Whitney Taylor

Always a lover of dogs.

I have loved dogs since I was a kid. Not just in the, "I want to pet all the dogs" way. In the, I read breed books cover to cover and like to spout facts of the original purpose of each dog breed kind of way. So perhaps, it is a surprise to no one that my life has gone down a path that lead to work with dogs (and people) full time.

This is in no way a journey I set out to undertake. I got started in agility after already having established myself in regular old nine to five kind of job. I, like so many people, just wanted to do something with my very energetic and athletic dog.

I had no idea that this sport would bring me a community, more personal growth than I knew what to do with, an entire skill set and eventually a career change.

And best of all, there are dogs. Lots of dogs.

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Getting Started in Agility

Learn more about how I got started in dog agility.

My Dogs

None of what I do would be possible with the love and patience of my dogs. They have each taught, and continue to teach me so much.

Fractal

Fractal was everything I wanted in my second agility dog. He was blazing fast and powerful. This also meant that he went off course all the time! With Fractal, I had to learn how to send, and eventually what it meant to cue collection. He really set me on the path to international style agility. Due to COVID and various injuries, we never quite got to come together as team like I wanted. I did manage to enjoy every run I had with him after getting him back from injury though.

Sprite

I almost don't know what to say about Sprite. She was by far the hardest of my dogs to get started in agility and the only dog that I have had to convince to love it. Either in spite of that fact, or perhaps because of it, she has taken me further in this sport than I thought possible for a long time. She has forced me to be 100x the handler and trainer I was when I got her. That means that now we have the skills and teamwork to compete on the most difficult courses out there, and, occasionally, come out on top.