Fenzi Food For Thought

This one's from the Facebook Live vaults where I discuss classical and operant conditioning as it pertains to teaching behaviors. Enjoy! Follow my training! The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

This one's from the vaults! I talk about crating with Xen when he was young and prone to getting into mischief!   Follow my training! The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

It's true; dogs are not children! And if you choose not to use models of thinking that compare children to dogs, you will have walked away from the most valuable tool available, in terms of understanding and training or living with dogs. The truth is… Children and dogs have a whole lot in common in terms of how they behave in a wide variety of circumstances, especially around learning. Don't give...

Nope. You cannot. So be nice to your angry, fearful, sad, or frustrated dog. You won't make them more angry, fearful, etc. And I'll do the same for you! If you are sitting next to me and you're feeling afraid? I'll hold your hand and talk nicely to you, and I'll try to make you feel better. And no, you won't get more fearful.   Follow my training! The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog...

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....

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 to...

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 you...

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...

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

What is high drive? Arousal? How are they to live with anyway? Listen to this chat between Crystal Wing and Denise Fenzi. Follow my training! The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

When deciding how to train a young dog, I consider the dog's natural tendencies around arousal, the sports I am targeting, and the expectations of those sports. If you set a thinking foundation on a dog who's already calm and your goal is a higher arousal sport, you are going to struggle. If you set a high arousal foundation on a high arousal dog destined for a thinking sport, you are also going t...

How do you build toy play in a dog with limited drive? You can use arousal. But there are caveats! This live explores the difference between building toy interest using drive versus arousal. Follow my training! The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

"But does your training work on a ___?" Fill in your breed of choice. This short live looks at exactly that. What determines whether training will work with a given dog in a given situation? *Note: The Auto Leave It webinar through Fenzi Dog Spots Academy mentioned in this live has now passed, but look for other offerings coming up on the schedule at the time of this release. Follow my training! T...

Conversation is an exchange of ideas between people who behave respectfully. Listening is the name of the game! Educating is something else. Educating assumes that one knows more than the other, and is not likely to be appreciated by another with a different world view. We need more focus on conversations and less on educating. Follow my training! The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog...

It makes me sad when people say medication is a last resort. It creates needless suffering in your dependents. If you would cheerfully give your dog pain medication for a broken leg, please recognize that mental pain is also suffering. This is true for people and dogs, and leads to tragic results in people who remain unmedicated and who can't find their way. Dogs just suffer - they can't advocate...

So much of the distress in the dog industry is misunderstanding. We're talking about different things - and suffering so much as a result.   Follow my training! The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

If your dog finds it aversive when you withhold reinforcement in training as a natural part of the learning process, re-evaluate your training. The game of training itself, the puzzle, should keep the dog well vested, regardless of whether or not each moment in time is successful. It should not feel aversive to the dog whether a reward comes or otherwise.   Follow my training! The High Drive Dog M...

The focus of this live was acquiring a dog! Maybe from a rescue, maybe from a breeder. Then we spent some time talking about purebred dogs. Honesty is everything.   Follow my training! The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

Do mother dogs use food to "train" behavior in other dogs? Are dogs wolves? What can we learn from dogs and wolves in our interactions with our own dogs?   Follow my training! The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

Relationship or training? This live talked about exactly that!   Follow my training! The High Drive Dog More online training! Fenzi Dog Sports Academy