Swedish Elkhound is a medium sized spitz type of dog found in the northern Scandinavian region of Europe. They are also known as Jamthund or Moosehound. It derives its name Jamthund from the Jamtland region of Sweden.
As the name Elkhound or moose hound suggests, they were bred for hunting the deer. They have wolf like resemblance as this breed resulted from the female wolf and male dog hybridization.
Swedish Elkhound – Temperament
Swedish Elkhound – They are calm and friendly with the family. They are strong, agile, independent dogs who have a strong prey drive. They will be aggressive and dominant with the other pets and dogs.
Hence they are not recommended for families that have other pets or small children at home.
Being independent thinker they can be obstinate and difficult to train. Thus, this is not a dog for novice or first time owners.
Swedish Elkhound Physical Characteristics
Swedish Elkhound has wedge shaped head with erect ears which helps them in their almost perfect sense of hearing. They usually have brown eyes with a curly tail. They have grey or dark grey hairs across their body with white on the neck, chest and the tail.
Swedish Elkhound have double coat: Inner coat which is soft and the outer coat is hard and dense. This coat helps them in the cold of their original Scandinavian habitat. But it could make them difficult in the hot climate and care should be taken that they be in cold and shaded area.
The average height of Swedish Elkhound ranges from 20 inches to 25 inches and they weigh around 65 to 75 pounds. It has a lifespan of around 12 years.
Swedish Elkhound as a family dog
Swedish Elkhound are very active and intelligent breed but they also are independent which makes them stubborn as well at times. They are dominant in nature with the traits of hunting. Thus care should be taken when they are around small pets or children.
They are calm at home but enjoy the outdoor activities. You would need to spend quality time with them outdoor as they require good amount of time for exercise.
Training for Swedish Elkhounds should start from 3 months and they should be socialized with other humans and pets since birth. Training them may take some time as though they are intelligent, their independent trait makes them obstinate as well.
They need a dominant owner who can be firm with them. Having said that they are quite loving and affectionate with the family with whom he has been brought up.
They are suitable for experienced owners who doesn’t have other pets and small children.
Care required
Nutrition:
Swedish Elkhounds are recommended to have high quality dog food that should be light in calorie as they might get over weight. Take the advise of the vet who can advise based on the age, size and build of the dog.
Grooming:
Swedish Elkhounds sheds twice a year and they are heavy shedders. While shedding, you will find their fur every where. Thus regular brushing and vacuum would be required.
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Exercise:
Swedish Elkhounds are calm while inside but they require quite a bit of exercise. They are the dogs for folks who can spend a lot of time outside. They need firm training since beginning to subvert their aggressive prey drive.
Health
Swedish Elkhound is a very healthy breed and doesn’t have any congenital issues associated with them. Though they may still suffer from urinary and digestive issues as common in other dogs.
Difference between Swedish Elkhound or Jamthund and Norwegian Elkhound
Swedish Elkhound are quite similar to Norwegian Elkhound. So much so that, they both used to be considered the same breed until 1946. Swedish Elkhound are relatively larger than the Norwegian ones. They are also considered relatively smarter than the Norwegian ones.
Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Swedish_Elkhound.jpg
