Finnish Spitz breed guide

Finnish Spitzes make excellent alertdogs, wary but not shy with strangers. It is a vocal breed and in Finland owners hold contests for the dog that barks best.

A very intelligent breed, it can present a challenge to train, so keep sessions short and fun and generous with praise and reward. Food seems the universal motivator.

Finnish Spitz live 13 to 15 years. AKC says thoughtful breeding has made the breed healthy in the United States and Canada, with breeders screening for patella, elbows, hips and eyes and very few affected dogs.

New owners are urged to talk with the breeder about limiting vigorous exercise for growing dogs and about waiting on spay or neuter until maturity.

A natural breed some owners call wash and wear, the Finnish Spitz has a breed standard that is very specific: no trimming of the coat except the feet is allowed, whiskers are not trimmed and any alteration of the coat by coloring, dying, trimming or scissoring must be severely faulted.

Bred to hunt all day in dense woods, Finnish Spitzes have the stamina to range far, which makes a solidly fenced yard a must. They need a moderately high degree of exercise and bond deeply with their families, so they must never be kept away from their people.

In its native land the breed is called the Suomenpystykorva. AKC assumes migrants from central Russia brought their spitz-type dogs to what is now Finland some 3,000 years ago and for centuries these forerunners of modern Finnish Spitzes worked as all-purpose hunters before specializing on gamebirds.

Finnish Spitzes have a unique bird-dogging style: an acute nose leads them to treed birds, which they mesmerize with slow tail-wagging and distinct barking.