Interview with Anna Lee Part 1
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[00:00:00] If you train, compete, teach, or simply love the sport of dog agility, you're in the right place. Hey there, I'm Megan Foster, creator of Fostering Excellence and Agility. Join me as we explore training, communication, handling, mindset, and all the little details that help build stronger and more confident teams both in and out of the ring.
Whether you're just getting started or working toward big competition goals, this podcast is here to support your journey with your individual teammate. Let's get started
Hey everyone. Welcome back to the podcast. Today, I am joined by the creator of Canine Conditioning Coach, Anna Lee Sanders. After 20 years of teaching fitness to humans who were recovering from injuries, Anali's canine athletes pushed her to break the mold of canine conditioning. Anna Lee is creative, precise, and one of the most talented instructors I've ever had the privilege of working with.
I'm excited to bring this conversation to you. [00:01:00] Here's part one
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: hey, Anna Lee. Welcome to the podcast
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Hey, I'm so glad to be here
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: Ugh, I'm so excited. I would love to talk to you today about why canine conditioning is so important in our dogs' lives, and as athletes in any sport, but particularly agility dogs for my listeners. I think we both agree that it is the most kind be prepared for the sport demands and what we're asking our dogs to do
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Yeah. Yeah, for sure.
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: Right.
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: For sure
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: could wave a magic wand, when would you want this concept of canine conditioning introduced teams in any dog sport?
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Yeah. Yeah, that's a great question. And, you know, the answer is [00:02:00] before you need it. Because it's no good for any dog training skill, whether it's sport specific or cooperative care or conditioning, to have to train a skill on a deadline. Nobody's any good at that, not the, the human teacher or the dog learner, right?
So I start teaching conditioning, which is really just skills, the day my puppy comes home. And I, I love that because it not only starts to install these very handy skills that will later turn into conditioning exercises, but it allows me in a no pressure environment to learn how my dog learns and learn how I need to adjust my existing training skills, training focus, training approach to [00:03:00] accommodate the, the brain of this new learner.
Um, because for as important as conditioning is, obviously it's my entire life, it doesn't matter. We control all the variables, so if I, I don't get something exactly quite right, there's no pressure until my dog is hurt, my dog has a muscle imbalance, and I must train something, right? So the best time to train that skill is before you need it so you have a good baseline, your dog has the mental understanding, the physical understanding, and then you can deploy that, um, when you need it
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: I love that. And spoiler alert, it's stillness is what they need. Which is so contrary to a lot of our [00:04:00] agility foundations, and it's a lot harder to teach stillness when they already know how to move and frantically offer behavior. So I 1000%
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Yes. Yeah. Totally. Totally. It's always easy to build in drive
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: Absolutely. I've never had a problem doing it that direction. Um, so I personally fell down the conditioning rabbit hole after a couple of years of trying to train better collection for tight turns on jumps and weave pole entries with my own dog, Sprint. And I had a solid training plan. I felt pretty confident that I knew what I was doing. She's an incredibly talented athlete, and I wasn't seeing improvement. I'd like to hear your take on how a proper conditioning [00:05:00] plan helps us understand the difference a physical limitation or a training problem
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Hmm. That's a great question. You know, um, and a lot of that has to do with arousal. Um, in any sport, on the field, in the ring, on the dock, whatever your, you know, sport is, or multiple sports, once the dog is in drive, adrenaline kicks in, right? And adrenaline's job is to mask discomfort. That's, that's the job of adrenaline.
In the conditioning room, we control all the variables. So not to say that a dog isn't going to be very excited to be in the conditioning room, 'cause of course that's like the cookie room, but the, the ability of the brain to focus on these, hmm, more, uh, technical movements, more precise movements, is [00:06:00] much increased.
So When we are in the conditioning room, we can take a break, we can use a different reinforcer, higher or lower value, and then use the data that we gather by the dog's performance of the exercise to draw a more accurate conclusion than we can by assessing, why did my dog do that thing before the weave pole entry, right?
