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We get some wonderful letters from our customers and strongly encourage them to keep us up-to-date with their dog's progress. Keith had a wonderful Kelpie years ago and used to do everything with her. He asked us to supply him with a top quality Kelpie who would be a faithful type and able to bond closely and participate in most things Keith wanted to do. Keith works as a professional photographer and wanted to take her to work with him as well. We thought young Tammi would be a good match for his lifestyle. She was a very clever pup with a very loyal nature and calm enough but still with enough spark and energy to handle anything that Keith decided to do.

Keith contacts us on a regular basis by phone and email and keeps us up-to-date with Tammi's progress. Keith is a good writer and explains Tammi's progress with good detail and understands a growing dog goes through stages such as adolescence.

Keith works hard with Tammi. He has trained her with lots of tricks and obedience and involves her in his life. He sometimes goes to training lessons with Michael Tucker, who is a famous trainer & dog book author in Victoria. Michael did a lot of work with Guide Dogs for the Blind and wrote 'Eyes that Lead' about guide dogs. He also wrote a number of general dog training books such as 'Dog Training Made Easy'.

It is very satisfying to us, as breeders, to see a young dog go to a customer like Keith who we know is going to always get the best from her and build a long close bond with her. We always love hearing of her new tricks and exploits. Keith has done everything right with socialising Tammi and exposing her to new situations. It can make a BIG difference!

When he first bought Tammi as a little pup , he only had her a short while and she was bitten by a spider on the leg. He come close to losing her but with quick veterinary help he was able to save her.

Dec 2006

Dear Stephen and Mary,

Apart from a sore leg - which is improving - Tammy has made a complete recovery.  She'll have another medical check this evening.  She's full of energy and is now a happy playful puppy.  She loves her crate and has a sleep in it whenever she feels like it.  The other day she walked up to it and stared at the closed door.  I realized what she wanted and when I opened the door she went inside and had a snooze.

Tammi took part in her first photo shoot today.  We've just finished photographing a family with a very shy 2 year old boy.  All he wanted to do was hide his face from the camera.  We brought Tammi in and everything changed.  She wriggled, wagged her tail, licked and generally rolled out her bag of puppy tricks.  She was a big hit with the little boy and his parents too.  We got our pictures and Tammi got some more socializing.

Last night I picked Pat up from the RSPCA's Christmas party.  Tammi was very popular there.  We showed her a paddock containing horses, an Emu and a goat. She was fascinated.  She just stared and stared at the animals.

Tammi is an absolute gem.  Pat and I love her ever so much.  She's all that you said she'd be.  I can't thank you both enough.

 Feb 2007

I've attached some pictures showing Tammi's new crate.  As you can see it even has a couple of storage compartments set into the top.  A set of wheels and also a divider that enables two small dogs to be carried separately are
available for it as accessories.  It has a removable floor. If the dog does a wee it collects in the space under the floor and allows the dog to remain dry.  The floor can be removed later and the crate cleaned.  Tammi is, of course, far too perfect to need this facility and so I have provided her with a very soft cushion as befits her status. 

She loves her crate and uses it as an indoor kennel.  Whenever she feels the need for a little privacy she simply luxuriates in it and leaves the cares of the world behind.  If I've forgotten to leave the door open she certainly makes me aware of my mistake.

Tammi is doing very well with her training and Michael Tucker has remarked several times on how quickly she learns.  She received another perfect score from him for her turns at heel.

She picks things up amazingly quickly.  Just recently I decided to teach her to wait when I open a door, for permission before going through it.  I needed to show her only once in order for her to understand what was required.  She then not only knew about doors but understood the meaning of the word "wait" when used in other situations too.

I take Tammi with me almost everywhere I go and without fail people are attracted to her.  I regularly receive comments about her stunning good looks and people just can't believe how well behaved she is.  They often say "Bring your dog next time you come."  My clients love her.  Next week she will attend an important business meeting with me.

Last Wednesday she joined the fashionable cafe set as she sat with me at an outdoor table at a coffee shop in the exclusive boutique village of Eltham. There she met two well-behaved adult dingos and a not-so-well-behaved Maltese Shitzu cross.  Two ladies at an adjoining table couldn't stop remarking on her good looks and splendid manners.  Were I not a married man she'd be a great asset to me in meeting ladies.

At puppy pre-school (not the one I previously told you about) she's by far the best behaved puppy and as a result the other participants appear to assign more importance than they should to my opinions about dog training. It really is a case of a brilliant pupil making an average teacher look better than he is. In the down position she does her best to stay calm, not always successfully, even when other puppies jump on her.

Tammi loves everyone that she meets and shows her pleasure by wagging her whole body from her collar down to the tip of her tail.  At work she's taken to sleeping under my desk in the place supposedly reserved for my feet and legs.

