Norwegian Elkhound is the national breed of Norway. It's traditionally used for hunting, but over the years
it's also become a good family dog. Earlier it had a reputation of being hot-blooded and shy, but today it lives happily inside the house with the family.
Most Elkhounds live as pets for most of the year and as hunting dog during the hunting season in the fall. In trials this is the most awarded breed.
As a Norwegian breed, it is our responsibility to keep our Elkhounds the best in the world, both in the way they look and in their ability to hunt. This should be every breeders goal. And the responsibility lies both on the bitch owner and the dog owner.
Some people may think that we are obsessive about details, like size, colour and so on... But this is very important. If we let it slip, it may be difficult to re-establish the quality that we all want in our Elkhounds. The size of the breed is more even today, probably due to the obligatory measuring at shows.
If you see an Elkhound in the woods, it will be clear to you that he is KING of the woods. Being an Elkhound
is something that the puppies are born with. You can already see this when the 8 weeks old puppy tracks along an elk trial. This is important training for the puppy. It shall learn to behave around the elk and to move around in the woods.
Norwegian Elkhound is a healthy breed. It has little Hip displasia, and all breeders have to get x-rays. The problem with fat knobs is decreasing since we try to avoid breeding on individuals with this condition. The problem is that a dog can be a certain age before you see any knobs, and then maybe you already have
used it in breeding. But the condition is often attached to certain blood-lines, so openness about any signs
of disease or weakness is important.
All in all I can definitively say that the Norwegian Elkhound is a healthy and pleasant family & hunting dog.
