2011 Keeshond Nationals

Hi Everyone! This is Kiwi. First of all Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me… I turned 9 on May 16th and guess what I was doing?
I was running agility with the younguns at the 2011 Keeshond National Agility trial in Mason, Ohio. I had a qualifying run in Excellent B Standard. Mom says I don’t need any more of those but that’s my favorite course. I didn’t Q in jumpers with weaves since I was over time and I got what mom calls the ‘oochy schoochies’ in the FAST class. You see I have some hot spots near my private parts and they bother me sometimes and well, mom wasn’t keeping me preoccupied enough so I decided to take care of business right in the middle of the course! Rockin’ Robin got 4th place in Novice FAST for his title. He should have placed higher but it was the first run of the day and he was so wound up that he took out the triple for 8 points and skimmed over the teeter for 2. Mom was determined for him to place so made him do everything else on the course. She could hear people comment – boy he’s fast! But he’s also CRAZY! Calvin missed a FAST Q by a couple of seconds since he stopped and looked at mom on the course like she was crazy and also wanted to do the teeter which he won’t do without treats. But he did get 1st place in Open jumpers with weaves! Robin barked himself out of the weaves 3 times so didn’t Q in Open jumpers and skimmed off the teeter again in standard and argued with mom a whole lotta bunch! He might Q in standard when he’s 10 and finally calms down. Sefina ran in Novice FAST and had a pretty good run considering she still gets so stressed out.

On Tuesday we played Rally Obedience. It was my first time ever and I was wondering what the heck I was supposed to be doing out there on leash with no obstacles in sight. I really thought mom had lost her mind. But I got my first Novice Rally leg with a score of 88. I was tied for 4th place but ended up in 5th because of time. Then Robin did Advanced for the first time. That is when I knew mom had lost her mind. Taking him out there off leash with a jump in the ring! Seriously, what was she thinking?! But he surprised us all by getting a score of 93 without a single screech or bark! Then it was Sefina’s turn in Excellent. But dogs were scratching in the crates on the other side of the door and she quickly lost interest and began checking out the rest of the ring so mom called it quits. But then she saw the honor dog (who looked like the rest of us, of course) and she got really excited and bounded up to him. So she got excused. OOPS!

 On Wednesday, Calvin got to prance around in the breed ring but he was still in agility mode and bounced and ran around the ring so he didn’t even make it to the first cut. He looked pretty awesome though since he fell asleep on the grooming table for mom for the first time. I think it was because he was jealous of Robin who kept jumping up there with him and wanting mom to touch him. Robin is a little obsessed with mom.

We had Thursday off and boy were we tired! But mom had to put stuff together for the Rescue Parade and then she took Robin down who ended up being used as a grooming guinea pig for Pure Paws. Then in the middle of the night Robin & I barked at someone passing by our room and mom went to check the time on her phone and knocked her glasses on the floor. Then we heard her scream in pain. She rolled over to fish for her glasses in the dark and whacked her cheek bone on the edge of the bed side table. OUCH! She has a real pretty black and blue eye now :)

Friday, Robin & I played Rally again. This time, I knew what was going on and I did really well but mom didn’t do an obvious return to normal pace after the fast pace sign since I got ahead of her so I got an 84. I’m kind of miffed at her cause I would have placed otherwise. Then Rockin’ Robin went in and got a score of 96! I’m still in disbelief. He’s so stubborn and crazy! It wasn’t enough to place though since 1st place scored 100, and 2-4th had 99 scores! That’s what happens when you compete against other Keeshonden, I guess. Then mom took Robin & Calvin over to the Pure Paws booth to get some special shampoo for Robin and they were both used as demo dogs for a couple wanting to see the products in use. That made mom real happy because they did Calvin’s front feet! Mom isn’t real good at doing our feet, especially with Calvin tap dancing constantly. Then that evening, Sefina and I did the rescue/companion parade. Mom took Sefina out and she did her freestyle tricks for the crowd so that made Sefina real happy (especially since mom could have treats with her).

 Saturday, Calvin showed again. He still didn’t get noticed even though he showed well this time. Maybe because it was because of mom’s black eye! Then we spent our last night in our nice hotel room with the king size bed that we didn’t really want to share with mom but she squeezed in around us anyway. Then we drove home Sunday morning. We had a lot of fun but we were glad to get in the car and go home. We were so exhausted and ready to not have to always be on a leash to go outside. Plus we had to get home to harass Voodoo who missed us. We’ll post pictures when we get some.

