They look like fluffy little bear cubs (Finnish Lapphund)

Member Name: PyrettaBlaze

Product:	Finnish Lapphund
Date:	18/01/08 (1260 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Intelligent, trainable, friendly, beautiful

Disadvantages: Hard to find, masses of fur

The Finnish lapphund is not like to be a dog you have heard of, which is a real shame, as they are wonderful little dogs that make brilliant pets...very intelligent, gentle and adaptable canines that stay within a reasonable size. Their role as "perfect family pet" tends to be filled more by retrievers, labs and spaniels in this country, but if you are looking for a trainable, reasonanly sized, smart and friendly dog breed that is a little different, the lapphund is a lovely choice.


Some Lapphund history

The Lapphund evolved from a dog kept by the Lapp people (oddly enough). It is thought that the arctic spitz type of dog dates as far back as 7000bc. It was developed originally as a hunting dog, but evolved more into more of a herder and watchdog of reindeer as time went on. The first breed standard was accepted in 1945, under the name of "Lapponian Shepard Dog". The first lapphund came into Britain in 1989 and it was accepted as an official breed in 1995.


A bit more about the Lapphund

The Lapphund falls into the "pastoral" category of the kennel club...meaning dogs who are associated with cattle, sheep and deer and other cloven footed animals. Dogs in this category tend to be extremely intelligent and trainable, and the Lapphund is no exception. The Lapphund can further be categorised as a "spitz" type breed. Examples of the spitz types are the Siberian Husky and the similar but larger Alaskan malamute, the blue-tongued Chow Chow, the Samoyed and the Pomeranian. Spitz type dogs tend to have double coated, thick and bushy fur and generally speaking can be independant and stubborn.

The Lapphund is a small to medium spitz, standing up to 50cm at the shoulder (bitches tend to be shorter) and up to 20kg in weight. The Finnish Lapphund is a truly beautiful little dog, with its thick fur much like a mane around its neck, and a plumed tail carried over the back. They have intelligent looking foxy faces with ears that look little and stubby thanks to their masses of fur. They often have distinctive husky-like facial markings, and they come in pretty much every colour, but tends to have one dominant colour.

The lapphund is dissimilar to a lot of spitz breeds in that it is far less headstrong. Many of the spitz breeds were designed for pulling sleds, and this has led to an independant and aloof character as they lived half wild in their original form. Not so the Finnish Lapphund. They are faithful and loveable dogs that become very devoted to their owners. However unlike a lot of dogs with such credentials, they are also highly intelligent, like all herding dogs.


Deciding to buy a dog

Seeing as this review is about the lapphund in particular, I'm not going to bore you with the details of caring for a dog, but I'd just like to reiterate how big a decision buying any dog is. Purebred dogs are expensive to buy and vet fees can work out expensive...its best to have a fund set up to deal with unexpected veterinary costs that insurance wont cover (and of course your dog should also be insured). All dogs are demanding of time and attention and money, and they are not a responsibility to take on lightly. There are far too many people who get dogs and then dump them on someone else a few months later when they find it is not working out. Puppies are an extra burden because they need training and socialising. Before taking the plunge and getting a dog it is worth reading up on dog psychology. The basics are that the dog thinks of the family it lives with as its "pack". You MUST make sure the dog realises that it has the lowest position in the pack, or it will start walking all over everybody and become a real problem. The dog needs to know who is boss to make a well-adjusted pet. There are a million and one other things you should know before bringing a dog into your home, about their health care, ailments, nutrition, grooming and exercising. It is NOT as simple as feed the dog, walk the dog, brush the dog. Please remember that a dog is a long term commitment and a puppy is even more of a commitment.


The lapphund as a pet

The lapphund makes an absolutely brilliant pet...the only reason I can think of that they arent more popular is that, as I've said, other less exotic dogs fulfill a lot of the same credentials.

The lapphund is small enough to be kept in a flat, it is also not a particularly noisy dog. Although devoted to their owners, they tend to not be so attached that they cannot take being left alone in the house, unlike a lot of dogs. This combined with their beautiful looks makes them good town dogs, but they make great country dogs too (if you can handle pulling burs out of their fur for hours a day).

As I've mentioned, lapphunds are incredibly smart. They appear to think before they act, and seem to enjoy watching whats going on in the rest of the household from the sidelines. This intelligence means they are quick learners, toilet training and command training is easy with a breed this smart. Like the much more well-known pastoral breed the border collie, lapphund dogs tend to excel at flyball and agility (despite all that wonderful fluff). Unlike the border collie however, a pet lapphund isnt likely to tear your house apart...collies often do this through boredom. Having said this, if you get a Finnish lapphund you are best keeping it occupied, as it will be much happier. I enjoy doing flyball with my dog Bear, at the weekends.

If you are interested in doing more with your dog than just having it as a pet, the lapphund is a good choice. Being tractable and very trainable, they make excellent show-ring dogs, and are great in herding trials. They are extremely adaptable and are apparently common in pet therapy (as common as such an unusual species could be that is!)

The lapphund is a very well-adjusted dog, that tends to be unfazed by the sort of thing that would send a spaniel into fits. They take to strange situations quite well, unlike a lot of dogs. The lapphund is good with children and can make an ideal family pet. It also tends to be good with other animals in the household, although there can always be exceptions, and it also tends to be fine with strangers...although you should get your dog used to having people in your home from a young age.

