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Developing Engagement and Relationship
This is the first book in the award winning Dog Sports Skills series. This first book will focus o....
- GenresDogsNonfictionReference
144 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2013
About the author
Denise Fenzi
21 books27 followersDenise Fenzi has competed in a wide range of dog sports – titling dogs in obedience (AKC and UKC), tracking (AKC and schutzhund), schutzhund (USA), mondioring (MRSA), herding (AKC), conformation(AKC) and agility (AKC). She is best known for her flashy and precise obedience work – demonstrated by two AKC OTCH dogs and perfect scores in both schutzhund and Mondio ringsport obedience.
While a successful competitor, Denise's real passion lies in training dogs; solving the problems that her own dogs and her student’s dogs present. She is a recognized expert in developing drive, motivation and focus in competition dogs, and is known internationally as an engaging speaker and an expert in no force training for sport dogs. She has consistently demonstrated the ability to train and compete with dogs using motivational methods in sports where compulsion is the norm.
In addition to training and speaking, Denise is a prolific writer. You can find her at www.denisefenzi.com where she maintains an active blog on all things related to dog training. She is also an active writer on facebook; add her as a friend or follow her there to learn more about her range of interests in addition to dog training. Finally, she recently wrote her first book with co-author, Deb Jones. That book, Dog Sports Skills Book 1: Developing Engagement and Relationship, was awarded the Dog Writers of Amercica "Book of the Year" for Behavior and Training, 2013. The second book in that series is currently being prepared for publication.
Denise thoughtfully and persistently works to break down the barriers that prevent people from obtaining a truly interactive and mutually enjoyable sport relationship with their dogs. Fenzi Academy is the culmination of her efforts; a forward step in providing progressive information to any trainer who wishes to learn.
To learn more about Denise's on-line dog training school, visit www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com
While a successful competitor, Denise's real passion lies in training dogs; solving the problems that her own dogs and her student’s dogs present. She is a recognized expert in developing drive, motivation and focus in competition dogs, and is known internationally as an engaging speaker and an expert in no force training for sport dogs. She has consistently demonstrated the ability to train and compete with dogs using motivational methods in sports where compulsion is the norm.
In addition to training and speaking, Denise is a prolific writer. You can find her at www.denisefenzi.com where she maintains an active blog on all things related to dog training. She is also an active writer on facebook; add her as a friend or follow her there to learn more about her range of interests in addition to dog training. Finally, she recently wrote her first book with co-author, Deb Jones. That book, Dog Sports Skills Book 1: Developing Engagement and Relationship, was awarded the Dog Writers of Amercica "Book of the Year" for Behavior and Training, 2013. The second book in that series is currently being prepared for publication.
Denise thoughtfully and persistently works to break down the barriers that prevent people from obtaining a truly interactive and mutually enjoyable sport relationship with their dogs. Fenzi Academy is the culmination of her efforts; a forward step in providing progressive information to any trainer who wishes to learn.
To learn more about Denise's on-line dog training school, visit www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 13, 2025
When I asked a dog trainer friend on Goodreads what is the best book for dog training, she immediately answered the books by Denise Fenzi. This is the 2nd of hers I have read, and it is excellent. It has information I hadn’t read from other training books covering the same topic.
This book is the first in a series of books for Dog Sports Skills. The series is more geared towards competitive obedience and rally work but everyone reading them would learn skills to apply to whatever level of dog training you strive towards.
In the preface she talks about how the series came to be and thoughts on all they wanted to put into a book ultimately deciding, “there was no way to include all of these important topics as a few chapters in a single book.’ Putting one topic, like this one for Developing Engagement & Relationship, in one book helps put the focus on the topic. I also feel splitting what she wants to cover in multiple is a good way for her to make more money, but as she has a good product she is worthy of the rewards.
Other than saying it is a great book on this aspect of dog training, I want to share a few things from the book that were new to me or just excellent points.
The first chapter talks about relationship. It discusses how you build personal and working relationships with your dog.
The second chapter is on attitude including aspects that go into forming confidence, eagerness, and biddability. All good and important information. I liked this next excerpt within the discussion on drive:
‘If you aren’t sure if your dog’s behavior is driven or frantic, ask yourself, “What is the focal point?” If it is easily identified, then you have drive. If you cannot determine what is causing your dog’s motion, you have movement without purpose. A dog in drive exhibits energy with purpose and focus, while frantic behavior does not have a focal point. It’s worth noting that drive has nothing to do with the movements of the dog’s body. When we say a dog is “in drive” we are referring to the dog’s mental state, which is one of focus and intensity. A dog who is quietly staring at a ball, completely focused but with no motion at all, is in drive.’
