Meet The Team

I am a 3½ year old Golden Retriever called Sophie, I have been living with Mum & Dad (Carole & Rob) since I was 6 weeks old. Life has always been busy here. I started with toilet training it was very difficult lifting up the seat and pressing the button but everyone knows my Mom is good at training dogs! Playing with lots of toys came next, retrieving them on the kitchen floor - this training life seems good fun! Now what has she put around my neck? It wont scratch off, this seems more serious.... Then there's what she calls a lead. Sit, down, stand, come, leave, no, good girl - I have to remember all the words, or as my Mom says - 'its all in the tone of how she say's it'

I then achieved my Kennel Club Puppy Foundation Award, for all my basic training. Bronze, Silver & Gold Good Citizen Awards followed, Mom seemed very pleased with me. There seemed to be a lot of practices for they all appeared to be talking about at the time - the Whitchurch Dog Display Team. This is where all us doggies plus Mums & Dads are left in different formations. Then all us doggies are left in a big circle, I found in my youth that this was a good opportunity to run round all the other dogs saying hello! But I have now grown out of that. I must not forget the fun all us doggies have doing the agility, I like to out run my Mom as she is getting older now you know! I also like to see the crowds faces, especially the children when I jump through fire. I am also the dog you will see trying to put the fire out with my bucket at the end of the display, although I would rather drink the water myself!

I am also a 'Pet's As Therapy' dog, Mom is hopefully going to find more time this year for doing this. Because my Mom does the dog training I have to go with her to show the other pooches how it is done, although some times I like to have a bit of fun when I am doing this to show her up a bit! I wouldn't telly my Mom this but on the whole I have a great time seeing her so pleased with me. I know she is because she says 'Good Girl' a lot...

He is a Red & White Border Collie. It was not as easy as I thought it would be to find Red & White Border Collie pups, as Mary, one of our display team members will vouch for, only she was helping me to find the right puppy. Which turned out to be five minutes from her house on a farm! There were 10 puppies in the litter, six black & white and four red & white (two bitches, two dogs). I wanted a dog, the other dog puppy was a smooth coated so that left the rough coated puppy, I liked his face a lot, the whole litter were well looked after and Mum was there too. I got a toy out of my pocket, he seemed very interested - I liked that! Now I needed to meet his Dad, so we drove down some more country lanes (all this by the way was in the dark!). Casey's Dad came bounding towards us, he had lovely eyes and seemed glad to see us. Casey's dad is a 'Sheepdog Trials Champion' with a wonderful temperament. We rushed back down the lane to purchase Casey. He travelled so well in the car home.

Casey thinks Sophie is great, although I am sure she finds his puppy teeth very sharp! We also have two German Shepherds both aged 10 - brother and sister called Tosca and Cody. They were both hand reared by Rob & I along with their brothers and sisters after losing their mum at birth. Tosca has done many displays with the team and has worked for other handlers. Cody is an excitable girl, she won many classes in showing. They both tolerate Casey very well! You have to be so careful when introducing a new puppy to older dogs - I like to do it gradually.

As you can see from the photographs Casey is settling down very well. I will give you all an update on his training and progress very soon.

Casper is a eight year old rescued White Alsatian. Pat Taaffe had him when he was 18 months old. For the past 6 years he has been a farm dog and has looked after sheep and lambs, cows, horses and most recently ducks!. He loves his life as a farm dog, and also seems to enjoy going to the shows and doing the displays - especially the attention he gets from his fans.

Pat & Casper have recently passed the test to become a Pets As Therapy dog and they have visited a hospital and hope to visit other establishments soon where Casper will be able to visit different people.

Emma is a rescue dog from Grinshill, she has been with Jill and Husband Gerry since she was four and a half, and is now eight (nine in May) we have been in the display team for nearly 4 years. She really loves the agility, having competed in some competitions, and the fire jumping has got to be her favourite!

She goes to work every day with Jill and sits in the shop window attracting customers watching the world and their dogs go by! Very often you can hear people sing - 'How much is that doggy in the window'! Jill and Gerry own Inglenook Fine Arts, who is one of the sponsors of the Display Team having branches in Whitchurch and Nantwich. They are picture framers and restorers and as a professional artist Jill specializes in Dog Portraits. Their web site is www.inglenookfinearts.com

Becks is a four year old Yellow Labrador Bitch. She has achieved Bronze, Silver and Gold Standard in the 'Kennel Club Good Citizen Award'. Becks has been in the Whitchurch Dog Display Team for nearly three years, after her initial training with Carol Hill at Walford College, and they both enjoy it very much.

She has also passed her test to become a P.A.T dog (Pet's as Therapy) which allows Dave to take her into places such as hospitals and Old People's Homes, on a regular basis. Dave is also a qualified P.A.T Dog Assessor. If you are interested in your dog becoming a P.A.T Dog then visit the web site www.petsastherapy.org

Rosie is a Labrador Retriever. She is three years old and has been a member of the team for two years. Everyday Rosie goes to work with Sara and her parents at the family business in Four Crosses. Rosie has various jobs at work which include distributing the post when it arrives to the correct desk's!!

