Amanda

From the day I was born, there has always been a Keeshond in the house. I couldn't imagine my life without them, and I certainly couldn't imagine owning any other breed. When I left home to go to university in Waterloo, ON, I was without a dog. Sure, I could go home and visit, but it was never the same.

 

When I graduated from university, I realized that I would be on my own and could possibly have my very own dog. I thought to myself, well you can't have a home without a dog! So then the search began to get a puppy. I wanted a dog that went back to our original Keesridge lines, and it just so happened there was a litter out there, and another expected whelp date, 6 weeks later, that fit the criteria. From there, it just so happened that Bridget, mom's dog, was born in February, but it wasn't the breeding for me.

 

I waited 6 more weeks for the next litter and knew I wanted a puppy from that breeding. the day Lexie was born, I knew she was my puppy. I picked her out that very first day through a picture and never wavered once. I named her during the long trip to pick her up, as I stared at her picture, and when the time came to walk in and get her, I picked her up and knew she was the one!

 

Lexie had been third pick of the 4 girls in the litter, but I was adamant she was the puppy I wanted, and matured into the dog I hoped she would be. I fell back in love with the show scene with her, though she does not like it. Before my parents stopped breeding, I had done some junior showmanship, and helped out as best I could. As an adult coming in, I again fell in love with the fancy, and it has very quickly become a central part of my life.

 

I now live in rural Ontario, north of Owen Sound. I have one acre, surrounded by farms. It is a cozy home, which my girls share with me, along with our cat Piper. Our dogs live in our homes with us, and even though our name is "Keesridge Kennels", we do not have a physical kennel. 

 

I am a member of the Canadian Kennel Club, and am the Ontario District Representative and Webmaster for the Keeshond Club of Canada. Please visit any of these websites for more information about the breed! I am also the President of the Grey-Bruce Kennel & Obedience Club (2021).

 

My goal with breeding Keeshond is pretty simple. I want to breed healthy dogs, and give people the chance to enjoy the breed as much as I do. I try to choose dogs to breed to my girls, who will better the breed, and that conform to the Official Breed Standard, as I interpret it.

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I have been fortunate to be the breeder of record for the most Keeshonden finishing conformation championships and/or obedience titles in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 awarded Breeder of the Year by the Keeshond Club of Canada for most of those years.