Legato Australian Shepherds

04/28/2026

Back to back HITs and 2 CD legs in ASCA obedience along with a BOS for Riot and Shay yesterday! 🎉🎊

04/19/2026

During the last month or so, Cannoli debuted in both competition obedience and agility.

He blew me out of the water with his obedience debut, taking High in Trial from Novice B!

This past weekend, we stepped into the agility ring for the very first time. It was -both- of our first time trialing in agility. He showed up for me in a BIG way, and any errors were not his, but mine, as a newbie agility handler and trainer. We ended the weekend with 2 novice fast Qs and 2 novice jumpers Qs, with 3 first places in his class/division (sorry if I got the lingo wrong, I’m still learning 😅).

I am immensely proud of him. And when I say I think the best is yet to come, I truly believe it.

04/19/2026

04/06/2026

Riot and Shay .shepherd.girls are absolutely on fire! They came home from this long weekend of shows with 4 new titles! They achieved their rally advanced title with 3 perfect scores of 100 and first places. Then, after completing their open fast, jumpers, and standard agility titles, they knocked it out of the park with a lovely excellent standard run for their first excellent Q!

03/23/2026

These girls brought the heat as they ventured into ASCA agility this weekend and earned THREE new titles!! 🔥 On top of it all, Riot and Shay .shepherd.girls also went HIGH IN TRIAL novice! Riot is now ASCA CH Legato’s Dessert Before Dinner RN NAP NJP NFP CGC TKI RATO CL2 *RS-N JS-N GS-N*

I cannot thank Shay enough for everything she does for Riot, from loving her to all the hard work in training and trailing! You are both superstars 🤩!

01/13/2026

Riot and Shay started the year with a bang going 3 for 3 Q’s and first places!

Riot and Shay both earned their first ever Open Q’s in Fast and Jumpers! They also earned a second Q for Novice standard.

This team is phenomenal 🤩

01/10/2026

Happy National Australian Shepherd Day! Seems fitting to celebrate with peak cuteness 🥰

01/03/2026

To recap 2025, I am beyond proud of my puppies being the absolute best companions in their homes this past year! These dogs have been adventure dogs, bestowers of joy, and sources of immeasurable love. I’m thankful to their people for the care and love they give these beautiful pups!

While it is not the reason for which they are loved, it would be remiss of me not to mention the achievements that are the fruits of a whole lot of fun and hard work.

Riot and her person accomplished a ton together! They finished Riot’s ASCA CH and have 19 points towards her SCCH with limited weekends out as a special. Riot picked up her first points in AKC as well! In agility, they earned their NJP and NFP titles in AKC and CL2-S, CL2-R, CL2-H, CL2-F in CPE. In AKC Rally, Riot and Shay earned a RN easily with beautiful teamwork. Riot also sniffed out some rats in barn hunt for her RATO title!

Maple, the matriarch, finished her AKC CH and then was shown selectively to all 3 GCH majors and CH defeats. She just needs 3 more points to obtain her GCH. Along the way she picked up numerous OHBOBs and OH group placements along with a regular group 4! She also became a wonderful show dog for my daughter in juniors, the BOB ring, and in OH groups!

Last but not least, Cannoli earned 9 AKC points, including 1 major, once we began to show a little more consistently starting late spring. He has finally started to enjoy conformation more although now he’s a bit of a wild man in the ring 😅. Cannoli and I polished a lot of skills for his trial debut in AKC Rally and he earned his RE with a couple 2nd places and a 1st place!

My heart is full knowing how much happiness the companionship of these dogs have brought their people and what wonderful ambassadors they are of their breed 🥰.

12/31/2025

Don’t miss the journey for the destination.

12/18/2025

Being ready to trial does not mean being error-free. It means believing that your dog can handle foreseen pressures and believing in the plan you have on how you will support them through it.

It’s about believing in your teamwork. It is about believing in everything that came before it. The early mornings. The late nights. The quiet reps. The sessions no one saw. The sessions of successes. The sessions of frustrations. The private grapplings, the public struggles. It is in these moments, when there are no cheers, no applause, no ribbons, that you learn to believe in your dog, yourself , and the process.

Some days, you were on top of the world. Some days, the world was on top of you. Some days you lift heavy. Some days you just show up. Both build strength.

Not to mention the countless moments of doubt. The whisperings of your own mind and the mumbles others don’t want you to hear, but you hear them. You hear them in the silent glances and the criticism spoken out loud veiled as advice.

Yet in the static, louder still, are the steady voices and living examples of patience and belief. These words of encouragement came before results ever showed up, cutting through the noise to pave a way for your own belief.

Belief in yourself is like a muscle: stress it, rest it, nourish it, and it grows stronger.
You believed in the dog. You believed in the process. You believed the work you put in when no one was watching and when everyone was scrutinizing. Belief grows where effort goes.

And now, when you and the best dog in the world trial together for the first time, and every time thereafter, you not only believe you’re ready, you’ve trained to be ready.

Photo credit to !

11/19/2025

Cannoli on this fall day: “life is short, put the fun in fungi 🍄.”