Top Junior Handler: Obedience 2006
Courtney Ferrell

(photo courtesy of Sara Nugent)
My name is Courtney Ferrell. I live in Vandalia, Michigan with my family and all of our animals. My family has eight dogs, but four of them are mine: Rhythm, an Afghan hound; True, a Shetland Sheepdog; Splash, a Shetland Sheepdog; and Skyler, an Australian Shepherd.
I have loved animals as long as I can remember especially horses and dogs. When I saw competitive obedience and agility the first time, I just knew it was for me. I loved learning how to train since I started. The greatest thing for me has been the time with my dogs and the great relationship I have built with them.
The year leading up to the Junior Invitational was a year full of work. Skyler and I were having some training problems and I was not even sure they would be resolved to get us to Premier. As the months progressed on, we were getting better as a team. I was starting to feel hopeful we might make it. By the time the Junior Invitational was getting closer, I was hoping our work would pay off and we would perform as a solid working team.
My dream came true and our work paid off, Skyler and I gave a solid performance that day. I was so proud of us, we had overcome so much. When the placings were made that day I could hardly believe my ears, we had won the Junior Invitational with a score of 198.
Top Junior Handler: Weight Pull 2006
Top Junior Handler: Agility 2006
Top Junior Handler: Junior Showmanship 2006
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This Weekend At UKC
Grand American - Orangeburg, South Carolina. The January 1st opening ceremonies of Grand American mark the traditional start of the coonhound year! The first big competition event of 2009 will take place this weekend, with nite hunts and bench shows, the exciting start of a new Purina race, and of course great food, entertainment and fellowship. Head to the fairgrounds in Orangeburg this weekend to ring in the coonhound New Year!
Find an event in your area.
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The Dogue de Bordeaux is one of the oldest French breeds. Its actual origins are obscure but it is probably descended from one of the strains of Mastiff-type dogs that accompanied Macedonian and Roman armies through Asia, Europe, and Britain. By the middle of the 19th century, the Dogue de Bordeaux was little known outside of Aquitaine where it was used to hunt large animals, such as boar; to fight; to guard homes and cattle; and in the service of butchers. The breed narrowly missed extinction during the two world wars but enjoyed a resurgence in the 1960's. Sometime in the early 1980's, the first Dogue de Bordeaux was imported to the United States. |

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Read more about UKC's many dog breeds here.  |
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