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I just love this post. As much as I’ve enjoyed “success” over the last decade or so, I do miss the good ‘ole days as well. I know there will always be some select few in any sport that will do anything in order to be competitive but I do hope our community as a whole can enjoy or dogs more than we enjoy the wins.

I agree wholeheartedly. I love the dance between my 4-legged partner and I and I am a better person for our challenges, accomplishments and especially our not so brilliant moments. The sport has already changed so much; would hate to see it come to dollars and cents.

Well said, Linda. A while back I “inherited” my partner’s BC to run in agility. We don’t do that much these days, either training or competing, so it has taken us a while to come together as a team, even though she already had a fair amount of success. When I messed up my ankle and couldn’t run for a while, a very capable local handler volunteered to run her for me. No way! The fun of the game is about the connection between the dog and the handler, not the legs or titles or even recouping entry fees. There is nothing to match that zing of knowing you got through something together.

Thank you! Enjoy the journey — a very talented trainer told me that………..and I can only say the journey is what makes this game so enjoyable. I love seeing what my nontraditional dogs can learn, what I can teach them — and yes, I love seeing what we can achieve but it is not everything…………….my love for them and their devotion to me is the sweetest part of all of this. The wonderful friends I have made in the process make it one of the best thngs in my life. Money and the greed that comes casts a pall on every sport that comes in contact with it. I hope that agility will not go through those changes…………I hope we can still love our dogs and thank them for what they do to play with us.

I couldn’t agree more. I love the time spent with my dogs, not only on but off the agility course as well. I recall those moments in time with them (past and present dogs) where there is nowhere I’d rather be than right there with my best friend. Of course picking up Q ribbons is a wonderful, exhilarating feeling….I love doing well…..in spite of feeling that I am not a competitive person by nature. But what matters most to me is this magic bond and the way we pass through life together.

Thank you for this post. I have a similar past in the horse show world and now do agility on a shoestring budget. Sometimes a very old, worn out shoestring. I can’t afford private instruction or to attend all the seminars I would love to attend. I just spent my combined birthday/xmas money on 2 upcoming seminars/workshops. That may be all I can do this year. I already sometimes feel frustrated and left behind, to the point of tears, because I can’t afford the same opportunities as other competitors, yet I long to learn and improve. If the sport becomes more pricey and divided between the haves and have nots, more handlers like me will continue to be left behind. My dogs are rescue mutts from shelters and my priority is to build a relationship with them and open up the opportunity for them to shine – my older dog has completed an ADCH Bronze. This is why I got into the sport in the first place. Because it was a fun, accessible activity that my dogs and I could use build a relationship around. I would hate for the sport to lose that underlying spirit.

I totally agree with this post. I know that someone younger, more fit, correct weight etc could do a better job of running my dog than I do. I know that they could take him places that I never will, but no one will ever have the relationship with him that I have with him and that is what it is all about to me. The trust and relationship, the team and the ride is what it is all about. I too, miss the old days.

Thank you Linda!!! Bravo!!! Well said!!!

Personally, I am not a top competitor and don’t ever expect to be one. I play my agility in the local leagues. The fact that some people are willing to shell out to fly their dogs around the world to compete does not take away from my enjoyment of the sport, any more than the existence of professional baseball players takes enjoyment away from the many, many people who play in their local softball leagues. Go ahead and chase prize money if you like, or buy purpose-bred dogs, or let top trainers solve your training dilemmas for you. I don’t see how this ruins the activity for those of us who don’t take that path.

As for buying a trained dog, sheepdog handlers do it all the time, and they compete for prize money too. They also have very close bonds with their dogs and nearly always know each others’ names. Do you think the existence of professional trainers or the prize money has ruined that activity?

We all have the choice to put our relationships with our dogs first. We can choose to learn each others’ names, watch each others’ runs, and celebrate each others’ successes. We can choose to measure our own success “by the magical connection and awareness of each other on course that can only be achieved through taking time to grow together as teammates.” We can create the culture we want to be a part of. I’m not willing to accept that external factors like prize money are the root of the problem you describe.

Where I think agility is lacking is a focus on young people. Many of us were “in horses” as youngsters, but where are the opportunities for young dog lovers to learn and trial in agility without being one of the “lucky ones” whose parents have deep pockets? This sport isn’t just dominated by adults; the whole infrastructure and culture are adult-focused.

Thank you for the thought-provoking post, and the opportunity to comment on it.

I doesn’t take a thousand dollar fishing pole to catch big fish either, rescue dogs RULE! Thank you…

I really enjoy this post. The days of running agility with the family pet are not yet gone. But perhaps the end is approaching. Remember when there was a US world team that featured a beagle? Yes, a beagle.

So while there are veiled references to a famous agility person and the five grand running contact offering, people shouldn’t be so quick to pass judgement. Where’s the chicken, and where’s the egg? Would we have a market for 5K seminars if it weren’t for other forces at work? Will the US put another beagle on the team? How many folks reading this have given up on breeds they enjoy because they want to be “competitive”? And what about the frenzy for running contacts? How many dogs will be harmed in the process? I recently read an agility blog where folks were discussing the need for chiropractic adjustments on their dogs EVERY 3 WEEKS?????

