Karen Becker has been running and competing in agility since approximately 2010 and was an assistant instructor in agility foundations at K9 OTC Club from 2018 to 2020. She began teaching after being asked by the agility foundations instructor to assist and found she really enjoyed watching the handler/dog teams bond, excel and grow together.

Karen first entered the agility world many years ago when her golden, Halley, was in field trial/hunting training initially and was gone with the trainer for very long periods of time. They missed her a lot and so Karen decided to pull her out of that sport and into something fun, exciting and challenging they could do together. Karen attended her first agility trial as a spectator and knew right there and then it was exactly what they were looking for.

As a trainer, she’s most proud of being able to assist and encourage the younger dog/handler teams and watch their excitement when they're able to achieve their goals. As an owner and handler, she’s also proud of having taken her two dogs, Halley and Ember, to the Master Agility Level in AKC competition.

Karen believes there is nothing better than having that special connection and bond with your dog that you can accomplish with training and then transfer onto an agility course, all while having fun with your dog. She loves working with the young dogs and their handlers and watching them achieve that certain skill on an obstacle, all while having fun and getting exercise.

Karen’s training approach is to start with short, simple fun skills for the dog and handler and then put them together for short agility sequences. Sometimes we think we are teaching/training our dogs, when in fact they are helping us to learn! Karen has learned so much from handling her dogs and is thankful to them every day for the fun and great times they’ve had together. Her youngest dog, River, that she’s currently working with, is quite challenging, but each "moment of brilliance" they have as a team is so rewarding as they continue on their new agility journey.

KAREN BECKER

Fun Agility Focus