Our Story.

These are the tales of Kimma: A Finnish Spitz (Fox) and Maui: A Toi Leo (Lion), told from the point of view of their highly strung owners!!!

This is Kimma (pronounced Kee-mah).  She is a one-year-old female Finnish Spitz.  I (Katie) have had her since she was 8 weeks old.  What a cute little thing she was!  Totally quiet on the 3 hour ride home, fell asleep on my lap our first night after a fun play session...  Then BAM.  She gets crazy.

She looks so innocent!

Now, Finnish Spitz are categorized as being a medium-high energy breed, and are bred to hunt birds and small game, though they can also hunt larger creatures, like elk and even bear.  They are very loyal to their "masters" and very intelligent.  The Finnish Spitz is also a sensitive dog, so a positive approach to training is a must.  They can pick up on moods easily, so training while upset/mad will likely be fruitless.  Like most Northern breeds, they are quite independent.  In addition, they are bred to bark and are very vocal.  In Finland, they even "crown" a "King of the Barkers," which is their yearly hunting champion - yes, these dogs can bark like there's no tomorrow!

Kimma is all of those things, and bit more.  After the first week or so, I remember thinking to myself, "What have I done?!"  I have no prior experience with any dogs/puppies (never had one as a kid, and didn't have too many friends with dogs), this girl is insane, and I'm crying basically every day.  She's a barker, a chewer, and biter, and requires more exercise than any dog I've ever heard of!  So we signed up for puppy training. 

It was OK, but there was so much more to this dog.  She NEEDED constant training.  She craved it.  I saw how quickly she picked up on stuff, and I knew that we could achieve some great things.

It was at a dog park where I met Lesley, and her then 4.5 month old Border Collie mix, Tia.  After seeing how well Kimma and Tia played (they are about the same age), and also how fast Kimma could run, Lesley asked if we ever thought of doing agility.  I replied no, as I planned on finishing out our puppy basic training and then maybe doing another training class or two while teaching her some tricks on my own, then we were going to just live our lives.  However, the more I thought about it and watched some videos on YouTube, the more I realized that this could be just what my little reactive/hyper/barker of a dog needs...  Agility it is!!!

Now, as I sit here approximately 8 months later, I couldn't be happier with our decision.  Of course, some additional issues have come up (focusing, more reactivity problems, and some illness), but as long as she keeps loving what we're doing, we will figure out a way to conquer it all!

And if it wasn't for agility, Kimma and I would have never met Margie and Maui (her boyfriend!). 

And this is Maui! He is a one-year-old Toi Leo, which is a hybrid dog breed. The breeders began developing Toi Leos 6 years ago to reduce small dog medical problems such as eye and patella issues. Four breeds create this hybrid: the Japanese Chin, Long Hair Chihuahua, Pekingese and Pomeranian.

Maui and I (Margie) became a team when he was 9 weeks old. What a cute little man. 3.6 pounds and already groomed then with his unfashionable lion cut. Curious, bright, intelligent, affectionate and no barking! I took him with me everyday, everywhere I went so that he would socialize well. Me and my little buddy! As all was going so well it was time to socialize with four legged friends, so Maui was enrolled in Puppy Class. And after learning some basic obedience was introduced to Agility. He loves it! 

It was here that he found his VOICE - and what a voice he has! Really, what did I expect? He does come from dog breeds that all bark... A LOT. First it was just barking at other dogs to get them to play with him. Then it was barking and lunging at them before he even got close enough to smell them. Then barking and lunging on his walks at joggers, cyclist, other dogs, people, deer, squirrels and anything else that moved outside, including leaves blowing in the wind! Oops I forgot! He even barks at things that don't move. With one exception: Kimma. Maui just loves her and like every man in love, he quietly listens and lets her have the last word.

OK... So he has barking issues and currently walks on a gentle leader to reduce the barking and lunging. Although he does resemble Hannibal Lector with this on, I just love the little guy!

Pentti:  "Yes, I know.  I'm so handsome - even with stick pieces in my mouth!"

In addition to following the training of Kimma and Maui, Kimma's 3-year-old Finnish Spitz "brother" Pentti (CH Finkkila's Pentti) will also be making some appearances in this Blog, as he and Katie progress in his conformation career!