Because, you know, when a dog like Sprint is running seven and a half yards a second, uh, it's hard to properly assess. But here in the conditioning room where arousal is more reasonable, the movement is more controlled, the movement is a known movement that the dog understands, and we see a change in behavior there, that [00:07:00] data point is much more weighty than seeing a specter of a movement maybe as the dog is approaching an obstacle
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: For sure. can't hide anything in the conditioning room
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Right. It's a lot easier to see
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: Yeah, absolutely. And I know in Sprint's case specifically, she, again, very talented athlete, she was figuring out ways
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Yep
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: to get the job done that I could see was compensation, but it really was highlighted in the conditioning exercises of just how much she was having to work to
do those compensatory Like,
oh my gosh, making it so much harder for herself.
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Yeah, totally. And, and that's the upside and downside of being an athlete and having an athletic dog. You know, when, when I [00:08:00] first hurt my back, I could stand on the BOSU ball and do a, you know, RDL, Romanian deadlift, with a kettlebell, but I wasn't doing it right,
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: Mm-hmm.
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: I was on the, I was on the unstable equipment.
I was using the heavy weight. I was simulating the movement, but I was using the wrong muscles, you know, be- because I'm athletic. And it wasn't really until my physical therapist forced me off the unstable surface, lightened the weight, made me move slower, that I was then able to recruit the muscles that I actually needed.
Not the muscles that were already strong, but the muscles that were weak, right? And, you know, training theory, meaning exercise theory for humans and dogs, it's the same, 'cause exercise is exercise. Alignment is alignment. Proper muscle recruitment is proper muscle recruitment across [00:09:00] different species and breeds
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: For sure. And when we're kind of letting the dog compensate for those weaker muscles, we are increasing that risk of injury.
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: for sure
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: I think all agility handlers would agree that we are interested in reducing that risk. let's talk a little bit about how the conditioning plan can, can that risk overall.
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Yeah. Yes. Yes. So number one, we have to get the foundations right. Just like the foundation skills needed for agility need to be laid so that the dog understands their job, the handler understands their job. And without that, I mean, we've all seen that happen in the ring
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: We know what
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: I did. We all, we all, we all have a novice A dog, right?
[00:10:00] We all got to our sport somehow. Um, and it does not look safe, right? 'Cause it's not safe, right? So the same thing is true for conditioning. In order to have big positive impact from the perspective of strong, balanced, flexible, appropriately flexible muscles, and to do exercises that simulate sport demands, we first have to lay a solid foundation.
It doesn't matter if the dog can run seven and a half yards per second, eight yards, do a three-stride dog walk if the dog has no control. The same thing is true in conditioning. So we have to first lay a solid foundation so that the dog understands static alignment in a stand, sit, and down. They understand how to get their body into alignment, how to hold that [00:11:00] alignment.
Then we link these static positions together. And then once we have good transition from static position to static position, like from stand to down, from sit to stand, then we can start to get into the fancy stuff. Then we can start to get into the exercises that look like sports stuff. And that's true in, in conditioning canine fitness and also in canine rehab
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: Right. Uh, yeah. you said rehab, which is good because you're talking about these foundations, we're pre-installing them, the dog knows how to do some conditioning exercises, and then maybe a small injury or a more catastrophic injury happens. Can you talk a little bit more about the difference between rehab [00:12:00] and, um, more regular conditioning, and what the return to sport typically looks like?
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Yeah, that's a great question. And overall, rehab and conditioning exercises look the same. The Venn diagram of overlap is very large. It is especially helpful if you, before you need rehab, like I mentioned earlier, you have already these skills pre-installed. Posture is posture, and that's true in the piece of the Den- Venn diagram that is fitness and the piece of the Venn diagram that is rehab.
