E435: 로리 휴스턴(Laurie Huston) - 어질리티 기초

So can you talk to me a little bit about that? Why do you feel like those two need to go together, maybe especially at this foundation stage? Yeah, I think, and this like guilty of this 100% myself, I think it's so easy to get caught up in all the exciting bits. Like they're just so much fun. And what ends up happening is some of those less exciting bits of the smaller pieces, they end up getting left behind or missed. So I think kind of layering those functional pieces into the fun things, that's where the magic happens. I look at the dogs that I've had and like Tweak was like, she was a super quick learner. And it was exciting because she did everything really fast. So it was very exciting. It was very exciting for me. But in her haste, like she was so busy and so fast that she ended up missing little pieces. Like hers were mostly like biomechanics that she missed that I didn't really know enough about it until I started getting geekier and geekier. And started working with some people who did biomechanics stuff to start realizing that, oh, wow, like there are pieces that she's missing. And then for her, like arousal was a big one. She had lots of frustration sneaking in. So there was lots of extra behaviors that ended up sneaking into our stuff. Screen barking being one of those. So fun. Yeah, so fun. And then I got Buck and Buck was like very different from Tweak and very different from the dogs that I had before. But he also struggled to put things together, but for different reasons. Like he's large. So for him, like learning to use his body was like, it was hard. It was really hard. And the splits just weren't fine enough for him to figure it out on the level that he needed to. So really primarily the things that I've built this, my foundation program more now have been about how could I have split things finer for those types of dogs to make them understand it better. Because I don't think we really know when we get our puppies that they're going to be like, that they're going to end up like that. That they may or they may not. But like I think focusing on those things, whether or not they're going to end up like a really high drive dog or a really low drive dog, that helps them regardless of where they end up on that big spectrum. All of those skills help them. So I kind of started thinking like, okay, how could we split these really, really small? And then in splitting them really, really small, it made me realize like you don't really – like to really teach those specific skills, there's really not a lot of equipment needed.

And then we can look at layering that equipment in after the fact. It's kind of like just – it's just another layer, right? It's just another layer of distraction to the behavior. And like having it like off agility skills makes it so much more accessible to everybody and easier to work on like generalizing and distraction training. Because like I don't know about everybody, but like I certainly am not going to load a dog walk up in my car and drive it to the park to do some generalization training. That would be impressive. But like I can totally check a Cato ward in my car and run down to the park and do some generalization work or I can take it to like a friend's house or like it's just more portable. So what are the first, you know, movement patterns or handling habits that you focus on with new students? Well, we kind of have two aspects of that. Like we have two partners in each team, right? So some of the things that I focus on are kind of more dog specific and some of them are more handler specific and kind of some of them are both. I think kind of for the dog end of the team, I really focus a lot on body awareness. I want to teach them all about their parts and how to use them, how to access them. At that point, I can really pay attention to like side preferences and weaknesses so that we can start to balance those out before we start layering them onto equipment, before they start to make those compensating behaviors, before they start adding those into their chain of behaviors. So that's kind of something I really focus on with the dog end. The new humans, like lots of people are like starting on their second or third dog. But for those of them that are like brand new, it's really helping them focus on their mechanics like and throughout like in marking and rewarding their handling skills and kind of get them like really intentionally practicing without their dogs. Because our dogs add so much more pressure than we realize. They just make everything harder, especially when they're screen barking. But if we can. Or just moving super fast. Yeah, or just moving super fast. But if we can take that time and kind of practice without them, then when we layer the dogs into the picture, we can move that little bit more clearly, that little bit more fluidly and have to think just a little bit less. And then kind of with dogs and people, I'm kind of focusing on areas that kind of get overlooked. Things like incorporating like waiting and transports right into that learning. And I do that using loops. Because those loops help us learn to listen, read, respond to our dogs.

And they're also so amazing at keeping all that extra stuff out. The things that we don't want, no, whether that's like sniffing and wandering off or that barking and spinning and screaming that I was talking about. So it can look different for different dogs. But when we don't kind of focus on working in loops, it's so easy for those things to sneak in and us not to even really recognize them or see them until they end up becoming a problem. And I've just found that like adding those loops in and utilizing that kind of waiting and those transports, which aren't super exciting. Like who wants to work on loosely walking or healing or like waiting on a station? That's not super exciting. But we can work that into our loops so that we have, so that it starts and it finishes in the same place. And there's really a lot of clarity and consistency around what we're doing. And it really brings down those extra behaviors. What's kind of one movement-based or handling-based game that you like to use in foundation training that always seems to help the team? Oh, you're going to make me like narrow it down to one thing? You can share more than one if you want to, but you have to get asked for one. Okay. I really love foundations. And I think like everything can be traced back to foundations. And like we're best if we keep revisiting those things right through our dog's entire career. It really helps keep their skills sharp. Like to the point that I play variations of these games, even with my seasoned dogs, because they translate so well. They're easy to do at home, easy to take on the road. And I can play them in winter. I don't know about everybody else, but where I am, we get winter. So most of my agility equipment is already tucked away in a bin. I don't get to see it now until spring. So to have something that I can play with in the snow is kind of important. And I guess one thing that I really like breaking out is contact behavior. And then really splitting it down fine and focusing on like layering in all those kind of like distractions and generalizations. And when I say contact behavior, like when I start dogs out, I do both mat work and rear foot targeting, regardless of kind of the end behavior that I want. Because I think that those offer the dog skills that they need no matter what you end up wanting with contact behavior. Like rear foot targeting like really teaches their dog about their rear end, how to engage it, and how to move it very specifically.

