About Ardent Australian Shepherds
Ardent Australian Shepherds is a stand alone kennel based out of my home in
Calgary, Alberta.
Although I have only recently become involved in Australian Shepherds, I have
spent the majority of my life involved in pure bred dogs and the sport of
confirmation, spending the weekends of my youth at dogshows and in the
junior handling ring.
After having spent my life surrounded and raised with Afghan Hounds I knew I
wanted a breed that was versatile and would excel at many venues. A medium
sized herding breed with moderate coat, high drive and energy with brains to
match, the Australian Shepherd was a perfect fit.
My first Australian Shepherd, Colt (Caitland's Xplorer) came to me from Debbie
Markowski of Caitland Australian Shepherds. My best friend, he introduced me
to all the wonderful qualities and intricacies of this incredible breed. Sadly I lost
Colt to a tragic accident after which a little piece of me changed forever. He
made such an impression on me during his short stay with us I chose to
welcome another special friend (an Aussie) into our family in 2006. More
information on Chipper can be found on our "Aussies" page.
Not having had the opportunity to fully explore the Aussie's capabilities with
Colt, I have fully taken advantage of our precious time together to do this with
Chipper. We can often be spotted at local dog shows, as well we are currently
learning agility together and are preparing for more advanced lessons with
plans to continue until we are ready for our first trial. We will be attending our
first agility "camp" this summer for some extensive team training as Chipper has
shown a real drive for the sport and I am positive there is an agility title in his
future!
We have recently brought Chipper back out into the showring and have some
exciting news! I am proud to announce Chipper is now Canadian Champion
Blue Isle Field of Dreams and was owner handled all the way. Shown as a
puppy Chipper achieved a Best of Breed win over specials at 7 months of age
as well as a three point major. Most currently we won another 3 point major and
were Reserve Winners Dog to a major at a recent ASCA specialty. Thank you
to judge James Fredericson for finishing Chipper's championship on April 18,
2008 in Edmonton.
We have also started to play with herding-I must admit this is my favourite
activity of them all. We hope to attend as many herding clinics as time allows
this year with plans of instinct testing Chipper and more!
I am most recently a proud "grandma" and pleased to announce that Chipper's
first puppies are on the ground and running! Check our puppies page for more
information.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |