The Finnish Spitz, known as Finland's national dog, is highly regarded for its distinctive hunting abilities. As compared to other hunting dogs, the Finnish Spitz is a very small dog and does not take on the prey like some other breeds of dogs do. Rather, its job is to point out to the hunters where the prey is by barking loudly and incessantly till they catch the hunter’s attention. Even today they are still used in Finland for hunting birds like capercaille and black grouse.
History and Health :
- History – The Finnish Spitz was first said to originate in Russia from where it was brought to Finland. It has proved to be an excellent hunting companion, especially for hunting small prey like game birds. It is the national dog of Finland and is mentioned in several patriotic songs of that country.
- Health – Finnish Spitz generally has a healthy life but they always prefer to stay in a region with cold climate. They may also occasionally develop hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia or epilepsy.
Temperament and Personality :
- Personality – The Finnish Spitz is a very friendly dog and can be quite playful around small children as well as other house pets. They are also fairly intelligent and independent thinking, although they do take more time to mature than the other breeds of dogs. They are usually affectionate and loving and are good watchdogs.
- Activity Requirements – Since it is basically a hunting dog, it requires long runs or walks on a daily basis to meet its activity needs. A daily cycling trip or jog is what this dog needs. Simply playing in a yard will not be enough for him. Inside the house, he does not tend to be overly active as long as he gets his jog in the morning or evening.
- Trainability – It is easy to train this dog as long as you have established yourself as the alpha. He is an independent thinker and may get stubborn and defensive if the owner or trainer is not able to assert himself sufficiently. He especially needs to be trained to not bark at every moving thing.
- Behavioural Traits – The Finnish Spitz is a great house pet and a good companion for kids because of his active, playful and affectionate nature. He is usually shy and meek towards strangers but otherwise loves to socialize. He can even get demanding or insistent on getting attention and affection from others. He has a very high tendency to bark all the time without a break.
Appearance and Grooming :
- Appearance – The Finnish Spitz very closely resembles a fox, partly because of the golden brown colour of its coat and partly because of the square shaped body which is as tall as its length. Its ears, which are high set and perked up and eyes which have dark rims also contribute to its resemblance to a fox.
- Size and Weight – The Finnish Spitz is a medium sized dog but falls in the category of small hunting dogs. It roughly weighs 8-14 Kgs and its height can vary between 40-50 cms.
- Coat and Colour – Finnish Spitz puppies are usually dark in colour like black, brown or dark grey but as they grow older, the colour of their fur lightens to different shades of golden red. All adult dogs are only of a single colour i.e. golden red and do not have spotting of any other colour. This dog has a double coat to protect him from the extreme cold of the region which it belongs to. The undercoat is short and soft while the outer coat is long, straight and harsh.
- Grooming – This breed of dog is a heavy shedder, especially in the season. It does not require special grooming apart from a weekly brush down of the coat to get rid of the dead hair.
- Body Type – The Finnish Spitz has a muscular body which is well protected from harsh climate with a double coat. Its body shape is described as square because the length and height of the body are same. The dog has straight legs, perked up triangular ears and a deep chest which comes almost till its elbows.
Finnish Spitz Characteristics
- He is very friendly and playful towards children.
- He is meek and shy towards strangers and needs time to socialize.
- Fitz puppies can act really silly and immature if they don’t get guidance.
- He is an intelligent dog and an independent thinker.
- He needs a lot of exercise daily, especially a daily run.
- He can live in an apartment, provided he gets a daily jog or run.
- He has a very high tendency to bark incessantly.
- He is an above average shedder.
- He is easy to train.
- He is not dog friendly but is friendly towards other species of animals.
Tasty Tidbits :
If you leave a Finnish Spitz out on his own, to overcome boredom, he will bark at each and every thing he sees moving but usually never attempts to give chase to anyone.
Care :
Finnish Spitz can make a very good house pet and is equally comfortable living in an apartment or a house with a yard. As long as he gets his daily exercise, he will be content with just barking to expend the rest of his energy. If his hunting instincts kick in, he may start digging for mice or go down rabbit holes in the garden.
Images, Pics, Photos and Pictures of Finnish Spitz :
Feeding :
He needs a diet of high quality dry food given twice a day. The amount of food depends on how much he is exercising daily but usually it varies between 1.75-2.5 cups.
Information And Facts of Finnish Spitz
- Full name of this dog is Finnish Spitz.
- Its other names are Finnish Hunting Dog, Finnish Spets, Finsk Spets, Loulou Finois, Suomalainen pystykorva and Suomen pystykorva.
- Its country of origin is Finland.
- It is a medium sized dog.
- It belongs to Sporting or Northern group of dogs.
- The average life expectancy for this dog is 12-15 years.
- A male dog stand 45-50 cms in height and a female stands 30-40 cms in height.
- The weight of a male dog is roughly 12-14 kg while that of a female dog is 7-10 kg.
- A Finnish Spitz puppy may be born with different colour coats like dark grey, black, brown or fawn but an adult dog is usually always a shade of golden red.
- A Finnish Spitz puppy will cost about 400-500 USD.
- It loves to play and exercise and needs long regular jogs or runs.
- It is basically a hunting dog and has a very high tendency to bark non-stop.
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