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Swedish Lapphund - Ruotsin lapinkoira - Chien Suedois de Laponie - Schwedischer Lapphund - Perro Sueco de Laponia - Svedski laponski pes
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Swedish lapphund multi champion & multi winner Kristallens Lihkku
- info page - www.lapphund.se

Swedish Lapponian reindeer herding dog

Swedish Lapphund - Svensk Lapphund - Canis Lapponicus Suecus

National breed of Sweden - also suitable as a companion dog.

Kristallens Lihkku

European Winner EUW-07 Zagreb, Croatia

German Winner Dog Show 2006 (BSZ-06) & German Century Winner Show 2006 (JHS-06)

German VDH-CAC on Hannover INT 27/10 2007 and thus German Champion.

INTUCH, NORDUCH, SUCH, NUCH, FINUCH, DKUCH, LUCH, HRCH, DECH International & Nordic Champion (Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Danish Champion), Champion de Luxembourg, Croatian Beauty Champion, German Champion.

Male. Born in Stockholm on May 3d, 2001

Sire: Swedish and Norwegian and Nordic champion Cahpp�s Illu

Dam: Swedish champion Kristallens Girma


6 CACs from 5 judges at 8 official dog shows, at an age of only 3 years and 3 months

- all champ CACs in the 4 Scandinavian countries and in Luxembourg and in Germany received at the first try from well-known judges: Liz-Beth Liljeqvist-Carlsson, Ove Germundsson, Paula Heikkinen-Lehkonen, Hannu Talvi, Seamus Oates, Palmiro Cottafavi, Rudi Hardtmann &, Angelika Kammerscheid-Lammers, Milivoje Urosevic, G. Sch�fer.

The 9 CACIBs from Hannu Talvi, Seamus Oates, Kari Granaas-Hansen, Carin �kesson, Palmiro Cottafavi, Rudi Hardtmann &, Angelika Kammerscheid-Lammers, Milivoje Urosevic, G. Sch�fer.

7 BOB, 2 BOS, 1 Swedish CACIB, 1 Danish CACIB, 2 Finnish CACIBs, 1 Luxembourg CACIB, 3 German CACIBs, 1 Zagreb CACIB, 3 Swedish Res.CACIB, 1 Norwegian Res.CACIB

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Kristallens Lihkku is the dog's registered name and Lihkku is his call name.

  • Height at withers = 47 cm (18,6 ins)
  • Hip scored HD GRAD B
    (i.e. no dysplasia )

    Elbows AD UA
    (i.e. no dysplasia)

  • Scissorbite with full dentition
  • Character tested in the Swedish MH-test
    (i.e. Mental Description ) OK & Gun proof OK.

    Info in in English about the Swedish MH-test


In the Sami language "Lihkku " means "Luck".
"Lihkku dutnje!"="Good Luck!"

Traditionally, Lapp dogs are often given their register names from the Sami language.

Official shows:

  • Junior Class 1,1, Price of Honour, Swed. KC V�ster�s
    July 20th, 2002.
  • Junior Class 1,1, CC, BOS
    Swed. KC Rans�ter INT, July 27th, 2002.
  • Open Class 1,3, Swed. KC Norrk�ping, August 17th, 2002.
  • Open Class 1,1, CC, Swed. KC Nyk�ping,
    August 18th, 2002.
  • Open Class 1,1, CC, Res. CACIB, Swedish Champion.
    Swed. KC V�nersborg INT, June 8th, 2003.
  • Open Class 1,1, CC, Res. CACIB, Norwegian Champion.
    Norwegian KC Stavanger INT, Sept 14th, 2003.
  • Open Class 1,1, CC, Best Dog 1st, CACIB, BOB Finnish Champion.
    Finnish KC Lahti INT, April 26th, 2004.
  • Open Class 1,1, CC, Best Dog 1st, CACIB, BOB Danish Champion.
    Danish KC Aalborg INT, August 14th, 2004.
  • Champion Class,CC, Best Dog 1st, CACIB, BOB.
    Finnish KC Lahti INT, April 24th, 2005.
  • Champion Class 1st, Best Dog 2nd, Res. CACIB.
    SKK Svenstavik INT, August 6th, 2005.
  • Champion Class 1st, Best Dog 3d, Res. CACIB.
    SKK Sundsvall INT, October 8th, 2005.
  • Champion Class 2nd, Best Dog 3d, CACIB
    SKK V�xj� INT, November 5th, 2005. International champion.
  • Champion Class 1st, Best Dog 1st, CACIB, BOB, Champion de Luxembourg 2006.Luxembourg KC, Luxembourg INT, September 2nd, 2006.
  • Champion Class 1st, CAC,.Best Dog 1st, CACIB, BOB, VDHChA, German Winner Dog Show 2006. German KC (VDH), Dortmund/Westfalen INT, October 13th, 2006 = 2 VDH certs.
  • Champion Class 1st, CAC,Best Dog 1st, CACIB, BOB, VDHChA, Century Winner Show 2006. German KC (VDH), Dortmund/Westfalen INT, October 14th, 2006 = 2 VDH certs.
  • Champion Class 1st, CAC, Best dog 1st, CACIB, BOS, Croation Beauty Champion, European Winner EUW-07 Zagreb, Croatia, June 10th 2007.
  • Champion Class 1st, CAC,.Best Dog 1st, CACIB, BOB, VDHChA, German KC (VDH), Hannover INT, October 27th, 2007 = 1 VDH cert and thus German champion having received the 5 needed "Anwartschaft f�r Deutscher Champion VDH" .

