What is a Kromfohrlander?
The Kromfohrlander was bred to be purely a companion. They enjoy doing what you want to do with them and prefer their owners above all others. Even though there have been the occasional super-friendly Kromi that likes almost anyone, they are typically wary of strangers. Even though they are not terriers and the phrase 'little to no hunting instinct' is used to describe them, most should be watched carefully around small critters.
They are a quirky, sweet, emotionally sensitive and loyal friend and they bring fun, love and laughter to their family. No two are exactly alike, which makes placement of Kromis a sometimes difficult task.
Shown here, DJK Birkenstrand Oatmeal Reissari (Remu). He was born and raised here and exported to Finland in August, 2019.
The Kromfohrlander was bred to be purely a companion. They enjoy doing what you want to do with them and prefer their owners above all others. Even though there have been the occasional super-friendly Kromi that likes almost anyone, they are typically wary of strangers. Even though they are not terriers and the phrase 'little to no hunting instinct' is used to describe them, most should be watched carefully around small critters.
They are a quirky, sweet, emotionally sensitive and loyal friend and they bring fun, love and laughter to their family. No two are exactly alike, which makes placement of Kromis a sometimes difficult task.
Shown here, DJK Birkenstrand Oatmeal Reissari (Remu). He was born and raised here and exported to Finland in August, 2019.
The Birkenstrand Story
I was made aware of the Kromfohrlander in 2009 by a Podengo Pequeno-owning friend who had lived in Luxembourg and seen them at shows. I had been looking for another fun breed that was not founded in America after I'd introduced and founded the Podengo Medio here. It took until late 2012 for this to happen, despite having earned a long resumé of respected European dog show judges, breed club members and Presidents of some countries' own kennel clubs.
I discovered and befriended the first Kromfohrlander owner in America, Eugene Cummings (from Chicago, Illinois) in early 2013. He was a close friend of Heinrich Schleifenbaum, son of breed creator and founder, Ilse Schleifenbaum.
According to an interview Heinrich gave on German TV recently, his mother had artistic (musicianship) talents, something I share with her. She also had some physical issues and I do, too. Our age was very similar when we got started with Kromis. I visited with Eugene many times over the years. He had some good stories!
The Kromfohrlander had not established since its first introduction here in 1995 simply because they were imported by pet owners who were uninterested in doing that. Along the way, unethical people got them thinking they could just breed them to make money (good thing it isn't easy to breed Kromfohrlanders- many things can and do go wrong along the way, even for good breeders).
As the founder (who stuck with the challenges) of establishing Kromfohrlanders in America, I have a very strong commitment to protecting the Kromfohrlander breed. Breeding Kromis is different and certainly not for everyone. It requires a lot of tender love and care to breed Kromis, unlike so many other kinds of dogs and animals that actually follow Mother Nature's directions and no matter how you try to get it done.
Artificial insemination is an option but is not 100% reliable, so natural breeding is best and preferred. The love comes through a natural breeding ("wedding") of kromfohrlanders. As in Germany, I do not breed females older than about 6 years of age. My retirees are are spayed (and happy) and I would never keep them in a kennel situation. That is unreasonable treatment to a sweet and sensitive breed such as the Kromfohrlander.
I offer an unusually generous health warrantee for the first 2 years (with option to return, replace or help with vet bills in the case of undetected health issues that can be ameliorated with vet care). I have an excellent reputation of being a high quality breeder and puppy raiser (starting in 2000 with Border Terriers- raising mine and other breeder's). Before that, I founded The Australian Cattle Dog Rescue of Michigan in 1990 and retrained, rehabbed and re-homed hundreds of troubled, adolescent ACDs (one of the toughest breeds; from animal shelters only) for nearly 15 years.
Both Steve and I are colorful, creative, personality-filled working artists, with a love of cartoons, the Great Lakes, history, comedy and great music. All of this has created a fun environment for our puppies.
The Kromi will be a rare and relatively unique breed for a long, long time to come and the breed isn't for everyone. I take back my pups at any age at any time in their lives. Behavior problems, life trajectories or priorities changing, you name it. Bring them back to me anytime. (note: I have accepted 7 Kromis back, all during the stressful first 3 years of the pandemic (between February 2020 and March 2023).
My goal is to breed pups that can be excellent family members and companions, (which is the reason the Kromfohrlander was developed) and to be an honest friend to my puppy owners. My puppy owners' goal should be to keep in touch when the inevitable bumps in the road happen.
My puppies are well socialized with countless stimuli. I do not believe in using one size fits all, for-sale puppy socializing programs because I creatively do my own instinctual exploration and development for the real world. They turn into happy, active and adaptable dogs, full of personality and a sense of humor that are just as willing to do 10 minutes of ball fetch as they are an agility course. Kromfohrlanders want to be with their owners, so whatever you like to do, they will enjoy doing that with you. After some good exercise, they are happy to just hang out with you. They are not into big groups of dogs because they want to be your special star and not share you too much! I consider my puppies my family, for always.
I was made aware of the Kromfohrlander in 2009 by a Podengo Pequeno-owning friend who had lived in Luxembourg and seen them at shows. I had been looking for another fun breed that was not founded in America after I'd introduced and founded the Podengo Medio here. It took until late 2012 for this to happen, despite having earned a long resumé of respected European dog show judges, breed club members and Presidents of some countries' own kennel clubs.
I discovered and befriended the first Kromfohrlander owner in America, Eugene Cummings (from Chicago, Illinois) in early 2013. He was a close friend of Heinrich Schleifenbaum, son of breed creator and founder, Ilse Schleifenbaum.
According to an interview Heinrich gave on German TV recently, his mother had artistic (musicianship) talents, something I share with her. She also had some physical issues and I do, too. Our age was very similar when we got started with Kromis. I visited with Eugene many times over the years. He had some good stories!
The Kromfohrlander had not established since its first introduction here in 1995 simply because they were imported by pet owners who were uninterested in doing that. Along the way, unethical people got them thinking they could just breed them to make money (good thing it isn't easy to breed Kromfohrlanders- many things can and do go wrong along the way, even for good breeders).
As the founder (who stuck with the challenges) of establishing Kromfohrlanders in America, I have a very strong commitment to protecting the Kromfohrlander breed. Breeding Kromis is different and certainly not for everyone. It requires a lot of tender love and care to breed Kromis, unlike so many other kinds of dogs and animals that actually follow Mother Nature's directions and no matter how you try to get it done.
Artificial insemination is an option but is not 100% reliable, so natural breeding is best and preferred. The love comes through a natural breeding ("wedding") of kromfohrlanders. As in Germany, I do not breed females older than about 6 years of age. My retirees are are spayed (and happy) and I would never keep them in a kennel situation. That is unreasonable treatment to a sweet and sensitive breed such as the Kromfohrlander.
I offer an unusually generous health warrantee for the first 2 years (with option to return, replace or help with vet bills in the case of undetected health issues that can be ameliorated with vet care). I have an excellent reputation of being a high quality breeder and puppy raiser (starting in 2000 with Border Terriers- raising mine and other breeder's). Before that, I founded The Australian Cattle Dog Rescue of Michigan in 1990 and retrained, rehabbed and re-homed hundreds of troubled, adolescent ACDs (one of the toughest breeds; from animal shelters only) for nearly 15 years.
Both Steve and I are colorful, creative, personality-filled working artists, with a love of cartoons, the Great Lakes, history, comedy and great music. All of this has created a fun environment for our puppies.
The Kromi will be a rare and relatively unique breed for a long, long time to come and the breed isn't for everyone. I take back my pups at any age at any time in their lives. Behavior problems, life trajectories or priorities changing, you name it. Bring them back to me anytime. (note: I have accepted 7 Kromis back, all during the stressful first 3 years of the pandemic (between February 2020 and March 2023).
My goal is to breed pups that can be excellent family members and companions, (which is the reason the Kromfohrlander was developed) and to be an honest friend to my puppy owners. My puppy owners' goal should be to keep in touch when the inevitable bumps in the road happen.
My puppies are well socialized with countless stimuli. I do not believe in using one size fits all, for-sale puppy socializing programs because I creatively do my own instinctual exploration and development for the real world. They turn into happy, active and adaptable dogs, full of personality and a sense of humor that are just as willing to do 10 minutes of ball fetch as they are an agility course. Kromfohrlanders want to be with their owners, so whatever you like to do, they will enjoy doing that with you. After some good exercise, they are happy to just hang out with you. They are not into big groups of dogs because they want to be your special star and not share you too much! I consider my puppies my family, for always.
Kromis at Dog Shows
Our Kromfohrlanders were the first in the US to show at International All Breed Canine Association (IABCA), United Kennel Club (UKC) and American Kennel Club (AKC) shows. We were also first to ever show a Kromi in Canada (at Rare Breed Club of Southwest Ontario shows). The first Kromi listed in American Kennel Club's Foundation Stock Service was our first dog, imported from Denmark (Hoolahop's Felix). We have done countless AKC "Meet the Breed" events and pet expos and our dogs were first to do NADD dock diving (male and female). Shown here, Hoolahop's Rubina (Biju), first US agility female. We imported her from Denmark in November, 2014. She lives in Florida.
Birkenstrand dogs have CM in AKC/FSS, CH in UKC. We bred the first American born Kromfohrlander to CH in FCI (Europe) and this very special title and ribbon is framed and hangs in my home office.
Our Kromfohrlanders were the first in the US to show at International All Breed Canine Association (IABCA), United Kennel Club (UKC) and American Kennel Club (AKC) shows. We were also first to ever show a Kromi in Canada (at Rare Breed Club of Southwest Ontario shows). The first Kromi listed in American Kennel Club's Foundation Stock Service was our first dog, imported from Denmark (Hoolahop's Felix). We have done countless AKC "Meet the Breed" events and pet expos and our dogs were first to do NADD dock diving (male and female). Shown here, Hoolahop's Rubina (Biju), first US agility female. We imported her from Denmark in November, 2014. She lives in Florida.
Birkenstrand dogs have CM in AKC/FSS, CH in UKC. We bred the first American born Kromfohrlander to CH in FCI (Europe) and this very special title and ribbon is framed and hangs in my home office.
|
Fun Facts about Kromi "Weddings"
Kromis are quite particular about choosing a mate. They often have their own ideas about breedings we have carefully planned for them and require a 'dating' period that only they can determine. Natural breeding produces the best results, so is it is worth the extra effort to work with the quirky Kromi Way. With some patience (and a sense of humor), it can be done! Shown here, our Krumme Furche Pikkupilvi (Pilvi). We imported her from Finland in May, 2019 and Birkenstrand's Reindeer Circle (Duke, born here in February, 2020) |
