4 November 2023
Welcome to Kensington Tibetan Terriers and thank you for your interest in my breeding program. Thank you, also, for navigating your way to this page, our new page for staying on top of what’s going on and All Things Kensington.
At this time, we have puppies in the house and await Lillibet and Coco coming into season. The plan is to breed them for puppies anticipated to be available in spring 2024. But you know what they say about plans: humans make them and God/Goddess/Mother Nature laughs. ;>) Even with my planned breedings, I do not expect to have any available puppies for new applicants until Spring/Summer 2024. There’s just plain too much demand from repeat Kensington families and I can’t, nor do I want, to ramp up this breeding program to more than several litters annually. Kensington Tibetan Terrier puppies are special, because of how they are raised and socialized. This is a smoke free home and we’re committed to cleanliness, the best science, nutrition, animal psychology and lots of handling by a core group of humans who vary in size, shape, age and skin color!
We proudly breed AKC registered pure bred Tibetan Terriers and all of our adult TTs in residence are AKC Champion, Grand, Bronze or Silver Champions or on their way toward their first Conformation title. We do not offer Tibetan Terriers with blue eyes BECAUSE WE DON’T BREED THEM and blue eyes are NOT part of the breed standard. TTs should conform to the breed standard, be of fine temperament, sound body & genetics, with dark eyes, sexy black lips, black nose leathers and black eye rims.
GRCH Kensington’s Pic, Pic, Piccolo! on the left and GRCH Kensington’s Questa o Quella? on the right. TTCC National Specialty, August 2018.
Additionally, please know that we do not endorse any cross-bred designer dogs, especially those bred with one Tibetan Terrier parent. Veterinarians and groomers agree: Support breed rescue operations or buy a pure bred dog from a responsible breeder who uses all available and appropriate genetic testing on the parents of your future puppy. In the old days, we called them ‘mutts’. Now, apparently, if you can identify the sire and dam by breed, they are ‘designer dogs’. Each dog breed comes with breed-specific characteristics, biological predispositions and the potential for breed-specific genetic mutations. Crossing one with another takes you into a realm of vaguary. Know what you are getting and ask your veterinarian for their opinion, before you make your final decision to bring a new puppy into your life. Be smart! And if you REALLY want to know more about the possible genetic mutations in your doodle du jour? Visit the UC Davis web site. http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog.php
WB as May pole. Kensington play date in Newton, MA. Thank you, Justin & Regina! 4 May 2019.
I like to keep my puppies for nine to ten weeks, unless a puppy shows unusually early emotional maturity and good size. In that case? Sometimes I might release a puppy at eight or nine weeks, especially to a forever home with solid experience in our breed, another Tibetan Terrier in the house and a full time human caregiver. And sometimes, I might keep a puppy for eleven weeks, if they seem sensitive or if the family wants additional training or socialization from me. That extra week or two with the aunties (and uncles) really helps a puppy to blossom and mature.
The range of personalities among our doggie mums is as varied as it is in a litter of puppies – with one overriding attribute: terrific temperament in each of them.
Pipes, on the right. Dr. G, on the left. We plan to breed Piper in spring 2020.
We have GRCH Pic, Pic, Piccolo, one of our best mums ever. Piccolo will happily nurse anyone’s puppies, as she’s not ticklish like Ziva and she LOVES puppies. She is an easy free whelper and I might breed her one more time in 2024.
We have CH Kensington’s Xtremely Yvette, our sweet, smart and affectionate athletic girl, who has just whelped her second litter in October 2023.
Streetwise Charlie, ne D-Max (Yogi x Ziva). In the South End of Boston. Stopping for a break, on his way to work. ;>) May 2019.
Our third girl is CH Kensington’s E. Lilli, the 1st by Q. We’re planning to breed her for a second time, when she next comes into season. It will be her second litter.
And our fourth girl is the lovely RinChen’s Little Black Dress with Pearls (Coco). We are planning a breeding between CH Kensington’s Heik(e) Hellbrook(e) and Coco, when she next comes into season. This will be a first breeding for her. Both are very nice examples of the breed and she is as sweet as they come. Tashii is out of Julius x Piccolo and earned his first AKC Conformation CH title in 2023.
Life with all of these doggies has its challenges, I assure you. I need to be superbly organized, ready to spend money, carry inventory of treats, kibble, toys and supplies. And I depend upon my team of doggie au pairs who come from as close as three doors down to as far away as Houston, Texas. Sometimes, witnessing puppies being born is too much for a doggie au pair and they leave me at full speed. ;>) Other times? They are fascinated and stick like glue, wanting to be a part of future whelpings and planning their schedule around such things. It takes a community and I am grateful to the friends and fans of Kensington who make this all possible. I could not do it, without their support and help.
Kingston, growing up and having made the connection between being cute in the right place and going out for a walk. February 2019.
Whether it is one dog or more, it takes personal commitment, responsibility, organization and money to raise a dog properly.
Funny story about life with a TT, nevermind a pack of them: Some time ago, I returned home around 6 p.m. and promptly switched gears to unpacking my groceries and preparing doggie dinners, as appetites were running ‘high’ around here. I left the kitchen for 1 minute and came back to 2 lbs of fresh salmon fillet being dragged around the kitchen floor in two pieces. Half made it to Koko’s mouth on the dog bed in my office and the other half was on the kitchen floor next to the treadmill with Annabel running down the hall looking VERY GUILTY. At least they shared the salmon – and tore it in half! It’s clear that the dogs prefer fresh Atlantic salmon to their dry Royal Canin kibble. Who can blame them? Problem was, it was NOT meant for them. ;>)
Note: there’s an important lesson here: NEVER pull food out of a dog’s mouth, whether it’s your dog or one you don’t know. I teach a variety of commands and ‘DROP IT’ is the one I used on Koko to tell her to do exactly that. Once dropped? I said ‘GOOD DOG’ and took the salmon fillet to the sink. And then? She got a small piece of that salmon as a reward and wagged her tail. Dogs are animals and it’s important ESPECIALLY to train your human children to be mindful at all times. Don’t be stupid. Respect the fact that dogs have teeth! And even the most wonderfully well mannered doggie can have a primal moment. Always be respectful, careful and mindful of any and all dogs, whether it’s your pooch or one you don’t know.
WB in the kitchen with her girls – and Aza! 6 August 2017.
In their defense of the salmon snatching caper, three of the Kensington girls at home were pregnant. ;>)
WHAT KENSINGTON is ALL ABOUT:
Folks come to this web site for various reasons. You might have googled: Tibetan Terrier puppies. Normally, each of our puppies has its forever home before it’s even born. But sometimes? Mother Nature plays tricks on me and we might not get the coat color variety or a mix of genders to match the wishes and wants of our forever families. In those cases? Sometimes we might have an available puppy and we use the applications we are holding, as we look for the ideal situation in which to place that puppy. So, if you want a Kensington puppy? You need to request an application, fill it out and return it.
This web site is also the place you should come, if you’re wanting to stay on top of what’s currently on my mind. Blog posts will apprise you of the latest ‘goings on’, here at Kensington. We’ve taken to doing zoom.us calls, every few weeks. It’s fun for me, educational for my peeps and gives us all a chance to be happy, laugh and share stories. Asking questions is an important part of life with your dog and I welcome all questions.
Seven or eight years ago, I became fascinated with the genetics behind coat color & pattern in canines. If that topic is of interest to you, you will find a post from 2019 that addresses the genetics behind coat colors and furnishings in our breed. I study & cross reference genetic test results on my own Tibetan Terriers and recently bought a microscope for individual hair study. The nerd that I am? I find it fascinating and really good fun to explore such things. ;>) Kensington has no issue with furnishings, as each of our Tibetans has test results showing two copies of the furnishings allele. We began our breeding program with Izzie, a red sable foundation bitch and have bred two new red sable females to carry on in Izzie & Coppi’s pawprints. They are GRCH Kensington’s Jolie Jeune Fille (Sienna) and Kensington’s Roxy’s Ready for Love. Varied coat colors are important to me, so that we maintain diversity in coat color and pattern in the Tibetan Terriers we breed. Coat color and pattern are two different things. If you, too, are interested in the correct terminology when describing the phenotypes of color genetics, please visit this link: http://homepage.usask.ca/~schmutz/dogcolors.html
Mochi in flight. Bookin’ it on the beach in California. Spring 2018.
Some breeders believe that an interest in a specific coat color or pattern is the wrong reason to select a new puppy. If it is the ONLY reason, I agree. However, it has been my experience in this breed that beauty is in the eye of the beholder! I have met TTs with attributes that would disqualify them in the Conformation ring and yet, their humans love them endlessly. And as a breeder, I’ve worked with people who’ve lost an animal to death and who do not want to be reminded by similar coat color & pattern in their new companion. We do our best to breed sires and dams for the ‘right’ reasons and coat color diversity is one of the ‘right’ reasons for us. Using these coat color genetic tests will be new for us but I find it to be an exciting area of exploration. I look forward to seeing what our next 2024 breedings produce. How lucky am I to be able to immerse myself in my passion?
SHORT TERM GOALS:
Gryffin in flight! Questa’s littermate, DOB 8 Feb 2018. Apparently, Kensington TTs can fly. ;>)
Sincerely? My short term goal is always to please those families who are waiting for puppies out of our next litters and to exceed their (and my) expectations for health, brains, vigor and beauty. Kensington kids go out on the AKC Conformation circuit to earn their CH titles and we have many advanced titles, too.
