[Ansteorra] Period Dog Breeds

[C. L. Ward]

>Norwegian Elk Hound have been with the Norse.

There are a bunch of surviving Scandinavian breeds that date back to the
Viking Age or before.

Prior to the Viking Age, dogs both large and small were found in great
numbers in the Vendel graves in Sweden. By the Viking Age, fewer dogs are
found in each grave. The Oseberg ship burial contained the remains of four
dogs to accompany the women buried there. The Gokstad ship burial contained
six dogs buried with their elderly master. Other Viking Age graves in
Denmark, Brittany, the Isle of Man and elsewhere containing the remains of
dogs show that the custom of sending a person's dogs with them to the
afterlife was widespread throughout the Viking World.

Hunting Dogs
------------
Many of the dogs kept by the Vikings were hunting dogs, bred to assist in
the chase. Several varieties of Viking Age hunting dogs have survived to the
present day.

One of the best-known surviving Norse hunting dog is the Norwegian Elkhound
(Norsk Elghund), used for hunting large game such as moose and bear. The
Elkhound (a mis-translation, these are literally "moose-hounds") is derived
from the Torvmosehund or Swamp Dog, bred by the ancient Danes. Elkhound
skeletons have been recovered from a number of sites, including the oldest
dated remains from the Viste Cave at Jaeren, in western Norway in a stratum
dating from 4,000 to 5,000 BC.

The Jämthund or Swedish Elkhound is a Swedish hunting dog of spitz type,
bred to hunt moose and sometimes bear. The Jämthund is the national dog of
Sweden. Some experts believe the Jämthund originated by selective breeding
from ancient aboriginal dogs very similar to the West Siberian Laika.
Genetic studies show that the Jämthund is also very similar to the Norwegian
Elkhound, although larger.

Another spitz-type dog was used for hunting game from at least 1100 CE,
especially bear and moose, and modern descendants of this breed are called
Karelian Bear Dogs in Finland (also called Bjornhund in Swedish or
Karjalankarhukoira in Finnish). An identical breed is known as the Laika in
Russia. According to archeological records, dogs very similar to the modern
Russo-European Laika and the Karelian Bear Dog existed in northeastern
Europe and Scandinavia since Neolithic times. The breed standard for
Karelians and Laikas today calls for a black-and-white marked dog, but
originally the breed included individuals with coats of wolf gray of various
shades, red coats like the standard spitz, and black-and-tan specimens as
well.

The Karelian Bear Dog was used mainly for hunting small fur-bearing animals,
such as squirrels and marten. Like the Norwegian Elkhound, the Karelian Bear
Dog was also used in hunting moose, lynx, wolf and, as its name would
suggest, hunting the Eurasian brown bear (a bear species as large and
aggressive as the American Grizzly). In hunting bear, at least a pair of
Bear Dogs would be used to harry the animal, barking loudly, in order to
distract the bear while the human hunter came in for the kill. Karelian Bear
Dogs are being used today for bear control at Yosemite and Glacier National
Parks and in Alaska in the United States (see also "Bear Scarer" in People
Magazine 49:23 (June 15, 1998) p. 146).

The Norwegian Lundehund is the most ancient of the Nordic dog breeds. The
name Lundehund means "puffin-dog" after the dog's talent for hunting
seabirds. The Lundehund originates from the Lofoten Islands in the fishing
village Måstad on Værøy Island. The date of origin for the breed is unknown,
however scientific research indicates that the breed has been in existence
since before the last Ice Age. The Lundehund survived through the glacial
period in the ice-free zones, surviving by eating fish and seabirds. It is
thought that the Lundehund is actually a descendant of the primeval dog,
Canis forus, rather than the domesticated dog breeds, Canis familiaris. The
Lundehund was valued for its ability to hunt and catch puffins and other
seabirds. Lundehunds have several special anatomical adaptations that make
them particularly adept at hunting seabirds. Lundehunds are a zoological
rarity by having at least six fully developed toes on each foot. They can
close their ear canals at will and are able to bend their head 180 degrees
backwards over their shoulders. Their legs that are extremely flexible and
can be stretched straight out to the side, for greater ease in swimming or
in maneuvering in the narrow crevices in Norwegian sea-side cliffs where
their avian prey lives. The Lundehund was a valuable working animal, for the
export of down to Schleswig in Germany was a major commercial enterprise
from the Viking Age through the 16th and 17th centuries. In addition,
puffins were considerted a delicacy during the Viking Age. Households on
Værøy would have anywhere from two dogs to a pack of a dozen, and at one
point the Lundehund's value was as great as a good milch cow. One Lundehund
could capture up to 30 puffins in one night, bringing them back alive to
their master. The popularity of the Lundehund waned after the introduction
of nets into the local bird-hunting practices.

