Today we’d like to introduce you to Debbie Spence.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Debbie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was training & competing in obedience in the late 1980’s when I happened to see a dog agility demonstration. I told my friend, “I want to do that!” Unfortunately, my first agility dog (who also competed in obedience) didn’t much care for agility because my training methods back then were pretty harsh. That’s because I didn’t know any better, and I listened to what my obedience and agility instructors told me to do. When I look back, I’m surprised I even stuck with agility. Even though my Border Collie wasn’t excited about this sport, I was.
Around 1995, obedience friends I’d known for years were showing an interest in doing some agility. I convinced them to drive to White Rock Lake every Sunday for agility class like I’d been doing since 1989. Unfortunately, just as their beginner’s class was going to start, the club I belonged to found a place where they could set up their agility equipment and leave it. The club therefore decided to change to weeknight classes instead of weekend classes. My friends who signed up for beginners were disappointed and didn’t feel they could make that drive on a weeknight, so I offered to teach a weekend beginners class at the club’s new location. After the session was over, my friends wanted to do more but didn’t want to make the drive. They convinced me to look for a place closer to my home in Keller. I actually put an ad in the local paper explaining what I was looking for and even how much I could afford to pay. I got a response, and PAWSitive Agility Working School was born in November 1996.
At first I started with classes only on Saturday and Sunday but, as I started entering agility trials, I realized I needed to teach weeknight classes so my weekends would be free. Also, AKC started their agility program in 1992, and it was just gaining popularity. I truly think I started PAWS at just the right time because my phone started ringing off the hook with people wanted to try agility. As they say, the rest is history.
During this time, not only was I teaching agility classes most evenings of the week, but I was also working full-time as an executive assistant for the owners of a food company in Fort Worth. I loved my job, but I loved teaching agility even more, so I made the scary decision to try to quit my “real” job and try teaching agility full-time. I’ve never looked back.
I currently have approximately 90 students who train weekly at PAWS. I teach 10 classes a week and, when I’m available, also teach private lessons where I can work with people one-on-one to help them work through training issues they may be experiencing. For those classes that are too large for just one instructor, I have a group of five additional instructors, and each has an assigned class they help with, although they substitute for each other based on other commitments they may have. We split the class in two and each of us works with a group for about 45 minutes before switching groups. That way every owner/dog team gets a chance to work with both instructors.
In addition, for the last four years, I’ve also been teaching a monthly 4-hour agility handling workshop in Prosper for those people who would like to learn & train with me but can’t make the drive all the way to New Fairview each week.
In addition to agility classes, I have two instructors who teach obedience classes (one a daytime class; the other an evening class) several times a year. Taking our obedience class is a prerequisite for starting formal agility at PAWS.
I’m fortunate that my instructors have been with PAWS for a long time. They believe in the handling system we use, and we all teach from the same page, so what we teach is consistent. That’s not always the case at other places with multiple instructors because often each instructor has their own way of handling. This can often be confusing to the student if they train with more than one instructor.
I have students who drive a long way to come to PAWS for classes. One of my agility instructors has been with PAWS since 1997 and drives from Burleson at least two times a week: once to help teach a class and once to train her dog. Two other instructors have been training with PAWS since 1998; both live in south Fort Worth and also drive to New Fairview twice a week. My newest instructor drives to PAWS from Mansfield each week. The two instructors who teach our obedience classes have also been with PAWS for many years: one since 2001 and the other since 2003. My agility students come from as far away as McKinney, Mansfield, south Fort Worth, Tolar, Stephenville, Sanger, Wichita Falls, and even Marietta, OK. I also have students who come for private lessons from the Oklahoma City area, as well as Enid, OK. All these people have other agility training locations must closer to them where they could train, but they choose to make the drive to PAWS because of the quality of instruction they receive. Also, several of these people started their training at other places but decided to move to PAWS because of our reputation.
Has it been a smooth road?
The road was not initially a smooth one. Fifteen months into training at the first location, the owner told me he was selling the place. I had to quickly find another training site and put another ad in the local paper. I again got a response, and we moved into an acre of property behind a family’s house. That arrangement didn’t work very well and, after less than a year, I found a third location for PAWS. The Masons offered us the use of their property behind the Masonic Lodge. I had to go before the Planning & Zoning Commission first and plead my case since the property wasn’t zoned for what I was wanting to do. I then had to go before the City Council and get their permission. They wouldn’t change the zoning, but they approved a 2-year Special Use Permit that allowed me to teach agility on the property. At the end of those two years, I had to again go before P&Z and the City Council. Although I got another 2-year SUP, I was told that I probably wouldn’t get a 3rd because Special Use Permits are supposed to be temporary. Although this was disappointing, it really turned out for the best because, during our last year behind the Masonic Lodge, my husband & I started looking for another house with some property so I could set up my school on it and not have to worry about anyone else telling me what I could or couldn’t do. We found a home with 5 acres in New Fairview and have been here since January 2002.
Another challenge I deal with consistently is that my training facility is outdoors, so holding classes is subject to the weather. The biggest downside to having to cancel a class due to weather is that I bring in no income for that class because I don’t charge my agility students for cancellations. Until I win the lottery and can build an indoor facility, I’m content to train outside, especially because I enjoy running agility on grass. I feel it’s better and safer for the dogs.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the PAWSitive Agility Working School story. Tell us more about the business.
What I’m most proud of is my reputation as both an agility instructor and competitor. In my agility classes, I challenge my students to try things outside their comfort zone so they can become better handlers. At the same time, though, we laugh at our mistakes and enjoy ourselves. People have to come PAWS from other agility trainers and told me they would leave their weekly class crying because they just couldn’t “get it” and the instructor wasn’t helpful. The other thing I’m proud of is the comments I get from others about how smooth my handling is (as well as that of my students). Finally, I get complimented about how I help my students at trials: I help them with their handling strategy for their courses, and I stay until the end of the trial if I have students running, even though I may have finished running my dogs earlier in the day.
In my opinion, those who loves dogs will find agility addictive. I think it’s because, through positive reinforcement in our training, we develop a special bond with our dog that we wouldn’t otherwise have or feel. That the dog – without a leash attached – learns to respond to the owner and follow their lead throughout a sequence of obstacles is indicative of the trust the dog & owner develop with each other. It’s absolutely the best feeling.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Since agility started in the U.S. in 1985, the sport has grown tremendously. Additional venues have popped up (including AKC) with different rules and different classes, and each seems to have its own following, although many people compete in more than one venue. With the increase in popularity, both in the United States and abroad, agility has become more competitive, and that has led to better training and handling, faster dogs, and more challenging agility courses.
Also, as dogs have become a more important part of people’s lives, other “dog sports” have become popular: scent work, barn hunt, lure coursing, dock diving, to name just a few. Anyone who wants to do something with their dog can find a sport both they and their dog will enjoy doing together.
Contact Info:
- Address: 5966 FM 2264
New Fairview, TX 76078 - Website: www.pawsagility.com
- Phone: 940-627-3612
- Email: debbie@pawsagility.com
- Facebook: PAWSitive Agility Working School
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