How did the first bobtail appear in your life? Why was it exactly a bobtail? Please tell us a little about your first dogs.
First bobtail visited my life when I was 14 years old. When I got married we decided to have a dog and there were no Bobtails at the time, so we bought a Bearded Collie. It died at early age, hit by car and then we got a Bobtail. The year was 1972.

Why is your kennel called just so? How did you choose the name for it?
I chose the kennel name after the long list of names that Finnish Kennel Club did not accept. When I had my second litter it was a must by Finnish kennel Clubs rules to have a kennel name to get the litter in register. They called me and I took a book from my book self and opened it. The first chapter started: Old English Sheepdog, a drover dog. There it was Drover's!

Where do your dogs live?
My dogs live with us inside the house.

Do you have assistants in the kennel? What is their task?
In Finland we very seldom have kennels, only kennel names. Only those few who earn their living by breeding many litters during one year have kennel houses and real kennels. No one breeding OES have kennel houses. My daughter takes care of the grooming, she is very good at that and old dogs are in short coat.

What kind of breeding dogs, in your opinion, should be:
- male,
- bitch.
A male must be masculine, good tempered, no willing to fight with other dogs but with good masculine instincts. I don't like big dogs, around 62-64cm is best. If ever I used a dog over 66 cm I ought to have a very special reason for that.
A bitch must be really feminine but not small boned. Once more I don't like big sizes. Bitches temperament is even more important than dogs. Calm and gentle bitches are passing best the temperament to their ofspring.
Both dog and bitch should have the certain breed characteristic things in order.

What do you emphasize in the breeding?
If that question means that why I do like to breed, it is not very clear to me either. I have always said that breeding good dogs and showing them is my way to compete. I have always been too lazy to train sports, so dog shows fulfill my needing of trying to be the best.

Was there a litter which remained in your heart and which you are especially proud of?
I cannot name a litter, but there have been many dogs that already in the puppy age had that something in their personality and that just turned your heart on.

How important is the eye pigment?
I cannot tell the importance of it. Some puppies has full pigment at the age of eight weeks but usually the color of the pigment by then is not black. Those who get eye pigment later on have black pigmentation. If there is good pigmentation inside the mouth and lips and some spots of pigmentation coming around the eyes I think it is OK. But I do hope that when the dog is around five to six years it has a lot of pigmentation. But I don't mind if it is not complete.

Are the champion's titles obligatory for dogs' breeding?
Absolutely not!

What do you do with a dog which gets too old for breeding?
They'll stay with me as long as they live. My dogs are members of our family.

What is the happiest moment in your life concerning bobtail?
There have been so many. From the dog shows the best memory is the first time Best In Show with the dog I have bred and owned. There were moments to remember with my kids when they were small and them playing and sharing time with dogs. With my dogs I have seen many countries from not the normal tourist point of view and I have found many lifetime friends.

Did you experience misfortunes and how did you avoid them?
If you mean bad moments concerning dogs the worst was a fire 1992 at my home when four out of my five dogs died.
Misfortunes in breeding are just to make you understand that if ever you get a healthy and a good looking Bobtail you really are a happy breeder. Only few of the dogs are both healthy and really beautiful.

What criteria do you use to choose the best puppy in the litter?
I choose the puppy at the moment they'll born. Then I'm just looking the puppy growing. Most of the cases I picked the right one.

What forage do you feed your puppies and adult dogs with? Do you give them additional forage and what kind of?
I usually give them a good dry food with only sunflower oil as an extra.

Do you do make selection among the future owners of the puppies from your nursery? What can be a reason to refuse to sell a puppy to a particular person?
How do I choose my friends? How do people choose me as their friend? It is difficult to say. I never let people visit to see the puppies after one phone call. When someone calls and asks about puppies I tell them to call over again. If they'll do that I discuss more about the difficulties to keep a long haired dog in the house for twelve years. I always tell them how much mud and dirt the dog will carry home, how it smells when it is wet and how the dog hair can be found inside your tomatoes a.s.o. If they still want to have an OES they may become new owners for a Drover's dog.

