Lynda Orton-Hill and her speedy Golden Retriever, “Spirit,” consistently place at or near the top of their classes in AAC, CKC, and USDAA agility competitions. Their successes have included qualifying for AAC Canadian Nationals and USDAA Nationals since 2005. On the world agility stage, Lynda & Spirit were named to and competed for the CKC World team in 2007 and again in 2008. They had double the excitement in 2008, when the duo was also named as the 26” alternate for the AAC IFCS team competing in Belgium.

Competitively, at the 2007 World Championships in Hamar, Norway, Lynda and Spirit finished 41st out of 118 large dogs in the overall standings for individual jumping and standard. In September 2008 the duo competed in Helsinki, Finland, where Spirit was chosen to represent Canada on the Large dog team, along with Susan Garrett & Encore and Tiffany Salmon & Rio; the 3-dog team finished 8th overall – the highest placement for a Large dog team in Canadian CKC Team history!

Lynda’s solid foundation of training and handling has been developed through extensive work with Susan Garrett, Greg Derrett, Susan Salo, and Bob Bailey; to that team Lynda has recently added performance enhancement coach John Cullen.

Lynda instructs at Susan Garrett’s world-renowned Say Yes Dog Training facility in Alberton, Ontario. Her understanding of the current Say Yes methodology makes her a pivotal teacher at all levels of training, from puppy skills all the way up to the larger summer camps. Lynda has represented Say Yes, presenting seminars on training without physical or verbal corrections, throughout North America and as far away as Hawaii and Australia. She is also a regular contributor to DogSport magazine, where her latest series, “Raising Favor,” documents the foundation training of her young sheltie puppy. Favor is a exciting performer in her own right, finishing 6th overall at the 2008 Ontario Regionals and then placing 1st in Round 1 and 2 of the Steeplechase Finals at the Canadian Nationals. Visit Lynda’s YouTube site for recent runs at www.youtube.com/lortonhill

Lynda’s enthusiasm for teaching, her great understanding of dog training, and her genuine, patient nature with students ensures every seminar will be time very well spent!