The Lundehund (Norsk Lundehund or Norwegian Puffin Dog) It is a small breed of dog of Spitz type, originally from Norway. Its name is composed of the prefix Lunde, Norwegian lundefugl (puffins), and the suffix hund, What dog. The breed was developed to hunt these birds and their eggs.
The Lundehund is a small, rectangular Spitz, with a wide variety of mobility in the joints of your bones, What makes him able to enter through small and intricate passages.
They remain able to rotate the head back on the backbone and bend the hind legs to the side at an angle of 90 degrees such as the arms of humans, In addition to six toes on the feet.
The breed has a long history. Already in 1600 It was used for hunting puffins along the Norwegian coast. Its flexibility and extra toes were ideal for hunting of birds in their places of nesting in the inaccessible cliffs and caves.
The Lundehund video
Lightbox for Video by VideoLightBox.com v1.11
Interest in the race was reduced to were appearing new Puffin hunting methods, as for example, the use of networks…, and this ex officio contortionist, was no longer needed. Puffins were a precious object of hunting, the meat was horse and kept and feathers were used to make quilts.
The breed was nearly extinct around World War II, When the canine distemper struck Værøy and the surrounding islands. In 1963, the population was decimated… Only six specimens survived of Lundehund (one in Værøy and 5 in Hamar, to the South of Norway), These five puppies was of the same litter.
Due to the care of the breeding with strict guidelines, currently there are approximately 1500 or 2000 Lundehund copies around the world, of this population around 1.100 they are found in Norway and almost 350 in the United States.
It is medium-sized dogs pulling small, males have a height to the cross of 35 to 38 cm and the females of 32 to 35 cm.. They weigh in 6 to 7 kg, Although the breed standard varies according to the club's record.
Its layer of hair consists of a very smooth internal fluff and an outer layer thick and rough. The hair is short on the head and the anterior part of the extremities. Fur is most abundant around the neck and the back of the thighs. Dense tail hair, but without forming feathers. The color is always in combination with white. From reddish to more or less mixed with hairs with black tips Fawn; black; grey; all with white markings, or white with dark markings. Usually, the adult specimen presents more hairs with black tips to the young dog.
The official record of the Lundehund was approved by the American Kennel Club's in the miscellaneous class 1 in July of 2008, After a unanimous vote of the Board the 13 in November of 2007. The race debuted at the AKC National Championship / Eukanuba in Long Beach, California (United States), the 13 and 14 in December of 2008, being one of the most important events of the American canine world.
The 12 in February of 2010, the directive Board of the American Kennel Club voted to accept the Lundehund in the book of origins AKC and became part of the 1 in December of 2010. The 1 in January of 2011, It became a part of the "non-Sports Group".
For the American Kennel Club and Canadian Kennel Club, the non-sports group is a diverse classification that comprises a variety of robust dogs with different personalities and appearances as the Chow Chow , and the Keeshond, among others. Covered by the non-sporting group breeds, It is very diverse in terms of appearance, size, layer, personality and, in general.
According to the classification of the CRF is located in the Group 5 Dogs type Spitz and primitive type. Section 2 Nordic hunting dogs.
While the Lundehund is a healthy dog, genetically exposed - to a greater extent on other race- It is a set of digestive disorders that can lead to an overgrowth of digestive bacteria and a loss of ability to absorb nutrients from food to suffer gastroenteropatía. In extreme cases, the dog can starve to death because of their inability to obtain nutrients and proteins from food, regardless of the intake of food. While, the Lundehund have genetic predisposition to developing this disease, does not mean that they will be affected. There is no cure for this disease.
The Lundehund has a temperament warning, energetic and vivacious. Today, While in some corners of Norway it still used for hunting puffins, It is more popular as a pet.