NAME: Donna Stekli
LOCATION: MD
EMAIL: keeshond@astarz.com
URL:
www.astarz.net

HISTORY
PRIMARY BREED: Keeshonden
OTHER BREED 1: Pomeranians
OTHER BREED 2:
YRS BREEDING PRIMARY: 30
TOT YRS BREEDING: 30
AVG LITTERS A YR: 1
NUM DOGS OWNED: 6
NUM CHAMPIONS BRED: 75
NUM PERFORMANCE
TITLED DOGS BRED: 35

SERVICES
STUD SERVICE TO
APPROVED BITCHES: Yes
BOARDING SERVICE: No
GROOMING SERVICE: No
RESCUE SERVICE: No

TRAINING
AGILITY: Yes
OBEDIENCE: Yes
BEHAVIOR: Yes
COMPANION: Yes
HERDING: No
SECURITY: No
TRACKING: No
MANTRAILING: No
HANDICAPPED DEAF: No
HANDICAPPED BLIND: No
HANDICAPPED OTHER: No

About the Breeder:
We are not big-time breeders and only have about one litter every other year at most. We do not keep many Kees, now we currently have five, which is our personal limit. We believe kees are so deserving of love, attention and proper care, that we will not keep more than we can reasonably care for. We do place our older dogs or retired show dogs with loving and well-fitting homes for them if/when it does become available, otherwise they stay with us. We must place our 'retired' stars if we are going to continue to raise Kees the way we think they should be raised. Some people can't part with their pets, but we see this as a necessary thing to do because we cannot properly care for a 'backyard full' and don't intend to try. We do not breed to who ever is convenient. It would be rare to find the best mate in your backyard. We try to choose who, in the country, would be the best matched pair for any litter we are thinking of doing. Since we are in contact with Kees people from all over the country and travel to shows, we get exposure to many dogs. From our kennel, we have produced about 45+champion homebred kees. Several of these have gone onto significant titles in the breed, such as Hall of Fame (HOF), Select Award Winners and Best in Specialty and Best of Opposite in Specialty as well as Specialty Sweepstakes winners. From our dogs, other kennels and individuals have been building their own show and breeding program with success in their programs, which have their foundation on our dogs. Between the age of 7 and 8 weeks, we temperament test our puppies using a series of tests developed by dog psychologists [PAT - Puppy Aptitude Test]. These tests help us determine further, the personality traits of an individual puppy. Our puppies are raised in our home and we are in touch with them on a daily basis. The temperament test is an aid to attempt to determine the adult personality of a puppy. This includes such things as trainability, sensitivity, outgoing attitude, obedience potential, shyness and stubbornness. We 'grade' our litters when they are about 8-10 weeks of age to determine which pups are show and which are pet quality. Sometimes, pet quality can be determined earlier in a pup. If the ears appear big, the teeth don't meet in a scissors bite, the tail does not curl very tightly over the back or the feet have more black on them than desired for the show ring. All these things may determine a puppy is pet quality. To a breeder or a person interested in showing, the puppy must show the potential to mature close to the AKC Breed Standard. The Standard is the blueprint of a perfect Kees. It can be found in the 'Complete Keeshond' by Cash [which is the best book on the breed out to date] or in the AKC books. Any litter we have is planned for good temperaments, great type, and sound structures. We wouldn't have an individual litter if I did not think the puppies would be really nice. At A*starz, our goals are a cute, intelligent, and very pleasing looking Kees that conforms to the AKC Breed Standard, and one that is structurally & temperamentally sound. The head type we strive for is the 'teddy bear' look, although we do sometimes have a foxy head type or two in a litter. Most all our puppies and adults have that very clear silver undercoat which is hard to come by in many of today's keeshonden. We generally obtain dramatic, striking contrast in the body coats. Although we do strive for light to medium colored kees as a matter of our personal preference, we do have a couple of puppies in each litter that may go darker. We have been achieving 'our look' and our goals in the last few litters and intend to improve upon it as we fine tune over the years to come. We keep an extensive (about 100 tapes to date) video tape collection of my own puppies as they develop and others from across the country so I can monitor and learn more about my dogs and others. Our home page is http://www.astarz.net On it, are updates on what is going on in the dog family, in Kees circles around the country, recipes to try, and anything a owner of our dogs should be aware of as well as contributions from the owners. It is fun for everyone to read about what is going on and we ask for owner input.