Create Your Own Path for Agility, Tricks, or Other Dog Sports

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Create Your Own Path for Agility, Tricks, or Other Dog Sports

Written by Lorrie Reynolds

Lorrie has been an agility enthusiast since 2002 and has taught tricks, family obedience, agility, and canine conditioning since 2005. When she's not writing articles, developing courses, or training dogs, you can find her curled up with a book in her hands and a dog warming her feet.

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A New Dog Training Tips Project!

One of my goals this year is to publish a weekly dog training tip that applies to some aspect of agility, tricks, canine conditioning, or just daily life with dogs. The tips range from technique, to motivation, to practical tips for making dog training easier.

A second goal is to write more stories. Almost 20 years in dog sports has given me plenty of things to write about, for sure.

So why not combine the two?

Just Quit

What Sue told me privately at the start of one of my seminars both shocked me and made me see red. “My instructor told me to just quit,” she said quietly. I looked at her in disbelief, not even sure what to say.

Sue’s teammate wasn’t dog or human aggressive. He wasn’t out of control, unsafe, or physically unfit for agility. Murphy’s problem? He was what we call a “velcro” dog who had always worked close to Sue, and he had lower than average motivation.

The combination caused him to knock bars because he was looking at Sue, they were frequently over time at agility trials, and she had *never* qualified on a course that required distance.

Dogs in front of National Agility Ribbons

“Let’s see what we can do to change her mind,” I said, shaking off my shock. “*You* tell *me* if you think you should quit at the end of today.”

Sue obviously didn’t want to quit. She’d invested time and money and traveled to get to the seminar. She was disheartened, embarrassed, and frustrated, but she wasn’t ready to throw in the towel.

All day, Sue took in every bit of information like a sponge. She took notes, asked good questions, and tried her hardest on every exercise.

We talked about motivation, rewards, and building the dog’s confidence. She learned how her cues were interpreted by her dog, and what she could do to clarify her communication. And she worked. Hard. She followed direction, repeated the exercises, and borrowed my dog to practice with before Murphy got tired of playing.

All day long she dedicated herself to learning the pieces that could help build their relationship, communication, and their teamwork.

On the second-to-last exercise of the day, Murphy took a series of jumps 10 feet away. Not at top speed, not at full height, but also not while glued to her leg. You would have thought she won Nationals by her reaction.

As she was packing up and getting ready to leave, I walked up to her and said “Well?” She looked at me with determination. “I’m not quitting,” she said. Then she laughed. “But I am finding a different instructor.”

Training Tip:

Don’t let anyone tell you what you can’t do or who you can’t be. Create your own path that aligns with what YOU want. With the right guidance, information, hard work, and attitude, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.