My herding journey began a little over 20 years ago, when I accidentally-on-purpose became a retirement home for Martha McHardy’s working bitch, Tee. When Tee came to me at 9 years old, I had no idea that my relationship with her would become the standard by which I measured every relationship, human and animal, from that day forward.

My connection to the herding world over the next 20 years was sporadic and intermittent; the Metchosin sheep dog trial on Vancouver Island being a yearly highlight that ignited and then reminded me of the dream I had – I wanted to do “that” one day. It was like watching some sort of magic; unspoken communication between handler and dog, trust and respect, joy and frustration, all in the space of 15 minutes or less.

I became a local repository for herding “washouts”, agility dogs that were described as a “poor fit” for the previous owner and were presented for euthanasia, and even a backyard-bred little bitch who unexpectedly stole my heart following the tragic and sudden loss of a family member.

In my close circle of friends, I experienced some unexpected deaths, illnesses and life changing injuries that reminded me that my personal runway was getting shorter, and if I wanted to do “that”, I needed to get going! I began my purposeful search for a well-bred, working line border collie with the intent of launching my herding journey, “for real”.

In 2021 I was lucky to connect with Jennifer Macdonnell of JLM Border Collies, and she selected a pup for me to help me start the journey.

I have never met a dog like my Doug. His approach to life is universally “that’s my favourite thing!”. He has enough joy for 2 dogs and has never encountered a situation that he doesn’t believe, wholeheartedly, that he absolutely knows how to solve. I’m pretty sure he hit the ground believing he should be a CEO, and nobody could ever convince him differently.

Life has been a party, and he is more than willing to be the most enthusiastic participant!

As a completely green handler, there have been many days that included a conversation in the car with Doug about how it was time for him to grow up, get a job, and put the gaming console down ☺.

It’s a very good thing he is so good looking. Believe me when I say, there were also many conversations with myself on those drives home that included tears, toxic comparisons, self-doubt, negativity, and frustration.

Was I crazy? Was I wasting my time? Was this too much dog for me?

I’m gradually easing into the reality that this herding journey is LONG and it’s going to be full of plot twists and character reveals! Just like when you watch a movie that makes the beginning, middle and end seem like a straight line by the end, in reality you know that there are lots of side plots, complications, heroes and villains that make the story more interesting. There are days when I wish it was a 30-minute episode of Friends rather than a 10 season epic series with several spin-offs.

I’m grateful to have found a small group of people who are willing to participate as a live studio audience. This group includes the wonderful crew in the Dore River Stock Dog Training Academy Bootcamp that I joined in the fall of 2023. We met for hour long training sessions via Zoom and shared training videos & stories. There were so many takeaways.

My takeaways....While I have always known that, generally, everyone experiences challenges training their dogs, what has been enlightening are the stories that the most talented and experienced handlers have about their first dog.

I now know that Doug and I are living a true right of passage. I only hope he can forgive me for all the many silly things that I am inadvertently doing that are getting in his way of being the amazing, talented dog that I know he is!

It's very exciting to watch Doug maturing and changing, gaining understanding, and staying joyful in everything he does. It’s extremely gratifying to feel less like I’m two-beats behind and more often like my timing was right. I can’t wait to experience what it feels like to gain confidence and make each training session more effective, for both of us!

Advice....I feel like I am too early in my process to offer any technical advice to anyone else who is struggling, but I would like to offer some advice to more experienced handlers who might be watching new handlers as they travel along their own paths.

Be an observer, try to find ways to encourage, and be mindful that you are the ones we are looking up to. For many of us our dogs are our companions in life, and a kind word of encouragement from you, even if it is REALLY hard to find, can make all the difference.

Everyone has to start somewhere, and everyone’s start, middle and end will be different. Be kind.

For those of you who are as green as the grass stains on your butt that you wear like a badge of honour from your backwards-walking-mishaps, you are my people ☺. Laugh more, judge yourself less, and be like Doug….”this is my favourite!”.

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