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!

The Last 6 Months Continued...

Hi everyone! This is Calvin. I get to finish telling you about our adventures starting with September. I was supposed to go to Michigan Labor Day weekend but there were no other Keeshonden entered so mom said it wasn’t worth the drive and we stayed home. But the good news is that she took Yoda somewhere and didn’t bring him back!!!! Yea!!! She said a nice man adopted him. But then a couple days later she and Kiwi had to go visit them because Yoda was barking a lot at everyone and everything during their walks and the man didn’t know what to do. But mom walked him around and he was fine. She told the man what to look for and do and that it was just going to take some time and patience. Yoda never got outside much to interact with other people or dogs and did not have any training like us. We have to go to school every week! Mom says that she stays in touch with the man and that Yoda finished his first obedience class and is doing much better now and that they are both happy.


Kiwi, Robin, and I played AKC agility. I got sick so I didn’t feel like playing. But Robin got his first Open Jumpers Q! Kiwi Q’d in standard but did not get the Jumpers Q that she needs for her Master Jumpers title. The next day, Sefina and Robin played Rally Obedience. Sefina was still traumatized from the stairwell incident so didn’t even get past the 2nd station. It was Robin’s first Rally trial. Mom hadn’t worked with him much. She mainly wanted him to learn to be quiet in the ring so that he could play conformation like me someday. So mom trained him and wore him out in the parking lot while they were waiting for their turn. Well, Robin went in and did the course really fast and got 2nd place with a score of 98! And he was QUIET. Not a peep!

At the end of the month I played conformation again at a show that Mom thought I would do really well at but it was my worst show weekend ever - 4th place on Saturday and 3rd on Sunday.


Then in October, Mom decided it was time to take me to some different shows, shows that we had to drive to and stay the night at a hotel. I like hotels. My favorite part is unmaking the beds as soon as we get into the room. We went to the Finger Lakes in New York, the first weekend in October. It was really cold but pretty with the leaves changing colors. The New York people were very friendly and we had a really good time. On Saturday, I got Winners Reserve. Then we walked around a lot and mom got my fancy show lead fixed and an artist photographed me a lot. She says that I am going to be her new Keeshond model. Then mom went wine tasting. I thought that was pretty boring but I was tired so didn’t mind staying in the car and sleep. On Sunday I got Winners dog and got my last single point! So now I just need a 3-point major to finish my champion title.


The next weekend we went on the road again and we took Robin with us this time. We went to a Keeshond Specialty in Warrenville, outside of Chicago. I got to see Charlie again – I was sooo happy. I really like Charlie because he carries liver in his pocket! But he was handling dogs at another show so I didn’t get to scam on much liver. Mom played rally with Robin and he got 1st place with a score of 96! The judge said really nice things about him and his daddy’s mom was there and could tell that Robin had to be his son. Then I played conformation with mom on both Saturday and Sunday. I was the only Open dog and I didn’t get Winners dog like mom hoped. My sister Mia, who got her champion title a long time ago (cause she gets to play with Charlie and gets liver!) got best of opposite sex both days and my half brother Radar, beat me on Sunday and got Winners Reserve.

Mom said she was tired of driving for a while but she did take me, Robin, and Kiwi to Medina to play a day of CPE. I only got 1 Q but Kiwi got 3 and Robin got 2.



Then the Friday before Halloween, mom took Robin to Youngstown to play Rally again. There was a woman there that knows what Robin is like in the agility ring and asked mom if he was going to bark and go crazy. Mom laughed and said that he is quiet when he plays rally. After they did the course, the woman said ‘That’s not the dog I judge in agility’. Mom laughed. Robin got a score of 95 and earned his Rally Novice title.

