Agility competitors who are eager to sprint to the start line to put titles on their dogs are finding that being on an AKC Agility League team eases the journey.
The team agility sport, which began its third year in May 2025, offers an amazing transformation in skills and confidence via its trial experience. The League not only puts dog-handler teams on a path to success, it also is a lot of fun.
Here are glimpses of the magic of Agility League, as told by participants.
An Armful of Chihuahuas
It’s not uncommon for Jenny Savickas to walk into the Stoney Run Canine Camp at Hebron, Indiana, where she works as a dog trainer, carrying an armful of Long Coat Chihuahuas.
This is where her pack of females ranging in age from 2 to 12 years old take part in Agility League. A motley crew, their varied dispositions make them well-suited to the agility stepladder that League offers through its divisions from Elementary to Ph.D.
Jenny, of St. John, Indiana, just wants her dogs to be happy and have fun.
“Lily” (Daisey’s Gift NA NAJ CGC TKA FTN FDC), a merle 7-year-old, started League in the Spring-Summer 2023 Season.
Lily, who was Jenny’s first agility dog, enthusiastically took to trials even before starting League and is now on a Sophomore team.
“Lily is really excited about agility,” Jenny says. “She is my super consistent girl. She thrives on the teamwork and likes the challenge of what sequence is next.”
While Lily was launching in Agility League, Jenny was following on the side with “Gracie” (Gracie With The Pretty Face ACT2 ACT2J TKN), a 12-year-old tricolor rescue embattled with emotional scars.
“I created a bond with Gracie teaching her simple tricks and getting her to go on walks with me. She’s very food motivated so once we developed a bond, she was willing to try obstacles like tunnels and jumping. She had a lot of fun with it.”
Gracie began Agility League in the Fall 2023 Season on a Freshman team.
“She is spooked by the teeter-totter because it moves, and she likes to look at me when she does weaves, which causes her to miss poles,” Jenny says.
Although Gracie has yet to compete in a trial, she has passed two second-level Agility Course Tests, ACT2 and ACT2J.
“I am so proud of her. She’s come a long way,” Jenny says.
Jenny started her youngest Chihuahua, “Willow” (She’s Just A Baby!), a brown 2-year-old, in the Fall 2024 Season.
The cute, adorable pup she brought home at 8 weeks of age quickly showed a reactive side rooted in fear.
Right on cue, at 10 weeks during the first puppy fear stage, “I realized Willow was reactive to other dogs and even people. On walks she would bark, growl and lunge at fire hydrants and mailboxes,” Jenny says.
“We are going really slow. She’s afraid of the teeter, which is why Elementary is perfect for us,” she says. “We can work on the teeter on the side, and she can also be in Agility League and do the courses.
“League has so many options. It definitely helps less confident dogs. It’s a nice step between a class and a trial. It’s been great for us.”
A Spirit Captain for League Night
For Your K9 at Elmhurst, Illinois, joined the AKC Agility League in Fall 2022, the first season after the pilot program paved the way. The excitement to be part of a team agility program drew students at various skill levels, some who were new to the sport.
About 20 handler-dog pairs signed up for Freshman, Sophomore and Senior Division teams. It quickly became apparent they needed an opportunity to get acquainted and a shot of camaraderie.
Along with the new team captains, Erin Rezmer, of Lombard, Illinois, was named spirit captain.
“We did not know one another because we train on different days and times and our paths don’t cross,” says Erin, a longtime agility competitor who runs an 8-year-old brindle female Boxer, “Vixen” (Prism’s Dancing Little Vixen CD BN RE AX AXJ XF ACT1 SWM CGC), on a Senior team.
“We run League on Friday nights at the end of the work week when we’re tired from our jobs,” she says. “We were looking for a fun, interesting way to bring our community together. I am the fun person.”
Erin introduced theme nights to add a dose of fun to League nights.
“We’ll have theme background music playing between course runs, photo backdrops and food celebrations a couple of times during the season. Everyone wears items that reflect our themes,” Erin says.
“One of the first themes was ‘Let’s Get to Know Each Other,’” she says. “Everyone got a sheet of labels with everyone’s name. Through the night, they had to find out who each person was and introduce themselves.”