A few days ago the sister and mother of the owner of Noonbarra Tammy, who lives in Camberwell, visited our studio.  Tammy was not with them but she had already visited us with her owner a week or two ago.  I invited them to visit whenever they feel like and suggested that we might even do some training together.

The more I train Tammi the closer we become.  A few years ago I read a book entitled "Dog's Don't Lie About Love."  If I ever needed to be convinced of the truth of that statement Tammi would be the one to do it.  She has added immeasurably to the quality of my life.  I hope that I can give her as much happiness as she gives me.

Best wishes, Keith Batchelor

In this letter (in part) Keith talks about Tammi going through developmental stages. These occur at various intervals during the first 12 months of a dog's life. They may last a week or go on for many weeks. In some cases, especially with females, they can continue until about 18 months. Keith & his wife Pat had plenty of experience with dogs and were well aware of what Tammi was experiencing.

March 2007

Dear Stephen and Mary,

You'll be pleased to know that Tammi's back.  She's returned from whatever autistic place her hormones took her to and if anything she's more loving than she was before.

I took her to see Michael Tucker a few days ago and we strutted our stuff for him.  I asked him how she compared with other five month old puppies that he'd seen and he floored me when he quite matter-of-factly replied that he'd never before known a five month old puppy like her -  high praise from someone who's been training dogs for 55 years and who estimates that he's trained around 15000 of them.  Pat thought that I was insufferable after that.

Tammi now free walks without pulling on the lead or jumping up,  heels, - including right and left turns and right about turns - sits when I stop,  stops most of the time at kerbs without an instruction from me when free walking , recalls both on and off the lead and performs the Noonbarra down stay with about 90% reliability under any circumstances.  She even obeys the command "Down" from a distance of 20m to  30m.  She also usually remembers to wait at doors until I tell her to go through them and is learning the sit stay.

I know that I make her sound fantastic - and I think that she really is - but she's still only a puppy.  She gets excited when she meets new people or dogs and distracted when she sees something new.  She doesn't yet have the steadiness and reliability that you'd expect from a well trained mature dog, but she's turning into a wonderful companion.  I can now take her for hour long walks and we've started walking at night.  This has resulted in some hilarious situations resulting from Tammi's reactions to things that look unfamiliar to her in the dark.  The other evening she jumped right over a low brick front fence in response to goodness knows what.

We were out walking together yesterday when Tammi suddenly became interested in something that she couldn't see clearly.  Imagine my amazement when she stood up on her hind legs in order to get a better view and remained there for about a minute.  I'm sure that she could have stood that way for as long as she wanted.

Pat and I were discussing her the other day (Pat says that I seldom talk about anything else) and we remarked on how amazing it was that I should contact you, describe the type of dog that I wanted and that you should produce one almost as if to order.  You really do know your kelpies. 

Because of her good looks and good manners, Tammi attracts a lot of attention wherever she goes.  A woman stopped to meet her while we were out walking and told me that her husband wants to get a pure bred kelpie.  I told her about you both and about Noonbarra.

March 2007

Dear Stephen & Mary,

Thanks for your letter.  It's a pleasure to keep you informed about my wonderful dog.  I'm always happy to tell people about you both and your beautiful kelpies and this brought a thought to my mind.

If you'd like to use any of the pictures that I've sent you or will send you or any of my words about Tammi, for promotional purposes on your website, you are welcome to do so.  I honestly do feel privileged to have Tammi in my life.  She brings joy to Pat and me every day and we would never have had that had it not been for your expertise and your integrity.

I've had considerable experience in business and I'm used to hearing people make all sorts of promises that they don't deliver and probably never intended to deliver.  You, on the other hand, were always as good as your word in your dealings with me.

I would therefore have absolutely no hesitation in recommending you.

Best wishes,

Keith Batchelor 

March 2007

For as long as I can remember I've had a love affair with steam - steam locomotives, steam powered boats, steam stationary engines, in fact pretty well any engine that toots, whistles, huffs, puffs, chugs or snorts.  Not surprisingly, therefore, I marked the Scoresby Steamfest in my calendar months ago.  Tammi quickly agreed to accompany me to it on the 11th. of this month and with a little extra effort I managed to rope Pat into it as well.

What a spectacle it was:  steam traction engines, steam lorries, a steam sawmill, enormous steam stationary and marine engines and a 12 inch gauge steam locomotive pulling a train in which visitors could ride.  Tammi saw and heard it all and didn't even flinch.  I took her into a huge shed in which a great many very large steam and diesel engines were running and she didn't turn a hair.  Her behaviour was impeccable.  She calmly accepted the admiration of children and adults alike and I was regaled with stories of their dogs, by people who had once had a kelpie and who, quite correctly, thought them to be the best dogs in the world.  When the traction engines put on an ear splitting demonstration of their combined whistle power, Tammi didn't react.  I was ten feet tall.

