I recorded a podcast with @Ben Sweet from the Truffle Dog Club and I think you'll all really enjoy it. In this podcast we discuss truffle hunting and how to get started with training your dog. Ben Sweet is a certified dog trainer and scentwork specialist. He hosts the Truffle Forager Podcast and is co-founder of the UK Truffle Festival and Truffle Dog Championships.

You might not know this but Livvy and I like board games. We regularly meet with friends to play different games, it's a good laugh and an excuse to meet up. And I love it, but I'll be honest. I hate learning new games. That awkward period of time where no one knows the rules or how to win. You can't focus on just enjoying the game. Then once I know the rules it's game on. It gets competitive and I love it. Your dog probably feels like that right now too. They don't know the rules of play so they just do whatever they want or maybe their interest is very fleeting. Did you ever teach them the rules? Do they understand the rules of tug or fetch? Maybe you don't even understand, and that's totally fine. My friend and mentor Alex Lato and I are running the 'Play with Purpose' challenge in October to help you skyrocket your play skills. We just finished recording this podcast explaining more and thought you might enjoy it: P.S. If you want to jump on the wait-list and be notified when the challenge goes live you can do that here: https://playwithpurpose.scoreapp.com/

We've released a new episode of the Dogs and Discourse podcast covering the recent fetch controversy and what impact fetch really has on your dog. Is it a great game to play or is it a cortisol-inducing, reactivity creating monster? Also available on all of the podcast apps if you'd prefer the audio-only version.

I just wanted to share this again. This is the most popular podcast I think I've ever done. It's the episode I did with Michael Ellis. Michael is regarded by many people as one of the best ever, certainly as a teacher of dog training principles. We spoke about so much stuff so it's hard to summarize but among other things; Michael's advice for getting better quickly, how to teach well, protection sports and the dogs involved. Hope you enjoy it 🙏 P.S. If you prefer you can find it on the Podcast apps. Just search for my podcast 'Dog Talk with Nick Benger'.

Another episode of Dogs & Discourse is live. This time we're talking all about socialization. How to do it correctly. Common mistakes and why some people have got the wrong idea about what good socialization is. Hope you enjoy it 🙏