KOOTENAI AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERDS
I was first attracted to Australian Shepherds by the way they move. I love to watch their bounding canter, and there is nothing more beautiful than an Aussie striding out with a smooth-flowing extended trot. When my golden retriever-Aussie died from a re-occuring tumor, I decided to look into buying a purebred dog. And of course, when one begins looking for a puppy, there are none to be found! However, I continued to search, and in January 1998 I was lucky enough to find a breeder in southern Minnesota with two gorgeous pups available. I chose the female, and thus Kootenai Australian Shepherds was founded.....
Kestrel is by far the most animated dog I have ever owned. She glows with intensity and speaks with her actions. I love her very much and have a very close bond with her. Within a year of acquiring Kestrel, I decided she needed a buddy. I began my search again and found sweet little Merlin. Merlin is like Kestrel in so many ways, but she is different than Kestrel too. She wants to please me sooooo much that she is ready to burst. And her intensity just pours out through her eyes. Kestrel is much more independent, but they took to each other immediately, and they have a very special bond too.
As I learned more about Aussies, I also learned more about dog competitions. My interests were perked by agility, obedience, conformation, and, of course, herding. When I moved to the Spokane area in 1999, I decided I was going to compete with my dogs. I enrolled Kestrel in an agility class, which she took to like wildfire, and I attended a herding clinic. Merlin and I also entered our first obedience trial and conformation class in September 1999, only to find out how much I did not know about obedience!
That fall I moved to Alaska, and over the following winter and spring I learned a lot more about obedience training, and Kestrel learned a little bit about motherhood. She gave birth to our first litter on April 25, 2000. All tri-colors, 4 blacks and 2 reds. And only one female. Shortly before they were born I was offered a job in Colville, WA, so when they were two weeks old we went on a road trip from Fairbanks to Colville. My only regret was that I didnt bring more towels...I had no idea the little buggers could poop so much!
I kept two pups from that litter, Hawk and Bug. Bug shows great tendencies for being an excellent agility dog. There are very few kennels that keep him confined. He can get over the top of a 6' kennel in the blink of an eye. And when I put a top on the kennel, he finds a way to go underneath. He is just like his father, another red-tri that literally climbs fences. Hawk is not as ingenious as Bug, but he is definitely one of the sweetest moving dogs I have ever seen.
After 2 months in Colville, I was offered another job in Lewiston, ID, so we hit the road again when the pups were 9 weeks old. Between working in the field and family obligations, I did not get much time to train. But I did get some time in, and that fall I entered Merlin in 3 days of obedience at INASA's Dog Days of Summer 2000. Merlin earned 2 qualifying scores, then finished up her CD title in October as High Scoring Aussie at INASA's Harvest Howler 2000. Kestrel has not been as amenable to obedience training as Merlin, but only missed a qualifying score in the two runs we entered by one exercise (different exercise each time). We will get that title yet!
Over the winter of '00-01 I jumped headlong into building agility equipment and obedience jumps. I had started building and acquiring equipment over the previous summer, and by the spring of 2001 I had a teeter, tire jump, tunnel, obedience high jump, agility jumps, and a chute. We started out 2001 with great plans to compete in agility and obedience. I entered Merlin in two days of obedience at an AKC show in Moses Lake. Success, two qualifying scores! With only one qualifying score to go, I thought for sure she would knock them dead the the AKC show in Lewiston. Guess Merlin had other plans. We headed into the sits and downs leading the class during both days, only for Merlin to lie down during her sit BOTH TIMES. Dogs!
After that show, things got a bit hectic. I had been a member of the Inland Northwest Australian Shepherd Assn (INASA) since I moved to Spokane in 1999, but a group of us decided to split off and form our own Aussie club, the Black Sheep Australian Shepherd Club (BSASC). Between developing bylaws and assisting with BSASC's first trial (which was actually sanctioned by INASA), moving across town, working full-time as a wildlife biologist in the field, planning my wedding, and moving back up to Fairbanks for 3 months, I was a tad bit occupied, so the training was postponed until 2002. The good news was that BSASC was accepted as an ASCA Affiliate Club in August 2001, the trials was a success, and the wedding happened!
Over the winter of 2001-02, I built my bar jump and finished my agility table. Then moved back south, this time to Hayden, ID. And again we have great plans for training and competing in 2002. I finally settled down and bought a house with land, and started work building an arena where I could work the dogs on sheep and ducks. We did get some agility and herding training in 2002-2003, earning a few started herding titles, but it wasn't until 2004 that I started competing in earnest in agility. I am definitely hooked on agility!
My long-term goals for my Aussies are to continue competing in agility competitions, but also to train and compete in herding trials. Aussies are one of the most versatile breeds that I have ever known, and my goal is to allow each of my dogs to reach their full potential competition, as well as to enjoy a "dog's life"!
In January 2001, Kootenai Australian Shepherds became an ASCA registered kennel.
Dorothy
Bowers
Kootenai
Australian Shepherds
PO Box 113
Newport, WA 99156
(509) 447-2013
HOME KESTREL MERLIN HAWK BUG TURK ABOUT
KOOTENAI FOR SALE
MORE
PHOTOS LINKS BIRCHWOOD
RANCH AUSSIES HERDING
OBEDIENCE AGILITY