I recently joined the Dog Pro Radio Podcast to discuss some of the issues facing the dog training industry in the present day.

In this episode, I sit down with François Massart, an accomplished French Ring and Mondioring trainer and decoy with experience at the highest levels of international competition.

We discuss what a great decoy can see—and feel—in a dog that spectators and even handlers may miss, the differences between European and American working-dog culture, genetics, courage, pressure, and training philosophy.

We also explore François’ journey from growing up in French Ring in France to building a life and dog-training business in the United States, and how decades of working dogs at the highest levels of sport have shaped the way he understands and trains dogs today.

In this episode, I sit down with Danish trainer Lars Lentz. Lars and I go back to the early 90’s of international IGP competition. We both competed at the same World Championships in the early 1990s. We knew of each other, but despite crossing paths for decades, this was the first time we actually sat down and had a conversation.

Over the years, Lars has focused almost exclusively on tracking. Today, he is one of the most sought-after tracking seminar instructors in the world and has recently published a book on the subject. I was just as curious as everyone else to hear his philosophy, methods, and how his approach has evolved over the years.

We discuss tracking philosophy, training methods, rule changes, common mistakes, and the evolution of IGP tracking.