Ten years ago, getting good agility instruction meant living near a strong club, attending seminars, or hiring a private coach. Today, some of the best agility trainers in the world teach online — and their courses are available to handlers in rural areas, different countries, and schedules that don't allow weekly class attendance.
The agility community has embraced online education enthusiastically, and names like Fenzi, One Mind Dogs, and Susan Garrett come up constantly in community discussions. But with so many options, the question becomes: which platform is right for where you are in your journey, and how do you actually get results from a video course?
The Major Online Agility Platforms
Fenzi Dog Sports Academy (FDSA)
Fenzi is the most comprehensive online dog sports education platform, with courses across agility, obedience, rally, nosework, and more. For agility specifically, FDSA offers courses at every level from foundation puppies to advanced handling systems.
FDSA operates on a semester system with enrollment periods roughly every 6–8 weeks. Courses come in three tiers:
- Gold ($130–200/semester): Full video submission and instructor feedback — the closest to private coaching
- Silver ($65–100): Access to Gold student submissions and feedback without your own submissions
- Bronze ($25–35): Lectures only; no video review
FDSA is best for: handlers who want structured curriculum, instructor feedback on their specific dog, and community connection with other students. The Gold tier especially provides accountability and personalized instruction that many handlers find transformative.
Notable FDSA agility instructors include Justine Davenport, Dani Weinberg, and Hannah Branigan (who teaches the foundational relationship work that underpins performance).
One Mind Dogs (OMD)
One Mind Dogs, founded by Finnish handlers Jaakko Suoknuuti and Janita Leinonen, teaches a specific handling system — the OMD system — built around the idea that the handler moves on the inside of every turn. It's a systematic, mechanical approach to handling that produces very consistent results once internalized.
OMD offers a membership model (monthly or annual) with access to their full video library rather than discrete courses. The library covers every handling maneuver in the OMD system, from basic turns to advanced international-style sequences.
OMD is best for: handlers who want a complete, systematic handling methodology rather than piecemeal skills. The system requires commitment to learn — if you're already established in a different handling system, the transition takes time. But handlers who train in it consistently often describe their runs becoming significantly more fluid.
Susan Garrett's Say Yes Dog Training
Susan Garrett is one of the most decorated agility handlers in North America (multiple World Team, multiple national championships) and her online courses are widely recommended — but they focus heavily on foundation and relationship work rather than technical handling.
Her most famous courses:
- Recallers: Recalls and engagement — not agility-specific but foundational to any sport dog
- Shape Up: Fitness and conditioning for sport dogs
- 5 Minute Formula: Training principles for building a high-performance training relationship
Garrett's courses are best for: handlers who want to build the foundation that makes agility possible — engagement, drive, connection — rather than handlers already in competition looking for handling mechanics.
Into Shape Agility
Into Shape Agility (run by Channan Fosty) is a strong platform for handlers who want a progressive, systematic approach to training. It's less famous than FDSA or OMD but consistently praised by handlers who find it. The platform offers foundation programs through advanced sequences with clear progression criteria.
Clean Run
Clean Run is primarily a magazine and equipment retailer, but their educational library — particularly their course design and handling video series — is a valuable resource for handlers at every level. Less interactive than FDSA but excellent for specific topics.
YouTube and Free Resources
An enormous amount of high-quality agility content is available free on YouTube. Notable channels include Greg Derrett, Justine Davenport, and various national team handlers who post training clips. Free content is great for supplementing paid courses and for seeing how specific skills look at a high level — but it lacks the structure and feedback loop that drives real improvement.
Choosing the Right Platform for Your Level
| Where You Are | Best Starting Point | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New to agility, no dog yet | Susan Garrett, Fenzi Bronze | Foundation relationship and training principles first |
| Puppy or newly started dog | FDSA foundation courses (Gold or Silver) | Feedback on your specific puppy's progress is invaluable |
| In class locally, want to supplement | OMD membership or FDSA Bronze | Fills gaps without replacing local instruction |
| No local club; online only | FDSA Gold + OMD | Gold tier gives you the feedback loop that club training provides |
| Competing, working on specific problem | FDSA targeted course | Enroll specifically for the skill gap (start line, contacts, distance) |
| Advanced, want systematic handling | One Mind Dogs membership | Full handling methodology for consistent international-style running |
How to Actually Get Results from Online Courses
The most common complaint about online agility courses is: "I bought it, watched all the videos, and nothing changed." Online education requires more self-direction than in-person class, and a few practices make the difference between a course you watched and a course that transformed your training:
1. Train before you watch, not after
Do a short training session with your current understanding, video it, then watch the lecture. This way you arrive at the instruction with specific observations and questions. Passive video watching rarely translates to changed behavior — yours or your dog's.
2. Implement one concept per week
Most handlers try to implement everything in a course at once and end up confused. Pick one concept from each lesson, train it to fluency, then move to the next. Slower progress per concept is faster progress overall.
3. Video yourself
Instructor feedback is only as good as the footage you provide. Beyond that, reviewing your own video is often more instructive than the course content itself — you will see things in video that you never notice while handling. Even if you're enrolled at Bronze tier, video yourself regularly.
4. Use the community forums
FDSA and OMD both have active student communities where you can ask questions, share video, and get informal peer feedback. These communities are one of the most valuable things about online platforms — especially for handlers without local club access.
5. Choose one platform at a time
Buying courses from multiple platforms and trying to do all of them simultaneously is a common and expensive trap. Different instructors have different philosophies, different terminology, and different sequences. Start with one platform, get genuine improvement, then consider supplementing.
The Role of Online Training Alongside Local Instruction
Online courses and local instruction complement each other best when they're used intentionally. Use online resources to prepare for local class, to work through problems between sessions, and to develop concepts your local instructor doesn't cover. Use local class for the real-time feedback and real-environment practice that no video course can fully replicate.
If you have a strong local club, you probably don't need Gold-tier FDSA enrollment — but Bronze or a membership-model platform may fill important gaps. If you don't have local access, Gold-tier FDSA with an active engagement with the platform can genuinely substitute for much of what a club provides.
Whether you train at a club or entirely online, Barkloop tracks your actual trial performance over time — the real measure of whether training is working.