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.