We visited an outdoor display that featured a couple of small model cannons, where a woman warned me of the impending firing of one of them so that I could move away with my dog.  I stayed, the cannon fired twice and Tammi jumped slightly.  Someone in the crowd made a nice remark about her behaviour.

I wanted to ride the steam railway and as Tammi always wants to be where I am, it was clear that she'd have to come too.  I asked the woman selling tickets "How much for a dog."  She stared at me, I later found in disbelief, and didn't reply so I bought two tickets and boarded the train with Tammi.  When she sat next to me on the seat the guard told me that for health reasons dog's weren't allowed to sit on the seats.  I transferred her to my knee and was tempted to say that I didn't think she'd catch anything.

Until now Tammi had been pretty casual about everything but once the train started to move and gather speed and the rails began to sing "clicketty clack clicketty clack," she started to question my sanity.  She immediately took herself off my knee and back onto the seat ("To hell with the guard" I thought) and pushed her nose under my arm pit.  After a little persuasion she removed her nose and dared to look where we were going.

The rest is history.  She again showed what a good dog she is and what a credit she is to your breeding program.  When later someone asked "Does she do this sort of thing often?"  I'm almost sure that I heard her mutter under her breath "It's all in a day's work for a Noonbarra kelpie."

April 2007

Dear Stephen and Mary, Have a great Easter.  Tammi sends you her best wishes.

She's doing well with her training although she's making a bid for the position of pack leader.  It won't succeed.  She now tries to get away with whatever she can and sometimes she tries to defy me, but I'm just as stubborn as she is.  Michael Tucker says that I'll eventually have a very well-trained dog.

She's particularly difficult with small children and other dogs.  She just wants to play with them and becomes very excited and oblivious to my commands and corrections.  However, I know just how good she can be and I won't give up.  She's amazingly quick to learn new things but at present she'd rather do her own thing than mine.  It's just a phase in her development (she'll be 6 months old on the 7th of this month) and I'll most certainly outlast her.

She now walks close at heel with turns, recalls and drops off the leash from a distance.  However because of her age she can become distracted and a few days ago, while working off the leash, she was frightened by a small child on a very noisy bicycle.  She took off to get away from him but he kept riding with her running in front of him.  When he eventually stopped so did she and order was restored, but it gave me a bit of a fright.  Until his arrival she had been working quite well off the leash that day with dog and small child distractions .
 

June 2007

I've attached a snapshot of Tammi on the trail at the Casterton Kelpie Muster.  We had a great time and will go again next year.  We walked in the street parade and three people among the spectators asked me to stop and let them Pat Tammi.  She was the only dog singled out for this.  In fact, people stopped me in various places and said that they'd been noticing and admiring Tammi and wanted to pat her.  Everywhere she went she attracted attention - and that's not the exaggerated claim of a proud father.  I think that she might even have appeared on local television because after the winners of the photography competition had been announced I said a few words about it on the steps of the town hall.  While I was speaking there was a television camera pointed straight at us, and in front of a crowd of several hundred people Tammi laid quietly at my feet.

I met several families who had Noonbarra Kelpies and even among those who didn't have one Noonbarra is well known. A fellow walked up to me at the hill climb and said: "You're the bloke on the train." At first I didn't know what he was talking about, but after he explained himself we had a good laugh. [This was Greg McDonald with Noonbarra Matti]

All the best Stephen, for the next phase of your treatment.  I'll keep sending you news of Tammi and her exploits.  Her intelligence just keeps on amazing me.

Best wishes, Keith Batchelor

Sept 2007

At Stephen's request I've attached some recent pictures of Tammi.  They're all taken during a couple of training sessions. 

 As you can see I haven't exaggerated.  Tammi is quite wonderful.  The only real problem that I have with her at present is her lack of concentration.  She's easily distracted - especially by other dog's.  Michael says that this should improve with maturity. People regularly ask me to get Tammi to do a few tricks and they're always amazed by her - especially when I tell them her age.

Tammi and I recently joined Southern Obedience Dog Club.  We don't go to training classes there but I run Tammi and train her in the club's grounds on week days.  I've included a picture to give you an idea of what the place looks like. Although I don't train at the club I've met a few of the members and made friends with some of them.  Tammi doesn't just run with their dogs she tries to herd them up - especially poodles.

 Keith and Pat Batchelor 

Noonbarra Tammi jumping over arm

Noonbarra Tammi jumping through arm

Noonbarra Tammi on 'down' command

Noonbarra Tammi coming full throttle on recall

Noonbarra Tammi jumping over owner

Noonbarra Tammi coming over hurdle

Nov. 2007

A few more pictures of Tammi are attached to this email.  They're not very good but I enjoy them because they're of Tammi.

