I grew up a little rural village called Penketh on the outskirts of Manchester in the UK, and from a very early age had an affinity for all animals. Dogs and horses being my ultimate favourites!
My first dog as a child growing up was a little Maltese poodle called Princess Pepita of Yalwa, who was then the baby in the family until I came along. Pepe was my constant companion and shadow throughout my formative years and we shared many adventures together. My first introduction to agility was with mops, brooms and buckets set up as an obstacle course for Pepe to go over, but mostly she went either under or just sat looking at me quizzically!
After much nagging (as only a child can nag!) as Pepe was getting on in years, I was given my very own dog, Billy. Billy was a cross German Shepherd/Border Collie and that’s where my love affair began with Border Collies!
Billy was all I wanted and more in a best friend, he would fly over the mops and brooms, protect me from the Milkman, the Gas Man and the Bin Man. Sit forlornly at the front gate looking after me as I left for school with snowflakes falling around his head, and be patiently waiting for me as he joyously barked and wagged his tail as I returned.
And then the decision was made in 1979 that we were immigrating to SA! My best friend and constant companion Billy was only still a youngster and I was only 12 years old. Pepe had already moved over the Rainbow Bridge by this stage and it was then that I realised that a dog is for life! We couldn’t bring Billy with us so my wonderful cousin Valerie and her husband took Billy home with them and he lived to the ripe old age of 12/13. I was extremely fortunate that my cousin took and cared for Billy and that I received updates on how he was settling in and how well he was doing.
Upon arriving in SA and the excitement of going to a new high school and meeting and making new friends etc, and life just kind of taking over as it does, is when I made the decision to return to riding horses during my high school years as I was at a boarding school.
Upon matriculating in 1986 with Head Girl honours and settling back into life as a young adult in the rural fishing village on the West Coast of Cape Town called Melkboschstrand, my family once again rewarded me with another dog, Billy #2, another German Shepherd Cross.
Once I started working and earning a salary of my own, and all the years I’d spent at high school riding horses, well you guessed it! I bought a horse! All of my spare time was spent competing in cross country, 3 day events, dressage, polo~crosse and drag hunting with the Cape Hunt & Polo Club. Poor Billy #2 was left to his own devices! He got out of the garden one day looking for something to do, and sadly got run over by a car. That day changed my life!
I vowed I would never again get a dog and just leave them in the backyard with little or no interaction or stimulation! So I decided to adopt a rescue dog from the SPCA, a Kennel Union of SA registered Weimarana no less that had been surrendered by it’s owners as “untrainable”! The challenge was on! I did no research on the breed and went purely on the dogs looks! They are magnificent looking dogs and move with the fluidity of water and are often referred to as “Grey Ghosts”. Well that was my first mistake! Weimaraners are gun dogs, highly intelligent, have a stubborn streak, need firm handling and lots of mental stimulation and plenty of exercise. So I moved to the farm where I stabled my horse so “Otto” could be with me when I went on out rides with my horse, and sleep on my bed of course!
To do right by Billy #2, I decided to do right by Otto, who loved our evening outrides in the African bush, and I did some research and decided I would enter him, or rather “show” him in the local breed shows in Cape Town. At this stage I was 21 years old.
I “showed” Otto at his first breed show in the beautiful surroundings of Stellenbosch, and was fortunate to have a kindly English born and bred judge who bred English and Irish Setters at the time and lived in Stellenbosch, and who took me under his wing and taught me all I know about Gun Dogs. Otto was “made up” as a Kennel Union of SA Breed Grand Champion in just 3 short months of going to breed shows with 6 Championship Certificates to his name, knocking the then top Weimaraner “Blue” out of the number 1 spot in South Africa! I was “hooked” into the wonderful world of Dogdom! Sadly, Otto got out off the farm one day whilst I was at work and was shot by a local farmer for harassing his flock of geese. That’s when I learnt a valuable lesson about the correct fencing for a determined dog! You put the fencing a meter underground and a minimum of 2 meters high above ground. I’ve never made that same mistake ever again and I’ve never lost a dog or had one escape since! We live and we learn through heartache!
Living out on the farm with my Thoroughbred horse, Dream Chaser and Otto I was living my ultimate dream! And then along came a UK imported rough coated Border Collie looking for a home from one of the local farmers. She was so beautiful, all classic black and white with freckles on her legs. Her name was Lady, and she lived up to that name until the day she died of old age. She was such a gentle kind soul and so loyal and devoted to me. She followed me on outrides with Dream Chaser whilst we galloped through the bush, but Lady was smart! Where Otto used to follow me the entire route, Lady used to lie and wait in the bend knowing I’d be coming back that way at some point and she’d continue on with us on the return leg. I’ve never been without a Border Collie in my life since except for a brief period after she passed over to the Rainbow Bridge and I adopted a Siberian Husky named Nushka!
Unless you haven’t guessed by now dear readers, all of the dogs I’d had in my life, apart from Pepe, are classified as “working dogs” i.e. they need a job to do, they need to be kept busy and mentally and physically stimulated all the time! So off I went to do Dry Land Sledding at 4am every Sunday morning with Nushka and Cindy Slabbert! Madness I tell you! However, I met some amazing people on this journey with these beautiful dogs that came into my life, and to this day those same people are now life long friends, and they still go to breed shows, and they still own working dogs, because once you get to know your different breeds and what suits your lifestyle and your age, you tend to pick a breed that suits your needs rather than choosing a dog that looks beautiful and is a status symbol among your peers.
