The Finnish
Kennel Club
The Finnish Kennel Club is an expert on canine-related matters The Finnish Kennel Club is dedicated to promote the welfare of all dogs in Finland. It offers expert advice to all dog owners and serves as a comprehensive lobbying organisation for both Finnish and international dog activities. The Club is focused on promoting the behaviour, health, working ability and appearance of pedigree dogs, as well as enhancing the general standard of dog keeping in Finland. The Finnish Kennel Club works closely with various dog-related stakeholder groups and monitors legislation. It also coordinates cooperation between utility dog associations in Finland. The Finnish Kennel Club was established in 1889, which makes it the oldest kennel club in the Nordic countries.
More than half a million dog enthusiasts Every fifth Finnish family owns a dog. Some 80% of these 650,000 dogs are pure-bred. Each year, about 50,000 dogs representing around 300 different breeds are registered in Finland. The Finnish Kennel Club is one of Finland’s largest recreational associations. It has 150,000 members, of whom thousands are young members under the age of 18. The Finnish Kennel Club also serves as the umbrella organisation for 2,000 member associations. In all, it can reach more than 500,000 dog enthusiasts in Finland.
Shows are the most popular dog events Many Finns participate actively in a hobby with their dogs, and various dog shows, trials and competitions are popular. The first dog show was organised as far back as 1891. Nowadays, dog shows attract over 200,000 entries annually, in addition to which trials and tests draw some 180,000 entries. The Finnish Kennel Club organizes the Finland’s largest dog event Dog Fair Finland. During the event the Finnish Kennel Club arranges Finland’s biggest dog shows, the Helsinki Winner and Voittaja Winner, which take place at Messukeskus, Expo & Convention Centre Helsinki each December. In addition to these two dog shows, this event contains a diverse complementary programme. A large number of dog supply vendors also attend the event.
Diverse information online The Finnish Kennel Club plays an important role in the promotion of dog health. We maintain an electronic breeding information system, which contains trial, show and health data on dogs that are registered in Finland. The system is an open database, which can be accessed by anyone for a diverse array of searches. The address of the breeding database is jalostus.kennelliitto.fi. Another significant electronic service is Omakoira, which is meant for members. The service is open both to individual members and member associations. In addition the service is used by veterinarians, so that the members receive health statements as fast as possible. Omakoira contains also an event calender, meant for everyone interested in dog hobbies.
Members have influence The General Assembly and the Council are the decision-making organs of the Finnish Kennel Club. The General Assembly takes place every third year in November. Entitled to participate are all members and the member associations, which elect representatives to serve on the Council for the subsequent three-year period. The Council elects from among its own number a Chairperson and members to serve on the Board, which handles the administration of the Finnish Kennel Club. The Finnish Kennel Club is a member of the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) and the Nordic Kennel Union (NKU).
Koiramme magazine 10 times a year The Finnish Kennel Club owns three subsidiaries: Showlink Oy, Kustannus Oy Koiramme and Prettybit Project Oy. The Finnish Kennel Club and its subsidiaries generate a turnover of about €12 million. Showlink Oy provides exhibition services and handles the result and registration records and counselling services of the Finnish Kennel Club. In addition ShowlinkShop.fi sells the Club products and produces pet events. Kustannus Oy Koiramme publishes the magazine Koiramme. Koiramme has been published since 1896 and it is delivered to the home of each member 10 times a year. A hunting-oriented version called Metsästys-Koiramme is also published. These two titles have about 300,000 readers in total. Prettybit Projects Oy is a software company that is behind the Club’s dog register, electronic breeding data system, online entry and show system and Omakoira service.
Finnish Breeds Finnish Spitz The Finnish Spitz is Finland’s national breed. It is a barking dog used for hunting game fowl. The Finnish Spitz is by nature lively, alert and faithful to its owner.
Finnish Hound
Karelian Bear Dog
The Finnish Hound is a breed used for hunting hare and fox. By nature, the Finnish Hound is calm, energetic and friendly. For many years it has been the most common breed in Finland.
The Karelian Bear Dog is used for hunting large game animals. Nowadays it is used primarily for elk hunting. The Karelian Bear Dog is somewhat surly and reserved towards strangers, but is basically friendly and absolutely faithful to its master.
Lapponian Herder
Finnish Lapphund
The Lapponian Herder is a medium size breed used for reindeer herding. It is calm, obedient, friendly, energetic and eager to serve.
The Finnish Lapphund is smaller than medium size, and is strongly built in relation to its size. It is intelligent, courageous, calm, willing to learn, friendly and faithful. Today the breed is very popular as a hobby dog in the whole of Finland.
WELCOME TO HELSINKI IN DECEMBER!
THE WINNER DOG SHOWS and much more.
The Finnish Kennel Club proudly hosts the biggest dog event in Finland. winnershows.fi
Suomen Kennelliitto – Finska Kennelklubben ry. +358 9 887 300 | www.kennelliitto.fi Suomen Kennelliitto @kennelliitto @kennelliitto