My Background

Hello! My name is Trisha Stall. I have been training, teaching and competing in dog agility since 1995. Here’s my story:

I began training my first dog in agility just 11 years ago, but in that short time I have become a top competitor in the sport and have altered my life to be involved in it full time. An Engineer for 13 years, I quit that field to become a full time agility instructor. I have three dogs, two of them mixed breeds, and have competed at the top levels. You may even have seen my dog Sandy (pictured at left and below) and me on television! We have competed in the USDAA and NADAC Nationals (by beating other top dogs in the country in several semifinal rounds) for the last two years, and we were also the regional winners and national finalists in the Purina Incredible Dog Agility Challenge, which has aired on ESPN.

Crystal, my first dog, is a Border Collie/Husky mix who passed away last year at the age of 13; she got me started in Agility. When we first started, both my trainer at that time and I, both completely new to the sport, made the mistake of not making Crystal’s early training an absolutely fun experience. As a result, Crystal was a slow, unmotivated dog for three years. But eventually, through lots of motivational re-training and perseverance, Crystal regained her original enthusiasm for the game! Crystal earned the CPE C-ATCH (Agility Trial Champion) title, won the 2002 CPE Nationals, and earned her USDAA Performance III, and NADAC Elite Standard, Jumpers and Gamblers titles.

I have two other dogs. One of them, Sandy, is an "All American"--probably Jack Russell or Rat Terrier mixed with Whippet and Beagle. Now 12 years old and nearing her retirement, Sandy has her ADCH (USDAA Agility Dog Champion); triple NATCH (NADAC Agility Trial Champion); CPE C-ATE (Agility Team Extraordinaire, only the 8th dog in the country to attain this title); winner of the 2003 CPE Nationals; has been in USDAA’s Top Ten Jumpers in the country the past two years; winner of the 2002 NADAC Nationals; and was a regional winner and national finalist in the ESPN/Purina Incredible Dog Agility Challenge. Sandy was also a rescue, and came with certain insecurities. I only started agility with her to help develop confidence; originally I had no intention of competing with her, but that changed when Sandy took to the sport and gained confidence, and was obviously having lots of fun. Sandy now lives for the sport of agility!

The third canine member of the Stall family is Buddy, a 6 year old Border Collie also acquired from rescue. Even though he was confined to a crate for the first 8 months of his life, with a little TLC from both the original rescuer and then from me, he has blossomed into a wonderful and typically high-drive BC. Buddy currently has acquired the USDAA Advanced Agility Dog title and Masters Jumpers Titles; CPE C-ATCH title; AKC OA and OAJ title; and NADAC Elite Std, Gamblers and Jumpers titles.

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