The breed standard

Ake taking in the country air May 2018Originally from Sweden, the Swedish Vallhund is considered to be one of the genuine Swedish breeds even if it is not quite clear how it is related to the Welsh Corgi. It is hard to say if the Vikings brought dogs of this spitz type to Sweden from England. Modern cynological research points to that the breed was developed in Sweden.

The honor of making the Swedish Vallhund recognized and registered as a Swedish breed goes to Count Björn von Rosen. In the beginning of the 1940s he noticed the existence of these dogs. By making an inventory of the existing dogs in the county of Västergötland and especially around the city of Vara he found a small but evenly typed group of dogs. They were the start of a serious breeding program that was mainly in the hands of the headmaster K.G.Zettersten. He succeeded in breeding for an even type without losing the herding instinct.

GENVallarity Harlem ShuffleERAL APPEARANCE

  • A small powerful, fearless, short-legged dog. Appearance and expression denote a watchful, alert and energetic dog.

IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS

  • The relation between height and length of body is about 2 : 3.

HEAD

  • Head rather long and clean cut. When viewed from above, forms an even wedge from skull to tip of nose.

CRANIAL REGION

  • Skull : Almost flat.
  • Stop : Well defined.

FACIAL REGION 

  • Nose : Pigmentation jet black.
  • Muzzle : When viewed from the side, looks rather square. The muzzle is slightly shorter than the skull.
  • Lips : Tightly closed.
  • Jaws/Teeth : Perfect and regular scissor bite with even and well developed teeth.
  • Eyes : Medium size, oval in shape and dark brown.
  • Ears : Medium size, pointed, pricked and ear leather is hard from base to tip, smooth haired and mobile. Set on not too low.

NECK

  • Long and strongly muscled with good reach.

BODY 

  • Topline : Back level, well muscled.
  • Loin : Short, strong.
  • Croup : Broad and slightly sloping.
  • Chest : Long with good depth. Well sprung ribs. When viewed from the front, the chest is oval, from side, elliptical. It reaches two-fifths of the length of the forelegs and, when viewed from the side, the lowest point of the chest is immediately behind the back part of the foreleg.
  • Underline : Belly slightly tucked up.

TAIL

  • Two types of tails occur, long or natural short tail. In both cases all variations are acceptable.
  • Are Some Tail Docked?

    The other most visually noticeable aspect of the breed is that some have a tail, or stub of a tail and others have no tail at all. There are no Swedish Vallhund breeders tail docking in New Zealand. It is a quirk of the breed that 51% of them are born with out tails. This genetic quirk is special aspect that has been kept and preserved by breeders.

    The same genes that creates the no-tail example of Swedish Vallhund also creates the stub-tails (a little stump of a tail). In fact occasionally a dog will be born with half a tail. This is quite acceptable. Tails come in a variety. As they are a Spitz breed, typically the tail is carried up over the back in a tight curl. But also as a loose curl or sickle. Some tails are bushy others less so. All are expected and acceptable normal variations.

    Sometimes people prefer the tail, or fixate specifically on having a tailed dog. Interesting, overseas where tail docking is illegal, it is the bob-tailed examples that historically that have been the most popular and sought after. More importantly it is good to understand that there is so much more to a Swedish Vallhund than whether or not he has a tail

LIMBS

  • Forequarters : Forelegs well boned.
    • Shoulder : Shoulder-blade long and well laid back .
    • Upper arm : Slightly shorter than the shoulders and set at a distinct angle. Upper arm lies close to ribs, but is still very mobile.
    • Forearm : When viewed from the front, slightly bent, just enough to give them free action against the lower part of the chest.
    • Pastern : Elastic.
    • Legs : Well boned.
  • Hindquarters : Hindlegs well angulated at stifle and hock. Seen from behind, they are parallel.
    • Thighs : Strongly muscled.
    • Lower thigh : Slightly longer than the distance from hock to ground.
  • Feet : Medium sized, short, oval, pointing straight foreward with strong pads and well knuckled up.

GAIT / MOVEMENT

  • Sound with good drive.

COAT

  • Hair : Medium length, harsh, close and tight topcoat; undercoat soft and dense. The coat is short on foreparts of the legs, slightly longer on neck, chest and backparts of the hindlegs.
  • Colour : Desirable colours are grey, greyish brown, greyish yellow or reddish brown with darker hairs on back, neck and sides of the body. Lighter hair in the same shade of colour as mentioned above can be seen on muzzle, throat, chest, belly, buttocks, feet and hocks. Lighter markings on shoulders, so called harness markings, desirable. White is permitted to a small extent as a narrow blaze, neckstop or slight necklace. White markings are permitted on fore-and hindlegs and on the chest.
  • They have an easy care coat. Short and hard and not dissimilar in feel to that of a Labrador Retriever. Swedish Vallhunds though have a coat made up of a ‘double layer’. There is a softer woolly undercoat and a slight longer over layer of guard hairs. Colours vary from several shades grey through to red Although the red colouring is more rare in New Zealand. Most Swedish Vallhunds carry no white, or minimal white. Others have a handsome white chest (shirt front) or white facial blaze.

