Yes, we do have a great appreciation of the rare breeds at Kinsol Kennels. Who wants a dog that everyone on the street recognizes, right? When we were looking for a breed of dogs that would fit into any household, our research led us directly to the Blue Picardy Spaniels.
Rysa (Brighthopes Here Comes The Sun) is a wonderful example of the Blue Picardy Spaniel and is the new foundation bitch at Kinsol Kennels. She is remarkably sweet and gentle, her personality is everything a Blue encompasses. From the moment she entered our world we continue to be amazed at her personality and temperament. Unlike many dogs, if you stand around for too long, instead of becoming restless and nosing around, Rysa just curls up at our feet and relaxes. We can take her absolutely anywhere, and I mean ANYWHERE. One day in the future she will make a fantastic therapy dog.
I like to say that Rysa has a wonderful “On Switch”. Most of the time Rysa is in “Off Mode”. She’s quiet, calm, and well-mannered. It isn’t until Rysa is on a trail and has been granted off leash priveledges that she flicks “ON”. From that moment you will most likely only hear her rustling in the bushes or see her running across the trail. The only exception is when she comes back to check in on a regular bases and make sure we are following along. That is something we did not train her to do. She came with that instinctively! That’s a trait we hope gets passed down to her babies.
Most days will find Rysa lounging around the house, usually within sight of her people. She does not live in a kennel, none of our much loved dogs are. She is comfortable in a crate, say at a dog show or whenever it is needed. Although, she is such an incredible dog that we have walked away from her crate with the door wide open on a few occasions …Rysa just chills until her people return. It’s not unusual to see Rysa standing beside Tanya with the leash laying on the ground.
Rysa’s manners on walks (both on or off leash) is impeccable. If she sees any people or dogs she will return to her people until they have passed by, then off she goes again. In fact, her manners are so impressive that she has been used to demonstrate how new dog interactions should go. Yes, we are very proud of her.
Rysa has passed all her health clearances and is ready to make incredibly gorgeous Blue babies. Working under the mentorship of her breeder (Katelyn Fidler at Brighthope Blues) we are working to keep the breed healthy and bring them to Canada’s west coast. She has what’s called false pregnancies and is very, very attentive to her “babies” (either stuffed toys or those absolutely annoying rubber chickens from the dollar store). So the guess is that she will be a great momma. We are looking forward to welcoming lovely white babies (yes they are born white!) soon.
We wanted an unusual breed, something that makes people ask “what kind of dog is that?” After a lot of research and visiting various dog breeds and breeders, we found the Finnish Spitz!
We knew we were going to get exactly what we wanted in this ancient breed. Our Valo (Pikkinnokka’s Glory Days) landed in our house like a tornado touching down in the prairies. It was like she woke up the first morning after we got her and yelled (quite literally) at us “I AM HERE!!”
With the help of Til Niquidet as a mentor we have jumped into the world of preserving this primitive breed.
Valo was Kinsol Kennel’s first foundation bitch. She is sassy, bratty, confident, affectionate, bossy, loveable, and a gorgeous example of the breed. She makes us laugh and swear on a regular basis. Exactly what a young Finkie should do. Valo proved herself to be a spectacular mother. I often tell the story about how she nursed her babies in a coffee shop parking lot while we were passing them off to their new families … at eight and a half weeks old!
As she has matured she has not lost her feisty edge but has become more reliable and affectionate. Well…affectionate as long as you keep scritching her (it’s a word, look it up ).
Valo is not a kennel dog. She is a pampered house dog that we will be breeding. Being a pampered pet is what we hope for all Kinsol Kennels dogs. What better lifestyle can any dog hope for?
October of 2015 we got our much loved Siren, a very special Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, on a foster program through Tollchester. Tollchester showed Siren almost to her championship until Tanya stepped in and had the privilege of showing her, digging deep into her past experiences to remember what to do (with some gentle guidance from a very good friend Wendy Lee of Lealee Tollers). She had so much fun in the ring!
Siren is the kind of dog that will do absolutely anything with us. She has completed her foster contract and had two litters of puppies (one of which we had the tremendous pleasure of having in our own home – thank you Wendy!) so she is not a part of the breeding program at Kinsol Kennels.
Siren was our learning dog. She is the one that introduced us to rearing puppies and she has moved on to her Grand Championship, Canine Good Neighbour, Therapy Dog, and agility training. Siren will be a large part of the puppies born at Kinsol Kennels. She will give the puppies an opportunity to be with other dogs from an early age. She’s gentle, loving, and fantastic with other animals. In short, all the puppies born at Kinsol Kennels will be very lucky to have an Auntie Siren in their lives.
