E149: FDSA 트레이닝 캠프 2020에서 기대할 수 있는 것

Our main sport is Shitsun IPO IGP, the sport of a million names. We have our BH. We tried for our IPO1 about a year and a half ago. Unfortunately, we failed obedience, but we did get a 91 in protection, which I'm super proud of. We're hopefully going to try again this upcoming summer. After that, I have Sully. Sully is my five-and-a-half-year-old Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever. Our main sport is obedience. He came with me to this last camp in addition to Fox, but he has titles in hunting, confirmation, rally. We just dabble in a little bit of everything, even though my main sport with him is obedience. And then last but not least is my accidental puppy addition, Phoenix. Phoenix is a seven-month-old German short-haired pointer. We'll see where the wind blows us, but we're having fun with some obedience foundations. And then we just started nose work with Julie this last term, so that's really exciting. Awesome. So I want to talk about camp today. So if you were talking to someone who isn't familiar with it, maybe they're not an FDSA student, or maybe they are and they just haven't come before, how would you kind of describe what camp is? Ruth, do you want to start? Yeah, you know, I had to think about this, and it's hard to put into just a few words, but really the thing that comes back to me is it's like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, but only for dogs and their people. Love that. There are so many incredibly wonderful treats around every corner, so many fun things to do, and there's always something for everyone. I love that. That is a fantastic way of describing it. Now everybody else has to try. Megan? Yeah, I don't know how to follow that. So I guess I would just say, yeah, it's just a wonderful gathering of like-minded trainers, and we're all taking on this force-free, positive reinforcement thing with a whole bunch of different breeds and a whole bunch of different sports. And it's just this really cool community of people just coming together, and it's just this really unique, interesting experience that I've never experienced anywhere else. Awesome. Kelsey? I think I would describe it as pivotal. I think because I enjoy the online community aspect of FDSA so much, camp becomes almost like this pilgrimage that brings this community to life. I mean, online, it's a great resource, but it's really not the same as meeting and knowing these people in person. And I say pivotal because it was really at my first camp at the Ohio camp that I finally met in person people that I now talk to, like literally on a daily basis, and I get advice from them, and we talk about our dogs and training.

And that's almost life-changing is to build friendships like that. And I think our friendships really grew because we attended camp together, and I think that's pretty powerful. And I think that even if other people don't know anybody else too well yet, if you enjoy being around others who have the same passions and similar philosophy, and especially with this culture where we're so kind, we're just a kind group of people, and we're here to cheer each other on, it's really easy to feel at home at camp. And even if you are really introverted, it can be exhausting, but in the same way it's recharging to be around people who are both kind and, you know, think the same way that you do. What about advice for folks who are attending for the first time? It's back out in Oregon this year. So, Megan, what would you tell them? Yeah, it's hard not to be overwhelmed when you're looking at the class list and what you can all sign up for and what you can all do and where do you start to get your hotel and how do you register and all this stuff. But really, I think the most important thing, as with most dog training, is set yourself and your dog up for success. So, if you think you're going to need some quiet alone time at night, get a hotel room by yourself. Or if you need an emotional support friend, make sure to hotel with someone that you know is going to help you be social or help you get around or know what you need to do. Set your dog up for success. It can be a lot to be at camp for some dogs because there are a lot of dogs, a lot of people, long days, crating, just like a normal show. So, just set your dog up for success, knowing how they're going to do best, whether that's crating out of your car, if the weather is correct, crating inside, covering your crate, not bringing your dog if they're not going to be comfortable. And if you do those things, I think that you can really set yourself up for success to have a lot of fun when you're comfortable, when your dog's comfortable, when you have the right amount of social experiences with quiet time and all of that. Awesome. Chelsea? Well, I think Megan touched on some really good points there. It's like the lectures and the labs and the length of the days and then everything going on between, it can make the days pretty hectic. So, I think for advice, if this is your first time attending camp, it's 100 times easier to attend as an auditor. And then you're not obligated to taking care of your dog and you can take care of yourself first.

