On a memorable trip to Germany, Cynthia Heyman had an opportunity to visit family, tour the Rhine River, and meet her dream dog, aptly named “Dreamer” Diamond Dream Vom Rieth Teich. With his wire coat and brown markings you might think Dreamer belongs to the Terrier Group at first glance. But he’s actually a Kromfohrlander, or “Kromi” for short, a rare breed known for their loyalty and intelligence.
Heyman of Salt Lake City, Utah has been a dog owner throughout her life. Her first competition dogs were Smooth Collies which spurred her interest in conformation, agility, and obedience. She’s currently retired but works part-time work as a software programmer to “support her dog habit,” she says jokingly.
Years after their unique start together, they’re making strides in the world of dog sports, showcasing Dreamer’s versatility. Now, they’re about to make their debut at the 11th AKC Obedience Classic, along with competing at the 19th AKC Agility Invitational on December 14 and 15, as part of the AKC National Championship week, presented by Royal Canin.
Going the Extra Mile To Find a Competition Dog
Heyman’s first Kromfohrlander “Maze” came from a breeder in Denmark. “He was an opportunity I couldn’t resist,” she says. Originally, she had planned for Maze to be a competition dog, but it became clear he was better suited as a walking companion for her husband. “Maze did some agility, obedience, and nose work, but he didn’t really like it that much,” she says.
As she became more invested in the breed, she decided it was time to add another Kromi to the family from a breeder in Germany. “Dreamer is absolutely the perfect puppy for me, because I love to do all the sports,” she says. “I wanted a dog that was really confident and would learn really fast. He’s really outgoing and a really sweet boy.”
In addition to Dreamer and Maze, Heyman has three Danish-Swedish Farmdogs. She credits her work with a local trainer and her now 15-year-old Danish-Swedish Farmdog for helping to sharpen her obedience skills. Over the years, her dogs have earned Companion Dog (CD) and Companion Dog Excellent (CDX) titles.
Heyman is keen to try any sport with her dogs, but her first love is agility—and it’s Dreamer’s favorite sport too. In addition to training at home, they train in agility twice a week and attend an AKC Rally and obedience class once a week. Dreamer has his Novice (CD) title (CD BN RA FDC AX AXJ MXF T2B DCAT ACT2 SWE SCM RATCH DJA DN CGCA TKP CD-V FTN) and has begun training to compete in the Open level to earn his CDX title.
Get to Know 5-Year-Old Dreamer
Dreamer loves any game that involves running, barking, and jumping. Although Kromis don’t usually have a high prey drive, Dreamer enjoys doing barn hunt. “He’s got a nice amount of prey drive for me, so it helps with our training,” Heyman says, noting how Maze is the opposite.
She describes Dreamer as being a very versatile dog, trying every sport from agility and AKC Rally to lure coursing and dock diving. “We don’t qualify very often in agility, but he just loves it,” she says. “The pure joy on his face makes it worth it.”
When they’re not competing, they like to go for walks and play fetch in the backyard. “In the summer, we have a little pool, so they can go swimming,” she says. “Dreamer really likes to swim in the pool, so that’s fun.”
At first glance, some people don’t know what breed Dreamer is. While some assume he’s a Terrier due to his wire coat, Heyman says he doesn’t have that classic Terrier personality. “Kromis are really easygoing, and want to work with their person. Dreamer is like that. He loves to work for me,” she explains.
Positive Reinforcement Is Key
Heyman describes training as a “fun challenge.” The challenging part of obedience is “getting a dog to work for you for a long period without an immediate reinforcer,” she says. The fun part is training a dog to do something that doesn’t come naturally to them like when her Collies had to learn how to hold a dumbbell while sitting.
“The dumbbell would fall out of their mouth,” she says. “So, that was a fun challenge to get them to hold it and sit at the same time. I really enjoy obedience exercises and figuring out the best way to motivate a dog to do something he doesn’t understand or communicate with them using positive reinforcement and clicker training.”
She’s found that Kromis are similar to working with Collies. Her Danish-Swedish Farmdogs are natural retrievers. “Retrieving is not a natural behavior for Kromis, but Dreamer has been doing really well with it,” she says, adding that he loves to learn. She’s been training him to pick something up and put it in a box or put it in her hand, and he responds very well to positive reinforcement.
She’s also discovered that Kromis are “an extremely sensitive breed,” she says. “If you put too much pressure on them, they’ll just leave and go in the other room.” You have to keep training really positive for them.
What to Know About the Kromfohrlander
Heyman describes the Kromfohrlander as being a “family dog, happy, smart, and easy to live with and maintain.” Whenever she’s tired and wants to relax at home, they’ll follow suit. “And when I want to go out and do sports, they just kick it into gear and do sports too,” she says.
Dreamer and Maze get along most of the time, but they can sometimes be a little grumpy with each other. “We’ve kind of worked it out where they’re okay with each other, and they take turns being crated at night,” she says. Her advice for prospective owners is to exercise “a lot of patience because they are very soft and sensitive and need a lot of encouragement and reinforcement.”
As a proud Kromi owner, she enjoys seeing their “quirky behaviors,” such as when they bop you with their nose or roll on their toys. “Dreamer has a favorite little flat toy that he puts in the dirt or grass or even concrete,” she says. “He’ll just roll on it, and it’s very cute. They have really sweet, fun personalities.”
As loving as they are, Kromis tend to be a bit standoffish with strangers. Another thing to note about the breed is that “they don’t like a lot of leash pressure, so they’ll naturally walk next to you,” she says. But when they’re stressed, they’ll walk behind you. On one occasion, they lost some points in obedience because Dreamer was trying to walk behind her. “I thought it was cute,” she says. “We just laughed and kept going.”
Gearing Up for the Obedience Classic
This will be Heyman and Dreamer’s first time competing at the AKC Obedience Classic. They’ve been doing short training sessions to prepare. “Whenever we’re out and about, we just do little heeling patterns and stuff like that,” she says. She also keeps Dreamer’s favorite treats on hand for encouragement, which are freeze-dried liver and beef jerky.
“He knows all the exercises, so I just need to reinforce them all so that when we get there, he will have a good, strong performance,” she says. “When we go to an agility trial, I’ll have my friends help do a stand for exam, so that he gets used to people touching him.” Dreamer isn’t a fan of handling exercises, but he does a good job with standing.
She’s also working on fading the treats, “so that Dreamer can work for longer periods without getting an immediate reward,” she says. Fading the treats means having the dog do what they’re asked to do without receiving a reward each time. As the competition gets closer, she doesn’t want to stress him out by working him too much.
The Obedience Classic will “be a lot of fun because I really like the layout,” she says, referring to the heeling, recall, and stand for exam sections. “I think that’ll be nice for Dreamer because it won’t put all that pressure on him for just one time in the ring. Even if we don’t get any ribbons, we’re going to get some good pictures and just have a great time. I’m excited.”
