- Finnish Lapphund
Infobox Dogbreed
|thumb|Glenchess Revontuli, the top winning Finnish Lapphund in the UK in 2005 and 2006
akcfss = yes
akcgroup = FSS
akcstd = ?
altname = Lapinkoira
Suomenlapinkoira
ankcgroup = Group 5 (Working Dogs)
ankcstd = http://www.ankc.aust.com/finlap.html
country =Finland
fcigroup = 5
fcinum = 189
fcisection = 3
fcistd = http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:lURA4EDc9JsJ:www.fci.be/uploaded_files/189gb99_en.doc+http://www.fci.be/uploaded_files/189gb99_en.doc&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=cackcgroup= Group 7
ckcstd= http://www.ckc.ca/en/Default.aspx?tabid=99&BreedCode=FNL
kcukgroup = Pastoral
kcukstd = http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/135
name = Finnish Lapphund
nzkcgroup = Working
nzkcstd = http://www.nzkc.org.nz/br523.html
ukcgroup = Northern Breeds
ukcstd = http://mail.ukcdogs.com/UKCweb.nsf/80de88211ee3f2dc8525703f004ccb1e/2d3713f12176d25785257049006d379b?OpenDocumentThe Finnish Lapphund is a hardy, easy going, medium-size breed of
Spitz type. Traditionally it has been used for herdingreindeer , 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 numerous outside ofScandinavia .Description
Appearance
Type
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.ize
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.
Coat
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 theLapponian herder .cite book |last=Jackson |first=Toni |authorlink= |title=Finnish Lapphund: Special rare breed edition |year=2003 |publisher=Kennel Club Books |location=USA |id=ISBN 1-5937-8374-4 ]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.
Colour
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. The spectacles of the Finnish Lapphund, while reminiscent of their cousins, the
keeshond , are larger and more pronounced.Tail
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.Differences in breed standard between countries
The Finnish Lapphund is a recognized breed in
Finland ,Europe ,Great Britain ,Australia and theUSA . The breed standards are mostly identical, with a few minor exceptions: in the English standard, the acceptance of tipped ears is omitted.Temperament
The Finnish Lapphund is an intelligent and active breed. Finnish Lapphunds take well to training due to their intelligence. Some owners and fanciers claim that "Lappies" even have the ability to think through actions first. Although small in number worldwide, a noticeable number of Finnish Lapphunds have excelled in activities such as obedience trials, agility, herding trials, and pet therapy.
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. Even when not herding, the Finnish Lapphund tends to bark with a purpose, and more rare cases of problem barking can normally be controlled by 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. It is one of two breeds permitted to live outdoors in Finland.
In Finland, at least two dogs have won national championships for obedience ("Obedience Champion Hiidenparran Tielkka" and "Fin and Nordic Obedience Ch Kettuharjun Elle", both owned and trained by [http://www.kolumbus.fi/matleena.nisula Rauno Nisula] ). [ http://216.147.86.75/History/HistoryLappalaiskoirat.html ]
Finnish Lapphunds are also suitable for agility. In the UK, "Elbereth Taika" has been awarded an agility warrant, and has represented England at the 2005 Kennel Club Nations cup, where she achieved a second place. [ [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/elbereth/taika.htm Elbereth Taika ] ]
The breed adapts well to family life, including being responsive to children. Finnish Lapphunds have a gentle nature with children, people with disabilities, and the elderly.
Health
The Finnish Lapphund is a naturally healthy breed, and typically lives 12-14 years, although dogs of 16-17 years are not uncommon in Finland.
Known medical issues include Generalised
progressive retinal atrophy (GPRA), hereditarycataracts .*GPRA is a progressive eye disease that can cause permanent blindness in dogs. In the Finnish Lapphund, this tends to be late onset, but can typically appear between the ages of 1 an 8 years. GPRA is a genetic illness, and is transmitted via an
autosomal recessive gene . A reliable genetic test for the prcd-form of GRPA has been developed by [http://www.optigen.com OptiGen] [ [http://www.optigen.com/opt9_test_pra_finlapphund.html OptiGen - PRA - Finnish Lapphund ] ] , and breeders are increasingly testing breeding animals before deciding on suitable mating pairs. The Finnish Lapphund club of Great Britain adopted an ethical policy in 2006 that matings will only be allowed if the progeny can not be affected by GPRA. In 2001, 2.5% dogs of Finnish dogs were affected by PRA.*Some Lapphunds are affected by
cataracts , with 3.4% of Finnish dogs affected. Cataracts can be caused by a number of factors, and the mode of inheritance is not yet well understood. Since the incidence in Finland is relatively high, the disease is considered to be hereditary. In the UK and USA the number of affected dogs is very small.*The ethical standard in most countries require the stud dogs to be hip-scored, but the incidence of hip dysplasia is low.