After Nushka’s departure I spent a year back in the UK visiting family and working at the Margaret Green Animal Sanctuary rehabilitating horses and dogs to much success.
Upon my return in November of 2001 I was extremely blessed once again by my family to be gifted with a pup advertised in a pet shop window for R100. His name was Shep and he was a Bouvier cross Border Collie. And from there a Star was born and another adventure begun.
With Shep I did everything right from the get go! We enrolled in Puppy Class with Cape Handlers Dog Club in Pinelands and went on to compete in competition obedience, Flyball, Dog Jumping & Agility at various dog shows all over SA as a member of the Kennel Union of SA. When Shep was 18 months old I decided he needed a pal and adopted my beautiful sheepdog Comet from Karoo Animal Protection in Barrydale to keep Shep company whilst I worked to pay for dog shows and training!
I have represented Western Province at 4 National KUSA level Flyball events, whereby my rescue dog Comet earned the title of Fastest Flyball Dog in SA for four years in a row from 2008 to 2011, and Western Province walked away as the title holders as the winning national team. Flyball is a fast paced, action packed relay team of 4 dogs and requires the dog to be sociable with other dogs and have a high level of obedience.
I have represented the Dobermann Club of the Cape, Flyball & Aptitude sub committees at KUSA (Kennel Union of SA) provincial level for many years and no, I’ve never owned a Dobe, I just love the breed. I have also been an accredited well respected Judge for Flyball and Aptitude for the Kennel Union of SA. Aptitude testing was first introduced by the Swiss army to test the mental stability and behaviour in dogs that were needed to perform specific tasks. Trainee judges are put through an extremely rigorous and intense training course to be able to judge Aptitude in SA.
Throughout the aptitude test, the dog is not once subjected to physical strain but its mental capabilities are tested in varying intensity ending with a final gun shot test should the dog make it that far. The dogs performance is assessed by a minimum of two judges and a Test Leader, assisted by at least two marshals. Owners handle their own dogs throughout the test. It takes at least forty minutes per dog (depending on the dog) and after each individual test, the dog is given sufficient time to “work off” any stress before commencing the next test. After the test, a verbal critique is given by the Test Leader, who also issues a KUSA APT Certificate, provided of course the dog passes. You may then request that the Kennel Union add the title APT to your dog’s registration certificate. Like overseas, the failure rate is around 25% amongst the dogs entered, and those dogs that fail should for all intents and purposes not be bred with!
Added to my original pack of Shep & Comet was my beautiful Bloodhound, Dr Watson. Now he was a challenge and I would do it all over again! Sadly Dr Watson, Shep and Comet all passed over the Rainbow Bridge last year after many wonderful years of learning, competing, travelling to amazing places all over SA and meeting fantastic people.
I currently own a South African bred working sheepdog (Border Collie) named Pixie, and yes, we go and work sheep whenever the opportunity arises, generally on my only day off, which is a Saturday. After 3 months of owning Pixie we went on to win the Beginners Trophy at our first sheepdog trial. Owning a pet Border Collie as opposed to owning a working Sheepdog are two completely different dogs! Think chalk & cheese! Whistle commands are of the utmost importance when working a sheepdog as the dog is most often out of your sight and working far distances away from you. I have also trained young sheepdogs for local farmers as well as rescue Border Collies that have been surrendered due to their high prey drive whereby the owners have not been able to cope with such a high energy dog in a normal pet household. Some of my clients whose dogs I started on sheep have gone on with sheepdog trialing with great success to this day. I also have two young working sheepdogs that I’m in the process of training on sheep as well as for Flyball & Agility.
I am also a professional dog groomer & trained under Lynda Montignies of Dogz@Home, whereby your dog is groomed in the comfort of its own home, thereby relieving the dog of being in a stressful environment in a parlor situation.
The well-trained dog begins with some idea of what role the dog is expected to play in your life and then selecting a dog that is suitable for the job. Following are some of the reasons for selecting a dog:-
• Companionship;
• Playmate for the kids;
• Protection;
• A special activity, such as hunting, herding, breeding, showing in conformation, or competing in performance events such as Flyball or Agility;
• Status symbol (not wise); or
• A combination of the above.
Some dogs are able to fill all of these expectations, while others have more limited talents. Getting a dog for a status symbol usually means one of the guarding or rare breeds, and often these represent some special challenges. If you want a rare breed, first find out why it is such a rare breed and if there are any potential drawbacks.
Conversely, one of the most popular dogs is the Labrador Retriever. The reason is simple – a Lab is a good multipurpose dog that can serve as a companion and playmate for the kids, is naturally protective, generally enjoys good health, makes a good guide dog, and with little time and effort can be transformed into a well trained dog.
You also need to take into account your own life style and circumstances. For most of us this means a dog that can satisfy our need for companionship, is easily trained and doesn’t require a lot of upkeep.
With over 30 years experience of showing, competing, training and judging various dog disciplines, I hope this helps you in choosing the right trainer for your dogs needs, and to be able to live in perfect harmony for the short time your dog is with you, because for however long it is, it’s never long enough!
