Lapland Reindeer Dog Breed
(Lapinporokoira)

Finland

Just a few decades ago, when communication between Lapland people living on Northern Scandinavia increased, their dogs were bred with many Southern breeds. This resulted in a curious matter: while many Southern breeders kept to its purity the primitive Lapland dog features, the specimens belonging to Lapland people were practically useless for guarding reindeers, due to the breeding between improper dogs, such as bloodhounds and other hunting breeds. It is when the Lapland people managed to uproot these imported and undesirable features, and this task gave as a result the breed which was known in Finland with the name of Lapland Reindeer Dog. (In Sweden, a similar variety, which is still not accepted as a breed, is called the "Reindeer Herding Dog".)

In appearance, the Lapland Reindeer Dog is very similar to the Laponian Reindeer Herding Dog: the breed standards do not mention importance differences, except that when the first one needs to have a height at withers, from 49-55 cm for male dogs, and 43-49 for female dogs. It can also carry the tail at a lower level.