Jaakko sees agility as a work of art created by humans and dogs together. This can be sensed when you see a handler running a course in perfect harmony with his dog.

Jaakko has been characterized as peaceful, intelligent and visionary. He is a true innovator of the OneMind Dogs methodology. He is constantly analyzing both handlers and dogs, and how dogs reflect our actions.

“It is better to give it your all, than to be safe” describes his way of training and competing. A perfect run requires taking risks. Jaakko doesn’t go with the flow; on the contrary, he seeks to challenge himself and his dog in every course. This can be seen in his personal handling decisions, which often differ from the others. Jaakko has reached the podium stand in several international competitions. No wonder that people follow his activities - and in competitions the audience often falls silent when he performs with his dogs.

As a coach he encourages students to think creatively, questioning their habits and behaviors and not taking anything for granted. Jaakko feels that agility is affected by not only physical actions but also by the handler’s state of mind. According to Jaakko, people are a physical and mental combination and both sides have to be in balance – including in the agility course. When a handler seeks to change a physical action, he first has to change his state of mind. Jaakko believes that every dog has untapped potential, and it is the job of the handler to open his mind and discover that potential. He loves to use metaphors to convey his message to students.

When Jaakko is not thinking about dogs, you can find him having a long conversation with his friends, or fishing. As he never stops analyzing animals, trying to understand the minds of fish gives him a new challenge when he goes fishing with his friends.