Quick Facts
Origin: Sweden
Height: F: 11.5”-12.75”, M: 12.5″-13.75″
Weight: 20-35lbs
Color: Gray or Red with or without White markings, Sable
Lifespan: 12-15 years
Temperament: Loyal, energetic, devoted
Overview
Is it a wolf? Is it a corgi? No! It’s the Swedish Vallhund! This ancient breed of herding and guarding dog is a relative newcomer to the US. But it’s affection personality, low grooming needs, and sweet playful nature will have it being a household name in no time.
This breed is best suited to families with children who know to be somewhat reserved in their play with small dogs. If you love to be active during the day and curl up on the couch in the evenings, the Swedish Vallhund might just be your perfect match.
Celebrity Owners
N/A
Fun Facts
- Swedish Vallhund is said to have accompanied the Vikings.
Health
Swedish Vallhunds are generally healthy pets. Some conditions to be aware of include:
- Hip dysplasia: This condition is when the socket joint in the hip isn’t large enough, or more often too shallow, for the femoral head.
- Progressive retinal atrophy: Atrophy is a wearing or wasting away of a body part. In this case, it is the retina in the eye, which eventually leads to blindness.
While you always hope your pet will live a long and healthy life, it is always a good idea to invest in pet health insurance.
Keeping your dog’s mouth clean and problem free goes a long way to your pup’s overall health. Dental hygiene can be the cause or can be the byproduct of other serious health issues.
Visual inspections can be performed to keep track of the signs of potentially waning oral health. These signs can be anything from bad breath to abnormal chewing to loss of appetite.
Keeping ahead of these warning signs can pay dividends. A preventative approach can delay and stop many of the common dental problems from arising.
Oral health can be tackled in five basic steps:
- Brushing your dog’s teeth to prevent an undesirable buildup of plaque
- Feed your dog a diet where the high quality dog food has dental benefits
- Regularly give your dog dental toys and treats
- Use mouthwash, to help where brushing misses
- At the sign of any abnormalities, consult a vet. You can even do it virtually, from the convenience of your home.
Dogs are just like humans in that they can experience anxiety. The degree to which they are susceptible to anxiety and how they deal with anxiety is breed specific. Left unchecked, initial signs of anxiety could give way to an anxiety disorder. The symptoms of anxiety disorders can lead to a myriad of behavior issues.
Knowing the signs and symptoms will best equip you to keep ahead of it and to nip it in the bud at the earliest signs. There are options available to help with anxiety.
Grooming
This breed is quite clean. Brush your pup’s coat down to the skin weekly to help remove any dead hair. These pups shed moderately. Additionally, they go through 2 seasonal shedding periods, increasing to daily brushing will help control the mountains of hair around your home.
Bathe your pup every 4-6 weeks. Keep their eyes and ears clean and clear of debris. Clip your pup’s nails regularly and brush their teeth several times per week.
Cost
$1,500 – $2,300
Exercise
Vallhunds needs vary dog to dog. On average your pup will thrive with one long walk and some time spent playing fetch. They will also likely want mental stimulation so games around the house and puzzle toys will help.
Nutrition
Your vallhund will eat around 1-1 ½ cups of food per day over two meals. The exact requirements for your dog will vary with age and activity level. Be mindful that little dogs that receive lots of treats and or table scraps end up overweight. A little dog that is overweight is significantly more likely to develop other health issues.
We’ve taken a look at some premium dog foods, high in nutrition here.
Training
As with all dogs, early socialization with humans and other dogs is vital. Vallhunds thrive in training. They want to work with you. Fill your training with treats and positive reinforcement for best results. Many owners swear by clicker training with these pups.
Proper training is essential to ensuring the safety of your dog and those around you. Having your dog come when they should, and in general having them listen is something you want to address early in your pup’s life, as it will pay dividends down the line. There are many tried and true training programs to accomplish this training – faster and better than you might think!
Unless you’re living on a farm, or have the space, a yipping dog, or one that barks all day when you are gone could be an issue with the neighbors and/or landlord. Historically, dogs would bark to communicate with the rest of the pack when hunting and bark as a warning shot to predators eyeing up their flock. Barking is deep rooted in dogs and manifests itself in many ways and for a variety of reasons.
Just like any habit or instinct, there are effective ways you can train this issue away.
Supplements
A solid Glucosamine Supplement for hips and joints will go a long way to helping your furry friend.
Other helpful supplements include full-spectrum hemp oil or CBD oil. Fish oil skin and coat supplement.
Ensuring a comprehensive preventative vitamin and mineral plan is essential to keeping your dog healthy. Truth is, there are vitamins and minerals that your dog needs, but doesn’t produce naturally. While many of these vitamins and minerals can be found in your dog’s current diet and dog food, the question becomes, are there enough vitamins to ensure they aren’t deficient.
Poor nutrition can lead to some of the most common health issues, such as weak joints, compromised immunity, increased allergies, and low energy.
Vitamins play a vital role in your pet’s health and overall life expectancy. Here are some multivitamin and joint relief options.
As regulations around marijuana have eased, the emergence of CBD oils for humans and dogs have sprung up.
Just to begin to dispel the negative stigma, CBD extract comes from Hemp, marijuana’s cousin. Unlike its cousin, there are no psychoactive qualities in CBD oil. An emerging number of clinical and institutional studies have shown the wide variety of healing qualities in CBD, including pain management, and the containment of seizures and epileptic episodes.
Explore this remedy further to see all the health benefits that have transformed the lives of so many dogs to date.
The Good
Easy to train
Great match for active family
The "Ruff"
Shed a lot
Prone to barking