Oh and Happy Birthday to mom! Her birthday is today.

NADAC Agility

Hi Everyone!

We have to keep this short cause we’re leaving for Keeshond Nationals on Sunday and mom needs to finish the catalog for the Rescue, Companion, Therapy Dog Celebration so she needs to get on the computer.

Two weeks ago, April 29-May 1st, we played NADAC agility in a trial at Kunkle Park hosted by Splash ‘n Dash K9 Sports. This is a small outdoor trial which is lots of fun! Friday, Kiwi earned her Open Touch ‘N Go title with two 1st place runs. Kiwi also Q’s in Open Weavers the next day but was over time the rest of the weekend. Robin earned his Novice Jumpers title because as everyone knows, Robin LOVES to jump. He also LOVES to leap over the dog walk contact and argue with mom so the only other Q he got was in Tunnelers. Calvin had a bouncing good time and also only Q’d once in Tunnelers but mom said he had some nice runs. Sefina only ran in Weavers and Tunnelers but only finished 2 runs. Like last year, she just wanted to return to the pack in the X-pen!

Last Friday, we got a free play day! There was a knock on the door right before mom was going to leave for work. It was a fireman and he told mom that we had 5 minutes to evacuate the house since a gas line was sheared off down the road. So mom threw some treats in a bag, loaded us up, and drove to Splash ‘n Dash to hang out and play for a couple of hours. We thought it was a great day! Luckily, we still had a house to come home to.

Then next day, mom took Robin to Houndapalooza in Monroeville Park to do agility and rally demos. Mom took him since he knows how to do both and because she figured he’s ‘flashy’ and would attract people since he barks while he runs. He also got to try flyball. People have been trying to talk mom into training him for it for a while now. He made them drool as he flew over the jumps and has a nice ‘box turn’ after only a couple tries. Unfortunately, he has no interest in a tennis ball. Zero, Zilch, Nada, won’t pick it for nothing, won’t even look at it! Mom kept trying to tell them he wouldn’t touch it but they think she can train him to retrieve it. Maybe if there was T-bone steak inside…

Then Sunday Mom took Robin and Calvin to work on contacts at You Go Little Dog. The rest of us were upset we didn’t get to go but she said we all got to play on Friday and the boys needed to practice their contacts for the agility trial at the Nationals on Monday. Fine, but we said no Mother’s Day gift for her!

Sefina turns THREE & Morgantown Agility

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy belated Birthday to me, Sefina, Happy Birthday to me! Sorry, we’re a little late in posting recent events. So first up, April 10^th was my 3^rd birthday! WooHoo! We were at an AKC agility trial in Morgantown. I didn’t get to play cause AKC trials STRESS me out too much but I went and saw our friend Cathy Guyer who makes pawesome homemade dog cookies and ice cream. She didn’t have any ice cream (we were so bummed) so she gave me a box of special birthday cookies.

The day before my birthday, Kiwi earned her Excellent FAST (XF) title & got 1^st place! The boys were wild and crazy but they both Q’d in Open Jumpers w/ weaves on my birthday. Calvin had a clean run so got 1^st place and Robin got 2^nd place even though he was a little faster but he barked himself out of the weave poles once so had a 5 point fault. It was a Keeshond one-two punch since they were the only 16” dogs to qualify.

The next day, mom took pretty boy, Calvin, to Cleveland for OFA X-rays. She says it’s so he can be a daddy someday. That’s a scary thought! He’s so goofy, I can’t imagine him being a daddy. Mom went to a sandwich place in Cleveland called Corky’s & Lenny’s. They are famous for corned beef so mom ordered a large sandwich thinking it would be longer, like a sub. But instead it was served on regular loaf rye bread and large means more meat – lots more meat. So there were lots of leftovers. Calvin got some in the car since he was still feeling loopy from the drugs and then mom gave us all some for dinner in honor of my birthday. Yummy! Then mom ate half of what was left for dinner and made corned beef hash the next day for breakfast. Talk about a good deal! We think she needs to drive to Cleveland every weekend!

Well, that is all for now. We are taking a little break from trials and supervising while mom cleans the house. At the end of the month we get to go play NADAC agility. Mom entered me in a couple of events with no jumps. I haven’t been very fond of jumping lately. Then in mid-May we get to go to Keeshond Nationals at the King’s Island Resort in Ohio. Voodoo has to stay home but the rest of us are going and playing agility, rally, and conformation and Kiwi & I get to be in a rescue/companion parade. Below are a couple of pictures of me. Enjoy!

