Clicky agility clubs?

Agility is getting very popular & very competitive.
I have just joined a new club. I started a few months ago with a well known club but because Bess is pretty good i received a few glares from my teacher who actually concentrated on teaching HER dog rather than praising her pupils.
I never once got a 'well done'. Now, i am a riding instructor. I get so engrossed with my pupils i can actually feel myself lifting into a jumping position on my feet as my pupils are jumping
I didn't like it either when she used to talk about this lovely lady in a really bitchy way, in front of us pupils. Made me wonder whether she was talking about me
So i have joined Bretford DTC & Leamington DTC. Both are very friendly, helpful & very enjoyable.
I am looking forward to progressing with Bess & hopefully participating in a little show in the summer.
Anybody else had a similar experience?

Sadly yes. As it becomes more competitive, [ the wretched new KC rules have a lot to answer for in that regard ], it brings out the worst in people

I left a club I had been co-trainer at for nigh on six years because of disgraceful clique behaviour by a few people who were all ego but no substance to back their ego`s - one even used to take some of my students aside and tell them to try things differently to what I`d just taught them - though that one still handled her dog the way I`d taught her... - resulting in people making silly errors so gave her more chance to win, that`s why she did it to them - absolutely despicable behaviour.

My club now is my own, so I makes the rules - and because of the previous clubs pathetic cliquey content I have this in the club rules which I wrote :


"We would like N.E.A.T. to be a happy, friendly training club rather than, for instance, having faceless members in an impersonal style club with `cliques`, or an overbearing atmosphere, or where people just turn up, train without speaking to others, then leave.
All members to please make new members feel welcome.
Any bickering or ‘cliques’ will be dealt with."

The members I have are absolutely lovely, everyone helps each other and we have a heck of a lot of fun anything less is not good enough as far as I`m concerned !
If anyone new were to join then treated anyone disrespectfully, I would give them their marching orders and the number of the other club so they could go there instead

I shouldnt laugh but oh yes! I am not a member of any club because of this and train privately instead. In the good old days when it was starters once we had won out (which didn't take us long) my trainer used to turn her back and walk away when it was our turn to do the exercise then she wondered why I chose to go elsewhere....

Patch I don't the new rules have anything to do with it, pople were this vile before they came in but I also think they are are silly

Yes, I've heard of this too.

A guy in our village used to take his border collie, Meg. Unfortunately the club is dead serious and winning is everything. From what he said, Meg really enjoyed it and would have been pretty good, but being an older gentleman, he couldn't always keep up with the dog and often made mistakes - the trainer & other members used to shout at him!

Needless to say, he stopped going.

Seems I have been very lucky with both the clubs that I have attended (and years ago too).

Everyone was very encouraging at my previous club and super friendly they helped everyone at every ability. the only reason I left was after Max was attacked by another dog not because of the people.

Current club is again really friendly - some compete - some don't! Nobody treated any differently and everyone just likes to have fun

I started agility with my dog a year ago and the club i attend is great, really friendly trainers always helpfull and they understand the needs of different breeds which is great - i love it.

I've been with 2 clubs now (only changed as the current one is a more convenient location) and although each compete in shows etc, it's more for fun as opposed to serious winning.

Fortunately, everybody is friendly, the trainers are great and dont take things too seriously and we and our dogs get praised.

it can be like that with ob too, sometimes. Its sad, but sometimes competition brings out the worse in some people!!!!!

Oh yes, I have experienced this. Dog clubs, both in obedience and agility, can be very cliquey.