The Swedish Lapphund is a breed

Dog breed

Dog breeds are groups of closely related and visibly similar domestic dogs, which are all of the subspecies Canis lupus familiaris, having characteristic traits that are selected and maintained by humans, bred from a known foundation stock....

 of dog

Dog

The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...

 of the Spitz

Spitz

Spitz-type dogs are a type of dog, characterized by long, thick, and often white fur, and pointed ears and muzzles...

 type

Dog type

Dog types are broad categories of dogs based on function, with dogs identified primarily by specific function or style of work rather than by lineage or appearance....

 from Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, one of three Lapphund breeds developed from a type of dog used by the Sami people

Sami people

The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...

 for herding and guarding their reindeer.
The expression "the black beauty of Norrland" is very often attributed
to the Swedish lapphund, which is most likely one of Sweden's oldest breeds.
The Swedish name of the breed is Svensk lapphund.

History

The Swedish lapphund has its origins among the ancient hunting tribes of northern Scandinavia, from the land that the Sámi people call Sapmi.

One assumes that the lapphund followed the first Sámi, who migrated to Scandinavia in the neolithic era, about 9,000 BCE.

In Sámi mythology it is said that the lapphund sought the post of
worker amongst the Sámi people in exchange that it would always be well-treated.

The lapphund has been used mainly for hunting and guarding, but studies
have also shown that during the Stone Age, dogs were kept as pets. When the
Sámi people started to keep domestic reindeer in the mid-18th century, the lapphund's repertoire was expanded to include herding

Herding

Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group , maintaining the group and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. While the layperson uses the term "herding", most individuals involved in the process term it mustering, "working stock" or...

.

Historians and archaeologists have long agreed that the Swedish lapphund has an ancient ancestry—a belief supported by the fossil record. Advancing gene technology has also shown that the breed is old and carries some genetic origins unique or very rare among currently existing breeds.

Hard work in the barren landscape of northern Scandinavia has created a very
resilient breed. The shifting climate demands a weatherproof coat that is easy to maintain. The rough terrain and the varied work demand a dog with endurance, agility, intelligence and independence. The resulting Swedish lapphund is a well-rounded working dog, well suited both for work as a farm, hunting, and herding dog, and as a pet.

Today

Like all spitz dogs in general, the Swedish lapphund demands a stable upbringing and both regular mental as physical stimulation to perform at its best.
As a working dog they show their versatility in a number of different fields.
Many compete with success in such widely different disciplines as obedience

Obedience training

Obedience training usually refers to the training of a dog and the term is most commonly used in that context. Obedience training ranges from very basic training, such as teaching the dog to reliably respond to basic commands such as "sit", "down", "come", and "stay", to high level competition...

,
dog agility

Dog agility

Dog agility is a dog sport in which a handler directs a dog through an obstacle course in a race for both time and accuracy. Dogs run off-leash with no food or toys as incentives, and the handler can touch neither dog nor obstacles...

 trials, working contest, freestyle/heelwork to music, Rally obedience

Rally obedience

Rally obedience is a dog sport based on obedience. It was originally devised by Charles L. "Bud" Kramer from the obedience practice of "doodling" - doing a variety of interesting warmup and freestyle exercises....

, and blood
tracking. The Swedish Lapphund can also participate in herding

Herding

Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group , maintaining the group and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. While the layperson uses the term "herding", most individuals involved in the process term it mustering, "working stock" or...

 events. Herding

Herding

Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group , maintaining the group and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. While the layperson uses the term "herding", most individuals involved in the process term it mustering, "working stock" or...

instincts and trainability can be measured at noncompetitive herding tests. Lapphunds exhibiting basic herding instincts can be trained to compete in herding trials.

The breed also has a number of certificated search and rescue dogs and army dogs. The Swedish lapphund is also a very multifaceted hunting dog, mainly used for hunting elk and forest birds, but also deer, wild boar
and bear. It is also a skilled tracking dog in searching for wounded or killed game. In addition to their versatility as working animals, the breed is also extremely popular as a competitive show dog.

In Sweden dogs have their temperament tested by a system called mentalbeskrivning. Results for the Swedish lapphund show a curious, intrepid,
and friendly breed which is playful and non-aggressive.
They are easy trained, strong, and very devoted to their family. Early training is essential to prevent excessive barking.

The Swedish lapphund is a typical spitz. It is rectangularly built, slightly under
medium size with a good carriage. It moves effortless with drive, light, springy
and covering ground. Despite that they are gifted with a dense and long, shining
coat, they are very easy to groom. Some brushings when the coat is shedding is
enough to keep the coat in good condition.The special coat does not smell doggy
and is cleans itself from dirt. So it is really easy maintained. The coat colour is
black or bear brown, sometimes with white marks on tail, chest and feet. It has a
profuse double coat with hair standing straight out from the body, undercoat is
dense and very finely curled.