Sefina at 3.5 months, She loved unfried green tomatoes!

Sefina at 2 years 10.5 months

WPKA Conformation Weekend

Hi Everyone!

Calvin here. This is just a quick update on the WPKA dog shows this past weekend. I got Select Dog both days and mom thinks that I have one whole Grand Champion point now. Not sure what that means but I like the sound of it. Kiwi will be sure to throw a tantrum when I become a GRAND Champion :)

I’m really looking forward to this weekend. Kiwi, Robin, & I get to play 2 days of AKC agility in Morgantown. More importantly, we get to see Cathy who makes yummy cookies that she lets us sample. Mom is hoping she’ll have ice cream, too since Sefina’s birthday is Sunday. I really LOVE her peanut butter ice cream. I’m the only one who really knows what it tastes like since the others inhale theirs.

March Agility & Conformation

 

CH Cinderlad Barefoot In The Park NAJ

Howdy! It’s me, Calvin, Champion Extraordinaire. Mom says I shouldn’t get a big head about it but Kiwi always has so I think I deserve to gloat for a while. Anyway, I get to tell you about all the fun stuff we’ve done this month.

The first weekend in March, mom took all five of us out to practice agility in a new place called You Go Little Dog in North Huntington, PA. It’s owned by a couple with 8 Pomeranians. They like us since we’re like really big Poms to them but we prefer to think of their dogs as miniature Kees. Mom took us there in hopes that Robin would learn to hit his contacts on different equipment and that I would like doing different teeters. Well, Mom had better luck with Robin than with me. I didn’t mind the purple teeter so much but then she wanted me to do this blue one and that one really freaked me out so I decided I had enough of teeters for the day. But we all had fun playing agility that day.

The next weekend we played CPE agility in Washingtonville, OH for 3 days! We always like going there. We had lots of fun even though mom says it wasn’t a very good weekend for Q’s for any of us. The biggest news is that Voodoo qualified in Level 1 Jackpot to earn his Level 1 Strategy Games title and finished his Level 1 title. He really enjoyed running to the table which ended the games in his other 2 runs but mom kept his focus away from the table on Sunday long enough to finish the course. Sefina was in one run a day and finally Q’d in Wildcard on Sunday after she was adjusted by Dr. Dave. He said her hips were so locked up she couldn’t extend when jumping. Kiwi had a un-Kiwi-like weekend and only Q’d in 6 of 10 runs. I only Q’d in Snookers and Wildcard, but I had a lot of fun bouncing and jumping around the ring. Rockin’ Robin turned 3 on March 13! Mom was hoping that since he was out of his terrible twos that he would hit his contacts that day but he decided that it was his birthday and he could blow contacts if he wanted to and he did. But he did qualify in Jumpers which is his favorite thing in the world.

Calvin earns Novice FAST title

This past weekend, mom took me down to Louisville, KY for a big dog show. We drove down Friday night and stayed in a really nice hotel. I like hotels, but I didn’t like the elevator in this one so much because the back wall was glass and I could see us moving. On Saturday, I got to play AKC agility in the morning. I ran Novice FAST first and I got 3^rd place and earned my Novice FAST title. Then I got really excited in the Open JWW and bounced around like crazy. We ended up going over time so I didn’t finish the course. Then in Novice STD, we got whistled off before we even started. I kinda sorta marked the gate entrance on my way in. Mom didn’t even notice since I was super quick and discrete but the judge saw me. OOPS!!! So then we had to go play conformation. We had to wait a really long time and I was really tired and not into it so I didn’t get picked in the breed ring. The next day we showed even later! Mom says she should have signed up for agility after all but she didn’t in case we had an early ring time and she wanted to be able to leave since it was a 7 hour drive. Mom says I did really well when we first got in the ring but then I got a little too excited about the liver mom was carrying (it’s my favorite!) and started bouncing and running. But it was a nice time overall. We got to see my co-breeders and our friend Meredith was also there to show her Pharaoh puppy, Gilda. I guess Gilda was a little excited in the ring, too since she earned the nickname Spider Monkey!

MORE SNOW!!!!!

Rockin' Robin

Sefina & Robin

Hi Everyone! We're just posting because Mother Nature has been getting a bad rep in Pittsburgh lately because we've been getting a lot of snow. But we'd like to say THANK YOU!!!! WE LOVE IT!!! See how happy we are?

