 Four Halls KennelsAd in Canine Review, Feb./March, 2008 OverviewFour Halls Kennels has been breeding and showing dogs for over 40 years. The Kennel was registered with the Canadian Kennel Club in 1966 with the aim of developing a fine, Canadian based, line of Maltese. We are still pursuing that aim with Maltese, a wonderful breed, and in 1987 added Chinese Cresteds. Since 1966, Four Halls Kennels has bred or owned 70 Canadian Champions, 32 American Champions and 8 Best in Show winners (the latter group has accumulated over 30 BIS wins). The Four Halls PhilosophyWe breed for the breed. While Four Halls does occasionally have puppies or retired dogs for placement, our aim has remained to improve the two breeds in which we specialize and to benchmark our progress by actively showing dogs in Canada and the United States. A Brief BackgroundEven before launching Four Halls Kennels, the Fierheller family had been dog lovers. The first dog after our marriage was a Pekinese, followed by way of contrast with a couple of very loveable Bullmastiffs. We even for a short while owned a Shih Tzu. Although Four Halls Kennels has never bred Salukis, we have been long time, proud owners of this extraordinary breed. In fact we are now on our sixth. Despite all their wonderful characteristics, Salukis are notoriously stubborn and aristocratic. We should have learned our lesson years ago but we continue to own and love them. By 1968 however, for breeding purposes we had settled on the attractive, animated, intelligent and loveable Maltese. The MalteseThe following ad from Canine Review describes our first Maltese and our first Best in Show winner, Shieka Dancer. After 40 years, we are still in Maltese and the same magazine ad shows our latest show dog, Kit Kat. The move to add Chinese Cresteds was a recognition that the downside to the glamorous Maltese was that they required constant imaginative grooming. Vicki, being a talented professional groomer and handler could look after these long haired little dogs easily. But Glenna, the co-owner of Four Halls Kennels, decided to look for a breed that was slightly easier to maintain and prepare for the show ring. Glenna and George went to Crufts in 1987 and found Chinese Cresteds. In fact we found 75 of them! We liked everything about them including their outgoing, friendly attitude, their intelligence and we even convinced ourselves we liked their appearance. They are an acquired taste. The French name for Chinese Cresteds is Chiens Nus which perhaps better describes the hairless variety of Chinese Crested although you will note from the Standard, there is an equally legitimate and very attractive Powder Puff variety that can intermingle in the same litter. The strange history of the Chinese Crested in England is that the breeding stock in that country only arrived in the mid 1960’s. The Chinese Crested had been well known in the United States for over a hundred years but with the exception of one that was shown in 1896 at the Crystal Palace, there was no attempt to establish the breed in England. A Mrs. Ruth Harris first imported the Chinese Crested to England in 1965 from Crest Haven Kennels in Florida. The Cresteds rapidly grew to be one of the most popular toy breeds in England. Four Hall’s challenge if we were to start popularizing the breed in Canada would be to get appropriate breeding stock. We were recommended to Amy Fernandez in New York who agreed to sell us one of her hairless show dogs based on our reputation in Maltese. The hairless Cresteds are of course not actually hairless. They have a crest of hair on their heads, socks on their feet and a puff on their tail. However given that the rest of the dog is bare, we named our first Crested Lady Godiva. At that time, Cresteds were not recognized in Canada or in the USA. When the American Kennel Club recognized the breed, Godiva was already four years old but she went back to the United States and got her American title with 2-5 point majors enroute. We decided however that it was time the breed should be recognized in Canada. Glenna contacted the Canadian Kennel Club only to find that to be recognized in the Toy Group the breed needed 25 dogs owned by three unrelated people and a big enough gene pool to ensure success. After considerable effort the CKC agreed that we had met the criteria and Chinese Cresteds were recognized in Canada in 1992. Godiva by then was 6 years old. However she then proceeded to get her Canadian Title as well having already obtained the American Chinese Crested Club title. She produced four Champions and was the grandmother of Am. Cam. Ch Four Halls Indecent Exposure (Streaker), our first B.I.S. Crested. In the meantime Vicki was making great progress with the Maltese. The attached article from the Maltese magazine (Fall 2005) gives a good overview of the Maltese part of the Kennel.
contact informationContact: Vicki Fierheller, 128 Delaney Drive, Ajax, Ontario L1T 2L8 The Chinese Cresteds Contact: Glenna Fierheller, 24 Pearwood Crescent, Toronto, Ontario M3B 2C2. Shear Purrfection Vicki Fierheller and Lori Wittemeier manage their own professional pet grooming service for both dogs and cats at: 4568 Hwy 7, Unit 1, Unionville, Ontario L3R 1M5. Phone: 905-305-6157.
Ad in Canine Review, Feb./March, 2008
Sesame, BIS Winner shown by Billy Milne under Annie Rogers Clark
Streaker, BIS Winner as a puppy, 1996
The mature Streaker, "Indecent Exposure"
Huff 'n Puff, a Powder Puff Crested
An Ad for the Cresteds, April, 1994
Three drawings by artist Amy Fernandez, New York
A Maltese Magazine article, 2005
Cover of Top Dogs Magazine, Sept. 1996
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