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Noonbarra Gem was sold to Joy on the east coast of the USA for Agility work.

.."I have also read all the information in the folder and it is clear to see that you two are very knowledgeable about dog behavior. But your advice, as it relates specifically to Kelpies, is worth a million (in US!!) to me. You have done all your new Kelpie owners a very worthwhile service to put them on the right track from the beginning. I LOVE the way you do not mince words! So many breeders do nothing but extol the limitless virtues of their breed, leaving out the pitfalls that there could be with a particular breed. But you have done this from the start of our correspondence. Thank You..."

31st May 2000

'THE GEM'

Your little girl has been here not quite 48 hours as I write this and so far she has accomplished the following: she comes on her name and sits directly in front of me, she will "take" the tug toy when I ask her to and not before, she will release it to my hand when I say"drop", she has allowed me with minimal difficulty to grind her nails with a grinder (that's how I do nails),AND she has herded my Terv Devon until Devon couldn't stand it any longer and "busted out." When Devon finally realized that she wasn't a sheep and decided to just bust past Gem, who kept corralling her no matter where she went, Gem seemed mortified. I don't know if this is a good thing for Gem's herding ability but it was a sight to see!

Gem is a firecracker and I can tell, thinks that these American dogs are total wimps! Her house (toilet) training is very,very good for a little pup. Thanks to you. I will have to say that you have done a wonderful job with her. Someone I know got a kelpie, and although they love the dog to death and all is fine now, told me of the absolutely horrible time they had touching the dogs nails, ears, etc. They said it was like taming a wild dog.

The only problems I foresee with Gem are out thinking her and keeping her active little mind busy! I can't wait until she is old enough and trustworthy enough in the "come" area, to begin a little agility work with her. It will be awhile before I will be confident enough of her recall to let her loose in my 7 acre yard. It is fenced and no dog has ever jumped it, but it is only 4 feet and I have heard some wild tales of kelpies clearing much higher fences.

I will keep you updated on her progress. She is a great little dog and I am thrilled to death with her!!!!!!!

Attached is a card I made to announce Gem's arrival to my friends who are constantly wanting to know if she has arrived.

".. Gem is a firecracker and I can tell, thinks that these American dogs are total wimps! Her house (toilet) training is very, very good for a little pup. Thanks to you. I will have to say that you have done a wonderful job with her. Someone I know got a kelpie, and although they love the dog to death and all is fine now, told me of the absolutely horrible time they had touching the dogs nails, ears, etc. They said it was like taming a wild dog. She is a great little dog and I am thrilled to death with her!!!!!!! "

THE OPINION OF AN AUTHORITY'

Thought you might like to hear this comment about Gem. Dr. Sue Ann Lesser is a nationally known veterinarian and animal chiropractor. She, in addition to being an expert in her veterinary work, is known for her writings on "What constitutes the perfect jumping dog?" and research dealing with sound structure. We crazy agility people have discovered that our dogs stay sound and are able to perform much longer if we take our dogs to Dr. Lesser for regular adjustments.

Today was my day for taking my dogs to see her. So , of course, Gem went along and got her first "adjustment'. It was a surprise to me when I found out that Dr. Lesser had spent a considerable amount of time in Australia, teaching your vets. to do the chiropractic. She was very knowledgeable about Kelpies (VERY rare here) and raved over Gem's structure!!!!!! She loves the breed anyway, and said I got a bargain! She said that "Gem was absolutely beautiful." ... I thought you ought to hear that!

Gem is learning INCREDIBLY fast! But she IS a scallywag!! But a very cute one!

14th June 2000

'THE AWESOME AUSSIE'

Hi Mary and Stephen, Just a short one to let you know how wonderfully well Gem is doing. She has been in the USA just two weeks now and is an amazing little puppy! I truly CANNOT believe two things, in particular, about her! The first is how quickly she learns what you want her to do, and what you don't want her to do! In two short weeks, she waits before going out a door (this WAS our hardest lesson), retrieves beautifully, sits, downs, and responds to her name by sitting directly in front of me and looking up. She is completely housetrained (toilet) having made no mistakes since the second day after her arrival. She sleeps all night. I KNOW how much work you put into her before she left Australia, and NO ONE could or would have done as good a job of preparing a young pup for life in a new country.