Kiwi & Robin

Champion Fluff Monster

Sefina Halulu - OK, maybe not looking all that happy but we thought she looked pretty in this photo.

Indy Winter Classic

Hi Everyone! It's me Calvin. By now you all know that Kiwi got her C-ATCH last year and she's always rubbing our noses in it. She's always saying 'I'm a champion this and I'm a champion that and you have to do what I say and I get whatever I want'. Well guess what, Kiwi? You're no longer the only champion in da house! Yep, I got my conformation champion title on Saturday, February 12th at the Indy Winter Classic show. I was Winner's Dog which was a 4 point major win! I got to play with Charlie, who is my co-breeder since mom was afraid she'd screw up my chances of winning. But she did show me the next day for best of breed. It didn't go well (mom was a klutz!) but my sister Mia won. She won Best of Breed on Thursday, too before we got there. And my half-brother Radar took Winners Dog Thursday, Friday, and Sunday so we pretty much kept it in the family all weekend. Below is a picture of me getting my beauty sleep on the grooming table while waiting to get my New Champion picture taken. It's hard work being beautiful!

The next picture is of me after we got home from Indianapolis last night. Mom says I had a road trip hangover. I was really tired but I was also missing my new girlfriend, Danee. She's a Keeshond like me and a few months older. We shared a room with her and her mom, Ann, and we had a blast! She didn't want to eat so her mom kept putting things like buffalo, prime rib, and salmon in her bowl but she was holding out for pupperoni. I was like are you crazy???? I'll eat it. So I did when no one was looking! I also got to eat elk liver which Aunt Suzanne brought. We roomed with her as well and her two dogs Crosby & Sweetness. I didn't care for them so much because they are young & foolish boys.

In addition to getting my Champion title, I also got my CPE Level 2 title at the end of January at the Medina SWARM trial by qualifying in Level 2 Standard. I also Q'd in level 3 Jackpot, and level 4 colors and jumpers so I had a perfect day. That was better than Robin who only got 2 Q's and even her highness, Kiwi who had 3. Robin did earn his Level 3 Strategy Games title that day.

Out with the old, in with the new

HAPPY Q YEAR!!!!

We hope everyone had as much fun this year as we have. We’ve done a whole lotta bunch of stuff this year. Mom says we have done 32 days of agility trials, 32 days of conformation, and 6 days of rally obedience trials. Wowser! We’re so glad mom doesn’t have a life and can chauffeur us around to all of our events. Here’s a quick summary of our accomplishments:


Kiwi earned her CPE Agility Trial Champion title in August. She also earned 3 NADAC agility titles this year.

Calvin had quite a successful year as well. He got his first major win in conformation by winning Best of Breed mid-May and then went to his first Keeshond Nationals in Wisconsin where he got 4th place out of 22 dogs in the Open Dog class during the regional specialty and then won the Open Dog class during the national specialty 2 days later. He’s not just a pretty face though. He made his agility trial debut on New Years Day 2010 and earned 9 titles this year.


Sefina also went to the Keeshond Nationals where she earned her Rally Advanced title. She also earned 4 agility titles. Her nickname is Piranha-Goat so she has the distinction of destroying a crate mat, a dozen leashes, several pairs of gloves, a folding camp chair, and nylon carrying straps on pretty much everything this year.


Rockin’ Robin continued to make a big splash on the agility scene with his rip roarin’ running style. He earned 8 agility titles this year and also proved that he can keep his mouth shut in the ring by competing in Rally Obedience. He earned his AKC Rally Novice title in October with limited training.


Voodoo, who has been our team mascot for so long, finally got tired of sitting on the sidelines and decided to listen to mom in the agility ring. He earned 2 CPE agility titles this year!

We ended our year just as it began with all 5 of us at a CPE agility trial in Ohio. Voodoo continued to shine by earning his Level 1 Standard title and he Q'd in Level 1 Snookers. Kiwi, the 'Q Machine' had 10 qualifying runs out of 12. Calvin earned his Level 3 Fun Games Title an had 4 Q's out of 9 runs. Robin - well he argued with mom quite a bit and blew most of his contacts (an ongoing issue) so he only qualified in 2 out of 9 runs. Sefina, still unsure of herself, had one qualifying run in Snookers out of 4 runs.

We haven't quite made out our schedule for this year. Calvin plays conformation tomorrow in Tallmadge, OH but that is all we have planned so far. May the New Year bring you lots of fun times and liver treats!