Chapter three on Stress Reduction Techniques gives great information on developing stress tolerance in your dog. it doesn't come ready to mind to think of stressors like with equipment and locations. There can be a lot to consider when a dog is going to be performing in front of judges. Thoughts on training the dog in a positive and non-stressful way are probably in a lot of books, but don’t remember many that talk about discussing and training on different stressful aspects of showing to the same degree. Here is one bit for example:
‘Make a point of asking people to call commands in a variety of tones and volumes during training. Have others stare at you and your dog while you work. Ask people to walk around as you compete an a-frame to be sure your dog hits the contact zones. Hold your dog in front position while someone pretending to be a judge checks your fronts. You will be surprised at how many dogs find these things uncomfortable at first!’
There is especially a lot of good stuff in chapter four for Training Techniques & Methods. Clicker training and marking are covered in a lot of books but I don’t remember others that went into finer details that would help in competition. Here is an example of a finer point I thought important:
‘Although the marker tells your dog he is doing the right thing, you can give your dog even more specific information when you deliver his primary reinforcer. The general rule (attributed to Bob Bailey and paraphrased by us) is mark for action, feed for position. This is a training double-whammy that should speed up and improve your dop’s learning as well as encourage very precise body placement or movement.
For example, if you are practicing heeling, you should mark the moment of perfect movement in heel position and then feed in the precise spot you want your dog in order to maintain perfect position.’
Other books I have read have talked about the stages of learning and training; Acquisition, generalization (includes proofing), and maintenance. Again I found more insights I don’t remember from other similar books. I also like how she brings up different schools of thought like these on the generalization state:
‘Some trainers work through the acquisition stage completely before moving on to generalization. They think that initial learning should occur in fairly quiet environments. Others let the two stages overlap. They train in a number of different environments right from the start so that generalization and acquisition are not distinctly different processes. This has the advantage of helping the dog to learn how to learn no matter where he is or what he is doing. If you do this, you need to be careful that you don’t “overface” your dog by putting him in situations that are too hard for him and lead to repeated failures.’
I also did not think about have a ‘keep going’ command discussed within maintenance:
'When you first start to ask your dog for continued behaviors and fade out your reinforcers, it can be helpful to give him some sort of feedback that he’s doing the right thing. Many trainers use a keep going signal for this purpose. The keep going signal is typically a word or phrase (such as “gooood”) that is meant to indicate “T like that keep doing it” without ending the behavior the way a marker does.'
Chapter five is on Focus. I like how they start by explaining focus:
‘This may sound like semantics, but the difference is crucial. While there are times you want your dog’s focus to be on you (during heeling, for example), there are also times that it needs to be on the dog’s behavior (such as a go-out) or on an object (like a scent article or a dogwalk). Focus involves not only teaching your dog how to concentrate in spite of distractions, but also how to determine where his focus should be at any given moment. This makes focus training a crucial foundation skill for everything else.’
'Focus is much, much more than the discrete behavior of “watch me at all times;” it requires the dog to concentrate on the appropriate task at the appropriate time.'
Here is a few more quotes from the chapter I found insightful:
‘Some adult dogs get distracted because they are curious about their surroundings. While it is easy to give in to the temptation to allow them to investigate, it is not advisable to continually allow curious dogs to satisfy this curiosity before they can work. This habit has very poor ring carryover since dogs are not allowed to investigate the ring before they must perform there.’
‘With a new puppy, consider the many advantages of working on focus first and specific behaviors and exercises later. You will find your pup much easier to train if you do. If you have an older dog, you can always go back and lay a stronger foundation of focus training. It’s never too late to make positive changes.’’
The last chapter six Is ‘it’s All Tricks.’ it has a bunch of good behaviors or tricks to teach, but I liked the overall rational for a reason to teach them:
‘Tricks benefit the brain as well as the body. ‘Teaching your dog to use various parts of his body will stimulate various parts of the brain, while repeating the same behaviors over and over uses the same parts of the brain repeatedly. It’s like building up only specific muscles in the body while ignoring others; you would be out of balance and not working to your full potential. The same is true for parts of the brain. It’s helpful to use as much of it as possible on a regular basis. The more you do this, the better the brain will work.’
I only need my current dog to be well behaved and come when I call. But maybe next dog I will take to the next level and love having this reference book.
This book is the first in a series of books for Dog Sports Skills. The series is more geared towards competitive obedience and rally work but everyone reading them would learn skills to apply to whatever level of dog training you strive towards.
In the preface she talks about how the series came to be and thoughts on all they wanted to put into a book ultimately deciding, “there was no way to include all of these important topics as a few chapters in a single book.’ Putting one topic, like this one for Developing Engagement & Relationship, in one book helps put the focus on the topic. I also feel splitting what she wants to cover in multiple is a good way for her to make more money, but as she has a good product she is worthy of the rewards.
