Dogs

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN Finland

MOST SUITED AS Hunting dog for large game.

SIZE
The shoulder-height is 60 - 65cm (23 1/2 - 25 1/2in) for dogs and 55 - 60cm (21 1/2 - 23 1/2in) for bitches.

COAT
The Elkhound has a cream-coloured thick undercoat with thick, densely packed covering hair. The colour of the outer-coat is dark or light grey and there should be cream-coloured patches on the nose, cheeks, throat, stomach, front of the chest, legs, and underside of the tail.

CARE REQUIRED
The coat hardly needs any grooming. During moulting is best to use a comb with a double row of metal teeth to remove loose hairs from the under-layer of the coat. In common with other Arctic dogs, the hair of the Elkhound does not have the typical dog smell.

CHARACTER
This breed is equable, straight forward, intelli­gent and cunning, has a sense of humour, is sensitive to nuances in the voice, and is physically demanding of itself.

TRAINING
This dog needs a calm handler who exudes a natural authority. An equable and consistent manner of approach to their training is essential.

SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
The Elkhound gets on with other dogs even though its bark can have a frightening effect upon them. They are rather reserved with strangers and yet they are no watchdogs. Children and Elkhounds together do not usually cause any pro­blems and the same applies to any animals present in and around the house.

EXERCISE
The Elkhound is a hunting dog through and through and is still used for this purpose to this day in its native country. Its task is to track large wild animals independently and bring them down. To do this, it searches large areas of terrain. This dog is really unsuitable as a pet in a busy urban environment. If it is allowed off the lead, the chance is that its hunting instincts will cause it to run away, with all the consequences that could follow. In wild countryside, the Elkhound will normally be constantly on the move. It verges on cruelty to animals to enclose such a dog and limit it to three short walks each day. From this it is clear that the Elkhound is only suitable for the few people who are able to hunt with it.