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.
