Editor's Note: Our guest blogger is Christina Bond, an MDSA member from California. This is the second of a four blog post series about freestyle teams who earned titles in MDSA's August 2013 Video event.

Congratulations, Christina and Magic on your Novice Freestyle Dog Title!

Chris Bond is a Business Systems Analyst and holds a BSc. in computing and an MBA in business technology. Although her mortgage-paying work is in computers, Chris’ true interests are in softer skills -- art and animals.

Chris and her British husband, Rich, lived in England for eight years, where Chris fell in love with the border collie as a breed. They adopted three collies over the years, enjoying weekends filled with agility, flyball, horseback riding (with their dogs alongside) and exploring the beautiful English countryside.

Shortly after moving to Chris’ home state of California, they adopted a fearful border collie mix, Spryte, that blossomed with clicker training. While looking for a sport suitable for a sensitive dog, Chris discovered freestyle.

Spryte’s sensitivities piqued Chris’ interest in understanding the nuances of animal behavior. She began attending a variety of clicker training workshops and behavior seminars, then enrolled in distance learning and achieved a Diploma of Advanced Canine Behavior Science through the Companion Animal Sciences Institute. Chris has been a mentor and instructor for Learning About Dogs and is a member of the Association of Animal Behavior Professionals (AABP). She continues to follow her passion in animal behavior by mentoring others and attending seminars and workshops regularly.

Spryte “danced” and earned titles for many years and is now, at age 12, in retirement. Chris currently “dances” with her two young English-bred border collies, Magic (6) and Skye (3). Chris’ dogs have earned titles in flyball, agility and freestyle. They also enjoy hiking, swimming, suburban canicross, and – of course – playing clicker training games.