History
Finland
The breed has its origins as a reindeer herder of the
Sami people . The Sami are an indigenous people residing in areas now divided between Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Russia. [http://boreale.konto.itv.se/samieng.htm] Traditionally, reindeer herding has been very important for the Sami people, and they are still involved in herding today. 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. Finnish Lapphunds are the most similar to the long haired dogs developed by the Sami people in order to assist them with herding, often favored as winter herders for the reindeer. [http://www.finnishlapphund.ca/node/5]Norwegians and Swedes were among the first to consider standardizing the dogs of Lapland prior to World War II. [http://www.foresttrail.com/history.html] In the post war years, the dogs of Lapland were at serious risk due to distemper outbreak. [http://personal.inet.fi/yhdistry/lappalaiskoirat/english/finlapphund.html] Swedish Lapphund breeders today believe that their breed, and other Lapphund breeds, were in serious danger of extinction. [http://www.lapphund.se/lih09.htm] A standard for the related Swedish Lapphund was adopted in 1944 in FCI (Federation Cynologique Internationale), and the Finnish Lapphund standard soon followed.
In Finland, 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 theKarelian Bear Dog and the reindeer dogs, and had short hair. In the 1950s the Finnish Kennel Association (the second major kennel association in Finland) created the first breed standard for theLapponian 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
snowmobile s, the preference started to change in favour of the shorter haired Lapponian herder. However, popularity did not die for the longer-haired breed, which was ranked the sixth most popular companion animal in Finland, ahead of theFinnish Spitz (ranked ten), and theKarelian Bear Dog (ranked 17). [http://www.kennelliitto.fi/EN/kennelclub/kennelclub/htm]Other countries
*In 1982, Turid Uthaug (Koira Kennels) moved from Finland to
Denmark and imported 15 Finnish Lapphunds, thus starting a hugely influential breeding line that resulted in more than 100 offspring. [http://www.finda.dk/index.htm] The Finnish Lapphund quickly became a popular pet choice for the Danes due to the vast variety of colours and friendly temperament of the breed.
**Denmark produced several dogs that were highly successful in the international show ring. Two of the most notable were "Matsi" (owned by Georg Carlsen of Inari Kennels) who won the World Winner title in 1989, and "Fidelis Uuriel" (owned by Sarah Brandes of [http://www.lapinlumon.dk/ Lapinlumon] ) who became the first Danish owned Lapphund to win an International Championship title in 1997. The Danish breeders follow the standard set forth by the Finnish Kennel Club. [http://www.finda.uk/index.htm]*Tamerack Samoyeds in California imported the first Finnish Lapphund to the
USA during 1987, and successfully bred litters in 1988 and again in 1989. Additional kennels, first Sugarok (breeder Linda Marden) and then Forest Trail (breeder Andrea Johnson), acquired their foundation stock in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Sugarok bred a first litter in 1989 from Scandinavian imports [http://www.sugarok.com/About%20Us.htm] and Johnson's parents bred a litter after obtaining a breeding female in 1991 [http://www.froesttrail.com/about.html] , thus establishing the breeding lines in the United States.
**It has taken considerable effort for the breed to become recognised in America. During the late 1980s the breed was only recognised by the American Rare Breeders Association. [http://www.arba.org/FinnishLapphundBS.htm] In 1994, the breed was then recognised by theUnited Kennel Club (UKC), the second largest kennel club in America, in the Northern Group. [http://www.ukcdogs.com/Index.html] In 2001, there were 154 dogs and the stock records, which were collected by Marden of Sugarok, were forwarded to theAmerican Kennel Club 's Foundation stock service (FSS). In September 2006 there were 237 registered dogs. [ [http://www.finnishlapphund.org/Breed%20Info.htm Breed Info ] ] The breed remains on the Foundation stock list as of August 2007, with hopes for full AKC recognition in the next few years. [ [http://www.akc.org/breeds/finnish_lapphund/index.cfm American Kennel Club - Finnish Lapphund ] ] The Finnish Lapphund Club of America (FLCA) is currently the parent organization in the United States, assisting the breed as it moves towards AKC recognition in the Miscellaneous class. Like the Danes, American breeders follow the Finnish standard for the breed.*The first import into the
United Kingdom was in 1989, when Roger and Sue Dunger imported a Finnish bitch from the very successful Finnish kennel [http://www.lecibsin.com Lecibsin] . Much of the UK's foundation stock, including Sulyka Valio of Curdeleon and Sulyka Mischa of Elbereth appeared during the early 1980s. [ [http://www.elbereth.co.uk/ Finnish Lapphund & Border Collies at Elbereth ] ] Through further imports and local breeding programs, the number of registered dogs have grown to more than 180 in 2001, and more than 350 by Sept 2006. The [http://www.finnishlapphund-club.co.uk Finnish Lapphund Club of Great Britain] was formed in 1994. As of August 2007, a total of fifteen kennels were listed by the Finnish Lapphund Club of Great Britain.
