Banjo the Keeshond Puppy

[mintyduck]

Thank you for your comments, Richard! I love meeting people who own or have owned Keeshonden. We actually considered Siberian Huskies long before we even knew that Kees existed, but ultimately decided they wouldn't be the best choice for our household. They are so beautiful, though. I'm glad they're fairly popular up here so I can admire them frequently.

The grooming comments made me laugh. We're definitely struggling with that from time to time. He'll definitely be a handful once he's fully grown. We got some great advice, but I can't help but think I'm "doing it wrong" sometimes!

[Nileska]

Hey Ash,I have been through Portland a few times,looks like a great place to live...I had a friend who lived on a mountain in Grants Pass [an old mineing claim]...Met him at a Rainbow Family gathering many years ago.

..Keeshond grooming 101:I am not an expert although I have seen lots of it being done..You need 1 or 2 GOOD bristle brushes (never use a metal pin brush on a Kees coat) "Mason-Pearson"brushes are the gold standard but they are quite expensive like 50usd and up. You can find a good quality medium bristle brush for less...You will also want a combination comb to use as needed...The Kees coat is soft and must be treated gently, brush foreward. Holding the hair flat and brushing out from under your hand is the usual technique.

..A slicker is handy for the legs, but NOT on the long coat. Feet and legs are trimed and the paws schould look like cats feet...You really need both hands free so it would be a good Idea to invest in a grooming table...It can be used for Maggie as well...If you can go to a local dogshow and watch Kees being groomed it would be helpful.

..Banjo looks like our kees Zachary did when he first came home from Canada..He later went back and finisned his Canadian Championship...My grandson now 15 is named for him..

Great pictures and Maggie is a beauty too...Richard

[mintyduck]

I love that your grandson is named after one of your Kees, Richard. Zachary must have been special.

We've been having better luck with grooming Banjo lately. He's getting less snappy/snarly about and we're able to trim his nails and around the paws much easier now.

It's crazy to see how much he's growing! He had his first professional grooming today and, to our surprise, actually got "Doggone Great" on his report card. We were expecting "Tolerable at Best."

[Phyrie]

Kiba's babysitter has a Keeshound. They are truly beautiful, but theirs BARKS! At everything. At ANYthing! Whenever Kiba stays there longer than a day or two, he comes home thinking he needs to bark at every little thing. Drives us nuts until we get him back to "normal". They tell me that that is "normal" for a Kees, but I don't know if I buy that. Seems like an excuse to be lazy to me, but I don't say anything. They are wonderful people in so many other ways, I wouldn't want to insult them! How's yours for yapping?

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Phyrie, it's rather ironic that Henry's breeder was (and still is) a Keeshond breeder first. Apparently she loves "high maintenance" when it comes to grooming. When I visited their Kennel, there was a great deal of barking by both breeds. The woman who ran the kennels clearly loved all of the dogs.

Richard, I wonder if you ever encountered her on the Show Circuit. Did you know any breeders who were from Sarnia, Ontario? I don't wish to "publish" the name of the Kennel (for so many reasons right now, non of which have anything to do with dogs) so let me know if you know any Canadian breeders from Southern Ontario. It is always wonderful to hear how in love you are still with your wonderful wife. She must be quite a woman! I also think it's adorable that one of your Grandsons is named after one of your dogs. (My Father always said I did that with my son Ben, as I had a rescue Bouvier named Ben years before, but I just liked the name Benjamin. He of course felt his first grandchild, especially a boy, should have his name, which he would have if it weren't for the ex. I digress terribly )

Sorry to thread hog Ash...Banjo looks just beautiful after his grooming appointment. I'm glad to hear he did so well. I am also pleased that you are finding your way around the Forums. The more the merrier!

[mintyduck]

Phyrie, Banjo's yapping is probably pretty typical for a puppy -- he barks in the morning, barks when he's alone, and barks to let us know that he has to go out. He's pretty quiet apart from that, though he'll sometimes have some puppy spaz-outs where he'll bark like crazy for about a minute and then just flop over tiredly. Dogs are weird. But yeah, he's not too bad at all. He doesn't even bark for the door sometimes unless Maggie's barking provokes him. We have spent a lot of time with our breeder's Kees in the process of getting Banjo, and they only bark when we come to the door.

[Phyrie]

Yeah, I thought as much. I don't always agree with someone saying "well, that's the breed", especially when it come to bad behaviour. Kiba *might* have become a yapper, but we were careful to limit how much barking he's allowed, and we put his "indoor voice" on cue, so we can shush him when we want. Our Sheltie, another breed "notorious" for yapping, wasn't either. But her breeder's house was a nightmare of dogs barking day and night. She even de-barked one to keep the neighbours from bitching too much! Crazy!

I don't envy you the grooming job you have, though. Make good friends with your groomer! LOL!

[Deerie me]

The Keeshonds were opposite the deerhounds at Crufts one year and all they did was bark, no doubt setting each other off so maybe the breed has a predisposition to barking. Deerhounds aren't barky dogs (allegedly) but my two really go for it some days.

Banjo is very cute. What a fluffball.