Norwegian Elkhound

AKC Group: Hound

Club: Norwegian Elkhound Association of America, Inc.

Corresponding Secretary : Karen Elvin
Address: 14465 St Croix Trail N, Marine on St Croix, MN , 55047-9518
Website: www.neaa.net
Email: neaainfo@earthlink.net
Club Type: Specialty

General Apperance:

The Norwegian Elkhound is a hardy gray hunting dog. In appearance, a typical northern dog of medium size and substance, square in profile, close coupled and balanced in proportions. The head is broad with prick ears, and the tail is tightly curled and carried over the back. The distinctive gray coat is dense and smooth lying. As a hunter, the Norwegian Elkhound has the courage, agility and stamina to hold moose and other big game at bay by barking and dodging attack, and the endurance to track for long hours in all weather over rough and varied terrain.

Size:

Height at the withers for dogs is 20½ inches, for bitches 19½ inches. Weight for dogs about 55 pounds, for bitches about 48 pounds.

Square in profile and close coupled. Distance from brisket to ground appears to be half the height at the withers. Distance from forechest to rump equals the height at the withers.
Bone is substantial, without being coarse.

Coat:

Thick, hard, weather resisting and smooth lying; made up of soft, dense, woolly undercoat and coarse, straight covering hairs. Short and even on head, ears, and front of legs; longest on back of neck, buttocks and underside of tail. The coat is not altered by trimming, clipping or artificial treatment. Trimming of whiskers is optional. In the show ring, presentation in a natural, unaltered condition is essential.

Temperament:

In temperament, the Norwegian Elkhound is bold and energetic, an effective guardian yet normally friendly, with great dignity and independence of character.

History:

Comrade to the Vikings, guardian of lonely farms, herder of flocks and defender from wolves and bear, a hunter always and roamer with hardy men, The Norwegian Elkhound comes down to us through more than six millennia with all his Nordic traits untainted, a fearless dog and friendly, devoted to man and the chase.

Selected and bred for his ability to accomplish a definite purpose, the Elkhound achieved his distinctive type by natural methods. No form was imposed upon him; he was not squeezed into a preconceived standard; his structure and rare beauty, like those of the thoroughbred horse, were evolved from the tests of performance. Every physical characteristic is the expression of a need. His compactness, his muscled robustness, his squareness, his width and depth are true expression of nature's requirements for a dog that would hunt day after day, all day long, in rugged country, where stamina rather than extreme speed is called for. It should never be forgotten that from the first to last he has been at all times the peerless hunter of big game.

The Elkhound is an exceedingly versatile dog developed through constant contact with man in the pursuit of game. It was not until 1877 that he began to be considered from an exhibition point of view. In that year the Norwegian Hunters' Association held its first show. Shortly thereafter, pedigrees, which had been handed down, were checked and traced as far back as feasible, a stud book (Norsk Hundestambak) was published and a standard drawn up.

When the Norwegian Kennel Club (Norsk Kennelklub) inaugurated its annual shows at Oslo, the Elkhound came into his own as Norway's great contribution to dogdom. Since then he has been exported in ever-increasing numbers and has gained in popularity based on his comradely character rather than on his unsurpassed abilities as a hunting dog.