Swedish Lapphund

Swedish Lapphund is the oldest breed in Scandinavia and, possibly, one of the oldest in the world, a direct descendant of ancient northern Spitz. Like other Lapland Sami dogs, Spitz accompanied nomadic tribes, protecting them from wild animals and guarding property. With the development of settled deer husbandry, Spitz became shepherds who guarded the deer and ran large herds. The peculiarity of the work of the Spitz is the management of the herd with the help of a voice: barking scared away predators and let the deer know that it was not a wolf.

Sámi always cut their tails to their dogs so that long hair would not freeze to their backs and cause inconvenience to dogs, bobtail is not an inherent property of Lapphund. Many dogs had double dewclaws on their hind legs, which was considered useful for working on snow. Previously, the Lapphund had a variety of colors, but the Sámi preferred black dogs and black and tan dogs. In the myths and legends of the Sami, Lapphund is given the role of a coherent person in human contacts with the other world.

There were two varieties of lapphundas: short-haired and long-haired, as evidenced by chronicles and drawings. The Sami preferred to use short-haired dogs in their work, considering them to be faster. However, Swedish dog handlers, who observed not so much working dogs as dogs that lived in Lapar settlements as companions, came to the conclusion that purebred lapphounds should have a long coat. In addition, long Lapphund hair is steadily inherited, while short-haired producers give birth to both short-haired and long-haired.

However, the practical considerations of the reindeer herders were stronger. By the beginning of the 20th century, the number of long-haired Spitz was greatly reduced. The restoration of the unique Swedish breed began in the 30-40s of the XX century with the support of the king . The breed standard was approved in 1944, on an ongoing basis, the breed was recognized by the International Cynological Federation in 1955 ^[1] .

Swedish Lapphund - a dog slightly smaller than average size, square format, with a typical Spitz look. The forehead is round, the muzzle is not too long and slightly pointed, the nose is coal-black. The eyes are set wide and horizontal, rather large, dark and expressive. The ears are triangular, small, erect, the tips are rounded. The tail is set high, in motion it is twisted into a ring above the back. Dewclaws on hind legs are allowed.

The coat is plentiful, the upper hair is straight, the hair of the undercoat is curled at the ends. The hair on the head and front of the legs is short, and the body is quite long. On the tail forms a volumetric plume, the neck is decorated with a collar. This coat protects the dog from getting wet. The color is black, sometimes with a brown cod. Small white spots are allowed on the chest, legs and tip of the tail ^[2] .

Swedish Lapphund is a versatile working dog, suitable for search and rescue services and sports. Hunters use Lapphounds in the hunt for forest birds and moose; these spitz dogs can also work with deer, wild boar and bear, and track wounded animals in the blood. Lapland Spitz is an active dog that requires significant physical exertion. He is considered one of the best dogs to keep in the family as a companion, however, training lapphounds should be started as early as possible in order to wean the puppy from barking for any reason. Lapphunds are disciplined, friendly, playful, these are spectacular show dogs, successful in agility , offense, work with willingness and pleasure ^{[1] [2] [3]} .