Elena Sokolova

Elena Sokolova, General Board Member

My name is Elena Sokolova.

I’ve got my first dog when I was 14, a sweet and clever West Siberian Laika. Together we attended Dog Club for Teenagers where I was training my dog for basic obedience and tricks. After graduation I attended several courses for Dog handlers at University. I’ve been interested in dog sports, that’s why when my dog has died, I decided to get a breed that could be suitable for sport discipline.

The first time I met Dutch Shepherd breed was in 2011 when I came to the Netherlands to do my PhD research. I had a chance to visit kennel of working Dutch shepherds and few trainings of Dutchies in sport club. Later I have visited Holland Cup 2011 where I was impressed with the working skills of Dutch shepherds and fell in love completely with this magnificent breed. A few months later, I became a happy owner of shorthair Dutch Shepherd puppy from Switzerland.

With my first Dutchie Ajax (Cian van cholinchove) we have been training and competing in IPO (IGP) for few years. Unfortunately, we had to stop training when my dog was injured. He is enjoying his retirement now, while still having a strong desire to work and ready to follow me everywhere.

My young dog Mick (Generiques Atomic) was born in 2021. We are training IGP now. There are still a lot of things that we need to do, but the most important that we both enjoying training.

In 2021 I’ve joined the WDSF as assistant of board members and in 2022 I’ve been elected as General board member. I’m very proud to be part of this fantastic organization that helps to promote sport with my favorite breed.

What do I like in Dutch shepherd? The greatness of the breed is the fact that dutchies could be successful in various disciplines and of course be a great family dog companion! This breed has outstanding characteristics, but also possess outstanding health, intelligence, temperament and self-confidence.

Elena Sokolova