And there's a lot less stress about whether your dog's having a good time and whether you're getting away from the crowd enough. And you can really focus on making the experience work for yourself as well because it's a lot for people too. Absolutely. Ruth? Well, I think everything, what everybody else already said. The thing that comes to mind for me is not to be tempted to push yourself and your dog to suck up as much training as possible because you're there. And, I mean, there's just, it's like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, right? You're going to want to touch everything and eat it all. I don't know. But I would say go in with a plan, but be ready to adjust for whatever it is you need and whatever your dog needs. It is exhausting. Plan to take lots of breaks and enjoy the process. Awesome. So you guys all kind of mentioned this idea that camp has lots of options. It absolutely does. And I think it comes up every year on the event page on Facebook, somebody asking, how do you figure out which sessions to attend? Do you try and attend the ones from your favorite instructors who you've taken classes with online? Or do you try to sample new instructors? Or, you know, what kind of plan do you use to sort through that schedule? So, Megan, do you want to start this one? Yeah. So for me, I attended the last two camps as a working spot. And I think one of the biggest challenges I found was trying to predict what I might want or need in six months from now. You're signing up for camp now and we're not going until June. So how do you see into the future? I thought that was an interesting dilemma. But it ended up working out both years that what I chose worked out really nicely. For me, the first year, I just kind of chose a smattering, a little bit of everybody, a little bit of everything. Mostly obedience-based, but several different instructors, all the things. And I learned a lot and really enjoyed it. But I think I took more away this last year when I worked pretty much exclusively with one instructor for all of my working sessions. I did five of my six working sessions with Shade because Fox does IPO. And so Shade knows all about that. But also, I've worked a lot with Shade online. And so it was just a really nice way to cross over online training and the online piece versus me and Shade getting to work together in person. So I thought I took a lot more away when I did that. And then I chose my auditing sessions just to kind of check out new instructors and instructors I hadn't really worked with online or had worked with online but didn't want to dedicate a working session to.

And so I thought that worked out probably best for me last year. And if I were... I'm going to come as an auditor this year. But if I were to come as a working spot in the future, I think I'd probably stick with that same thing. Try and stick with one instructor, with one dog, and just really help that relationship and make that grow stronger. Chelsea? I really agree with that. For my first working spot last year, I did what Megan did in her first year is kind of want to meet and work with different instructors. And I did that and spread my working spots across two dogs. And I mean, I had a great time. And you really can't lose with any schedule you create for yourself. Instructors always meet you where you're at. But I think there's a lot to get out of working with an instructor that you also have an online relationship with and that you're working with regularly online. It's really helpful to spend that quality time in person and have that continuity. And I think if you're auditing, it's an awesome opportunity to meet new instructors because you get to kind of get a taste for what their style is and what they have to say without having to register for a class. So, again, I don't think you can really lose. But I think one thing that people might not know is that while you do have to pick your working sessions in advance on registration day, you don't actually have to decide what you're going to audit until the day of. And you could change your mind at the last minute. Yeah, I think that that's another thing that comes up a lot, right, is whether you have to choose spots if you're auditing. And even if you're in a working spot, you only have to choose the sessions you're working in. Yes. You get to audit. So you can walk around and do whatever you want. Yes, yes. Fantastic point to bring up. Ruth? So I kind of did a mix with my two camps. The first one, it's funny. I planned and I strategized and I didn't get one single thing that was on my initial list that I absolutely had to have. Oh, no. Or it was going to be awful. And then, you know, so then I went with my second and third choices. And it was awesome. It was absolutely the best camp ever. Every class I took was awesome. And it was just brilliant. So if you don't get into your classes that you think you must have, don't worry about it because every class is wonderful. And then last year, I also ended up going with just one instructor. I took Bella. And she's retired from everything except for nose work. And so we just did nose work. Every single one except for our very last class was a massage class.