And our dogs are so naturally front foot oriented and front body oriented that I think teaching them to like access their rears is so important. It just helps them like move better, avoid injury. And then mat work, which lots of people think of as like specific running dog walk training. I think that teaches our dogs like stride adjustment and how to hit a target motion. And they don't just need that for contact behavior. Like they need it for jumping. They need it for turning. There's just those two things, like mat work and rear foot targeting. I think those are really fun for me to play with. So how do you maybe help students take something that's, you know, a surface level competence, so the dog can kind of do the obstacles into like real readiness to handle like those variable environments they're actually going to see when they get to a trial? Yeah. That's kind of like, again, like you're hitting all of my favorite geeky things. Is kind of starting to layer in that generalization and those distractions right from the start. Like so get those skills and then we start showing them those skills layered in with other things. Layering them in very strategically so that we can set them up to succeed. Like we want to layer those things in like one thing at a time. Like show them like those motion changes, show them those position changes, but separately. Add some noise to the environment, but nothing else. Add some dogs to the environment, but nothing else. People. Get them, even if it's just in different areas on your property or like even in within your house, like if it's raining and gross or snowing. Even just going like from downstairs to upstairs, the basement to the bedroom. Those are differences and they help our dog to generalize. I've set it up to do a lot of that in this course because it is a big piece of how I'm approaching my foundation is like not waiting. Really starting to layer those differences in very soon. Like just those really subtle differences. So having worked with, you know, lots of different breeds, sizes, dogs, drives, all those fun things. Thinking about all of the pieces you've just been talking about, how do you tailor that to, you know, really fit the team in front of you? Yeah, that's, I had to like, it was really hard for me to try and rein my brain in on foundations. And what I ended up coming in with was that I didn't really rein myself in. But I know. Fair enough. But the course, in my idea, the way that I think of it is the course is a framework. And I really can't stress enough that it's not about keeping up with the exercises.

It's about kind of learning to read and listen to your dogs and learning how to respond and to see when they're ready to move on and to respect them. They might not be ready to move on. There's always kind of something along the way that a team needs a little extra with. They may need an extra split or a little bit different approach. And sometimes, like, one that's kind of huge is sometimes they just need time and space. That's kind of been a big takeaway with me for the last couple dogs that I've trained is that so often with newer young dogs, they just haven't – they're just not quite ready for that step. And if we just kind of step back and put it on a shelf for a little bit, when we come back to it, it's like, oh, yeah, I totally know what you want. But rather than spending a whole bunch of time desperately trying to fix it, which we've all been through that phase. So what I wanted to do was I did want to make sure that the course had tons of content because I did want it to be like, oh, hey, if we put something on a shelf, that there's still something else for you to work on. And so that's kind of going to end up that each team progressing through the weeks might look a little different than the other – one of the other teams. And that's a-okay. There's probably going to end up being material that you've shelved and you can say, like, oh, wow, I can work on that when the course is done. And, yeah, it's just – I just really want to also be able to provide – because some teams, like I said, some people are on their, like, second, their third, their, like, I don't know. Some people like me might be on their, like, sixth dog coming up. And some of those teams are going to move pretty steadily through the splits. So I wanted to be able to give them kind of, like, some extras, some extra stuff that they could be focusing on. So some teams are going to be focusing on kind of finessing and generalizing more skills, whereas some teams are probably going to be focused on, like, acquisition and they might not be ready for some of the next steps. Those might be shelved for later use. That's kind of how I foresee kind of making that fit to each specific team. So when you look back at, like, your own journey with your own dogs and agility, are there early maybe aha moments that kind of have helped you arrive where you are today and maybe shape your approach? Gosh, I think that, like, every dog that I've had has played a role. I, like, I look back now at what I did with my first dog and I'm like, wow, how did he learn anything? He was amazing.

