I love teaching agility. And for as much as it can be truly difficult and a brain strain to teach beginners, I truly love my beginner class. I love the fact that they greet me with a smile and more importantly, leave with a smile. I love the enthusiasm that they show for their dogs when they tell me what they have been doing and how they’ve been working with their dogs throughout the week. I love when they ask me to help them with little behavior problems that they have encountered. I love that they remember concepts that I talked about the week before and can explain to the others what those concepts are and demonstrate them if they have to. I love that they have picked up very quickly that it’s all about the dog and that their success with their dog will be much greater with positive reinforcement and trust and joy.
So, here’s to the newbies. Those of us who have been doing this for a few years should encourage and nurture all of the fresh faces who want to join the fun. We should all be so lucky to be able to start again. From the beginning. With no preconceptions about any expectations, but just to want to play a great, fun game with their dog.
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