10/20/2026
I can speak for myself and many others I’m sure, when I say I can relate to this.
I think there is a phase in agility that happens far more often than we realize.
𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙖 𝙙𝙤𝙜… 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙪𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚.
Not because you stopped loving the sport, but because so much of the sport was wrapped up in that dog.
The places you ran. The routines. The trials. The start line. The feeling of having your teammate beside you.
And then suddenly, they’re not there.
Some people are able to move forward quickly after losing a dog. And that’s okay. But we shouldn’t assume everyone can.
When you have an incredibly deep bond with a dog, their absence can change the way you see the entire sport. Sometimes getting another dog doesn’t immediately fill that space. Sometimes watching others run actually hurts.
And that’s okay too.
There is no timeline for when you’re supposed to be ready to step back into the ring. You can love agility and still need time away from it.
And if you’ve ever thought, Maybe I’m done, after losing a dog…
𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗔𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗘. 2 1/2 years later, the sport is JUST now starting to slowly feel ok again for me however I look at it VERY differently now.
Sometimes you just need time to figure out how to love the sport again without the dog who made you love it in the first place. ❤️
