Glenrose Farms relocated from Southern California to Southwest Virginia, near Blacksburg, VA, in November of 2006. It was with great regret that left our many friends, family members, and students. We thank them all for their many years of friendship, many of which continue to this day, and support and wish them the best. We hope to see them on our next visit to SoCA!
For several years we were a full service Sheepdog Training Facility and small, family owned and operated livestock breeding operation of Dorset Sheep and White and Colored Angora Goats. We offered sheep dog training to all breeds of herding dogs, as well as hosted herding trials.
We continue to teach and train on a limited basis in SW Virginia, as well as focus further on our registered, production-style Dorset sheep. The Angora Goats stayed in SoCA as did nearly 2/3's of the Dorset flock.
We will also continue to teach seminars nationally and internationally, having taught seminars in Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra, Australia in July, 2007 and Brisbane in July 2006! Laura has also been back to California to teach and train since we moved.
We feature kinder, gentler herding, as our slogan, "Herding From the Heart", suggests. Our methods are tailored explicitly to meet the needs of you and your dog. Our sole trainer, Laura Noll (formerly Laura Bridges) has 30 years of experience in All-Breed and Border Collie herding training and trialing.
Laura specializes in starting novice dogs and handlers and in strengthening the bond of the dog/owner relationship. Her extensive experience includes both British breeds (Border Collies, Collies, Shelties, Beardies, etc,) and European breeds (Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Briards, etc.), as well as a few Australian breeds.
Laura has worked extensively with Australian Shepherds, Belgian Tervuren, Belgian Malinios, Border Collies, Bouvier de Flanders, Collies, Corgis, German Shepherds, Picardy Shepherds, Rottweilers and Shelties. She also has substantial experience with Australian Cattle Dogs, Belgian Sheepdogs, Briards, English Shepherds, Old English Sheepdogs, Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Standard Schnauzers, and many more.
For more information about Laura and her training philosophy, please go to www.naturalherding.com. Naturalherding.com is our subscription-based training website that Laura has developed for her international and other long-distance herding students.
Laura is a licensed AKC and AHBA herding judge. She is also a licensed Dog Carting judge. She actively competes in AKC, AHBA, ASCA and USBCHA herding trials (at the Open level). Please see Our Dogs for their current accomplishments.
As a livestock producer herself, Laura knows what is needed in a working ranch dog, a dog that will save a stock owner many hours of hard work. All of Laura's trial dogs are ranch dogs first and foremost.
In addition to her extensive herding experience both on the farm and on the trial field, Laura's extensive experience in many areas of dog training (including Tracking, Obedience, Agility, Rally, Carting, Junior Showmanship and Schutzhund), as well as horse training experience (in English, Hunter/Jumper, Western, Halter and Dressage), she is able to draw from her strong and diverse background to best understand and meet the needs of you and your dog's unique relationship and situation.
Laura is very comfortable working with clicker trainers, though clicker experience is not a pre-requisite for herding. Indeed, there really are very few pre-requisites in herding. A prospective canine herding candidate should be at least 6 months old, be well socialized, come when called under normal situations, and walk on a leash.
A prospective human herder (handler) should have basic physical adeptness as you will be working with potentially fast-moving livestock. Sturdy, closed-toe shoes and long pants are also recommended for the human partner, as are layers for the remainder of the outerwear.
For more information about beginning herding, please go to our Instinct Test Info and Beginning Herding FAQ pages.
To view her many students' successes, please go to our Kudos page.
To contact us to schedule your first lesson or instinct test, please email us at info@glenrosefarms.com. As stated above, Laura only teaches on a limited basis and she often has a waiting list, but she periodically holds instinct tests for prospective students. She will do her best to schedule you as soon her schedule and the weather permits.
Glenrose Farms offers for sale registered production-style Dorset Sheep on a limited basis.