Norwegian Elkhound

The Norwegian Elkhound is a northern spitz and the national dog of Norway. Over its history it has been a hunter, guard and herder, and it is best known for tracking elk and other big game such as bear and wolf. Its Norwegian name is Norsk elghund grå.

History

The breed was first shown at a dog exhibition in Norway in 1877. It was seldom seen or bred outside the country until it reached England in the nineteenth century, and The Kennel Club recognized it in 1901. It is popular in Sweden, where it has always been valued as a hunting dog, and it is 98 percent genetically identical to the Swedish Jämthund. The Fédération Cynologique Internationale treats the gray Norwegian Elkhound and the black one as two separate breeds.

Genetic studies place the Elkhound in a maternal lineage found only in northern Scandinavia, shared with the Lapphunds, the Lapponian Herder, the Jämthund and the Hällefors Elkhound. It goes back to a cross between a female wolf and a male dog that took place after dogs were domesticated, at most 480 to 3,000 years ago.

In the hunt the dog works on its own. It tracks the elk, then holds it in place by darting in and out and barking loudly, so that the hunter can follow the sound and come up for a shot. It barks only while the elk stands still, and it can also push the animal slowly toward waiting hunters. Some Elkhounds are worked on a leash and lead the hunter silently to the quarry.

Appearance

The Elkhound is a medium-sized, very hardy dog. The Kennel Club standard gives an ideal height of about 50 to 52 cm and a weight of up to 23 kg. The coat has two layers. The dense, smooth undercoat runs from black on the muzzle, ears and tail tip to silvery gray on the legs, tail and underbody, and over it lies a protective outer coat with black tips. The tail should curl tightly.

Temperament

Elkhounds are bold, playful, independent and alert, and can be boisterous. For all their toughness they bond closely with their owners and are loyal family dogs when given enough attention. Their sharp, loud bark makes them good watchdogs. They rank 36th in Stanley Coren’s The Intelligence of Dogs, above average for working and obedience intelligence.

Care and health

A 2024 British study found a life expectancy of 12.9 years, close to the average for purebred dogs.

The breed is prone to an inherited kidney fault, primary renal glucosuria, which also makes urinary tract infections more likely. Females are predisposed to forms of diabetes that arise after a season or during pregnancy. An inherited chondrodysplasia, which bends the forelegs and shortens the vertebrae, has been known in the breed since the 1980s and traced to a recessive mutation. The Elkhound is also one of the breeds more often affected by primary open angle glaucoma, again caused by a recessive mutation.

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