More About Duke

Duke joined our family in September of 2005 at 8 weeks old. He is from Reinherz Kennels and is out of their Glacier Litter. Although he is now four years old, most people don't believe me when I tell them his age, thinking he is much younger. He is full of life and personality and does everything, and I mean everything with enthusiasm. Duke loves going anywhere and being out and about enjoying life. Duke also has a huge personality and loves to be the center of attention - must be why he loves competing in the various rings so often. He gets so excited to see and meet other dogs and always wants to PLAY!

We started puppy kindergarten with Duke (as soon as he had all of his puppy shots) with JoAnne at JPS Dog Training. I don't think anyone can emphasize enough how important socialization is at a young age for Swissies and we knew we needed to, and wanted to, take him to classes as early as possible. We loved JoAnne and wanted to keep Duke well socialized so when puppy class was over we entered him in the next level, basic obedience, and everything just blossomed from there! We never had any intention of showing Duke in Obedience, but I'm so glad that we found JoAnne and became involved in the sport. I think that competing in Obedience together really made Duke and myself become a great team and brought us to the strong relationship that we have today. Plus, Duke loves working, it's in his genes!

While we never intended on competing in Obedience, from the start we planned on showing Duke in the Conformation ring. He is our first 'show' dog ever and the fact that we were able to finish all owner handled just put the icing on the cake. Duke's vibrant personality shows through in the ring as well as his gorgeous headpiece, strong neck/shoulders, and his great topline. We've had numerous judges comment on what a great specimen of the breed Duke is.

Duke also has a blast participating in working events. He currently has three 10X, one 15X, and one 20X weight pull legs and we're looking forward to some upcoming pulls - we'll keep you updated. When we moved to Austin, Duke began carting work with the help of Ron and Pam Capelli. We are really enjoying drafting and Greg even made Duke his own fancy cart. Our hope is to begin working towards Dukes Draft Dog (DD) title in 2010. Duke also has a backpack that is going to start getting a little more weight added to it as we're gearing up for some winter pack hikes here soon.