The Finnish Spitz is a medium-sized dog, called “Finnish Spitz” in English and “Suomenpystykorva” in Finland. The Finnish Spitz is the national dog of Finland. The Finnish Spitz is the national dog of Finland and has a history of thousands of years. Before the 18th century, the Finnish Spitz was unknown and even appeared to be extinct. Until two hunters from Helsinki discovered the purebred native dog, through a series of efforts to save the dying breed.
The Finnish Spitz, formerly known as “Suomenpystykorva”, is a Finnish chicken-head-eared dog. It was earlier called the Finnish birder or Finnish sharp-billed dog, and now it is called the Finnish Spitz. It is the national dog of Finland. It is a fox-like dog, the result of a breeding program at the end of the 18th century, the result of a mixture of various hunting dogs, including English hounds, German hounds, and Swiss hounds and Scandinavian hounds, etc. It is the most common in Finland and Sweden A native working dog breed, rarely seen anywhere else in the world. They usually hunt with their owners in summer, and spend long winters in a warm kennel indoors in winter. It is a breed that is rarely used for display. Energetic when hunting, it is generally used to track and hunt hares, badgers and foxes with perseverance even under extremely difficult circumstances. Quick work and versatile.
Morphological characteristics
A medium-sized dog with erect ears. The mouth is prominent, the eyes are black, and the ears are erect. The neck is short, the chest is deep, the abdomen is tight, the muscles are well developed, and the tail is rolled on the back. The coat is yellow and red, sometimes with white spots on the chest and feet. Body height 40-50cm, weight 23-27kg.
Coat colors like fox fur: fire red, golden red, etc. Fire red, golden red and orange red are typical coat colors of the Finnish Spitz. White markings on the chest and sporadic black coat on the back are permitted. The coat of the Finnish Spitz is divided into two layers, the outer coat is long, hard, and straight; the bottom coat is short, soft, and dense, which is close to the body.
Dog Breed History
The Finnish Spitz is the national dog of Finland and has a history of thousands of years. Before the 18th century, the Finnish Spitz was unknown and even appeared to be extinct. Until two hunters from Helsinki discovered the purebred native dog, through a series of efforts to save the dying breed. Today’s Finnish Spitz retains the excellent qualities of the original Spitz and has been improved. The Finnish Spitz is the most common native working dog breed in Finland and Sweden, but is rare in other parts of the world. It usually hunts with its owner in summer, and hides in a warm kennel indoors in winter. The Finnish Spitz is a breed that is rarely used for display. It hunts energetically and is generally used to track and hunt hares, badgers and foxes, persevering even in the most difficult circumstances.
AKC Standard Category
family dog group
FCI Standard Category
Sharp-nosed and primitive breed group
【FCI number】49
[FCI Group] Group 5: Sharp-mouthed Dog and Original Dog Group
[Height] Male Finnish Spitz 15.0-20.1 inches (38.0-51.0 cm) at the shoulder, female Finnish Spitz 15.0-20.1 inches (38.0-51.0 cm) at the shoulder
[Weight range] Male Finnish Spitz weighs 30.9-35.3 pounds (14.0-16.0 kg), female Finnish Spitz weighs 30.9-35.3 pounds (14.0-16.0 kg)
Personality
The dog is lively, brave and cheerful, making it an ideal pet. Its hunting nature can be used to find flocks of birds. The dog is very noisy and can express itself in a variety of voices including real and false voice changes. Don’t trust strangers. It is a good guard dog. The dog is very sensitive, so training needs to be both strict and gentle.
care and use
Care: The dog is easy to adapt to the life of a domestic dog, but must ensure adequate outdoor exercise and not be without for a long time.
People ask. The dog is very clean. Daily brushing is required, but professional grooming is not required.
Uses: – hunting dogs – guard dogs – pet dogs.
overall appearance
The Finnish Spitz looks like a fox and has long been used for hunting small animals and birds. The snout is pointed, the small ears are erect, the coat is dense, and the tail is curled, indicating its northern ancestry. The Finnish Spitz is particularly cute as a whole, especially in the eyes, ears and tail. The male dog is masculine without being rough, the female dog is quite soft without being overly delicate.
The most important feature of the Finnish Spitz is a square and well-proportioned body, well-proportioned without being overly protruding, a gorgeous coat, reddish-gold, graceful posture and brisk movement.
Any deviation from the standard should be penalized according to the degree of deviation. Structural shortcomings that often occur in various breeds are also unwelcome in the Finnish Spitz and will be specifically mentioned in the standard.
