Finnish Lapphunds

LappieLover

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#1
Hello everyone!

In the next two years, I'm looking to add a Lappie puppy to my household. Does anyone have any personal experiences with them?

Thanks!

Lappie
 

Maxy24

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#2
No I don't know anything about them but I just looked them up and they are beautiful! Are you rescuing or buying from a breeder?
 

LappieLover

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#3
Preferably buying from a breeder, as I'm interested in showing. BTW- thanks for your welcome!

I'm already in contact with breeders in America, Canada and the UK so hopefully all will go well. No doubt I'll be on a waiting list for quite some time, which is no big deal to me.

Thankfully, all of the breeders I've contacted are very protective of the breed, and do all of the necessary health testing CERF, OFA and/or PennHip. Most also seem to do genetic testing, which is a definate plus. Also, from what I understand, the "lappie" community is very close, so I would have many mentors to get advice and support from.

I look forward to doing agility and possibly herding trials with this dog, as well as showing. They are very close to AKC recognition, but until they are I will probably have to show in UKC.

BTW- thanks for the compliment on them! They are beautiful, and have a great disposition from what I know/ have seen.
 

Maxy24

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#4
I'm glad you know what you are doing! I always wonder with new members if they know what to look for but you clearly do. One breeder I was looking at in the USA was Forest Trail, have you looked into that one? Of course I'm only looking at websites and I'm sure many of the good ones have no websites. What is still needed to get them recognized by the AKC?
 

bubbatd

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#5
Had to look them up through Google .... beautiful !!! What are they bred from since they aren't AKC recognized ?? I see 3 breeds in them .
 

LappieLover

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#6
?

Bred from? I'm not sure that I follow. They're actually a very very old breed, originally used as guard dogs, then later to herd reindeer. Only recently were they recognized as a breed, however.

Almost all of the "spitz" type dogs appear to be related in some way. Keeshonden (my favorite breed so far) appear to be a mix between samoyed (pronounced samy-ed) and the Norwegian Elkhounds. However, they, much like the Finnish Lapphunds, are a true breed of their own.

Here, if I may be so bold, I will pull some information on the Finnish Lapphund Club (the one actually in Finland):

FINNISH LAPPHUND (Suomenlapinkoira)

History

Finnish Lapphund Finnish Lapphund is one of the three Lapphund breeds descending from the old arctic spitzes of Scandinavian area. Being an integral part of the Sami culture the breed gradually evolved from a hunting and guarding dog into a reindeer herding spitz which it still is today.

The first Finnish breed standard was accepted in 1945, even though the World War II and the following distemper epidemics had threatened the whole Lapponian dog population. The breed was first called "Lapponian shepherd", but in 1960’s the breed was divided into two and the rough coated stock was given a new breed standard. The standard was revised 1975 and again in 1993. Since 1993 the official name of the breed has also been Finnish Lapphund. Breed’s register is still open, allowing unregistered dogs be admitted to the breed if they meet the breed standard.

The popularity of Finnish Lapphund has kept increasing throughout the 1990’s and the first years of 21st century. In 2004 the breed was among the five most popular breeds in Finland, and it is steadily gaining ground also abroad.

Characteristics

Finnish Lapphunds The Finnish Lapphund is intelligent, independent, humble and co-operative.. Even though a quick learner, the Finnish Lapphund usually thinks for a while before going into action. Generally Finnish Lapphunds are easy to train and therefore they are seen competing in official Finnish obedience, working dog and agility trials.

In Finland the breed is also very popular as a family pet, but needs a moderate amount of exercise and mental stimulation. As an active and weatherproof herding spitz that enjoys human contact, a Finnish Lapphund makes a wonderful companion for an outdoor enthusiast.

General Appearance

Finnish Lapphund For decades the general appearance of Finnish Lapphund has remained the same. The breed is medium built, has a long and coarse coat with dense undercoat and especially males have an abundant mane. Ears are pricked or tipped.

All coat colors are permitted, as long as the primary color is dominant. The dog differs from the bitch both in appearance and character, the bitch being smaller and somewhat more submissive. The ideal height for males is 19 inches (49 cm) and for females 17 inches (44 cm) with a tolerance of 1 inch (+/- 3 cm) the right type being considered to be more important than the size.

