Am I Ready to Trial?

I get this questions quite often, as I'm sure most instructors do.  

It turns into a mini interview, with me being the interviewer.

The questions go something like this......

1. What are your goals and expectations? 

2. Has your dog been successful practicing at different locations. 

3. Will your dog stay with you, or run 'a muck'?

4. Does your dog hold a start line stay?

5. Does your dog fully understand your obstacle criteria?

6. Will you go back and reattempt an obstacle

if the dog should run by it? 

7. What are the consequences to the dog, if any, 

if things don't go according to plan?

8. Will you be able to stay calm, and be the handler

you are in practice for your dog? 

As you can imagine, the answers to these questions will vary for everyone.

I'm not sure if I've ever given someone a straight 'yes' or 

'no' answer to this question.  It becomes more of a discussion on 

what they can 'expect' or 'not' expect to happen, and how they 

will react.  Let's face it, your time on the agility course is short.  

With a green dog, it's extremely important you know in 

advance what you will, or won't do if something unexpected occurs.

Of course, the most important thing is to ....

HAVE FUN!