So I figured it was a great way to end a long working weekend. And both were brilliant. I was I agree that working with just one instructor the whole time, by the time we were done, she knew us as a team really, really well. And so we got to skip any kind of, well, what do you want to work on? You know, she was like, oh, hey, let's keep working on this. Or, you know, this is where you're at. So I think it both worked out really well for me. And I think you just got to you can't go wrong no matter what you choose. That's good to hear. And ending the camp with a massage sounds just about perfect. I wish I had that option. Yeah. So. Yeah, I'm hoping to see this year's schedule's kept massage for people. Yeah. Somehow I don't think it got included. We'll have to mention it to Denise. Not official anyways. Yeah. There you go. Just one thing that I think also could really help the decision paralysis is that the instructors all have their lectures. And then in the past years, we were emailed all the lectures right before camp. And so you still get all the lecture material from all the instructors, whether or not you actually physically attend that session. So you still get all of that information. And so I think that also can help with some of the decision paralysis of I want to see it all and clone myself and be at three different lectures at once. When you can still access all of that material. And when you get home or before you go to see which one of those three or five you want to actually try and get to. So I think that's really awesome as well. Yeah. So you're talking about the slides and any worksheets the instructor sent out, right? Yeah. You know, after camp, there's always all sorts of stories kind of floating around and everybody goes online and they kind of post about stuff and they talk about things that stood out for them or that they really liked. So I wanted to ask you guys if you each have a memory or a story about camp that kind of stands out for you that you particularly like. Megan, do you want to start this one? Yeah. So I have three and they're kind of short. So hopefully that's okay that I see all three. But they're all just very different avenues. And so I couldn't pick just one. And so my first favorite memory was in Ohio. The venue was attached to the hotel. And I think just one of my favorite memories of that camp was the floor sitting in the hotel lobby and getting to know the instructors and the other students. And as people passed by in the lobby, they would come and sit down for a little while and then they'd leave again or whatever.

And just that community and getting to know the other instructors. There were a handful of instructors, four or five instructors who were sitting down with us, enjoying drinks, enjoying casual conversation. And I just really enjoyed that. That just really made camp for me that first year. And also really just solidified some of these friendships that I made that these people I still talk to every single day. And we're all trying to get together again for next camp. And it's really fun and exciting. And I can't wait. And then my next kind of memory favorite thing is I had a one-on-one session with Shade last year. And I had been struggling with some healing stuff with Fox. And I just remember going into the session like, I don't even know where to start. Shade helped me. And I walked out of that session with the biggest smile on my face. I wanted to cry tears of joy. It was the best session I've had in months with my dog. And I was just so thrilled. And that's the type of training we have at camp. And I'm just so excited by that as well. And then my last memory is this last year, we did a team live demo. And that was really fun. That was the first time we had done that. I didn't really know what to expect. And I was first up in our ring. And so naturally, I was a little bit nervous, especially as the crowd filed in. They all grabbed their lunch and came on in to watch me. Denise was there. I just remember being simultaneously nervous, but also so excited. Because I knew that all these people were here to support me, to watch me. They all clapped at the end. They were all cheering for me, rooting for me. I think if that many people had filed in to watch me at a normal dog show, I would probably pee my pants. Because it was Finzi people. Just the support that I just knew was in the crowd. It just made some of that nervousness wash away. And I thought that was a really unique, cool experience. And I was thankful to be a part of it. That's so cool. I'm so glad that you got to do that. And that it went that well, right? Yeah. Unfortunately, we did get two not-yets. So we didn't pass. But that's okay. I still had a blast. And I enjoyed it. And I'd do it again. It's not all about the pass, right? Like you said, you managed to get up there. And you had all that support from the crowd. And that's a pretty awesome experience in and of itself. And Sully had an awesome run. Yes, she did great. I was so proud of her. Chelsea, do you have a story you want to share? Sure. So I'm probably going to elaborate a little bit further on Megan's first memory.

