theFinnish Lapphund

Agile, Alert, Friendly
Herding Group Herding Group

meet theFinnish Lapphund

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The Finnish Lapphund is also known as Lapinkoira.

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at aGlance

Energy & Size

medium ENERGY &
medium size

AKC Dog Ranking

173rd
Most Popular Dog Breed

Personality

  • Check Agile
  • Check Alert
  • Check Friendly
Reserved with strangers, but usually calm and friendly; submissive at home, courageous at work.

theBreed Standard

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Finnish Lapphund Breed Standard Illustration 01 02 03 04 05 06

  • General Appearance

    The Finnish Lapphund is a medium sized breed that combines the look of the northern type dog with the temperament of the herding dog. They are intelligent, alert, agile, friendly and eager to learn. Developed to live and work outside, north of the Arctic Circle, the breed is strongly built and thickly coated. These dogs were never intended as guardians, and are particularly submissive towards people. Despite its strength, the Finnish Lapphund conveys a certain softness, particularly in expression. Males are recognizably masculine and females feminine.

  • Head

    The general appearance of the head conveys strength, yet the expression is soft. The skull is approximately as broad as it is long. The top of the skull is slightly domed. Depth of skull is equal to breadth. The stop is well defined, with an easily distinguishable frontal furrow. The ears are set rather far apart, just off the top of the head and should be small to medium in size, triangular in shape, broad at the base and rounded at the tip, and covered with a heavy coat of hair. Ears may be erect or semi-erect (tipped). Drop ears are a fault. Eyes are oval in shape and as dark as possible. The color of the eyes may blend with the color of the coat, being lighter in lighter colored dogs. Yellow or blue eyes are a serious fault. 

  • Neck, Topline, Body

    The neck is medium in length, strong and well muscled. The back is broad, strong and straight. The loin is short and muscular. The croup is of medium length, well developed and only slightly sloping. Overall, the topline is level. The depth of chest is slightly less than half the height of the dog, reaching almost to the elbows. The ribcage is rather long and not very broad. The ribs are slightly arched, with a clearly visible, but not strongly defined, forechest, never barrel-chested. The underline includes only a slight tuck up, more pronounced in males than females.

  • Forequarters

    Shoulders moderately angulated. Legs straight. Pasterns flexible with very slight slope when viewed from the side. Dewclaws may be removed. Feet - Catlike, pads hard, pigmentation harmonizing with nose and eye rims. Nails strong, hard, pigmentation harmonizing with either nose and eye rims or coat.

  • Coat

    Double coat. Outer coat-straight, harsh, flat-lying. Outer coat of medium length on body, shorter on front part of the legs and head; longer on ruff, tail, top of withers and back of thigh. Ruff more pronounced on males.  Thick brush tail tapering to a pointed tip.  Undercoat - soft and short with density varying with climate.  Excessively long outer coat that masks the clean outline of the dog is undesirable as is any trimming that alters the natural appearance of the dog.

  • Hindquarters

    Moderately angulated. In balance with forequarters. Straight when viewed from the rear. Thigh musculature well-developed, moderately broad. Hocks well-let-down. Dewclaws must be removed. Feet and nails as in fore-quarters.

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theFinnish Lapphunds of AKC

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get involved inClubs & Events

National Breed Club

theFinnish Lapphund Club of America

Local Breed
Club

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Meetups

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