Characteristics
Average
48–55 cm
16–25 kg
10–15 years
Hounds and related breeds
Brief information
Origin story
Norwegian messenger belongs to the group of Scandinavian hounds. This beautiful breed was named after Wilhelm Dunker, who successfully crossed the best Russian and English hounds over a century and a half ago. Wilhelm’s goal was to breed a hardy hound capable of chasing a hare for a long time. The result of crossing was excellent, the breed really turned out to be very hardy. These dogs are easily oriented in any terrain and are able to take a trail everywhere in the mountains, in the forest, even in deep snow. And, thanks to the fantastic perseverance in achieving the goal, if the dog takes the trail of the hare, it will never leave it, it will pursue the prey to the bitter end. Stop only when the hare is caught.
But this wonderful breed of dogs outside the countries of Scandinavia is not very popular. She is not yet recognized by the English and American Kennel Clubs.
Description
Dog of rectangular format. The body is elongated, with a deep chest. The head is long, the muzzle is straight, long, with a straight nose back. The eyes are dark in color, but blue with bluish-marble shades are also allowed. Ears are soft and thin, of medium length, hanging. The paws of the Norwegian hound are slender, but at the same time very strong, muscular.
Black coat with fawn or fawn or blue merle markings. In its structure, it is straight, thick, not soft, relatively short, close to the body. The Norwegian Hound has a beautiful color a saddle with clear lines.
The tail of the hound is thick at the base, but gradually thinning towards the end. Voice is loud, sonorous.
Character
The Norwegian Hound has an even temperament, kind, but at the same time persistent character. Aggressiveness shows only on the hunt, and then as needed.
In addition to hunting talents, it is endowed with the ability to perform watchdog functions.
At home, this is a fairly balanced dog, devoted to the owner, she plays with children with great pleasure, showing extreme caution to them.
But it’s better not to keep small animals in the house at all: the dog can take them for prey and start chasing them.
Care
There are no difficulties in care, since the health of the Norwegian hound is genetically excellent. Standard procedures ear cleaning, nail trimming are performed as needed. Wool cleans well with a stiff brush. Bathing a dog often is also useless, in most cases it is enough to wipe its coat with a damp cloth.
Content
The dog feels best when he lives on the street; she suffers if she is within four walls. These animals need daily great physical activity, otherwise they become lethargic, sad, with poor appetite.
Dogs of this breed tolerate both heat and cold without problems, easily adapt to any weather, they are not afraid of temperature changes. In food, the Norwegian hound is absolutely unpretentious.
Price
In the Russian Federation, this breed of Scandinavian dogs is practically not common, so the price of puppies should be found out in the homeland of the breed.
