Sheila

My name is Joyce Kirby and my dog is Sheila, she got her name because she is a Blue Heeler and Australian Shepard. Believe it or not my husband and I went out looking for this particular mix, although now I wonder why. Don’t get me wrong I love her to death and would not give her up for the world but she is a challenge.
We brought Sheila home from State College, PA in early March, 2006; she was this rollie pollie fur ball full of love and kisses. What happened next I have no idea. I took her to Puppy School more for me than her, it had been 7 years since I had a puppy in the house and Bridget is a not the best example or role model for Sheila. So after graduating Puppy School things were good but we do not have occasion to be around other strange dogs or children very often. I have horses and a car and another not very well behaved dog and Sheila, other than my husband and work that is pretty much my life.
When Sheila was about 6 months old we started to notice some aggressions toward children which she is hardly ever around, the farm tractors, the lawn mower, vacuum, chain saw. Then she bit my husband when he was working with the chain saw and we knew we had to do something. The Puppy School was K-9 Basics and my vet is Dr. Pettite so on July 18 of 2006 I came over to Absolute Control and talked to Perry, while we were there, Sheila growled at Perry, and just about every dog that came within 10 feet of her, Perry put a collar on her and showed me what she could do and I signed up right then and there.
To make a very long story short, Sheila will always be a Blue Heeler and try to herd the things that are bigger than her or move quickly around her that is what she thinks her job is. She tries to attack things that are bigger than her or that she is afraid of; she has come so far with both of these issues that unless you have seen it first hand like I have as well as several of the handlers you would not believe it.
You will probably never see Sheila’s beautiful face because whenever she is in class she wears a muzzle; this is as much for her protection as for the other dogs. There are other dogs with dog aggressions in class and if another dog goes after her it sets her off and it takes a little while to get every one settled down, but by the end of class they are all on their best behavior. Sheila is a very good dog and play well with her sister or her cousins. I can take her anywhere with me and I don’t worry about how she will act I know I can control her and her actions. She does not get to the point that I can not control her, she still has bad days, but don’t we all. You will find Sheila and I at Absolute Control a couple times a week, it builds her confidence and reminds us both that I am in control. When the weather is good the agility is great for both of us, the confidence I saw in Sheila is what made her come along as well as she has.
I can’t say enough about the people associated with Absolute Control they care about the dogs first, always. They love and respect the animals they care for and it shows in the love and respect they receive back from the animals they care for.
If you are thinking about joining Absolute Control come on out and take a look, maybe you’ll even see me and Sheila also know as Hannibal Lector.
PS: Sheila says she likes coming to school so she can show off and get hugs and love from mommy and the trainers.