I have had dogs and various other animals my whole life. My first foray into pure breed dogs was with American Eskimos, Crystal and Chloe. I convinced my husband that Eskies were not big dogs, and in 2010 we got Lexie, my first Bernese Mountain Dog.  Bailey soon followed the next year. Now I have had 5 Bernese. I have just had my first litter so we will see if that becomes 6!
Through my breed club I was introduced to drafting, which is my greatest passion, and thus began my adventure with performance sports. I am very proud to have achieved the highest level of Draft offered by the Bernese Mountain Dog Club of America, Grand Master Draft Dog, with three of my girls. Bailey, Brie, and Journey were my amazing partners in this. This award has only been awarded to 62 other dogs.
My dogs and I also participate in Conformation, Rally, Obedience, and Barn Hunt. I find that working with my dogs in Rally builds a very fun close relationship. I have two girls that reached Master, one girl that reached Excellent when she was 9 years old (very old for a Berner). I have also worked with four of my girls in Obedience and they have all achieved their CD. For the first time I am working with one on her CDX.
Last year I put a Conformation Championship on one of my girls. With this and her draft titles and obedience titles the Bernese Mountain Dog Club of America awarded her their Versatility Award.
I have been so fortunate to participate in The Durham Kennel Club's wonderful breadth of classes. These classes and amazing instructors have made me successful in so many sports. I love to teach others so that they too can enjoy the sports I love. Seeing my students succeed is extremely gratifying!