Hi, I'm Jennifer L'Arrivee,
Does training your stock dog feel like a guessing game? I remember that feeling well!
For me, it was all about having a passion for the working dog, but realizing I also needed to better understand the relationship between the handler, dog and stock.
Photos of me, practicing what I teach.
I have a Bachelor of Science, as well as a Master's Education.
My Story
I didn’t grow up on a farm. I grew up in the city, working in a mall shoe store — managing staff, hitting sales targets, and dressing to the nines. I loved high heels.
My life goal at the time? Own 100 pairs of shoes.
Livestock and stock dogs weren’t part of the picture. That said, I was lucky. Our family had friends on a ranch, and that’s where I boarded and rode my horses. I spent the first twenty years of my life riding and showing horses, learning timing, feel, and responsibility — even if I didn’t yet realize how much that foundation would matter later.
If you had told me back then that I’d one day be running a sheep farm, training and competing with stock dogs, and traveling to teach others how to work with their dogs, I would have laughed. I was a long way from being a “farm girl.”
Everything changed in the early 1990s.
I watched a sheepdog field trial on Vancouver Island — and I was completely captivated. Dogs working hundreds of yards away, guided only by whistle and voice, calmly moving livestock with precision and purpose.
I didn’t just think it was impressive. I needed to understand how it worked.
Like many people starting out, I wasn’t born into it. I didn’t inherit sheep. I didn’t have a mentor waiting in the wings. What I did have was curiosity, persistence, and a willingness to learn — often the hard way.
At the same time, I was also a licensed high school science teacher, working full-time in education. Teaching how people learn — how skills are built step by step — became just as important to me as learning stock work itself.
Eventually, I began teaching in-person clinics during school holidays, sharing what I was learning about stock, dogs, and the training process.
That work grew steadily over the next 25 years and evolved into a structured training program focused on foundations, stock sense, and thoughtful handling — not shortcuts or quick fixes.
Today, that program has grown into an online training platform that helps stock dog owners build real partnership, clarity, and confidence with their dogs — whether they’re working on a farm or preparing for trials. What started as a simple idea now allows me to train, teach, travel, and compete full-time with my stock dogs.
My life goal used to be 100 pairs of shoes. Now it’s helping people learn skills they never thought they could — from shoes to shepherd. And if you believe you need to be born into a farm family to train a good stock dog, I’m here to tell you that isn’t true.
What you need is curiosity, commitment, and the willingness to step out, observe, and learn — one thoughtful decision at a time.
What I Believe...
Stock dogs deserve to reach their full potential
The stock should be treated humanely and moved in a way that decreases stress
Providing owners with the skills needed to follow their herding passion improves the quality of life for the human, dog, & stock
By helping others train their dog, I am saving them needless struggle, stress, and frustration
Wondering if my framework will work for you?
You might think that, if you are a farmer or rancher, that someone who competes in herding won't properly train a dog suitable for practical work.
While this might be the case for some trainers, our program concentrates on the innate working ability of the dog first and foremost, regardless of whether the dog is used for a ranch or "hobby" herding.
I provide you with a three-part framework that ensures a solid foundation to build each skill necessary for a dog to move stock calmly & efficiently. I then guide you through each aspect of the training using in-field training sessions with various dogs.
GET STARTED
Are you ready to transform your training practice?
I help devoted stock dog owners learn how to communicate with their dogs so that they become productive working partners.
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