Nova started hiking at the age of 8 and now at 12 she has hiked 50 different mountains, gaining lots of new skills along the way. Mongo, my Rottweiler, earned all of his Canine Good Citizen titles after his 8th birthday, never really having done any formal training prior to that. Not to mention all of the adult and senior dogs I have worked with over the years in basics, agility, and tricks. Not only did these dogs learn new skills, they thrived in training!

"I didn't know dogs could get depressed but after seeing the change in Little Man, I believe they can". In just a few short days at our house he was playful again, seeking out his purple puppy toy, tossing it in the air and zooming around. When his 14th birthday arrived just over a month later, he was 14 going on 7; It was like he was aging backwards, he was the new Benjamin Button!

Agility training is great for reactive dogs, improving confidence and resilience. I train many reactive dogs that excel in the sport and for those handlers that would like to compete, it can be disappointing. While dogs don't care about ribbons, humans are competitive and while Agility is a social sport, handling a reactive dog can feel isolating. Agility League has been an idea, a dream of mine, for a long time. This year that dream becomes a reality.

In agility I often see handlers admit their mistakes, recognizing when the fault was their own and not the dogs. They apologize freely and it is genuine and heart warming. Why do they do this? I think it’s because agility training may give you something that obedience training lacks - a better awareness of your role in your dog’s success or failure. It’s not about obedience, it’s about teamwork!

This past year handed out its fair share of challenges and life lessons, but it also made sure I experienced a fair number of positives as well. The positives? That’s easy, DOGS! and their humans; We welcomed many new students to the Supernova community this past year and it was my favorite part.

We often have a specific goal in mind for our dogs, usually related to something we don’t want them to do, the “NO”. To us it may seem very simple, “I don’t want you to jump on people when you greet them”, but have we made it clear to our dogs what they should be doing instead?

Compliance is “the action or fact of acting in accordance with a wish or command.” When it comes to dogs, compliance is our expectation that our dog will do what we tell them to when we tell them to do it. The reality is that it's not that simple. 

This blog may not be what you are expecting. As a dog trainer and a dog mom, my advice is to teach your dog to do nothing. I’m sure you understand that I’m not telling you to teach your dog nothing, I’m telling you to teach them to exist, to relax, to be calm, to be still - in as many different places and situations as you can - because learning to do nothing may be one of the most useful things they ever learn.

Nova is reactive. Although, at this point, you could probably consider her to be in recovery, or maybe remission. Passing her during a walk at the park you might even think she was friendly enough to greet.

Agility training helps to build a strong bond between you and your furry friend, as well as improve their physical and mental health; It also helps to keep them fit and active, and teaches them valuable skills that can be used in other areas of life. With your help, your dog will learn how to jump over barriers, run through tunnels, weave around poles, and navigate different obstacles at varying levels of difficulty. All of this physical activity contributes to a healthy lifestyle. With so many positive benefits, you can see why agility is one of the most popular dog sports!

One of the most popular activities for dog owners and their canine companions is agility training. Whether your dog is a trained professional or just starting out, here are just a few of the benefits of participating in the sport of dog agility.

I title this photo “Dog on Stairs” - a trainer captures a moment of decision.

A common experience as a trainer is being asked to “fix” behaviors that are problematic for the owners but are not actually unreasonable from a dog’s perspective. The behaviors are not always the same, but sometimes the solution is.