The first weekend of November we got to go back to our favorite place in Washingtonville to play CPE agility. All 5 of us got to play, even Voodoo who ran really fast and Q’d in level 1 Colors and Wildcard, which earned him his 2nd agility title (CL1-H). He even got 1st place out of 4 dogs in Wildcard. Sefina ran really well in Colors and Q’d on Saturday so mom thought that she as finally over the stairwell trauma but she went back to needing a ton of encouragement to get over jumps on Sunday so not quite. Mom has been taking Sefina to Splash ‘n Dash when she teaches on Monday nights and she is improving and even started doing the teeter again. Kiwi had on off weekend and only got 5 out of 8 Q’s but she is suffering from really bad allergies. Robin also got 5 Q’s. I got 7 out of 8 Q’s and would have had my 1st perfect weekend but mom got too far ahead of me before I got all the way up on the dog walk and I thought that maybe I wasn’t supposed to be doing it so I jumped off. Mom apologized. She’s still kicking herself. I told her it was OK. That I don’t need those big fancy ribbons like Kiwi has. Besides, I have a gi-normous diamond:)

We played AKC agility in Morgantown the weekend before Thanksgiving. Mom took us 2 days in a row which we don’t normally do for AKC trials but she said that Kiwi runs really fast there and she was hoping she’d finish her MXJ and AXF titles. But she didn’t. She only Q’d in standard on Sunday. Kiwi still has bad skin allergies but I think she was being stubborn. Robin was really crazy. I mean really, really, really crazy. On Saturday, he ran around like a maniac in jumpers and blew contacts in standard. He did finally Q in novice FAST. I Q’d in novice FAST, too. Robin got 3rd place and I got 4th. I was bouncing around a lot in jumpers and didn’t want to do the teeter in standard so I didn’t Q in those that weekend. On Sunday, Robin ran much better in jumpers but still didn’t Q. But he finally hit all of his contacts in standard! Mom was trilled and thought he was finally going to get his first standard Q but he was so riled up that weekend that he literally barked himself out of the weave poles 3 TIMES!!! And he only had to complete 6! I told you he was really, really, really crazy. Then we played FAST and the distance challenge had an A-frame. Well, you know Robin leaped off of that since mom couldn’t be next to him but I did it right and got another FAST Q and 1st place!

On Thanksgiving, mom cooked us a big turkey. But she said we had to share it because she invited Imogene over. Imogene is Morgan and Maisie’s mom, our sheltie pals. She brought us treats and fed us from the dinner table so we didn’t mind sharing our turkey with her. We’re still eating the leftovers. Then that weekend I played conformation in Tallmadge, OH. Mom says it was just for fun since there were not enough dogs entered for a major. But on Saturday our friend Meredith came with us to show her Pharaoh Hound puppy, Gilda. Everyone gushes over Gilda because she is so beautiful, but I don’t care for her much. She is SUCH a PUPPY! I’m too mature for those kinds of antics now. Mom says I’m putting on airs because she thinks I’m still pretty silly but I think she doesn’t want to admit I’m all grown up. Anyway, Gilda was the only Pharaoh Hound so she took Best of Breed. Then mom decided to let Meredith show me, thinking that I would act happier about it. Well, I was. I really like Meredith and could not take my eyes off of her. She also had the liver treats mom baked for me so I was keeping a really close eye on those. I got Winners Reserve which was still pretty good since there were 5 of us entered. The next day, Meredith had to show much earlier than us so we went by ourselves. Mom showed me and I got Winners Reserve again.

So that finally catches us up on all of our adventures. I told you we were really busy. We have the next couple of weeks off. Mom is taking Robin to a special class on Saturday but otherwise we have to supervise mom and make sure she does all of her homework. She always waits until the last minute.

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.

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to memememememe Kiwi, Happy Birthday to me! Hi everyone! Today is my 8th birthday. Here's some baby pics of me.



Wasn't I the cutest thing ever?! No wonder mom couldn't resist me. I got a Pea-mutt butter muffin but I had to share it with the others. Mom said she was sorry that we couldn't go to Bruster's today to get ice cream sundae's. She took pretty boy Calvin to go prance around in a show ring in Tallmadge, OH at the Ravenna Kennel Club show. How dare she spend my day with someone else? To make matters worse, Calvin totally stole my birthday thunder. He got his very first major AND he won Best of Breed for the first time! OK. So I guess that is a pretty big deal so way to go Calvin! But just remember who has a gajillion agility titles!

