Shows / Fostering Excellence in Agility
Fostering Excellence in Agility
Megan Foster, Founder of Synergy Dog Sports and creator of Fostering Excellence in Agility, shares her passion, knowledge, tips and secrets for all things dog agility. Each episode, she will take you through a critical element of agility training and break down the history of it, the dos and don’ts, as well as some key action steps you can take today to continue your path to excellence. Discover how to approach agility training from a place of wellness and learn how to build an agility training…
Episodes
Fostering Excellence in AgilityFour Mindset Skills that Changed the Game for Me
089 In this episode, I talk about four key mindset skills that have shaped the way I teach, train, and compete in dog agility. Join the conversation ->…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityImproving Your Front Crosses
088 In this episode, I share four key areas for improving your front crosses: - Footwork - Connection - Timing - Application Join the free community…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityVideo Your Training
087 Yep, you do actually need to video your training sessions. You are missing out on valuable feedback and data if you're not, and slowing your progress down…
- Fostering Excellence in Agility
REPEAT: Recapping Sprint's Debut
086, Since Sprint's fourth year at the WCO was her best yet, I thought it would be fun to listen to her debut recap again, just to celebrate just how far we've…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityTroubleshooting Your Agility Training
085 In this live coaching call recording, I share my process for problem-solving training sessions in the moment. This flowchart gives power to the students to…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityThe Importance of Canine Conditioning, Part 2, with Anna Lee Sanders
084 In the second half of this interview, I speak with Anna Lee about how to be the most effective with your dog's conditioning programs and talk about who is…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityThe Importance of Canine Conditioning, Part 1, with Anna Lee Sanders
083 Today I am joined by the creator of Canine Conditioning Coach, Anna Lee Sanders. I get to pick her brain about why starting a conditioning program before…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityTraining By Yourself
082 Last year, my training partner moved country and left me to train alone for the first time in quite a while! Here's what I noticed was different, and how…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityWCO & USO Prep!
081 This summer was abnormal and full of interruptions. We trained very little and trialed even less. So what have we been doing to catch back up for the opens…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityMoving (not reducing) Reinforcement
In this episode, I unpack the three main types of training sessions agility people use, and how we reinforce during those sessions could be impacting our…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityAdding Distractions to Your Training
079 To compete well, dogs need to learn to ignore distractions once they notice them. This begins with understanding what they should do when they see…
- Fostering Excellence in Agility
REPEAT: Expectations of a Q
078 You need clear rounds to progress in dog agility, but focusing on clear rounds isn't the answer. Dive into this episode to shift your perspective on the…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityStamina for Agility Dogs
077 Building stamina is a process. Working to increase the dog's workload over time and looking for ways to reduce their cognitive load during events will…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityWhat is Ring Readiness?
076 In this episode, Megan shares a list of things that might be different from training to trialing. Understanding these differences and how your dog might…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityREPEAT: Training on their Timeline
075 Sarah Stremming, Cog Dog Coach, joins Megan to discuss how their two youngest dogs, Rayya (Sarah's Icelandic Sheepdog) and Sprint (Megan's Border Collie)…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityREPEAT: Ring Prep Training
074 Preparing for competition-like situations is possible, even without recreating the entire trial environment. Listen in for what Ring Prep training is and…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityREPEAT: Are You Ready to Compete?
073 When should you start competing and what does that look like for each team? How to plan to maximize success all comes down to the splits in behavior that…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityTraining and Using Stashed Reinforcement
Episode 072: Training and Using Stashed Reinforcement Humans understand that in order to compete, rewards have to be left outside of the ring, but does your…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityThree Places to Increase Clarity in Your Training
071 Most training focuses on how fast and accurate the dog performs a specific behavior. What if the small details surrounding that performance were also a…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityDealing with Disappointment
070 Agility is full of highs and lows. Injuries. Low Q Rates. Not qualifying for events. It all happens and it’s all a bummer. How we move through it though…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityLarger Reward Events
069 We’ve all heard of using jackpots, right? But what if it really is about making every reward mean more? In this episode, Megan talks about a recent article…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityThe Process of Getting Good at Agility
Agility is hard and it takes time to get good at it, let alone master it. Megan shares her experience in focusing on the process and using data to improve the…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityTraining for Your Current Capacity
067 Feeling low on time? Have a listen to this episode where Megan breaks down how she focuses her training when life gets busy and agility takes the back…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityRing Stress
066 In this episode, Megan talks about common behaviors associated with ring stress, what could be causing the stress, and how to develop the appropriate…
Fostering Excellence in Agility1-TDC UKI Invitational Wrap Up
In this episode, I share my thoughts and feelings about mine and Sprint's performance from the event, my training plans since then, and how I'm moving forward…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityCriteria Shifts Beyond the Acquisition Phase
064 How do we continue to push our dog's understanding of the different obstacle cues and behaviors? By focusing on making training sessions intentionally…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityErrorless Learning Procedures (Fans of FxAgility Coaching Call Replay)
Enjoy this Coaching Call Replay! Join the Fans of FxAgility Community to discuss agility, watch (and ask questions about) my training, and join in on the…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityMaintaining the Value of Our Reinforcers
062 What holds more power for your dog, food, toys, or the agility obstacles? While we want the obstacles to be valuable to the dog, we need to maintain value…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityWhich Way is Faster?
