Merit Jähne

Merit lives in Germany and has been doing agility since she was a teen in 2000. She's been instructing in dog sports nearly as long, first in dog clubs and, since 2009, as a professional. She has been offering online classes on running contacts and rally obedience since 2015. 

Merit has always aimed for international events and has trained for the top but, due to injuries, she didn't reach her goals with previous performance dogs (a Jack Russell Terrier, a Mudi, a Border Collie, and a Shetland Sheepdog). But her young Working Cocker Spaniel, Eep, has already finished 7th out of 77 in the Pentathlon at the 2022 World Agility Open Championships and qualifyied for the Agility World Championship Finals.

Merit's training philosophy is to focus on fun when training. She believes in not being too strict and to train each dog as an individual, taking care of the dog's needs. She's trained many different breeds, and she's owned a German Shepherd as well as her competitive dogs, so she is comfortable working with dogs with different body types and learning styles. She looks at training like a puzzle and take small steps to reach her goals. She likes to be very positive and "not always too serious," she says. 

Merit says, "Dog training is my passion!"