Tammy Moody

Tammy has been training dogs for more than 30 years, getting her start in 4-H obedience in middle school. Tammy found her love for agility in 1999 and started teaching agility in 2002. She opened her own training program in 2006 when she founded Oregon School for Clever Dogs. Tammy is best known for helping her students create happy working relationships with their dogs. All of Tammy's own dogs enjoy working with her and it is obvious through the joy and engagement they show on course. 

Tammy’s background as a Veterinary Technician and a Small Animal Massage Practitioner allows her to see when problems on course may be due to physical limitations and not necessarily training issues. 

Tammy likes to focus on trust and clear communication between dog and handler. As an instructor, she puts heavy emphasis on the understanding of partnership on and off the course using reward-based training and play. Her training philosophy is that agility should be fun and challenging for both members of the team without being overwhelming or frustrating. She says, "I like to break things down into manageable pieces for both dog and handler while building the teams up. I choose to empower both members of the team so they can be confident with their skills and understanding of what is being asked of them. I am adept at reading both people and dogs and I use this ability to push teams just enough to encourage them to leave their comfort zones and into new growth. I am a believer that both members of the team should enjoy the process. If either the dog or the handler are not enjoying the game, I change the way things are being done to ensure progress is happening through joy."

Tammy's personal handling style doesn’t always match the style her students are using. She says, "I am a dog trainer first and I make sure my dogs are trained to the level that will be expected on course. I use trained skills, verbals, and physical cues to navigate sequences. I feel the more a dog understands what is being asked, the easier handling becomes."

Outside of the ring, Tammy has a great relationship with her dogs. She says, "I participate in agility because I have dogs. I do not have dogs because I do agility. My dog's health, wellbeing, and happiness come before anything else. When we are not training you can find us adventuring in the mountain snow, kayaking lakes and rivers, hiking desert trails, doing farm chores together, and cuddling on the couch watching films."