SonicCanines

☀️ It's HOT... so let's work smarter this summer!

Rather than spending hours running full courses in the heat, I'd love to offer one or two behavior-focused clinics that can make a huge difference in your agility training.

Which topic would you be most excited to attend?
🐾 Start Line Stays - The Power of Release Cues
🐾 Stationing: The Foundation That Changes Everything
🐾 Focus Forward: Obstacle Commitment & Independence
🐾 Pre-Run & In-Run Routines
🐾 The Power of Moving Down
🐾 Strategies for Focus in Distracting Environments
🐾 Reward Placement That Builds Better Performance

Let's use these hot summer weeks to sharpen the skills that pay off all year long!

👇 Comment below or message me with:
• Your top choice
• Your second choice
• Or suggest another topic you'd love to see!

I'm looking forward to hearing what everyone wants most, and whichever topic gets the most interest may become July's clinic!

🐾 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗼𝗴 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰 — 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀, 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 & 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 🐾
📍 Crystal River, FL. 🛑ONE SPOT AVAILABLE 🛑
🐕 For dogs 13 to 18 months
📆 July 18, 2026
🕒 6pm to 8:30pm EDT
💥 Maximum: 4 dogs

👉 Registration link in comments

Is your young dog between 13 and 18 months old and ready for the next step? This clinic is designed for dogs that already have a solid foundation and are ready to expand their skills while continuing to build confidence, understanding, and body awareness for jumping.

We'll focus on developing the pieces that bridge foundation work to confident performance, including:

✔️ Distance and obstacle commitment skills
✔️ Handling concepts
✔️ Building confidence through distraction work.
✔️ Balance, body awareness, and efficient movement through jump grids

This is not a beginner foundation clinic. Dogs should already have a strong understanding of basic agility skills and be comfortable working around other dogs.


The goal isn't simply to prepare your dog to compete, it's to develop a thoughtful, confident, and physically prepared agility partner for years to come.

𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗔𝗞𝗖 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗺 𝗔𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗴𝗲?

AKC (and I believe CPE) currently allows dogs to begin competing in agility at 15 months of age. But is "old enough to compete" the same as "fully prepared to compete?"

For years, much of the discussion has focused on growth plates and skeletal maturity. While those are certainly important considerations, modern sports medicine suggests that athletic maturity involves much more than bones alone.

A dog may be close to adult height at 15 months, but other systems are still developing. For example:
• Muscle strength and endurance
• Tendon and ligament resilience
• Balance and proprioception
• Neuromuscular coordination
• Collection and deceleration skills
• The ability to absorb and recover from repetitive athletic forces

One particularly interesting finding from sports medicine research is that muscles often become stronger faster than tendons which do not adapt as quickly. In other words, a young dog may develop the power to jump, accelerate, and turn at high speed before the connective tissues are fully prepared to handle those forces repeatedly.

And agility asks a lot of our dogs. Every run requires rapid acceleration and deceleration, tight turns and direction changes, repetitive jumping, collection and high speed decision making.

We also know that agility dogs experience their share of orthopedic and soft tissue injuries throughout their careers. While there is currently no direct evidence proving that trialing at 15 months causes chronic injury, we do know that athletic development continues well beyond skeletal maturity.

So perhaps the better question isn't: "Can my dog compete at 15 months?" Perhaps the question should be: "Would my dog benefit from waiting until 18 months or even 24 months before the physical demands of competition begin?"

What would we gain?
• More time for physical conditioning
• More time for strength development
• More time for body awareness training
• More emotional maturity
• More experience with foundations before pressure is added

I've never met anyone who regretted spending extra time building foundations.

But I've met plenty who wished they had. The goal shouldn't be to get a dog into the ring as early as possible. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲.

What are your thoughts? Should 15 months remain the minimum age, or should we be having a serious discussion about 18 months or older?

😴 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗘𝗗 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗘𝗡𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗥 - 𝗦𝗟𝗘𝗘𝗣!!

We hope that as agility handlers we are track conditioning, strength training, jumping skills, recovery days and nutrition, but very few of us track one of the biggest contributors to performance: 𝗦𝗟𝗘𝗘𝗣!! And I do not mean resting or hanging out or lying beside the ring watching dogs run. I mean ACTUAL sleep.

I learned this lesson years ago with my young dog Prime. As a puppy, she would hit a point where she simply needed a nap, especially after eating. I quickly discovered that if I wanted quality learning sessions, training needed to happen BEFORE meals, not after because after she ate, her brain was done. She needed a NAP. At first I thought she needed more activity but finally it dawned on me that she really needed more sleep. That's when I started to research more about how much sleep our performance dogs actually need.

Research shows that dogs are 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝘆𝗽𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀, meaning they naturally sleep in multiple bouts throughout the day and night. Unlike most adult humans, we sleep in one primary block at night (monophasic sleep). Sleep plays an important role for dogs in learning, memory consolidation, recovery, emotional regulation, and nervous system restoration.

Think about elite human athletes. Imagine taking a sprinter, weightlifter, or Olympic gymnast and repeatedly cutting their sleep short. Would they still train? For sure. Would they perform at their best? Probably not. Eventually focus drops. Recovery slows.
Decision-making suffers. Frustration increases. Dogs are no different. Now think about a typical agility weekend: Travel, Crating, Noise, People, Dogs, Multiple runs and Environmental stimulation.

Many dogs finish the day physically tired. But they may also be carrying a significant sleep debt. And that can show up as reduced focus, Increased arousal, slower recovery, poor decision making etc.

We just need to remember that recovery doesn't happen when your dog is watching the world it happens when your dog is sleeping.

👇 How many hours do you think your competition dog actually sleeps each day?

🏃‍♀️ 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗦𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗗𝗢𝗚𝗦 𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗜𝗡 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗢𝗡

One of the most overlooked skills in dog training is the release cue and how important it really is. Most people think of a release cue as simply a way to tell the dog, "You can move now." But when trained correctly, it becomes so much more than that!!

A well-trained release cue creates anticipation. The dog learns that holding position is not the end of the game, it's actually the beginning of something exciting. The reward, toy, obstacle, food, chase, or opportunity is coming but only after the release cue.

Think about a sprinter in the starting blocks. I know a little bit about this because I competed in the 100 meter sprint during my school years and was fortunate to be pretty good at it.

I can still remember standing in the blocks waiting for the start. My heart rate would climb, my focus would narrow, and my anticipation would build. But interestingly, what created the biggest surge of excitement wasn't the race itself. It was the gun. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗨𝗡 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗲.

That sound was the signal that all the waiting, preparation, and anticipation could finally be converted into action. The longer I held my position and focused on the upcoming release, the more energy and motivation I felt building inside me. Dogs are no different.

When we teach duration and then consistently release the dog to something they value, we create a powerful emotional state:
➡️ Anticipation
➡️ Expectation
➡️ Drive
➡️ Motivation
In fact, many dogs become more motivated by the anticipation of the reward than by the reward itself.

This is why a great Start Line Stay isn't about restraint. It's about creating a dog that is eagerly waiting for the opportunity to perform. When done correctly the release cue becomes a predictor of all good things.

💡 A release cue isn't just permission to move. It's a motivation-building tool.

Have you noticed your dog's excitement increase as your release cue became more reliable? I'd love to hear your experiences below. 👇🐾

🎰💰𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗼𝗴 𝗜𝘀 𝗔𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀: 𝗗𝗼𝗴𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝘀 🐾 🐕

One of the most important concepts in behavioral science is something called 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗶𝗻'𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗮𝘄.

“𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘴”

In simple terms: Dogs tend to choose behaviors that have paid off the most in the past.

Not the behavior we want and not the behavior we wish they would do. It is actually the behavior that has the strongest history of reinforcement. In other words, if a dog learns that ignoring a "come" command results in better treats elsewhere (like sniffing the grass), it will choose the sniffing behavior. Other examples we might see are:

- Your dog breaks a stay and runs to another dog, it's because that behavior has paid well in the past.

- Your dog blasts off at the start line, ignores cues, or becomes obsessed with obstacles, those behaviors have likely developed a strong reinforcement history too.

This is why dog training is about much more than simply rewarding good behavior, it’s about creating training situations where the behaviors you want are easy to reinforce and the behaviors you don't want are less likely to be reinforced. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙪𝙥, 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨.

As trainers, our job is not just to deliver rewards, our job is to carefully arrange the picture so that the dog can make the choice we want and then reinforce that choice consistently. And over time, dogs become extremely efficient at choosing the behaviors that have earned them the most value. So the next time your dog makes a choice you don't like, ask yourself this question:

"𝗛𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗜'𝗺 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵?"

