Rickfield Farm Agility Training Centre Inc.

06/15/2026

Finally home after a wonderful weekend competing with Katie at the 2026 AAC Ontario Regional Championships. I’m so proud of my little girl. She ran her heart out for me with some brilliant runs to pull off 2nd place and we qualified for the Canadian Championships! We were in 2nd place after day 1 and we were able to hang on through day 2. Thank you to Jay Devitt for your support, camaraderie and laughs! You and Triumph were amazing! Congratulations on your 1st place win!

A huge shout out to Middlesex Agility Club for hosting a wonderful Championship! Special thanks to all of the volunteers who gave up their time so I could play with Kate. Everyone was so kind, smiling and laughing throughout! Thank you to the judges, Tracey Mallinson, Jonathan Luce, Hayley Warner for the fun and challenging courses! And thanks to all of my friends who I got to spend time with over the last four days it was so much fun hanging out together. And finally, thank you to my husband Rick Zmich for coming with me and looking after Katie and I all weekend!

We can hardly wait to do it again next year!

03/09/2026

Why does my dog pick up some skills in days but struggle with others for months?

This framework will help you understand.

Every skill goes through four stages. And here's the thing: each stage needs a completely different approach.

*The psychology behind it:* This framework comes from the Four Stages of Competence model, originally developed in psychology to explain how humans acquire skills. It applies perfectly to dog training because it's not about species, it's about how brains learn motor patterns.

*Stage 1: Unconscious Incompetence*
"Wait, what am I supposed to be doing?"
→ Your dog has no clue what the obstacle is
→ Training focus: Build awareness, don't push performance

*Stage 2: Conscious Incompetence*
"I know I'm supposed to do something but I can't figure out what"
→ Lots of effort, inconsistent results, visible frustration
→ Training focus: Massively reduce criteria, get that success rate up to 80%+

*Stage 3: Conscious Competence*
"I can do it, but I really need to concentrate"
→ Works great at home, not so much elsewhere
→ Training focus: Slow, systematic variations. Don't rush to trials.

*Stage 4: Unconscious Competence*
"I just do it without thinking"
→ Works anywhere, even under pressure
→ Training focus: Keep practicing, add context variety

Most people think their dog is "done" at Stage 3. That's where the problems start.

Understanding these stages changed everything for me. I stopped getting frustrated with Stage 2 confusion and stopped being overconfident about Stage 3 success.

The real goal? Getting skills to Stage 4.

Pick your most problematic skill right now. Which stage is it really in?

Be brutally honest - not where you want it to be, but where it actually is.

Then train for THAT stage.

Save this framework - you'll need it for every new skill you teach.

03/02/2026

01/30/2026

12/05/2025

For any of my students who want to have some fun.