Underdog becomes top dog

NEW LONDON – The most famous dog in Waupaca County is Beanz, a silky-haired, bright-eyed Papillon. Three weeks ago, Beanz appeared on Channel 26 NBC Sports while competing in the small-dog division Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge in Huntington Beach, California.
“He was jumping with the eight-inch dogs and the 12-inch dogs. He was the littlest dog and he beat all of the 12-inch dogs,” said Candi Janke, the owner and trainer of Beanz.
Because of a family emergency, Janke’s granddaughter, Kendal Fabisiak, ran Beanz for the California win. That was the regional competition and now Beanz will compete at Purina Farms in St. Louis, Missouri on October 11 for the national championship.
Beanz is no stranger to winning national titles in agility competitions. He’s always in the top five and he’s been all over the country collecting blue ribbons. It was no surprise that Purina invited Beanz to be one of four dogs in the nation to compete in their challenge.
His uncle also took national titles. He’s now 12 years old and is retired. Beanz is six and is surpassing his uncle’s records. He also a show champion and has obedience, fetch and a trick dog titles.

Beanz is small, an armful of fluff, and likes to jump into a person’s lap looking to make quick friends. On the agility obstacle course, Beanz is an obedient and fearless soldier that takes and executes orders. Upon command, Beanz leaps over hurdles without hesitation and zig-zags through the weave poles at full speed. And the end of the course, Beanz is ready for more, ready for the next signal.
Candi Janke is the owner of Sleepy Creek Pet Lodge. She’s a lifelong dog lover and has been training dogs since she was 15 years old. Janke started her dog-training business 25 years ago when her children were small and she wanted to work from home. She built kennels into her garage and worked from there. More kennels were added and it kept growing. After a while it was too much and her business needed an upgrade.
She bought land and they built their current facility on 1406 Handschke Dr. and it opened in 2014. They offer grooming and boarding and have a small retail shop of local dog foods and supplies. The boarding includes day stays and train-and-stays. She offers dog training in all forms: obedience, agility, tracking and rally and training for field trials and hunt tests.
Janke currently has four Papillons and over the years she owned and trained German shorthairs, poodles, Corgis and Dobermans. She’s competed and placed at Westminster and Crufts in England (billed as the World’s Greatest Dog Show) and the wall of her training room is covered with photos of champion dogs.
She recommends starting puppy training at 12 weeks before the dog becomes a “juvenile delinquent.”
“People come in overwhelmed with puppy training and they say they don’t remember puppies being so bad. But they are not bad, they are puppies and people forget what puppies are like. The last time they had a puppy was 15 years ago and then they struggle. But we get families come in and want to do the right things early on and learn. We have a lot of people like that here,” said Janke.
Her first purebred dog was a black cocker spaniel. “He was my 4-H dog in my high school years. He was a superstar but I love my Papillons. A lot of it has to do with what going on in your life and what fits right.”
Large part of what she does is like a counseling service for potential dog owners. She tries to help people match a dog breed with their lifestyle. “Don’t buy a Clydesdale if you want a race horse,” said Janke.