“It strengthens your connection with your dog, and when you have that perfect run where everything comes together, there is no way to explain that feeling.”
Trevor, Spring’s handler

How They Started

Spring had only been with Trevor a short time when they came to their first agility class. It was her third home. “At the beginning, my dog was like a wild animal,” he says.

She had just come out of an obedience class, and agility was something different. Trevor signed up for fun. Nobody was thinking about trials back then.

They are still in that same class. Trevor thinks two people have left and two have joined since then, and everyone else is who they started with.

Trevor and Spring on a rocky summit during a hike

What Was Hard

Trevor says blinds were probably the hardest thing. That’s a blind cross, where you change sides in front of your dog with your back to her. After that obedience class, Spring also had a hard time learning to work on his right side.

Jennifer remembers something else. “The biggest challenge was Trevor realizing that Spring didn’t need him to use her name for each obstacle. Trevor learned to trust her and trust his handling skills to let her shine.” About a year and a half in, she could see the bond between them growing. “They started acting like a team, working together to achieve a good run,” she says.

Their First Trials

In November 2024 they tried an ACT trial, which is an entry-level agility test for new dogs. Then they trained for three more months and entered their first real agility trial in February 2025. “Surprisingly it went very well, because our trainer had really prepared us for it,” Trevor says.

Ask him when it clicked and he will tell you about a trial in Walpole, early in the spring of 2026. “I can’t really say exactly what it was, but when you know, you know.”

These days they are working on their MACH, which is the Master Agility Champion title. Trevor thinks they are pretty close to their Master Bronze titles in Standard and Jumpers too.

Trevor kneeling beside Spring and holding a blue first place ribbon

His favorite run was probably a Premier Jumpers With Weaves run at American K9 Country in New Hampshire. “But any run is great as long as your classmates and friends are there with you.”

The Friends They Made

Spring is much better with other dogs now. “The socialization and exposure is awesome,” Trevor says.

And he has made friends of his own. “I’m not very social in my old age, and I have lost most of my close friends. The people that I have met through class and trialing have become some of our closest friends in the past few years.”

He had this to say about Jennifer. “Jen is a great instructor, and the proof is in how well her student group does at trials.”

Trevor and Spring sitting together outside under a blue sky

What Jennifer Says

“Trevor is a good handler because he cares about the well-being of his partner. He wants to give the best of himself so she can be her best. Spring is very attentive to Trevor, and her sole purpose is to please him.”

“I am very fortunate to be able to watch these two from the beginning of their agility career, when they took a class for fun, to now competing and almost obtaining their agility championship. Seeing someone have goals they set for themselves and accomplishing them is what agility is about.”

If You Are Nervous About Trying Agility

We asked Trevor what he would tell someone who is nervous about starting.

“Definitely take the class! It was the best thing I ever did. It now consumes most of my time and money, but I’ve met a lot of great people, and dogs!”