Winterfell's True

Chapter one

How the House Began

I'm Anastasia Kosovskaya, a 19-year-old student, originally from Naantali but currently living in Vantaa.

I've always been interested in dogs, trimming and dog sports. That passion most likely comes from my family, as we have always bred and trimmed dogs. My grandparents bred giant schnauzers, fox terriers and German shepherds.

I got really interested in breeding only in 2024, when a family friend started showing and breeding her own Russian hunting spaniels, and I got to help with both. That's how the idea of a kennel of my own was born, and it finally came true in April 2026.

For now my kennel focuses only on Russian hunting spaniels, but I'd love to have medium poodles in my kennel one day too. We'll see whether those plans come true!

Why Russian Hunting Spaniels

I started breeding Russian hunting spaniels because I wanted to help grow the breed's population and broaden its gene pool in Finland. New lines are needed all the time, and leaving my own imported dog out of breeding would have been a real waste. I'd love to import more dogs in the future, especially from Russia, but unfortunately the current situation doesn't allow it.

Even though I want to widen the gene pool, I will never do it at the expense of the dogs' health. I want to put health first, in balance with an appearance true to the breed standard, without exaggeration. I follow the recommendations of the Finnish Kennel Club and the Russian hunting spaniel club, and aim for as thorough health screening as possible, both at the vet and at home with genetic tests.

In short, my goal is balanced dogs with good health that match the breed standard well, without exaggeration.

Our Dog

In 2021 a little Russian hunting spaniel girl, Mirabella – “Yuki”, arrived from Russia and won my heart completely at first sight. Yuki is my first dog, and I was only 13 when I got her, but despite that we moved forward together one step at a time and formed a deep partnership. The Russian hunting spaniel turned out to be easy to train, easily motivated with food and great fun to do all kinds of things with. We tried Rally-toko, nosework and other activities, but didn't take them any further. Yuki lives with us mainly as a family dog, and every now and then we head out on off-leash adventures in the forest, though managing her hunting drive and recall has always been a real challenge and still is.