History
The Arctic Spitz of Lapland was, for thousands of years,
similar to the types seen today - this has been
confirmed by archaeological findings. A survey was
carried out during 1959 to 1961 of the dogs found
herding the reindeer and two different types were
evident.
One was a nearly square, longhaired galloper; The
Finnish Lapphund, or Suomemlapinkoira, the other was
longer than its height, had a shorter coat, was bigger
than the Lapphund and moved at a trot; The Lapponian
Herder.
In Finland, today's breeding pays particular attention
to the proportions and strength of the skeletal
structure of the body and head, together with the arctic
suitability of the coat and with its colour - in which a
lot of variation is accepted.
Although the 2nd World War destroyed a large part of
Lapland and its dogs, a good number were saved and the
Finnish Clubs continue to strive to maintain the Finnish
Lapphund to the type depicted in the pictures from the
old standards and the stories of reindeer herding. The
breed standard of the Lapphund was confirmed in 1975 and
subsequently revised in 1982 and 1987. The standard has
now undergone its final fine tuning to meet FCI
requirements and was reissued by the FCI 12/3/99.
One should never forget that the Lapphund is one of the
most perfect products of nature and a part of the
Finnish tradition worth taking care of. Heavy work in
austere life conditions has made our Lapphunds healthy,
modest farm-hands, content with very little and
excellent companions for the whole family. They do
everything that they can for their master and dinner
plate! Therefore the contentedness and the lovely smile
of the Lapphund is readiest when they are allowed to act
according to the orders and instruction of their master.
In the past our domestic herding dog has been called a
Lapp herd dog, Lapp Spitz dog and a Lapp hound but since
1993 the breed has been called the Finnish Lapphund (Suomenlapinkoira)
originating from the longhaired dogs used for reindeer
herding in Lapland. It is still to some extent used as a
shepherd dog for herding reindeer, cattle and sheep but
the majority of Lapphunds serve as pet dogs and watch
dogs for country houses and more densely populated
areas, i.e. yard dogs.
According to the registrations of the Finnish Kennel
Club the breed is amongst the top fifteen (2010 top 5)
most favoured breeds in Finland. The popularity of the
Lapphund is based on its health, character, conformation
and variety of colouring. For a family keen on outdoor
life and exercise this dog is an excellent all year
round companion for all weathers.
The variety and combination of colours are as much part
of the attraction of this breed as are the dazzling good
looks which prove immensely popular in Finland not only
for showing but also as a family dog. One of the
National Dogs of Finland, the Lapphund is of medium
size, strongly built and capable of a days work herding
reindeer. Characteristics and temperament are accurately
summarised in the Breed Standard which states; tendency
to herd, intelligent, brave, calm, faithful; suitable as
a companion and watch dog. and only those fortunate to be owners will know just how
typical that description is of the breed.
The breed works in Lapland to this day as a herder of
reindeer. It is described by the Lapps as a galloping
dog and works alongside the Lapponian Herder, a trotting
dog. Between them the two breeds are said to work herds
ideally - their styles perfectly complimenting each
other.
Written information on the Lapphund is scarce, most of
the information, we are told, is written in obscure
Lapplandic dialects which even the Finns have trouble
interpreting. We do know that the breed is still strong
in Lapland and the Finns, when they wish to introduce
new stock, travel north to select from the working
packs.
Characteristics
The breed is a medium sized heavy coated spitz type
herding breed, being used to herd reindeer by the Lap
farmers in the cold northern parts of Finland, and the
dogs in the UK, being direct descendents of true working
dogs, do show strong herding instincts given the
opportunity.
As a working breed they are quick to learn and have
potential as obedience and agility dogs as well as
having extremely loveable natures which make them ideal
family pets.
The breed integrates well with other breeds, the current
UK dogs have moved into homes with Toy breeds (Bichons
and Cavaliers) and Working breeds (Rottweiler, Bernese
Mountain Dog, Australian Cattle Dog), to name but a few
- the Lapphund has proved they fit in well with them
all.
One of the most commonly asked questions is; "do they
bark?" It would be wrong to say no, of course all breeds
will bark given certain stimuli, but it would be true to
say that the Finnish Lapphund does not have the
characteristic excitable spitz yap. They will bark/yap
when disturbed but are not like some of their spitz
relatives who can be seen barking for attention at shows
etc. Certainly being an intelligent breed the young pups
can be quickly taught when they are expected to bark and
when not.
The Finnish Lapphund is a happy and lively breed and
certainly requires at least an average amount of
exercise as one would expect for a medium breed - it is
too intelligent and keen to be busy to lead a totally
sedentary life.