Where rehab starts is when there is an acute injury, and there's several phases. So the acute phase of injury, where hopefully you have already established a, a [00:13:00] working relationship with a sports medicine or rehab professional. You've gone in before the dog is hurt, uh, for a, a baseline examination to establish care.
First phase is the acute phase of rehab. This is usually where we have strict rest, which includes leash walking, uh, depending on the injury, of course, uh, leash walking only, outside to potty, potentially some, uh, therapeutic interventions like PRP, stem cells, shockwave, laser, et cetera. Then once the acute phase...
And you would also in that first phase have, like, diagnostic testing because you c- you can, but it's not as data-driven to start a treatment protocol if you don't know exactly what is needed, if you don't know what's hurt, if you don't know exactly what you're treating, right? So the first phase is [00:14:00] assessment, uh, imaging, and, uh, direct therapeutic intervention.
The next phase is the part of rehab that looks like conditioning but is specific to the needs of the patient The third stage is this interesting overlap between rehab, where the dog is still recovering, is still showing, uh, offloading of a limb, is still painful in a range of motion. This third stage is a, a collaboration between rehab and fitness.
This is where the baton handoff starts to happen. But you don't let go. You don't let go. You're still working with both professionals, right? Then the fourth stage is this transition from my dog is hurt back to the early stages of fitness. This is where we revisit some already known [00:15:00] beginner and intermediate level exercises, start to transition into advanced and expert level exercises in the conditioning room.
Once we have reestablished fluency in conditioning exercises that simulate sport demand, only then is it safe to restart sport training. And this is where a lot of people get messed up, is
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: Yeah
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Right? They start back too soon.
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: yes
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: can it go okay? Yes, it can. Can I guarantee that it will go okay? No, no. I can't, right?
And so when you start back, that sport training really has to do with your own personal risk tolerance. How done do you wanna be with this injury?[00:16:00]
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: Yeah. 'Cause we see that a lot, that we injure, we sort of rehab, we re-injure, and we now have this chronic problem,
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Yeah
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: and, you know, dogs' careers have been ended over it.
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Totally. Totally
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: um, I, I def- when you were explaining this, I could absolutely see how the baton is being passed off, you were very clear of like, no, both professionals are still on board.
I feel like that's an easy place
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Yeah
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: to lose the plot a little bit if one, if we let one professional go soon.
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Totally. You need both. They're different skill sets, you know? Yeah
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: Wow. Well, I lo- I... The, the process very clear now
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Yeah.
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: too. That was so helpful.
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Right
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: and I, I'm loving this because I'm als- I'm very new to this conditioning world, [00:17:00] though I am very quickly making it my entire personality. but before I started working with you privately, um, I was a mess at doing this, right?
That novice A
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Yeah.
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: dog. And while I, I feel pretty good that I was not causing harm, was also not being effective at all. And I feel like that's a fine line between, you know, just doing it versus doing it well.
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Yes.
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: can you speak to that a little bit?
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Yes, and you know, I do want to s- have your back a little bit. It's not that you weren't being effective at all, right? You were doing stuff. You were doing more than nothing. You were, you were doing 75% right. But 75 is like a C, right? And [00:18:00] like,
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: I'm
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: don't know about you, right?
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: Sorry. Ca- I cannot, cannot deal with a C.
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: The one time I did C's get degrees in school, I got an A anyways. I just didn't get an A+, right? And so, right. So we want to try and be maximally effective in the, in the reasonable amount of time that we have to do conditioning because along with conditioning, we're also doing sport training, and we're doing, like, probably going to actual work and doing your job and then also doing your other enrichment-type behaviors, walks in the woods, and God forbid, cooperative care training.
Like, we want to be maximally effective in our conditioning, and, and how we get from that 75% to the, to the 85 or 90% is [00:19:00] by being precise.
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: Right.
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: And that's,
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: a lot of sense
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: that's not new. That's just good dog training.
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: Right,
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Right.
