OUR HOME AND FAMILY
The Stewart family (Bruce, Kathy and Ted) and Klompen Keeshonden live
between Spruce Grove and Devon, a rural community 20 minutes south west of
Edmonton, Alberta. We have 4 acres of land - mostly treed. We also have a huge
lawn, many flower gardens, and a half acre vegetable garden. It is a wonderful
setting in which to raise animals.
THE DOGS THEMSELVES
All our dogs are members of our family.
They are born, raised and live in our home. We keep very few dogs for this
reason (4 - 6). Kathy does not work out of our home, and therefore has the
time to devote to our animals. They are exercised in our 4 outside dog runs.
We also have a dog door, which allows the dogs to come and go freely from the
house into a large, enclosed, grassed dog yard (about the size of two city
lots). At Klompen, we believe that our dogs should have more than good looks.
They should be healthy, happy, intelligent, well adjusted companions that are
easy to live with. The icing on the cake are those that go on to win Best in
Shows and/or Best in Specialty Shows.
BREEDING STOCK You
can be assured that, in purchasing a Klompen dog, you will be getting a
handsome representative of the Keeshond breed, that meets a certain quality of
standard. The minimum requirements for our breeding stock include: first, that
they have the temperament required of a good companion dog; second, that they
are free of all genetic (inherited) problems; and third, that they are capable
of obtaining their championships. Our Keeshonden are generally linebred to
some of the top winning Keeshonden in the world. Included in our pedigrees are
such famous lines as: Wistonia, Flakkee, Rhinevale, Windrift's, Yan-Kee,
Vandy's, Designers and several others. Many of the dogs used in our breeding
program are at least Group winning dogs, at best Best in Show and/or Best in
Specialty Show winners. Many also carry one or more obedience titles. Each
breeding is carefully planned to ensure that the health and high quality are
maintained.
PUPPIES Kathy is
always available from the time the mother goes into contractions, until all of
the puppies are born and well. She assists every delivery, in that she helps
to break the individual sacks and gets the puppies breathing, as quickly as
possible. Our pups are given gentle handling and stimulation from the time of
their birth, until the time that they leave our home between 8 and 10 weeks of
age. They are all temperament tested before leaving in order to help us to
match the right puppy with the right owner. Most are well on their way to
being house broken and crate trained before leaving here.
PUPPY AVAILABILITY
Our goal has always been to breed QUALITY rather than QUANTITY; to breed
Keeshonden that are sound of mind and body, and that conform to the written
standard for the breed. Within our household, we generally have only one brood
bitch. We average one litter per year, with 6 to 9 puppies per litter. Puppies
may be reserved in advance, for a minimum deposit of $200.00. This amount will
gladly be returned if we do not get a puppy that suits your requests. One of
our prime objectives is to find the perfect match between dog and owner, so
that the dog will remain in one household for the duration of its
lifetime.
ADULT AVAILABILITY
We believe it is in the best interests of our dogs, and ourselves, not
to keep more than 4 to 6 dogs at any given time. Because of the limitations
this puts on our breeding program, we can only keep the very best dogs that
will be used for breeding. We will keep a promising puppy, grow it up, and
take it to shows. Once it is full grown, we will assess whether or not it is
good enough to meet our very high expectations for our breeding stock. If it
does not then we will seek out a good home for it. Please feel free to contact
us to see if we have anything available.
PRICES Our puppies,
that are sold as companions, sell from $700.00 to $800.00 Canadian (at time of
writing, the US equivalent of $450.00 to $500.00). Our show and breeding
prospects sell from $850.00 to $1,000.00 Canadian ($535.00 to $650.00
American).
WRITTEN GUARANTEES
We are aware that all breeds of dogs are subject to genetic problems. By
extensive research and careful selection, we do our best to make sure that
they do not occur within our lines. We guarantee the health of the dog at the
time of, and for 3 years from, the date of sale. Should the dog develop ANY
inherited disease, we will provide one of the following options: a) the dog
may be returned to us and we will offer a replacement from our next available
breeding, or b) the owners may keep the dog, and provided the dog is neutred
or spayed will receive a refund of 1/3 the purchase price.
CONTRACTS All of our
dogs are sold with contracts that contain a Non-breeding clause. We will
cancel this clause only when the individual dog has shown its worth by
becoming a champion, and having positive results from extensive testing, to
prove that there are no hereditary problems evident. By doing this we have
been able to maintain very high standards for our Klompen dogs both with
health and type. All buyers must agree to abide by either the KCC or the KCAs
CODE OF ETHICS. We do not have a standard contract. Each one is suited for the
person to whom the pup is being sold, depending upon their individual
requirements.
CO-OWNERSHIPS The
large majority of our dogs are sold outright. We generally do not believe in
Co-ownerships, except on rare occasions. We try and treat our puppy buyers the
way that we would like to be treated. That is, we try not to add a lot of
extra conditions to the contracts, which could cause undue hardships. As we
approach our retirement years, we may sell some of our females on
co-ownerships, with hopes of leasing them back for a litter in future years.
Our main concern is for the welfare and happiness of the dogs we
breed.
WHOM DO WE SELL OUR DOGS TO
In selling our dogs, we want to find the best homes possible. By that
we mean, we want our dogs to become members of someone else's family. We want
them to have all of the love, care and attention that they would get if they
continued to live here. This is a tall order to fill. Our dogs are sold as
companion dogs, first and foremost. Many are sold as show prospects, both to
knowledgeable breeders and to complete novices. We are pleased to be able to
help get a novice started in the exciting hobby of showing dogs, and proud to
say that several kennels have gotten off to a good start with the purchase of
one of our Klompen dogs.
DOGS SOLD OUTSIDE OF CANADA
We have been fortunate enough to sell dogs all over North America, as
well as overseas. Prior to the puppies obtaining their first set of shots we
try to obtain the regulations of the country to which they are traveling. By
doing this, we are aware of the vaccination regime that is required and can
more easily comply. All that is required for dogs traveling into the USA is a
Health Certificate, issued within two weeks of the dogs transportation, plus a
Rabies certificate for those dogs over 4 months of age.
After the
September 11, 2002 attacks on New York, airline's have added stricter
regulations which tend to hinder the free movement of animals between the US
and Canada. As time goes by these will improve.
The regulations vary for
dogs sold overseas. Seldom do we use tranquillizers, as we find that the
animals when coming to are even more confused and frightened. We have found
that puppies seem to travel very well by air. Most will just go to sleep, when
put in a stressful situation. Most will come out of their crates, clean and
happy, ready to take on their new life.
AFTER SALES SERVICE
Our commitment to our dogs does not end with the sale of the dog. The
one thing that we have been complimented on is our willingness to help out. We
assure our puppy buyers that they can feel free to call us even with the
simpliest of questions. No problem is considered insignificant. We are happy
to offer advice on every subject imaginable, including housebreaking,
grooming, showing, training, obedience work, etc. When our puppy buyers are
away, we will even offer to care for their dogs, in our home, for a nominal
fee. If for some unforseen reason, the owners cannot keep their dog, we ask
for the right of first refusal to buy the dog back. If we cannot take the dog
back at that time, we will help the owner to find a good, caring home for
their companion.
STUD SERVICES We
generally have one or two dogs that are offered at stud to champion bitches.
The girls must be good representatives of the breed and must compliment the
stud dog nicely. Pedigrees, health, temperament, type, structure and movement
are all things taken into consideration before agreeing to any matings.
Depending on the dog, our rates vary from $600.00 and up for a proven male.