So this is going back to the Holiday Inn that was attached to the venue in Ohio. And it started probably with about 15 of us sitting around the floor or sitting around. We're like hanging out after dinner. We're laughing and joking around. And we're all very excited about the training that we did that day. And then Denise walks in and asks us why we're all sitting on the floor when the couch was very empty. Well, in reality, I think it was just easier to form a bigger circle that way. And it was easier to grow the circle. No one had really planned this. But as people walked through the lobby, they stopped by and they joined in. And they made the circle bigger and bigger and bigger. I think by the end, we must have had 80 people down there. And then a few minutes later, there was Denise sitting on the floor with us. And I think it was Megan that pointed it out. And then it was just this chorus of, hey, Denise, you're on the floor. Just pointing out the fact that she'd joined us illogically on the floor when there was these couches that were everywhere. And I think, as Megan was saying, many of our favorite FDSA faculty members, they stopped by and joined us, too. And there was the infamous Jell-O shots. And it's really not about the Jell-O shots, but it's still pretty funny to watch people try to get Jell-O out of a very tiny container with their tongue. It's like you can't not laugh. So it's not about the Jell-O shots, but it also makes it a lot more funny. There's also other memories that I can't really talk about too much, but I can tell you that Julie Flannery is a great dancer. All right. Ruth? Those are hard to follow. So I actually have two. I'll try to keep them short. My first was also in Ohio. I had spent the year before working with Sakari as she was a hypergrader. And Denise had worked with me in a couple of different classes. And we've been practicing really hard. And I really had been seeing great progress. But two months before camp, the girls got into a tangle with some wild unknown animal and had to be quarantined for 45 days. Well, quarantine Malamute is just not good for anybody. And right after being quarantined, we drove two days to camp. And so she finally got out of the car and we walked into that lobby, which is like the size of a ballroom with marble floors. And who is the first person who comes up to us but Denise? And I'm like, oh, my God, this is going to be so bad. I'm going to be so embarrassed. She's going to jump on her. My dog weighs more than she does. This is just going to be a disaster. And she didn't. And I have to say, it was my proudest moment.

She's got some incredible titles on her. And they meant nothing compared to what I felt like when my dog didn't jump on Denise. So all of that work. She didn't embarrass me. She did a brilliant job. Also in Ohio was the camaraderie. I think that although I felt it at other camps, that particular venue really lent itself to building those relationships. So when we first got there, the rooms weren't quite ready yet. We were waiting in the lobby and a woman came in with a young, extra, extra large dog who was not happy to be on those marble floors in that environment. And she was able to get him partway in and he wasn't moving. He or she, I don't even know. I wasn't able to move any further. And there was no way the dog was getting on the elevator. And it was so sweet to see people around just walk up and go, hey, can I help? Here, do you need some treats? Because she didn't have treats. You know, she just came in from the car. She'd unpacked it. She didn't think she was going to need treats. And so we chatted for a while. And I mentioned that I knew that there was somebody who might be willing to trade because some people were staying at a hotel, lodges, cabins, whatever they were, a couple miles away. And that might be a lot easier for her dog. So we helped them up. Next thing I know, they made the trade. The uncomfortable dog moved off to the lodge. And I watched them over the next three days just blossom. It was so wonderful to see. The dog got confidence and got comfortable. And mom was so happy. And I felt really special to be a part of that environment to help them along. Super sweet. I like that. So from stories to takeaways, guys. So I want to kind of talk about, you know, obviously there's a ton of learning that happens at camp. But, you know, if there's something that kind of sticks out for you or that had a particular impact on you from a takeaway perspective. So, Chelsea? Well, first, the training is mind-blowing. But I think the biggest takeaway for me is the importance of curating your experience in this dog sport world for both yourself and your dog. It really, really makes all the difference. Who you choose to surround yourself with and where you choose to spend your time and your money. And I think attending the camp, it really shows me how amazing and how unique this community is. And how important it is. Just like the story that Ruth said, like how meaningful it is when people are kind to each other. And you see that and you're part of that. Like that, it just makes being involved with dog sports like that much better.