Health & Maintenance

Finnish Lapphund The Finnish Lapphund is generally a healthy breed reported long levity being from 12 to 15 years. The breed belongs to the program against the inheritable diseases (PEVISA) of Finnish Kennel Club and therefore breeders are strongly encouraged to examine breeding stock for Hip Dysplasia and eye diseases. The thick coat of the Finnish Lapphund stays in good condition by regular brushing and a wash once a year. The Finnish Lapphund usually sheds twice a year, when changing from the summer coat to a thicker winter coat and vice versa.

Taken from: http://personal.inet.fi/yhdistys/lappalaiskoirat/english/finlapphund.html
 

LappieLover

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#7
Oh, silly me. I see now how you came to that conclusion. Yes, they do not have full AKC regognition yet.

They are considered a "rare" breed yet, as people have only recently been importing them from Finland and the U.K.

However, please let me assure you that they are not a "designer" breed. If you do your home work, you will understand more, I think. Here, let me assist:

Here is the Finnish Lapphund Club of Canada:

http://www.finnishlapphund.ca/

If you really think these are a mix, I would strongly encourage you to visit this website. :)

Oh, what the hay. I can cut and paste, and that way everyone on the board can learn (just in case they are feeling lazy, LOL)

he Finnish Lapphund is one of the three Lapphund breeds descending from the old arctic spitz-type dogs of the Northern Scandinavian area and the Karelian region of Russia. The other two being the Lapponian Herder and the Swedish Lapphund. This is a very old breed believed to be long established as the lean sighthounds of Asia.

It is believed that the Spitz originated from Northern Russia and spread from there further out through Europe to countries such as Germany, where it became ancestor to the breed "Wolf Spitz".

Excavations of the Russian zoologist Antusching in 1882 found settlements of Saami people near Ladoga Lake in the Karelia region of Russia, believed to be of the early Neolithic period. Part of the excavations where skeletons of dogs which showed that two different breeds of dogs existed around the peaty moors of Ladoga Lake. These breeds were the summer dog (Canis Familiaris Palustris) and the winter dog (Canis Familiaris Inostranzewi). Antusching described the winter dog and later found out that they function as house and family dog.

Another evidence of the antiquity of the breed were the 7000 year old skeletal remains of a dog found in the archaelogical diggings in Varanger, Norway that closely resemble today's Lapphunds.

At the time when the dog was still a wild animal and the reindeers ran around in big herds, man had a big problem keeping an eye on their semi-domesticated reindeers without working day and night. At the same time it became more difficult for the dog to find food for the day, so they came to hang around the outskirts of the Saami camp scavenging for scraps that the Saami would throw away. As the relationship between Laplander and the arctic dog grew and with further domestication, the Saami soon found out that the dog could keep the herd together so effectively that no reindeers ran off and got lost, which of course made everything a lot easier for the man.

In the old days the Saami normally needed two different types of dogs that could work the field for him, a winter and a summer kind. The summer dog was an excellent edge dog, who without difficulties could search an area for lost reindeers and gather the scattered herd, while the winter dog was a more enduring dog. He had stronger legs and thicker fur in order to force the herd forward. Of course there were also those that were equally good in summer and winter. Besides this the Lapphund has, during the years, developed into a very nice, faithful and easy to teach friend who suits well as a family dog.


Original use and the spread of the Lapphund

Principal task of Lapphunds was guarding and herding the reindeers together. However, they were as effective in guarding the dwellings of the Saami and were also used as sleddogs. They accompany the Saami on their long travels in the summer and in the wintertime were used for hunting bears, mooses, wolves, foxes, rabbits, squirrels and birds. Hunting was a great secondary source of income for the nomadic Saami, as animal fur commanded a good price.

Being a nomadic people, settlements of the Saami were quite isolated from one another, so contact with various settlements were limited. As a consequence of this isolation, they could not avoid mating in close relationships and in-breeding of their Lapphunds. This explains why between different populations of the Saami , dogs differed in size, colour and quality of the coat.

