Your Reason?

Agility : A game we play with our beloved dogs. Big or small, fast or slow we compete, but for what reason?

Watch your fellow competitors in the ring and see if you can't tell what their reason is.
Is it for only for titles and bragging rights?
Is it something more?

It's not uncommon to ask what everyone's biggest trial pet peeve is and get "negative attitude and being disrespectful to their dogs".
Of course the negativity doesn't come from a Q, but from an NQ. A dropped bar, an off course, a refusal, maybe even a performance that couldn't get to the first place spot... most likely caused by handler error. So what is their reason to compete if you can't always have fun?
Our dogs are only with us for limited amount of time, why not enjoy every single minute?

Is the Q really that important? Does YPS mean the world to you? Does the MACH have to be acquired as quickly as possible? What does the title do to you? Would you still run your dog if they couldn't tryout for international team? What if your dog suddenly suffered an injury or problem where they could no longer run as fast? Would you still be running them?

I have the same reason of why I play agility and the reason applies to all of my dogs. My slower dogs, my fast dogs, my future dogs... I love to play with them all. To me, it's not about the Q, the YPS, or the titles... it's about the bond. The quality time we get to spend with each other on the course, and off. No run is a bad run, every run is a learning and bonding experience.  My dogs are my best friends and nothing can stand in the way of the happiness we share as a team.

What is your reason?

below: My past, present and future agility dogs.