Bad Dog Agility Podcast

In this episode (45:24)
In this episode, Jennifer, Sarah, and Esteban address a question from a listener who felt overwhelmed at a big event under the bright lights of the cameras and the importance of the moment. The team shares their own experiences competing on live televised finals and dig into what the research says about choking under pressure and the techniques that actually help.
You Will Learn
Why pre-performance routines matter and how to use them strategically
How post-performance processing routines can also impact high stakes performance
How to handle it when your routine gets disrupted before a run
Four research backed techniques for overcoming choking under pressure
Mentioned/Related
Why we choke under pressure — and how to avoid it | Sian Leah Beilock
Episode 357: Preparation Checklist for Big Events
Episode 188: Handler Desensitization
Watch Rebecca "feel her own power"
Sponsored By
Canine Handler Fitness

In this episode (17:25)
Sarah and Jennifer tackle a listener question about timing: when is the right moment to add a puppy to your pack, and how will it affect your relationship with your current competition dog? They share their own histories with bringing in new dogs and talk through what they'd recommend.
You Will Learn
The age range for your current competition dog that Sarah and Jennifer think makes for the smoothest puppy transition
What to expect (and what not to worry about) when it comes to your older dog's relationship with you after a puppy arrives
Whether having an older dog around really helps a puppy learn, and the downside most people don't consider
Sponsored By
Canine Handler Fitness

In this episode (1:17:56)
In this episode, Sarah and Esteban welcome Dr. Arielle Pechette Markley and Dr. Abigail Shoben to discuss their CARIS research update analyzing data from 1,385 trials and over 300,000 runs per obstacle. They break down the findings from the largest coordinated safety study in agility history on contact obstacle incidents and what the numbers actually mean for handlers and dogs.
You Will Learn
The actual incident rates by obstacle: dogwalk leads at 2.1 per 1,000 runs, followed by teeter (1.04) and A-frame (0.40)
Why 91.5% of contact incidents result in no apparent injury, with actual injury rates as low as 1 in 33,000 runs for dogwalks
How these prospective findings compare to previous retrospective studies and why the methodology matters for interpreting risk
Which agility obstacle has a much higher incident rate than any of the contact obstacles
Mentioned
The CARIS Research Update everyone is talking about: https://www.caninesportsscience.org/post/caris-research-update-what-we-re-learning-about-contact-obstacle-incidents.
The "speed study": Increasing course speeds in canine agility: a decade of trends from American Kennel Club competition data
Sponsored By
Canine Handler Fitness

In this episode (28:03)
The AKC International Sweepstakes Class launched mid-2023, bringing European-style FCI course design to AKC trials at three levels of difficulty. Now, with two full years of data in hand, Sarah takes a deep dive into the numbers to see where the program stands and what the trends might tell us about where it's headed.
You Will Learn
How ISC entries compare to overall AKC participation, and what the 2024 vs. 2025 growth numbers actually look like
Why big dogs dominate ISC entries, and how the 20″ and 24″ height classes compare to their share of the broader AKC entry pool
What the shift away from Level 1 toward Levels 2 and 3 suggests about who is running ISC and how the competitor base is maturing
Mentioned
Episode 323: The Past, Present, and Future of AKC ISC
Episode 351: The Inaugural AKC ISC Championship
Sponsored By
Canine Handler Fitness

In this episode (37:31)
Jennifer, Sarah, and Esteban are joined by Chris Durkee of 4 Legged Flix to talk about Video Assisted Review (VAR), a technology now being used at the highest levels of agility competition in the United States. VAR was deployed at both the recent AKC National Agility Championship and the UKI Invitational, with video services provided by 4 Legged Flix.
You Will Learn
Why contact obstacle judging is so difficult
How VAR works and what triggers a review
How judges interacted with VAR and whether it affected their confidence or decision-making
Whether VAR more often adds faults that were missed or overturns faults that were incorrectly called
What events may adopt VAR going forward
Mentioned
Episode 151: Judging with Video Review
Sponsored By
Canine Handler Fitness