NADAC Agility Weekend

Hi everyone! Boy did we have fun at Splash ‘n Dash’s NADAC Agility trial at Kunkle Park this weekend. Mom says she didn’t enter us in all the runs because it’s been really hot at this trial the past 2 years and we have a hard time with the heat with all of our fur. Well, she was right. It was pretty warm again. Friday was just 2 rounds of Touch n’ Go and the four of us (Kiwi, Sefina, Robin, and Calvin) ran both of them. That’s 8 runs for mom! There were a lot of people there running multiple dogs so the running order got tossed and people just went as soon as they switched out their dogs. It was the first outdoor trial for Sefina, Calvin, & Robin. Sefina & Calvin both jumped out of the ring during their first runs. They were just too excited to qualify in either of their runs. Robin stayed in the ring because he’s too busy too notice his surroundings but he didn’t qualify either since he likes to argue with mom a lot. Kiwi didn’t qualify her first run because she popped out of a tunnel and mom had her back turned to her and wasn’t sure if she did or not so she decided to go on. Kiwi did get a 1st place Q for her second run.

Saturday was less hectic for mom. Kiwi and Sefina ran 2 rounds of Weavers first thing in the morning. Sefina kept jumping the fence to visit the rest of us in the X-pen when she got to that side of the ring so no Q’s for her. Kiwi Q’d in both runs and earned her Novice Weavers title. Then Robin ran 2 rounds of Jumpers and Sefina ran the first one as well. Both Q’d during the first round. Robin went off course during the second one so didn’t qualify. Then Calvin did 2 rounds of Regular (NADAC’s term for a standard course). It was so hot by then and he has the thickest coat of all of us. He bounced around so much during the first round and went off course so he didn’t qualify. He was really hot afterwards and mom couldn’t find a place where he could cool off enough. She was really worried about running him the second time but when he got out on the course he was fine. The second round went much better but he missed qualifying by 2 seconds.

Thankfully, Sunday was a little cooler and it rained most of the trial. We liked that much better. Since everyone was moving all the crates & X-pens underneath a picnic shelter, mom left us in the car while she ran Sefina in Open Regular. Mom figured a 19 obstacle course was going to be too much for her but she ran the first half beautifully. Then she got to the side of the course where our X-pen used to be but since we weren’t there, mom figured there was a chance that Sefina would finish the course. But the car was down the hill in the same vicinity so Sefina hopped over the fence anyway to come visit us. Then Kiwi ran 2 rounds of Chances. She missed the distance challenge in the first one since she took the dog walk instead of the tunnel but she did the second one perfectly which earned her another title - Novice Chances. Then the weekend ended as it started with mom running all 4 of us in 2 rounds of Tunnelers – a course of nothing but tunnels! Most FUN – EVER!! We ended the weekend with Team Keeshond being the only qualifiers and taking 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in the Novice 16” class for both rounds. Kiwi Q’d and took 3rd in both rounds and earned her 3rd title for the weekend. Robin had a beautiful run and Q’d in the first round with a 1st place while Sefina Q’d for 2nd place. Calvin didn’t like mom doing rear crosses at 2 long straight tunnels so he was way over time for the first round. In the 2nd round, Robin went off course so he didn’t qualify, but Sefina Q’d again and took 1st place. Mom learned her lesson and only did front crosses with Calvin so he finally Q’d the last run of the weekend and took 2nd place.

You may have noticed that Voodoo was left out on all of this fun. That’s because mom was real worried he’d jump the gating and take off for good. He’s not so good about coming back when mom calls. But he did get to go and hang out with the rest of us. He does get to play CPE agility in a few weeks with the rest of us. Mom says she is determined to put a title on him one way or another. Before that, Calvin gets to go strut his stuff in the show ring in Tallmadge, OH on May 15th and 16th.

YABTC Rally and MKC AKC Agility

Hi everyone! Sorry we have been so late in telling you about our Rally & Agility weekend on April 9th and 10th but mom has been hogging the computer lately. She says she’s writing a term paper for molecular epidemiology but we think she’s been playing Farmville instead.

Anyway, Sefina went to Youngstown to play Rally in an attempt to get her advanced title on the 9th. Mom says that even though it was their best performance yet, Sefina didn’t qualify. Evidently hat judge was less lenient about Sefina’s lack of enthusiasm than previous judges. Mom was really bummed but Sefina says she decided to wait and try to get her title at the Keeshond Nationals in May. She’s hoping there will be bigger treats involved there. Besides, Sefina and the rest of us were much more excited about playing agility the next day in Morgantown, WV. Boy was that fun!