For a heavy coated breed the Finnish Lapphund requires
surprisingly little grooming. The outer coat is coarse
and because of this does not tend to matt or knot like
some of the softer coated breeds. The thick weatherproof
undercoat helps keep out the rain and dirt.
Character & Differences Between
the Sexes
As regards the character the Lapphund is calm,
intelligent, brave, self-reliant, faithful, willing to
learn and kind to children.
The male dog is outstanding with his thick coat whilst
the hair of the bitch is a bit shorter and she tends to
be more humble in character.
Activities
The breed has been very successful in obedience trials
including competing at a national level in Finland. The
breed is ideal for dog shows, herding, agility,
tracking, searching and hunting - in fact anything you
might fancy.
Colour & Care of the Coat
All shades of colours are allowed. The most common
colours are different shades of black and brown, light
and grey shades. In addition to one main colour several
dogs have light and or/tan colour markings. The thick
coat needs no other care except regular brushing.
Health
The Lapphund is one of the healthiest
breeds in Finland, allergies, eczema, eye or ear
inflammations are uncommon in the breed. There is a
small incidence of hereditary eye disease (PRA & HC),
hip scores are good as are patella checks.
The stud services and subsequent whelpings are usually
easy.
In Summary
Genuine domestic herding spitz type dogs
A good dog for homes, herding, watching and
companionship
Intelligent and self-reliant
Appropriate for almost all dog activities
An outdoor dog which also enjoys/prefers being outdoors
A variety of coat colour shades and patterns are
accepted
Introduction into the UK
The UK story starts in 1989 when Sue & Roger Dunger
imported the first Finnish Lapphund into the UK. Since
her arrival there has been an orderly progression in
numbers with further imports and a controlled number of
litters being bred.
Those involved with the development of the breed to date
have been determined that there should be no immediate
explosion in numbers as seen in some other newly
imported breeds. This has meant that our breed has had
time to settle, for hip scores and eye tests to be
carried out and we now know, as far as this is possible
in a relatively short time, that the breed is both
healthy and sound. The average hip score is
encouragingly low with the breed mean score at 14 (range
9 - 35) from 23 dogs scored under the BVA scheme (at the
time of reporting); at the time of writing (July 2010)
the mean is now 13 (range 6 - 40) from 138 dogs scored.
A large proportion of the adult stock in the UK has been
eye tested clear but 2 cases of suspected PRA have been
reported in older dogs.
In 1989 the top bitch in the breed in Finland, SF MVA
Lecibsin Hissukka, was flown to the UK in whelp and her
litter of five was born in quarantine, Sue and Roger
Dunger were responsible for this population explosion!
The puppies were released at 8 weeks of age and Hissukka
was flown home to Finland. Subsequent importation
included a brown and tan dog; Staalon Runne of Sulyka, a
black and tan dog; Tsinghuan Poarka at Chelville, plus a
further three bitches (cream, red sable and wolf sable).
A slow and careful breeding programme then started and
since the first litter born in quarantine a further 29
litters had been produced up to 1999 - varying in size
from 2 to 8 pups per litter. 1999 was yet another
exciting year for the introduction of new blood; the
Finnish Champion SF MVA Eetla came into quarantine and
whelped a litter of 4 in the March. She was to be joined
later in the summer at the Chelville kennel by Staalon
Kidda, an older puppy bitch brought in under the Balai
Directive. In the last few years further imports have
joined the UK population to further enhance the gene
pool. As a result of the carefully planned importations
we have a number of distinct breeding lines available in
this country - the future looks interesting.
The Finnish Lapphund had originally been granted Import
Register Status by the Kennel Club which restricted the
breed showing to Matches, Exemption Shows plus Import
Register Classes at open and championship show level.
The breed was not eligible to compete in breed classes,
however since the Irish Kennel Club did not operate an
Import Register category the breed was eligible to
compete in breed classes, where scheduled, and in AVNSC
(and variety not separately classified)
Pastoral classes and a number of Finnish Lapphunds have
crossed the waters and been awarded Green Stars. In 2011
the Finnish Lapphund was given CC status.
The above information has been taken from the website of
the Finnish Lapphund Club of Great Britain, to find out
more about them please click here.
The Finnish Lapphund Club of Great Britain was founded
by a small band of enthusiasts in May 1994 with the
intention of protecting and furthering the interest of
the breed in the UK, in November 1995 the Club was
provisionally recognised by the Kennel Club.
At the time of writing the Club has over 100 members, a
number of whom do not yet own a Finnish Lapphund - it is
not necessary to be an owner of the breed to join them
as they happily welcome anyone who is genuinely
interested in the breed and wishes to help the clubs
aims.
|
