of doing better. Either way, those conversations never end well. Spend your energy elsewhere.   Follow my training! Instagram The High D...

Fearful dog? A little aggressive and forward? The vast majority of the time, you can manage the behavior and make everyone happy. Even better, often good management creates a situation where the dog feels safe and knows they will be left alone, and the problem behavior goes away. Don't make things worse by forcing it. Might work for a few months but… high risk with little payoff. Follow my trainin...

Rehoming dogs. Behavioral euthanasia. And the parts of these conversations we usually avoid. If you want the honest story of the dog I rehomed… you're in the right place. Follow my training! Instagram The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

  Trainers behaving badly. Force-free trainers behaving badly. Balanced trainers behaving badly. And what we do when people show up poorly…especially in public spaces. This isn't about sides. It's about responsibility, restraint, and how much damage a single person can do…or not do…depending on how we choose to respond.   Follow my training! Instagram The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi...

If you use an aversive in training, is the goal to use the least aversive option, or the least aversive option that gets the job done and fits within your entire system of training? I talk about that here.   Follow my training! Instagram The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

Sometimes I'll take choice away if I think it's the right thing for the dogs. Sometimes I'll give choice. And sometimes I'll just stop working on a problem altogether… It depends. That's what this live is about - choices I make for Tye, depending on the circumstance.   Follow my training! Instagram The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

If we make a blanket statement like, "dogs are more anxious today than they used to be", or "more dogs are being euthanized then were in the past"… How do you know that? And if it is true, how are you isolating the variables that might be contributing, in order to conclude that the one you've identified is the relevant one? Because often we make statements which rely on a foundation that is not kn...

Does adding punishers to training make sense when safety is a consideration? Follow my training! Instagram The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

Why do I both click and then use a location specific marker with Tye? I explain it here, with Xen making a cameo appearance to demonstrate! And then a few thoughts about training the dog in front of you, and why I train different dogs differently.   Follow my training! Instagram The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

Signs of stress all have normal variants that are not distress at all; remember that every time you're analyzing a dog for signs of stress! and… I talked a bit about my new dog Tye. He's making an incredible amount of progress; much faster than I could've predicted. That's genetics and resilience at work. Follow my training! Instagram The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Acade...

I've been noticing more honesty in the dog training world on IG lately… trainers from all camps admitting that some behavior issues aren't "fixed" but managed for life. I love seeing balance trainers share setbacks a year later, and force free trainers talking about acceptance and structure (management) rather than change. We also talked about the depth of behavior challenges… not just is your dog...

Your dog lives such an stress-free life that you have to add more for their own good?! I talk a little bit about my dog's lives here today. Plenty of stress, whether I want it there or not.   Follow my training! Instagram The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

Today's live I covered a lot… I talked about crossing Barbados sheep with Dorper—a great combo! Sometimes the cross is better than either parent. Then I shifted to what it means to admin a Facebook group. When do you allow unkind comments? What if they're true? And that doodle hate? It's gross. I talked about that a lot. Being mean just because the group agrees doesn't make it okay. Not in the dog...

Why do you have a dog? Really. Think about it. So the choices you make with raising and training your dog lineup with that end goal? That's what this live is about. Follow my training! Instagram The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

Just a quick update on a few things I've mentioned lately in lives…   How did all three dogs respond to the electric fence now that we're back on the property and the fence is back up? What was going on with Xen and his sudden crate/garage escaping drama — and why it's over now. And probably most important… what do we really mean when we say "rule out medical causes" before jumping into a training...

Success in dog sports is an awesome way to show people that you can succeed without the intensional use of aversives. But success isn't going to lead to some huge change. That's not how to change works.   Follow my training! Instagram The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

Behavior problems… Can they stem from pain? Discomfort? What happens if you try to solve a behavior problem by applying a pain based correction yourself? This live pulls together several videos and lives that I've done over the past couple of weeks, talking about my own dogs.   Follow my training! Instagram The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

What is fallout, in the world of behavior? Can you see it in a short video clip? Does eating suggest a lack of fallout? I talk about these topics here.   Follow my training! Instagram The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

Separation anxiety? Crate anxiety? Fear of missing out? Something else related but… Not even quite sure what it might be? Here I talk about my dogs, Ice and Xen. Different dogs with different issues, but the same way of thinking about problem-solving… If that interests you, take a listen.   Follow my training! Instagram The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

Being a positive reinforcement extremist has nothing to do with how you train dogs. It's about how you treat people. This live dives into how R+ has evolved beyond training methods—shaping how we engage, communicate, and show up in the dog training community.   Follow my training! Instagram The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy