Kaiser Wins Big at the German Shepherd Dog Club’s National Specialty
September 25, 2026 – October 3, 2026
Springfield, IL – Illinois State Fairgrounds
Congratulations, you two!!! Very proud of you!
From Katina:
“Kaiser and I have been on a big adventure to our second GSDCA National. It began with herding competition at Purina Farms in St. Louis, followed by our tracking test at the Jim Edgar Panther Creek Wildlife Area, and then a busy week doing agility, obedience, rally, and scentwork at the fairgrounds in Springfield, IL. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to share this time competing with this amazing dog, he is my partner and love and he tries so hard for me every day!
9/24 and 9/26 we finished our Started title on C Course sheep with High In Trial and High Scoring GSD (The German Shepherd Dog Club of America allows other breeds to compete in performance events), and Reserve HIT the next day giving us High Combined and some incredible rosettes and two custom chairs to take home!
Our tracking test was next on 9/27 and other than a little (BIG!!) tangle in the beginning due to the very tall grass, he was fast and accurate to the glove!
Next on 9/30 and 10/1 we made our debut in the agility ring, this we ventured into specifically to help give us points for the versatility competition but it was so much fun and he qualified with a 1st and 2nd place in novice jumpers and a second in novice FAST.
Next up we did rally and obedience and he got three first place ribbons and High Triple/High Combined on 10/2, with a first place in rally Master on 10/3 and 10/4. He qualified in utility one day too, he did a lot right in the other rounds but was clearly telling me was ready to be done with this part.
Next up, scentwork! We came into the trial with his Master Container title only which allowed us to enter our first two Detective runs. We finished his Master Buried, Master Interiors, and Master Exteriors titles for his overall Master level title. He got a first place in containers, placed 3rd in a master interior run and 4th in a buried run. We came very close in the detective runs, one hide off in both.
Are you still with me, because it’s a lot of excitement but if so here is our BIGGEST news! Every year the GSDCA gives the Phyllis Dobbs Versatility Award to the German Shepherd Dog earning the most points by excelling in multiple sports. This year my boy Celhaus Romeo Stole My Heart won it and it’s truly a dream. When we had our first national in 2023 and I saw the talented field of dogs competing for this honor, I had no idea this would be possible. I am on top of the world and extremely grateful to have this journey with my Novice A boy, he and I have learned so much together and I am so proud of him ❤️ There are so many people who I want to thank for their part in our journey and yet I don’t want to leave anyone out, so just know if you’ve helped us along the way or cheered us on, I remember and appreciate you!!
Meanwhile special thanks to Celhaus German Shepherds and Cel Hope his wonderful breeder for all her knowledge, support and encouragement, Melissa McIntyre who owns his grandmother and has been encouraging us all along but especially in 2023 when I was trying to get to our first national, Val Manning for herding expertise and getting us entered in our very first trial ever, Julie Yamane for all the rally/obedience foundation, Stephanie Green-Markl who we were so lucky to meet at the national in 2023 and cheered us on and kept me on track when my capacity was overloaded during this event (even helping me carry the huge number of ribbons in to the photographer for our win photo), all my local training friends but special mention to Hayley Stevens and Mindy Sherwood because without those agility runs we wouldn’t have achieved this! Also Susan Yonemura for tracking all those mornings and getting us certified in time for the tracking test. Thank you to Amanda Piala, Julie Degen, and Cathy Mitchell for all your hard work to organize and run this event and being so welcoming and cheering us on! Many thanks to Molly and John for holding down the farm so I could be away and my mom Frankie Nelson for support in everything I do!”
Photos 1-7: herding
Photos 8-11: tracking
Photo 12: agility
Photo 13: Rally
Photo 14: Scentwork
Photo 15: Versatility conformation
“Here are Kaiser’s end of event pictures for our GSDCA National, I will always be grateful for this incredible experience, and I appreciate Valerie Harrington patiently helping Stephanie and Joan and myself to arrange his ribbons and then capturing the commemorative photos.”
Photos 1-4: Phyllis Dobbs Versatility Award
Photo 5: finally, rest!
“In the days since our busy schedule at the GSD National we’ve been relaxing and enjoying the Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club national at Purina Event Center. Kai got to run some FastCat and we’ve been getting cleaned up and caught up while cheering on Callie at her 1st National!”
The Corgi National Specialty started as soon as the German Shepherd National ended, at the same venue. Katina’s mother entered her Corgi in their specialty, so Katina stayed and entered Kaiser in the Fast Cat agility competition, which was the only event in which non-Corgi’s could compete. “The reason why I like Fast Cat for him is that he loves it and it’s a reward for all his other work. It also tickles me a bit to see him get all caught up in prey drive. He has the context of the other work down well and I feel Fast Cat doesn’t spill over into the other areas of his life. It reaches into that prey part of him, and it’s fun to see it wake up.”
Photos 1-12: Fast Cat competition
Photo 13: finally done
