'Good bugger' calls it a day
Much of the rural industry is made up of an army of characters who tend to be “good buggers” or rogues, while a small number might fall into the “you need to count your fingers after a handshake” category.
Chelsea Marriner and her team from Ultimate Canines will be making their debut at the three-day event.
Organisers say two shows are planned each day.
“There will some amazing dog training skills on display,” they say.
Marriner says her trained dogs have performed for numerous events nationwide, including several very prestigious ones.
“We have had excellent reviews from all our past performances, from a huge range of audiences, event staff and events.
“We regularly receive return invites, and we have also been invited to perform internationally.”
Marriner says her team of team of working dogs perform a variety of tricks which are “humorous, unusual and very clever”.
The team has performed on New Zealand’s Got Talent shows in 2008 and 2012 and taken part in TV shows.
The team’s 35 minute show is the only one of its kind in New Zealand, says Marriner.
She has been working with dogs since two-and-a-half years old when she took over Dad’s puppy that he brought home. This marked the beginning of a passion for training dogs and working with them.
“When I was four, I saw Wonder Dogs on TV and was instantly inspired to teach my dog some skills like that. I began competing in dog agility when I was seven years old, and have never looked back!
“I now have a great team who all have a large range of tricks. I compete in agility and occasionally in sheep dog trials. I enjoy working my dogs and teaching them things to keep them busy and mentally tired.
“You only get out what you put in, and if you want the results, there’s a lot of hard work, patience and time required to get there in the end.”
Sweet life at home
Chelsea Marriner says her dogs are all trained for tricks and agility using positive reinforcement.
"Anyone that knows dogs, Border Collies in particular, knows that they require a huge amount of both mental and physical stimulation to keep them occupied and sane.
"They don't do their tricks because they have to, instead they do them because they love to be out there keeping busy, learning new tricks and skills and getting rewarded for their efforts."
At hom, they live the sweet life, and are as much family members and pets as they are athletes and performers.
