Hello! I'm Sarah Giammarino and I'll be your host and instructor for Dog Agility From Home. Dolly, my rescued Pit Bull, will be your doggie co-host and many of my students are featured. Dolly LOVES agility from home and some of this course is inspired by her!

I've been training dogs since 2003 and in this past decade, moved exclusively to teaching dog agility. I find that the skills taught in basic training like stay, come, and paying attention are taught just as well through the sport of dog agility… in fact, better, because the humans are more motivated to play the sport! When my dog Vegas and I got 4th place in the Canadian National Agility Championship in 2015, we had to take our communication to the next level, and the benefits to our relationship lasted far beyond the competition.

Agility is a positive way to train your dog that uses treats and encouragement. It provides lasting, powerful results, especially for teaching the dogs to pay attention. I’ve been teaching agility to students of all experience levels, and they get so excited about what they’re doing with their dog, it’s rewarding for me.

In the past few years, I’ve seen that in-person agility is expensive and, even if you’ve got the cash, spots in agility classes are hard to come by. Many agility venues with availability are far away and take an hour to drive to. At the same time, my online agility classes have been a hit - fun and rewarding for my students and their dogs! And for a tiny fraction of the price!

Several students who took my online courses then visited my in-person classes and blew the other beginner dogs out of the water with their foundation agility skills. I had to skip them up a few levels! I’ve come to realize that Dog Agility From Home has many advantages over in-person agility, especially for beginners.

So, I’ve made this course! It’s for every dog who needs a little more play and excitement in their day and every person who would love to play agility - if they just had the right place to start. I’ve put everything I wish I’d known back when I began my dog sports adventures.