League team members add to the creativity by putting their ideas for theme nights on a dry-erase board. They have celebrated holidays like Valentine’s Day with love themes and have had theme nights tied to disco and their favorite TV shows. They have feted the Olympics and the Oscars, with acceptance speeches from members who achieved Agility League top rankings.
“A favorite theme night was ‘Wear Something That Makes You Happy,’” Erin says. “We had a yellow photo backdrop with white smiley faces for taking pictures.
“Overwhelmingly, people have said that League has built our camaraderie and created a community. Newcomers to agility say they are not afraid to compete in a trial when they feel they are ready because people from League will be there.”
A Lifesaver for Pandemic Puppy
Agility League was a lifesaver for Susan Soverio of Little Silver, New Jersey, and her young male Portuguese Water Dog, “Cayo” (NorthStar’s N SeaAngel’s IC The Highest Power CD BN FCAT AJP OFP SWA SFA SEE CGC TILN), who was just starting out in the sport during the pandemic.
“Cayo was born smack in the middle of COVID,” explains Susan, an agility competitor for 15 years. “We brought him home in September 2020."
“We did as much as we could with him trying to give him a well-rounded training schedule. However, there were no puppy matches, few workshops and seminars, and many classes we usually take during a puppy’s formidable training were simply not available.”
Prior to joining League, Cayo competed in three weekend agility trials in the 16-inch Preferred Jumpers class.
“He was not ready on different levels,” Susan says. “He was OK at some trials but not all. While he could perform the tasks, like jumps, weaves and tunnels, he did not have the confidence or coping skills for the trial environment.”
Cayo was unfamiliar with “people standing at the gate with dogs waiting to go in, the gate snapping shut, the timer and buzzer going off, the judge and bar setters in the ring, the bright lights and different turf, waiting to be released and not being treated,” she says. “Even the dog crating area was a new experience.”
Ultimately, over those weekends, Cayo and Susan earned a Novice Jumpers Preferred (NJP) title.
Susan says they were lucky to get a spot in the Winter 2024 Season of Agility League at the Bayshore Companion Dog Club at Tinton Falls, New Jersey, on a Sophomore team. They have continued in League every season since then.
“With League, you are doing an entire course with 18 to 20 obstacles,” says Susan, who is vice president and AKC delegate of the Bayshore Club. “In class, you have the instructor on the sidelines who corrects things as you go along, all while you are treating your dog, but not in League.
“As I have become more comfortable, I have gotten more fluidity with the courses. Cayo has become more confident with the courses, and I have become more confident to be able to handle him.”
Cayo, who is now 5 years old, competes in Masters Jumpers Preferred, Standard Excellent Preferred and Excellent Fast. He is on a Senior team in League.
Susan credits League with Cayo’s fast advancement in agility.
“You are able to put the pedal to the metal and trial more confidently,” she says. “It helped us gain confidence that we could transfer to an actual trial.”
A Big Team Sport
Instructors at Flying Feet Dog Training Center at Floyds Knobs, Indiana, thrive on competing together on a Senior team in Agility League.
Team captain Brittany Marcum explains, “We are super competitive. There are a lot of people we see at trials around the country who we enjoy competing against in League. We also enjoy competing against some of the top dogs in the nation without leaving home.”
The Flying Feet All Stars team compete in the Regular Senior Division. They are Champions of the Fall 2024 Season and Runner-Up Champions of the Spring-Summer 2024 Season. The highly competitive division has more than 100 teams vying for top honors, including some of the most accomplished dog-handler teams in the Masters and Excellence levels in the country.
The Flying Feet All Stars include Brittany, who handles a Border Collie, Trisha Koetter, owner of the facility, who runs two Border Collies, and Trisha’s daughter, Chase Conder, a former instructor, who runs a Border Collie and a mixed-breed dog.
The team enjoys that “League exposes us to courses created by top judges in the country,” Brittany adds. “Every judge has a unique style, and it’s nice to see some of the things they put in their courses. It helps us to be better prepared out on the road.
“League is great practice. It holds us accountable to get out there and practice.”
Agility League “takes you from a single sport of you and your dog and puts it into a team,” she says. “We always hope our friends do well, but League makes us root for them in a way that we don’t usually do at a trial. It takes it from a small team sport to a big team sport. That makes it really fun.”
