June can be kind of intense, especially in the AKC agility community. 

(For those of you untouched by this madness, June 30th marks the last day to qualify for the Invitational in Orlando in December.)

And while many of you are "marked safe" from the craziness of qualifying, we could all use th...

Because I know you're on pins and needles wondering how my games-only weekend was with Moxie, I'll share. (heehee)

The short answer is that I stuck to my plan, and I hope progress was made (more on the progress in a moment). But as always, there's a little more to the story.

Thursday and Fri...

Ever have a really good day and feel less confident as a result? It can happen for a few reasons: 

• We fear we can't repeat the excellent performance, that it was just a fluke (imposter syndrome).
• We're afraid we set a new standard that we have to live up to (pressure).
• We want to repeat that pe...

I did something I never do. I entered an agility trial where I only entered one games class each day for all four days. No standard or jumpers classes, just FAST and T2B.

(For those of you who don't do agility, stick with me for a minute.)

If you know me, you know I enjoy competing; I would ...

Not too long ago, I did a podcast episode on why everyone needs a mantra (Ep #96). Lucky for me, Susan Garrett's team liked it so much that they wanted me to do a shorter version for their Agility Nation (yay!). And while that was super cool, rethinking that topic reminded me of how often we have ne...

Back when I rode horses, it was common to take longer breaks - sometimes six weeks of horses just being horses in a field. When I started competing with my dogs, I was surprised that handlers and dogs just seemed to compete all year in addition to taking classes. Where was the break?

With my first ...

Lately, several of my 1:1 coaching calls have been about "big moments." Big moments or big events tend to come with a LOT of emotional baggage and added pressure. Examples include sitting at 19 (IYKYK), national events and specialties, the first trial after a long rehab, and even the most beautiful ...

Mental stamina is on my mind. I just finished my week-long national specialty in Sacramento, plus the two cross-country (mostly) solo drives. It was a three-week journey that required a LOT of mental stamina.

At every juncture, how can we expect to perform well in our next event if we're too "spent...

Anyone else wish they had better habits?

At some point, we all want to create a new habit or break an old one that no longer serves. And no matter how much we want to change, habits are hard, even when we want to dismantle one!

First, cut yourself some slack. According to studies, most people only...

Everyone feels at least something before they walk into the ring. Ring nerves are a continuum from chill and relaxed to absolute panic. And sometimes, we misread our excitement for performance anxiety which can trip us up and create nerves that weren't initially there.

Basically, ring nerves and th...

This week as many of my friends head west to Tulsa for the agility National, I can't help but feel a bit jealous. Mind you, I didn't try to qualify, I just wish I were going - haha.

Watching someone else achieve something you also want can trigger all sorts of feelings. Are you wildly happy for you...

Ever had a tough time getting over something that happened in the ring (or even at a trial)? Silly question, of course you have.

The thing is, we've all had issues letting go of mistakes, bad runs, or some other letdown. And one reason some mistakes feel stickier than others is that we really want ...