    The breed standard allows for a ‘light necklace’ of white. More than a third of a Swedish Vallhund being white is considered a breed fault. These examples should not be breed from and can not be shown. However it is important to understand that this amount of white is simply a natural variation of coat colouring and dogs with significant areas of white coat make very acceptable pets.

    Swedish Vallhunds only need a brush once a week to remove loose hairs. And daily brushing through their 3 – 4 week moult adjusting to their summer coat. Particularly attractive is their wolf type facial markings and shoulder harness. Swedish Vallhunds have low doggy-odor. That isn’t no-odor, but their significant lack of dog smell is something often commented on. They do not need regular bathing as they are self care, dry dirt will fall from coats and the natural oils in their coat serve them well.

SIZE AND WEIGHT

  • Height at withers : Dogs 33 cm. Bitches 31 cm. A variation of 1.5 cm above or below these heights is permitted.
  • Weight : Between 9 – 14 kg.

FAULTS

  • Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.
  • Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.
  • N.B. : Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT

 

  • The breed is watchful, energetic, fearless, alert, intelligent, active, eager and very loyal.

    A Swedish Vallhund is a thinking dog who is happiest being with his ‘people’. He likes a job or interesting things to do. This is why dog sports such as agility and obedience are so good for them. They make excellent trackers for they have a very good nose and the drive to stick to task. They thrive working stock, or playing all day with children.

THE NEGATIVES

The breed does not do well as an only dog home alone all day while his people work.

An under stimulated and bored Swedish Vallhund will quickly become a boredom barker. Individual Swedish Vallhunds will be prone to barking also, this is stoppable with correction and providing and interesting and stimulating life.

The other significant thing to watch for is heel nipping. As their natural herding trait is bred into them, some puppies will find the running legs of little children irresistible to chase and will nip and tug at trouser legs. This is easily corrected but must be stopped. Not all puppies will react this way, but if they do you must correct a puppy. Growl at them and let them know instantly that this is a no-no. Inhibit this behaviour early if you see it so that it never becomes a problem. As they are very intelligent and easily trained it is not a difficult problem to solve.

GETTING THE DECISION RIGHT

Do your research, contact breeders, ask questions. If you have never met a Swedish Vallhund and have been attracted by the description or a photograph, make sure you get to meet an adult Swedish Vallhund before your commit to getting a puppy.

Ask to meet the Dam (mother) and Sire (Dad) if you can. Sometimes it is not easy to meet both. So ask if you can meet the adult dogs from previous litters. A breeder should be comfortable referring you to owners of the pups they have bred earlier.

As the typical lifespan of a Swedish Vallhund is between 13 – 16 years it is worth taking the time early on to do your homework.

Socialisation is important as a puppy. The more your puppy has done and met in terms of new experiences, the better they will be as adult family pets. Ensure that before they are 16 weeks that they have been for a few car rides, met cats, the postee and other aspects of your regular life. Ask the breeder what they will be doing to socialise the puppy for the first 8 weeks of life. Sign up for puppy kindy classes, and basic obedience training. A well trained dog is a happy dog.

If you are going to go ahead with getting a puppy, we hope you fall in love with the breed. They are a special, rare and exciting little dog, full of character and courage. Perhaps if you decide also to join the Swedish Vallhund Club we will get to meet you at one of our gatherings.

Swedish Vallhunds do not always make good ‘first dogs’, or ideal dogs for people not prepared to make some effort in socializing and training their new puppy. With inherited breed traits to herd, which may include nipping at running heels (be they cows or kids ankles) – and a natural, sharp intelligence, Swedish Vallhunds can turn their watch-dog bark into a persistent bark if left to be come bored. Some also have a natural inclination to be vocal and bark to ‘voice their opinion’.

Most of the breed is born with tendency towards a confident, alert and easy-going nature. But as with personality variations in humans, dogs can be born with a tendency towards being anxious, and lacking confidence. These dogs will need greater support, and investment of time/training/money to turn your puppy in to a good family pet. Take your time to research the breeder and parents of the puppy you want to take home. This is good advice for any dog breed, but especially important for the Swedish Vallhund.

Without good breeder or breed knowledgeable guidance a Swedish Vallhund can be raised to be fearful of strangers, children, bark incessantly, have a prey drive that translates to stock worrying, chasing cats, and killing chickens, rabbits etc. These dogs can be inadvertently raised to be uncomfortable in most situations other than at home with their own family, and may be frantically unhappy when you leave them home alone. This is a rare and worst case scenario, but has happened.