Keeping the above mentioned target stricktly in mind we have been breeding bouviers since 1985. Only eight litters have been born, all home-bred and carefully, to the best of our knowledge, planned. Some highlights, one catastrophy - but luckily already a bloodline we want to continue with...

In our breeding we emphasize the importance of mentally strong, proud, healthy dogs. As we are active competitors in trials ourselves we want bouviers of our breeding to fit in the requirements of nowadays IPO, IPOR, SAR etc.

Of course a bouvier must also look like a bouvier, but our goals concerning show rings are much more humble: 1st price from open class satisfyes us. There are lots of other breeders who concentrate in competing of BOBs, CACIBs etc.

We got our first bouvier in 1981. Our Bernese Mountain Dog's breeder Mrs. Gunnel Holm introduced this breed to us and after meeting her bouviermale, Zebu du Posty Arlequin, we knew we had found our breed. We got Peikko, Kwispel Athos, from the very first bouvierlitter born in Finland and eventhough this male wasn't too much of a working dog, he was a sweet and true companion of our family.

In 1983 Jorma visited the Netherlands and found from Amsterdam that kind of bouviers we were searching for. Our co-operation with Alex and Marty Gal began with the import of JK1 VK1 Queen Anka v.d. Axmagal. And from that year on we have reqularly imported "new blood" from the Netherlands and Belgium. Naturally there has been some set-backs, too, in what a pup tends out to be as adult and what he is and what he produces...

Our imports since 1983 and co-operating breeders

All our own dogs, as well as dogs usually in Finland, live inside the house with us.When asked, the proper answer of Jorma is: "A suitable number of dogs living with you is the number you happen to have at the moment in the house". For some reason, don't know why, we have had six bouviers for years. A couple of wise, dear oldies, a couple of active middle-aged bouviers and a couple of groving youngsters, pups.

Today after Tanja (13y) left us last spring we have five bouviers at home:

Most dogs in Finland live with their families sharing everything in evedaylife with them. There are only a couple real "kennels", normally a breeder has only a few dogs and a few litters per year. And so it has been with us , too. In a decade we have been breeding only eight litters, some 60 pups. Most of them are "only" familymembers, a couple out of every litter are active in trials, too. Anyway, regardless their way of life, as long as the dog and the family are happy together... Who are we to judge one role of a bouvier more important than the other?!

But remembering our target in breeding bouviers, we are happy, proud and gratefull about many official results Naavaparran bouviers have gained as adults. For example all Working & Obedience Champions born in Finland are descendants of our Duchess Ywina v.d. Axmagal!

The breed club, Finnish Bouvier Club, granted kennel Naavaparran the Challenge Cup of the Best Working Bouvier Breeder of 1992, 1993, 1994 and we have been fortuned to gain many rewards from breed club's working & obedience mastership trials, too.

Working dog trials and training are our main hobby. We are active in SAR, IPOR & Obedience as well. Jorma is certified as Senior Judge for Working Dog trials (Tracking, Search, General trial, Relay, IPO, Schutz, IPOR) and as Character Tests as well... So you may guess we are not too easy to find from home during the summertime! Thank God they make excellent mobile phones in Finland...

eating and updating a bouvier database which today covers every single detail about all bouviers in Finland and more than 20.000 pedigrees & other official information about mainly Dutch, Swedish and Belgian bouviers.

Our Team is a small family charing the same interest: Working Dog & bouvier activities. Once or twice a year we spend a long weekend together somewhere in Southern Finland discussing, training, eating (allways a lot... too much and too good..) and for once and for all... making the world a better place to live!

Some 30 participants are normally present from our own litters and our males' litters from other bouvier kennels, from all over Finland. And once we got a foreign visitor, too: Naavaparran Virolaiska, the one and only bouvier living in Estonia! So Folks', if you ever travel near Arctic Circle, do please feel most welcome to join the Club!