Episode 7: Evolution of the IACP with Cyndy Douan

Dog Pro Radio interviews Josh Beckler, founder of K9 Optima, who left a 17-year corporate investigations career during the pandemic. Josh discusses his book, "The Infinite Approach: Modern Dog Training and Polyvagal Insights," developed from an intended course into a 30-chapter work expanded through multiple edits, incorporating neuroscience, nervous-system regulation, polyvagal theory, and 27 identified styles of reactivity and aggression with detailed case studies drawn from four years of live TikTok training. He explains using helper dogs to assess drivers (e.g., hypersocial, conflict-seeking, predatory drift) and describes the core lens of whether a dog is “losing it” or “choosing it,” guiding distance, regulation, structure, and alternative behaviors. The conversation critiques rigid one-method training, emphasizes efficiency, humility, and learning via social media.

Host Matt Covey speaks with dog trainer Ivan Balabanov about conflict in the dog training industry and what the IACP should do. Ivan criticizes “bridge-building” with force-free advocates when it is not reciprocal, noting a major force-free conference lacks balanced speakers while IACP invites force-free presenters, and questions giving authority to people opposed to tools and punishment/negative reinforcement. Matt explains speaker selection is board-led with member input, notes post-talk surveys vary, and describes a proposed speaker agreement not to advocate banning tools; he favors clearer boundaries and more member-driven, semi-public speaker selection. They discuss how trainers are judged, the limits of licensing, concerns about trendy influencers, Hall of Fame criteria clarity, balanced trainers apologizing for aversives, and the need to counter force-free narratives (including AI search bias) by publishing accessible evidence and aligning with other working-dog organizations.

Matt Covey interviews dog trainer and performer Sara Carson, who began training dogs at age 11 and has worked in obedience, agility, protection, service dogs, and especially canine freestyle “dancing with dogs.” Carson describes building a social media following, early TV work on The Late Show with David Letterman, and how casting and heavy scripting on America’s Got Talent led to both opportunities and frustrations, including last-minute routine changes and a pushed “homeless” narrative; she notes the stress of TV timelines for dogs and handlers. Now performing at Dollywood with Stunt Dog Productions, she works six days a week in three daily shows with rotating dogs. She discusses what audiences find impressive versus what’s hardest, emphasizes choosing dogs with the right performance temperament, advocates tricks and sports to build learning and bonding for pet owners, explains her luring-heavy training and fading lures without punishment, and addresses force-free vs balanced approaches.

Dog trainer and French Ring competitor Darshan Herrán shares his background growing up in Mexico City with a veterinarian father who became a professional trainer and helped found Club Ring Sport de Mexico. Now based in California, Herrán runs a dog training business and a French Ring club, and he and his dog Pacheco are the 2025 NARA Ring 3 regional champions preparing for upcoming regionals and nationals. He emphasizes fairness, training the dog in front of you rather than one-size-fits-all systems, and discusses his shift from old-school methods to modern reinforcement, food, clickers, and extensive marker use to improve clarity, reward placement, and emotional regulation while reducing unnecessary corrections. He explains changing dogs’ expectations to address arousal and reactivity, building engagement and play, teaching impulse control drills, and advocates for French Ring to move away from unfair corrections. His advice to trainers: always remain a student and learn across disciplines.

Host Matt Covey interviews Rose Waldrup, founder of the Waldrup Somatic Method, a nervous-system framework designed to help dogs regulate and recover from stress by reading body language and applying tools like breathwork, presence, and hands-on techniques. Waldrup explains polyvagal theory’s three states (ventral vagal, sympathetic, dorsal vagal), connects nervous system state to behaviors like leash reactivity and learning limits, and discusses using stress biometrics (heart rate, HRV) to show physiological data. She outlines a “regulate, read, relate” framework, emphasizing handler regulation, slowing down, consent-based touch, and using somatics before and after training (roughly 50/50 importance), with “during” as situational. She describes key techniques (chest circles, ear slides), discusses trainer time constraints, course options (Dog Somatics 101 and a certification track), and shares shelter/rescue approaches focused on safety and observation.