Sometimes we can benefit from those simple lessons our dogs teach us; that even though goals are wonderful worthwhile objects, we need to take a moment and just love the dog we’re with.  Don’t let your long-term goals spoil your enjoyment of the time you get to spend with your dog.  They love you even if they do pop out on the third weave every time! They wouldn’t trade you for the world, all the cookies in creation, or some quality time with the squirrel.

Love the dogs you’re with, and take them with you towards your goals.

Fall can be even busier!  Sometimes it’s so busy we don’t have much time to spend with our dogs, and then when we DO have the time, we feel so bad we didn’t spend time with them during the busy time we don’t want to, now.

The best thing about dogs, is they don’t care.  They’re just so happy you are spending time with them NOW, they forget about the busy weeks when you were rushing here and there and everywhere.  They don’t know they were SUPPOSED to have learned the contacts a few weeks back, and they don’t care, either.  They’ll learn their contacts now, to make you happy.  Don’t feel guilty for what you haven’t done.  Do what you can, and know your dog doesn’t want you to feel guilty, either.  They won’t have as much fun if you feel guilty!

Set up a quick yahoo or a new course for you and your dog today and take a few minutes to do it – no stress, no fuss, just fun!

Sometimes rest is the best solution – and sometimes it isn’t.  I find that when I feel so awful I don’t want to get in the car with the dog, much less drive forty-five minutes to training, and I get to class, set up my crate (usually muttering under my breath about the finger I just jammed), I feel some of the stress roll away.  I don’t believe in stressing about training, that’s my policy!  No stress! Just fun.

Quick’s looking up at me and bouncing up in the air, doing his happy mid-air spins, his big plumey tail whipping the air hard enough to sting on my legs.  It’s agility time! It’s agility time! Best time except breakfast time!

The rest of the world is still there, true.  After we’re done with our runs and our ride home, Quick snoozing in the back, I still have more to do than I think can ever be done, but for that hour, I can relax, enjoy my dog, and run as fast as we can.

It adds another inch or two to my wick, I feel.  Does it to yours?

But what should you be looking for in a future agility partner? Drive! Stamina! Great body! Brilliant brains!

You should be looking for a family pet. Look for a dog you can live with! If you buy a dog that has awesome drive and is trainable and fast, but you can’t stand their constant pestering for a ball to be tossed, you’ve cheated yourself and your dog. Look for a breed or type you like, a dog you won’t mind walking every day, playing with all the time, and listening to it bark sometimes. If you like tiny dogs, big dogs, or long dogs, get one! They can do agility if they’re healthy and happy, just like any other dog. You may have to change the way you train, but what’s life without challenges? While you may not have a future world team member, you’ll have YOUR team member… which matters more?

You should be looking for a healthy animal. While some health conditions are fixable (puppy has sneezes, oh noes!) some simply aren’t. Choose a healthy animal, from a reputable breeder or shelter.

Yes, I said shelter. While there are valid arguments about shelter puppies’ uncertain parentage and affinities, see point one. You’re not looking for a champion first and foremost- you’re looking for a friend. If a puppy or young dog is healthy, it can do agility. Some people want purebreds, and that’s okay!  But for those of you who have it in your heart to take a mystery mutt… often, you will be repaid in triplicate (to make up for the forms you fill out in triplicate). I know I have been.

A Smart Puppy. There are so many books that have detailed aptitude tests in them that I really feel it superfluous to go over aptitude testing here in this blog, but consider testing your puppies’ intelligence. Definitely test his willingness to interact with you! If the dog is happy to come to you when you happy voice at him, and looks up at you, then the chances of you having a future team-mate squirming in front of you are high!

There is no ‘perfect’ dog. There are many great, wonderful, awesome dogs, but perfection doesn’t exist in this world. Find a great, wonderful, awesome dog, and love them. They already love you!

Drive, stamina, good joints… all of those things are necessary in your dog. You can ‘train’ drive, and you can build stamina, but if your dog simply isn’t physically capable, then you probably can not do agility, at least not competitively.  Your vet will help you decide.  The good news is, though… if you chose your dog because you liked them, because they were a dog you wanted to work with and be a teammate with… it might not matter so much as you think. You can still enjoy breakfast, long walks, and good talks with them.

How did you meet your agility partner?  How’d you know agility was for you?