Inofficial shows:

  • Price of Honour, Group-4, May 9th, 2002.
  • Price of Honour, Group-3, May 5th, 2003.
  • Price of Honour, Group-2, May 29th, 2003.

    Note. Abbreviations:
    BOB = Best of Breed;
    BOS = Best of Opposite Sex; KC = Kennel Club, INT = International.
    CACIB =Certificat d'Aptitude au Championnat International de Beaut�.

Lappland/Laponia covers vast tracts of Northern Sweden, Norway and Finland

Note.

Lappland (the Sami country) is yellow-marked on the above map.

The Sami, "the reindeer people", call themselves "Same" (pronounced "Saa:m-eah") from the word "Sapme" in Sami - their native language.

Swedish Lapphund ( Svensk Lapphund )

The international officially registered name in breed group N:o 5 is "Swedish Lapphund", although some English speakers might prefer to call it " Lapp dog " or " Lapponian dog ".
  • one of Sweden�s national breeds
  • originally used as a hunting dog and watchdog
  • in Scandinavia already 7000 years ago, according to archeologists
Pictures of Lihkku - N .B. undertexts in Swedish

Lihkku's pedigree - N. B. undertexts in Swedish

Colour

The Swedish Lapphund is either black or bear brown. A combination of black and brown, solid colours preferred. White mark on chest, white feet and white tip of tail acceptable. More white markings objectionable.

It is said that back in old times the Sami - seminomadic people of Lapland ( pastoral nomads ), usuallly misnamed Lapps - got rid of specimens having white spots. Black dogs are easier to locate on white snow or green grass. Others say that this is just a myth. Under all circumstances, nowadays a tiny white spot on the chest and white paws are acceptable for the breed according to the breed standard.

Note. According to Hellqvist's ethymological dictionary, the word " Lapp " means " someone who lives in the northern wilderness "

A dog full of endurance and toughness

The Swedish Lapphund is a hardy dog who loves cold and snow. Its weatherresistant coat provides good protection during Sweden's rough winters. Occasional brushing is all that is needed.

Size

According to the standard, the Swedish Lapphund is slightly smaller than middle-sized, rectangular in body and well postured; a typical spitz dog. It has an emphatic look and lively ears.

Height at withers: ideal size males: 48 cm (19 ins), allowance of +/- 3 cm (18-20 ins); ideal size females: 43 cm (17 ins), allowance of +/- 3 cm (16-18 ins).

Character

The Lapphund is intelligent, quick to learn and patient, very susceptible and willing to work. It is kind, friendly, devoted, lively and alert. Its abilities as a good guard and herding dog made it very useful in the reindeer-trade.

Nowadays the breed is kept foremost as a companion dog. It is very versatile, uitable for obedience training, agility, herding, tracking injured wild animals etc and easy to train.

A cuddly bear cub?

He looks very "cute", almost like a "small cuddly bear cub" and this might fool those being unacqainted with Swedish Lapphund. But it is rather tough and stubborn and there is said to have been cases where in a fight with a wolf or a wolverine the Swedish Lapphund has preferred to meet its Creator rather than to give in.

But in most cases the adversary had to give in, since the Swedish Lapphund is as fast as a lightning, rushing around and stressing its adversary, quickly rolling sideways like a Black Ninja fighter.

Very easy to train

It is easy to train and it is very friendly, but unfortunately exceptionally stubborn, preferring to do things its own way. It behaves best if it does not have to walk in a leash.

Nowadays, it is appreciated as a good companion especially in families with children, since it is very fond of children, available, most willing to learn and extremely easy to train.

A barking dog

As all Spitz dogs it barks quite a lot, but this can in most cases be dealt with by persistent training.

