From her earliest childhood, Kathy has lived with and loved dogs. When she took her first obedience lesson in 1990, she knew that training would become a focal point in her relationship with dogs. Since that first class, she has been training dogs or teaching training classes and loving every minute of it!
Teamwork is the essence of training. Through many hours, over many years of training, Gabbie, her almost 9 year old Rottweiler, and Kathy have earned titles in traditional obedience, rally obedience and agility. These titles include the AKC and UKC CD and CDX in traditional obedience, and RAE titles, in the least amount of time possible, by qualifying in every Rally trial she has ever entered.
In 2004, Gabbie was recognized by the American Rottweiler Club for having earned a top 10 Open Obedience Award in the United States. In 2002, the American Rottweiler Club named Gabbie one of the top 10 Rottweilers in Open Jumpers with Weaves competition in the United States. Unfortunately due to injuries, Gabbie's agility career ended earlier than expected.
As a team, they also earned a Canine Good Citizen certificate, passed a Temperament Test, and earned a Therapy Dog International title. In 2006, the Colonial Rottweiler Club awarded Gabbie a Versatility Excellent Award for all her accomplishments, as well as the CRC Gold Award. Today, Kathy and Gabbie continue training with the goal of earning a Utility title.
Kathy began teaching traditional obedience and rally at Azalea Dog Training Club in Wilmington, N.C. in 2004. Returning to the North, she joined the team of instructors at Boom Towne in late 2006. As a team, Gabbie accompanies her to all the classes that she teaches at Boom Towne as her partner and "demo" dog.
