OUR KENNEL

We bought our first dog in 1976, a German Shepherd bitch which reached the age of 12. Initially, we had not planned that she would become a utility or obedience dog but when we had taken part in a course run by Sundsvall ’s Kennel Club, we became interested and we started to compete
About the same time, we got to know a Kelpie male dog, Kangaroo Action. The first time we saw him, John-Åke made a fool of himself by asking what mixture of breed he was.

By 1981 the interest in utility dogs had got a hold on us and we were thinking of getting a new German Shepherd, but fate proved otherwise. We met a small 13-week-old Kelpie dog, Lantgårdens Rally,  that was looking for a home but we didn’t want ‘that sort’ of dog but a German Shepherd. But Rally took us by storm and we were hooked by the breed. Furthermore, it was Kangaroo Action which was his father and that meant that you could not avoid but being hooked. Rally was subsequently approved as a high-level search dog.

In 1989 we bought Aussi Actions Chocolate Cutie which was bred form Noongah Black Attack and Yttergårdens Red Oongies Lassie. John-Åke competed with her, primarily in search and achieved a SBCH. She also became a SUCH and achieved honours. She was also trained as a herding dog with both sheep and cattle and she proved to have good qualities.

Not until 1991 did we feel ready and equipped with the knowledge required to start breeding. We mated Cutie with Nemars Domino and she had her first litter in January 1992. Her second litter was born in 1994 with Nemars XO and many more have followed since. We have chosen to follow the line of the bitch in our breeding, as we believe it is good. Cutie’s siblings have also been good, both as utility and herding dogs.

The aim of our breeding enterprise is to produce healthy and sound dogs. It is also important that they follow the standards of the breed, both as far as appearance and mental parts are concerned. Whilst as a breeder you always try to do your best, sadly there are times when things may not go quite so well but then you have to accept the responsibility for that.

The herding dog’s duties are important parts of the Kelpie’s work. We believe that herding work must be ongoing for the Kelpie to maintain its obedience and sensitive ear qualities that it’s well known for.

We have had a reasonable amount of success, thanks to our wonderful puppy buyers. Several of the puppies have been given merit awards by the Kennel, some rescue dogs and a couple obedience champions. In the exhibition arenas, several have shown good results. Other breeders have moreover, used a couple of the bitches for breeding.

Our way of choosing the buyers of our puppies is that the dog must go to a good home that can provide the amount of activity work that is required by a Kelpie. The buyer must be aware of what he/she is getting at the end of the lead. To compete is not the most important thing but it’s a bonus. We always support the new owners of our puppies, both in good and in bad times.  So far we hold Kennel camps every other year.

A vital part of the breeding is that you have time for the litter. It’s important to let the puppies socialise, to give each puppy some time and to carry out a few puppy exercises. All so that the new owner will have the best possible starting point with his/her new friend.

We can manage this largely due to the fact that Gunilla has a two-minute walk to work. She also has the possibility to swap working hours which means that there is nearly always somebody at home.

What most of the puppies’ new owners don’t know is that it’s not just fun and cute to have a litter of puppies. But the pleasure outweighs and that’s why we continue. It’s great to follow the small creatures as they grow up. A part of the breeding business is the contact you establish with the new owners of the puppies. You get a large circle of friends and family to visit and that visits you.

We have also had a new experience with our latest male, Fogerty. He and his master have started some herding work. After a weekend at the beginning of June 2005 when John-Åke had the opportunity to try with Fogerty, an entry to a herding week followed which whetted the appetite. The goal is to try to train once to twice a week in order to see how far we can get. If you don’t know anything about herding work, it’s not the easiest work you can embark on when it comes to dog activities.

Cutie also provided us with the idea for our Kennel name; we abbreviated the name Cutie and added the English word for children, kids, and that’s how we got Cukids.

Apart from dogs, our family consists of master John-Åke, mistress Gunilla and three children who have left the family home. We live in Stöde which is situated along the E14, about 40 kilometres west of Sundsvall , on the way to Östersund.

Gunilla och John-Åke Andersson
Kumminvägen 7,   860 13  STÖDE
+46 0691 - 108 96     +46 070 - 67 50 986, +46 070 - 19 16 214