Size ratio and structure
Size – Male dogs are generally larger than female dogs, with a shoulder height of 44.5-50.8 cm for males and 39.4-45.7 cm for females. Proportion – Square, the length from the chest to the hips equals the height from the withers to the ground. Structure – The overall skeleton of the dog is proportional to its constitution.
head
Neat, fox-like. The length from the back of the head to the tip of the nose is longer than the widest part of the skull by a ratio of 7 : 4. The coat and neck of the female dog are finer and more muscular than the male dog. A rough or long, narrow head and snout tip are considered defects of varying degrees.
Expression – fox-like, lively and lovely. Eyes – Almond-shaped, with black edges, slightly sloping, well spaced, neither too broad nor too narrow. The outer corners of the eyes are upturned, preferably dark, with an eager and alert expression. Eyes that are round, light in color, or highly curved should be considered disqualified.
Ears – The ears are set high and, when alert, straight up, parallel, with the tips open, above the outer corners of the eyes. The ears are small, erect, pointed, and movable. Ears that are too high or too low, or that the ears are bunched together, that are too long, or that have too much hair in the ears are not acceptable. Skull – Flat between the ears, slightly rounded above the base, slightly arched in front. The ratio of cranial to snout length is 4 : 3, with males slightly longer and females shorter. Forehead concave angle – prominent. Muzzle – Narrow when viewed from above and in profile, equal in width and depth where it joins the skull, tapering, equal in all angles, the circumference of the snout at the beginning of the nose is 80% of the circumference of the beginning of the snout. Nose – black, any separation will be punished. Lips – Black, thin and tight. Teeth bite – the mouth is level with the scissors bite of the teeth, any deviation will be penalized.
neck, topline and torso
Neck – Muscular, well-proportioned, without excessive skin folds under the muzzle, short in males due to the hairy neck. Topline – Level and strong from shoulders to hips. Body – Muscular, square. Chest – deep, reaching the elbows, the ratio of the depth of the chest to the distance from the withers to the ground is 4:9. Ribs – Well bent. Pleats – Pause slightly. Waist – short. Tail – Set slightly below the horizontal topline, forming a single curl, upward past the loin, the tip of the tail towards the thigh, feathered, curled from its base, flat against either hind leg, the tip of the tail can be Extend to mid-thigh. Straightening the tail, the tip of the tail can reach the hock joint, the tail is low or high, and the tail is too curly or short.
forequarters
The shoulders are loose and at a 30° angle to the vertical. Legs – Viewed from the front, the legs are of medium width apart, parallel, straight, with the elbows close to the body, neither in nor out. The bones are strong and not heavy, always in proportion to the overall size of the dog, too thin bones limit its bearing capacity, too thick bones are too bulky to move. Palm – Viewed from one side, slightly sloping, weak palms will be disqualified. Dewclaws – can be removed. Feet – close, cat’s paw-like, rather round.
hindquarters
Angled to balance with forequarters. Thighs – well muscled. Hock joints (back) – 1/3 of the dog’s height or less, straight and parallel to each other. Dewclaws – excised. Feet – as forefoot.
coat
The coat is double-layered, the undercoat is short, soft and dense, the outer coat is long, hard and straight, and the coat on the trunk is about 2.5 to 5.1 cm long. The coat is short and dense on the head and legs, longest and densest on the tail and behind the thighs, and the outer coat is stiff and longer on the neck and back. There is more coat on the shoulders of the male dog, which appears to have a fur collar. The male dog has more coat than the female dog. Except for the feet, the hair on other parts and even the whiskers can be trimmed. Filamentous, wavy, curly, long or short coats will not meet the standard.
color
The permissible variation in golden-red color ranges from off-white honey to dark auburn, with no preference, as long as the color is bright and clear. Since the undercoat is off-white, the effect of this shade makes the coat look a little shiny, with white spots on the tips of the toes and spots or narrow white stripes on the forechest. The ideal stripe width should not exceed 1.3 cm. Black hair along the lip line and sporadic separation of black coat on the back of the tail are also permitted. Puppies can have a lot of black coat, with longer black hair on the tail. Chaotic or unclear color, any white on the body is considered disqualifying.
gait
The Finnish Spitz has light feet, walks briskly, and trots gracefully, tending to a single track with increasing speed. When hunting, it gallops on its toes. The ideal angle allows it to change its gait quickly at work. Graceful movement is essential for endurance and agility.
temperament
Lively and friendly, lovely and eager, loyal and brave. But hesitation, timidity, and unstimulated aggressive tendencies will not meet the criteria. It is used to hunt animals such as groundhogs, mice and bears. Once it finds prey, it will bark to guide its owner. Loyal and loyal and enjoys being with his family. It is alert and has a loud bark, making it a good watchdog. However, often being alone at home can lead to stress and problem behaviors due to loneliness. If the problem is too severe, it needs to be corrected with training, as it is a breed that is meant to be with the family.
