The Last 6 Months

Hi Everyone! We have been so busy and are totally behind on our blogging. Basically, the end of May started a whirlwind of trials and shows and traveling. First, we will tell you about our weekend playing CPE Agility at K9 Four Seasons in Washingtonville May 22-23. All 5 of us ran and we had so many Q's that we can't quite remember all the details. But the biggest news is that Voodoo finally earned his very first agility title - Level 1 Fun Games with a Q in Jumpers! WOOF! WOOF! WOOF! We knew he could do it but he has a hard time controlling his excitement in the ring and forgets to pay attention to mom. Mom calls him 'Happy Feet'. Sefina finished her Level 2 Fun and Strategy Games titles, Robin earned his Level 2 Handler Games title, and Calvin finished his Level 1 Fun Games title.

Here's a picture of Voodoo:


On Monday the 24^th, it was mom's birthday but she won't tell us how old she is. We just know in dog years, she's ancient! Mom didn't have time to celebrate much though cause she was getting ready to take me (Calvin) and Sefina to Wisconsin to go to the 75th Annual Keeshond Nationals. We left Tuesday evening and got there Weds afternoon. We got to stay in a really nice hotel and there were around 600 dogs just like us, all in one place! Wowser! And we thought there was a lot of fur in our house! We saved our fur after our humans fussed over us with brushes and sent it to help clean up the BP oil spill in the gulf.

Thursday was the regional specialty. I got to see my dog mom, Hannah, and my sister, Mia for the first time since I was a baby. I also met Charlie who mom says is my co-breeder. I really like him, he carries liver in his pocket! Mom said I should play with him since this show was a big deal. So first my dog mom, sister, and I went in the ring for the Brood Bitch class where my mom was being judged at how well she out bred herself (how much better Mia & I are compared to her). Hannah got fourth place. Then I went in the ring again for the Open Dog class and got 4^th place which is pretty good since I was competing against 21 other dogs from all over the country. The following day, I got to sleep in while Sefina played Rally Obedience and she earned her Advanced title – barely. But a Q is a Q no matter how ugly it is!

Here's a picture of Sefina with her ribbons:


Saturday was the National Specialty and so it was my turn again. First up was the Open Dog class and guess what? I won!!! Isn't that totally paw-some?!! Then Hannah, with me and Mia by her side, placed 3^rd in the Brood Bitch class. Mom had to handle me in that class so Charlie could take Mia. I was disappointed cause I missed out on the liver in his pocket. Later that day, Sefina was supposed to play rally again but she got really spooked by a bunch of kids having piggy back races down the stairwell. They came crashing down upon us just as we came in from outside. I yelled at them but it was too late. Sefina was so spooked that she really did not want to go play but mom took her down to the ring anyway. But then Sefina just hid under strangers’ chairs and would not take treats. That is a really bad sign since Sefina has perfected the treat bag nose dive to help herself to treats every chance she gets. So mom said she didn't have to play rally.

Here's a picture of me with Charlie and the judge, and a picture of the big diamond that I won. Mom says it isn't real but it is still really nice:


So that catches us up through the end of May. Whew!

June was a little less hectic. We started playing CPE at our school's trial (Splash 'n Dash K9 Sports). Mom was really sick and had to run all 5 of us again. To make matters worse, it was a small trial and we were basically the only 16-inch dogs in most of the classes so mom had to run back to back to back to back. It was fun for us to watch. Mom would just collapse on the floor for a while afterward. She said it was the best cure for a cold though cause she felt alot better the second day of the trial. Anyway, Kiwi had a chance to earn her C-ATCH that weekend but mom screwed up her first Jackpot run. She did pick up her 4th Jackpot leg that weekend so was down to only needing one more. Voodoo decided he had enough agility for a while so went in the ring and promptly ran out of it. Sefina was still traumatized by the stairwell incident so didn't finish any of her runs but she still managed to get a Snookers Q since you don't have to finish the course as long as you have enough points. I finished my Level 2 Handler Games title and Robin finished his Level 2 Strategy Games title. Then later that month we played a day of AKC agility and out of 4 of us (Kiwi, Robin, Sefina, and myself) I was the only one who got a Q in novice JWW in the last run of the day. Sometimes we like to make mom work really hard. The next day mom took Sefina to play rally again to see if she was ready to play again but she wasn't. She did the first half of the course fairly well and then called it quits. At the end of the month, I did 3 days of conformation in Waynesburg, PA. It was really hot and muddy, even inside the barn. Mom would carry me to the ring. That was so embarrassing! The first day, there was only one other dog entered, a puppy named Pochi. He was wild and crazy like I used to be so I won Best of Breed. The next day, there was another dog entered. Pochi had settled down and the judge really liked him so he won BOB and I got Winners Reserve. But then the next day we flipped back again and I won BOB. Mom says I earned 2 more points towards my championship that weekend. So now we're caught up through June.

