The beginning
 Nalle
My first introduction to dogs began with our family dog "Nalle" when I was 3,5 years old. Nalle was a mixed breed, but looked just like a Finnish Lapphund, just slightly smaller. Nalle taught me a lot about dogs in the 13,5 years we had him with us. Along with Nalle our neighborhood dogs also got to be walked and trained too.
My big sister bought a Labrador male "Seri" in -88 and his sister "Noora" next year. Their breeder also bred Tollers (Applehill's) as did the breeders son, Jari (kennel Zeiban's) and through them I was introduced to the Big Dog World. And boy was I hooked! I met one of my dearest friends Maria at this time and we were introduced to the intrigues of dog showing, handling, grooming as well as canine structure etc. We took part in Junior Handler competitions and learned so much about dealing pressure and perseverance. My sister started breeding and trialing Labradors and through her I got to know retriever trials and training. I worked in several other kennels too and was introduced to many breeds. With my friend we started taking grooming customers in our family garage at the age 16! We were also there when the Finnish Toller Club was formed in -90 and started to compile the first Toller book in Finland. I contacted Toller people all around the world and did a lot of work writing articles and compiling statistics for the book. I kept on keeping records of Tollers worldwide and when the internet came, published some of my work online. This is where my love grew so strong for Tollers, just as Nalle left me a longing for Finnish Lapphunds. I think one of the most important things I learned during these years was understanding the hardship of breeding dogs and the responsibility it takes to be a breeder. |
About breeding
Bahokki's kennel
Trimmisalonki Lumous
Seri and Noora
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My own dogs
Venla
My first own dog was a long waited Noora daughter, Labrador "Venla", born in -95. We competed in field trials, tracking and shows. When she was at her best performance age, I started to get very busy with my singing career. All the dog trials and shows are at weekends and so was my performance gigs. So we went to a trial or show only occasionally. Nonetheless, I always stayed tuned what was happening in the dog world and grooming kept me in touch with everyday dog stuff. Venla lived to ripe old age of 14,5 years. I miss her so much...
After Venla's death I just couldn't be without a dog. My life had settled from the busy years and I had searched for a Toller puppy for few years already, but then came an opportunity to get this incredibly lively promising brown Lapphund puppy boy and me and my spouse just couldn't resist him! So came "Peikko" to our lives! I was hoping for a nice boy to show and he has certainly exceeded all our expectations! He is also very promising at obedience, so these are our main focuses right now.
After Venla's death I just couldn't be without a dog. My life had settled from the busy years and I had searched for a Toller puppy for few years already, but then came an opportunity to get this incredibly lively promising brown Lapphund puppy boy and me and my spouse just couldn't resist him! So came "Peikko" to our lives! I was hoping for a nice boy to show and he has certainly exceeded all our expectations! He is also very promising at obedience, so these are our main focuses right now.
And then...The Toller! After many eventful phases, I finally found myself a perfect puppy. I went to visit Jorunn (kennel Tussatolleren's) in Norway. I loved her line and the parents of her new litter and she graciously let me do a puppy test for the litter and let me choose the one I wanted. Huge thank you to Jorunn for this! So came "Tiuku". She is just about everything I had hoped for, drivey, birdy, silent and gorgeous!
I have my own grooming company "Trimmisalonki Lumous" and also a FCI kennel name "Lumous". Perhaps in the future we will have puppies of either breed at some point!
I have my own grooming company "Trimmisalonki Lumous" and also a FCI kennel name "Lumous". Perhaps in the future we will have puppies of either breed at some point!