Because dogs are not being stubborn. They're simply following the reinforcement history we've helped create. And that's exactly why thoughtful training setups are so important.

My 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟭, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 and it is specifically designed to build reinforcement value for engagement, focus, impulse control, and working with the handler so that those behaviors become the dog's preferred choice long before we ask for agility skills. There is still time to join us!

𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸𝘀 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗗𝗼𝗴𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬!!

Everyone talks about building FOCUS & ENGAGEMENT, speed, drive, intensity, and enthusiasm. And yes those things are important!!!

However, very few people talk about BUILDING RECOVERY. Recovery isn't just physical, it is mental, emotion and neurological. What is am trying to teach my dogs is:

✅ Calming down after excitement
✅ Re-engaging after making a mistake
✅ Returning to thinking after being distracted.
✅ Shifting from high arousal back into a learning state

Those skills matter just as much as speed. In fact, without recovery, all that excitement can become a liability. A dog that stays revved up all the time often struggles to process information, make good decisions, and learn efficiently. Over time, constant over-arousal can lead to frustration, loss of focus, and a dog that feels like they're always operating in the red zone.

Recovery matters for the body too. Many young dogs are pushed into too much too soon and often with long training sessions and repetitive work without enough time to recover and adapt.

Too much physical stress without enough time to recover and adapt. Just like human athletes, young dogs don't get stronger during the work itself. They get stronger during the recovery that follows. Muscles, tendons, ligaments, coordination, balance, and body awareness all need time to develop. When we ignore recovery and keep piling on more work, we increase the risk of compensation patterns, chronic soreness, overuse injuries, and physical breakdown later on.

A dog that can recover is a dog that can learn and that means progress. And a dog that can physically and mentally recover is a dog that can enjoy a long, healthy agility career.

Foundation isn't just about building drive. It's about building the ability to come back from that drive.

🐾 𝗠𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗔𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟭, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲. 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀

We focus on building not just excitement and speed, but focus, engagement, body awareness, emotional regulation, recovery, and the foundational skills that support long-term success in agility 💙

🚧𝟱 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗼𝗴 𝗜𝘀 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝘁

I absolutely understand how appealing it is for those of us that do agility and want to start sequencing as soon as possible with our pups or young dogs. After all sequencing feels like "real agility” and that can feel quite addicting.

However, what I have learned over the years is that rushing into sequences before having a solid foundation is probably the fastest way to create confusion, frustration, and holes that show up later in training and competition. Worse yet, it can create a dog that is dysregulated. Some dogs respond by becoming frantic, over-aroused, and unable to think. Others simply shut down and disengage. Neither is the foundation we want for future performance.

So here are some signs that tell me my dog is NOT ready to sequence yet. If it do not have these fundamental behaviors then sequencing is likely going to be messy:

✅ 1. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆
If your dog cannot pause, wait for information, and respond to a release cue, adding more obstacles won't fix it.

✅ 2. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
New environments, toys, people, dogs, smells etc. if focus falls apart the moment the picture changes, sequencing often becomes a game of chasing your dog around the field.

✅ 3. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀
Before we ask dogs to perform multiple obstacles in a row, they should understand simple concepts like:

• Go On
• Tunnel
• Left/Right Directionals
• Wraps, Backsides, Threadles

Without these building blocks, every sequence becomes a guessing game.

✅ 4. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗹𝗲-𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲𝗿-𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱
Many young dogs learn to blast forward looking for equipment. That may look exciting until you need to give information. A dog that cannot disengage from obstacles and reconnect with the handler will eventually struggle with more advanced skills.

✅ 5. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
This one usually surprises people. Speed is not the only goal here. The ability to THINK while moving at speed is the goal. A dog that is frantic, zooming, barking, spinning, or unable to recover after excitement is telling us they may need more foundation before adding complexity.

The dogs that appear to progress the fastest are often the dogs whose handlers spent the most time building foundations.
Build the skills first. The sequences will come much easier later.

👇 Which of these do you think is the most commonly overlooked foundation skill?

🚀 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝟭𝟮-𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗔𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟭

Registration link is in the comments.

MASTER/ISC Coursework
May 28, 2026

Really enjoyed this Mater/ISC Coursework that I designed for my students yesterday. Had me running hard with Peak as well :)