Peter Gonnet
Achievements
Peter was raised on a ranch in Alberta Canada growing up with border collies. He and his wife Pam have recently retired from managing a large grazing reserve near Outlook, Saskatchewan Canada. Even though Peter had been around border collies he’d never learned to work them correctly. A friend and fellow cowboy who had learned how to work dogs and use commands from an Englishman helped Peter get started. This was the launching of a life’s passion for training and breeding border collies.
Peter first imported a dog in 1988 from Welshman Glyn Jones. Impressed by Glyn’s “One Man and His Dog” Champion, Gel, Peter wanted a dog of the same breeding. He imported a female of the same line as Gel from Glyn. All of Peter’s dogs today go back to that bitch. Influenced by many a great handler, Peter says he considers Jack Knox and Tom Wilson his finest mentors. Both men are masters at working and training sheepdogs, and are also exemplary sportsman and competitors.
Peter continues to breed and train border collies, in Outlook. During the winter months he feeds with a team of horses and a wagon. Working his dogs on both cattle and sheep, all of Peter’s trial dogs work daily on the ranch. He keeps about 5 dogs of his own to work in addition to taking in a couple outside dogs to train.
With his recent retirement, Peter hopes to find more time for trialing. He has won the Canadian Championship and has been Reserve CBCA champion, Western Canadian Driving and WCC Nursery Champion, nine times SSDA Open Champion. He has also judged throughout North America .