The Swedish Lapphund

Appearance

Typical Spitz dog of slightly less than medium size and with a proud head carriage. Its coat is weather resistant.
Important proportions: Rectangular body shape.

History

The Swedish Lapphund (a Nordic Spitz used for reindeer herding by the Samic nomadic tribes) is known in the Nordic area since centuries. The Lapphund is very susceptible and willing to work. Its abilities as a good guard and herding dog made it very useful in the reindeer-trade. Nowadays the breed is foremost kept as a companion dog, its very versatile, suitable for obedience training, agility, herding, tracking etc. It’s easy to train, full of endurance and toughness and with a weather-resistant coat.

Temperament

Lively, alert, kind and affectionate. The Lapphund is very receptive and willing to work. Its abilities as a good guard and herding dog made it very useful in the reindeer trade. It is very versatile, suitable for obedience training, agility, herding, tracking, etc. It is easy to train, full of endurance and toughness

Care / Grooming

This breed has a double coat, the outer coat is soft & shiny the undercoat is thick curly & dence. The coat should be washed with a good quality shampoo & conditioner. Dry the coat well & brush once a week with a pin brush & fine comb for legs & head, wide tooth comb for the body & longer coat. This breed are not trimmed, with snow shoes to protect the feet from hot paths & icy weather. They will burn the coat if left in the sun & it will have bronzing on the tips, it is recommended that sunscreen be sparyed on or kept out of the sun during the hotter parts of the day to keep the coat black.

Health

The largest problem with this breed at the moment is PRCD-PRA, with the introduction of DNA testing dogs who passed the normal eye testing are showing up as DNA affected, carefull breeding is taking place to breed the insodences down. HD is a small problem but more breeders are selecting healthier lines to breed from. With the Swedish kennel club not registering litters from unhealthy breeding. Australian Breeders are now looking for Clear lines to import along with Hips scored A or B to breed healthier stock in this country.

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