Little Miss 'can’t be wrong’, Kiwi, had a perfect day with qualifying runs in EXC B Standard and Jumpers w/ weaves, and EXC A FAST (a distance game). She also got 10 MACH points which is a lot of points for her. She likes running there, the building is usually cool and the field turf is fairly new. Kiwi only needs on more JWW Q for her MXJ and 1 more FAST Q for her AXF. Kiwi sure has a lot of letters after her name!

It was Sefina’s first time running in OPEN Jumpers. Some of her rally hesitation carried over so she had too many refusals to qualify, but she did run Novice FAST for the first time and had an easy qualifying run with a 3rd placement. And let's not forget - that day was Sefina's 2nd birthday! Happy Birthday, Sefina!

Calvin only ran in Novice Jumpers w/ weaves. He didn’t qualify but he sure did have a grand ol’ time. He was bouncing all over the place and trying to get mom to play with him. Mom said it was like running a kangaroo. Then there was me, Robin. I really LOVE to run and jump. I earned my Novice Jumpers w/ Weaves title in a very fast and clean run and took 1st place. I even finished the last half of the course on my own cause mom couldn’t keep up with me. She says that even though I wasted some time because I was being stubborn about the weaves, I was one of the fastest dogs in the entire Novice class. She says people talk about me a lot because of my speed and also because I like to jump in mom’s arms when she least expects it. Then I ran the standard course but I was running so fast that I blew off the dog walk entrance. Then I noticed the dogs running in the next ring. That was a totally new experience for me! Although mom says I have done one other two ring trial, I guess I was running so fast and barking so much, I didn’t notice before. Then I ran Novice FAST as well but I didn’t qualify. It was an easy-peasy distance challenge – 2 jumps in a row but I was running so fast and barking at mom that I didn’t even notice the 2nd jump. Oh well. Mom says she was happy that I at least hit my A-frame contacts at the trial and went down on the table. She says I’m stubborn but really, I just want to keep running.

This Sunday, Calvin gets to go to Columbus to prance around in the conformation ring. Then the following weekend, we are going to play NADAC agility. It will be the first outdoor trial for me, Sefina, and Calvin. It sure sounds like a lot of fun!

WPKA Conformation Weekend

Hi Everyone! This is Calvin. I got to play AKC conformation this weekend at the Pittsburgh Convention Center and I had a great time. Mom fussed over me a lot with the brushes but it was worth it ‘cause I was looking pretty darn handsome. The judges agreed because I got Best of Winners both days! Mom says it was our best weekend yet. We also had a lot of canine friends with their humans there competing in obedience and rally obedience and they all had successful weekends as well. So congratulations to all!

We’re off for a week and then Sefina is going for her Rally Advanced title in Youngstown next Friday and then we all get to go to Morgantown, WV to play AKC agility on Saturday. It will be fun to watch mom do the Keeshond Shuffle again!

YABTC AKC Trial at Washingtonville

Hi everyone! It’s me, Sefina. After 3 days of playing CPE agility last weekend, mom drove us all back to Washingtonville to play AKC agility on Friday. The day got off to a rocky start. When we got there, I was so excited that I couldn’t wait for mom to leash us all to get out of the car so I decided to try to make an escape and mom’s head got in the way. I slammed my head full force into her nose as I attempted to leap out of the car. She was not very happy with me. Luckily, it didn’t bleed but mom said she needed a few moments to recover. Then mom ran Kiwi in Jumpers with Weaves and Standard. Kiwi was over time in both runs so mom thinks she was still tired from last weekend. But after 11 perfect runs last weekend, Kiwi is entitled to an off day. Then mom ran Robin in Standard and he blew his contacts again. The only bright spot was that he went down on the table right away. He’s been stubborn about that in practice. Then in JWW, he went off course so didn’t qualify and missed getting his Novice JWW title. However, I ran the course perfectly so I did get my Novice JWW title!! Calvin ran right before I did. It was his first AKC trial so he only ran the JWW and he also qualified with a perfect run. So mom had to wait until the last 5 minutes of the trial to get a couple of Q’s, but good things come to those who wait.

The next day we just chilled at home. Mom said she had a pretty bad agility hangover from trialing 4 of the last 8 days. We were content to watch her do some chores, including tackling Poo-mageddon. She says that was the ugly consequence of Snowmageddon 2010. Then Sunday, mom & I went to Splash ‘n Dash to host and participate in Rally Run-thrus. Most people were there to practice for this weekend’s WPKA show at the Pittsburgh Convention Center. Mom did not enter me in Rally for that show since she is showing pretty boy Calvin in conformation.

March CPE Agility

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the most perfect Keeshond of all? Me, me, me, me, me Kiwi! Last weekend, we played 3 days of CPE Agility in Washingtonville. There were 3 runs Friday night, and 4 on Saturday and Sunday. I Q’d in all 11 for my 5th Perfect Weekend! Hooray for me!! 10 of those runs were at the C level and one was Level 5 Jackpot. Mom says I only need 2 more of those for my C-ATCH – whatever that is. I think it means a T-bone steak is in my future.

Mom ran all 5 of us this weekend. Boy was that funny to watch ‘cause we all jump 16 inches so mom was doing the Keeshond Shuffle a lot. Luckily there were lots of people willing to hold us so mom could make the switch easier. Sefina ran in 6 classes and Q’d in 5. She would be just like me if she would just get over her teeter issues. Rockin’ Robin Q’d 4 out of 8 runs. Mom says he blew all of his contacts this weekend. He can be really stubborn. Calvin Q’d in 2 of his 6 runs, including a standard run so he earned his Level 1 Standard title this weekend. He’s still really new at this and bounces all over the place and one time bounced right in front of mom so she had to play leap frog with him to avoid a collision.

The other big news is that after being benched for a long time, Mom decided to run Voodoo in Fullhouse and Jumpers on Saturday. I’m happy to announce that he got his very first agility Q ever in Fullhouse! Hooray for Voodoo! He finally figured out that agility is much more fun if you stay in the ring. He did get the zoomies in Jumpers but came back to mom and finished the course. But they were 13 seconds over time for that one and didn’t qualify. At least there’s hope for Voodoo after all.

I am going to keep this short since we’re heading back to Washingtonville to play AKC agility tomorrow. It will be Calvin’s first AKC trial. We’ll update you on that this weekend. Meanwhile, here are some pictures of Robin and Calvin playing CPE agility at Medina SWARM last month.

Medina County CPE Agility

Hi Everyone! We got to play CPE agility yesterday (Sunday February 21st). It’s been almost 2 months since we got to play, except for the Diva who played a couple days of AKC agility. Mom drove us to a new place called Medina SWARM that was 2 hours away in Wadsworth, OH. It was a little strange for us. First of all there was no fun place to walk and also there was no crating space left, not that there was much to begin with. So mom parked close to the entrance and car kenneled us since 4 of us were running and a lot of times in the same classes. Good thing for mom it was a rare sunny day this winter since she had to keep running outside to switch dogs. Thankfully, a few nice people offered to hold one of us while mom ran with another for a couple of small classes. Then the other thing that was different was the ring. It was long and narrow when we are used to it being square. But that ended up being a good thing – we really loved running there. At least Kiwi, Calvin, and I (Robin) did. Sefina didn’t like it so much.

I had a perfect Sunday with 4 Q’s! I finally finished Level 1 with a Q in Standard. Mom says it’s because there wasn’t a dog walk for me to leap off of. She says that is the first time she’s seen a standard course without a dog walk. I also Q’d in level 2 Jumpers and Jackpot, and Level 3 Colors. I really liked that it was long and narrow cause I got to run in a straight line most of the time and didn’t have to argue so much with mom about what to do next. Calvin also had a perfect Sunday with Q’s in his 3 runs. I beat him in Level 1 Standard (I got 1st place since I blew all the other dogs away while he got 3rd). But in Level 2 Jumpers, Calvin got 1st place even though he was way slower than me and was 3 seconds over time. But I knocked a jump over so ended up with 5 faults instead of his 3 so I got 2nd place. Calvin also Q’d in Level 2 Colors. He did really well, especially since this was only his second trial.

