Two years ago today, I brought puppy Tiger into his new home. And today it was his very first competition! Originally, my next blog post should have been the third part of the “Working with a Working Dog” series that Tiger inspired, but I think this special occasion deserved its own post. (Don’t worry—the third part is almost ready and will be out soon!)

I wanted to share some thoughts about preparing for competitions and managing expectations.

Preparation

We started competing relatively “late,” though I hesitate to use that word because we began when I felt Tiger was ready. Male dogs, especially, tend to mature later than bitches—both mentally and physically. There’s absolutely no rush to start competing as soon as possible; in fact, rushing can backfire. Exposing a dog to situations they’re not ready for can lead to negative experiences, insecurities, and nervousness. Not every experience is beneficial. My goal is to ensure my dogs build positive experiences, and I do my best to make that happen.

If your primary goal is winning, you might be heading down the wrong path. Winning is a superficial goal, as only one team can take first place. You might have a great run and still not win—or you could have a less-than-perfect run and win due to limited competition. Chasing wins can easily turn into a burden and undermine your enjoyment of the sport.

Instead, focus on progress. Celebrate the small victories—they’re achievable and incredibly rewarding. This approach will bring joy to your training and give you plenty of reasons to celebrate along the way. And ultimately, isn’t having fun and enjoying the journey the whole point of agility?

Here are a few tips for preparing your dog, whether they’re young or experienced:

• Focus on progress, not results.
• Set realistic goals and celebrate every achievement.
• Don’t rush; allow dogs to mature physically and mentally.
• Train smart.

Expectations

Finally, the big day arrived—Tiger’s first competition! While I knew he was well-prepared, I was also aware of his inexperience with handling different surfaces or working in an environment as loud and stimulating as an indoor competition.

A few days before, I practiced some A1-level situations with him to get us both familiar with competition-like situations. Ironically, it ended up being one of the worst training sessions we’ve ever had. Tiger was brilliant, but I struggled—either giving him too much support and then staying behind him being too late for the next obstacle, or not supporting him enough, forgetting he was still inexperienced.

That session, however, was exactly what I needed. It reminded me to focus on what truly matters and set realistic goals for our first competition:

1. Have fun and enjoy the run.
2. Support every obstacle with both handling and verbal cues, especially in a new and exciting environment.
3. Execute a precise course walk and stick to the plan. If the plan works, we can build on it in future training. If it doesn’t, we’ll have something to work on.
4. Provide the best possible experience for the dog.
5. Do my best. If I give my best, I know Tiger will give his, too. It’s unfair to expect his best effort if I don’t bring mine.

The Outcome

We didn’t bring home any clean runs, but we hit all the little goals I’d set—and that felt like a huge victory!

Tiger showed amazing focus, nailed all his weave entries and exits, performed a great dog walk, and had a really cool see-saw. That said, he struggled with some things, like running on the unfamiliar surface, which caused one dropped bar when he mistimed his takeoff. He also “lost” the A-frame under his feet since we haven’t had many opportunities to practice it in sequences (only four times before the competition – Slovenian winters mean very limited training opportunities).

The loud environment was another challenge. After tunnels, he occasionally “lost” me because he’s not used to working in such noisy environment. Despite this, he managed to handle most situations beautifully—except for the last two obstacles in the agility run where we were both like “headless chickens”.

Mindset is Everything

If there’s one thing to remember, it’s this: mindset is everything.

When you focus on realistic goals and celebrate the small victories, you’re on the right path. It’s not about being perfect—it’s about progress, joy, and building positive experiences.

Click on the link below to see a video of our runs—not flawless, but they felt like a victory! Fun fact: he actually won the jumping run, even though it wasn’t clean.

TIGER’S FIRST COMPETITION