In the western part of Scandinavia long haired black or brown Lapphunds predominated, while in the eastern part Lapphunds were parti-coloured of long-haired and short-haired type. Short-haired Lapphunds were better suited to eastern climate than his long-haired cousin, because in wintertime snow don't accumulate in their coat.

Because working abilities of Lapphunds were for the Saami people more important than their appearance, they were not afraid of crossing in other breeds. The Lapphund is an example of interbreeding between the northern Spitz type dogs and herding dogs from further south in Europe. It was noted that the Collie could have figured in the Lapphund's makeup.

Life of Saami people drastically changed in the 20th century. Numerous Saami settled down in permanent homes. The use of dogs for reindeer herding was getting less and less popular and the Saami have increasingly been using snowmobiles and in some degree helicopters in herding. However, as years passed by, the losses of reindeers were considerably greater than they were before. Reindeers were afraid of helicopters and snowmobiles and many died from heart-attacks and fright caused a lot of animals to fall and break their necks or legs. Because of this, lately, there is a growing trend among Saami people in returning back to the old methods of reindeer management.


Two World Wars and the following distemper epidemic had dealt a devastating effect on the Lapphund population and contributed to the diminishing numbers of Lapphunds in Northern Scandinavia. Howerver, as the use of the indigenous dog breed for work declined among the Saami, interest on the breed was growing from the rest of Scandinavia. Both the Swedes and the Finns claimed the Saami reindeer-herding dog as their own. To avoid problems, two breeds were internationally recognized - the Swedish Lapphund and the Finnish Lapphund.

After the World War II, the first Finnish breed standard was accepted in 1945 as part of the effort to recognize and revitalize the number of the Saami Herding Dogs.

The breed was first called "Lapponian shepherd", but in 1960's with the unification of the various Finnish Kennel organizations and with all the different lapphund dogs that were registered in the various kennel organizations were accepted into the unified Finnish Kennel Club, problems had arisen. Breeders came to realized that some of the lines had become shorter coated and while others are definitely long-coated. The breed was reassessed in 1966-1967 and the dogs were eventually separated on the basis of their coat length, the short coated Lapponian Herder and the long coated dogs which later on identified as the Finnish Lapphund.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Marri Vainio of the Peski Kennel had made use of her good knowledge of the breed and took on the task of identifying individual dogs in the Laplands and made a significant contributions in breeding and stabilizing the "type" of the Lappland herder. A number of the early Lapphunds that were exported outside of Scandinavia were offsprings of the original Peski Kennel dogs brought down from the Lapplands.

The standard was further revised 1975 and again in 1993. Since 1993, the official name of the breed has also been changed from Lapinkoira to Suomenlapinkoira (Finnish Lapphund). In Finland, the breed registry is still open, allowing unregistered dogs to be admitted if they meet the breed standard.

The popularity of Finnish Lapphund kept increasing throughout the 1990's and the first years of the 21st century. In 2004, the breed was among the five most popular breeds in Finland, and it is steadily gaining ground all over the world.

(This is taken from the Finnish Lapphund Club of Canada).
 

bubbatd

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#8
Interesting !! I wasn't inferring that they were a mix .......... meant like the Golden Retriever came from several mixes . Again , very pretty dogs .
 

LappieLover

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#9
Oh, sorry Grammy (can I call you that?). I just didn't want you thinking I was one of those people who create (or advocate the creation of) mixes with out purpose. I just wanted to make sure that you and everyone else know that I'm on the up and up and want to do "right" by my dog/ soon to be dog.

Does that make sense? I hope so. I am certainly here to make friends and learn alot.

Anyway, back to what you were ACTUALLY trying to get at (sorry again 'bout taht) I'm not really sure really how they were created. There are several types of "Lapponian" spitz dogs: one is the Lapponian Herder- shorter coated, longer bodied. Then there is the Finnish Lapphund: the longer, harsher coated herder and guardian.

There is also a Swedish Lapphund, but they are smaller then the Finnish Lappies.

They seem to be a totally seperate breed from the Samoyeds, although the Sami people had a hand in both breeds.

What were Goldens created from? Let's see if I can guess- a spaniel of some kind? Maybe a retriever? They are gorgeous and so sweet. My boyfriend loves them, and maybe some day we will add a golden puppy to our household.
 

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