About us

I'm Heidi Bechstein, a dog enthusiast in my forties, a Rough Collie breeder and a dog blogger from Kerava, Finland. I have had Rough Collies since 2003, eight collies at home in total, and five more living with co-owners. I breed Rough Collies on a small scale under the kennel name Riemumielen, and six litters have been born under my kennel name. My blog is the Riemumielen dog blog, where you'll find posts about Rough Collies, dog sports and life with collies.

Heidi and FI RTVA BH Ruffenuff Peppermint Twist

Heidi and RTK3 PAIM-T Riemumielen Hurjasusi Nymeria

My background with collies

I got my first dog in my early twenties, when the blue merle Rough Collie male Robin (Samettisilmän Sini Usva) joined the family in 2003. Robin made me fall head over heels for Rough Collies, and I'm still on that path. So a couple of years later a second collie male, the tricolour Riku (RTK1* Maple Yard Apocalyptica), moved in to keep Robin company.

The kennel name Riemumielen was granted to me in 2011. My first collie female is the tricolour Riemu (FI RTVA BH Ruffenuff Peppermint Twist), who came to us in 2012 from Ruffenuff kennel. Riemumielen's first litter was born to Riemu in 2016. Riemu was a very important sporting dog to me, and I did many different dog sports with her.

Before the first litter was born, in 2015, I decided to get the sable female Sansa (RTK3 PAIM-T Goldentroll's Song Of Ice And Fire) from Goldentroll's kennel. Sansa's pedigree impressed me, and I hoped she would continue my breeding line. That is exactly what happened, and the following Riemumielen litters were born to Sansa. Breeding under the Riemumielen kennel name is small-scale, and litters will be born only occasionally in the future.

On Riemumielen's dog blog: Why is my breed the Rough Collie? (in Finnish)

Our dogs at home and with co-owners

The following Rough Collies live with me at home – you'll find more about each of them on the dogs' own pages:

Vappu, FI VMVA RTK1 PAIM-T Riemumielen Hunajatassu

Kaisla, FCI-StöPr1 RTK4 BH PAIM-T Riemumielen Hurjasusi Nymeria

Lilibet, C.I.B.-J FI JMVA LT MVA HeJW-24 RTK1 PAIM-T BH FCI-StöPr1 Crofter's Only Walking On Sunshine

Our cats

Three Finnish domestic cats live alongside our Rough Collies as indoor cats. Our cats are the short-haired black-and-white domestic female Luna (b. 2020), the grey short-haired domestic male Horus (b. 2023) and the white spotted domestic male Noël (b. 2025). Our long-haired domestic cat Smilla (2007–2021) and the long-haired American Curl male Trollin Sisu, called Sisu (2010–2023), are in our memories.

My thoughts on breeding Rough Collies

Our Rough Collies live with us in an ordinary home as members of the family, and we have no kennel facilities. I encourage everyone interested in the breed to get to know it thoroughly before getting a puppy. The Rough Collie is a dog that needs to live together with people and needs proper basic training, enough exercise and other activity. It becomes deeply attached to its own family and is a gentle, friendly and active working and herding breed.

Besides breeding, I do various dog sports with my Rough Collies, and above all I see myself as an active dog-sport enthusiast whose view of breeding has largely been shaped by the years spent on training fields and at competitions. The Rough Collie of my dreams is true to type and a versatile sporting dog, and in my breeding I emphasise the good physical and mental qualities of a sporting dog. I have competed with my own dogs in obedience, rally obedience, agility and nosework, and have also taken part in dog shows. You'll find the results in more detail on each dog's own page.

Alongside my own experience with collies and dog sports, I have trained on courses such as those run by the Finnish Kennel Club (details below), and I graduated from the Breeder Academy of SuKoKa ry (the Finnish Dog Breeders' Association). I have studied behavioural science from the perspective of animal training at Tampere University: Behaviour-analysis-based training for animal trainers | Tampere Universities (in Finnish). Behind all this training is a constant eagerness to learn new things and a wish to develop my own skills, which I also try to share through my posts on the Riemumielen blog.

On Riemumielen's dog blog: Why do I breed dogs? (in Finnish)