Lori first brought Maggie to Kim because she needed help with the dog’s anxiety issues. Lori had planned to enroll Maggie in obedience class, but Kim suggested something different. She pointed out that agility training would give Lori’s Border Collie an opportunity to exercise both her brain and her body. Lori saw the sense in this and enrolled Maggie in one of Kim’s agility classes.
Improvements in Maggie's behavior were apparent almost immediately. During the first few months, the new agility team developed a solid foundation. In fact, Maggie made such rapid progress that Kim was soon advising Lori that it was time to move into competition.
Maggie was a sensation from the moment she stepped into the agility ring. Thanks to the excellent training she’d gotten at DSK, the once-apprehensive Border Collie sailed through Novice, Open, and Excellent A, posting such eye-popping scores that she won first-place ribbons almost every time she competed. Lori and Maggie continued to train, moving from basic training to complex techniques, and had soon mastered not only Standard and Jumpers classes, but the new FAST class as well.
Amazingly, after only two years of agility training, Maggie qualified for and competed in the 2010 AKC National Championship in Tulsa, Okla. While Maggie didn't make it to the finals in this ultra-stiff competition, she was no slouch, either. During the state competition on the first day, she earned sixth place in the nation for her jump height – the super-competitive 26-inch class.
“Best of all,” Lori says, “we've achieved our original goal of having a stable, obedient dog. Maggie can go anywhere with us, she behaves perfectly in strange situations, and she can be petted by strangers – even children.
“I can't say enough,” Lori finishes, “about how much Kim has helped us!” Lori’s partner in agility hijinks is MACH Tulla Maggie Lou XF.
Sherri and Lucy made their first appearance at DSK in the spring of 2008, when Sherri sought help for Lucy’s shyness and separation anxiety. Kim assured Sherri that agility training has helped countless dogs slay the anxiety monster and develop the self confidence they need to conquer their fears.
And that’s precisely what happened with Lucy, a lovely mixed-breed dog with a large component of Rhodesian Ridgeback. As Lucy and Sherri began to master the skills of agility, the dog grew stronger and more confident, naturally assuming the self assurance that had otherwise proved so elusive. “She finally found her niche,” Sherri says, and secure in that, she no longer had anything to fear. “Strangers no longer terrified her, and she learned that other dogs can be friendly!”
When Lucy took the plunge into agility competition, she was an immediate success. Her first day in action, she qualified in four of her five CPE runs, narrowly missing a fifth qualification by virtue of a technicality.
Lucy now has the first- and second-level CPE titles under her belt and is well on her way to the third-level title. And as AKC welcomes mixed-breed dogs into competition in spring 2010, Lucy now has new worlds to conquer. She got off to a flying start with two first-place finishes her first day in the AKC ring! This accomplished canine is My Lucy Girl OAP OJP CTL3-R.
Maureen had done some informal agility with her Rottweiler, Amalia, but when she decided she wanted to start competing, she brought her dog to DSK. “There were a lot of discipline issues when we first started at Kim’s,” Maureen recalls. “Kim evaluated Amalia and saw real potential. I saw a spoiled Rottie who was used to having her own way! And I knew that was my fault,” Maureen adds.
“Kim taught me how to handle my Rottie instead of having her handle me. She gave me the tools I needed – just the right balance of praise and discipline.”
Maureen and her dog worked hard, and in less than a year, the imposing but now well-behaved Rottie was ready to compete. As Maureen explains, “Kim had made a slim, trim athlete out of Amalia.” In her first AKC competition, Maureen’s Rottweiler earned two legs each in Preferred Standard and Jumpers. After that auspicious start, she quickly finished her NJP title and is now preparing for her second season of competition.
“People who knew Amalia before Kim’s training can hardly believe she’s the same dog,” says Maureen of her Rottie, who’s officially known as Amalia Gabriel Keller CD RN NAP NJP CGC. “Kim’s dedication to competition is apparent in her training, and it’s reflected in the results she gets. She really prepares you for competition and leaves no gray areas.
“If you’re serious about competing in agility or obedience,” Maureen concludes, “Kim’s training is a must.”
