Maruša Podjed Seitl: Agility Trainer & Competitor

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About Maruša Podjed Seitl

I’m a passionate animal lover, a vet, and an agility enthusiast. I’ve been captivated by animals for as long as I can remember—it’s just something I was born with. As a child, I would bring home birds fallen from their nests, stray cats, mice, and all kinds of wildlife that needed help. This love for animals extended to parrots, hamsters, fish, turtles… you name it. So, studying veterinary medicine felt like a natural path. I simply can’t imagine doing anything that isn’t connected to animals.

The phrase “eye of the tiger” originally refers to a metaphorical mindset of intense focus, determination, and readiness to face challenges. My journey with this phrase began when I was choosing a pedigree name for my new puppy, which had to start with the letter “E.” Initially, I picked a different name, but the kennel club rejected it for being too long. Then, as it often happens, inspiration struck me in the middle of the night—I came up with the name Eye of the Tiger!

This name not only resonated with me but also allowed me to stay true to my theme of wild cats. My other Border Collie is named Pan (short for Panther), and his pedigree name is Lexceeding Black Panther.

I loved the name Eye of the Tiger so much that I decided to call my new puppy Tiger—or Tigi for short. His name perfectly reflects my training philosophy: determination can overcome any challenge. Tiger came into my life at the exact moment I was ready to create my own brand and launch online classes. There couldn’t have been a more fitting name—not just for my puppy, but for my brand as well!

I’m thrilled to announce that my very first online class is launching in March 2025! While I originally planned to start with a puppy class for future agility dogs, the journey unexpectedly led me in a different direction.

It all began when I had to adapt my usual running contacts training method for my dog, Tiger. His exceptionally long stride meant he first needed to learn how to control and understand his striding. At the same time, I started receiving numerous requests to help online students tackle challenging cases—dogs retrained from the 2on2off method, dogs that struggled with repetition, and even dogs that didn’t seem motivated when no reward followed an unsuccessful attempt…

These challenges inspired me to create a variety of new games where dogs earn jackpot rewards on almost every try! This approach has proven invaluable for dogs who struggle with repetition, for building strong muscle memory, and—most importantly—for making the training process super fun!

Thanks to these experiences and the amazing results we’ve achieved, I’m excited to launch my Running Contacts Online Classes! The first official class begins in March 2025, but if you’re interested in individual lessons, feel free to reach out anytime.

And don’t worry—my puppy class tailored for future agility stars is also on the way! It’s set to launch in May 2025, so stay tuned!

What Others Say

Maruša is very systematic and precise in her training. She adapts the training to each human-dog pair individually, and above all, she makes sure that the dog enjoys the training and is rewarded at every step.

Beti & Lila & Spicy

5. December, 2024.

I started training with Maruša two years ago and she encouraged me to retrain my dog from 2on2off to running contacts. Since this is my first dog, I had no idea what I was doing. I took a running contact class, but we didn’t get anywhere. My dog is a BC mix, so his drive is not that high. He hates repetitions and really needs to understand the assignment to do well. We didn’t enjoy our trainings anymore and it was really sad and frustrating. But then Maruša happened! She took the time to see where the problem was and she introduced me to her method. She explained everything to me in a way I understood, she carefully analysed and commented every video I made, and she always answered to my questions (and there were many). Her method is easy, simple, but it works like a charm. What I like the best is that you can adjust everything to your dog’s needs. And if you are a beginner, Maruša is there to help you since she has a lot of knowledge, is an amazing observer and she always thinks outside of the box. She understands that every dog is an individual and she is capable to accommodate the training for a specific dog and its handler.

Zala & Jon

4. December, 2024.

I love to train with Maruša. She is an amazing trainer. She has an individual approach to every dog. Understands different breeds and not going all the same way. I've really improved my handling since training with her.