I used to enjoy agility with my “pets”. I’ve had some successes. But I don’t want a border collie and I don’t want to spend thousands of dollars going to seminars and forcing my dog into activities that require constant medical attention. And I don’t want to worry about ETS. Maybe all of this is happening because we are pushing dogs beyond the limits of true natural abilities.

So while there seems to be a tipping point, maybe it’s time for a deeper reflection on what this sport is becoming. And it’s not just the seminar givers… perhaps it’s the market they are catering to.

Nicely said, Linda! It’s about the climb.

Really nice post Linda – been catching up on your blog since our conversation at Dayton.

I too love the thrill of victory, but those victories would ring so hallow without the strong bond we each have with our dogs. It’s that connection that keeps us coming back for MORE runs!

But how does spending thousands of dollars necessarily put the value of the win higher than the relationship with the dog? Does it then follow that NOT spending thousands of dollars makes for a better relationship? (If that were the case, I’d have the greatest relationships in the history of the dog-human bond!)

How much one spends really ought not to (and — I believe — doesn’t) correlate with the quality of the relationship. The resources devoted to pursuing whatever kind of excellence one seeks don’t come directly out of the Relationship Bank. If there are deficits in that account, it’s not because somebody spent a lot on a seminar or a trial junket or a dog, for that matter. It’s a whole different issue.

I too miss the old days when the sense of community seemed somehow stronger, when every run had an audience and nobody left before the ribbons were handed out. But I don’t think the loss of those elements can be blamed on anything other than the evolution of the sport. I find it ironic that everybody seems to want all of these world championships — maybe even the Olympics someday — but nobody seems to recognize what going in that direction means in terms of compromising what we all claim to love about agility.

I too fully agree with Linda’s post. But the funny thing is, just because you have running contacts (even if they are 5K running contacts) – doesnt mean you will win :). There are many courses, particularly international ones, where running contacts does not give you much of an advantage over very good stopped contacts (IMO). So if I were paying 5K, I would not just want the running contacts (thats all??) – I would want everything else too, jumping, turns, etc etc… ;))

sounds like sour grapes to me

Are you referring to my post? Sorry, but I was trying to convey my feelings about agility/dog sports/time with my dogs. I don’t get the sour grapes from my comments or anyone else’s on this thread.

You made some respectable points there. I appeared on the web for the problem and located most people will go along with together with your website.

Coming to this thread a mite late, but here’s why I play agility:

I live in a small town, only 2 trial weekends a year in this town (put on by my group), two groups north of me hold multiple trials in a year….so, I might get to say 10 trials a year. I compete in multiple other venues, so agility isn’t our only dog sport. I’ve attended a few seminars, a few classes, work with an experienced friend as my coach….and none of that is so that I can go to Regionals, Nationals or Worlds. I’ve done all that so that my dogs and I can look like we know what we’re doing and have the pleasure of “beating the course” occasionally. If we don’t beat the course, we at leaast have had some moments of beauty and brilliance!

What I really enjoy is having fun with my dogs and hanging with my friends during trials and afterward….I really liked Devil’s Advocate’s comments about the difference between pro and local leagues. That’s exactly where agility is and should remain. There’s nothing wrong with that.

You have hit the nail on the head. Maybe the body needs more maintenance, but the wisdom of what you say is hearty and healthy!

While I agree in general with your sentiment, I recently overheard a USDAA Agility judge and competitor (with Border Collies and Border Xes) lecturing (it felt like) a local competitor with a very “off” breed (of the sort that you would NEVER expect to see running Agility) about how “it’s all about fun, and the relationship with your dog.” The competitor had just missed a Q by a fraction of a second. I was ready to call bullshit. If it was all about having fun with your dog, *my* dogs (who really enjoy agility) would be having just as much fun chasing tennis balls in the back yard, and it would be muchmuchmuch cheaper. People who abandon their “heart” breed for a Border Collie (most who choose another breed don’t choose anything other than a BC) are looking to be more competitive, let’s be honest. But then they just become one more person with a Border Collie. Which is (let’s face it) kind of boring.

THAT said, I have always had Shelties (since I was a kid) and in general, my Shelties have more talent than I have ambition. Whenever I start feeling like Agility is turning in to work, I dial it down. But when my boyfriend decided he wanted his *own* dog–and that dog turned out to be an Italian Greyhound–I started training the dog, because apparently I am constitutionally unable to let a dog live in the house without working with it. And he’s TONS of fun to train, in a way that the Shelties haven’t been, maybe because I don’t have any ambitions for him? I am willing to walk in to the ring with him and look like an idiot because he really isn’t ready to walk in to a ring yet. And interestingly, people cheer for his mistake-ridden runs (I’m really only running him to get him used to the atmosphere of a trial and to see what he does) in a way that they don’t tend to cheer for other, better runs–who knows why. Maybe because we are clearly having a good time.