When Dale and I were still working in corporate, we had a dream. Well, I had a dream. I wanted a place where dogs could do everything. I imagined a place where they could romp, run, smell. You know, be dogs.

In 2011, we built the first building, a climate-controlled, turf-floored agility building for instructors to teach classes and individuals to rent for training. This was Agility at the Farm. The building had an open porch, which we eventually enclosed to make a crate room for agility trials.

I knew I wanted to add some sheep and offer herding. But at 17 1/2 acres, fencing the farm was a big project. We added a round pen for starting dogs and take pens in preparation for trials. In 2013, we got our first sheep – two Shetlands and 3 Baby Dolls. That’s how we got Herding at the Farm.

Since then, we have built an entire herd of sheep. We built an indoor herding building that we use in inclement weather. We have a regular herding instructor, and we host herding clinics with some of the best herding instructors from across the country as well as trials.

Most recently, we’ve added Swimming at the Farm. We added a dock diving pool last year. Dale and I spent much of 2022 getting the pool and the dock up and ready for the 2023 season. We still have some things to do to make it match what we have envisioned, but like everything before it, there is always more to do.

We’ve just added K9 Nosework and Tracking to the mix, and I still have lots of things rolling around in my head, so keep an eye out for the next …at the Farm!