Mom drove us all the way out there hoping that Kiwi would Q in Level 5 Jackpot, which she did, plus she also had a perfect Sunday with Q’s in Level C Standard, Colors, and Jumpers. Since we were all doing so well, mom thought she’d have a perfect handler Sunday but Sefina had to S#%T on that idea, literally, in the middle of the ring during her Colors run. She was trying to tell mom she had to go, even though she had just taken us for a walk, by running amok in the ring. But Mom thought it was because it was a different place. But Sefina also didn’t really like running there. During her Jumpers run, she reverted to her old self and didn’t really want to do the jumps so she ended up being way over time and didn’t Q. Lets hope she gets over it by the time we play again at Washingtonville next month.

Conformation, Agility, & Snowmageddon

Hi Everyone! It’s the handsome one, Calvin. Mom took me to Erie the last weekend of January to play conformation at the Erie Kennel Club dog show. I was the only open Keeshond entered so I automatically took 1st place and Winners but mom says I didn’t receive any points for that. Then I went up against 3 special Kees for breed but I did not win. Mom says we mainly went to get some experience. She says we’re getting better each time. Mom says there are no more dog shows until the end of March. But I get to play in a few agility trials before that. I can’t wait! I love agility.

This past Friday, mom took the diva to play AKC agility in Edinboro. Kiwi double Q’d in Jumpers with Weaves and Standard! She missed a Q in EXC A FAST. It was a difficult send that consisted of a jump that was 15 feet away, a set of 12 weave poles 10 feet away, and then the far end of a tunnel. Kiwi did the jump and was doing the weave poles without hesitation and then popped out at the last one! Mom says she must have overheard the judge say that he considers 1 dropped bar or 1 missed weave pole a clean run during the briefing. But she obviously missed the part when he said that the AKC doesn’t agree with him.

It was probably a good thing Kiwi didn’t Q in FAST so they could leave early and get home before rush hour traffic in Pittsburgh since it started snowing Friday - a whole lotta bunch. And it kept snowing and snowing until about noon on Saturday. We love the snow. Once I discovered there was so much snow on the ground, I kept yelling at mom to let us out. She’d let us out and shovel snow off the deck so she could open the door. And then she’d make us come in cause we were covered in snow. And then I’d tell her to let us out again. Plus, the power kept going off and on for about an hour which freaks Kiwi out. I think because of all the things that go beep when the power goes off. It doesn’t bother the rest of us one bit but Kiwi wants to high tail it out the door. So that started happening around 10:30 PM and then the power went out for good at 11:30 PM – right after the guy on the news said there would only be 8-12 inches of total snow. Boy was he wrong! There was close to 2 feet before it finally quit. Mom says the official amount was between 21-22 inches and was the fourth highest snowfall in Pittsburgh’s history. All we know is that it is fun, fun, fun to play in. Mom was getting a little worried though because we still didn’t have power Saturday morning and it was 55 degrees in the house. By noon, she decided she should start shoveling the driveway. But it took her a while to shovel the front steps and then shovel a path to the carport. Then she started shoveling the flat part of the driveway. She says the biggest problem was where to put all the snow. She decided the best thing to do was shovel a path to the hill down to the creek so she could dump the snow over. So it took a while to shovel out enough area to back the car out and turn it around since she carried most of the snow over to the hillside. Mom tried to see if the Jeep would drive in 2 feet of snow but she said it didn’t. By then it was dark so we were snowed in for another night. It was 47 degrees inside. It doesn’t bother us but we all piled around mom to keep her warm. Luckily the power came on at 8:30 PM. Boy was mom happy! Sunday, mom went to work on the rest of the driveway. You see, we have a very long and steep driveway and to make matters worse, the snow plows created a nice snow mountain at the top. But mom was determined, and then a friend came over to help so mom was able to go to work today. Mom says we’re supposed to get more snow tomorrow. I hope so – it sure is fun to play in. Here are some pictures.

Here are the front steps and our tire jump. Three woofs for winter agility!

These two are of Robin and me (Calvin) making our own trails in the snow.