Simona & Newbie & Bloom

11. December, 2024.

Having witnessed Maruša's dedication and passion for the sport of dog agility firsthand, I can confidently say that she is a truly remarkable person, trainer, and competitor. She possesses an extraordinary ability to understand a dog's personality and tailor the training methods to suit each one. Her patience, expertise, and innovative techniques have consistently produced outstanding results, transforming even the most challenging students like me into confident competitors. One of the most impressive aspects of Maruša's training is her ability to push me out of my comfort zone. She knows exactly how to kick my ass up and down the field, ensuring that I never slack when handling my dogs. Her relentless drive and high standards have made me a better handler and have significantly improved my dogs' performance. I wholeheartedly recommend Maruša's agility training to anyone seeking a top-tier dog agility trainer. Her expertise, dedication, and genuine love for the sport are second to none. She always goes above and beyond to ensure that both dogs and their owners feel supported and confident throughout their training journey.

Ugrin Babunski & His Pumi crew

6. December, 2024.

I’ve been a Schnauzer owner for over 30 years, but Zophie is my first agility Schnauzer. We joined the trainings just to spend some quality time together and were hooked immediately - definitely because of Marusa who has made us do things I never would have imagined (for instance waking up in the middle of the night to drive to an agility competition :)). She is patient with beginners (both human and canine), knows when to push and when to stop us, great with explaining dogs’ psychology and behaviour, and most importantly, understands the Schnauzer mindset. Which can be a challenge. Agility is now more than a hobby to us - it’s a learning journey, rewarded by better understanding of my dog, myself, us as a team. And sometimes even with a medal. 🙂

Ana & Zophie

24. September, 2024.

Taking agility classes with Maruša Podjed Seitl builds up your agility knowledge, body awareness, as well as takes the understanding of your dog’s movement on the course to a whole new level. I enrolled to Maruša's classes with my Miniature Schnauzer Gina when we were struggling in A2 level. Being a total newcomer to agility, I immediately benefitted from her knowledge and expertise. It took Gina only a couple of trainings during the winter to progress to A3 level and start competing on the toughest of courses and among the best in the field. Maruša not only understood our needs but also encouraged us to take up new challenges with ease and comfort. She truly is one of the best in the world of dog agility!

Mateja & Gina & Darcy

5. November, 2024.

Maruša is an excellent competitor and teacher. I joined her trainings in 2018 with my dog Ba (a Mudi), and just a year later, we qualified for the national team for both AWC and EO - and every year since! She undoubtedly deserves credit for all our successes, and there have been many. She has practically made us who we are - a winning team. I can say that she is definitely the best in Slovenia for teaching handling, has a talent for creating excellent courses, and now she is also helping me a lot with my young dog, who is quite challenging. In short, Maruša is an expert in working (training, learning, competing, etc.) with dogs at an international level.

France & Ba

1. December, 2024.

I never have thought that Baci and I would take up agility. Then, through some coincidence and convincing from friends, we went to try it out with Maruša. Agility has become one of our favorite joint activities. What I really love about Maruša is that you know she is a professional, teaching agility and also performing at the highest possible level, while her humor, sarcasm, and relaxed approach make us feel really good during training, even those of us who are only there for fun with our dogs. Even though we don't have any major competing ambitions, we always feel welcome with her, we have a great time, and we leave training with smiles and good spirits.

Daša & Baci

4. October, 2024.

Homepage - Learn more

Why Eye of the Tiger?

Online Classes

FROM MY BLOG

NEW CLASSES

MIDNIGHT TRAININGS AND A GREAT START OF THE NEW AGILITY SEASON

TIGER’S PUPPIES AND MY THOUGHTS ON BREEDING

OUR PACK HAS EXPANDED!

FROM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TO A3 – AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN

EUROPEAN OPEN – WE WERE FLYING!

TIGER AND I ARE GOING TO THE EUROPEAN OPEN AND AGILITY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (or, how anyone can make their own sandwich!)

TIGER’S FIRST COMPETITION: WHEN TO START COMPETING AND HOW TO BUILD THE RIGHT MINDSET

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What Others Say

Homepage - Testimonials