Cog-Dog Radio

Partnership skills go way beyond the basics of training. To be truly in partnership with your dog you need to be able to tell them how to take a reward, they need to be able to ask you if they can have a reward, and you also need to be adept at handling the dog physically in space. But in addition to those dog training skills (which should be, but are not often, commonplace) you need the skill of emotional attunement. Your dog already has that skill, in spades, so its time for you to learn, too. Attend a Worked Up workshop this summer! www.workedup2026.com Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

If you have heard or even used the phrase “over arousal” in reference to a dog, this one is for you. Join Sarah in her explanation of the circumplex model of emotion and what it has to do with our dogs. Should we respond to an angry dog the same way we respond to an excited one? Why is it easy to get frustrated when highly aroused, but not easy to feel joy in the same mindset? Do we have to calm down to feel better, or can we feel better by getting activated? All this and more. Attend a Worked Up workshop this summer! www.workedup2026.com Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

The name “Worked Up” is ten years old now, but the material Sarah teaches under that label has undergone a major evolution. From the 1.0 days of managing dogs’ feelings with food so that handlers had time and space to improve their skills, to the 2.0 material that focused on the dog training that was needed in order for dogs to manage their own feelings, to the current era that draws from neuroscience, somatics, and yes, good dog training. Attend a Worked Up workshop this summer! www.workedup2026.com Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Fear of airplanes, failure to get along with another dog, whether or not a head collar is better than a prong collar, and how to fulfill hunty dogs. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Aversive interventions are sometimes necessary, and sometimes the right answer. But within the R+landia space we often don’t discuss them, and it’s time to. Join Sarah as she rehashes her old thoughts from the first episode she did about this four years ago, revises her criteria, and shares new ideas about aversive consequences in dog training. https://sarahstremming.com/podcasts/replay-punishment-within-lima/ https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/talking-punishment-with-guest-sarah-stremming/id1727464090?i=1000648935084 Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Play has a powerful role in our dogs’ lives (and in ours). It is vital to all development, and it allows the mindbody to repair and restore in ways that rival sleep. So what the hell is it, and how can we make sure our dogs are doing it? Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Have you ever labeled a dog distracted after or during a session? Were you sure that the dog was just distracted, or might the dog have been uncomfortable? How would you know, and are there ways to respond in the two scenarios? Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

What quadrant is this? Or even, “is this punishment?” can be worthwhile questions. Or they can be minimizing questions that fail to keep the full spectrum of relationships and emotions front of mind. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Dog trainers are often tasked with helping dogs feel less afraid of things in their daily environments. This can be loud noises, it can be strangers, or it can even be slick floors or novel sights. The well known stimulus-stimulus pairing approach trainers call counter conditioning is not as effective as it has been made out to be, and this complex emotion requires more nuanced planning. Be sure to check out episode 373, “When Your Dog is Afraid” as well! Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

SAR K9 training, chronic pain, a follow up question about off leash skills, and more! Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

You taught your dog not to pull on leash, and mostly they are good about this rule. But occasionally they still do, so what gives? Why does this behavior have such a strong tendency to resurge and what should you do about it? Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

If you find yourself asking “when do I actually get to train dogs?” in your role as a dog trainer, you are not alone. There is a place for Dog Training in the world of behavior, but it comes after welfare interventions. The best professionals are good at both, and the excellent ones know what to do, when. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

One of the biggest buzzwords in dogdom is “arousal.” Join Sarah and guest Megan Foster for this special crossover episode with the Fostering Excellence in Agility Podcast to discuss what arousal is, what behaviors are actually driven by it, and what to do if you believe your dog to be “wrongly” (or “over”) aroused. www.fxagility.com Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

If there is a quicker or easier way to get somewhere, why not take that route? So often in dog training we hold ourselves to an unnecessary standard. If the shortcut doesn’t require extra work, doesn’t cause anyone distress, and allows you to get the desired outcome faster, then take it! Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Dogs want to remain in attachment to us; so when they have a hard time participating in our sports or games sometimes training is the culprit but not always. What if the dogs we label “soft” are actually sick? Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

A young dog that is chasing cars, how to shape a tighter radius on walks, a puppy who isn’t decompressing around other dogs, and more! Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

It is common for fear, anxiety, and a general lack of confidence to be confused in both the professional and guardian space. Understanding the difference between these three, and therefore how to treat them, is vital to addressing these welfare-threatening mindsets our dogs experience. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Did we throw useful stuff out with the dominance theory bathwater? A vital shift in dog behavior occurred when trainers and behavior consultants everywhere, from all walks, threw out the outdated and debunked theory that dogs are always striving to dominate us. But when we stopped thinking about dogs as living in packs with humans we also stopped talking about them as living in family units with humans, and that is a mistake. So what’s the difference between a pack and a family? What does it mean to be a family? Explore these questions in this episode.