The picture of her jumping over me and through the hoop is a picture that was taken on one of her earliest, if not the earliest, attempts to do so.  I said to Pat "Let's give it a go." and Tammy did it.  Now I hold the hoop up at full arm extension but when this picture was taken I wasn't sure if she'd do it at all and so I kept the hoop low.  It's often hard to get pictures of Tammi performing because Pat isn't always available to take them and she isn't a photographer.

You'd have laughed at Tammi's performance this morning.  She'd jumped along my prone body and through the hoop and I asked her to do it again.  Instead of jumping she walked along me with much tail wagging and an ear to ear grin.  I've always thought that dogs have a sense of humour.

 She'll start dumbbell work soon and tracking in Autumn.  Michael has advised leaving tracking until the weather is cooler since the scent remains longer than it does in hot weather, thus making it easier for an inexperienced dog. 

I've taught her to walk in a figure of 8 around my ankles when I stand with my legs astride.  I give the command "Eight" and she does it.  Eventually she'll do it without a spoken command when I move my feet apart.  Then I'll be able to say "Tammi, what's two times four?" and she'll show everyone that she knows the answer.  It should look great in Kelpie Idol at Casterton.

 Training her is a real pleasure because she learns so quickly.  No doubt she took what she learned from weaving in and out of my legs when I walk and applied it to learning to do a figure of 8.  To teach her to do it I simply sat her at heal and then kept repeating the word "eight" while she followed my fingers around and between my legs.  Two or three attempts and she had it.  It was then just a matter of practice.  I started the trick last Thursday and she demonstrated it at the dog club yesterday.  I think that, where possible, with a dog of Tammi's intelligence it's worth planning your training sequence in order to be able to take advantage of things that the dog has learned previously.

Michael says that she is ahead of most dogs of her age that have had a similar amount of training.

First attempt at the hoop

Double Crossed Hoops

2010: SAVED BY TAMMI  (A true story)

Some weeks ago Patricia and I were in our back garden with the two dogs - Tammi and Patricia's terrier cross Coki.  Patricia was kneeling at one of our rabbit hutches and opening the door in order to remove the rabbit.  I was standing a little distance away watching what she was doing and Tammi was sitting behind me and to my right -also watching proceedings.  The hutch in question has a latch on its door which can be a bit difficult to operate and Patricia was only slowly getting it open.

Tammi and Coki are both very interested in our rabbits.  Tammi's interest is benign and she licks them if she gets the chance whereas Coki, the little terrier killing machine, could never be trusted with them.  She's already killed enough birds to put her off side with me and I've no doubt that she'd kill a rabbit if she had the chance.  Pat wouldn't trust her with them either but she is much more confident that she can control her than I am.  Her confidence is not supported by the evidence.  Coki has had no training at all and rarely obeys any command.  Her attitude to being told to "Come" is "Yeah, Yeah I hear you but I'm busy right now.  Leave a message and I'll get back to you when it's convenient."  It's rarely ever convenient.

As Tammi and I watched, Coki started to push in front of Patricia and between her and the door of the hutch.  Patricia's replies to my cries of caution were to the effect that everything was under control.  I didn't share her confidence and took the few paces to Patricia, Coki and the hutch and reached out with my left hand to grab Coki's collar and remove her.  Imagine my surprise when Coki bit me on my thumb and then quickly followed this up with a bite to my hand.  She didn't break my skin but her needle sharp teeth certainly hurt me.

I had no time to do anything about it because without a word from me Tammi flashed past me, bowled Coki over, rolled her onto her back and grabbed her around her throat.  There was no growling and no dog fight.  Tammi just immobilised Coki and held her to the ground.

When I recovered from my surprise I told Tammi to release Coki.  She did this and then, to my even greater surprise, she herded her to her kennel, which is in another part of the garden, put her inside it and refused to allow her out for about two hours.

Tammi's shown us time and again that she's a very smart dog but I would never have expected her to do what she did.  I haven't taught her to do anything like this but I've often seen her work out what to do by herself in various situations and apply an appropriate solution to a problem.

The even more remarkable sequel came the next day when once again Patricia headed down the garden to the rabbit hutches.  On this occasion Tammi put Coki in her kennel before they reached the hutches.  She solved the problem by not allowing it to develop.  Some time later she even went back to check on Coki to be sure that she was remaining where she had put her, and then returned to Patricia and the rabbits.  Eventually Coki thought it safe to put in an appearance whereupon Tammi returned her to her kennel where she remained for another couple of hours. 

Remarkable as it is, this story is completely true and I've not exaggerated nor embellished it in the slightest.  Tammi and I couldn't be closer and in the little over three years that we've been together she's often demonstrated what a truly remarkable dog that she is.  I'm very glad that you, Stephen and Mary, decided that I was a suitable person to have her.

A perfect sit before heeling

A fantastic achievement for a young dog

(Credit to an owner who is very involved and works hard)