Base colour
Usually solid black
- bronzing is typical as more or less ”bear-brown” shades.
- Permissible: White on chest, on feet and tip of tail
About the Swedish Lapphund
Origin: Sweden
- Typical life span
- 12-14 years
- Size
- Medium — from its typical weight
- Weight
- Male
- 19-30 kg
- Female
- 17-25 kg
- Height
- Male
- 43-51 cm
- Female
- 40-47 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Spitz and primitive types
- Origin
- Sweden
- Also called
- Perro Sueco de Laponia
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a Swedish Lapphund?
Medium-sized spitz-type herding dog with dense black double coat and curled tail, bred by the Sami people for reindeer herding. Known for its lively expression, intelligence, and versatile working ability as both herder and guardian.
Swedish Lapphund history and origins
Ancient Nordic spitz breed developed by the Sami people for herding and guarding reindeer in Arctic regions of Sweden. One of Sweden's three national breeds and oldest spitz breeds, officially recognized by Swedish Kennel Club in 1944.
Swedish Lapphund appearance and size
Males typically weigh 19-30 kg and stand 43-51 cm at the shoulder; females 17-25 kg and 40-47 cm.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Reindeer herding dog, nowadays mainly kept as an all-round companion dog
- Behaviour and temperament
“Lively, alert, kind and affectionate. The Lapphund is very receptive, attentive and willing to work. Its abilities as a good herding dog made it very useful in the reindeer trade. It is very versatile, suitable for obedience training, agility, herding, tracking, etc. It is easy to train, full of endurance and toughness”
Quoted from FCI standard n°135. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Medium
- Exercise needs
- —
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- 4 of 5
- Grooming needs
- 4 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Not researched yet
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Swedish Lapphund
What you get with the Swedish Lapphund
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Reindeer herding dog, nowadays mainly kept as an all-round companion dog”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Lively, alert, kind and affectionate”
What you are taking on
- High grooming needs — the standard’s own description is “Profuse double coat. Hair standing straight out from body, undercoat dense and finely…”
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · Swedish Lapphund
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged permissible.
Coat
Profuse double coat.
Hair standing straight out from body, undercoat dense and finely frizzy.
Short hair on head and on front of legs.
Longer hair on brisket, backside of legs and on tail.
Bushy, long and dense on tail.
Forming a ruff round neck.
The coat is weather resistant
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°135 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
What the breed standard says
- Size
- “Height at the withers: Ideal size for males: 48 cms. Ideal size for females: 43 cms. Allowance for +/- 3 cm”
- FCI states a tolerance around the figure.
Quoted from FCI standard n°135. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Swedish Lapphund in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Swedish Lapphund
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Swedish Lapphund on this platform yet. That is a gap in our records, not a clean bill of health — ask the breeder which hereditary conditions their lines are tested for, and ask to see the results for both parents, dated and from a named laboratory.
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where Swedish Lapphund owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Puppies
No puppies listed right now
No Swedish Lapphund breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.