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: So we're aiming for being as precise as possible to get the most out of our workouts, and that again, like you hit a very important barrier, I think for a
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Yeah.
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: is time.
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Yeah
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: And so do you find that it's still pretty successful to split circuits up in between like AM and PM
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Mm-hmm
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: or across several days?
Like how little is too little?
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Yeah. Yes. Yeah. And, and that is the question, right? Um, so let-- the first thing is the most effective exerc- exercise protocol is the one that you'll follow, right? So it doesn't matter if 45 minutes seven days a week is going to produce better [00:20:00] results if it's too much pressure and you're not gonna do it, right?
Um, and depending on the sport, depending on how high impact the sport is and how many different novel components the dog is exposed to, which I think, uh, agility and then only second, um, the second place would be bite sports. Agility and bite sports, in my experience, have the most amount of unknown variables, uh, that the dog is exposed to, unknown demands that d- the dog has to be prepared for ahead of time.
Um, and so with those sports, we have to be more on the ball if the goal is reduced injury risk and improved injury performance, um, which mine would be if I was competing in dog sports. Having had an injured dog, it sucks, and [00:21:00] I wouldn't wanna go through that again. Um, so three solid days or up to six pretty good days a week should be adequate for dogs that are experiencing a high variability in their sport.
Let me expet- expand on that a little bit. Once your conditioning exercises are trained, once they are known exercises and the dog training component is complete, you can pare back your training because the session will be very clean. And again, this is not new. This is just good dog training. When we are teaching our dogs these exercises for the first time, when we are in the learning phase, when the dog is in the learning phase, it requires more training sessions [00:22:00] because both of us are learning.
Um, you mentioned splitting sessions into a day. We have evidence shown in, in-- from human exercise that it doesn't actually matter, uh, if your workout is done all at once. What matters is that it's done in its entirety. So if you need to split exercises into AM, PM, uh, so that you're doing two exercises in the morning, two exercises at night because, like, maybe you have to go to work, that's totally fine
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: Yeah, I know, uh, this is not a problem I have in my house, but I, I know a lot of client dogs struggle with just the amount of calories
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Yeah
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: circuit would take. Um, uh, everyone's gonna be jealous to hear that I can do a complete circuit and then still give Sprint her full meal
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Totally.
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: bottom- bottomless pit over here. Um, she's a Labrador in another life.
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: [00:23:00] Yes, she is
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: Um, so I'm sure that that is a comfort to know that
they can split it between mealtimes
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Sure.
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: especially. Um, I think it was a really good point of how once you train the exercises, the sessions can go pretty quickly, and that has certainly been my experience. But then I have a follow-up question of how, how important is it then to continue to level up the
conditioning exercises versus stick with ones that you and the dog are really good at?
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Yes. Yes, that is a good question as well. So you wanna level up until you are... If your dog is a sport dog, you want to level up until your dog is executing exercises that simulate sport demands. If the dog-- If the goal for the dog-handler team [00:24:00] is to avoid an increased risk of injury and/or to improve sport performance.
Um, so yeah, so we would need to build until the team is at that point, and then it's okay to keep doing the same exercises. I know when I go to the gym, I s- unsurprisingly really like routine. And so, so when I go and lift, I do the same stuff. It's hard, but it takes me about, I don't know, 35 minutes to get through my full workout
megan---she-her-_1_09-14-2026_110221: Yeah. You know what to do, you know... Like, you don't have to think about it anymore. You can run through it,
it works, we're moving on.
anna-lee-sanders--she-her-_1_09-14-2026_120220: Yeah
Come back next week for part two of this interview with canine conditioning coach Anna [00:25:00] Lee Sanders
Thanks so much for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love for you to leave a review, share it with an agility friend, or connect with me on social media. Your support helps more handlers and teams find the podcast and be part of this community. You can also find all of my training programs, coaching, and resources at fxagility.com.
Remember, excellent agility is built one training session at a time, and every small step forward matters. Until next time, happy training