And I think really I've just become a better person by participating in this community. And I think in my heart now, I truly believe that everyone's doing the best that they can. And then I also believe that they are thinking the same thing about me. And it's one thing to experience this online. But to see it in real life and to get to know these amazing people in real life, it's really, really meaningful to me. Great. So I think my biggest takeaway is how much fun training my dogs has now become. And even though, you know, you get bits and pieces of that with the online classes, seeing it with other people and how they're handling their opportunities and their dogs and their situations, it can still be fun. And it's that much easier to do in a supportive, kind group. And I hope to see everybody there this year. I'm certainly looking forward to it. Megan, do you have anything you want to share? Yeah, I'm just kind of echoing what both Chelsea and Ruth have said. But also that this is the culture that I want for all of my training classes, all the clubs that I go to through IPO, all the trials that I attend. And this is the culture I want, this supportive culture where people come up to you and say good things and say, hey, you have two dogs and three crates in a training bag. Can I help you? This is the culture that I want to just see everywhere. I think the dog community could really benefit from that. And getting to experience that firsthand is just a really awesome opportunity. And so I think that's my biggest takeaway. Anybody want to make a guess on the theme this year? Is this just a way of Denise trying to come up with theme ideas? No, we're not. I'm actually 90% sure she knows what the theme is going to be already. I heard a few rumblings about insects after there was like a, Denise posted this training video and like a moth flew by. So maybe like emerging from cocoons like a butterfly, like that could be a cool metaphor. I like that. Anybody else? I have no clue. I've got nothing. Insects it is. I'll let Denise know that we expect her to be a butterfly this year. So Chelsea, I also wanted to ask you one more question. So you're teaching this year and we're super excited to have you kind of join us on the dark side. So can you just share a little bit of like that? What was that like? Had that happened? Well, yeah. I mean, it's really exciting and I'm really honored. And honestly, I was a little bit floored when Terry asked me because I know the schedule has to be developed really early.

But when she asked, I hadn't really totally made the commitment to attend because it's pretty far from me. I'm in like Northern Ontario and the camps all the way in Oregon. But I'm committed now. So don't worry, Terry. I'm coming. I'm still working on my content. And this year I'm just dipping my toes. So I'm just doing one lecture and it's scheduled on the Sunday on the last day of camp. Throughout the camp, there's so much going on. There's so many topics. I do a really, really super job of breaking things down and getting us to work on those meaningful training pieces and solidifying foundations and essentially flooding everyone's minds with kind of training ideas. But I think it could also be really overwhelming. So my lecture, it's called Building Endurance. And yes, it's about building your dog's capacity to stay in the game as you progress through your training. But your success is also built so much on the human end of the training process. So I really want to talk about the strategies to keep you focused on your own trajectory and how to balance implementing these new ideas that you're absorbing when you're at camp and while still staying on track with your own training plan. And for me, and I think for many of us, it's important to not feel like you're always starting at zero, which no one is. Every time that you attend a really cool lecture and you learn something new and your brain's just exploding. It's been a big journey for me. And I've grown a lot as a student at SDSA. And I think maybe I can share some ideas that have been useful in being able to implement all these amazing things that I've learned from our talented instructors. Awesome. Well, I am looking forward to it. And for anybody who is coming, that's 11 o'clock on Sunday, 11 a.m. Thank you. I'm not still teaching at 11 o'clock at night usually. I'll be doing the dry run at 11 o'clock at night somewhere. I'm pretty sure. Yeah. I hear you on that. Last time, I think it was last year, when I was teaching, I had – so I don't use slides. I use a big poster board. And I draw on it while talking. And I hadn't done up my pre-sketches. And I was, like, up super late the night before, like, sketching out what I wanted on the thing so that we would have them the next day for my talk. Yeah. I was rooming with Amy, and I think she thought I was a little crazy, but that's okay. That's fair. Well, thank you so much for coming on the podcast, ladies. This has been great. Thank you. Thanks, Melissa. Thanks for having us. This was fun. Absolutely. And thank you so much to all of our listeners for tuning in.

We'll be back next week with Jennifer Summerfield to talk about behavior medication. 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 bensun.com. The track featured here is called Buddy. Audio editing provided by Chris Lang. Thanks again for tuning in, and happy training. Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music