i have met a couple and adored these guys..can owners or people that know them tell me about them..please? ... anyone work theirs? i believe they are used in sar? and for 'truffle hunting' (along with herding and a general watchdog) of course being a 'primitive spitz breed' i feel compelled towards them..that and Tupac does a very good impersonation of one too lol ;-)
Vallhunds go back to the days of the Vikings,they were ratters,cattle herders and guard dogs.They're also known as Swedish Cattle Dogs or Swedish Shepherds. They are territorial and can be wary of strangers,they can also be possessive of their owners which can become a bit of a problem when they grow up so this is a tendency to be corrected early. It is believed that they are the ancestor of the corgi. That's all I remember about the breed,I've met a few but never owned one.
I've had vallhunds for the last 16 years (though currently without one at home as my last co-owned one lives with his other owner). So, erm, where to start - they are technically small dogs, but are very solid and heavy - dogs up to about 17kg which you know about when it lands on you. They are cattle dogs and herd naturally - friend of mine has 2 she takes regularly to work on sheep in the Nottingham/Leicester area. They seem to herd fairly naturally - my oldest once put a team of saturday morning footballers into the goal before I realised what she was up to. They aren't only cattle dogs, but used traditionally as general farm yard dogs - they will bark in warning but not excessively (but yes, they are spitz so if not checked they are fond of their own voice). They will also kill vermin. I find the bitches easier to live with than the dogs, but the dogs tend to be more loyal to a single owners, the bitches really only care about whose got the food. They don't particularly like living out in kennels and like to be with the family as much as they can. They are stubborn - be prepared for them to accept any training and work with you but ask them to do the same thing more than twice and you'll get a blank stare which says "why? What's in it for me". You can't work with them like you would say a border collie that wants to please all the time you have to work with them on their terms. They will do "truffle hunting" and other tracking things - there was a very famous vallhund a few years back who was a member of Swedish Search and rescue - I think fro memory his name was Akke Ackspets (will try and find a link). They are quite happy to do agility and I know someone has tried some HTM. If i had another dog I know that Muddiwarx suggested we try him on the weight pulling. None of the ones I've owned, lived with or known generally has been territorial or possessive of their owners. They can be wary of strangers and getting a pup which has been well socialised is a must. In general bitches tend to be stroppier than the dogs - which makes breeding them interesting as most dogs are intimidated by the bitches. Temperments in some lines can be "sparkier" than others but i have yet to meet one that is what i would term aggressive. I've known of a few bitches that are intolerant of other bitches (if they take a dislike to each other, forget it, you'll never get them to live together in harmony), but most of the dogs are fine with each other (unless ther is an external factor like a bitch in season nearby) Mine always got on well with other breeds and lived with over the years ... bichon frise, labradors, cross breed, border collie, spitz... I also did a fair bit with rescue a few years back and took in older valls (for some reason people who have always had larger pastoral breeds seem to think that when they turn about 75 getting a vallhund is a good plan - which means when they either die or get too old/frail to care for their dog it ends up in rescue at the age of over 10 years) - again none of mine objected, you'd just get the rolled eyes and the stare that said "oh great, your at it again". Down sides... obviously the bitch/bitch falling out isn't good, they shed like it's going out of fashion (but hey, you have spitz types already you know this), they can be gobby, and very very occasionaly if you don't move fast enough you'll get your heel or calf nipped. Health tests - parents should have current clear eye certificates (vallhunds have an eye anomolly which is a kind of uncofirmed PRA known as J175 - no positives in the UK at this time) and be hip scored and preferably below average (average currently is i think 14). ah yes, and tails, they come with, without, or anything inbetween......... any other questions
No, not that i'd want to tempt you into vallhund ownership... Bertie and his neice Becki Vallhunds in their best state... Pesky spitz, always get in there somehow See, another sneaky spitz got in on the act - bear in mind that Spike is about three times her weight and could easily have flung her accross the room when tugging... Last one.. my old girl Karli, lost her last february at almost 15, the night before she went she won the "first dog to bed gets the cocktail sausage race"
i have a vallhund and after having elkhounds for 20 years he is a breeze. He does not run off and his recall is 100%. As i knew the breed had a tendency to bark as do elkhounds i made sure i worked on this and taught a settle so he can go in pubs very important in our house, now my children are bigger and the dogs tend to come out with me and husband. He does moult but then again not as much as my elkhound. He gets on well with most dogs but does not like silly entire males he is entire himself, so i find that fare enough. He is great and i really love him he is a real member of the family.
Hi Jane Only just spotted this... please post photos of your boy when you get a chance - haven't seen him for ages! (his parents are on the 2nd photo down (the one of them asleep) - dad is the puppy front right, mum is next to him aslep in the middle of the room )
Had my eye on them since I was 9! Amazed me when I saw them at Crufts on TV, and then we had one in our area... When I talked to a few breeders at Crufts this year it made me want one even more.
They did a feature in our local magazine last month about a young teenage girl who was competing at Crufts with her Vallhund. She had won through to compete in the small dogs agility. Not the typical breed you would think of as competing in small dog agility at Crufts!
Hi Kate Not very good at posting pictures will have ago, if you are on face book will try and find you as lots of pictures of him on there as i can just put them on from my ipod.