Their well-adjusted temperaments means they are suitable for a wide range of people. I live in a flat with one other person in a ground floor (albeit fairly large) flat and we often have people round, and this suits the dogs fine. They are great for single people, couples, families and any other situation you could imagine. With us they live with my small zoo of various animals, and we have no problems with this. They are truly urban dogs, being walked in a park or along a canal (and out into the country at weekends). They also make great pets for country people...so long as you keep a hold of them around sheep.

Another great thing about the lapphund is that like another Finnish Spitz (known, oddly enough, as the Finnish Spitz), they are extremely healthy. So many purebred dogs suffer from multitudes of problems. As well as large breeds and those with extreme features like boxers, you find dogs that are so in demand they are often overbred (such as cocker and cavalier spaniels and labs and retrievers) often tend to suffer from things like hip dysplasia and so forth. Progressive retinal atrophy and hereditory cataracts occur in a small percentage of these dogs, and hip and elbow dysplasia is very, very rare. These dogs commonly live well into their teens, and there are strict rules regarding their breeding so problems occur less often...something that is difficult to do with commonly bred dogs.

And on the more shallow side, the lapphund is a truly beautiful little dog. If you like the look of the beautiful white samoyed dogs, you will love these too, only they arent often white so easier to keep them looking clean! Their little faces are so intelligent and sweet looking and they look like little fluffy bears or wolf cubs walking down the street. They are particularly beautiful when their coats are red, as my male Bear is (he reminds me of those little red pandas with his lovely facial markings). I cant count the amount of times I get stopped on a walk so people can talk to my beautiful little pooches (or to me about them).

Although they are not cheap to buy, these lovely dogs are not among the most expensive breeds either, maybe around £600 a dog...pricey, but all pedigree dogs cost a lot. Because they are unusual they can tend to range widely in price...some breedings have waiting lists and can hike the prices, others have trouble selling so drop them. After the initial cost of buying the dog, paying for supplies and innoculations, they actually work out very cheap. My two are very low cost in terms of vet fees, and I can feed them on little more than a fiver each a week (they get fed on Burns food which isnt the cheapest of brands, usually with bits of whatever I am eating that night added...veg, a bit of rice and meat or chicken).


As you can see I'm full of nothing but praise for these gorgeous little dogs, but like all breeds they do have their minus points as well. One of the biggest problems if you want one of these little guys is locating them in the first place. They are definitely not the rarest dog breed over here, but finding a little is much harder than finding a litter of German Shepards or Pugs. Not many people are aware of their considerable charms and so not many people are breeding them...I know of only two in Scotland. If you want one of these as a puppy you probably need to get on a waiting list, pay a deposit and wait for a good while...and because they are so unusual you may not get the colour or sex of your choice.

If what you are after is a guard dog, then the Finnish lapphund isnt a good choice...you might be able to tell from their small, fluffy appearances and reasonable quietness that they arent exactly the most intimidating of dogs...but then if you wanted a guard dog this wouldnt be on your short list anyway.

The lapphund is an energetic dog and needs at least two walks a day, lasting a total of at least an hour...and an hour and a half would be more suitable. This can be seen as either a plus or a minus depending on your viewpoint...but like all dogs they need those walkies rain or shine...and a rain soaked lapphund will take quite some drying!

The long coat of the lapphund is less high maintenance than you would think, but nonetheless it can cause problems. The dogs take hours to dry if they have been walked in the wet (and its important not to leave them wet in case they get chilled), they have so much coat it can be hard to tell if they have rolled in something disgusting, their coat has to be checked for things like thorns and burs, and lastly the dogs can get overheated in hot weather...its best to try and help them keep cool when its warm outside...remember that a dog designed for Arctic weather will find weather hot when you dont. Its important to routinely check your dog over for lumps and bumps as well as parasites, and this job becomes much harder with a spitz!

Because this breed is a herder by nature, if you live in the countryside it pays to keep it on the leash while you are near to sheep, as this breed has a high risk of sheep worrying.


My gruesome twosome

I have two Finnish lapphund dogs at the moment. Poppy is a black and tan bitch and Bear is a red and cream dog. They are two years old, and I love them both to bits. Poppy is unbelievably affectionate and is the first one to leap into your arms when you come in the door. She gives "cuddles" if you ask her, putting a paw on either of your shoulders...I didnt intentionally train her this by the way, I guess she just picked up on it, which shows you how clever these dogs are. Despite this Poppy is definitely the boss of the household, lording it over Bear (any everybody else) who does the submissive husband act very well. She also lords it over my Rhodesian ridgeback who is easily three times her size. Bear is a bit of a wet really, he went charging away when a terrier shouted him down the other day, and our four household ferrets are also the boss of him, bouncing all over him and pulling his fur...the poor guy. I'm beginning to think bear was the wrong choice of name for him and I should change it to Bunny. They are both unbelievably well behaved in the house, they had their usual puppy stage of chewing and pooing but now their manners are perfect, aside from the fact that they jump up to say hello when me or my flatmate comes in...but I dont mind that at all, and they usually can tell the difference between us and guests and dont jump all over them.


This breed was originally recommended to me by an online quiz about which type of dog would suit you...and once I saw a picture I immediately fell for these gorgeous fluffy beasts. I immediately put myself on the waiting list for a pair and it may have been one of the best decisions of my life. Poppy and Bear are a constant delight to have around the house, and definitely the most well-behaved dogs I've ever had in my lifetime. They're so smart I have expect them to start speaking any minute.

Summary: Is it a dog or is it a powderpuff?