

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

Oct 5, 2025 • 41min
E429: Heather Lawson - "CGC & Therapy Dog Work"
Heather and I discuss what skills you need to earn your CGC, the sticking points that can cause trouble for some teams, and how to decide if your dog is a good fit for therapy work from there.

Sep 26, 2025 • 32min
E428: Kim Palermo - Advancing CU into the Real World
Control Unleashed games and patterns can be a powerful tool whether you're working to rehab reactivity or build bomb proof sports behaviors. But how we do go from just learning the games to actually using them in the real world? Kim and I discuss exactly that in this week's podcast!

Sep 19, 2025 • 26min
E427: Ashley Escobar - Fitness, Agility, and Jump Training
Agility puts a lot of strain and stress on our dogs' bodies... but fitness training can go a long way to ensuring they still enjoy a long sports career. Join me and Ashley for a conversation on how workling on canine fitness can improve your dog's agility skills, especially when it comes to technical jump training!

Sep 12, 2025 • 48min
E426: Karen Deeds and Dr. Sophie Liu - A Real Look at Negative Reinforcement
Talking about Negative Reinforcement can cause some big feelings in the positive training community - but in this episode Karen and Sophie take a look at when it's inevitable in our dogs' lives and what we should be thinking about for our own dogs.

Sep 9, 2025 • 32min
E425: Erin Lynes and Tracey McLennan - Meeting Your Dogs Needs
Dogs with a lot of interest in the environment, who come to the outside world with big feelings or who need an outlet but aren't safe off leash are our topic in this episode! Erin shares how dog powered sports can help and Tracey shares insights from working with prey-driven dogs.

Aug 29, 2025 • 38min
E424: Michael Shikashio - Arousal and Aggression (Plus a Peek at CANIS 2026!)
Michael Shikashio joins me for a conversation around the impact arousal has on aggression, and how we should think about the two when working on behavior cases... plus, he shares a bit of behind-the-scenes info on the planning for the 2026 CANIS conference!

Aug 22, 2025 • 33min
E423: Julie Flanery - "Building A Musical Freestyle Routine"
Curious what musical freestyle is and whether it might be for you? Join Julie and I for a conversation that includes tips and tricks for laying out your routine, choosing which tricks to train, and more!

Aug 15, 2025 • 49min
E422: Petra Ford - Competing in Obedience at the Top
In this episode, we talk to Petra Ford, the 2025 National Obedience Champion, about her recent win and what it takes to compete at the top levels of obedience here in the US, how she approaches training, and more!

Aug 8, 2025 • 31min
E421: Jane Ardern - Anticipation vs. Relaxation: Training Release Cues
Jane Ardern joins me for a conversation about how our release cues can influence our dog's state of mind and ability to learn. She shares what the field-bred spaniels she's owned have taught her about frustration, frantic behavior, anticipation, and relaxation... with several helpful takeaways bound to apply to any dog sports team.

Aug 1, 2025 • 32min
E420: Sharon Carroll - "A Real Look at Reducing Reinforcement"
If you plan to compete, you need a plan for reducing reinforcement - but so often this is where trainers go wrong! Join us for a conversation about how Sharon recommends you reduce reinforcement to maintain attitude and correctness.


