Vickie Priestley, K9 Pro Agility Trainer

My name is Vickie Priestley.  I share my life with my husband, 2 children,  4 dogs and a cat.  I have been involved in Agility for 10 years now and am currently serving on the NSW Agility Committee.

I discovered agility in 2001 while looking for something to do with my two 4 year old Border Collies who had a variety of behavioural issues.  From the very beginning I was totally hooked on this wonderful sport which allowed me to have so much fun with my dogs.  Agility also improved my knowledge and consistency in training to the point that I was able to approach and conquer the many behaviour issues I had with them. Like many beginners, I made lots of mistakes with my first agility dogs but I was never intending to compete, so what did it matter?

I trained every chance I got and started reading everything I could get my hands on to research techniques and improve my training skills.  By the end of 2001, I had changed my mind about competing (as many do) and we earned our first Agility Titles early in 2002.  I started instructing at a club level and continued to train and trial both my dogs with reasonable success before retiring them at the age of 8.

In 2004, I brought a beautiful pup named Trim home. By now I had some handling, instructing and trialling experience, had attended a number of local clubs and classes, and a few seminars from international handlers.  I had a pretty good idea of exactly how I would train Trim  from day one and she was going to be perfect!  Of course no dog is ever 100% perfect, because we, their handlers are not perfect.  Saying that, in my eyes Trim comes in at about 99%! I have learned that each dog you train presents new challenges to work through and these challenges increase your skill set.  To date, Trim has had a very successful career in agility and, at 7 years old,  is right in her prime, giving me everything she has in each and every run we do.

In 2006 I agreed to look after and raise a pup related to Trim for 6 months.  Having fostered, trained and rehomed a number of rescue dogs, it never occurred to me that I would not be able to part with her once the 6 months was up.  Shine joined our family permanently that year and is without a doubt, one of the most special dogs I will ever share my life with.  I continued to attend classes, seminars, watch clips and do lots of reading to increase my agility skills.  By now I was no longer experimenting with techniques and had a solid handling and training system firmly in my mind.  I think because of this, and the consistency that comes with it, Shine has always seemed easy to train.  She progressed through her titles very quickly and is approaching Trim's times on course very rapidly.

My daughter Chloe had been coming along to agility with me since she was a toddler.  She has trained and competed with Trim and Shine, as well as a number of other dogs my friends have been kind enough to lend her.  She had become a very good little handler and trainer and, at the age of 12, we decided it was time for her to have her own dog to train.  I discovered Peppi, a terrier cross, at the pound I was volunteering at and knew she would be perfect for Chloe.  They are the best of mates and have just started having fun competing.

2011 has been a big year for me.  Early in the year, I said goodbye to Zeus,  and then a few months later, Noah, the 2 dogs who got me started in Agility. I am so grateful for all the lessons they taught me and the friendships they allowed me to make.  They may not have been champions in the world of agility, but they were certainly champions to me.

Our latest addition here is little Fly.  She is bold, determined and full of energy.  I wonder what lessons she has to teach me? Time will tell but it's sure to be fun!

In 2011, I also met Steve from K9Pro.  Watching Steve work with a friend's competition dog inspired me to ask for a lesson of my own.  I could see many parallels between Steve's training philosophies and my own but also recognized a whole new dimension that he would be able to add to my training. 

I certainly haven't been disappointed and I'm very excited to become part of the K9Pro team.


Vickie
Guirmere Trim ADM JDM ADO JDO SPDM GDX SD
Guirmere Shine ADM JDM ADO JDO SPDX GDX SD
Illoura Fly, NPIT (naughty pup in training)

E: vickie@k9pro.com.au