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. 

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.

 Ruger (2008 - 2022 ) - Gone but not forgotten. 

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.  

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.

 Christi grew up, and still lives, in Garland, and started dog training in the late 1980’s with her family’s mixed breed dogs that were rescued from various shelters. English Setters, though, have ruled her heart and home since 1999. She and Allie, her second English Setter, started agility in 2001 as an outlet for Allie’s extreme energy, and the addiction began.

After successfully working two of her own dogs, Ranger and Tucker, through dog reactivity to be able to enjoy agility, Christi is all about empowering her dogs, and the dogs she teaches, with confidence. She believes that giving a dog a voice and listening to what they’re saying through body language, eye contact, and behavior is a vital part of building a partnership with her agility dog. Confidence is built through trust, and trust is built through clear, two-way communication with your canine partner.

The Setters have also taught Christi the value of thinking outside the box when teaching behaviors and when trying to find a reinforcement strategy that works for each dog. Conner taught her how to use what your dog wants to get what you want all while making him think it’s what he wants. While some dogs may live for a great tug session, a fun game of fetch with a ball, a yummy treat, or even just a Cheerio, others (Ryker) want to chase water thrown from a bucket, (Tucker) chase a cat toy on a stick, or (Conner) go sniff an enticing scent on the ground.

Christi currently shares her home with English Setters, Conner and Ryker. Conner is her retired competition dog who earned lots of titles in agility, and even rally, before health issues forced an early retirement at age 6. After retiring from agility, he continued learning tricks and obedience to earn his Beginner Novice Obedience and Trick Dog Advanced titles. Ryker is her young dog and they are just starting their competition journey together. He also has Rally Novice and Trick Dog Advanced titles, and is over halfway to a Senior Championship in Dock Diving.  

In her spare time, Christi bakes dog training treats to sell at local agility trials, enjoys baking human goodies, is an avid Texas Rangers fan, and loves to read. When time permits, she also bakes gingerbread houses in the Fall and has even placed at local gingerbread competitions.

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.