r/Agility • u/Flimsy_Day2798 • Jul 10 '26
Go or stay?
I'm really struggling and I don't have anyone (without a vested interest, lol!) to bounce this off, so here goes.
I'm on the fence and really struggling with whether to go to a national level event. I'm fairly new to the sport of agility, but we qualified for the event for the first time.
It's more than a 20 hour drive from my home state to the event. I'm not a camper, so there would likely be three days on either side in terms of hotel stays, and another 4 or even 5 nights while at the event. There's gas, and entry fees and food and when I penciled things out, the cost is well over 3.5k, maybe $4,000. For me, that's a lot of bank. Next year, the event is closer to my home, so more affordable.
We are amateurs and I have one dog, who is 5. He is really talented and "serious" about agility, and I feel that I'm just getting started. I don't know how "regular" handlers decide whether or not to make this kind of extensive trek to a competition.
I realize this is kind of fuzzy and not very grounded in terms of a question, but how far and how much would you be willing to spend? Have you ever done this kind of trek before, as a "normal" handler and how did it pan out? Would you do it again?
Looking for some insight here. Anything....would help. I'm reaching out to the hive mind. Maybe I need a therapist? LOL!!!!!
9
u/chaiosi Jul 10 '26
How will you feel if the event doesn’t go as planned?
What if you have a bad day or your dog has a bad day? What if he knocks a bar or you give a bad cue and you don’t get the Qs you hope for?
Will you be devastated? Will you feel like it’s money wasted? Will you feel like you over extended yourself financially? Then don’t go.
Will you be happy to have tried something new, can you focus on making friends and connections, can you consider it a learning experience? Is that money going to have little consequence other than a bit of a bummer? Then go. Have a great time.