Eurohound - Scandinavian Hound - TOP 10 Interesting Facts

1) Crossbreed
The Eurohound is a mix between different Pointer and Husky dog breeds, most often between the Alaskan Husky and and German Shorthaired Pointer. The Husky gives the dog extreme endurance, while the Pointer gives it very big speed. The Eurohound is not bred for appearance, purity or showring, but solely for its utilization.
2) Racing
And the utilization of Eurohound is racing and they are absolutely best at it. If you would visit any Canicross championship, it is guaranteed that many of the breeds in the starting field will be Eurohounds. And they are not only great at canicross, you will see these dogs competing in dog scootering, bikejoring and skijoring, relays or sledding.
3) Breeding
In general, the first generation crosses, which are most often 50/50 between the Alaskan Husky and German Shorthaired Pointer have short coats and are better suited for sprint races. But because of the shorter coat, they are not that suitable for long winter races. That is why the first generation crosses are often times further crossed with the Alaskan Husky to achieve slightly better endurance and thicker coat. Each breeding is different, depending on the needs of the musher. And eventhough this is not a purebred dog, the breeders typically take excellent care of their dogs, regularly health test them and keep their pedigree.
4) Origin
When and where the Eurohound was first developed? It is not surprising that the first Eurohound crosses appeared in Scandinavia, where sledding and other similar dog sports have a long tradition. According to a popular sled racer Egil Ellis, different pointer breeds were popular with Swedish sled dog racers for decades and when Alaskan Huskies were imported to Sweden in 1980s, the crossbreeding began.
5) Companion
When the Eurohound is not competing, they actually make good lively, playful and affectionate companion dogs. They typically enjoy company of other dogs as well and typically have strong pack mentality. The Eurohound is known for its loyalty to its owner, overall friendliness, but also for being kind of mischevious. You will never be bored with this breed. The Eurohound is also a good playful partner for kids, but of course, you should never leave any dog breed with a very young child unsupervised. Many of Eurohounds have naturally strong prey drive and chasing, which is why smaller household pets might be problematic, but this can be vastly influenced by early socialization.
6) Appearance
I mentioned earlier, that these dogs are not bred for appearance, but for utilization, which is true, but it does not mean they are bad looking. Quite the opposite. This is a big dog with athletic and muscular body. Of course, just like with all crossbreeds, the appearance can vary quite a bit. Typically, the first generation crosses look more like pointers, like hunting dogs, with shorter coat and half-dropped ears. Once the percentage of pointer drops, the dogs start to look more like Alaskan huskies. Most often you will see these dogs in black coat with or without white patches, spots or ticking.
7) Blue eyes
The Eurohound can either have dark brown eyes, but thanks to the Alaskan Husky heritage, they can also have the popular blue eyes. These dogs can also show heterochromia, which means they will have each eye in different color, one in dark color and the second one in blue color.
8) Size
The size, just like the appearance can vary. The height is very often somewhere in between 50-65 cm, which is 19-25 inch and weight is typically between 16-30 kg, wich is 35-65 pounds. Females are typically slightly smaller than males.
9) Maintenance
The grooming and maintenance of Eurohound is very simple. The coat should be left natural without any shaving or trimming. These dogs always shed some deal, the more husky-like they are, the more they shed and if you want to minimize the shedding, regular brushing is recommended. This will also remove any dirt from the coat and keep it healthy and shiny. Just like with all dogs, you should regularly check the dogs ears, eyes, nails and teeth and clip them or clean them if needed.
10) Health
The average lifespan of most pointers and huskies is between 12-15 years, which is the average lifespan of Eurohound as well. Typically they are very active even as older dogs around age of 10. Of course, just like all dogs, even the Eurohound may suffer from some health issues. The major health concerns include hip and elbow dysplasia and different eye problems.