Episode 008 - How to Overcome Nerves in Your First Dog Agility Competition

Season #1 July 22, 2025

Show Notes

How to Overcome Nerves in Your First Dog Agility Competition

Feeling nervous before your first dog agility trial is completely normal. In this episode of the Maximum Fun Agility podcast, Lorrie Reynolds shares practical advice for beginning competitors who feel anxious about stepping into the agility ring.

Through personal stories and real experiences from agility competitions, Lorrie explains why those nerves are so common and how you can shift your mindset to enjoy your runs and build confidence over time.

Topics Covered

Dog agility competition nerves, beginner agility trial tips, building confidence in dog agility handlers, agility competition mindset, overcoming performance anxiety in agility

In This Episode You’ll Learn

• Why nervousness is a normal part of starting dog agility competitions
• Why experienced handlers aren’t judging your runs the way you might think
• How memorable agility moments often come from connection, not perfect runs
• Why most people at a trial aren’t actually watching your run
• How courage and experience gradually build confidence in the agility ring

Episode Overview

Starting to compete in dog agility can be exciting, but it can also bring a lot of nerves for new handlers. Many beginners worry about forgetting the course, making handling mistakes, or having their dog do something unexpected in the ring.

In this episode, Lorrie shares a personal story from her time as a musician performing a solo piece in front of an audience. That experience taught her an important lesson about courage: sometimes confidence only comes after you face the fear and move forward anyway.

Agility competitions are very similar. What feels like a glaring spotlight when you walk into the ring is usually far less intimidating in reality. Most competitors are focused on their own dogs, conversations with friends, or preparing for their next run.

Through humorous and memorable stories from agility trials, Lorrie reminds listeners that nearly every mistake imaginable has already happened in the agility ring. The moments that truly matter are the ones where you feel connected with your dog and enjoy the teamwork you’ve built together.

Key Training Concepts Mentioned

• Managing nerves in dog agility competitions
• Building confidence through experience
• Focusing on teamwork instead of perfection
• Developing a healthy competition mindset
• Enjoying the connection between handler and dog

Key Takeaway

Nervousness is a normal part of starting something new. As you gain experience in dog agility competitions, those nerves gradually turn into confidence. Focus on enjoying the run with your dog and celebrating the moments where your teamwork shines.

Resources Mentioned

Maximum Fun Dog Sports
https://www.maximumfundogs.com

The Agility Playground membership

Explore Courses, eBooks, and Free Resources

If you’re looking for more ways to improve your dog agility training, be sure to explore the courses, eBooks, and free training resources available from Maximum Fun Dog Sports.

You’ll find practical tools designed to help agility teams improve communication, confidence, and independence on course.

Visit the shop and resources here:
https://www.maximumfundogs.com

Related Episodes

If you’re preparing for your agility competition journey, you may also enjoy:

Episode 003 – Why Distance Handling Matters in Dog Agility Training
Episode 005 – 5 Common Dog Agility Training Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

Additional Resources:

Website: https://www.maximumfundogs.com
Shop: https://courses.maximumfundogs.com/shop
Email: [email protected]
Articles: https://www.maximumfundogs.com/articles
The Agility Playground: https://courses.maximumfundogs.com/2025-bb-tap1-7D

Episode Transcript

Lorrie [00:00:08]:
Welcome to the Maximum Fun Agility podcast. I'm Lorrie Reynolds, owner of Maximum Fun Dog Sports. We help your agility team build your relationship, communication, confidence, and fun in training so that you can joyfully succeed on any course. In this episode, I'd like to talk about how to handle the nervousness that comes with being a beginner at agility. I'd like to start by sharing a personal story. Here's a little known fact about me. When I was in school, I was a fairly accomplished flute player, or flautist to be fancy. I participated in the Denver city-wide band and a district-wide orchestra in middle school.

Lorrie [00:00:49]:
And in high school, I was in marching band, orchestra, and cameoed in jazz band concerts once in a while. My senior year in high school, the music teacher decided that our final concert would feature an orchestral piece that highlighted a soloist - me. Needless to say, the introvert in me was terrified. I wasn't worried about my ability to play the piece. My fear stemmed from the fact that everyone would be watching me. My awkward teenage self would have to get up, take the miles-long walk to the front of the stage, and stand to play the entire piece under a glaring spotlight. The actual concert is mostly a blur, but I vividly remember 2 things even all these years later. First, how badly my knees were shaking as I walked to center stage.