Rosie has achieved her Puppy, Bronze, Silver & Gold Awards with the Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme. She passed all of these, with the help of Carole Hill, first time. Rosie has recently passed her test to become a P.A.T Dog. This also means that Rosie & Sara can go to hospitals, old peoples home e.t.c.

Rosie had her puppies - three of them anyway! Two of them have found lovely new homes and Sara has kept one and called it Fergie. Rosie is now fully back in the swing of things and hasn't forgotten a thing!

Fergie was born on the 14th June 2007. He is Rosie little boy, although not so little anymore! He seems to be doing well and listening to Sara, but that will probably all change when he becomes a 'teenager'.. Hopefully he will in full training ready for next years season, although he will not be doing any agility for a while yet! He goes to work with his Mum and Sara - trying to teach him the post thing - but not trusting him with it at the moment as he likes to shred them! Fergie has now achieved both his Bronze and Silver Kennel Club Good Citizens award. Above is a picture of Fergie with his Mum.

This is Luka. He is a Collie/Labrador cross and about 4 and a half years old. Luka is a Grinshill rescue dog and has lived with Grania since she re-homed him in March 2005.

Luka has gained his Bronze, Silver and Gold standard in the Kennel Club Good Citizen Award scheme at Walford College and has been in the display team since March 2006.

Luka adores the agility side of the displays and can often be seen racing off on a course of his own choosing in preference to the one he's supposed to be following!

Another busy year for us at the Glasarian Weimaraner plantation, Megan is now 6 years old and Yzzy 21 months

Yzzy, handled by Linda have now finished their KC Bronze / Silver / Gold with Carol Hill at Whitchurch classes, thanks to Keith Clawley for being so patient and Carol for putting up with Chris on the sidelines.

Since September both of the girls have attended Ringcraft show classes with Stuart and Pauline Furber at Moreton Say, which has lead to some degree of success at various Canine Society and breed shows in Sheffield, Wellington and Whitchurch. It is as much a learning experience for Linda and I as it is for the dogs.

Next excitement is in February when we are all going for a days gundogs training over at Knockin with Salop Gundogs. More pictures can be found on their Website.

Shilo would like to say; I am four years old and achieved his Gold Award, under the guidance of Carole Hill, at Walford College. I have been in the display team for two years.

I came to live with George, Mary and Mel, when I was re-homed at six months old.

Hodge is a five year old Jack Russell Terrier and has been with his owner Donald Witherington since he was nine weeks old. They went to North Shropshire College dog training classes at Whitchurch run by Carole Hill where Hodge gained the Kennel Clubs Good Citizens Bronze, Silver & Gold awards. Donald and Hodge have had a lot of pleasure with Whitchurch Dog Display Team since 2004. In 2005 Hodge was named 'Dog of the Year' an award given to the dog with the most votes from the other members from the team. Hodge is also a 'Pets as Therapy' registered dog.

Meg is a 5 year old Border Collie. She has achieved her Bronze, Silver and Gold 'Kennel Club Good Citizen Award', with Carole at Walford College. We joined the display team in March 2007. Meg loves the agility side of the displays and can often be heard barking in excitement from the side lines!!!!

Frankie is a 'Collabrador' (layman's term is a collie x Lab). This black beauty was born on 6th November 2003; owned by Marion and Nina and lives in Dudleston Heath. We had Frankie at 10 weeks old, and she has always been such a model dog. (O.K we are a little biased!) She is a very bouncy, fun loving and adoring dog who is a very happy dog too! Frankie goes to work with Marion in her Vito van (Frankie's second home) every day, doing Home and Garden Maintenance for people in a 20 mile radius. Frankie gives a lot of pleasure to all my clients and she knows how to train them all, in the art of 'give this starving dog a biscuit'! ( 'Mum's clients spoil me rotten')

In June 2007 Frankie achieved her Bronze, Silver and Gold with the Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme held at Ellesmere in just 10 weeks. This isn't normal and we have been at various training sessions since Frankie was five months old. So all the time and effort we have put into training has all been well worth it.

At the end of June 2007 we joined Carole and the Whitchurch Dog Display Team. We are now travelling the country, having fun and a great time. Showing off and giving enjoyment to anyone and everyone that wants to watch! She enjoys everything we do with her, but I think her favourite game is agility. She especially enjoys it when people clap and cheer her; if you see us out and about please come up and say hello, I'm sure she would like to say hello to you....

Frankie passed as a P.A.T dog in October 2007 and is now in regular placements bring cheer to many people, and I think Frankie is quite enjoying it too!

Blue is a Labrador / Greyhound cross and is approximately three and a half years old (Sept 2007). He is from Grinshill Animal Rescue centre. He had been at the centre for seven months until we re-homed him in July 2005.

He has achieved his Bronze, Silver and Gold 'Kennel Club Good Citizen Awards' from his training with Carole Hill at the Whitchurch and North Shropshire College.

Blue has been in the team for about one and a half years and thoroughly enjoys the attention, although his obedience is not perfect! He loves to run around the agility course and compete in the relay race.

Blue was named team dog of the year in 2006 and although the picture shows him in his jailbreak costume, he is a very good boy really!!

If you are a member of the team and want to appear on this page or you are already on here and want to have an update then please e-mail me at sara@ascott-shop.com with the details and pictures.