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My husband Peter and I live on a 1 acre property in the small village of Woodstock, NSW with our KelpiexColliexCoolie - Croftie CD, our four Labrador Retrievers - Tua (Diacas Tua Tahi CCD) and  Lara (Invergowrie Lara),  Heeni (Tapua Heeni Te Anna) & Daphne (Tapua Celtic Charm).  

TAPUA means in the Maori language 'to stand out and be prominant'. We are not newcomers to the breeding of dogs, obedience and the show scene. Under the MIMBIL prefix we have bred Australian Kelpies since 1991 with some success, breeding an all breeds Best In Show winner & 3 separate Runner Up Best In Speciality Show winners plus over 100 class in group and show winners. While I enjoyed showing dogs our priorities have changed over the years and we are mainly focussed on breeding healthy and sound service and companion dogs

My personal involvement with dogs began in 1972 when I lived in England when I was 11 - my uncle had a German Shepherd Dog and a pet Fox. He worked for the British film industry as an animal trainer at the time and one of the films involved the  training of a dog and Fox as a companions for the film. His GSD and the fox were the stars of the film and the red fox lived with my uncle after the filming was over. Their relationship fascinated me and sparked an interest in canine behaviour. Later in 76 I owned a X-bred mutt called Monty and I attended obedience at Centenial Park, Sydney. This developed my interest in more conventional obedience dog training and later led to trialing in obedience and the training of service dogs. 

I have been involved in obedience and dog training most of my adult life and have a particular interest in service dogs. In past I have trained a German Shepherd Dog 'Merlin' and then donated him the NSW Police.  Merlin served with the force for 5 years as a general purpose Police Dog until his untimely death in 2005. I have also trained 3 Australian Kelpies as Assistance Dogs for the disabled. My husband, Peter, has also had a long association with working stock dogs and security dogs via his military service and his professional work.  All the dogs in our yard know their basics in obedience and will sit, stand, drop stay on and off lead. I continue to compete in obedience with our Labradors.

At Tapua Kennels our aim and philosophy is to breed intelligent, healthy, well-tempered and of course conformationally correct Labrador Retrievers. We are fully responsible for what comes from our kennel therefore, like many breeders, all our breeding stock are Hip & Elbow scored and DNA tested for PRA & EIC. Our foundation bitches have been purchased with health and temperament in mind. From our experience the dam of the litter influences the temperament of the pups more directly than the sire, given that they imprint their temperament during the important 0-8 week age. Our diligent and intensive handling in the first 8 weeks of a puppies life set them up for a purposeful and well adjusted life as adult Labs. For more information on our methods look at 'Training Puppies' section on this website.

Due to major surgery for cancer I have difficulty showing our dogs so I do not regularly show these days. In 2003 I was diagnosed with a Adult Soft Tissue Sarcoma (EMC) which invaded the bone in my left tibia which resulted in multiple & major surgery, chemo & radiotherapy to retain my lower.  In 2005 I finally managed to get out of the wheelchair and began walking, although my walking has been permanently compromised by my leg. Our beautiful Croftie dog helped me to walk better having to lead or train a dog on my left hand side required me to walk straight and not swing my leg out and clip the dog - as the muscles in my leg wanted me to do. Croftie is such a clever boy he tolerated my clumsiness and inspired me to perserver, he deserved the title Companion Dog, his willingness and bidability encouraged me to try and train him for the trail ring.

In February 2006 we entered Bathurst Royal in the Novice ring, skipping the CCD level all together, we gained our first pass at our first trial with a score of 176. I have since then returned to full time work and we have had limited opportunity to compete with Croftie again. In August of 2006 at Mudgee, we won the CD ring with a score of 186, which was fantastic. Update on Croftie - July 2008 -Croftie gained his final pass in July 2008 with a fantastic score of 196 out of a possible 200!  Although it sounds like a long time to get his title - I actually only entered him in  5 trials - due to lack of local trails and lack of motivation on my part. He is now officially a Companion Dog and has earned the title CD next to his name. Tua entered her first 2 trails at the 6th Labrador National May 2010 in CCD obedience and gained 2 passes and came second overall both days. Third Trial - greater Western All Breeds Obedience and Agility Club Inc: Third over all and her CCD title. Lara is next on the list for her CCD. We love our dogs dearly and they are most definately a part of our life - we hope some of our pups may become a part of your life too.

PHOTO: TAPUA KENNELS WOODSTOCK NSW (NEAR COWRA)

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