Our Instructors

Anne  and her husband Tim bought Best Friends in Aug of 2021; after what could only be called  'fate' made her long time dream come true.

Anne has been involved in the sport for 20+ years. At the beginning, she had to learn how to handle her exuberant & reactive Aussie, Boomer.  Because of his struggles, Anne found herself diving into every clicker class, dog book, & dog behavior workshop she could find. with some of the greats like Bob Bailey, and went to behavior conferences like NT ORCA and Karen Pryor’s Clicker Expo. 

As an instructor, Anne's philosophy is that it is all about teamwork, balance & FUN. She enjoys teaching foundation exercises to puppies or older dogs that need clarity on particular skills. She coaches more experienced handlers to improve through better obstacle performance, more efficient handling and proper reward timing & placement.

Anne shares her life with 7 dogs,  4 of them are her husband Tim's.

Hemi (2010 - ) an Aussie who is a perfect mix of sassy & sweet, has earned her ADCH (Agility Dog Champion) in USDAA.  Anne has competed in USDAA, AKC  &  UKI, as well as NADAC. Hemi is semi-retired from agility & is learning all about Nosework! 

Seeley (2016 - ) a BC, lives up to his name which means happy-go-lucky. He is full of energy & can learn just about anything in two reps – good or bad!  Learning to harness his need for speed & enthusiasm for agility has stretched Anne’s knowledge even further.  

Believe or "Lievee" (2021-)

a BC  was born on 8/26  from a working cattle ranch in Troup Tx.

Anne's  looking forward to her journey w/the newest member of the pack. 

Away from agility, Anne spends her time kayaking, reading mystery novels,  & learning more about photography! 

Donna is a registered nurse and native Texan who moved to Allen with her husband Bill in 1999.

Donna loves Golden Retrievers and started training at Best Friends Fun Farm in 2002 with her then two-year old dog Sonora (2000-2013) and was immediately addicted. 

Kayla (2001-2015), a rescue Golden joined the family in 2003 and quickly showed Donna that agility was awesome earning numerous titles in AKC, USDAA, ASCA and NADAC and Championships in both AKC and USDAA. A highlight was winning Preferred National Agility Champion at the 2013 Golden Retriever National Specialty. 

Ruger (2008 - ) lives up to his name - he is a pistol, full of life and loved agility. He earned numerous titles advancing to the Masters level in both AKC and USDAA. He was fast as a speeding bullet and one could hear the chant “RUN Donna RUN” when they were on course.  Ruger is now enjoying his retirement. 

Jager (2013 - ) showed attitude from day one and loves to train. Jager occasionally does agility but true to his name (Jager means hunter in German) loves Nosework.

Sig (2016 - ) is Donna’s current competition dog, at the beginning of his journey. He is providing great fun and excitement.

When not playing agility, all the Goldens adore Dock Diving and have each earned Titles ranging from Junior and Senior all the way to Master.

Windle Ewing and his wife Donna have shared their home with English Springer Spaniels for 35 years.  They currently reside with two Springers – Darcie and Bryce – in Plano, Texas.
 

 Windle has participated in dog agility for 21 years.  He started in the sport by volunteering to set jump bars as a ring steward at a local trial. His Springers have earned multiple championships, titles, and awards, and they have been recognized for outstanding achievement by their national breed organization.

Windle has served as an AKC agility judge for 11 years.  He enjoys traveling to different areas of the country, meeting new teams, and renewing old friendships.  Windle had the honor of judging the 2013 AKC Agility Invitational, the 2021 National Agility Championship Challenger's Round and the 2018 National Agility Championship Final Round.

Windle has been training and teaching at Best Friends Fun Farm for 17 years.  He specializes in introducing new exhibitors and their dogs to the sport, as well as providing guidance and insight to experienced teams. 

Susan Shipp has been involved in dog training since the 1980’s and started dog agility in 2001 with her Flat Coated Retriever, Reilly. She currently lives in Plano with her husband Bill and two Border collies, Rush and Quinn. 

Susan spent years training and showing in obedience and transformed her training to positive reinforcement over 20 years ago. Susan believes that training is important to ensure the dog is a great family member and a lifelong companion. Training should be time enjoyed by both the dog and handler as it helps to strength the bond between the two.

Many years ago, Susan taught basic obedience and competed with her dogs. More recently, she been an agility instructor working with beginning and intermediate agility teams. She is excited to be getting back to working with the beginner agility teams and teaching them agility foundations.

Rush and Quinn are Susan’s Border collies. Rush retired from agility in 2020 earning many titles including Agility Dog Champion. In her retirement, Rush and Susan have started scent work and have already earned several novice titles. Susan enjoys taking on new challenges and seeing the joy in Rush’s eyes as they learn together. Quinn is her current agility dog. Quinn pushes Susan to move quickly and think even faster. Quinn’s eagerness to work keeps Susan learning and growing in her skills as an agility competitor and instructor.