I won't give you the long drawn out story - I'll try to condense it a bit.
My journey with dog training and becoming a more educated dog owner started in 4-H. I love 4-H and am a huge advocate for the program. That is not to say it doesn't have it's downfalls or ways it needs improvement, but that is a topic for a different time. I was around 16 when I started to get involved with dogs in 4-H after taking a few steps back from the horse side of 4-H. In this I found a new love.
I began with a German Shepherd/Husky mix named Brutus that the barn manager owned as the current family Sheltie was 15 at the time. It helped that he lived around the corner from us so me, being a teenager without a car could walk up the street and train. I learned a lot from him - happy voice probably being the most difficult and most important. He was selectively reactive, primarily with seemingly random little dogs. As I continued with him, our older sheltie ended up meeting the end of her long and happy life then we got another Sheltie.
Along came Annabelle. Annabelle came from a well recommended breeder near Cincinnati, but not the same breeder as our previous sheltie. From the time we brought her home at 8 weeks I had her in training and socializing settings. Even through the exposures and training, she ended up reactive - a common occurrence in shelties, but one we tried to prevent with proper socializing through all the critical learning periods. That's not to say I did everything right, there are tons of things I changed after working with her. She was a tough dog and the one who truly created a love of training and dog sports in me. She was fearful, reactive and sensitive. I became quiet, observant and patient because working with a reactive dog teaches you more patience than you ever knew. Having a reactive dog was probably one of the most eye opening and educational as an owner and trainer that I have ever had - it made me who I am.
It wasn't just the dogs who sparked this love, it was the people too. A young trainer volunteered to help out a bunch of kids in some 4-H program, this person will later become one of my closest friends and mentor. Cindy and her Aussie for lack of a better phrase - lit a fire inside me. The more I learned, the more I wanted to learn more. The more I struggled and doubted, the more she pushed me and gave me confidence in myself. She started taking me to dog shows and other dog outings. Now at 27, a ways away from the 15 year old kid, she is one of my bridesmaids in my upcoming wedding.
I dabbled in low level rally for years with my little reactive sheltie. Then I went to college and took a few years off before deciding I was in a place where I could get my own dog, I knew I wanted another herding breed someday, but that now was not the time. I always had a love of beagles and knew some wonderful beagles. Cindy put me in contact with someone heavily involved in beagle showing community who knew someone looking to retire a finished show-line beagle.
Originally from Chile and named Petisa (Peti for short), Pippa is the little bagle who could. I like to joke that Pippa is more worldly than I am, since I have never even left the country. My fiance and I got Pippa in the fall of 2017 when she was almost 5 years old. Now she is 8 soon to be 9, but I will leave the story of Pippa to another blog post. There's too many things to say.
In 2019 I was finally graduating from The Ohio State University with a Bachelors in Agricultural Communication, with a previously earned Associate's of Science in Horse science from their Agricultural Technical Institute. In 2018 I decided I wanted to take the leap and get myself an Aussie puppy for graduation - even if that meant after graduating since most breeders have waitlists. Once again Cindy pointed me in the right direction. She had previously done a ton of looking into Australian Shepherd breeders as she had gotten a new Aussie a couple years prior. I learned so much about searching for a breeder, creating relationships and Aussies while chatting and being a small part of her searching. She introduced me to my breeder, the breeder who I would purchase my first Aussie from.
In comes Nico. Nico is from Imagineer Australian Shepherds. I reached out to Gemi, the breeder, in 2018 and in June of 2019 I purchased Nico. Originally waitlisted, unsure if I would get a puppy from her Halo x Carbon breeding, I was nervous, but hopeful. Thankfully I moved up the list as the lives of others changed and I ended up with a black bi Aussie that has stolen my heart forever. Nico is now almost 3 and continues to grow my adoration of the Australian Shepherd breed everyday. Though not without his challenges, he is an incredible dog who is teaching me so much. Much like with Pippa, I will be dedicating another blog so I can go into full detail of our paths together.
Currently I am working as Lead Vet Assistant in a privately owned small animal practice, a veterinary technician student (slowly) and training my dogs. Pippa is mostly retired, more to be explained later, but we have fun with hikes and light training still. Nico and I are taking some time off agility to focus on fun, confidence building and rally. My next blogs will be focused solely on Pippa and Nico, delving more into our history, goals and dreams. If you would like to follow our journey or my ramblings, please subscribe to this blog and follow on facebook!
P.S. I always did struggle with shortening my writings in school and this still reigns true. If you made it to the end, thanks for following along!
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