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FDSA Training Camp 2023

Sharon Carroll

About Sharon Carroll

Sharon (she/her) has been a professional animal trainer for over 30 years. She has been both a presenter and trainer in a range of animal shows, and currently operates a dog training and behaviour consulting business based in Newcastle, Australia.

Intent on really understanding animals better, Sharon completed a Bachelor of Applied Science (Equine), a Graduate Diploma (Captive Vertebrate Management – wildlife and exotics) and a Master of Animal Science. Sharon is currently completing a PhD in Veterinary Pharmacology.

Sharon is a fully certified behaviour consultant with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) in both dogs (CDBC) and horses (CHBC), and is a certified professional dog trainer – CPDT-KA.

Sharon guest lectures to post graduate veterinarians and behaviourists at several universities and organisations on the topics of animal behaviour, training, species-specific cognition, welfare, and psychological trauma in animals.

Sharon is an FDSA faculty member routinely presenting in the behaviour division. Many of Sharon’s classes, webinars, and workshops focus on working with dogs that perceive and process information in a slightly different way to a “typical” dog and hence may require a slightly different approach in order to be successful.

Beyond her knowledge of animal learning, Sharon is a sought-after coach and mentor for competitors in a variety of sports. Sharon had a successful career riding and coaching through to the highest levels of both eventing and dressage (Grand Prix). She has been an Australian representative rider, and in 2013 acquired her EA Level 3 specialist coaching certificate (qualified to coach through to Olympic level). Sharon has coached several International teams and countless individuals to winning performances. She is consistently effective at improving performances, not only for elite level competitors, but for anyone looking to improve the quality or level of their performance.

Sharon currently competes in several dog sports with her three standard poodles Jericho, Vincent, and Kane.

2023  camp sessions

Friday, Oct. 6

9:15AM - 10:45AM

Hall 3

An introduction to the ODE protocol: A 10-step system for building our dog’s skills for ignoring environmental distractions / ”triggers”

Experience Level: All

In this “Introduction to ODE” session, Sharon will discuss the Offered Durational Engagement (ODE) pattern and the 10-step ODE protocol. There are no pre-requisite skills for teams in the working spots. For teams that have already established the initial ODE pattern and/or have worked through the higher steps of the protocol, consider joining Sharon’s other session – “Working through the higher levels of the ODE protocol: Adding in distractions / ‘triggers.’”

About Offered Durational Engagement (ODE)

When our dog perceives a stimulus that interests or concerns them, a portion of their attention shifts to that stimulus. At this point we may only see evidence of “split focus” (i.e. glancing away from us and the task, responding more slowly to our cues, missing cues, performing an “incorrect” behavior, etc.), or our dog may perform a large reaction that we perceive as inappropriate or extreme (e.g. lunging, barking, whining, squealing, leaping, leaving us and rushing to the stimulus, attempts to run away, unable to respond to our cues in the presence of the stimulus, etc.).

Our dog’s response to the stimulus may be driven by emotion (e.g. fear, excitement, frustration, etc.), it may be driven by instinct (e.g. prey drive, etc.), or it may occur due to prior learning (i.e. expectation of a specific outcome, or a previously formed habit).

Offered Durational Engagement (ODE) is a simple pattern that forms the foundations for a 10-step protocol. For dogs responding due to emotions, the protocol helps to reduce the intensity of their feelings and hence their response. For dogs responding due to instinct or habit, the protocol helps our dog to find time to think between the stimulus and their response, so instead of going from stimulus to the existing automatic response, our dog is able to think before responding. This allows them to choose an alternative behavior to the existing inappropriate or extreme response. We can then ensure that our dog perceives the new response as more rewarding than the original response.

ODE is useful as both a behavior modification protocol for reactivity, as well a protocol for helping our competition dogs build their skills for comfortably ignoring and dismissing people / dogs / movement / sounds in the competition environment.

Friday, Oct. 6

1:40PM - 3:40PM

Hall 4

Working through the higher levels of the ODE protocol: Adding in distractions/”triggers”.