Herd Dogs
---------
A variety of dogs were used by the Vikings in tending sheep, goats, and
cattle, and several of these breeds are still bred today. The most common
type of herd dog was a spitz-type sheep-herding dog, and these were
apparently in use throughout Scandinavia from the time of the Maglemose
Culture in Denmark (ca. 6,000 BCE).

The Norwegian Buhund is one of the oldest known Nordic breeds, and the
ancestral Viking herd-dog. The Gokstad ship burial includes the bones of six
Buhund dogs. The name "Buhund" comes from then Norwegian word bu, which
means homestead, farm or house: this term was first used in 1968 in J.
Ramus's book, A Sample Of Words From Norderhov. By the last quarter of the
7th century, the Vikings brought Buhunds to Shetland, Iceland and Greenland.
It is thought that the Shetland Sheepdog and Iceland Sheepdog are descended
from Buhund ancestors.

When the first settlers arrived in Iceland in 874 AD, they brought with them
the ancestors of the Iceland Sheepdog (Ísländshunden in Icelandic),
sometimes called Fårehund or "Friar-Hound". In addition to herding sheep,
the Icelandic Sheepdog was also used in working horses. There are references
to the Icelandic Sheepdog in many of the Icelandic Sagas, dating from 900 to
1300, and further references in 1400's and 1500's. The Icelandic Sheepdog
also appears in English literature such as William Shakespeare's Henry V
("Pish for thee, Iceland Dog! Thou prick-eared cur of Iceland!"; Act II,
Scene I). In 1650, Sir Thomas Brown wrote: "To England there are sometimes
exported from Iceland . . . a type of dog resembling a fox . . . . Shepherds
in England are eager to acquire them!"

The Vikings also used dogs to herd cattle. One of this type was the Swedish
Vallhund, also known as Västgötaspets, which are still bred today. The
Vallhund dates back to the 500's in Sweden. The Vallhund looks like its
close relative, the Welsh Corgi, and it is unknown whether the Vallhund is
the ancestor of the Corgi or vice versa.

The Lapp Reindeer Dog (in Finnish: Lapinporokoira) was used by the Saami to
domesticate and herd reindeer. Like the other spitz-type breeds, the
Reindeer Dog's origins are lost in antiquity, but almost certainly predate
the advent of the Viking Age. The Saami tell the legend of the Reindeer Dog:
"A long, long time ago a couple of dogs sat on a hill chit-chatting and
watching humans who were desperately trying to gather up a herd of reindeer.
Having looked at the idle yelling and running around for a while the dogs
decided: "We could do that better". And so did the reindeer herdsmen get an
irreplaceable helper, a dog who himself wanted to help."  Even modern
Reindeer Dogs are often considered to possess the gift of speech - they
don't say much, say their owners, but they understand much.  There are both
Swedish or Finnish varieties of the spitz-type reindeer-herding dog
originally bred by the Saami. The Swedish variant is the Swedish Lapphund
(Swedish) or Suomenpystykorva (Finnish), while the Finnish variety of this
dog is the Finnish Lapphund or Lapinkoira (Finnish). Both varieties of
Lapphund were developed by the Saami as reindeer-herding dogs: after WWII
breeders in Sweden and Finland independently undertook to preserve the
species, resulting in two slightly varying types. Of the two varieties, the
Finnish Lapphund has best retained its instinct for herding, and is often
used on farms in Finland, while the Swedish Lapphund is more often found as
a pet.

::GUNNORA::