Mountain View's Kaiser (AKA Mountain View's Skylar K. London), called "Skylar"
Skylar lives in Fountain Hills, Arizona
Click on photo below to see pedigree, hip and elbow results for Skylar.
Our dogs bio:
He lives with his parents, Kathy and Dennis, his big brother (retired agility at age 10- currently works tracking) and 2 cats in Arizona. He is currently a Novice Agility Dog. He earned his Canine Good Citizen at 11 months and his Community Canine Good Citizen at 13 months. He was independently rated “excellent” by two Stabyhoun judges. He has taken Manners 101 and 102, Obedience 1 and 2, Conformation Introduction, Versatility, Beginning Rally and Dock Diving + Herding Instinct Testing (he scored very high on herding), and of course countless agility classes and seminars.
He loves to dive, swim, herd, and retrieve. He does these for fun and has had no formal training in any of them. He is simply a natural at them and does them as a characteristic of his breed. His daily morning job is to independently race to the end of our 70 foot drive way, retrieve the morning newspaper, race directly back- no stops- bring it to human Dad, Dennis’ hand (no matter where Dennis may be) with no torn wrapper. We are still working on racing the “directly back” part. Sometimes with paper in mouth, he “visits” a bush or decides to come back the long way around. He did this totally independently at 10 weeks and has been doing it every day since! Open the pool deck door and he launches 50 feet into the pool – regardless of the temperature. Skylar loves the water whether it is a mud puddle, coming out of the sky or the irrigation system….or the pool. We have to drive long miles for herding so he does not get that as a daily activity – but he occasionally does try to herd our cats. That does not work out well, however.
We formally train in agility and started his foundation puppy work at 10 weeks. He has a powerful long stride, a profound work ethic and tremendous drive. His enthusiasm for this sport is boundless, yet he maintains a discipline to watch his handler and respond properly to the task as a team member with great precision. If we goof up – he returns to me and we cheerfully try again. He is focused and always ready to have a good time. The worse thing anyone can do to Skylar is to stop an activity that he is totally engaged in and say “all done!” He will look at you with pure horror and disbelief! He always wants more.
- Skylar
- · Is observant and self-confidently independent. In a new environment, he will simply sit down and quietly watch. When he is comfortable, he then engages – whether it is investigating every nook and cranny or playing with other dogs or people. I have learned to not interrupt this process or cutting it short. He is acclimating. In the midst of the chaos of a dog show, he sits quietly in his crate and looks around while his human Mom is across the building or field. He has proven countless time in the midst of competition, examination by judges – he is rock solid calm.
- · does not just love his home and his human parents, he is in love with them. He does not jump but carefully climbs on to your lap and drapes there until it is time to get up. You belong to him in the sweetest possible manner. In the morning you are greeting with a long low guttural song.
- · has an amazing work ethic. He wants to learn, learning is fun for him. Once he learns the task, he does not forget, he completes it repeatedly willingly and to the best of his ability. He also knows where his food is stored and when it is time to eat.
- · Is smart, curious, careful - but not shy. He will investigate new and strange things with slow careful approaches. Once given the ok, he will approach strangers – adults and children – expecting an ear rub in exchange for his “checking them out.” Once a dog becomes his friend, the play bows are limitless and the fun can go on and on.
- · has absolutely no interest at this point in scenting, tracking or anything to do with using his sense of smell. He alerts to rabbits but does not give chase. He absolutely despises wearing a harness and will become an accomplished Houdini to get out of it. He hates having his teeth brushed. This has turned in to a long, albeit, reluctant game. He is not happy near loud, shriek, yappy dogs. But, trust me, he can bark. It is usually one loud alert bark and then he is done!
Skylar showed evidence of noise sensitivity, common in many herding breeds. Herders, after all, have to be alert to sounds and sensitive to subtle but quick movements. His characteristics follow more of the herder rather than gun dog or going to ground for vermin. Because we are in performance shows and various environments (inside and out doors), we worked hard to counter condition his specific noise triggers. They began to surface at 12 months- most likely his first fear period and briefly again at 18 months. We have successfully overcome all of the triggers, but we always continue to always work on noises and sounds in new and strange environments.
