Swedish Vallhund. His names Senna and he's 11 months now.
Pics:
1 month (on left) -
2 months - bring home - (My dad in pic)
3 months, he's on the right...
4 months, ears pointy now:
10 months -
Some info from the net:
It is believed that the Swedish Vallhund (SV) goes back to the age of Vikings, more than 1000 years ago. Back then they were known as the "Viking dog". The SV was bred to herd cattle, catch vermin (such as rats), and guard the house. It is often referred to as "the little cattle dog of the Vikings".
The Welsh Corgi is believed to be descended from the SV. However, by 1942, the SV itself was almost extinct, until Mr. Björn von Rosen and Mr. Karl-Gustaf Zettersten (both from Sweden) began looking for dogs to keep the breed alive. As a result of their work, in 1948 the Swedish Kennel Club recognized the breed and the SV was given the name "Vallhund", which meant "herding dog". The breed is still quite rare.
The SV is a powerful, fearless, watchful, energetic, alert, intelligent, friendly, and healthy small dog who has a tendency to bark. It is suitable for many kinds of activities, including herding and dog agility.
Their Swedish name is västgötaspets.
10 reasons why you should not get a västgötaspets - göötti
10. Weather resistant hair
The outer layer of hair really bears up under any kind of rough weather. You can´t get the dog wet, no matter how hard you try. Even when you try to wash the dog, that outside hair will not let the water through. However, when the soft, fluffy underhair begins to loosen, the shedding seems endless. That wonderful hair that resists the weather comes with a price...
9. Keep eye on your food
These are the göötti rules: If it is edible, it is ours. If you turn your back on it, it is your gööttis. It might seem that there is a ghost in your house
because in a thousandth of second a quite a large sandwich, yogurt, cup of tea and an apple just vanish without that cup or your göötti having changed position. On the other hand - you can be sure your göötti is not choosy. Everything goes. Always.
8. Strangers are barked at
And so are those a little less strange; and so are well-known people. If it moves there is a reason to bark at it. If it doesn't move, it might move, and so it must be barked at too. When a göötti gets bored it informs everybody about this by barking, Very often this gets the owner's attention--maybe only for a moment. Any attention is wonderful, so the dog must bark more--and louder-- and longer.
7. Loneliness
there just is no such thing for a göötti owner
Nowhere, I mean nowhere can you go alone. You short-legged shadow is following you in the dark hours of the night, in the bright light of the day, in rain, in sunshine, outdoors, indoors. If you don´t take the dog to the toilet or bathroom, it will loyally wait for you behind the door. It will be worried. You just might escape through the window, you know!
6. Always at the ready!
Ready for what?--to do whatever, whenever -- a göötti is always ready--really--ALWAYS. And because the dog follows you all the time, it knows about your plans even before you know them yourself. And it's ready for whatever you want to do.
Initiative and creativity -- you have to have them: If you don´t give your göötti anything to do, it will create its own jobs and fun. These may not necessarily be quite what you would have wanted! So, little by little, without noticing that anything is happening, you find yourself running by agility fences, working through obedience fields, and hiding meatballs in the woods...
5. Pawprints on thighs
A göötti is a short-legged dog, and a human is tall. That´s why your göötti has to jump up on you. If you take notice of the jumping dog, even once, it knows that by jumping on you it will get your attention, sooner or later. Positive or negative attention is all the same, The important thing is that "shortlegs" is noticed.
4. Everybody's friend
The göötti is everybody's friend, unless there is food involved; then your göötti is only its own friend. Gööttiboys do not necessarily like other
gööttiboys, because gööttiboys very much like gööttigirls, or whatever other doggerels might be handy. Gööttiboys are not so good at distinguishing their own breed.
Other dogs may have difficulties understanding the loud growly, barky, sneezy noises that occur during gööttiplay, but otherwise a göötti has a very clear language. for other dogs, and people. The göötti is also a friend of its owner's friends. Pawprints on the owner's friend's thighs makes for a nice common bond on walks together. People met along the walk will also receive the thigh mark badge of this common bond!
3. Say clearly what you want
Right from the first time you speak to your dog or try to train your göötti, you must make clear what you do not want and what you want instead. If there is food involved, your göötti is very willing to do what you want. However, begging is forbidden -- but is it really forbidden, and is it always forbidden? You mean absolutely always? Always...so short a moment in a göötti's life.
2. First there is one
A göötti has a tendency to double, perhaps triple. First you have one and then you notice you are beginning to think about another. Somehow, some distant relative of your göötti is calling you. And you suddenly discover you are a happy owner of two gööttis. How did that happen? Your göötti was missing company of it´s own kind. Oh yes, that's the good reason why you got another. It wasn't just that you fell in love with that sweet, soft, snugly puppy... What? Is that ANOTHER göötti calling my name?
1. Clever
Clever is the word that comes to mind when you have been around with gööttis a little while. There are so many stories about their inventiveness--not a dull moment with these dogs. To train a göötti is very easy, and at the same time very difficult. And even if you do not
train your göötti that will not stop your göötti from learning. A göötti learns fast, so beware of what you train, and how. And be especially careful of what you do not mean to train...
Most of which is true, but mine is extremely well trained, doesn't jump up and doesn't bark without good reason.
I'm just waiting for the breeder to have another litter so I can get another one.
Man look at the length of this post! Sorry about that...
