Finnish Spitz

About the Finnish Spitz

Finland's national dog earns its living by barking. The Finnish Spitz hunts capercaillie and black grouse by finding a bird in a tree and then holding its attention with a rapid, ringing bark until the hunter can walk in, and the best dogs sound off well over a hundred times a minute. That hunting role is why the Royal Kennel Club places the breed in the Hound group.

It looks like a red fox: square, pricked-eared, with a curled tail over the back and a stand-off double coat in shades of golden red, paler on the underside. Dogs stand about 44 to 50 cm. This is a hardy, natural breed with no exaggeration anywhere, and a stud should be clean-moving, hard-coated and self-assured. Anyone taking a puppy should expect an opinionated dog that uses its voice freely, because that is exactly what it was selected to do.

Hip scores under the BVA/KC scheme and a current eye certificate are sensible requests, as is a patella examination. Epilepsy has been reported here and no test exists for it, so ask directly whether seizures have occurred in the dog's close family. Ask the owner what the breed club advises, and about longevity, which is generally good in this population and worth confirming for the particular line.

Health & breeding

We check every hip, elbow, eye and DNA result you give us against the Royal Kennel Club’s public records by hand, and we record who checked it and when. The Royal Kennel Club’s public records may not include all the screening a dog has had, so a dog with no Royal Kennel Club record showing is not necessarily untested.