We live in a fast-paced society and therefore, so do our dogs. As a consequence of selective breeding, training, and just plain captivity, our dogs do not access “calm” states well. We all need a little slow school from time to time. So take a deep breath, sit down, and listen to this one. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

The research is clear: being outside is good for us. And it is good for our dogs, too. When we know this to be true–with or without empirical data–why do we still find it so hard? Are there solutions to this? Is this actually worth doing? Isn’t a quick stroll around the block better than nothing? Vow in 2025 to go outside more with your dog; you will not regret it. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Disordered eating is normalized in our society and it is normalized in our dogs, too. Dogs should want to eat. Their GI should function normally. These are not radical statements, and yet most dogs Sarah sees in her private behavior work have some kind of damaged relationship to food. Dig into why this happens and what we can do about it. Then eat, drink, and be merry yourself on this holiday. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

There are essentially three ways to be with a dog in the human world. You can regiment them either physically or mentally, or they can be free. They want to be free, but the situation, the dog’s skills, the dog’s mental stability, and the human’s skills all need to be taken into account. When should we choose physical regimentation over mental or vice versa? When can they actually be free, and what is true freedom? Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Have you heard the rule “never punish a growl”? Dog training has come a long way since the yank and crank days, but some of the adages birthed from the changing tides, like “never punish a growl,” deserve a deeper look. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

In the episode about border collies Sarah referenced the concept of the “mental prison.” In this episode she elaborates on that thought, on what dogs get trapped in prisons of their own making, and on ways to help them escape. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

In this crossover episode with the Functional Breeding Podcast Sarah and friend of the pod Dr Hekman discuss a recent paper revealing some interesting differences between the brains of herding dogs and “normal” dogs, particularly Sarah’s beloved border collies. The paper is "Genomic evidence for behavioral adaptation of herding dogs." and you can find it here: https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.adp4591 Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Border collies are special; they have a highly specialized mind and a supremely athletic body and both deserve care that matches the degree of their uniqueness. Whether you are thinking about adding a border collie to your life or already a border collie guardian, enjoy some food for thought regarding what it might mean to care for this exceptional breed of dog. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Behavior pros, is AI coming for your job? Yeah, kind of. Let’s get real about what’s wrong with this, and what is within our control. https://www.bestlifedogservices.com/ Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

A skill you need to help your dog navigate tough environments is vigilance that doesn’t come with heightened emotions on your part. You’ve got to watch out for potential dangers and challenges while also staying cool about it all; and that’s legitimately hard to do! The good news is, you can learn how. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Your first dog was fun, easy, and you had a lovely time in dog sports. But for your second you decided you wanted a faster model. You upgraded. Or, did you? Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

As behavior professionals we need to be proficient in the areas of environmental management, enrichment, and also dog training. But we are not a master of all three we might lean too heavily on one or two of them while forgoing the third, sometimes to the detriment of the case. Join Sarah in an exploration of each of these areas through the lens of practical examples. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Food is a good thing in dog training, right? Like most things, anything that has the power to do good also has the power to do harm, and food is no different. Avoiding use of food as a “rescue” and leaning into use of food as “repair” is one nuanced take on food within unexpected or scary encounters, and Sarah also dives into some basics on when food can and can’t be helpful. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

The phenomenon “post-restraint collapse” refers to the outburst types of behaviors that can occur after requests for control or tough situations that require high levels of self-control. We can allow for post-restraint collapse, but we can be smarter by affecting the restraint portion itself to see if we can affect the collapse in a positive way. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

You listened to episode 404 about dog training as a hero’s journey; but where do you go from there? Sarah goes more in-depth in this episode regarding finding your own guide in the dog behavior world. To apply for fall mentorship send Sarah an email with the subject like “ready for a guide” to [email protected] Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Stop! Before listening, go watch this SNL skit about Surprise Party Sue: www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4R1yybhmHg Ok, now, is Sue a dog you know? Maybe Sue is your dog. Maybe she is a client’s dog. This skit is something Sarah uses to explain to her clients how their dogs are behaving, and from there discussions like “is this ok/normal?” and also “what can we do about it?” can happen. When these questions were posed on social media, the answers were surprising. Listen to hear Sarah’s take on Surprise Party Sue. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Puppy stuff, car aversion, reactivity in apartment complexes, and more! Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Piggybacking on episode 373, When Your Dog is Afraid, Sarah tells a real life story of applying the principles in an imperfect scenario. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