**Like their Danish cousins, some British dogs have sported well in international competition, notably, from Toni Jackson of Elbereth. The only English language book regarding the breed was penned by Toni Jackson in 1993. Jackson has been joined by other successful British kennels, including but not limited to Glenchess Finnish Lapphunds, whose dog, Fin Ch Himmelriks Mahti-Joiku took top stud in the All Rare Breeds in 2006; and Crufts Reserve best dog in class in 2007. [ [http://www.glenchess.members.beeb.net/lapphund.htm Glenchess Finnish Lapphunds ] ]*Brambleway Kennels imported the first dog to
Australia in 1995, and also had the first successful litter in 2001. Forming a foundation stock has involved importation and successful whelping by Brambleway, and other kennels, such as Theldaroy Kennels, [http://www.theldaroy.com/] Maivig Kennels, Armahani Kennels [http://www.armahani.com/] , Articmal Kennels [http://www.articmal.com/] , Magpielane Kennels [http://magpielanekennels.com/] and Janoby Kennels [http://www.janobykennels.com] . The population has swelled to 141 registered dogs as of April 2007. [ [http://www.armahani.com/AboutFinnishLapphund.html About Finnish Lapphunds ] ] Australian breeders also maintain the Finnish standard. [http://www.ankc.aust.com/finlap.html ]*Finnish Lapphunds can also now be found in
New Zealand . [ [http://www.keesstars.co.nz/ Keesstars Kennels, Graeme, Glenda, and Krystal Savage breed Keeshonden, Finnish Lapphunds, Australia and New Zealand ] ] Several dogs have been imported from Australia by Keesstars. The first litter born in New Zealand was on February 18, 2007, with three boys and two girls joining the small, but growing population in the country. The Finnish standard has been set by breeders in New Zealand and their kennel club. [http://www.nzkc.org/br523.html]*The first Finnish Lapphund to permanently settle on Canadian soil was imported in 1995 to Medicine Hat, Alberta from the United States. The first Finnish Lapphund litter was born in November 2002 to Sugarok Annisette ("Annie"), with Eurasia Kennel. [http://www.eurasier-lapphund.com/en/index.html] To this date, additional litters have been born at Eurasia Kennel, Shadagrace Kennel, [http://www.shadagrace.com/] and My Sidekick Kennel.
**In 2007, there were about 36 registered dogs in Canada. The breed was fully recognised by theCanadian Kennel Club in July 2007. They were admitted in group seven, the herding group. [ [http://www.ckc.ca/en/Default.aspx?tabid=201&NewsID=139&prevID The Canadian Kennel Club > Home > News Reader ] ] Sugarok Aspen of My Sidekick Kennel took the first CKC championship title and Sugarok Amazing Grace of Shadagrace Kennel took the first Best in Breed for a Finnish Lapphund in 2007. Canadian Finnish Lapphunds also participate in Canine Federation of Canada events and American UKC organization in American and one yearly UKC confirmation event held in Canada.Related breeds
*
Finnish Spitz
*Swedish Lapphund
*Lapponian Herder References
Books
*cite book |last=Jackson |first=Toni |authorlink= |title=Finnish Lapphund: Special rare breed edition |year=2003 |publisher=Kennel Club Books |location=USA |id=ISBN 1-5937-8374-4External links
* [http://personal.inet.fi/yhdistys/lappalaiskoirat/ Finnish Lapphund club of Finland]
* [http://www.finnishlapphund-club.co.uk/ Finnish Lapphund club of Great Britain]
* [http://www.finnishlapphund.org/ Finnish Lapphund club of America]
* [http://www.finnishlapphund.ca/ Finnish Lapphund club of Canada]
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