Can an old dog learn new tricks? How do I teach social skills to a puppy? My horse doesn’t stand still when I want to get on it, what should I do? How can I train animals in an ethically acceptable way and on animals’ terms?

Modern animal training is well planned, explicit and consistent. Before the first training session, I will always make a well-being assessment for the animal as well as a detailed training plan, which I will go through carefully with the owner before the the first training session.

I organize various dog training courses at the farm all year, except for the summer season. In addition, I offer private training sessions either at the customer’s place or at the farm. Private sessions are an efficient way of meeting a particular challenge, e.g. dog nail clipping. Dog training at the farm takes place in an old grain silo, which has been renovated to make it an appropriate training space.

I have plenty of experience training horses, dogs, cats, cows and sheep, but I’m ready to train other animal species as well. As a member of the Finnish animal training association (Suomen Eläintenkouluttajat Ry), I’m committed to following the rules of this association.

Your dog has to have valid basic vaccinations. These are verified before the first training session on the basis of the dog passport. You should also make sure that your pet’s parasite preventatives are up to date. During the snowless season, we recommend also tick preventatives.

Kindly walk your dog on a leash before entering the training hall. Please clean up after your dog. There is a bin for this purpose next to the entrance of the hall. Do not allow your dog to urinate on any buildings at the farm.

Your dog must wear a non-tightening collar during the training. It’s forbidden to use tightening, half-tightening, steely and no-pull collars as well as harnesses. The leash must be a common, inflexible leash. Retractable leashes are not accepted during our courses.

Unfortunately, it’s not possible to accept dogs on heat on the courses. However, private sessions are possible with them, as long as they are wearing heat pants in the hall.

If your dog urinates or does a poo in the hall, kindly inform Virpi immediately about this. The payment that we may charge in these cases is 30 €.

In winter, minimum temperature limit is -15°C, measured at the farm. Virpi will let you know well in advance, if your session is cancelled. In such cases, we will attempt to arrange a new date as soon as possible.

There is no heating system in our training hall, so, in winter, you should wear warm, breathable clothes. Wearing merino wool base layer is highly recommended. In winter, it’s recommended to wear several pairs of gloves. Mittens make it difficult to reward your dog with treats. You may also make your dog wear booties and a dog coat in the winter time.

The hall has non-slip plywood floor. It’s forbidden to wear studded shoes in the hall. Please wipe your shoes carefully before entering the hall in order to avoid having sand and snow on the floor.

The courses are always paid in advance. You are committed to take part in the course after having paid the course fee by the due date. If the fee hasn’t been paid on time, we are entitled to free up the slot to another person. If you are unable to attend a course session, we cannot promise to replace the session. However, you can always ask Virpi, whether this is possible. In case your dog gets sick, you are always welcome to come and see other participants’ performance.

Private sessions have to paid in advance. Regular customers can, by prior agreement, make the payment on the spot by card.

Private sessions can be cancelled free of charge at least 5 days before the session. Cancellations must be made by phone, we cannot accept cancellations by email. The hostess may sometimes be so busy that she cannot read emails every day.

Dog owners are responsible for any damage caused by their dog, including property damage, damage to the outdoor area, equipment, other dogs and persons as well as the animals living at the farm.

As a customer, you are liable for any intentional or unintentional damage you may cause. The hostess has the right to charge you for such damages.

We reserve the right to make changes to or cancel the service at short notice due to force majeure. Such circumstances include, for example, winter temperatures below –15°C, or illness of the hostess or animals. In such cases we will attempt to arrange a new date for the service as soon as possible. In these cases, we are not responsible for any disadvantage or damage that may have been caused to the customer.

To get more information on the rules of the animal training association, see:

https://www.elaintenkouluttajat.com/yhdistys/463-2/

When training animals, I want to be encouraging and positive and treat each customer in an equal and unbiassed way.