We have a fabulous six year old male named Questa who is out of Yogi x Billie. Questa won the Award of Merit at our TTCA National Specialty in 2019, took the Best of Breed award at the Oaks, PA show in 2019 and was on television on Thanksgiving 2019 – you can still watch him compete in the Non Sporting Group of The 2019 National Dog Show. Just google it and there are links that are easy to follow. He earned two medals at the two Westminster shows in which he competed – one in 2019 and the other in 2021. With Questa added to our home pack, it has made my life a lot easier, as our current stud dogs all live elsewhere and with other forever families. Yogi, Beckham, Julius, Tashi and Questa have all tested CLEAR of the four genetic mutations for which we have tests in our breed (NCL, PLL, PRA3 and RCD4) and I have frozen semen from all of them. And they have all tested bilaterally normal in the BAER hearing test. Please also know that I make NO ASSUMPTIONS and submit cheek swabs on every animal in my breeding program to the AHT in England for full genetic testing. CBP is a temporary classification, as far as I am concerned, and that assumption is not enough to provide absolute clarity.
A LITTLE U.S. BREED HISTORY:
Part of what I enjoy about my breeding program is staying in touch with breeders who have influenced me over the years and getting to know breeders much more experienced than I, from whom I can learn and with whom, discuss new things. One of my favorite breeder friends is Tina Bayer, of Doe Run Belgian Sheepdogs. Tina sets the bar as high as it can be set and fully understands and has seen the aftermath of premature neutering in male dogs. She and Alice Smith were both instrumental in helping to land my first litter of TTs back in March 2009. Alice was a very old timer in Tibetan Terriers and passed away in summer 2023.
Alice’s kennel prefix was Prin-Su and that cames from the registered names of her foundation stud and brood bitch: Luneville Prince Kumana and Chubitang’s Susan. I say ‘her’, but I can’t leave Alice’s husband Bill out of Prin-Su’s history, as they worked together in the development of their Prin-Su Tibetan Terriers. Here’s a little bit of history behind Alice’s TTs and subsequently, mine.
The foundation pedigree of Alice and Bill Smith’s Prin-Su Tibetan Terriers of Ipswich, Massachusetts.
Luneville Prince Kumana is a grandson of Luneville Prince Khan. Luneville Prince Khan is a male TT out of a breeding between Dr. Greig’s Lamleh line and Luneville Lady Penelope. This is one place where the two lines have been bred together and why we see both Lamleh and Luneville behind many of our US Tibetan Terriers. Even the dog who showed up on the British dock, Trojan Kynos, is in Alice Smith’s foundation pedigree.
CH Shalimar Izzie of Kensington, enjoying summertime on the couch. 2012. She turned 13, July 2019.
And because Alice’s foundation stud is behind Izzie (my foundation bitch), Luneville Prince Khan shows up ten generations behind two of our three 2018 breedings. He has much of Lamleh breeding behind him, but my breeding program is considerably diluted with Luneville, in the nine generations behind what I’m doing now. (Have I lost you, yet?) ;>) Lamleh was Dr. Greig’s kennel prefix and after she passed away, some people worked hard to breed within that Lamleh line, while others developed breeding programs with different criteria in mind. The topic of Lamleh vs. Luneville is often spirited. From where I sit? There’s been so much intertwining of the two blood lines that I stay focused on structure, movement, adherence to the breed standard and genetic management.
HOW WE USE SCIENCE and PEDIGREES:
We use progesterone testing to time each of our breedings and in many cases, to see how close a bitch is to presenting with her first stage of labor.
Having a stud dog in residence is tremendously helpful, as the nose of a proven stud dog is the best guide for navigating where the brood bitch is in the fertility cycle.
At the other end of gestation, I watch for when the progesterone number goes below 2.0ng/ml of blood. Once it hits ‘2’, it means that first stage labor will commence within 24 hours or so. ‘Knowing’ where your girl is at during the downturn of her progesterone level can ease one’s mind and clarify whether things appear to be progressing ‘normally’ or whether it’s time to call in a repro vet for an educated opinion.
We have some beautiful females in residence now. They are neither Lamleh nor Luneville girls – they are very much Kensington girls. Since I pay closest attention to the first four generations behind my current animals, at this point I am line breeding my own TTs and outcrossing every three or so years. Our next anticipated outcross will be to Kundali Romeo Kensington Edition of Switzerland. Lillibet (CH Kensington’s E. Lilli, the 1st by Q) will be bred to Romeo in 2024. This will be Lilli’s second litter. Romeo is a gorgeous mover and beautifully put together, with a terrific chest and carriage. His sweet disposition and the bloodlines behind him make him a fine candidate for an outcross.
Before I incorporate any new blood lines into my breeding stock, I will study what my next outcross produces and then, repeat the breeding to get a larger data sample of puppies to study. If I can study ten or more puppies, see consistency & like what’s been produced? I will then use that male with my 4th generation Kensington girl (Piccolo). And only if I get something terrific, will I keep a 5th generation Kensington puppy for the AKC show ring and my breeding program. I am in no hurry and am dedicated to maintaining the breed standard, while producing fine structure, sweet temperament, properly managed genetics and predictable consistency in our Kensington puppies.
Billie and Piper’s sire, Michael, with Nina Wagner, Mark Desrosers and the Judge. BCTTC Specialty 2013.
Our first outcross was to RinChen’s Blazing Black Icon (Michael) and that happened in October 2013. Michael’s sire was Atisha’s Blazing Black Adder. Outcrossing to Michael brought Atisha bloodlines into offspring out of that one breeding to my Coppi (CH Kensington’s Copper Goddess). Those bloodlines are now mixed in behind Billie, Yogi, Questa and Piccolo – but not behind Ziva, Koko or Oskar. These latter three Kensington Tibetans are still original Shalimar/Polygor bloodlines (with some Prin-Su behind them). I am distinctly aware of the importance of keeping the Atisha/Regalia heritage behind only some of my dogs, as I am still learning and testing what they produce. You could say that these breedings are more ‘experimental’ than my ‘traditional’ Shalimar/Polygor/non Atisha/non Regalia TTs. Questa has Atisha several generations back and behind him on both sides; very dark eyes, a beautiful natural stack and movement, strong chest, terrific spirit and high tailset. I even think that Margie likes him. ;>) He earned his SILVER Grand Championship title and may well be Kensington’s first true showstopper. The judges seem to like him, as do other breeders, handlers and TT fanciers. But the most important things to me are that he is balanced, beautiful and happy. We breed happy dogs!
IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN A KENSINGTON TT?
WB and Annabel in Colorado, 1 December 2017.
Please know that even though I’m quite happy flying around the world chasing dogs, when it comes to my puppies? I will never allow any of my young puppies to fly unaccompanied to their new forever homes. I see no reason to subject an impressionable, sensitive and clean slate to such an experience. Rather (and since there are more direct flights into Logan Airport than there are into Burlington, VT), we are happy to meet our peeps at Boston’s Logan Airport, if you are flying in from far away. I can always be available to fly, too, with some advance planning and have personally delivered puppies to California and Colorado.
Driving from Stowe, VT to Boston, MA is part of the car training we normally do with every litter. And driving to Logan to meet peeps at the Logan Hilton can always be combined with a social visit to our Boston area friends, which is important for my mental health – or combined with a play date in Hamilton, Massachusetts with our good friends Carroll, Bobby, Sage and Ava de Bordeaux. We were happy to meet two of our 2018 forever families at the Logan Hilton on November 30 for the puppies to zip home faster than a seven hour car ride would have been. If you live far away from us, please reach out to ask about how we ensure a happy plane ride for our puppies.
Visits to my home in Stowe, Vermont and applications are required, if you decide that you want to be considered for a Kensington Tibetan Terrier. We can use zoom.us, if you’re outside of the country or traveling from points very far away. You are welcome to reach out and request that an application be sent to you by return email. The answers to our questions will help me best pair potential puppies with their future home lifestyles, as I study the puppies very carefully in every litter.
Preparing fresh duck eggs on the Lacanche for brunch with Lizzie. November 2017.
Every breeder does things a little differently and I am certainly different. We are extremely food and research oriented and feed Royal Canin kibbles, puppy mousse and vegetable, salmon and AGA dried meat treats to our resident and boarding Kensington TTs. My Tibetans live in a wing of my house with a second full kitchen, the living room, office, whelping room & bathroom and get daily walks, big play in the outdoor fenced in areas and twice daily group sit treats in my kitchen. I am committed to collaboration with other breeders whose breeding programs I admire and respect. I sincerely believe that we can help each other be the best we can be by sharing ideas, experience and friendship. There are four other TT breeders, one Sheltie and one Belgian Sheepdog breeder with whom I converse regularly. Whether it is to discuss ultrasound results, placement of retiring adults, potential breedings or to talk each other through puppy evaluation challenges? I believe that sharing experiences is the way to make it a better world, both in professional and in personal life.
Three puppies from two different litters meeting their forever peeps. Lexington, MA. 30 Nov 2018.
Please know that it is my preference to breed and raise TT puppies for families already ‘in the breed’ and that we don’t normally place puppies in homes that haven’t ever raised a dog. I’ve been frustrated, as I can’t breed as many puppies as my peeps seek. But it keeps me humble, knowing that Mother Nature has the upper hand. I am reminded every day to keep my focus and remain objective with my thoughts and decision making. I spend a lot of time thinking and considering various plans for the next 12 to 24 months. That way, when things change, I am often already mentally prepared. And while that might sound like the distant future? I am told that in the Japanese culture, five year personal plans are the norm. The joy my puppies bring into their new forever families is what empowers me to hang tough through the challenging times.
Old blue eyes. ;>) My wonderful friend Nina Wagner with one of her ‘bred bys’.
SOME KENSINGTON HISTORY:
Since 1992 I’ve been ‘in the breed’, when my first two Tibetan Terrier puppies from Nina Wagner (of Shalimar) came into my life. ’27’ years later? We are a small breeding program located in Stowe, Vermont; USA. Here, the air is clean and the mountains are beautiful. In 2006, the foundation pair (stud and brood bitch) of my breeding program was also chosen from Shalimar lines. Wendell Sammett showed my first Tibetan in 1992. James and Izzie were finished by Mark and Pam Desrosiers to their Championship titles in 2007. I bred those Champions in January 2009 and raised my first litter in March 2009. Now, four generations of breeding later? I share my home with five female TTs. We have Ziva, my AKC Grand Champion female; Billie, my AKC Bronze Grand Champion; CH Kensington’s Nouvelle Mlle. Koko; GRCH Kensington’s Pic, Pic, Piccolo (born August 24, 2017) and our newest vixen: Kensington’s U.R. Toute de Suite, born 6 March 2019.
Mark Desrosiers with GRCH Ziva, Best of Breed win, her most prestigious Breed win at the Non Sporting Group Club of New Jersey in 2015.
GRCH Kensington’s Pic, Pic, Piccolo! is a 4th generation Kensington pistol with attitude, substance and a very sweet engaging disposition. As I strive to keep only those animals ‘better than my best bred to date’, it becomes harder to make my pick, as the puppies become more and more consistent. Besides Piccolo’s beautiful structure, what caught my eye about this particular puppy was her keen visual attention. She fixes on her human and looks for direction, a PERFECT attribute for competition, whether in Conformation or Agility. Questa demonstrates this, too, and he is a pleasure to work with, BECAUSE of this behavior.
RESPONSIBLE BREEDING PRACTICES:
Ziva’s last litter was a repeat breeding with Yogi (Kensington’s Sweet Baby James). I had hoped for more puppies, so that I might keep a second female out of this breeding. Instead? We got three puppies and they’ve all moved into their forever homes.
The lovely Lady Piccolo and her seven babies. Day One: 15 November 2019.
I am pleased that I kept GRCH Kensington’s Pic, Pic, Piccolo! out of the previous Yogi x Ziva breeding, as she is lovely and very much like her mother Ziva: sweet, square, profuse coat and a very pretty mover. One of our former handlers Mark Desrosiers loved Ziva and called her ‘very typey’. Ziva had her annual CERF eye exam in March 2019 and passed with flying colors. “Beautiful retinas and optic nerves!”, to quote Dr. Sarah Hoy at PEAK. Annual eye exams are required of all breeding stock, as part of a responsible breeding program. And we have three genetic tests for eye abnormalities in our breed that are done on every potential participant in our Kensington breeding program (PLL, PRA3 and RCD4), whether the animal is ‘Clear by Parentage’ or not. We assume nothing and test everyone. The AHT four way combo test out of Great Britain costs less than $100, is easy to do and gives unequivocal genetic test results.
Yogi and his daughter, Miss Paige, born March 2019.
All five of our stud dogs have DNA profiles on record with the AKC (as do two of the mums) and Beckham, Charlie, Questa and Yogi are all clear of everything genetically problematic for which we have tests in our breed (NCL/CCL, PLL, PRA3 and RCD4). Sometimes things go as planned and other times? We remain flexible and try to think clearly.
Young Billie flirting with Oskar. 2015
Oskar is our fifth stud dog and the ‘old man’ in the quintet. He is a red brindle boy who has been in my breeding program since 2010. Oskar has been active annually and has sired litters for Shalimar, Kensington and Maureen Dwyer’s Yonpo Tibetan Terriers. He is grandfather to Ziva & Billie and is our only guaranteed boy to produce red brindle puppies. In April 2018 and January 2019, he was collected, evaluated and his semen was frozen for future use. Oskar’s collections have been consistently terrific, with 800+/- million sperm collected, very high motility and low abnormalities every time. Oskar gets collected by Dr. William Truesdale down in Seekonk, MA at the Central Avenue Animal Hospital. Doc’s a breeder/vet and I’ve had the privilege of working with him since 2010. His Boxers and Affenpinschers have both won the breed at Westminster several times. In fact, his Affenpinscher Banana Joe won BIS at Westminster in 2013. Doc and his wife owned Banana Joe at the time – I think they still do. Not my preferred breeds – but that doesn’t matter. ;>) Oskar’s collections were terrific and we now have eight breedings’ worth of sperm frozen and stored for the future.
Oskar x Billie’s litter of three. Shot by Kate Carter. November 2018.
While I firmly believe that I want only the strongest puppies to survive in a litter, sometimes a puppy needs a little extra help and supplemental feeding can give the nutrition necessary to maintain metabolic function and the additional energy necessary for growth. Sometimes the puppies work so hard to get on the nipple that they burn more energy than they’re able to take in from the mother’s milk. And sometimes, the smallest puppy gets muscled out of the way in a larger litter. So, it’s my and our job to watch like hawks, weigh several times each day and advocate for any puppy who might need extra time on the teet. Supplemental feeding helps to compensate and delivers the extra calories for a little guy to thrive. We do use tube feeding (and the Miracle Nipple), when necessary, but use no other extreme methods and prefer to give a puppy back to Mother Nature if he or she isn’t thriving within 48 hours. Otherwise, how could I stand behind the health of that puppy 110%? I look for gusto, vigor and food drive in newly born puppies. Any day of the week, these qualities outweigh coat pattern and color. And this is as it should be.
We always try to have an older puppy in residence to help socialize our young puppies. For our 2024-born litters? We will have Roxy in residence. It’s an important part of our socialization, as the females we keep for study often become brood bitches sometime around two years of age. Additionally, our young puppies get solo socialization in the kitchen and once they are old enough? Part of our routine includes scampering from the kitchen down to the AGA room with the adult dogs, one puppy at a time. After all, I try my best to maintain control – ha!
Know that we require that our future forever homes have previous dog training experience, regardless of breed. Tibetan Terriers are not the breed to ‘cut your teeth on’. They are a sensitive, intelligent, intuitive and athletic breed, with powers of discernment that can be challenging, if you have minimal prior dog training experience. I often describe TT puppies as ‘six year olds, in the making’. If you’ve raised any children? You’ll know exactly what I mean. As importantly? I only raise three or four litters in a year and so, I am committed to finding the most appropriate forever homes for them. My preference is to breed puppies for families who are already ‘in the breed’. Part of the reason I enjoy this so much is to breed and raise TTs for humans who have lost a dearly loved TT and to provide them with new joy and happiness.
PUPPY PROTOCOL:
Our forever families usually have to wait some months for a Kensington Tibetan Terrier, as we are a small breeding program. Our normal protocol includes progesterone testing to time the breedings, ultrasounds and XRAYs to confirm pregnancy and count skeletons, front and rear dew claw removal, thorough ‘Day Two’ and 8/9 week vet wellness exams; first course of DHPP shots; pre and post whelping deworming with Panacure; a ten day course of Albon for coccidia; wormings with Nemex II at 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 and (sometimes) 10 weeks; car training, crate training and lots of interaction with a variety of humans and older Tibetan Terriers. All adults and older puppies are on Interceptor and so, the possibility of heartworm in ANY of our animals, pups or adults, has been eliminated.
KENSINGTON SHOW NEWS:
For those of you more interested in the show scene than puppies, here is a photo of Questa with me and his gold rosette from the 2019 Westminster show (CH Kensington’s Questa o Quella?). Gordon photoshopped this for me, the day of his win. Questa is out on the circuit in limited showing with Rebecca Bradley. Using a professional handler is expensive and the budget is tight. Generally speaking? The monies from puppy revenues less breeding/vet/daily care expenses get put back into the breeding program’s show expenses. We have been running at a loss, since the beginning – but this year? I am really, really hoping to break even.
We’ve bred many more than ten Champions in five generations of breeding, plus six Grands (Oliver, Ziva, Billie, Piccolo, Questa and Sienna), two Bronzes (our Billie and her son, Questa) and one Silver (Questa). Additionally, we’ve earned another four Champion titles on our Shalimar foundation pair (Izzie and James), Oskar and Georgie Girl. Piccolo (Kensington’s Pic, Pic, Piccolo!) is our eighth bred-by Champion and Questa (Kensington’s Questa o Quella?) is our ninth Champion and newest stud dog.
People have been encouraging me to show my own Bred-Bys in the ring, but I have never felt comfortable in the ring. I was out four times with Coppi and we DID earn one point. I’ll never forget one particular judge. He said, “You have a beautiful bitch. However, you need some work.” In July 2018, I tried again with Questa in the 4-6 month Puppy Class in Tunbridge, VT. Rebecca Bradley was my coach and Questa was very naughty in the ring. I hope to try again with Campari, a Yogi x Billie puppy, this coming fall 2019 in Springfield. However, it truly is my preference to focus on the science, socialization and animal husbandry of my breeding program, while entrusting my bred-bys to Rebecca and Cathy to show them in the ring and earn their titles.
I didn’t grow up ‘in dogs’. I grew up with European parents and spoke three languages, by the time I was eight. However, we have turned my basement into a show ring with three walls of mirrors and I practice with the new puppies. I hadn’t realized that my basement offered so much value! Rebecca Bradley will continue handling my Tibetans professionally and I will introduce the young dogs to being handled on the table and led out, back and around our mirrored basement ring. Becky was Mark Desrosiers’ right hand gal and has proven herself to be a fine handler, in her own right. I am very happy to have Becky handling my bred bys and I will continue practicing at home, to get the puppies ready for her professional hands.
I am committed to AKC Championship titles as an important part of validating an animal for my (or any) breeding program. The American Kennel Club is the governing body over canines, if you will, and their stamp of approval is an important one to me. I believe that every responsible breeder should put their animals out for scrutiny and evaluation by AKC Non Sporting Group judges, without cherry picking the judges – and, yes, I know that provisional judges don’t necessarily award the ‘right’ or ‘best’ dog in the ring. Judging is subjective – that’s just the way it goes. Win some? Lose some. I am extremely proud to be breeding four beautiful AKC Championship Kensington-bred females: our regal GRCH Piccolo, the lovely CH Yvette, CH Lillibet and GRCH Sienna. They are all terrific examples of the breed, with temperaments that are sweet, predictable and engaging.
As you navigate your way among the Tibetan Terrier breeders out there, note the dates on which the sire and dam have last competed. If only the foundation animals competed and that was twenty years ago? That just doesn’t cut it, in my book.
Wins like ‘Best of Breed’, ‘Best of Winners’ or ‘Best of Opposite Sex’ are commonplace, as an animal earns its points and Majors on the way toward the Championship title. They are what you win, in order to earn points toward the title. Cute photos of puppies shouldn’t be the only thing on a breeder’s web site. You should look to see a blend of science, AKC experience, passion and financial stability on the breeder’s web site. And if you can’t find a breeder? Go to the akc.org web site and study the Breeder Referral list for your and surrounding states.
WHY WE REQUIRE VISITS:
Tibetan Terriers are brave, athletic, sweet, precocious and engaging. Here at Kensington, we breed for brains, as well as beauty. Temperament is number one – health is of utmost importance, as is conformation to the breed standard – and we work hard and smart to help our bred-bys develop into emotionally secure, inquisitive and respectful Tibetan Terriers. We do not use any overhead stimulation, as our experience has been that this leads to jumping and hind leg postures. Jumping is a hard habit to break and skeletons & joints take two full years to develop – so, upright postures are not something that I encourage in young puppies. I do not let my puppies tackle stairs, until they are at least six months of age. It’s not the ‘up’ that is the potential problem. It is the ‘down’ and the potential tumble that can injure ligaments, tendons or juvenile skeletons.
Tibetans are athletic, can be willful and might not be the breed for you, which is why I don’t offer any of my animals to first time doggie homes. They can be too much for a first time dog owner, because they are a very intelligent breed and can sometimes be a little too smart. Tibetans excel in situations where they’ve been taught their boundaries and have humans in residence who enjoy their precocious eccentricities. Management through distraction is necessary with younger puppies and positive corrections are mandatory. Negative corrections can totally undermine a Tibetan’s mindset. And teething can sometimes be challenging, as they are a sensitive breed and the constant ache can affect their behavior.
If, however, you have experience with dogs and you’re interested in one of our puppies, please know that we require at least one visit to Stowe from every serious potential forever family, in order for you to meet the pack and for us to meet you. We feel it creates tremendous value and we want to know that we’ve found the most terrific forever homes for our kids. If you live too far away to make the trip? Perhaps we can refer you to a breeder closer to you with a breeding program we respect and also admire. Or, perhaps we can SKYPE. One step at a time. Our breedings are limited and carefully thought through, every time.
WHAT WE LOOK FOR:
If you’re thinking about bringing a Tibetan Terrier into your own home life, you are welcome to call with any questions you might have. Please know that we receive many more inquiries than we have available puppies. With this in mind, we now prefer to place our puppies in forever homes who have prior experience living with a Tibetan Terrier OR who have lived with a beloved dog through the elder years and experienced the heartbreak of losing a dog to death. We do not offer our puppies to families seeking a ‘first dog’.
WHAT WE OFFER:
Here at Kensington, our commitment is to breeding friendly, smart, healthy Tibetan Terriers of handsome conformation & balanced movement within the breed standard, with friendly disposition & enthusiastic spirit. We use progesterone testing to time our breedings, genetic testing to manage our blood lines and breed our own AKC Champions selectively, always keeping the 14” – 17” breed standard in mind. While our personal preference is for smaller TTs, every litter offers a range of sizes and it really doesn’t matter too much, as adult weights tend to range between 20 and 30 pounds. A Tibetan Terrier of this size is easily managed, whether raised in an apartment with daily walks or in a house with a fenced yard.
It is our commitment to protect the breed standard, using modern science and the best subjective analysis possible. We genetically test the animals in our breeding program for Neuronal Ceroid Lipofucinosis (NCL/CCL), PLL, Canine Renal Dysplasia (although this Canadian genetic test has been challenged as flawed and is not a breed-specific test) and Progressive Retinal Atrophy RCD3 and PRA4. The lack of these genetic mutations can be described as ‘Clear by Parentage’ in progeny where both sire and dam tested ‘normal’ and ‘clear’ of the mutant gene. ‘Clear by Parentage’ is a terrific thing – but I do not rely on the assumption and I DO test every animal with the 4 way combo AHT English genetic test, before bringing them into my breeding program.
It is also important to me to repeat breedings, so as to fully understand what the genetic combinations of sire and dam produce. I am in no hurry and am working toward consistency in my breeding program. So, of course, I must clearly understand the variety that a genetic combination will produce, before breeding for a new member of my home pack and breeding program. Living with more than four dogs becomes stressful for me and so, I like to keep my home pack size small. I couldn’t do what I do, the way that I do it, with more than four or five girls in residence at a time. And I’m extremely fortunate to have my five AKC registered stud dogs living with other forever homes within easy driving distance.
I am grateful for the privilege of being able to focus on my passion for my dogs, now that I’ve reached my ‘golden years’. This is my life and also made possible by my doggie au pairs. The TTs are my companions and I try very hard to give them what they need and want, without sacrificing myself.
We sincerely believe that a Kensington Tibetan will be one of the healthiest and best socialized TTs you’ll find available to you here in the States. The care and special attention we pay to nutrition, socialization and cleanliness set us apart from many other breeders. We like to keep our puppies until sometime between their ninth and tenth weeks of life, as the last week or two spent with the older animals truly helps them develop good manners. We live in the heart of the Green Mountains and enjoy terrific terrain and winter views. In the warmer months, we do water training. Regardless of season, our puppies will have had solo experience in a variety of crates and different rooms of the house, before they leave. We also do car training, in an effort to develop secure, confident and inquisitive animals who love going for rides. Our forever families will happily reference us and we welcome your inquiries. Know that it isn’t all a bed of roses, though. There are days when I question my sanity and go running for Bach’s Flower Remedies. And if that doesn’t work? I head to the cellar for the Pinots or an Italian red. ;>)
Puppies will next be available in 2020.
While we strive to breed puppies for the most wonderful pet homes we can find, we also remain interested in hearing from people interested in participating peripherally in my breeding program. If you have thoughts about such things, please share your thoughts and personal histories, when you return your application.
The KENSINGTON Community:
Enjoy your visit to our site. We welcome hearing from new friends and look forward to the opportunity to answer any questions you might have about the breed or our Tibetan Terriers. Those answers are often published as blog entries under the ‘NEWS’ tab on the far right up above. You may sign up to receive future postings under the NEWS tab, at the top of that page. If you’re interested in one of our puppies, please DO sign up, as that is where I will post the updates on breedings, whelpings and other things we learn or experience. There is an application you’ll need to fill out that I can email to you, before we can take your interest in a Kensington Tibetan Terrier forward. Remember, they are NOT terriers and we raise them lovingly in my Vermont home, as though they were our children. There is also an active community of Kensington fans and forever families on Facebook. You are welcome to search for us there, too. FB is a great place to seek out other forever families with Kensington puppies. Doggies love play dates, especially with other Tibetans!
In the meantime, my name is Wendyll Behrend and you may ring me on my cell, should you have questions and a situation you’d like to address now. Try me at: 781.254.9941 If I don’t have a puppy for you and you’d like a referral to another breeder; just call and maybe we can find a new companion for you. I have successfully helped to re-home adults from other breeders, whose breeding programs and honesty I respect.
Thank you very much for your interest in my Tibetan Terriers.
Woof. ;>)
RESCUE NEWS:
Camille Manfredonia is our national club rescue coordinator. If you can open your heart and help our TTCA rescue and placement efforts? These hairy little friends would be grateful. Please consider reaching out through the web and submitting an application to our national rescue organization.
http://www.ttca-online.org/html/rescue.html
