You are warmly welcome to meet our active Smoothies!
The ideal Smooth Collie should be mentally very
capable to work – and physically as well.
This is where my priorities lie. For me, functionality is true beauty.
As we all know, Smooth Collies are remarkably beautiful show dogs and
very successful in shows among all breeds. They are also nice-tempered
family dogs and easy to handle. But I think this breed has potential to
many kind of dog sports, too. If the breeders’ aim is to get primarily
show winners and meek family dogs, some working potential may be lost. The only way to find out if our dogs have this kind of potential or not is to TRAIN them. I think mental tests can do some good for breeding, but they definitely do not tell enough.
What I want from a good Smooth Collie, then? At first, that dog MUST
have a powerful engine. This means strong prey drive and very good
appetite because without them the dog is not so easy to motivate. That
dog must also be willing to cooperate with his/her handler and be always
ready to work when it is working time. Personally I think many Smooth
Collies are too soft and sensitive towards their handlers and we must
seek the improvement. That dog must NOT be afraid of different sounds,
environments (slippery floor, for example) or people. He/she must not
have any kind of health problems that could disturb the everyday life or
training. I also strongly prefer healthy structure, sound movement,
speed and agility. Last but not least, that dog must have good nerves to
keep this whole package together.
About me, my dogs and this website
I am a Finnish Smooth Collie enthusiastic and an active competitor in dog sports. I live in Tampere with my
three lovely Smoothies and my profession is to teach Finnish language and literature and also creative writing for both children and adults. My first own dog was a blue merle Rough Collie
male which I bought eighteen years ago. Training my dogs – and
sometimes other people’s dogs – is my matter of heart. Sometimes we go
to dog shows but not very often because I rather spend my weekends on
training fields and in competitions. As a breeder I am in the very
beginning of my path. I have bred just one litter so far. I am completely open and sincere regarding my own dogs and the dogs bred by me – this contains also all the negative things and possible health problems.
Little firecracker Uma (A. Godiva) and her sweet mother Reetta
in August 2007. © Linda Lehtiheimo
I would like to introduce my dogs living at home:
Timonan Joyboy Josh “Vallu” is our grand
old man. He is ten years old and still going strong! He is a very
charming gentleman, active hiking companion and a true lap dog. Vallu
has been trained in agility and obedience but he did not ever compete in
those sports. He has not been used for breeding.
FI CH TK1 BH Timonan Limonero Lizzie
“Reetta” is very sweet and kind and somewhat silly lady with admirable
maternal instincts. She is my first show champion who competes in
agility (class 3, the highest) and in obedience competitions (class 2).
Reetta has also trained tracking but never competed in it. She has had
one litter, Allegory G-litter, in 2005.
EE CH BH Allegory Godiva “Uma” (a.k.a. The
Mosquito, The Warrior Princess and The Hammer of the Agility Gods) is my
youngest. She may be a plain-looking little lass but her outstanding mental stamina
pleases me more than outer beauty could ever do. She is the most
versatile of my Smooths: I am competing in agility (class 2) and
obedience competitions (class 2) with her and planning to compete in
tracking trials, too. We are also training herding, water rescue and canicross. Due to my bad luck she has not been used for breeding.
Uma (12 months) playing in October 2006.
Uma and I after Tallinn dog show. September 2009 © Linda Lehtiheimo
Uma has two brothers and four sisters, all of them are important to
me. They are lively Smooths with nice working drive. You can find English
summary of this litter
here.
I think it is absolutely necessary that as many dogs as possible are
health checked and also mental tested, whether they are used for
breeding or not. I am proud of the owners of Allegory Smoothies, because
they have realized this and given me and all the other Smooth Collie
enthusiastics useful information. All of these seven dogs bred by me
were officially mental tested before 3,5 years of age. Almost all of
them are competing in dog sports and all of them have been shown. All thanks to my active friends!
Two generations
doing the weave poles:
Reetta competing in August 2004.
Reetta’s daughter Tosca (A. Ginevra)
competing in April 2008. © Paula Kaartinen
Reetta’s daughter Uma competing in August
2008. © Anne Lind
The English version of this site is not ready yet, but let me tell
you how to navigate on my site:
Esittely – The introduction.
Koirat – My three own Smoothies. The litter
bred by me. In our loving memories: The Rough Collie of my life. The
male I have used for breeding. (Each dog has his/her own photo gallery.)
Uutiset – The latest news.
Pentuja – Our puppy plans and something about my breeding ethics also.
Galleria – Our photo galleries. Everyday
playing pictures, training pictures, posing pictures and pictures from competitions. There is also a video gallery where you can see our dogs working.
Linkit – My favourite links.
Vieraskirja – Our guestbook. Please leave your bookmark! :-)
I will be happy to tell you more about my dogs, our hobbies and my
breeding. Please do not hesitate to contact me via e-mail in English (preferably), Swedish, French or German.
Behind the names:
My kennel prefix Allegory and the official names of my first litter
refer to my studies in Medieval and Renaissance literature: Allegorical texts (chivalric romances for example) were mainstream in literature during Medieval and Renaissance period in Europe. I have also
studied Celtic and Anglo-Saxon cultures and mythologies.
Little lad and his “uncle”: Rolle (A. Gwydion, 5
weeks) and Vallu in November 2005.
