I would like to introduce myself [Hayley] and my two dogs; Barney and Teal.
Barney is a 10 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who I rescued at 3 weeks of age. At the time I was working in a Veterinary hospital as a Veterinary Nurse and he had been rescued from a puppy farm. He had pneumonia and was very poorly, after nursing him back to health I decided he couldn’t possibly live anywhere but with me!
Barney gave me the ‘agility bug’, winning the starters cup at Discover Dogs, competing at Crufts and the World Agility Open Championships in Italy and then winning a reserve championship ticket in his short time competing. Sadly due to health reasons, I decided he should retire and enjoy being an active pet dog. However, as I wanted to continue competing it lead me to look for my next dog.
Teal is a Shetland sheepdog who was bred in Belgium, he is 6 years old. He is a wonderful pet dog who attends work with me every day, loves his walks, trick training and is my constant shadow. Teal’s favourite thing is agility and he has had some incredible achievements in his three years competing. He has competed at Crufts for three years, winning the ABC event twice, the British Open twice, runner up in the Singles and the team events and achieving my biggest dream of winning the championship event in 2019. He gained the title ‘Agility Champion’ after only three months at that level and has 8 championship tickets. He has won the Discover Dogs ABC semi final twice and the British Open semi final at the international agility festival three times. He has competed that the UKA grand finals twice, winning the Masters event there and the K9 massage guild challenge. He has competed as part of Team GB for three years at both the European Open (Italy, Austria and Netherlands) and the FCI World Championships (Czech Republic, Sweden and Finland). In 2018 he won the qualifying agility round at the European Open championships which was a huge achievement that we will both remember forever!
I have been a qualified Veterinary Nurse for 7 years, after working in a hospital and referral centre I moved to work for Canine Partners where I look after the health and welfare of assistance dogs. In 2020 I started completing the Galen Myotherapy Diploma to further my interest in massage and holistic health. In 2019 I completed a diploma in canine nutrition to further my interest in the subject and allow me to give tailored advice to our working dogs, as well as improve my own dog’s nutrition. This is what has led me to understand just how important nutrition is and I believe that ORIJEN is the best quality kibble diet that I am able to feed my dogs. The freeze dried option is also fantastic for those who feed a raw diet but travel a lot to ensure their dogs continue to receive optimal nutrition. My dogs also go CRAZY for the treats! The perfect reward for Teal at the end of a good run, for trick training and on walks! I feel confident in using these treats that my dogs are only receiving wholesome, natural ingredients but are still very high value for the dogs.
