Hanne Truelsen is a dog trainer and behaviourist working in Denmark. She joined the PDTE a number of years ago and is a current member of the Board. Hanne recently moved from Copenhagen to rural Denmark, and held an opening weekend for her new dog training facility, which was attended by fellow PDTE members as well as PDTE President Turid Rugaas. We caught up with Hanne to talk about the new venture. Hi Hanne. Firstly, congratulations on your new training facility! What made you choose this particular location? Firstly I wanted the possibility to have my own dog school with nice facilities for the dogs, as well as space to arrange small seminars. In terms of the location, we really liked the countryside. We are situated in a nice area with a lot of land around us, and the farms around us have horses and sheep. We now live in a very charming old fashioned farmhouse which is almost 200 years old. It has a straw roof which we find nice and cosy. We now have the possibility to get our own sheep, and next summer we plan to have a couple of Icelandic horses and some ducks. In the future we would also like a couple of donkeys!
What kind of facilities do you have at your new school? There is lots of land, including a small wood with lots of options for some natural agility. There are excellent facilities for nose-work and a lovely area for enriched environments for the dogs. I also have a space for puppy classes, as well as other types of classes and spaces for smaller social walks. How long did it take to get the school ready for opening? It took around 6-7 months to get everything ready for our opening. What sort of training and classes will you be running at the facility? We will have a range of classes and training options for clients and their dogs, including puppy classes, natural agility, nose-work and enriched environments. How long have you been working with dogs? In total I’ve been working with dogs for around 15 years. Tell us a bit about your own dogs. I have two Australian Shepherds. They are family dogs, but I do some activities with them, all just for fun. Holger is the male and he will be 8 years old in May. He has worked with natural agility, nosework and sheep herding in the past. The female, Heidi, is 1.5 years old and has also done some work in these areas. We’ve always enjoyed nice social walks with them in the woods around Copenhagen, and now we’ve moved to the country they are really enjoying all the space and nature around them. What made you join the PDTE? I was introduced and inspired to join the PDTE when I met Turid Rugaas. At the time I was completing her education course.
What do you think makes the PDTE unique? Lots of things! I’ve been introduced to many wonderful people. There are great opportunities to gain new knowledge through the AGMs, events and Dog Symposiums in places such as Oslo. It’s nice to know that information, recommendations and seminars that come through the PDTE are ones you can always trust. I also think it is important that the PDTE has a detailed code of ethics that you must commit to in order to become a member. This maintains a certain level of knowledge and experience across our membership. And finally, if you were a dog, what breed would you be? An Australian Shepherd!
Hanne Truelsen is a dog behaviourist working in Denmark. www.snudekompagniet.dk