Round robin was my favorite event where you could demonstrate your skills with everything from chickens to cattle. Throughout high school I rode in a PRCA Drill Team ba****ck and bridleless on a horse I trained. I was teaching beginning riding lessons to adults and children at 17. In college I started taking dog obedience and dog tricks classes so our dog could carry a flower basket in our wedding
. I was hooked and then discovered Dog Agility, Frisbee, and Flyball competition. Our Border Collie Aussie cross excelled at distance and accuracy in frisbee and we competed across the NW and qualified for Skyhoundz worlds in 2008 in Chattanooga, TN. In 2006 I accepted a job at SafeHaven Humane Society as the Operations Director and that is where I gained my deep understanding of dog behavior. I worked with thousands of dogs accessing behavior, creating play groups, modifying behavior, and counseling adopters. During this time I also worked with dogs from hoarding, abuse, and neglect cases. When I left this job and moved to Bend, OR I started a pet photography business and continued volunteering in local animal shelters. Today I enjoy training my own dog Bridger, a Pomeranian mix, in agility and teaching the foundations of dog agility to beginners. I especially enjoy helping build a partnership between dogs and their handlers using positive reinforcement.
