We were lucky to catch up with Robin Penland-Elliott recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Robin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you tell us about a time where you or your team really helped a customer get an amazing result?

Let’s see, there is one customer I can tell you about from back in 1999. I was teaching a herding dog training seminar in Phoenix Arizona.

Herding dog seminars are a group of people come together with herding breeds of dogs. This particular clinic had Australian Shepherds, Border Collies, Australian Kelpies, Standard Poodles even.

One owner had 2 Australian Shepherds and a Border Collie entered in the Seminar. I workered with her dogs. She explained she was a retired social worker from New York city. Her dream was to come to the West.

After the seminar she was so pleased with how her dogs responded she asked to come to my ranch for private lessons. Pretty soon this turned into her living in a an RV on my ranchv4 days a week for me to train her dogs with my other regular herding lessons.

She explained her Border Collie was a pound rescue. She had taken this dog to many many herding clinics with this dog. Every trainer before me told her the dog was worthless and was not able to be trained for herding livestock.

Well. I trained that dog and handlered to her to great sucess. She earned a spot on Team USA at the World Sheepdog Trials in Ireland 2005 and competed. She qualified to run in the United States Border Collie Handler’s Association National Finals and competed. She earned an AKC Herding Dog Championship HC. An AKC Stockdog of Distinction, SOD, and A Stockdog of Distinction Excellent SODX. An All Herding Breed Association Championship HTCH an Australian Shepherd Club of America Championship WTCH. Numerous accalades, High In Trial Awards, Reserve High in Trial Awards. Her win rate was about 99%.

She wasn’t the most talented dog, but she had a lot of heart. An animal physicic once said during a reading on Maddie, “This new lady I work with is strict, but I really love her. She let’s me work more than any other hunan has.”

Maddie’s owner went on to co owning a 160 ranch with me running 600 head of sheep. I’ve since sold my part of this successful sheep ranch. She has remained as sole owner, bought more acres, become a herding judge, and breeding Border Collies.

She has more than fullfulled her dream of living in the West. She’s now a true Western Rancher. I’m very proud to of been instrumental in her achieving her dream.

I have a few other happy customer stories, its been a long career!!

Robin, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a single female sheep farmer, I’m a stock dog trainer and worlwide competitor. A Border Collie breeder, herding teacher/coach and mentor to many not so confident city folks. A Dream facilitator.

I started my business with selling my most prized, winning dog I trained myself. He was my heart dog “Jeep” and the only thing I owned of value. I sold him for $3500 in 1997. This was my seed money to quit my corporate carreer in managing veterinary hospitals and begin my self employed journey.

In my head I would be broke in 6 months. I took my other 6 dogs, a truck with a lease payment, divorced my husband of 18 years and left the state of California.

I scraped together enough money and bought 12 sheep to take with me. On the way out of state I stayed with a friend. All 12 sheep were killed by dogs that night. Fathers day, 1997. I was devasted. I had no money to replace them.

My friend felt horrible of course and gave me 3 sheep. Off to Arizona I went with 3 sheep. 3 sheep!!!

I rented a house but had nothing except my clothes and a cooler for a refrigerator. I peddled herding lessons for $20 for 30 minutes.

I slept on the floor for months. Lessons were 4am-midnight. 7 days a week. Holidays were always teaching lessons. I grew my business in 3 states into grossing in the high six figures, consistently every year until Covid hit.

Early in 2020 I contracted Covid and was forced to stop teaching herding lessons. My schedule went from 7 days a week, 14 hour days teaching to an abrupt STOP as did the world.

Stopping has good and bad we all know. For me it gave me time to reflect. I’d achieved what I had set out to do. I was grossing more money than I ever dreamed. But living in California I could only go so far with my farming sheep. Costs and regulations in California are prohibitive to making a profit.

I packed up and bought 40 acres in South Carolina to increase my sheep production.

My sheep farming has grown from herding competitions. My love of farming sheep and teaching young women has grown exponentially.

I’ve mentored 6 women in a profound way. Meagan, Rachel. Madeline, Nancy, Geri, Karen. I want to reach more. Geri went on to now owning a 240 acre sheep ranch and hosting many herding competitions annually.

Brian, ex surfer went on to Rookie of the year after 11 months of hard work with me. He now owns a huge spread in Oregon.

Countless students have earned Championships and much more. I’m extremely proud and fulfilled in my career/lifestyle.

I want to inspire more young female sheep farmers and competitors. I’m very excited to bulid another facility in South Carolina.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I was managing a veterinary hospital in El Cajon for many years, San Diego area. I had wanted a Border Collie for some time. I had a Border Collie/Australian Shepherd mix.

Two clients of the veterinary hospital would bring their Border Collies in. I just loved them. Both ladies invited me out to watch their dogs herd sheep and to bring my Border Collie mix out to try herding. Jethro Bodine I called him. He ate more than any pup, hence Jethro Bodine from the Beverly Hillbiliies.

Jethro enjoyed it, but the ladies made it clear I’d need a full working bred Border Collie if I wanted to herd livestock with a dog.

Finally as a gift from my parents I received my first Border Collie, Tanka I named her, After a movie I had watched about Tanka being “the great one”.

I trained and trained. My first competition I WON first place! I was even more hooked! I went on to get a few more Border Collies and no one could beat me. Handlers would dread when I pulled up, “well there goes first and second place”.

Pretty soon I was getting asked to help my friends and other handlers, train and compete better. I started helping my friends. One friend had a dog numerous trainers had tried to train and handle at competitions. No one could handle him, “Kodi”. He was a strong opinionated dog.

I trained on Kodi and took him to a very prestigious trial in Northern California. We won first place. A champagne bucket, champagne, and a big first place check.

After that I had many requests for help. I started teaching herding lessons, training and handling dogs for others on the side of my full time veterinary manager career.

Lessons were going well but my marrige was not. I decided go big or quit. I took my most prized possession, my heart dog “Jeep” and sold him for quite a but of money and started my company full time.

With that money I rented a house and slept on the floor as I had no furniture. I had a small cooler for a fridge and 6 dogs left.

I figured 6 months I’ll be broke and back in corporate America. That was 1997. I have not had a boss since.

My company grew to a 6 figure businesse and is still going strong. I saved enough money to buy my own 40 acres and live almost all debt free.

All by myself!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Integrity, hard work and I care. I don’t just take people’s money and give just enough of myself to get by.

No. I open a vein to teach each and every client how they need to be taught. I ask what is their profession. This helps me understand how they think and process information. I ask how was their childhood growing up.

An underwater welder thinks very differently than a piano teacher. A person that was raised to think they’re not good enough at anything needs to be taught differently and confidence built.

I started my own herding dog training business to train dogs. But it became much much more. It became part time counselor and therapist too. Training a dog to herd with you is like no other relationship in life.

Herding empowers the not so confident if you help them properly. I’m proud to know I’ve changed countless humans and dogs lives for the better. I get letters and emails still from my very first clients of what a different, more fullfulled life they have.

No, I don’t solve world peace, But I do make a difference in many lives. I will contunue to do so as long as my brain still functions!

Contact Info:

• Website: Onthelambherding.com
• Instagram: Onthelambherding
• Facebook: On the Lamb Herding
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/bzpvPMN7uCk
• Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/biz_info/dyggbEtUjbfi2F6cCiEPpQ