Experience Level: All

In this session we will use the ODE protocol to help our dog build their skills for ignoring distractions / “triggers” (people / dogs / movement / sound). We will also discuss how and when to implement the final steps of the protocol (i.e. adding in reinforced alternative behaviors, and increasing arousal up to optimal levels for work without our dog reverting to focusing on the stimulus/trigger).

The working spots in this session are perfectly suited to any team that has started working with the ODE protocol previously. There is no requirement to have achieved a certain skill level though, just some previous practice of step 1 or above.

About Offered Durational Engagement (ODE)

When our dog perceives a stimulus that interests or concerns them, a portion of their attention shifts to that stimulus. At this point we may only see evidence of “split focus” (i.e. glancing away from us and the task, responding more slowly to our cues, missing cues, performing an “incorrect” behavior, etc.), or our dog may perform a large reaction that we perceive as inappropriate or extreme (e.g. lunging, barking, whining, squealing, leaping, leaving us and rushing to the stimulus, attempts to run away, unable to respond to our cues in the presence of the stimulus, etc.).

Our dog’s response to the stimulus may be driven by emotion (e.g. fear, excitement, frustration, etc.), it may be driven by instinct (e.g. prey drive, etc.), or it may occur due to prior learning (i.e. expectation of a specific outcome, or a previously formed habit).

Offered Durational Engagement (ODE) is a simple pattern that forms the foundations for a 10-step protocol. For dogs responding due to emotions, the protocol helps to reduce the intensity of their feelings and hence their response. For dogs responding due to instinct or habit, the protocol helps our dog to find time to think between the stimulus and their response, so instead of going from stimulus to the existing automatic response, our dog is able to think before responding. This allows them to choose an alternative behavior to the existing inappropriate or extreme response. We can then ensure that our dog perceives the new response as more rewarding than the original response.

ODE is useful as both a behavior modification protocol for reactivity, as well a protocol for helping our competition dogs build their skills for comfortably ignoring and dismissing people / dogs / movement / sounds in the competition environment.

Saturday, Oct. 7

11:00AM - 12:40PM

Hall 3

Assessing and influencing our dog’s readiness to work

Experience Level: All

Before we commence a training session, start the next exercise, or enter a competition space, we want to know that our dog feels ready to undertake the task ahead.

In order to be ready to give their full focus to us and the task, our dog needs to feel safe in that space, they need to have previously built the skills needed to ignore the distractions in that space, and they need to have a desire to participate with us and engage in the task. When these requirements have not been fulfilled, we will find ourselves having to compete for our dog’s attention.

Having to compete for a dog’s attention is not fun, and ultimately leads to frustration for both the dog and the handler. Continuing to ask for “work” from a dog that is disengaged, distracted, and/or frustrated may result in:

  • Missed cues
  • Anticipated cues
  • Slow responses
  • Incorrectly performed behaviors/exercises
  • Looking away from us and the task
  • Stalling / hesitating
  • Zoomies
  • Leaving us to “visit” other people / dogs
  • Leaving us to investigate objects / pieces of equipment
  • Attempts to escape the training/competition space
  • Performing displacement behaviors (e.g. scratching, self-grooming, sniffing the ground, etc.)

Ensuring we only ask our dog to work when they feel ready requires accurate assessment, not only at the start of the work but on an ongoing basis throughout the session.

But what do we do if we assess our dog’s readiness to work at some point and they indicate they are not ready? These are the times we need a systematic protocol for influencing our dog’s readiness to work. The steps in this system help our dog to dissipate excess arousal, calm their emotions, and re-focus their thoughts. At this point we can then accurately reassess the best course of action in each instance.

