About Me

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I have had dogs all my life, the first being a Rough Collie, and then my first Border Collie in 1978, and I was instantly hooked. An Australian Shepherd followed I was in the dogworld to stay! I have been training dogs since 1996. I practiced as an Obedience instructor from 1998, and an Agility instructor from 2001, including specialised foundation and puppy Agility classes, clicker training, and advanced Agility. Since then the Shetland Sheepdog has captured my heart and I have been studying them ever since! My goal is to encourage great performance dogs while, at the same time, promote the good & healthy breeding, and pure lines of these wonderful breeds that I have chosen!

18 March 2014

Today I made a stand

In my efforts to shed anything unpleasant and adopt a more harmonious and pleasant lifestyle I made a stand. I have distanced myself from one organisation whose members and leaders are the main cause of my dissatisfaction and who are the ones that are ruining my time with my dogs:


I will not be rejoining in 2014 due to all the new restrictions.
I feel it is not in my dogs' best interests to run under these circumstances.
I am trying to build relationships with each of my dogs for long and happy competing careers, but cannot under these conditions.

I will still support the shows as best I can in order to stay on the Province's show league.


I am talking about unpleasantness, and rules being twisted to suit people… General nastiness, unproffessionalism, back-biting, etc
I have respectfully queried things that are not being done according to the rules, on courses, and the responses I have got were rude and dismissive, and I have had to endure further victimisation because of it.
It is any handler's right to query something that is not according to the regulations, as this is the platform on which we are expected to compete.
As a judge I would never speak to people in a way in which I have been spoken to.

Regarding rewards…. I work a certain way with my dogs, and if any Committee is going to tolerate others screaming, shouting, swearing and then not tolerate me praising my dogs the way I see fit, without harming or getting in anyone else's way - then I want no part of it.

In addition, my aim it to promote well-bred, structurally sound working dogs, and that means having b1tches in season that work.

They are penalised in leagues etc, as they are not allowed to be on the grounds or compete, so it's really not worth it to be a part of it. I am a judge, KUSA member and breeder and trainer and working disciplines competitor, and I feel that these new rules being implemented by those sitting on Committees are starting to go against the aims of KUSA and the promotion of well bred dogs all round..