About Me

Me and the reindeer on the red carpet.

 My name is Elin A M Kile. I live in Tromsø in northern Norway with my husband Mads, our daughter Alva and our golden retriever Eddie.
I'm not Norwegian though, I was born in Sweden and grew up in the little town called Karlskoga.
In 2007 I moved to Tromsø to study and I graduated with a master's degree in animal physiology at the University of Tromsø in May 2011. I've studied thermoregulatory mechanisms in Reindeer, a subject that is both very interesting and has given me the opportunity to work with wild (or semi-domesticated) animals both at the research facility and in the field. Apart from studying reindeer I've also been in the West Ice on research expeditions where we studied Harp and Hooded seals, and I've been assisting in catching and handling of Muskoxen on an island called Ryøya outside of Tromsø. The weirdest thing I've done during my studies was training a reindeer to walk up the red carpet for a movie release.. perhaps not exactly scientific work, but definitely something I'll remember for the rest of my life. I am currently working as a veterinary technician at a veterinary clinic here in Tromsø, a work that suits me well. I love spending my day surrounded by animals, who's day or even quality of life I can improve.

Just to make one thing  completely clear: All views expressed on this blog are solely my own, and do not in any way reflect the views of the clinic where I work.

Scott and Noor playing an communicating beautifully.

In my spare time I usually do something photography-related. I love both taking pictures and editing them i Photoshop, or using them as the basis of paintings or drawings. I also love documenting things using photography, I guess my interest for science has spilled over to my interest for photography. Since I am (so insanely) interested in dogs and dog behavior, this has come in handy and I often try to combine my interests, as in the picture seen to the left; a good example of dog body language.

Me, Urax and Freja.

My greatest passion in life is animals, which is the reason that I chose to study here in Norway. And as I've already mentioned I've worked with lots of different wild animals. Like you already probably noticed, I am totally crazy about dogs, always have been and always will be. I think I've read more about dogs than I've read for any course at the university. I've always been fascinated by the cooperation between humans and dogs through the thousands of years they've been our companions and I've always been very interested in different dog training methods. Not to mention dog's "genetic memory" (in lack of a better word). Dogs that are bred for a certain purpose never have to be taught how to do this specific task. The have to be trained to master it, but they instinctively just know what to do. Like for instance the beagle that hunts game and barks for as long as the hunted animal is moving, as opposed to the moose hounds that will only bark when the animal is standing still.. I mean, how does the dog know when to bark and when to be quiet? It just knows. Simply fascinating. 

Me and Tessa.

The aim of "Dogtelligent" is to spread knowledge about dogs and dog training, as well as sharing news about dogs. On the blog I'll give training tips, give reviews on dog equipment and share stories about my life and experiences with dogs.
Hope you will find it interesting! If you have any question or requests for the blog feel free to contact me at: dogtelligent@gmail.com