For those that do Dog Sports

Hey now, variety is the spice of life!

Or maybe I'm just the oddball. Hmmm...


You also need to define what success means to you in your sport of interest. In agility, do you want to move up through the titling levels? Do you want to go for champion titles (MACH, ADCH, etc)? Do you want to be flashy and go for blue? National level? World level?

Webby is a super MACHing dog. He earned his last QQ and his last points one trial apart (vs. your fast dogs but maybe less consistent who have all their points long before their QQs **coughMiracough* or your slower dogs who almost always QQ but can't get the points) and actually places in classes fairly regularly though he is usually 3rd or 4th, not 1st or 2nd. Mira is more of an adrenalin rush who is competing for the top spot in her classes but, being both big and fast, isn't quite as consistent though she is coming together well considering her age and our rather low trialing rate. A friend's dog I sometimes run is pure adrenalin and is just breathtaking to run or watch but he is also very very difficult to run, requiring clear directions 3-4 obstacles in advance and with no room for error whatsoever...even shifing your weight inappropriately can result in a wrong course.

Everyone has a different goal an comfort zone, and none are wrong as long as you find a dog who is a good match for you. The flash is fun, but those solid meat&potatos dogs who send you home every weekend with a stack of ribbons are awfully nice.

Being as you're (op) just starting out with your first pup I would just chill along for the ride for now, discover what you like, and go from there.

At nationals when I went yeah... Lots of BCs and Shelties and herders. But there were wicked goldens, a pap won their class AND the replay shows the dog finishing near in time to the 26" champ BC. An all American won their class. There were tons of amazing goldens. A few oddball breeds here and there. One of my favorites was a handler with an all American rescue that was her first dog. I don't see why not having a herder means you're destined to play at low levels.

I do love flash but reliable dogs like Summer are fantastic. I see people get very frustrated with their over the top dogs not doing so well. Here's definitely pros and cons to either way. Most people just don't need a world team caliber dog anyways. Summer at 9 at her first trial was very very close to placing first in her class most every run. Smaller class for sure but still. I don't feel like it would ever be HER that was the limit to our success. Me? Yes. Money? Yes. Lack of trials? Yes.

I do wish I could have started her young.

Find a breed you enjoy and jump in, the rest will come together.

LOL. Yep. I'm going to have to because as you stated I don't know what I like, rather I know what I like, just not what I'm really going to want. I'm definately intrigued by Paps and really feel I will own one at some point. Maybe that will be Nextdog, maybe not. I'm also seriously considering a field bred Golden or a mix of field and show. I'm also doing some research on Brittanys.

Also, to be clear, I love herding dogs. I really do. I just feel sporting dogs fit my personality better. I "get" them better. I don't really know how to explain it.

Also to be clear, I am really enjoying training the dog I have now. He may not be the fastest agility dog (though he could suprise me) but he'll look awesome doing it!