061 In this episode, Megan explains the 3-point system for determining which path on course will be fastest, and how your individual dog fits into that guiding…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityPrerequisite Skills for Group Agility Classes
060 In this episode, Megan expands on how to set dogs up for success when entering their first group classes in order to avoid problems. She gives ideas for…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityFocus & Engagement Coaching Call
059 This episode is from a Coaching Call inside Fans of FxAgility, a free community. Make sure you sign up to join the next coaching call!…
Fostering Excellence in Agility"Over"-Arousal with Sarah Stremming
058 In this special crossover episode with Cog-Dog Radio, Megan is joined by friend and colleague, Sarah Stremming to talk about every agility person's…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityStepping Out of the Comfort Zone with Rose Cybulski
057 In this episode, Megan is joined by the host of Before the Q, Rose Cybulski, to talk about stepping out of one's comfort zone and what the road to the 2026…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityPressure!
056 What is pressure, and how can we train for it? Find out in this episode!
Fostering Excellence in AgilityLearn Agility with Me!
055 In this mini-sode, I break down my different types of offers: free, self study, coaching program, and guided programs. Free Content: This Podcast! Make…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityTypes of Reinforcement
054 Let's unpack some definitions of positive and negative reinforcement, a real-life training example, and why focusing on the use of positive reinforcement…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityWays to Measure Learning
053 There are seven ways to observe behavior and look for signs of learning. In this episode, Megan shares those seven ways for a quick definition and then…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityRing Prep Training
052 Preparing for competition-like situations is possible, even without recreating the entire trial environment. Listen in for what Ring Prep training is and…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityThoughts on Training in the Ring
051 When I first started competing, we had limited options on how to maintain our habits from training to trialing, but now with FEO and FNG available is most…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityErrors and Resiliency
050 How we respond to mistakes and use mistakes in our training is based on our values and how we choose to train. We have so many tools available to us that…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityTraining for Engagement
049 What is engagement, how do we get it, and what do we do when we don't have it?
Fostering Excellence in AgilityStartlines that Stick!
048 There's a lot that goes into training startlines, but it can be broken into four main categories: skills, motivation, chains, and ring sustainability…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityResponsibilities of Raising a Puppy for Sports
Megan talks with student, friend, and colleague, Sarah Espinoza-Sokal all about raising a puppy responsibly. The two coaches talk about their values and…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityDo I Stop Trialing?
046 Should you keep trialing when a problem behavior crops up or take a break? I unpack my process in this episode!
Fostering Excellence in AgilityPreparing for (Any) Event
045 I am often asked about preparing for big events, but is it really any different than preparing for a local event? Listen in to find out how I prepare for…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityPlanning Your (Winter) Training
044 Tips on planning and prioritizing your training when your access to agility equipment is limited.
Fostering Excellence in AgilityWalking the Course
043 Megan explains the five phases of walking the course and planning her strategy. This blog: https://fxagility.com/blog/the-five-phases-of-course-analysis/…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityUsing Props in Our Training
042 Megan shares her general thoughts on using and fading props in our agility training. Check out her website: fxagility.com
Fostering Excellence in AgilityExpectations of a "Q"
041 You need clear rounds to progress in dog agility, but focusing on clear rounds isn't the answer. Dive into this episode to shift your perspective on the…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityRecognizing When Things are Going Wrong
040 Don't wait for problems to be big ones, get curious about your dog's behavior and uncover small gaps in their understanding before they become impossible…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityMaking the Most of Your Trial Experience
039 Megan shares 5 mindset skills she focuses on during every competition to ensure she's having a good time for herself, her dog, and her team.
Fostering Excellence in AgilityEffectively Reducing Reinforcement
038 In this episode, Megan shares her two ways for reducing reinforcement and the training strategies she implements for each.
Fostering Excellence in AgilityLeaving the Ring Early
037 When does Megan think about leaving the ring early and what does that look like? Listen to episode 37 to find out!
Fostering Excellence in AgilityWhat Does Proofing Look Like?
036 Megan explains how she proofs different behaviors to aim for her ultimate goal: ring sustainability.
Fostering Excellence in AgilityAddressing Bar-Knocking Behavior
035 Megan unpacks her thoughts about bar-knocking in this requested episode. Megan's favorite jumping experts: Linda Mecklenburg…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityAdjusting Criteria in Training
034 Should you make something easier in training or try to pivot in another way? Find out what Megan thinks in this episode!
Fostering Excellence in AgilityRecapping Sprint's Agility Debut
033 Megan shares her experience debuting Sprint, her two-year-old Border Collie, in agility competitions. Find out insights into what Megan saw change in…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityAre You Ready to Compete?
032 When should you start competing and what does that look like for each team? How to plan to maximize success all comes down to the splits in behavior that…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityUsing FEO and FnG Effectively
031 For Exhibition Only and Fix and Go On are two tools we have in the competition ring that can help us narrow the gap between how our dogs perform in…
Fostering Excellence in AgilityAgility Course Analysis
030 Megan talks about learning the course from the dog's perspective, the importance of sticking to the plan, the five phases of course analysis, and course…