Tom Kankkonen

Finland

I’ve been a dog enthusiast since I was a kid. Working dog activities and exhibitions have become widely known. In my family circle, German Shepherds were bred since the 1950’s. Once upon a time, the puppies were born in Karhunkorpi kennel, but since 1971, our family’s puppies have been born with the kennel name Solholmens. I have also been active in the German Shepherd Association. I was qualified to judge German Shepherds already in 1993 and in addition to Finland, the number of judging appointments, mostly specialties, has taken me e.g. to Japan, Mexico, Estonia, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Ireland, Israel, Russia, Malta, United Kingdom, New Zealand. I have also had the honour of judging my own breed both at the FCI European Winner shows and last year at the FCI World Winner show. In addition to my own breed, I have recently expanded to other breeds of the FCI 1 and 2 groups. In the show rings, it is important for me to perform dogs without putting them too much, and I also expect the dogs to be well handled and show the kind nature of the breed. A balanced overall picture, where the details of the structure are also in place and the movement is smooth.
I wish you all the best of luck and success in the Winner exhibitions!