Success. The topic of this Dog Agility Blogger Action Day. Success is broad, it covers so much. Success that your dog is fit and healthy. Success that your dog managed to queue without being upset by another dog. Success that your dog came out of that run safely, free from injury. Success that you remembered the course!
The first thing I think about when I think of success, is taking a success from every run. Whenever I write blogs about our shows, (especially when I write about our many Eliminations), I always try to find a positive from every run. Something that we did well. Something that was an improvement. That is my success. It was a success to complete 12 weaves poles. It was a success to get a good stop dog walk contact. It was a success that Guinness waited on the start line. It was a success that we did a nice tight wing wrap. It was a success that we queued calmly.
But success proceeds much further than each individual run. Each show. Each result. Success comes in training. What is your success rate?! How many times was that behaviour completed correctly? It’s an important tool for dog training programs. Did your dog sit when asked 9/10 times. A success rate of 90%!
Dog agility is a human-selfish sport. If we never did agility again and instead allowed our dogs a good run through the woods twice a day, would they miss the agility? I reckon not. Although agility gives us the drive to train our dogs and the means to physically and mentally stimulate them, that can be done without agility. Therefore the biggest success for me is that my dog is fit, healthy and happy. Every time we do a training session, every show we visit and every run we do, I have succeeded if Guinness is happy.
However winning is definitely a very favourable success as well!
Read about what other agility bloggers consider Success as they upload their posts throughout the day: http://dogagilityblogevents.wordpress.com/success/
Ruth on an Adventure 
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“Dog agility is a human-selfish sport. If we never did agility again and instead allowed our dogs a good run through the woods twice a day, would they miss the agility? I reckon not.” Couldn’t agree more – you run into those people who say: “Fluffy loves agility” and it may be true. But dogs do live in the moment and find their fun wherever they can. Our dogs “chirp” and “squeal” as we pull into the parking lot at the dog swimming place – I’m sure they could be just as happy swimming every week instead of training/trialing agility. But as long as we are all having fun I’m happy to take them wherever they find their joy. Success!
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Agreed! Dogs don’t dwell on how their last run went, or when the next one is coming. We’re the ones who place the burden of success on them with agility. Swims, hikes, adventures can be just as fun as a successful day full of Q’s.
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And I’m gonna come along and disagree. All of my dogs have benefited from agility in ways that have changed their lives–one brain-injured, another whose back was saved because agility allowed me to monitor her exact status, another who regained lost confidence after a serious of vicious attacks, and one who is right now learning to manage his insanely overstimulated world through not just the training, but the trialing (in several activities). For these dogs, simply going for regular playtime/exercise wouldn’t have the same results at all.
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