02/14/2025
Thank you Leslie Van Steen-Leonard for posting this. It was written about Agility, but I've edited out those parts as it truly speaks to all dog sports competitors.
With all the Nose Work and Scent Work trials coming up, it's important to remember what really matters:
From CONNECT Dog Training with Paula Kvarnberg
What Really Matters
I do it, too. Get caught up in the title hunt. The goals for letters that mean nothing to the dog, but instead are some quest I set my sights on to get me to class and trials every week. . . It fills the time, it gives me purpose. But what really matters, is the bond it builds with my dog and the lessons and unwritten triumphs that come with it. My husband stopped wondering why I spent so much time and money on it when one morning after I got up at O’dark hundred (and I am NOT a morning person) to go to a trial, I announced, “I’m going to make memories today.” He understood then. It’s not about the titles. It’s about spending time with my dog and the people in the dog community.
While we’re impressed with . . . those who’ve racked up championship titles, maybe we ought to take a step back and look at, well, most of us who are there achieving things you can’t see on paper. Those who gather the courage to step to the line for the first time. Who put their embarrassing moments behind them and then do it again. Those who struggle to cope with their dog’s stresses and their own anxieties, yet come to understand and accept them and get back out there again anyway. Those who, little by little, find ways to improve . . .
What really, truly matters aren’t the letters or a piece of parchment paper. It’s the memories we make.
Love the dog you have. They make your life better just by being in it.
Nose Work Training for Fun and Competition TESTIMONIALS
