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 Dwayne and Elsje, Rosy and Yorick at the Open Show, March 8 On Friday March 8, Yorick and Rosy attended an open show hosted by the American Boerboel Club at our local Rockingham County Fairgrounds. Dwayne Martin handled Rosy, and Elsje McDonald, 12, handled Yorick. Rosy now has two points towards her Championship. Here is a write-up about the event in Elsje’s words:
 “A few weeks ago, Yorick and I went to our first dog show. When we got there we had lots of time to walk around and meet lots of other dogs. We had to wait for what seemed like forever but finally it was the Kooiker’s turn in the ring. At first it was just Yorick and I, we won first place of male kooikerhondjes! (he was the only male).
Next Rosy went into the ring and won first place for female kooikerhondjes! (She was also the only female there.)
After those rounds they both wentinto the ring and Rosy won best of breed and Yorick won best opposite sex. Later Rosy went back into the ring with a Russian toy dog and a Swedish farm dog and she won second place.
After we were all done Dwayne and I posed for pictures with our little champions.”
–Written by Elsje McDonald, age 12, Yorick’s jr. handler.
 
 Hemlet (left) lounges with Daniel, Jacob, and Yorick. Hamlet may very well be the first kooikerhondje to live in Africa! His family has accepted a job which is taking them to Western Kenya for the next several years, beginning in June of 2013. Hamlet’s parents, Rose and Bruce, both spent part of their childhoods in East Africa, and are excited to move back “home” with their own children.
Plans right now are for Hamlet to go to Kenya with his family of six humans. Hamlet will turn 13 this summer, and his parents are well aware of how stressful a trans-Atlantic move will be for him. They are trying to do what is best for him. If any of you readers have experience making an international move with an older dog, please post a comment or suggestion!
Yorick will stay in Harrisonburg to be close to Rosalind. He will be living with the McDonald family, where he will be showered with affection–particularly from his new junior handler and agility partner Elsje, who also has Dutch ancestry. Elsje’s mother is from The Netherlands, as are Yorick and Rosalind.
Hamlet was born in Denmark, and traveled to Iowa as a puppy in 2002. He then moved to Virginia in 2004, where he has been living ever since. In summer of 2013, when he moves to Eldoret, Kenya, he will truly be an international traveler!
What does this move mean for Rosewood Kooikerhondjes? Our two breeding dogs, Rosalind and Yorick, will stay in Virginia with their host families, the Martins and the McDonalds. Our plans for a litter this year will remain. Rose Shenk will continue to be involved in the Rosewood community from her position in Kenya. Joyce Shenk Maxwell and auntie Elsie will also stay connected from their location in Boston.
 Yorick sails thru a tire jump that Elsje made from a piece of drain pipe.  Elsja takes Yorick over a home-made jump.
What a difference one week makes. New York City was battered by the worst storm in its history the last weekend in October.
 Sandy visits havoc on NYC The previous weekend, however–October 20 and 21–was mild and sunny, a perfect fall day for a walk along the Hudson River.
 Looking at boats and enjoying the sunshine.
 Rose, Yorick, and Hamlet
Why are our Virginia dogs in NYC? For the Meet the Breed dog show in the Jacob Javits Center!
 The dogs pose with a statue of Senator Jacob Javits at the convention center. It also happened to be my sister Joyce’s 50th birthday–and Andrew’s 13th–so we went to the city to celebrate in style.
 Andrew and Aunt Joyce celebrate their birthday weekend with a bit of craziness! A nice group of KCUSA memebers were able to attend the MTB event. The most FAQ was: “How do you pronounce that?” By the end of the day, I was hoarse from saying “Nederlandse Kooikerhondje!”
While at the conventions, Hamlet and Yorick were able to pass their Canine Good Citizenship test, and were awarded caps, which everyone enjoyed.
 Who’s a Canine Good Citizen?
Daniel has been learning the accordion since summer.
When we first got Yorick, he howled when the boys practiced violin. Now, he’s added the accordion to his duet repertoire!
 
