The Swedish Lapphund is primarily a companion dog and also a shepherd dog in its native country of Sweden. It is also shown in the show ring. In times past, it was primarily used for herding reindeer. In the USA, the Swedish Lapphund is many times confused with the brown or black American Eskimo. Even so, these two breeds are not related.
The Swedish Lapphund is a medium sized breed that has a lot of fur and a spitz type tail. This breed was developed in Scandinavia thousands of years ago. The Scandinavian people developed a breed that was useful in herding and guarding reindeer. Both the Finnish Lapphund and the Swedish Lapphund were developed together. They both come from the same stock.
The Swedish Lapphund is a muscular dog with a rectangular shape. This breed has ears that are very alert to sounds. They have a foxy muzzle that was originally used to alert reindeer that they were friendly. The Swedish Lapphund has a double coat. The under coat is straight and long. The outer coat is dense and curly. They are found in a number of colors including brown, black, bear brown and occasionally a small amount of white. This breed has a tendency to bark quite a bit because of its past. The Swedish Lapphund is a rare breed that is intelligent and will do well with the proper training.
Appearance
The Swedish Lapphund is a spitz type dog with a rectangular shape. It has a weatherproof coat. The under coat is dense and consists of finer hairs. The outer coat is woolly and thick with erect hairs.
The average height of the Swedish Lapphund is between 16 – 20 inches. The average weight of this breed is between 43 – 45 pounds. The main colors of the Swedish Lapphund should be brown, bear brown, or black. It is acceptable for there to be white on the tip of the tail, the chest, and the paws.
There are certain characteristics of Swedish Lapphunds who are shown in the ring. For example, the head must be wedge shaped and a well defined stop. The eyes should be drank brown and round and set apart. The ears should be short and pointed. The jaws should have a scissor bite. The neck should be medium length and strong.
Personality
The Swedish Lapphund is a friendly and intelligent breed. Most people find the very appealing. However, they are not always the easiest dog to train. They can be quite stubborn and they have a natural instinct to bark a lot. This breed really enjoys the outdoors and they prefer a cool climate. The Swedish Lapphund will do better if they have enough mental and physical exercise. This breed will do better if they are not trained on a leash because they simply do not like the leash.
The Swedish Lapphund can accurately be described as faithful, affectionate, kind and alert. They will do well with children and are actually quite fond of them. If they are introduce in the correct manner, they also get along with other pets.
Care
The Swedish Lapphund needs a lot of exercise. This will help them keep in shape. They need to be given a good amount of work to do on a daily basis. It is recommend that this breed be walked for 3 hours a day if they live in the city where there is no other work for them to do. The teeth, nails, and ears should be checked on a periodic basis.
Even though they are stubborn, if they are given the correct type of training, they can be easily trained. They should be trained from an early age, as a puppy. This breed has a high learning rate and their obedience potential is considered to be medium. Their problem solving capability is high. The Swedish Lapphund will flourish if their owner can give them the amount of exercise they need. They also do not like hotter climates as much as colder climates. While some people claim they will do okay in a city environment, they probably will do better in the country or even suburban areas.
History
The Swedish Lapphund was started by the Sami people of Lapphund and this breed is related closely to the Finnish Lapphund. In times past, this breed was used for hunting and also herding reindeer. The Swedish Lapphund was trained to bark continuously when it was around the reindeer. This was so when a strange dog showed up that did not bark, the reindeer would know this was not a friendly dog and would avoid it. It is thought that this breed is around 7000 years old. This is because a skeleton that was shown to be 7000 years old was found close to Norway and it is very similar to the modern day Lapphund. Some historians have speculated that the Swedish Lapphund is even 9000 years old. This breed went through some difficulty in the 1920s because new methods were developed to manage reindeer. Because of that, not much effort was put into helping the breed survive and flourish. However, there were a few specimens that were saved. Around the time of the 1960s, some of these dogs began to be bred by the Swedish Kennel Club. The goal was to emphasize the guarding abilities of the breed. Outside of Sweden, the Swedish Lapphund is not very well known.