The dog breeding for you is:
- your life;
- a hobby;
- an art;
- a way to earn you living?
A hobby of course. I had my last litter more than three years ago. I wish I could breed only show quality dogs that is not possible, of course. These days I'll surf a lot on web to find new dogs for my breeding program. Unfortunately bobtail breeders very seldom have home pages that are informative. The other problem is that Finland is situated in "totally wrong place" in Europe. So it is very difficult to find new breeding dogs and more difficult is to travel to see them alive.

Could you give a piece of advice to a beginner breeders?
Not all the dogs are for breeding even though you'll like to have the experience to see puppies to grow. You must have sound and healthy dogs by their mind and body to start with. They must have good hips and elbows, eyes checked clear every year under a specialist and to go on your breeding you must get as many puppies as possible bred by you to go through the scheme too. Never use an unhealthy dog in breeding.

What is you opinion about what had happened to the breed in the World and your country for the last 15 years?
Unfortunately the Bobtail has turned to a giant poodle. The big coat, trimming and teasing are more important than a good moving well angulated OES. Even though the dogs are not used in the purpose of droving or herding any more we must remember the original meaning for this breed and respect those qualities needed for a herder. In many countries the size has become too big and it varies too much. In USA you'll in most cases find better rear movement on dogs than anywhere else but the coats are usually too soft with too much undercoat and brown in color. And there is a lot to say in fronts. Falling front is not the same as rise of a loin. Things are not so good in the breed's home country either.
When judging the dogs so few judges have an interest to see the dogs in movement. One time around in the small ring is enough and they let the handler hang the dogs in their leashes while showing them, and that is what they call a good head carriage. Too many judges are giving the critique: makes nice picture when standing.
I feel sad when I must say that 15 years ago the dogs had more breed characteristics than today.

Breed clubs. Are they necessary in your country? Why?
We have Finnish Kennel Club, an open club for all dog lovers. Kennel Club requires all breeds to have an own club. First the club is a member club for some bigger breed club with same kind of breed. After five to ten years the club will get more independence and when the club is big enough and has shown that it could manage by itself it could become an independent breed club. In that position club is working as a direct member of the Kennel Club. Club must follow the health of breed by keeping and publishing the statistics, the club must have an own special show and they must keep up breeding advice for breeder's and so on. Usually the clubs have their own club paper too.

What is an exhibition for you?
Today it is just a hobby. At the dog shows I'll meet my friends, also from other breeds. But it is still heart warming when a dog bred by me gains the title and maybe will be placed in the big ring. But most of all it is just for fun.

Beginning from what age should a dog start being prepared for a show-career? What is the best way to do it?
We start to "groom" puppies on the table at the age of three weeks. Then they'll be groomed almost daily till they leave our house and they are easy to handle for the new owners.
Our own dogs will be groomed weekly as long as they have the puppy coat. When the coat is ready around the age of 2 years we'll groom them every second week, more often if necessary. We'll wash the white parts at the same interval too. The gray parts are very seldom washed. We'll use the water spray bottle while brushing the gray parts.
When the show carrier for a dog is over we'll keep them in short coat and shave the coat about every third month. All our dogs just love grooming.

What of your dogs did perform most successfully at the exhibitions?
The first Best In Show with your own dog is something you'll never forget. The first Best In Show in Italy with all the TV-people around and all the people around as if your dog was The Beatles was one to remember. All the special show winnings are also on the top of the list. Wich one had the most success is difficult to say. Is the number of BOB or Group placements more important than some winnings at special shows or do I respect one judge more than the other. I'm happy I have had possibility to own many good winning dogs.

What is your attitude toward professional handling? Do you use services of professional handlers?
Dogs have been shown always only by us. In Finland we don't use professional handlers.
I could never think about using a one. This is a hobby for me. But if someone chooses to hire a one, it is their choise.

Please let us know your attitude to usage of lacquers during the dog's preparation for an exhibition?
I'm strongly against using anything. I'm so happy it is forbidden in Finland and in so many countries. No one can fool me as a judge by using the hair spray.

Would you like to wish something to the Russian OES owners.
Keep good care of the breed. Remember that no one can breed perfect dogs. Remember that the health of the dog is always number one. When ever you'll get a dog with hip dysplasia or cataract or PRA be sure you are the first one to tell about it. It is not your fault when there is something wrong with your dog. But it is your fault if you continue breeding with the unsound dogs.

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