For their one-year updates, a few of Yorick’s puppies submitted photos of their gorgeous selves lounging on their favorite couches. Not to be outdone, Yorick indulged me in a photo shoot of him on his favorite couch, and here he is: Papa Yorick, the couch potato king!
 Papa Yorick, Three Years Old Here are five males from Yorick’s first litter, all lounging on their favorite divans. How majestic! They were a year old on June 10, 2012.
 Dugan at a year  Drake, or Frankie at a year  Darby sacked out on the back of the couch.  Duncan at 16 months  Toby (Rosewood's Dalton) at 9 months
We had a visit from Dragon (usually called “Dunkie”) and his pack, Rosie (RedGold’s Christmas Elegance), Nathan, and Karen. After lunch at a favorite local restaurant, we took everyone out to the farm so the dogs could run around. It was a windy day, and everyone was in good spirits!
 Windy! Dragon, Rose, Yorick, Hamlet, Rosie, Nathan, and Karen. Dragon is a city dog, and had never been off leash where he could run around. He barked at the horses, startled at the guinea-fowl, and glared at the goats. Grass! You can dig in this! He was well-entertained, and we had a kick watching his antics.
 Dragon could have spent the whole afternoon barking at Merlin!  Wow! Grass!! What's under here?
Here’s how the father and son line up! The visit happened on April 10, so Dragon (Litter D, June 10, 2011) was exactly 10 months old.
 Father and Son Reunion  Back to back they faced each other . . .
 Yorick, Hamlet, Rosie, and Dragon
 Kidogo mzee na kubwa bwana! I’ve always had a fondness for Rhodesian Ridgebacks since I grew up in Kenya and one of these majestic animals was my next door neighbor. Since those early days in Nairobi, I haven’t had much opportunity to see these dogs again until my husband’s cousin got one a few years ago.
Last weekend at the Detroit Kennel Club Dog Shows, we got another opportunity to see lots of these dogs close up. We were there representing the Nederlandse Kooikerhondje at the Meet the Breed booths. We had a breed Fun Match with AKC judge Marie Povilitis, who was also there exhibiting her Rhodesians.
Another favorite breed (don’t worry guys, I’m still nuts about you kooikers and not looking for a different breed to replace you!!) is the bizarre-looking Borzoi. The ones shown here both won their Grand Champion titles during these shows, and are magnificent indeed!
 
 Conquored by Kooikers! Rosy, along with Hamlet, Yorick, and other representatives of the Kooikerhondje Club of the USA, participated in the Detroit Kennel Club Dog Shows on March 3 & 4. Rosy was exactly eight months old on Friday, the day we drove up to Michigan.
On Saturday, she decided that with 1000 intact male dogs at the Cobo Hall in downtown Detroit, it would be a good time to go into heat! It took me a while to realize what was going on, since in my experience kooikers are slower to mature and go into heat when they are a little older. The male kooikers at the Meet the Breed booth, where we were all stationed, were interested in her, but no one was being obnoxious about it. Then I saw a telltale spot of blood on the concrete floor and thought to check her tail. Sure enough, her white breeches were marked here and there with red!
Poor dear traveled all that way, and spent most of the weekend in her crate! She was still able to earn a ribbon for Best Female Puppy (OK, she was the only girl puppy there, but I’m sure she deserved it nevertheless!) and second place to Rosewood’s Dragon for Best Puppy overall.
Of course, now that she’s a young lady, we can’t keep calling her a puppy, can we?
 Rosy 9 months
The Kooikerhondje Club of the USA (KCUSA) held it’s fourth Fun Match last weekend in Weyers Cave, VA. Participating were 10 dogs from five different states: Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. Next year’s Match will be held in a different geographic location to accommodate the kooiker population not on the East Coast!
AKC judge Carol Noe was the professional eye evaluating the animals on that sun-splashed autumn afternoon. Many of the dogs and owners were in the ring for the first time, and Carol was patient in explaining what was expected of everybody.
 Fall Fun Match Participants We took four Rosewood dogs to the Match: Hamlet, Elsinore, Yorick, and the new puppy, Rosalind. One of the advantages of having a very small number of participants in each category was that every dog placed and got a ribbon!
 Hamlet and my niece Carissa Taga’s Quarto-Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: ……….. First Place, Altered Adult
 Joyce and Elsie Taga’s Weika, Lady Elsinore………………………….First Place, Altered Female
 Rose and Yorick Germanic (Yorick)…………………………………… Second Place, Intact Male
 Pat and Dwayne Martin with AKC judge Carol Noe and Rosy Ammervills Rosalind……………………………………………Best Puppy
Two other Rosewood dogs were there–Duncan and Dragon, litter-mates from Bianca’s and Yorick’s litter this June.
 Dragon takes Nathan for a turn around the ring.  Wayne and Duncan show their confidence in the ring.
Yorick has discovered he can climb up the chicken house and jump into the run to eat scraps the boys throw in for the hens.
 Yorick in with the hens Of course, once he’s in, he can’t get out. He’ll sit down there and whine and fuss until someone comes to rescue him! It’s a strange thing to find Yorick missing, and then cock an ear to the back yard and hear him barking and the hens making a ruckus down under the pine trees!
 Let me out! I don't like chickens!
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The great pleasure of a dog is that you make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, he will make a fool of himself too.
– Samuel Butler
Personally, I would not give a fig for any man's religion whose horse, cat and dog do not feel its benefits. Life in any form is our perpetual responsibility.
- S. Parkes Cadman
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.
- Groucho Marx
To his dog, every man is Napoleon; hence the constant popularity of dogs.
- Aldous Huxley
Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring—it was peace.
- Milan Kundera
Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.
- Mark Twain
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“A few weeks ago, Yorick and I went to our first dog show. When we got there we had lots of time to walk around and meet lots of other dogs. We had to wait for what seemed like forever but finally it was the Kooiker’s turn in the ring. At first it was just Yorick and I, we won first place of male kooikerhondjes! (he was the only male).
