Claudia Bates

Claudia is a former technical writer that has been training dogs and people with dogs since 1996. Her dogs have earned titles in tracking, obedience, herding, and agility. She successfully competes at the Excellent and/or Masters level of AKC and USDAA agility registries and the local and national level. Her dogs have achieved the highest titles in different registries: MACH (AKC agility), ADCH (USDAA agility), HXAS (AKC herding), HTCh (AHBA herding), as well as life time achievement awards in agility (USDAA). Claudia’s dogs have earned the following national placements Giddy Up! USDAA ADCH and AKC MACH: 4th place cumulatively after 3 runs at the 2006 AKC National Championship competing in the Finals and finishing in the top 14 out of 300- 20” dogs; 3rd place in Hybrid at the 2010 AKC Nationals in Tulsa and 3rd in the Challengers round; semifinalist in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, and 2015, and finalist in 2009 USDAA Grand Prix at the USDAA World Cynosport Games in Scottsdale; sixth placement in the Dog Agility Masters Team Tournament in 2009; Semi-finalist in both Performance Speed Jumping and Performance Grand Prix at the 2011 Cynosport World Games. Kestrel: USDAA ADCH title; AKC MACH 2; semifinalist in the 2007 and 2008 USDAA Grand Prix, semifinalist in the 2009 Performance Grand Prix, and finalist, finishing in 4th place in Performance Speed Jumping at the USDAA World Cynosport Games in Scottsdale in 2009. Kestrel won Performance Speed Jumping at the 2010 World Cynosport Games in Louisville. She then placed second in Performance Grand Prix at the 2011 World Cynosport Games in Louisville. Hijinks (USDAA ADCH and AKC MACH, among other titles), was a finalist in her first national competition, the 2010 World Cynosport Games in Louisville. Hijinks went into finals in 10th place out of an impressive field of over 200 dogs. Hijinks went to the 2013 AKC National Agility trial in Tulsa, placing 4th out of over 400 dogs in the hybrid class and second by .01 in the Challengers class. Most recently, Claudia and Quasar (USDAA MAD and AKC MX, MXJ, among other titles) were finalists in the fast and furious Steeplechase at the 2013 Cynosport Games in Murfreesboro, TN. As well as competitors in the very competitive 20” Challengers Class at the 2014 AKC Nationals in Harrisburg, VA. In 2015, Claudia and Karma (a student’s dog) were Grand Prix finalists, finishing 7th at the USDAA Cynosport World Games Murfreesboro. Hijinks and Claudia finished 5th in the Performance Speed Jumping finals at the same event. These days, Claudia is competing locally in UKI and occasional AKC trials with her dogs. She enjoys watching her students and instructors compete and succeed with their dogs in agility trials and in all their endeavors.

Claudia, her husband Jim, and their Border Collies live on a small farm in Berryville, VA. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing, playing with her dogs (training, training, training!), as well as attending camps, lectures, and classes to further her education in dog training, operant conditioning, and teaching.