Resources for newbies in agility
Where to train
Not sure where to start training? Here are some agility training facilities around the St. Louis metropolitan area. I have not taken classes at all of these locations, but I have found that the St. Louis area has a very strong agility community and a supportive network where ever you go. You can also check out these places on Facebook as they will post events and information about upcoming class sessions. Just a note.. some of the classes fill up fast and if I missed a place, my apologies!
Agility Field - New Athens, IL
Dog Sports at Kim’s - Caseyville, IL
Triune - Wood River, IL
Westinn Kennels - O’Fallon, MO
Seminars and other venues
If you are looking for an agility packed weekend to get your training on, you can check out the In it To win it seminars at All Star Dog Sports in Kansas City, MO. It is hands-down worth the trip, and you will leave with new perspectives on handling — and with a notebook full of homework!
I have also been to one of Ann Braue’s agility seminar’s in Wisconsin but there are a variety of other seminars that you can find on her website throughout the US. Each of them will have a line up of trainers that have different handling styles and will challenge you in different ways. You can find a list of their agility seminars here.
One last thing to note about training - Purina Farms has open sessions where you can sign up to practice agility and obedience among other things. You can find their event calendar here. Filter the event type to “Practice & Training” and it should narrow your search results to the open practices.
When it’s time to compete
Okay, so now you have trained and you feel like you now have the agility chops to give it a go at a real trial… how do you find AKC trials to put your skills to the test? I was introduced to labtestedonline.com and it is awesome. You pay a yearly subscription fee (approx $10 a year and it has a 6 month free trial) and then you can use the website and services to submit your trial entries. You can also sign up to receive notifications on upcoming trials near you or through a specific club.
If you are also interested in competing in more international style courses, you can sign up and register with UKI and USDAA.
Other notes
The last resource that I will add is actually a podcast that a friend shared with me - Bad Dog Agility. You can find it online, but I listen to it on Spotify. They also have a YouTube channel with a lot of great training videos.
If you are already into agility, you may already know all of the things I mentioned here, but if you are new to agility — I hope this helped!
Loya