Marking is the art of retrieving.

Eve and I discuss what it takes to get good at marking. Plus we explore the challenges of marking along with some questions we got from listeners.

A dog's marking skills are the culmination of 3 main ingredients: The instincts they're born with, the teaching or training we give them, and the experience and practice they get.

Even if your dog is lacking in one of these areas, the other two ingredients can help compensate for that.

In this episode, we have lots of fun stories and a rich discussion about all things Marking! We hope you enjoy!

Training Steadiness: In this episode of Retrievolution, Jennifer and Eve discuss how basic positive training doesn't work for steadiness. Because when prey drive overwhelms your rewards, you need something more!

What is that next level of +R training and what does it take for an excited dog to offer self control in big circumstances? But also maintain drive to GO!

Is it a battle control? Us vs them? Or a matter of training the dog to override the impulse to bolt and instead offer the behavior of holding themself back, to earn the permission to GO! The thrill of the GO gets channelled into performing the behavior of steadiness!

Lots of people know what the Premack principle is. And many people play Susan Garrett's "It's Yer Choice" games. But very few people know how to apply those magical games to big serious prey drive times! Especially when the temptations are stacked on top of each other! The duck call, the gunfire, the bird flying and it's even more nerve wracking with multiple marks going off.

Join us for this super fun and rich discussion about how to level up your positive training for steadiness - and how to really trust your dog when the stakes are high!

These approaches can be counterintuitive and do take some nuance and coaching. If you want to go deeper, Jennifer is currently running an online course on this approach at Fenzi Dog Sports Academy with everything you need to know. Watch the gold level students videos and the feedback I give them daily. It's $65 Here's the link: https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/index.php/courses/47807

This was our very first episode, recorded in May, 2025. Eve and Jen discuss who they are and why they started this space.

Making a podcast to serve positive retriever training folks is the goal! Sometimes it feels like a small island, so Jen and Eve wanted to create a new space to expand the community and explore the bigger possibilities!

Join us for the super fun conversation of breaking new ground for +R Retriever sports.