Amanda Nelson

Fluid Contacts

I’m a big believer in allowing my dogs to choose their path in agility. I want my dogs to choose what works for them, both physically and mentally, and in my opinion contacts are one of the “big” things that I like to let my dogs choose. Every dog is different. Their structure is differentContinue reading “Fluid Contacts “

Focus on Conditioning!

Conditioning and fitness is a huge part of my training program with my dogs. When I am working on a skill with my dogs part of the process of teaching that skill is ensuring that my dog is properly conditioned. I look at the condition of the dog when it comes to an “agility problem”Continue reading “Focus on Conditioning! “

Commitment to Distance – Switch Work

In this video I am working Trip on some various Switch work with the cone. The Switch cue for my dogs means for them to turn away from me. In this video I am working on side switches, and front switches mostly. A side switch is when the dog is on my side andContinue reading “Commitment to Distance – Switch Work “

The Dogs Choice

Last week I did a live lecture talking about how I teach my foundation for contacts. It was a lot of fun and all my students asked some really great questions! One of the main questions that kept coming up was “what position do you want your dogs to perform on the contact?” And myContinue reading “The Dogs Choice”

Intro to Distance – Cones

In Part 1 of the Commitment to Distance series, I will be talking about cone work and why I feel it plays a big part in distance training. What is cone work? I start all of my foundation work with either cones or gates. I started many years ago with gates and I still useContinue reading “Intro to Distance – Cones “

Teaching Discriminations

When I begin teaching my dog’s their discrimination I use cones as “markers” to help show my dogs the “ins and outs” of discrimination work. 😀 In the diagram below I show where I place the cones, in this example I am using an Aframe and a Tunnel. But I will use a variety ofContinue reading “Teaching Discriminations”

Intro to Distance

I use cones to help build confidence and speed while I am working on their distance skills. Confidence is a huge part of distance work and in my opinion the most important! When I want to start teaching my dogs any distance skills, the main thing I am looking for is to build their confidence,Continue reading “Intro to Distance”

The Choice

Those who have attended seminars with me have heard me say this time and time again; “If you want distance, your dog must have confidence” I love distance handling; I love the feeling of having that connection with my dog from 40 or more feet away. But the key to that kind of distanceContinue reading “The Choice”

Climbing the Mountain!

I had the chance to film some of my Functional Fitness workouts with Ally that I did a few days ago. In the clips below, Ally is climbing Infinity Mountain with the Toto Fit equipment. I am in love with Toto Fit’s equipment! The quality is outstanding and all of my dog’s are very stableContinue reading “Climbing the Mountain!”

APF Pro and the reasons I love it!

I have been using Advanced Protection Formula (APF Pro) from Auburn Labs for quite some time, I have always really liked it and through the years, I have used it on and off. Early last year I started using it with all my dogs consistently and I saw an amazing difference in my dogs asContinue reading “APF Pro and the reasons I love it!”