Swedish Vallhund
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| Other names | Swedish cattle dog Swedish Shepherd Västgötaspets |
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| Origin | Sweden | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification / standards | |||
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| FCI | Group 5, Section 3 Nordic Watchdogs and Herders #14 | standard | |
| AKC | Herding | standard | |
| ANKC | Group 5 (Working Dogs) | ||
| CKC | Group 7 (Herding Dog) | ||
| KC (UK) | Pastoral | standard | |
| NZKC | Working | standard | |
| UKC | Herding Dogs | standard | |
The Swedish Valhund, also known as the Västgötaspets and Swedish cow dog, is a breed of dog native to Sweden. The breed's name, Vallhund, when translated into English, means herding dog, as the Swedish Valhund was originally bred as a drover and herder of cows over 1,000 years ago. In 1942, the dog came close to extinction, but careful breeding and publicity by Swedish national Bjorn von Rosen and K. G. Zettersten managed to revive the breed in popularity and save it from its likely end. In 1943, the Swedish Kennel Club recognized the Swedish Valhund as a breed, and officially categorized the Swedish Valhund as "the Västgötaspets" for Vastergotland, the county in which their revival took place. Since then, the breed has been recognized by, and bred in, over ten countries and has gained some popularity.
The average height of the Swedish Vallhund, measured to the withers, is approximately 33 cm (12.9 in) for males and 31 cm (12.2 in) for females. They are often strong, with a long body. The ratio of their height to body length is about 2:3. The head of the Vallhund is wedge-shaped, with dark brown oval eyes and pricked ears.
The coat is short and harsh, with a tight topcoat and a soft, dense undercoat. The hair on the foreparts of the legs is slightly longer than that of the neck, chest and back parts of the hind legs. Fur color varies from grey, greyish brown and greyish yellow to reddish brown, with darker hair on the back, neck, and sides of the body. Lighter hair in the same shade of color as mentioned above can be seen on the muzzle, throat, chest, belly, buttocks, feet and hocks. They have lighter markings on their shoulders, also known as harness markings. Some dogs have white patches which appear, to a small extent, as a narrow blaze, neckstop or slight necklace, as well as having white markings on their fore and hindlegs and on the chest. The maximum is 30% white.
The Swedish Vallhund is generally a healthy dog. Its small stature contributes to its longevity, with an average lifespan of 15 years. Its pointy ears mean that—unlike dog breeds with long, hanging ears—ear problems are rare in the Swedish Vallhund. This breed does well in hot climates because of its double layer coat, as long as the dog is provided cool shade and water. The breed does not do well in very deep snow because of its short legs. The Vallhund has an inherited type of progressive retinal atrophy disease in 34.9% of the population, which appears as mild to moderate night-blindness around the age of ten.
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Wikipedia