July is usually too hot for us to do anything but mom went a little crazy with the dog show thing since I was so close to my champion title. So we played conformation July 4^th weekend. It was our first outdoor show in a long time and I got really excited and broke my fancy new show lead that mom just bought - it was the 3^rd time we used it! She wasn't too happy with me. I was pretty hyped up all weekend and was sick of this sissy boy stuff that I didn't get any more points. We played more conformation a couple weeks later in Madison, OH, and another day the following week in Medina, OH. I thought I did pretty well but I didn't get any points those weekends either. But I did earn my AKC Novice Agility Jumpers title at an agility trial that month.

Well, August was another whirlwind month so I'm going to take a break. My paws are cramped form all this typing! BTW, it says we posted this June 1st but that was when we first started typing this!

Hi Everyone! This is Kiwi. I am taking over so pretty boy can get his beauty sleep. August started off with Calvin playing a couple days of conformation at the big dog show in Canfield but there were no other unfinished Keeshonds that showed up so there were no points available. All I have to say is that I am getting pretty darned tired of all of this ‘Calvin did this and Calvin did that and Calvin gets to go on all these trips and get fussed over’. I’M the good one. Why didn’t I get to go to Wisconsin? Mom says it was because it was too hot to do agility and that I would be miserable if I wasn’t the center of attention all the time. Well DUH! Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t be the center of attention all of the time? Mom didn’t have an answer. She just said that I had to stay home and keep Robin and Voodoo in line. Hmmph! Well, I just have to say:

C-ATCH me if you can!!!!!!

Yep! I earned my CPE Agility Trial Champion title on August 7 at Splash ‘n Dash’s agility trial by getting my last Level 5 Jackpot Q. Hooray for me, hooray for me!!! So take that sissy boy!

Sefina qualified in Colors that weekend, but still didn’t really want to run much. Robin finished his Level 3 Handler Games title and Calvin finished Level 1 by getting his Strategy Games title. The boys are so full of themselves but they have a long way to go to become a CHAMPION like me.

After the trial mom disappeared for a while. I thought she was going to get me a nice T-bone steak, but no. She came back with ANOTHER DOG!! We were all like ‘What the ---?? Seriously, mom, what is wrong with you?!’ This guy was HUGE ~50lbs and his name was Yoda. Mom said he was only staying with us a little while because his family didn’t want him anymore and he had no place else to go. We weren’t too thrilled because all he wanted to do was sleep on the couch next to mom. But he quickly figured out that I am she who must be obeyed so I let him be, and the others did, too. We mainly didn’t want to get stepped on by the big lug. So here’s a picture of Yoda.

The next weekend was so HOT and humid and we had to go play CPE agility again. 3 days this time. I was sick but still ran like the champion that I am and don’t you forget it! I still Q’d quite a bit. Calvin got his Level 2 Fun Games title and Robin got his Level 3 Fun Games title. But mom was the happiest about Robin finally hitting his contacts and getting a level 2 standard Q. Mom was hoping that he was finally learning that he had to hit his contacts in trials and not just class but it turns out he only hit his contacts that weekend because it was so hot and humid and even he was running slower than usual. Sorry, mom, but they can’t all be champions like me.

Calvin played a day of conformation again at the end of the month but was the bridesmaid again (Winners Reserve). Whew! So now we’re caught up through August.