Our story.Pawformance is a syndicate prefix co-owned between Shell, and Nik, both based in Sydney, Australia. We are both heavily involved in dog sports and spend most of our nights and weekends training for, and competing in a variety of disciplines. Our dogs are first and foremost important members of our families, enjoying their (rather cushy) life, sleeping on beds, being fluffy shadows and generally just getting underfoot around the house.
After meeting in 2008, we attended obedience classes together and quickly moved up through the levels, eventually becoming qualified instructors teaching everything from baby puppies to obedience trialling dogs. Over the years, we have expanded the sports we train and compete in and the list now includes obedience, rally obedience, flyball, agility, herding, tracking, treiball, disc dog, dock diving, lure coursing, tricks, conditioning and conformation showing. Though not considered the easiest dogs to train, we are huge advocates for training with spitz breeds (with the exception of Nik’s obsession with Kelpies!). If you’d like to talk about any of our beautiful breeds, sports, behaviour or training in general, please feel free to get in contact with us! |
Shell (Sydney)Shell has loved dogs for as long as she can remember but it wasn't under 2007 that Zero came bursting into her life. A 43kg rescued, fluffy, powerhouse of problems, Zero had come from a bad situation and was hugely dog aggressive.
Rehabilitating Zero gave Shell a love of training and behaviour that quickly spiralled into a dog sports addition. Shell is a ANKC Lure Coursing Judge, an AFA Flyball judge and is enrolled in the judges training program for Sled Sports (Backpacking). She currently sits on multiple club committees as the President and Chief Instructor of Southern Cross Flyball Club, and the Vice President (CAT) of the NSW Lure Coursing Association. She is also the National Chair of the Dogs Australia (ANKC) Flyball Working Party and sits on both the Dogs NSW Sporting and PR committees. She holds qualifications in grooming, training and behaviour, and canine nutrition and regularly instructs in obedience, rally o, flyball, and agility. |
Nik (Victoria)Nik has also loved dogs since she was a young child and has vivid memories of staying up late studying her dog encyclopedia and reading about different breeds. At the age of 11 she was lucky enough to get her first dog, a beagle named Toby. In 2008, a few years after Toby’s passing, she was in a position to welcome another dog into her life. After much consideration of which breed to get, Nik stumbled across Keeshonden and instantly fell in love! Almost by fate, the same day she phoned one of the Keeshond breeders, their litter had just been born. Two months later, Jedi entered Nik's life, followed closely by Ahsoka, Pawformance's first Finnish Lapphund and as they say, the rest is history. Though Jedi has since passed, Nik now shares her home with 2 lappies, Ahsoka and Solo and kelpie, Dexter. She still gets out to dog sports whenever she can and has passed her love of training onto her two young children.
|
How we keep our dogsIt's very important to us that our dogs are included as part of the family - they're given access to the house and yard and can often be found napping on the couch or playing in the backyard. While we used to call ourselves "Pawformance Kennels", we have never, and will never keep our dogs in a kennel environment. Kennels have been found to be detrimental to a pet dog's mental state so we don't believe they're a suitable way to keep pet dogs.
We train and handle our own dogs in the ring, are hands-on with the conditioning exercises they need to stay in peak condition and when needed, we also participate in their injury rehabilitation. We consult with a broad range of healthcare practitioners to ensure that our dogs always get the best care. Our dogs are fed a completely raw, balanced diet. Their meals, including the supplements they are given, are tailored to their individual needs and metabolism. We practice cooperative care, teaching our dogs to not only accept handling but to be active participants in their own care, for every day things like grooming and nail trimming. |
NSW Breeder Identification Number: B000685661 | Victoria Source Number: EE102260
Dogs NSW Member Number: 2100088743 |
© Pawformance 2023
|