The adage goes that we can all learn something from everyone. But if you are learning from everyone, are you actually learning from anyone? Sarah posits in this description of dog training education as a hero’s journey of sorts that there are five categories of teachers that matter; and knowing which kind you are being presented with is vital to true growth as a professional or a hobbyists. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

With twenty years in the field and half of them being online, Sarah brings a unique perspective to the virtual behavior consulting space. Guardians and consultants can both gleam insight from this episode that is all about what happens behind the scenes for the Cog Dog Coach. How long do clients usually stay? Is everyone successful? What about behavior problems that turn out to be medical? Is there universal information, or is everything tailored? Learn about the format, the life lessons, and the mistakes too, all in this episode. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Attunement is the ability to perceive and respond to the emotions of another and it is vital to good relationships, dog-human or otherwise. This is a magical thing, but also a practical skillset that can be learned. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Dog trainers are often tasked with helping dogs feel less afraid of things in their daily environments. This can be loud noises, it can be strangers, or it can even be slick floors or novel sights. The well known stimulus-stimulus pairing approach trainers call counter conditioning is not as effective as it has been made out to be, and this complex emotion requires more nuanced planning. Be sure to check out episode 373, “When Your Dog is Afraid” as well! Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

In this special episode of Cog Dog Radio join Sarah and repeat guest Karishma Warr in a discussion about capacity. Capacity for us, for our dogs, and for our clientele. Find out what happens when we recognize where our capacity is, when we operate within community, the difference between a sink and a waterfall, and so much more. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Recalls, radius, and rebounds are the three behaviors you will need to build in your dog if you want them to have off leash freedom. But more importantly, there are tenants these things rely on to be solid. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Can we obedience our way out of behavior problems? Yes, and no. Therapy for behavior problems requires that we are able to avoid repetition of the problem we are trying to solve, and skills training might be one way to do that. But it isn’t the only way, and there is more to the story. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Dog trainers LOVE to talk about errorless learning. They either worship at the feet of the concept of an error-free life OR they claim learning free of error is a fallacy. But this isn’t an either-or conversation, and we must be careful not to project our own personal feelings about failure onto our dogs. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Strange behavior in an agility lesson and a frightened dog on trails. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Should you approach your young dog’s reactions to an unknown inanimate object the same as a dog or person? If your dog overreacts to a kid on a bike, is that the same thing as trying to chase a rabbit? The way you respond to each type of trigger varies, and is important to keep in mind as you enter the world with your puppy or adolescent (or even newly adopted adult) dog. Social, prey, inanimate, and non-social animate are the four trigger types Sarah covers in this episode. Learn how they are different and how your responses to them should be too. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Sit down this week with Sarah and Tara Stiwell, a licensed family dog mediator of the working division who co-owns Glimmer Dog where the innovative Forrest School operates. Forrest School integrates natural environments, stable social groups, and support and skill development to solve all manner of behavioral concerns in dogs. Join Tara June 16 for her webinar all about Forrest School, and use the link below or the discount code COGDOG20. https://glimmer.dog/forrest-school-webinar?promo=COGDOG20 Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

Opinions abound in both professional and guardian spaces regarding the suite of behaviors we label “reactivity.” Barky, lunge-y, screamy, shouty behaviors, usually directed at social triggers, are some of the biggest reasons guardians seek help for their dogs. Because of this, protocols and programs are not hard to find, but real help sometimes is. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay

In the final installment of The False Dichotomy Sarah and Lisa wrap up their conversation about the “balanced vs force free” falsehood in dog training. Find Lisa Mullinax at www.serenitycanine.com

In the second (of three!) parts on The False Dichotomy in dog training, Sarah and Lisa get into the weeds regarding what effectiveness looks like, what it truly means to manipulate aversive or appetitive stimuli, and all the nuances involved. Stay tuned for the final installment in two weeks! Two podcasts on reinforcement: Sarah-stremming – Reinforcement-misunderstandings Sarah-stremming – Coercion-with-adam-skandarani A blog concerning the coercion of R+: thecognitivecanine.com/high-value-vs…einforcement/ Find Lisa at serenitycanine.com and shelterbehavior.com Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay