Kanzu turned 7 years old in July 2013 making him eligible to show as a veteran at dog shows that have the class available. In January 2014 Kanzu showed at the Rose City Cluster in Portland Oregon at a Rhodesian Ridgeback Club of the US (RRCUS) supported entry. He was shown by Julie Eschilling who just 2 years earlier had chosen Kanzu to breed to her girl Kayta. Julie is now the owner/co-owner of several Kanzu x Kayta puppies and it was a special event to have her and Kanzu show together in the ring at the same show with 5 of Kanzu x Kayta puppies in the ring on the same day. With quite steep competition Judge John Bradfeldt awarded Kanzu Best in Veteran Sweepstakes making for a very special win.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The 2014 Rose City Cluster of dog shows in Portland Oregon was the opportunity for several of the Kanzu x Kayta litter to come together for the first Dragon Litter Family Reunion.  Five of the Kanzu x Kayta offspring showed in the 4 days of conformation shows.  On Thursday Jan 16th Logan, Bakari’s Logan Msaka was first in the Open Class.  On Friday Jan 17 Pilot, Bakari’s Lucky Dragon Flight was 1st in a large Bred By Exhibitor Class and Reserve Winners Dog.  On Saturday the 18th, Kanzu won Best Veteran in Sweepstakes and daughter Kaia, Bakari’s Fabled Treasure Kaia was Select Bitch.  Finally on Sunday, Pilot again won the Bred By Exhibitor class and Kaia earned her Grand Championship with a best of Opposite Sex.  Kara, Bakari’s Firestar Karisma and Kuyu, Bakari Tigris African Legacy both did some lovely showing and made us all proud.  After the formal showing there was time for some family photos.  It was a very, very special opportunity to see Kanzu and Kayta’s get all together and to renew K-9 and human connections.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The 2012 Top Performers issue of The Ridgeback Magazine includes a beautiful 3 page article on Kanzu and his history- making Grand Champion-Triple Championships. The issue also contains an ad honoring Kanzu’s accomplishments including his three 2011 top 10 rankings in; RRCUS agility, AKC agility and LGRA (Straight Racing).

 
Click Here for the story
 
Click Here for the full ad
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Spring Issue of The Ridgeback Register (April 2012) prominently features Kanzu on the cover as “America’s first and only Grand Champion Triple Champion Rhodesian Ridgeback. The Ridgeback Register is known primarily for promoting show dogs and this issue marks the first time the magazine editors have chosen to feature a performance dog on the cover. The issue includes a two page article by Theresa Lyons, the publisher of the magazine entitled “Shaking up the Stereotype”. Theresa chronicles Kanzu’s career and concludes that “Kanzu proves that form really does follow function”.
 
Shaking Up The Stereotype
Ridgeback Register Spring Issue, April 2012
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

January 2012 was a very special month for Kanzu. He earned his Grand Championship on January 15 and just 2 weeks later on January 27 he finished up his Master Agility Championship (MACH). With these new titles he has earned a place in history by becoming the first RR and the first dog in the 27 breeds of the Hound Group to become a Grand Champion-Triple Champion (GCH-TC).

These two small sets of initials are made up of a large number of accomplishments and represent the culmination of several years of hard work. The GCH is a conformation title and means that Kanzu had to first earn his conformation championship and then grand championship. The TC denotes that he has three championships, in his case: Conformation, Lure Coursing and Agility.

Until now, there has been only one Rhodesian Ridgeback with a Triple Championship. Kanzu now joins his Aunt Laea (A Kobe daughter pictured below with Kanzu) keeping it all in the family and becoming the first male TC Ridgeback. With the addition of his Grand Championship he has become not only the first and only RR to hold the title of GCH-TC but also the first and only dog in the entire hound group (27 breeds) to have earned this title.

Of course, Kanzu did not achieve any of these accomplishments alone. He was handled in conformation to his championship by his breeder/co-owner Mike Patterson and to his grand Championship again by Mike and also by Curtis Freeling. In lure coursing he was handled by his mom and very special friend, Justin Dannenbring. His MACH was completed with Vicki LePenske and Tracy Tennison. Along the way Kanzu had many supporters and boosters who encouraged and helped in a variety of ways to make this amazing series of titles possible. Special thanks to them all!

CLick Here for the story of Kanzu’s Champion Title
CLick Here for the story of Kanzu’s Field Champion Title
CLick Here for the story of Kanzu’s Grand Champion Title
CLick Here for the story of Kanzu’s MACH Title
 
 
 
 
The following photos show the Steps to Kanzu’s GCH TC title: Champion, Field Champion, Grand Champion and Master Agility Champion

 
 
 

After earning his AKC championship in January 2009 Kanzu took a break from the conformation ring to concentrate on performance championships in lure coursing and agility.

In May 2010 the AKC initiated the new Grand Champion title (GCH). Shortly after the new program began, Kanzu returned to the conformation ring with a goal of earning his GCH. During a trip to Alaska and his first weekend of showing, handled by his friend Curtis Freeling, he took Best of Breed (BOB) and a 3 point major one day and Best Opposite Sex (BOS) two days. With this first weekend back in the ring he earned 1 of 3 majors and 9 of the 25 points needed for his GCH. In his second weekend of showing during a trip to Montana showing again with Curtis, Kanzu took BOB earning his second major and select dog the following two days bringing his total GCH points to 15 of the 25 points needed.

In 2012 Kanzu earned his GCH in back-to-back majors handled by his breeder and co-owner Mike Patterson. At the Sammamish Kennel Club show in Puyallup Washington on Saturday January 14, Kanzu won BOS and a 5 point major. On Sunday January 15, at the Puyallup Valley Dog Fanciers Show under Judge Sharon Sakson, he won BOB and another 5 point major finishing up the points and necessary majors for his GCH.

The win on Sunday under Judge Sakson was made even more special as it was preceded by Grandpa Kobe son Maxx (Van D Piers Simply To The Maxx CD RA NAJ) taking Winners Dog and his second major, also handled by Mike. It was a very special day for Tigris Rhodesian Ridgebacks http://www.tigrisridgebacks.com/home.cfm with Winners Dog being a Kobe son, BOB a Kobe grandson and BOS was a Kobe daughter.

For more about Kobe Click here

After earning his AKC championship in January, 2009 Kanzu took a break from the conformation ring to concentrate on lure coursing, rally obedience and agility. In May 2010 the AKC initiated the new Grand Champion title http://www.akc.org/news/index.cfm?article_id=4096
Three months later, Kanzu returned to the conformation ring with a goal of earning his Grand Champion title. During his first weekend of showing with his handler Curtis Freeling he took BOB and a 3 point major one day and BOS two days. With this first weekend back in the ring he earned 1 of 3 majors and 9 of the 25 points needed for his AKC Grand Championship (click here for the Alaska story)
In his second weekend of showing we traveled to Montana where he showed at the at the Gallatin Dog Club Show on September 23, and took BOB and a 3 point major. The next two days he took Select Dog and earned 3 more points. Kanzu now has 2 of the 3 majors and 15 of the 25 points needed for his Grand Championship.

 

Kanzu and his best friend Daisy Mayhem took their very first airline flight this August when they attended the Cook Inlet Kennel Club Dog Show in Palmer, Alaska and a two day “night time lure coursing trial” under the Alaska night time sun. Kanzu and Daisy were accompanied by Daisy’s mom, Jennifer and our good friends Justin and Curtis along with their Ibizan Diesel and new Whippet puppy of their own breeding, Brooke. We had exceptional good luck at the shows. Diesel and Brooke both took placements in the Hound groups. Brooke’s second place on the last day was especially exciting with Curtis showing her in the Bred-By class and Justin taking her into the group ring. What an accomplishment for such a young puppy and an awesome acknowledgment for Curtis and Justin’s breeding program.
This show marked Kanzu’s return to the conformation ring to work toward the new AKC title, the Grand Championship. In order to earn this title a dog needs 25 points with 3 major wins. With Curtis as his handler in the breed ring, Kanzu took Best Opposite Sex on August 6, Best of Breed on August 7 and Best Opposite again on August 8. In this first weekend back in the ring he earned 9 of the 25 points needed for his Grand Championship.
At lure coursing Daisy was the star and earned a BOB and 3 LCX points. She also spent time in the obedience ring making her mom very proud. Great fun was had by all. However, for Kanzu, the highlight of the trip was probably when he found his way into the front of our SUV and ate our dinner of 2 Subway sandwiches and cookies!

Click here to view this photo book larger

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Kanzu earned his Lure Coursing Field Championship in July 2009 at the Lompoc Inland Wilderness Hunt Club Trial. His field championship added to his conformation championship resulted in his new title “Dual Champion”.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Kanzu finishes his AKC conformation championship with 3 majors, including back-to-back Best of Winners at the Inland Empire Hound Club/Kennel Club of Palm Springs Shows in January 2009.