The Swedish Lapphund is a show dog, companion and guardian, and is useful in herding, search and rescue, agility, obedience competition and hunting. It is described as being affectionate, well disciplined and faithful.

Needs mental and physical acitivity

He demands a lot of both mental and physical activity, since it was born to do hard work.

Our Lihkku is unafraid of things going on around it and is not at all scared by noisy city traffic with big buses and fire brigades and crowdy side-walks. The Lapphund has normally a very good non-aggressive "dog's speech" in meetings with other dogs.

Also does well in a city environment

Some people are prejudiced against keeping Swedish Lapphunds in a city. They assume the dog will miss working reindeer herds in the mountains. But experience shows that these dogs enjoy city life, providing they can walk and run in the park and are exercised regularly outdoors.

The Swedish Lapphund is interested in all sorts of activities and large cities can provide a number of interesting diversions for them. Lapphunds should not be left alone in an apartment all day long, however. They should be walked for at least three hours a day.

A hardworking dog

The Swedish Lapphund ( a Nordic Spitz ) has been used for reindeer herding by the Sami - seminomadic people of Lapland - who take their herds of reindeer to the mountains in the Summer and to the lowland woods in the Winter - and has been known in the Nordic countries for centuries.

But in modern times, the Sami have made use of motorcycles and even helicopters, to manage their reindeer herds. They no longer rely exclusively on the Swedish Lapphund. Consequently, they have been somewhat neglected as a herding dog - their traditional role.

A rather rare breed

Though around in Sweden for centuries the Swedish Lapphund was only recognized officially in 1944.
It is registered as breed N:o 1 in the Swedish Kennel Club ( Svenska Kennelklubben, SKK ).

On an average only about 130 specimens of Swedish Lapphund ( Svensk Lapphund ) are born and registered every year.

According to our information, today there should probably be about 1200 specimens of Swedish Lapphund registered with the Swedish Kennel Club ( Svenska Kennelklubben, SKK ) in the whole of Sweden.

Today Swedish Lapphund also has made a come-back to his original masters - the Sami people - because of its fitness for reindeer herding.

The saving of an almost extinct breed

Breeding of Swedish Lapphunds was neglected when the methods of reindeer management changed. The breed was about to be destroyed when, in the 1920s the remainder of the breed was collected and saved. Genetic traits from these dogs still appear among current pedigrees.

Three recognized breeds of Lappland's herding dogs

Three recognized breeds have been developed from the herding dogs of Lappland: the Swedish Lapphund ( Svensk Lapphund ), the Lapponian Herder ( Lapsk Vallhund ) and the Finnish Lapphund ( Finsk Lapphund ). Their homeland is the region extending across the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, and Finland.

Similar dogs occur in adjoining regions of Russia. Most of Lappland is North of the Arctic Circle, and for centuries the Sami who live there have relied on the reindeer for food and clothing, first hunting them and later herding them. At first the Lapphund helped in hunting, later on in herding. The Lapplandish breeds are typical Nordic "spitzes", with dense double coat, ears pointed and erected, tails curled over the back.

Standardization

The Norwegians and the Swedes were the first to look at the possibilities of standardizing the Swedish Lapphund, with more interest developing in Sweden. Some efforts were made in Finland in the 1930's and 1940's to collect the native dogs, but many were lost because of the Second World War.

After the war, representatives of the kennel clubs of both Finland and Sweden were sent to the Sami region to select a foundation stock, but differences in opinions soon arose, since breeders in the two countries preferred slightly different types. In 1944 the standard for the Swedish Lapphund was approved by FCI (F�d�ration Cynologique Internationale) and eventually the Finnish Lapphund was recognized as a separate breed.

Svensk Lapphund - FCI Standard No. 135 ( Chien suedois de Laponie, Schwedischer Lapphund / auch Lappenspitz /, Swedish Lapphund, Perro Sueco de Laponia ).

Many Swedish Lapphunds were taken to southern Sweden as pets and the breed then became concentrated in that part of the country. Breeders there focused more on consistency, while the Swedish Lapphund in the North often mixed with other breeds.

Swedish Lapphund in other countries than Sweden

In France there are only a few specimens of Swedish Lapphund i France. As a matter of fact, one of them is a half brother of Lihkku's. Lihkkus father is Čahpp�s** Illu, who is also the father of Anthrazit's Patent.

Note. Correct spelling of the Samian name with initial C with a "caron" as a diacritic sign and written "Cahppes" without diacritic signs and pronounced Chappes with the stress on the first syllable. The semantic meaning of the word "Čahpp�s" in the Sami language is "black" when referring to an animal's fur.




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