Training in Finland

Kath and Karen were invited to train over the weekend 14th/15th August in Finland. Unfortunately - it was too long a journey to include taking any of their fully passported dogs - but they improvised. Kath made a very good substitute dog to enable Karen to explain about positioning the dog for perfect heel work.

The venue was a good sized retail unit, carpeted and ready for the dogs to work in.

There were many handlers and spectators and of course the handlers had their dogs with them which were a variety of breeds.

Everyone was good fun and joined in with everything Kath and Karen had to offer them to help improve their relationships with their dogs, improve their routines or improve other aspects of training.

Karen and Kath kept them very busy - sometimes physically and at other times mentally! Although the temperature was around 30 degrees on landing in Helsinki on the Friday - on Saturday and Sunday there was a breeze and happily the temperature dropped so that it was comfortable for working in.

Each of the groups were asked to choreograph a short section of music. For their finale, they had to perform in their groups, one group after another to their section of the music. The handlers, along with some spectators, made a great job with some good musical interpretation. They also worked well in the small "teams".

Thank you to Henna and her brother for allowing Karen and Kath to stay in their "visitor's" log cabin. The Cabin (Villa Irene) was situated in woodland - with a plunge pool and Smoke Sauna available for their use.

Villa Irene as seen from the Smoke Sauna.

The kitchen area.

The adjacent Dining Area

One of the bedrooms.

Another bedroom at the top of the stairs.

The gallery looking down into the lounge area.

Thanks again to Henna for being a perfect host and to everyone who came along to our seminars.