In this session we will cover:

  • Strategies that allow us to accurately assess our dog’s readiness to work, both initially and on an ongoing basis throughout a session
  • Methods for assessing what caused a deterioration in focus/work during a session or whilst at a competition
  • Strategies for influencing readiness to work, both prior to starting work and at any point where we notice a deterioration in focus/work

Working spots: To gain the most out of this session participants need to have at least a few simple skills/behaviors that are reliable in a “boring” environment (i.e. they do not have to be reliable in the camp environment). Dogs with high level competition skills are also welcome. If your dog is almost 100% reliable performing all behaviors in a “big” environment, then it is unlikely you will gain enough value from a working spot in this session, but may still find the information to be a useful addition to your existing toolbox.

Saturday, Oct 7

1:40PM - 3:40PM

Lectures

Panel Talk: Arousal in Dog Sports

Experience Level: Lecture Only

Join Denise Fenzi, Sharon Carroll, and Loretta Mueller for a conversation on arousal — guaranteed to be an interesting conversation!

Sunday, Oct. 8

9:00AM - 10:40AM

Hall 3

Ignoring food, toys, and interesting smells in the training and competition space

Experience Level: All

Interesting smells, dropped food crumbs, open treat containers, and toys — these can all be very challenging for our dog to ignore.

We can try to block our dog’s access to these items, or we can use a cue to call our dog back to work, but wouldn’t it be better if our dog just continued to work in the presence of open treat containers, dropped food, interesting smells, and toys on the ground?

In this session we outline a systematic approach that will have your dog heeling past an open treat container or favorite toy in no time.

The key to success is helping our dog to make a choice to ignore these items. When our dog DECIDES to ignore something, the outcome is very different to when we ASK them to ignore something. This is because choosing to ignore an item is empowering and allows their full mental focus to be shifted elsewhere, whereas being asked to ignore something may result in our dog’s visual focus returning to us and the task, but there may still be conflicting emotions and split focus/attention within the processing in the brain.

In this session we outline the steps needed to have our dog choose to ignore interesting smells, food, and toys whilst working.

Working spots: There are no pre-requisite skills for working participants, but having an established loose leash walking or heeling behavior will be beneficial.

NOTE: The contents of this session is targeted towards dogs that compete (in-person or virtual) and/or dogs that participate in training sessions/classes. This is not a protocol aimed at teaching dogs to ignore dropped food whilst out on a sniffy walks or when on “free time” in their yard at home.

Sunday, Oct. 8

1:40PM - 3:30PM

Lecture

Effective competition preparation – not for our dogs, for us!!!

Experience Level: Lecture Only

We spend a lot of time preparing our dog for competitions, but mostly we don’t match that with our own personal preparation.

All dog sports require at least some participation from the human. In some sports our primary role is as our dog’s coach and support crew, but in many sports we are also their teammate, performing alongside them throughout.

When we prepare our dog for competition, we help them to develop the technical skills needed, the mental stamina needed, the ability to remain focused in potentially stimulating environments, the ability to remain confident and accurate under “pressure,” and the ability to maintain their arousal in the optimal zone for the duration of each performance. However, it can be easy to forget that we need this exact same skillset in order to be both successful and to be a productive teammate.

Our skills for managing our own thoughts, emotions, and behavior become even more critical if our dog is less robust, less experienced, has had previous negative competition experiences, or is prone to non-beneficial arousal shifts.

It is very easy to inadvertently send our team into a downward spiral of unsuccessful and unenjoyable performances in instances where either end of the leash has not been adequately prepared, or when gaps in preparation have not been rapidly identified or have not been adequately resolved.

In this session we will look at the human end of the leash and the role we can play in preventing unenjoyable competition experiences for us and our dog, as well as the steps we can take to turn around a downward trajectory of unsuccessful and unenjoyable competition performances.

This isn’t about winning, it is about having an enjoyable competition experience ourselves, and providing an enjoyable competition experience for our dog. This is where winning starts. Successful performances (winning, placing, fast times, high scores, titles, etc.) aren’t achieved by focusing on those end results, they are a bi-product of both teammates being adequately prepared, confident, and in control of their own thoughts, emotions, and actions throughout the competition performance.

This session is a lecture only (no practical) but please bring a pen a paper to get the most out of the session.