Respect for Your Fellow Competitors

I've been around many groups of agility competitors for quite a few years now, from the young crowd to the old, the small dog people to large dog people. No group in particular had many issues with their "competition"... Though quite a few individuals were cheerful to their competitors' faces, behind the scenes was tragic in how they viewed eachother.

Rivalry has always been around and there is nothing wrong with being competitive, but when things get personal, it's ugly.

I've heard just about everything from many people... It's rude. You have no idea what each dog-handler team goes through or what they have experienced.

"Clearly they don't train their dogs, so why even enter?"
"Why does he/she even try? The dog just gets the zoomies and runs away."
"Just give up already."
 I've seen a lot of teams come out on the field with a fairly new dog. Training at home or even in a class is nothing like competing. The sights, smells, sounds and surface of the floor could be all brand new and to some dogs, they may be curious about this. It's not that the handler doesn't train the dog. Besides, they could be working through issues that you don't even know about.

"Why waste your money if you can never even make course time?"
"That handler is too fat to be able to run their dog properly." 
"Ugh, get out of the ring already. Your dog is too slow anyways."
Obviously I have never heard anyone directly tell someone this, but I do hear it muttered ringside. It makes me sad. You don't know what that team could be working through. Stress, fear, physical disability (handler or dog) or something else. Since when is this sport about having to be the fastest? Some people like agility because it's fun for them and is a great way to bond and play with their dogs. It may not be about the Q, placement or YPS to some people. It's about the fun.


We don't all have the same goals in agility, but that doesn't mean your goal is better than the goal of someone else. They're in this sport because they love and enjoy it. Don't be the one to bash on everyone just because you don't like them/their dog/their handling. Don't try to bring them down either. If you're going to be the bully of the agility world, you may as well just stop altogether because you have a very negative mindset.

Odds are that those people who you dislike are in it for different reasons than you are. Respect them.

Bree - my slow dog. She no longer competes, but she loves playing at home!