He was one of those dogs that just never – he never got phased. Um, so I got really lucky with him. And then my next dog, she had a lot of – she got distracted very easily. Um, and, like, now that I know what I do, like, the whole know better, do better, um, I can recognize that she was very stressed out and her responses were very much stress responses. I didn't know that at the time. So I think a lot about her when I think about, hey, so many things could have been done differently. Um, and I had my little Chico who wandered out of the bush. So he didn't have a very, like, life foundation was hard for him. Um, and then I got, like I said, Twiq and Bak, my last two dogs have really shaped. Because, like, as we grow and learn, we're always changing, right? We're always, um, altering that and I think we should be. Um, so this isn't kind of where it ends. It's just part along the way. That, like, every team even. Every team that I've taught. Every class that I've taken. Yeah, it's ever-evolving. I want it to remain ever-evolving. I don't want to ever stop growing or learning. And I want to be open to change. So we're talking about all this stuff because you have a new class, Agility Foundations, where function and fun meet on the schedule for the December term, which opens for registration on the 22nd. So I think this is coming out, like, the day before, maybe? Um, do you want to tell us just a little more about the class? Like, who might want to sign up? What prereqs? What should they know? Or, you know, are there things they should know? Are there prereqs in terms of age? You know, all that stuff? Like, most of the exercises, they can be modified up. They can be modified down. Like I said, I did want it to be really accessible. Um, with the young teams, I am never in a rush. Um, I really like listening to them and letting them know where we are at. Um, so probably you could go even down as young as, like, that kind of 10 to 12 week. Um, but you want to know that you're really going to be focusing on different things than some of the other dogs. And there's definitely stuff you would leave on the shelf if you were to start at that, like, really young age. Um, I kind of think I'm really slow with really starting a lot of things with my dogs. So the stuff that I've, stuff that I've started done in this course, I think is very safe. It's not impactful. And, um, we can really make it accessible right through. And like I said, I, I play with this with my young dog. I play with this with my older dogs. Um, I play with it with my senior dogs just so they feel like they have something to do

because it is safe, right? I don't have to worry about her getting hurt. Um, and she's so excited. Um, cause like, I don't have a puppy right now. So my, my old dog and my current competing dog got to play demo dog and my old dog was so excited. Um, and I honestly think she did better with the puppy footage because she's at the age now where she like, she has zero stimulus control. She doesn't have a stay anymore. Um, so I do think she actually made a pretty good demo dog for a puppy class. Fair enough. Um, and she was so excited, uh, to be a part. Yeah. If a team's trying to decide maybe, you know, is this the right fit for me from like a, maybe they have a little bit of training under their belts already. Is there, do you have any guidelines along that, uh, kind of along those lines of like, if you're doing X, Y, Z already, you're probably a little further along than this course. If you're not there yet, then yes, this is definitely the course for you. You know what? I think it's hard to say because so, so often, um, some of the exercises that I do are a bit different than how other people do foundations. Um, and I'll show somebody something and it's, it's really cool when the people who, who do have more, um, who have more experience and stuff, they go, Oh, I want to try that. And they end up trying with their dog and their dog. Actually, it's one of those pieces, like I said, with tweak that ended up that maybe it wasn't split as fine. And the dog learned something else, but didn't catch that little piece. Um, so like, I do think there is value even when we're a little further along in going back and visiting different foundations. Um, I'm constantly signing up for like weird foundation stuff, even like obedience foundation stuff and like, uh, disc foundation stuff and nose work foundation stuff. And it all, like, I find things in all of those foundation classes that are applicable to even my competing dogs. Um, so to say that there might be a point where you're too far past it. Uh, if you're open to learning, I think there's always things to learn. Awesome. I like that thought. Any, um, maybe final thoughts or key points you kind of want to leave folks with? Um, I guess kind of, yeah, that like we're constantly going back to these types of exercises. And, um, when I end up doing troubleshooting for more experienced teams, I do quite often pull these exercises back out and we just kind of go back through them and we end up finding holes. Um, we end up finding when we haven't revisited foundations and recently, sometimes it's easy

for our dogs to develop habits that if we had been focusing on foundation, they might not have developed. Um, and the foundations are lots of fun, um, fun, easy, portable. Um, I really, really had fun coming up with the content for the course. I really had fun working my dogs through it. It almost makes me want to puppy, but I'm not quite ready for that. We're talking about that before we hit record. Yeah, yeah. Um, yeah, it's definitely in the back of my mind that I want to start, um, I want to start playing again with a puppy. Um, just not quite yet. Fair enough. Um, awesome. All right. Well, thank you so much for coming on the podcast, Lori. Thank you so much for having me, Melissa. It's been a joy to talk to you. Back at you. And thanks to all of our listeners for tuning in. We'll be back next week, this time with Petra Ford to talk about training for open obedience. If you haven't already, subscribe to our podcast on iTunes or the podcast app of your choice to have our next episode automatically downloaded to your phone as soon as it becomes available. Today's show is brought to you by the Fenzie Dog Sports Academy. Special thanks to Denise Fenzie for supporting this podcast. Music provided royalty free by bensound.com. The track featured here is called Buddy. Audio editing provided by Chris Lang. Thanks again for tuning in and happy training. Bye. Thank you.