Moona Õunmaa

A Bit About Me

A bit about me. I have forever loved dogs and by that i don`t mean the normal "I love dogs" but more like crazy I LOVE DOGS. When i was about 6, me and my older sister had for years wanted and asked for our own dog. My parents however knew the responsibility that came with taking a dog & how usually when the kids want a dog it is usually still the parents that end up taking care of the dog and so they didn`t take the decision lightly. My mom first bought me & my sister rats. Two rats called Minni & Missi. It was then that me and my sister had to take care of them and show that we could commit and take care of animals. Me and my sister took it seriously and when my moms coworker had a litter of dacshund puppies, it was decided that we would take one. My sister had to read a book about dog ownership & training and i, as i was still quite young, had to read a part of it. And so in 2008 we took home our first dog, a dacshund called Pipi. We made a schedule of who walked it when, we taught her tricks and raised her. Pipi lived a long life and passed in 2022- our angle, now looking at us from above. With Pipi, my love for dogs only grew. I studied dog training trough different sources and when my grandparents took in my great-grandmothers dog Sammy, i spent all my holidays there to spend time with him. I also became a big fan of agility, watched hours and hours of Crufts agility competitions but sadly could not do any myself as Pipi as a dacshund was not fit for it and neither would she have enjoyed it. In 2018 as our dacshund was getting older my mom wanted her own dog, who she could do longer hikes with and she decided to take a russian hunting spaniel. As soon as she decided on a puppy, i made her agree on that i could do agility with the dog when it was old enough. In 2018 june, we brought home Sissi the russian spaniel. In 2019 once Sissi was old enough, i started agility with her at Koerus dogschool under trainer Anastassia. We did agility for about half a year & then also started rally obedience but sadly then came Covid time and we had to stop. During covid lockdown, i decided to take my own dog. I had already thought for a long time on what breed i wanted and had decided on a shetland sheepdog. A breed that was appropriate size, beautiful & smart. A dog i could do tricks with and especially important, a breed i could do agility with. In 2020 august, i brought home Flicka the shetland sheepdog. We started agility in Koerus dog school under trainer Anastassia when she was 5 months old- ofcourse we started with easier & age appropriate things. We also went to puppy school & learned tricks & manners with her. In 2021 we started doing agility also in TAKO dog school under trainer Ege & we still go there twice a week. Flicka started agility in the unofficial class A0 in start of 2022 & in the end of the year we moved to the official A1 class. Flicka also took me to the unexpected journey of dog shows. We took a class and after first successful dog show, i decided to go to more shows & make her a Champion. Although i thought it would take more time and shows, Flicka achieved the Junior Champion title in only 3 shows. After then waiting for her to be old enough for Open Class (she had to reach 2 years of age) it took her only 1 show to get the title Estonian Champion. One day when we have time i also want to do some rally obedience with her. Raising Flicka thought me so much more than i ever thought i would and we are still growing and learning together. Life also threw us curveballs and after several dog attacks (thankfully physically no injuries) and also later on her hormones going crazy while in heat, she developed reactivity on the streets. There has never been a problem in agility competitions or at dog shows but suddenly walking on the streets was not easy as she would bark often at other dogs and sometimes other people. So began my journey of learning more about dog behaviour, training and more about how to deal with reactivity. And with time we have reached a good point where we can walk quite well & calmly on the streets. With Flicka, my love for shelties also grew and i learned more about shelties specifically and wanted to create my own kennel. For that i finally did the EKL dog breeder course and exam. After that i also got my own kennel name "Moonflick". And now i am on my journey to reach my dream of my own dog school. I have tried to learn from reading different books, taking part of some courses and lectures, following and talking with different dog trainers. I have helped train different dogs, given advice on training others. I have also done some grooming for different breeds and i always love meeting new dogs and getting to know them. I wrote down some courses & lectures down below that i could remember (definetly not all i have taken but some). For my own puppy school i tried to make a full program where the puppy and the owner get the best start in life.