Lapponian Herder - TOP 10 Interesting Facts

1) Origin
The Lapponian Herder has a long ancestry, because Sami people used dogs similar to Lapponian herder for centuries. These dogs were traditionally used for herding reindeer. But there were no breeding restrictions and these dogs hadnt unified appearance, so it was rather a landrace than a purebred breed. ​

2) Recognition
After the second world war, in the 1950s, systematic collection and registration of reindeer herding dogs started. BTW, during this time, the Lapponian Herder and Finnish Lapphund were still seen as the same breed and they were split in 1966, when it was obvious, that there are two different reindeer hunting breeds. One breed was named Lapphund and the second as Lapinporokoira, which means Lapponian Herder.

3) Herding
Not only, that these dogs were used for reindeer herding in the past, because in many regions, the breed still herds and guards reindeer even today. And they are excellent at it, these dogs use their stamina and intelligence when working. They just love the herding and it is their natural instinct to herd.

4) Companion
When these dosg are herding the reindeer, they tend to be quite lively and they bark readily, but when they are at home around their people, around their family, these dogs tend to be very calm, laid back and quiet. These dogs are absolutely friendly, docile, eager to please and intelligent. Thanks to those temperamental traits, they are highly trainable. This is also very patient dog.

5) Dog sports
Just like all the herding breeds, even the Lapponian Herder needs regularly exercise its body and its mind. Daily longer outdoor walks are must and you should accompany it with some activity, that will challange the dog mentally. It can be some task oriented playtime or regular training session. Or you can try some dog sport, because Lapponian Herder excells at variaty of sports. For example in agility, herding events, carting, mushing, obedience, flyball or even at tracking.

6) Coat
The Lapponian Herder lives and works in regions with cold weather, which is why they just must have very dense double coat, which provides protection against cold and rain. The coat is also pretty harsh. The breeds official colors are black and tan, wolf sable, brown and solid black. Sometimes they can be brindle or cream, but those are disqualifying colours. The Lapponian Herder can have white markings on the chest, legs, head and neck.

7) Size
This is athletic medium sized dog breed with average height between 43-54 cm which is 17-21 inch and weight should be between 55-65 pounds, which is 25-30 kg. Females are naturally smaller than males.

8) Expression
The Lapponian Herder is a spitz type of a dog and just like all Spitzes, they do have the typical pricked ears. The eyes are almond shaped and set apart. Interesting fact is, that some owners claim, there is a visible difference between the expression of males and females. While the males have a lively and alert expression, the females should have more devoted expression.

9) Maintenance
The Lapponian Herder is pretty easy to maintain dog. They have very dense doublecoat, so yes, they do shed, especially heavily seasonally, so if you want to minimize the shedding, regular brushing is needed to remove the dead hair. But it is impossible to stop the shedding. No other grooming is necessary. Other than that, you should regularly check the dogs ears, eyes, teeth and nails and clip them or clean them if needed.

10) Health
Great fact is, that this breed has few to no consistent or prominent health complications. Of course, just like all dogs, they can suffer from some health issues, like ear infections, skin allergies or gastric torsion. The average lifespan is between 12-14 years.