Most handlers are chronically overcommitted — not because they’re greedy for progress, but because they believe progress requires constant doing. More classes. More skills. More drills. More reps. If you’re not actively working on something, you’re obviously falling behind… right?

That belief is...

Winter gets a bad rap in dog sports. The days are short, the weather is questionable, trials slow down, and it feels like the entire sport collectively decides to hold its breath until spring. It’s easy to look at the slow season and assume momentum is impossible.

But here’s the truth: the slow ...

January gets all the credit for being a “fresh start,” but let’s be honest: it’s a chaos goblin of a month. The weather is terrible, the schedule is unpredictable, your routines are upside down, and everyone is still trying to remember where they left their motivation.

Meanwhile… December quietl...

December has this funny way of making us believe that life is “on pause” until January.

We tell ourselves we’ll get serious next month.

We’ll start fresh in the new year.

We’ll magically become more organized, more consistent, more confident, more … everything.

But handler life doesn’t reset ...

Recently, a handler on a coaching call shared something that instantly stuck with me. She said getting a new dog feels like getting a 1,000-piece puzzle: the picture on the box shows you what’s possible, but you still have to slowly put everything together. And there’s no “correct” order. You start ...

We talk about “mindset” a lot in dog sports — staying calm, building confidence, being present — but no one really tells you what that means or how to do it.

So today, I want to give you something simple: a blueprint.

Three areas to focus on if you want to feel steadier, calmer, and more confid...

There’s a question going around social media right now that I can’t stop thinking about:

“What are you going to be obsessed about this month?”

And I love that energy. Because “obsessed” gets a bad rap — we’re told to stay balanced, calm, and not take things too seriously. But honestly? The hand...

Confidence is absolutely a skill — one you can train, strengthen, and maintain just like anything else in dog sports.

But confidence doesn’t grow in a vacuum. It grows best when your goals are aligned with your reality and your plan keeps them alive week by week.

When your goals are out of s...

I had a rough weekend with my dogs. Not from an effort standpoint — they tried their hearts out — but from an outcome standpoint. No ribbons, no Qs, nothing tangible to bring home. And while I know better, I still found myself wondering: what does this mean? Am I doing enough? Are we on track?

T...

Why it matters to build a team — for both of you

Most of us set big goals at the beginning of the year. Titles we want to chase. Skills we want to build. The kind of team we want to become.

But here's the harder question:
Do you have the support you need to actually get there?

Not just support for...

There’s something powerful about the midpoint of the year.

It’s not about the date or the calendar — it’s about the opportunity.

Six months in. Six months to go.

It’s the perfect time to pause, zoom out, and ask yourself:

“Are the goals I set still the right ones?”

“Am I heading in the direc...

The message slid into my inbox like so many others — sweet, thoughtful, and full of that infectious post-trial glow. But as I read her words, I paused. Reread a few lines. And smiled.

Here’s what she said (paraphrased & anonymized):

"My friend and I weren't sure about entering a three-day ag...