Since entering the agility ring for the first time in April 2000, John and his border collie Connor have totaled over 400 qualifying runs in three different agility registries, the Agility Association of Canada (AAC), Canine Performance Events (CPE) and the United States Dog Agility Association (USDAA). In the AAC, they have been regional champions in Nova Scotia in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006. At the Canadian National Championship level in the AAC, John and Connor placed 3rd in Calgary, Alberta in 2001, 2nd in Palgrave, Ontario in 2002 and 6th in Montreal, Quebec in 2004. Their AAC titles include SADC, SSGDC, SAADC, SMADC, SMGDC, SMSDC, SMJDC, SMTRDC, SMSCDC, SATChC and the Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards of Merit. In CPE their titles include CL4-R, CL4-H, CL4-S, CL4-F and C-ATCh (the first Canadian dog to earn that title) and in the USDAA they have been USDAA DAM United States National qualifiers in both 2003 and 2004. In 2006, John and Connor were also honoured with the Clean Run "Spirit of Agility Award" for their involvement and dedication to the sport of agility.

Over the last several years, John has been teaching seminars and conducting workshops in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Maine using the very latest handling and training techniques. He has attended, in-depth seminars, with some of the top trainers in the United States and Europe. These include, Guy Blancke (Belgium), Stuart and Patti Mah (USA), Gregg Derrett (Great Britain), Nancy Gyes (USA), Kathy Keats (Canada), Gerry Brown (USA) and Kim Collins (Canada). John has also attended the week long Clean Run Agility Training Camp held in the United States in 2004 and 2005, taking workshops from other notable agility instructors such as Susan Garrett, Jim Basic, Jen Pinder and many others. He continues to attend seminars in order to stay current with all the latest improvements and changes in the sport. His use of "positive reinforcement" training methods ensure his students are exposed to a solid foundation training , a key to good agility peformance. He teaches safe and reliable obstacle performance and the use of clear and consistent handling while on course. John also uses the "clicker training" method to ensure that handlers have "thinking" dogs that learn more quickly and easily. He continues compete in Canada and the United States, attending approximately fifteen to twenty agility trials every year.

He, his wife Lorna and their three border collies Connor ( 11yrs.), Lucy ( 7yrs.) and Rebel ( 2yrs. ) live in Halifax, Nova Scotia where they train and run their dogs. John has recently launched "True North Agility", his own agility training service and looks forward to helping you with your agility needs.

To find out more about John, check out his web site  http://www.truenorthagility.com/