The second thing that totally stuns me is THE PHYSICAL PROWESS OF A MERE 14 week old pup!!!!! The little bugger probably could outrun one of my two Tervs right now and her AGILITY knows no bounds!

I have begun to let her free ( with me) on my fenced 7 acres and she is a sight to see! My priority number one is to work on a recall, because I can see that she could probably make it back to Australia before I could blink my eyes! She IS coming at the moment, but we all know that the novelty of that will wear off as she gets more at home.

I will tell you one last things that has taught me a first, of what will probably be many "Kelpie lessons". The lesson is" Don't make Gem think you want her to do something over and over again, unless YOU REALLY want her to do it over and over!! Using a clicker ( which she now knows means, "she did right", I clicked her repeatedly for running through the agility tunnel repeatedly. I THOUGHT I was simply reinforcing a new skill. Well, I couldn't (and still can't !) STOP her from running through the tunnel. OVER and OVER and OVER until she has done it 20 or more times in a row!! I was about rolling on the ground laughing at her, until I realized she wasn't ever going to STOP! She is going to be SO much fun to train!

12th November 2000

The good advice on developing a relationship with your Kelpie was very much appreciated. Quite obviously, both you and Stephen are VERY sincere about wanting all your pups to succeed in their new homes. I have read every word of it and will keep it on file.

It is so nice to have gotten Gem from people like you who REALLY care.

Gem is doing well and I am sure will do even better and better as she matures, gains confidence in her new life and grows accustomed to all the multitude of new exposures. She is as cute as a button and getting to be SO much fun to do little agility stuff with.

MARCH 2001

We arrived home last week after three months on our "Robinson Crusoe" island in the Gulf of Mexico. We had 7miles of nearly deserted beach for the dogs to run on. Gem is now an accomplished beachcomber, having decided that she could just live there forever. My fears about her not coming when off leash proved unfounded, although we did have a couple of close calls when the seagull, pelicans and herons refused to turn when Gem thought they should.

We only had a limited number of opportunities to do much agility so I thought she would lose a lot of her puppy skills. Wrong. The first day we were home, she did her A-frame contacts like we had never been away. And she had not seen an A-frame in 3 months. Now if we can conquer her dislike of the seesaw (and any moving boards), we will be on our way. ... As for her ability to read body language on jumps and tunnels, SHE IS SPECTACULAR! She has gained so much in physical maturity in the past three months and it was so apparent when we got home and could do a little agility. She runs like a gazelle.

She is now bonding very well and is becoming rather a love bug! If she improves as much in her next year as she has in the past few months, she will be all I ever dreamed of.

We just got the tape of Noonbarra Stud and absolutely loved it. It was SO much fun to see all of her relatives in action. It is a GREAT tape! Gem is the spiting image of one of your young dogs called Libby. She and Libby could be twins. They move exactly alike as well.

I was astounded to see the Kelpies work the sheep by going over the backs of the sheep. I knew, of course, that they did this but had NEVER seen it!! It is amazing!

At the campgound where we stayed all the people were there for several months and so everyone got to know everyone else and all the dogs as well. Gem soon got the nickname "Gemaroo" because everyone was convinced that she was crossed with a Kangaroo!

June 2001

YIPPEE!!!

Gem just did the seesaw all by herself! She ran on, off leash, tipped it herself, stopped with two feet on and two feet off at the bottom, waited for me to say "go," ran off and ignored the seesaw bouncing back up by itself!!

Of course, the seesaw was as low as it can get, and there was a pad under the end so it didn't hit too hard. BUT, she tipped it herself and it didn't faze her!

Just had to let you know this astounding happening!

Joy and Gem (who is very pleased with herself, but not as pleased as I am!)