Noreen Bennett of PawPrint Trials and I just gave a seminar on the impacts of stress in our agility journey, called Stressed for Success. While she might be the most prominent trial secretary in New England, Noreen also has had a 25-year front-row seat watching stress in the ring and figuring out her own with her dogs over her lifetime.

Some of us don't understand why our dogs act differently at trials, many of us know that it's stress making our Fido slow down, wander off or avoid obstacles but most of us don't know how to make that stress go away. We often just move it around the ring.

Knowing that our dogs are riding the stress-struggle bus, Noreen and I discuss what important things you can do to help your dog because that is exactly what they are asking for; HELP! When you have trial stress, first recognize it and next, stop asking your dog to do something they can't.

There weren't enough hours in the day to cover the solutions to removing the stress, which will be in another episode, but listen and learn how you can recognize what it looks like and what you can stop doing immediately to make the agility journey for your dog better.

We highly recommend reading or listening to this book, On Talking Terms with Dogs by Turid Rugaas https://www.audible.com/pd/On-Talking-Terms-with-Dogs-Audiobook/B09H3N3K8Q?action_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp

As Noreen says, agility is like a giant 500-piece puzzle of a blue sky. Often you are left just picking pieces to see what fits. We want to help make that puzzle easier for you and your dog.

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