Swedish Vallhund

The breed is a popular companion dog that is still used for herding cattle at farms in its county of origin. The origin of the Swedish Vallhund is  not known. Theories about the breeds past are claiming its origin to the time of the Vikings. But if the Vikings brought their low legged spitz to the British isles where it might have played a part in the background of the Welsh Corgi Pembroke or vice versa; - the Vikings brought the Corgi back to Sweden, we will never know.
Source: http://www.skk.se/global/dokument/hundrasguiden/svenska-raser.pdf

Presentation by Svenska Kennelklubben, July 2017. Supplement to the breed standard.

• http://www.fci.be/Nomenclature/Education/014g05-PRE-en.pdf

The Swedish Vallhund dates back to 8^th Century Sweden where the breed was utilised as farm dogs, primarily for herding cattle. The Swedish Vallhund is known in its native land as Västgötaspets, which means Spitz of the West Goths.

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Swedish cattle dog
Swedish Shepherd

Vallhund suédois-Spitz des Wisigoths

Vallhund sueco - Spitz de los Visigodos

Schwedischer Vallhund - Westgotenspitz - Schwedischer Schäferspitz

Västgøtaspets

Country of origin: Sweden

Parent breed club: SKV | Specialklubben för Västgötaspets: http://vastgotaspets.se/

There are numerous breed standards. The basis of breed/conformation shows is the judging of pedigree dogs against the 'Breed Standard', which is a picture in words that describes the range of features that are deemed appropriate for the breed. Three of the major international standards are:

The American Kennel Club

The Kennel Club, UK

FCI (Federation Cynologique Internationale)

1. Swedish Insurance Data Breed-specific information on rates of disease and death from Agria Pet Insurance (Agria Djurförsäkring) is available for many breeds. This breed has information on Veterinary Care and Life Insurance.

Finland: Database (KoiraNet-jalostustietojärjestelmä) : http://jalostus.kennelliitto.fi/frmEtusivu.aspx?Lang=en&R=14

Health/Breeding Strategy Documents and Links:

The Kennel Club, UK: Breed Watch (Category 1)

Sweden: Breed-specific Breeding Strategies: (in Swedish) and/ or English summary

Finland: JTO (Breeding Strategy - Finnish)

LÄNSIGÖÖTANMAANPYSTYKORVAN ROTUKOHTAINEN JALOSTUKSEN TAVOITEOHJELMA 2018 - 2022

Health Surveys

OFA: Swedish Vallhund: http://www.offa.org/SurveySummary.php?b=ACD&q=ALL&s=32

Hundsport Special, (Breed Profile). Publisher: Svenska KennelKlubben. (In Swedish)

• http://www.svclub.org.nz/resources/hundsportspecial1986.pdf

Breed Profile: Swedish Vallhund NZ:

• http://www.svclub.org.nz/resources/Swedish Vallhund Profile (2011).pdf

Article: UK: Mental Evaluations in Sweden: http://www.swedishvallhunds.co.uk/documents/mentaleval.pdf 

Race Portrait: Rassespecial VON URSULA MEYER västgötaspets (German): http://www.dcnh.de/docs/rasseportraits/10_Västgötapets_CN042013.pdf

A Novel Form of Progressive Retinal Atrophy in Swedish Vallhund Dogs

• http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0106610

Increased Expression of MERTK is Associated with a Unique Form of Canine Retinopathy

• http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0114552

2015 Research Update Letter: Retinopathy in the Swedish Vallhund is Associated with Dysfunction of the MERTK Gene 

• http://www.swedishvallhund.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Retinopathy_research_letter.pdf

We are listing sites for breed clubs with health or other information that might be helpful. Follow links below.

Sweden: SKV | Specialklubben för Västgötaspets: http://vastgotaspets.se/
      SKV Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SKVvastgotaspets/ 

UK: The Swedish Vallhund Society: http://www.swedishvallhunds.co.uk/
US: Swedish Vallhund Club of America: http://www.swedishvallhund.com/
New Zealand: Swedish Vallhund Club: http://www.svclub.org.nz/
Netherlands: Västgötaspets Vereniging in Nederland: http://www.vastgotaspets-vereniging.nl/
Finland: Länsigöötanmaanpystykorvat ­- Västgötaspetsen ry: http://lansigootanmaanpystykorvat.com/
Germany (VDH): Deutscher Club für Nordische Hunde e.V.  http://www.dcnh.de/index.php?site=verein_rassen&rasse=10
Norway (NKK): http://web2.nkk.no/no/kjope_hund+/ansvarlig_hundehold/Västgøtaspets.9UFRvU1Q.ips