Lorrie [00:01:40]:
It felt like I was standing on the hood of a car that was barreling down a dirt road. The second thing I remember is the overwhelming sense of relief after the standing ovation when I could return to my comfortable, darker, and stable spot with the rest of my peers and become an anonymous member of the orchestra again. What that experience taught me was that courage is just moving forward even through the fear, and that things are a lot less scary when they're in your rearview mirror. Each time you are successful at something that you feared doing, you gain courage and confidence for the next scary thing. Many novice agility handlers suffer from the same nervousness and even fear when they start trialing. They're worried that they'll mess up their handling, forget the course, or their dog will do something embarrassing. If that describes you, I have some secrets to share. Secret number 1 is that there's absolutely nothing you can do in the dog agility ring that we haven't already seen, heard about, or done ourselves.

Lorrie [00:02:47]:
The experienced handlers that you might worry are judging you have seen it all. I've watched a dog poop at the top of the a-frame while his handler watched helplessly as it rolled down the ramp - all the way to the bottom. Another extremely talented dog balanced the teeter perfectly as he got eliminated for eliminating right in the middle. That took some skills. I've seen people complete an entire portion of a course in reverse order without realizing it, and I've gotten lost on course myself at my first national event in 2004. There was a dog who chased a marmot up a hillside at Nationals, and another one who unfortunately decided to chase some horses and ended up with stitches. Back then, I could vault the ring ropes, but I still wasn't faster than the dog we were chasing.

Lorrie [00:03:39]:
I used to create blooper reels every year for my training facility's holiday party, full of falls, fails, and broken equipment. There is literally almost nothing you can do that hasn't been seen before, and I've got video to prove it. Secret number 2 is that even though those ribbons and cues feel really important right now, and I definitely think you should enjoy your accomplishments, that's not what you will remember years from now. You'll remember what it felt like to be connected to your dog. You'll remember someone making a positive comment about your run. You'll remember generally how much fun it was to run with your dog and how much love you felt for this creature that you could actually communicate with. There are a few runs that I remember that were definitely not qualifiers, but I remember them because I felt such joy when a distance section of the course went perfectly, or my dog was so happy at the end, or I felt like we had just finished a huge accomplishment when we had a breakthrough. I even remember how gratefully shocked I was that Maxx finished the course when the lights in the entire arena went out 10 seconds into our run.

Lorrie [00:04:50]:
Few of those moments were perfect runs. I couldn't tell you what the run was like for 99% of the ribbons I have. Make note of the special times you are connected instead. Those are worth remembering. Secret number 3 is that everyone is not actually watching you compete even though it feels like you're in that glaring spotlight at center stage. Look around you at your next trial. Most people are talking with friends, playing with their dogs, looking at their phones, or otherwise occupying their time. Unlike my solo performance, all eyes are not on you.

Lorrie [00:05:28]:
People used to make it a point to watch Maxx because he was fast, talented, and exuded such joy on course. Even so, at least half of my friends would later ask, how did your run go? So although it feels like you're in the spotlight when you run, only a small portion of people at the trial will watch you, and even fewer will remember how you did. There are very few runs that are so memorable that other people remember them years later. My friend Lauren ran Maxx in Weavers, and Lauren took his eye off the path and ended up with some weave poles in a very unfortunate spot for a male. That one has been made famous on YouTube. There's another run where someone's pants actually fell completely off as they were running. Thankfully, the person was wearing shorts underneath. Occasionally, someone will still say, "Remember the time so and so lost his pants on course?" Compared to those epic runs, something silly like your dog getting the zoomies or pooping in the ring or you getting lost on course doesn't even register with most people.

Lorrie [00:06:32]:
If it does, the reaction is usually something along the lines of, "I remember what it was like to be that new". At your next dog agility competition, I want you to dance (or run) like nobody's watching. Do your best to let go of the worry about what might happen or what people could think. Anything that happens on course probably won't be a surprise to the small number of people who are actually paying attention. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Maximum Fun Agility podcast. If you wanna build a successful agility team where runs with your partner feel flowing and in sync, join us in The Agility Playground. The Agility Playground is a low-cost membership that meets you where you are on your dog agility journey and helps you propel your team to new heights. You can check out The Agility Playground and join our community at www.maximumfundogs.com.

Lorrie [00:07:30]:
See you next time.