Training Tuesday: Assessing Your Handling System

When and how to add new information and new tools

Used with permission from Megan Foster's podcast Fostering Excellence in Agility.

When you learn something new about agility or handling, how do you know what to do with that information? How do you decide if you should put effort into using this new skill, or if you should put it on the back burner for another time?

In this episode I talk about assessing your communication system and how to add new information and new tools to that handling system. We'll explore a series of questions to help handlers filter and file new information, such as:

• Does this tool or information solve a problem I'm currently facing?
• Can I use this tool in training or trialing? 
• Is this a tool that I can consistently apply to a variety of situations?
• Do I need a lot of additional resources (e.g., time, training, equipment, etc.) in order to apply this solution? 
• and more ...

Learn more in the podcast and transcript here: https://bit.ly/MeganFoster-AssessingYourHandlingSystem.

About Megan Foster

Megan Foster has been involved in the dog sport world nearly her entire life. With over 20 years of experience, she has competed with a variety of dogs, including an American Eskimo and West Highland White Terrier, Shelties, Border Collies and Parson Russell Terriers, and has worked with an even larger variety of breeds. Her accomplishments include many titles and championships, as well as international competition. She began teaching agility full-time in 2013 through her training school, Synergy Dog Sports, which became Fostering Excellence in Agility in 2023. She believes in developing a system of communication based on the dog’s perspective and what dogs naturally understand, and then individualizing that system for the humans that train and run them. For more information, visit https://fxagility.com/about/.