Stuff you wanted to know but were never game to ask.....

My partner Marlow & I share our home with four dogs (3 goldies & 1 maltese) two cats, two cockatiels, two budgies & thirteen fish.  We have only been involved with show dogs for a very short period of time; in fact I think it is only just coming up to 12months.  Although we are still in the honeymoon period of the crazy world of dog sport we have caught the bug & have found something we enjoy doing together as a couple.  Marlow is the chaffeur & navigator while I do all the bits & pieces involved in getting the dogs ready for the show & taking care of the all the mundane stuff like feeding & cleaning etc you know the "unglamourous side" of it all.

It would be pretty obvious that you do not just fall into dog showing and that there must have been a love of animals to begin with; well yes that is true. In fact I grew up in a house filled with dogs namely the pet Labradors &  Greyhounds that my step father & Uncles raced. I was always up to my neck in the dog stuff while my siblings were off with their respective sports.  I was the kid who dragged home every stray dog, cat, duck you name it; if it was homeless it made its way into our yard.  Once in year 11 I stole (I prefer the word rescue)  all of the rats from the biology lab & housed them under my bed unfortunately the smell gave them away & Mum got rid of them very quickly.  My other Uncle & Aunt bred Staffies & St Bernards (what a combination) without too much blood being spilt.  They also bred Quarter horses & had great success in dressage & country & western eventing.  This all came to an end when my Aunt purchased a jumper which resulted in a nasty fall & a gammy neck from which she has never recovered.    

Marlow hails from a family that are also animal lovers & have had limited involvement with Rottweillers in their native country, the Phillipines.  They have also had a large involvement with numerous members of the parrot family (budgies, cockateils, cockatoo's to name a few) & successfully bred them for many years.

Since leaving home (22yrs ago) I have had all sorts of breeds both pedigree & the good ole mongrel cross - there are too many to mention -  the important thing is I have never lived without a dog & I don't think I ever could.  I have also bred & shown Cockatiels. 

Why Goldies - because I fell in love with them from a photo in a magazine & I had just lost my two poodles to rainbow bridge & wanted to fill the void & equally important I wanted a bred from my Grandmothers homeland - Scotland.  Unfortunately my first Goldie (Laddy - check the photos page) was purchased from a puppy farmer in the South Western Area of Sydney - because this woman is intent on breeding rubbish we have a very unbalanced dog that is a complete nervous wreck. Therefore please note before purchasing a goldie check with me (& I will help you the best I can to stay away from puppy farmers) to ensure you don't end up with a unwell puppy or check my links page to find a reputable breeder.

Why showing - because it was something I always wanted to do as a child but never got around to & a near death experience made me take stock of my life & at the tender age of 39 I deciced to pursue the things on my to do before I die list. 

We would also like to use this medium as a forum to say thank you to some wonderful people who have helped us along the way.  I have listed them in the order we met them:

Linda & Ian Olsen (Goldbrior Golden Retrievers) - thank you for our beautiful boy Finlay - he will always hold a special place in our hearts as he is the first (show dog) & thank you for your help in getting started.  It is a very daunting experience starting to show a dog & we would like you to know that we will never forget your help & patience!!!!

John & Luci Ellem (Camarna Kennels) - thank you for having the patience to train an ole dog - I must admit I'm glad you used positive re-enforcement on me.

Rose Easton (Montego Golden Retrievers) - thank you for our gorgeous / elegant girl Candy & thank you for your help in kick starting her career & for sharing your seemingly unlimited knowledge of Goldies.  A big thank you to Rose's daughter Alice Easton for all her help with handling Candy - you make it look so easy!!! We look forward to having many more glasses of bubbles with you both!!!

Sylvia Clarke (MountainGold Golden Retrievers) - thank you for all the times you whispered pointers in my ear, critiqued my handling & saved us a posy to set up - it is greatly appreciated!!!!

Jo Hessian (Goldtreve Golden Retrievers) - thank you for going out your way to give advice to a new comer it meant alot!!!!

So there you have it thats a bit about us.  We hope you enjoy our website & we hope you feel comfortable enough to contact us if you have any questions.

J.a.M.  

April 2008 

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