About Rachael: I grew up with a love of animals, and the family got their first dog when I was nearly 9yrs old. It was love at first sight and completely shaped the trajectory of my life. Within four years, we got a second dog (both Shar Peis), and a few years after, we got a third Shar Pei (the first dog that was entirely mine and not a family dog). Since then, we've always had multiple dogs, but it wasn't until the fourth Shar Pei that I found agility and started taking the whole dog training side of things more seriously.
Career Highlights:
Completing my dog training qualification through the National Dog Trainer's Federation
Representing Australia at the World Agility Open in 2018 with a 'borrowed' dog from England (we couldn't take our own dogs)
Gaining an Agility Championship title (highest title possible) on my first Shar Pei, Peityn, in 2019, making her the first Shar Pei in the world to attain the prestigious title.
Gained an Agility Championship title on my second Shar Pei, Kai, despite all the COVID lockdown disruptions to training
Peityn qualifying for the Finals and placing 3rd in the 2016 Agility National Championships finals in South Australia.
Kai won Novice Agility, across all heights, at the Sydney Royal.
Zari won first place in 3 out of 4 events at the 2022 Sydney Royal.
Zari won multiple events at her first (and so far, only) National Agility Championships in 2018
Zari won the International UpDog Video Games consecutively over multiple rounds, ranking 1st in the world
Zari earned the title of 2021 State Champion in multiple agility events in both QLD and NSW, as well as winning multiple events in the 2022 ACT State Titles for Frisbee and being named Top Maxi Dog of the competition and Strike coming Runner Up immediately behind her.
Strike making finals and coming 2nd in the 2021 NSW Agility State Championships at his first time competing in agility.
Peityn placed 3rd, across all heights, at her first ever Sydney Royal. Zari placing the top 3 in multiple events at her first ever frisbee competition (the National Championships in 2020) just a few weeks after starting in the sport
Career Goals: Hoping to help Zari gain her Agility Championship, do more training with Strike to progress his skills and knowledge after so many disruptions, get all the dogs back into Tricks and Rally competitions, and possibly give a few new sports a try and just get back to everyday life with no lockdowns and enjoy getting out and about again with the dogs!
