Finnish Lapphund

The Finnish Lapphund is a medium-size dog breed and a member of the Spitz family. Traditionally it has been used for herding reindeer, but has also gained wide popularity as a companion animal. Although it is one of the most popular dog breeds in its native country, Finland, it is not very common elsewhere.

Finnish Lapphund Appearance

The Finnish Lapphund is a medium sized, strongly built dog. It is slightly longer than it is high at the withers. It has a profuse coat with pricked, highly mobile ears. The breed standard is 46-52cm at the withers (above the shoulder) for a male dog, and slightly smaller 41-47cm for a bitch. However, some variation is allowed, since the breed standard states that the type is more important than the size. A typical male of 49cm height normally weighs 17-19kg, but the breed has a weight range of 15-24kg, depending on size of the dog.

The Lapphund has a profuse double coat, with a short, fluffy undercoat and a longer, coarse topcoat. The coat makes the dog waterproof as well as resistant to extreme cold. In Finland, only two dog breeds are legally allowed to be kenneled outdoors in winter: the Finnish Lapphund and the Lapponian herder. The profuse hair around the head and neck gives the distinct impression of a mane. Although the coat is profuse, it requires only a modest amount of maintenance.

A wide variety of colours are found in the breed. Any colour is allowed in the breed standard, although a single colour should predominate. Almost any colour can be found: white, black, red, brown, sable and wolf-sable are frequently seen. One of the most common colour combinations is black and tan: a predominantly black dog with tan legs and face.

Many Finnish Lapphunds have very distinctive facial markings. One of the unusual facial markings is "spectacles", where a ring of lighter coloured hair around the eyes gives the impression that the dog is wearing spectacles. Like other Spitz types, the tail is carried curving over the back. The Finnish Lapphund has a tail covered with profuse and long hair. The tail may hang whilst the dog stands.

Finnish Lapphund Temperament

The Finnish Lapphund is an intelligent and active breed. Since it was employed as a herding dog that needed to work closely with man, it remains popular as a family pet. In Finland, it is one of the ten most popular breeds.

The breed is friendly and alert, and makes a good watch dog, due to its tendency to bark at unfamiliar things. The breed was originally used to herd reindeer by droving, and barking helped it to be distinguished from wolves. The breed is highly trainable, although it is sometimes described as "thinking before it goes into action". Barking can be controlled with a modest amount of training.

The breed makes the ideal outdoor companion. It is active, cold-proof, and water-proof, and will gladly accompany people on walking or running trips.

Finnish Lapphund History

The breed has its origins as a reindeer herder of the Sami people, the indigenous people of an area in the Nordic countries. The Sami have used herding dogs for centuries, and these dogs were typically long in body, somewhat rectangular in shape, with long hair and a straight tail that would curl up over the back when the dog was moving.

The first breed standards were set in 1945 by the Finnish Kennel Club, who called the breed the Lappish Herder, also known as Kukonharjunlainen. It is believed that these dogs were the result of a cross between the Karelian Bear Dog and the reindeer dogs, and had short hair. In the 1950s the Finnish Kennel Association created the first breed standard for the Lapponian herder. Acceptable colours for this breed were black, bear-brown and white.

In the 1960, the various Finnish kennel associations were unified, and in 1966 the breeds were reassessed. This resulted in the formal definition of two breeds: the Lapponian herder with a shorter coat was defined in 1966, and the longer coated Finnish Lapphund was defined in 1967.

At about the same time technology enabled changes in the lifestyle of the Sami herders. Previously the longer-haired dogs were generally preferred for herding, but with the advent of snowmobiles the preference started to change in favour of the shorter haired Lapponian herder.