About us

We provide high quality dog training for sports and everyday life in Russian and English in Capital area of Finland. 

 

We prefer scientifically based most effective approaches to animal training with deep respect for the long-term consequences, including those for health, well-being, and human-animal relationships. 

 

And we constantly develop our approaches to teaching our human clients and use contemporary methods of human education, which make the learning process easy and joyful for dog owners

 

Our sports courses are aimed at the competitive level.

 

In addition to regular courses, we offer:

  • Intensive course — allows in a short time, with intensive work, to master a large amount of material. Convenient, for example, if you have a vacation, or you like immersive learning 

  • Continuous group – allows thorough and quality training at your own pace, no need to register in time for separate limited in time courses and try to catch the program. Also allows to be more relaxed during training and have fun together, because you have time to make friends.

 

The joy of productive communication with dogs, learning new things together and making the world a better place for both human and animals are our primary motivators.

Maria D. Evstigneeva 

I am a Doctor of Neuroscience (Ph. D), worked as a researcher and university lecturer before moving to Finland, and at the same time dog trainer and an dog Agility athlete. Thus, I combine university-level experience in Neuroscience and teaching with more than 20 years of dog training practice. So, I know how the brain works, how animals and people learn, I’m aware of the wide variety of approaches, methods, and technics to training and behavioral problems, as well as their benefits, specifics and limitations, and I just LOVE the learning process in both animals and people.

Dog training and sport

I have been training dogs for more than 20 years as a private trainer for both sports (Agility, Frisbee, IGP, Obedience, etc.) and everyday life. Animals, especially dogs, were accompanying me for more than 30 years, through all my conscious life. 

 

My first dog was a male Doberman-pincher from unresponsible breeder, so I had quite a difficult partner to start with. However, we ended up regularly winning the local obedience, Agility and protective sports competitions. Together with several friends of mine, we were the first who started dog Agility in Kaliningrad, province Russian town after “perestoika”. That was an amazing experience of starting a big deal from the very beginning, from making the equipment with our own hands to working with different people coming and popularizing this sport. 

Education

  • 2006 – 2009: PhD, St Petersburg State University, Department of Higher Nervous Activity and Psychophysiology. 
  • 2004 – 2006: St Petersburg State University, MSc program “Neuronal mechanisms of memory and learning”, Department of Higher Nervous Activity and Psychophysiology. 
  • 1999 – 2004: Kaliningrad State University, 5-year long specialist program, Department of Zoology.

Neuroscience and teaching 

  • 2010 – 2014, senior lecturer, Saint Petersburg State University, Department of Higher Nervous Activity and Psychophysiology
  • 2009, “Electrophysiological methods in Neuroscience”, lecturer, St. Petersburg State University, Department of Higher Nervous Activity and Psychophysiology
  • 2008, “Animal behavior”, lecturer, Summer School of Ecology, Puschino (Moscow)
  • Author of scientific papers and thesis in Neuroscience and Zoology

Currently I am a member of the Finnish Agility Club (Järvenpään Agility Urheilijat) and I compete successfully with my own dog (smooth collie Ima/Svagni Leela) ​​in Agility at highest class 3. We are winners of multiple competitions in Russia and Finland.  My dog is awarded Finnish Agility Champion at the age of 3.5 years. She is also our club’s champion 2021 in her category (L3).

Courses and schools

  • 1999-2022 – participant of uncountable number of dog training seminars, webinars, camps, and trainings of leading Russian, Finnish and other contries cynological athletes and coaches (among them Varvara Bolshakova, Tatiana Alexandrova, Stanislav Kurochkin, Marko Mäkelä, Jenna Caloander, Stefani Semkat, Sanni Kariniemi, Reetta Pirttikoski, Santtu Stenberg and others)
  • September-October 2021 – work practice, dog school “Kompassi”. 
  • 2017 – 2020 – School of Applied Ethology by Sofia Baskin, University of Haifa,. Pet behavior counseling
  • 1999-2000 – internship as a dog training instructor at Central Service Dog Club of DOSAAF (Voluntary Society for Assisting Army, Air Force and Navy, «Центральный клуб служебного собаководства ДОСААФ России») of Russia. Theory and practice of dog training

Family

Together with my husband we are taking care of our two kids (11 and 5 years old) three dogs (two smooth collies and whippet), a cat, a toad and two mice. Animals always were a very important part of my life, my biggest passion. I got my first hamster when I was 5, my first dog when I was 11. During my childhood I kept at home almost any animal I was allowed to bring home: birds, gerbils, rabbits, lizards, frogs, fishes, whatever 😉 Animals, especially dogs, were accompanying me for almost 30 years, through all of my conscious life, and my interest in them is only growing.