randomfire

The more I've studied retrievers (mainly flatcoats and goldens) around the world, the more confused I've become by the various terms that are used to describe tests, trials, and such. Since we blog about our dogs bilingually and have a large amount of foreign readers, I've decided to write a description of how Finnish retrievers' hunting abilities are tested.

The following description is based on the rules governing the different types of testing that are still in a trial period (the trial period ends by the end of 2008). The rules are created by the Finland's Retriever Association and approved by the Finnish Kennel Club.

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As today’s the Life of Jalo shows, we got a new addition to our family a few days ago. Flatcoated retrievers have taken their place in our hearts and Luka is the third on in our household. What makes him special is that he is a yellow FCR.
The breed standard for FCRs is [...]

Continue reading Why a yellow Flatcoated Retriever »

Taking pictures of dogs is always a challenge. Even the relative peace of an evening at home with a tired young dog can turn interesting.

The problem is, that in order to get good pictures of dogs you have to go down to their level. When positioning yourself lying on the ground you generally forget to [...]

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Yes, it’s that time of the year now that the lakes, rivers, ponds, and the sea in Finland are getting colder and colder. Just waiting for a thick layer of ice to coat them for several months. A Finnish blog about flat-coats blogged (in Finnish) about the surprise her flat-coats gave some scouts (boy or [...]

Continue reading Flat-Coats and cold resistance »

To honour the upcoming first birthday of Jalo we created a new layout for his photoblog. The layout is a shift away from the darker and heavier look and Anna certainly had fun creating the banner at the top. Below are screenshots of the old and new layouts.

In the more geeky [...]

Continue reading The Life of Jalo updated »