Other than saying it is a great book on this aspect of dog training, I want to share a few things from the book that were new to me or just excellent points.
The first chapter talks about relationship. It discusses how you build personal and working relationships with your dog.
The second chapter is on attitude including aspects that go into forming confidence, eagerness, and biddability. All good and important information. I liked this next excerpt within the discussion on drive:
‘If you aren’t sure if your dog’s behavior is driven or frantic, ask yourself, “What is the focal point?” If it is easily identified, then you have drive. If you cannot determine what is causing your dog’s motion, you have movement without purpose. A dog in drive exhibits energy with purpose and focus, while frantic behavior does not have a focal point. It’s worth noting that drive has nothing to do with the movements of the dog’s body. When we say a dog is “in drive” we are referring to the dog’s mental state, which is one of focus and intensity. A dog who is quietly staring at a ball, completely focused but with no motion at all, is in drive.’
Chapter three on Stress Reduction Techniques gives great information on developing stress tolerance in your dog. it doesn't come ready to mind to think of stressors like with equipment and locations. There can be a lot to consider when a dog is going to be performing in front of judges. Thoughts on training the dog in a positive and non-stressful way are probably in a lot of books, but don’t remember many that talk about discussing and training on different stressful aspects of showing to the same degree. Here is one bit for example:
‘Make a point of asking people to call commands in a variety of tones and volumes during training. Have others stare at you and your dog while you work. Ask people to walk around as you compete an a-frame to be sure your dog hits the contact zones. Hold your dog in front position while someone pretending to be a judge checks your fronts. You will be surprised at how many dogs find these things uncomfortable at first!’
There is especially a lot of good stuff in chapter four for Training Techniques & Methods. Clicker training and marking are covered in a lot of books but I don’t remember others that went into finer details that would help in competition. Here is an example of a finer point I thought important:
‘Although the marker tells your dog he is doing the right thing, you can give your dog even more specific information when you deliver his primary reinforcer. The general rule (attributed to Bob Bailey and paraphrased by us) is mark for action, feed for position. This is a training double-whammy that should speed up and improve your dop’s learning as well as encourage very precise body placement or movement.
For example, if you are practicing heeling, you should mark the moment of perfect movement in heel position and then feed in the precise spot you want your dog in order to maintain perfect position.’
Other books I have read have talked about the stages of learning and training; Acquisition, generalization (includes proofing), and maintenance. Again I found more insights I don’t remember from other similar books. I also like how she brings up different schools of thought like these on the generalization state:
‘Some trainers work through the acquisition stage completely before moving on to generalization. They think that initial learning should occur in fairly quiet environments. Others let the two stages overlap. They train in a number of different environments right from the start so that generalization and acquisition are not distinctly different processes. This has the advantage of helping the dog to learn how to learn no matter where he is or what he is doing. If you do this, you need to be careful that you don’t “overface” your dog by putting him in situations that are too hard for him and lead to repeated failures.’
I also did not think about have a ‘keep going’ command discussed within maintenance:
'When you first start to ask your dog for continued behaviors and fade out your reinforcers, it can be helpful to give him some sort of feedback that he’s doing the right thing. Many trainers use a keep going signal for this purpose. The keep going signal is typically a word or phrase (such as “gooood”) that is meant to indicate “T like that keep doing it” without ending the behavior the way a marker does.'
Chapter five is on Focus. I like how they start by explaining focus:
‘This may sound like semantics, but the difference is crucial. While there are times you want your dog’s focus to be on you (during heeling, for example), there are also times that it needs to be on the dog’s behavior (such as a go-out) or on an object (like a scent article or a dogwalk). Focus involves not only teaching your dog how to concentrate in spite of distractions, but also how to determine where his focus should be at any given moment. This makes focus training a crucial foundation skill for everything else.’
'Focus is much, much more than the discrete behavior of “watch me at all times;” it requires the dog to concentrate on the appropriate task at the appropriate time.'
Here is a few more quotes from the chapter I found insightful:
‘Some adult dogs get distracted because they are curious about their surroundings. While it is easy to give in to the temptation to allow them to investigate, it is not advisable to continually allow curious dogs to satisfy this curiosity before they can work. This habit has very poor ring carryover since dogs are not allowed to investigate the ring before they must perform there.’
‘With a new puppy, consider the many advantages of working on focus first and specific behaviors and exercises later. You will find your pup much easier to train if you do. If you have an older dog, you can always go back and lay a stronger foundation of focus training. It’s never too late to make positive changes.’’
