While a successful competitor, Denise's real passion lies in training dogs and solving the problems that her own dogs and her student’s dogs present. She has two AKC obedience champions, perfect scores in both schutzhund and Mondio ringsport obedience, and is well known for her flashy and precise obedience work. That's what I want to see!ĭenise Fenzi has titled dogs in obedience (AKC and UKC), tracking (AKC and schutzhund), schutzhund (USA), mondioring (MRSA), herding (AKC), conformation (AKC), and agility (AKC). I bet they smile when they talk about it.Īnd people who smile when they talk about their dogs love their dogs more and treat them better. If you need more play ideas, look for the book, Dog Sports Skills: Play! written by Denise Fenzi and Deb Jones.Īfter a few weeks, ask your students how they're doing with their play. For homework, encourage your student to find one form of personal play that the dog enjoys (belly rub? Chasing your hand?), one form of toy play that works (tug of war? fetch? Chew toy while mom cheers you on?) and one form of food play (toss the treat? Chase the mommy with the treat? Jump for the treat?).

If you incorporate play into your training classes, start small. I am throwing training into the mix as well, because my long term goal with training is always to make it as blended with play as possible. In this video, I am playing with food, toys and just myself. It's a nice video to show to kids who have read the book, Blogger Dog, Brito! Yes, he's a real dog! Yes, he has a personality! And yes, mom really does play with him! Here's a video example of play with Brito.

People wplaying with dogs