The last chapter six Is ‘it’s All Tricks.’ it has a bunch of good behaviors or tricks to teach, but I liked the overall rational for a reason to teach them:
‘Tricks benefit the brain as well as the body. ‘Teaching your dog to use various parts of his body will stimulate various parts of the brain, while repeating the same behaviors over and over uses the same parts of the brain repeatedly. It’s like building up only specific muscles in the body while ignoring others; you would be out of balance and not working to your full potential. The same is true for parts of the brain. It’s helpful to use as much of it as possible on a regular basis. The more you do this, the better the brain will work.’
I only need my current dog to be well behaved and come when I call. But maybe next dog I will take to the next level and love having this reference book.
May 20, 2017
What a fun read! Denise Fenzi breaks it down for me to learn to be a better trainer for my dog. I'm very motivated now to work tricks with both my adult Sheltie and my adolescent Border Collie. As we do in Montessori, I'm letting them lead the way, acting as the guide, and being very consistant. I may learn something from this :)
May 20, 2020
Great information for any dog owner
This book is full of great information on how to develop a relationship with your dog. Not just for competitors, but any dog owner.
This book is full of great information on how to develop a relationship with your dog. Not just for competitors, but any dog owner.
February 27, 2017
This is an excellent book. It was very complete. As some commenters have noted, it will seem pretty basic to those of us who have been training, and reading about training, for many years.
Yet, there were still things to learn. For example, the idea about helping curious dogs who love to sniff in new environments would have been a big help with one of my now retired dogs. Also, the common sense ideas of how to proof for trials, and trial environments are obvious when they list them, but I know I have neglected to systematically include this in my training.
I have taken a break from training while I took care of some older, retired dogs, and this was a great way to get back in the game.
Yet, there were still things to learn. For example, the idea about helping curious dogs who love to sniff in new environments would have been a big help with one of my now retired dogs. Also, the common sense ideas of how to proof for trials, and trial environments are obvious when they list them, but I know I have neglected to systematically include this in my training.
I have taken a break from training while I took care of some older, retired dogs, and this was a great way to get back in the game.
June 4, 2014
This paragraph from the final chapter says everything about Denise Fenzi and Deborah Jones' approach in this book:
"You should now have the tools needed to make any dog sport rewarding, engaging, and fun for you both. We also hope that this book has helped you realize that dog training is a process, a journey. That journey will lead to many positive changes for both you and your dog. You will learn more about what your dog loves, how he learns, and how to best communicate with him. Your dog will learn that you are the most important thing in the universe, not because you can punish him, but because you are the doorway to fun and excitement."
This book is a worthy contribution to the discussion of dog training as relationship building.
"You should now have the tools needed to make any dog sport rewarding, engaging, and fun for you both. We also hope that this book has helped you realize that dog training is a process, a journey. That journey will lead to many positive changes for both you and your dog. You will learn more about what your dog loves, how he learns, and how to best communicate with him. Your dog will learn that you are the most important thing in the universe, not because you can punish him, but because you are the doorway to fun and excitement."
This book is a worthy contribution to the discussion of dog training as relationship building.
November 27, 2013
I am an avid reader of dog training books and videos. “Dog Sports Skills, Book 1: Developing Engagement and Relationship” is a solid addition to my library. Regardless of your training venue or methods, or your experience level, this book has a place in your library as well. There are plenty of books or videos that describe specific methods to teach specific skills – this book addresses the more fundamental issue of developing a working relationship with your dog. Beyond the substantive information, the book is well written in a clear, engaging style. I am looking forward to more installments in the series.
October 1, 2023
It did not tske me a long time to read this book - but to go through the exercises and make notes and work with my dog (while doing the same with other books and classes)... This is a great book - glad to have it in my shelf. Wish it was in digital format so i could carry it with me.
Lots of good information and exercises.. Looking forward to book 2
Lots of good information and exercises.. Looking forward to book 2
August 31, 2013
Written by positive trainers Denise Fenzi and Deborah Jones this book is the first in a series and covers what is a relationship, engagement, attitude, focus, stress and how to mitigate it. A wonderful resource for the sport dog trainer that wants a positive working relationship with their dog.
July 31, 2014
It will stay in my library as a resource - awesome
January 26, 2015
Excellent book for those who are new to positive dog training methods.
September 6, 2015
Good book. More of a refresher for me, as there was really nothing in there I wasn't already aware of. Good reminders though.
January 9, 2017
This is an excellent book for novice or crossover owner / handler / trainer. For those with more experience, it's a little elementary.
February 24, 2019
This is a really good book which explains the foundations needed for any kind of dog training even though it's targeted to competition sports.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews