Lapponian Herder

While the Lapponian Herder seems to be a relatively new breed, in truth, he dates back to the Sami people of the Arctic region known as Lapland. Lapland encompassed parts of Russia, Norway, Sweden and Finland. These dogs were used to herd reindeer and since they are an old breed, at the time there was no set type or look for them. By examining the DNA of some of the original bloodlines, researchers think that the Lapponian Herder evolved from prehistoric dogs. Most of the dogs of this original breed were lost during World War II. Swedish and Finnish breeders began the long process of re-creating several herding breeds that were virtually lost during World War II. The breed saw an increase in numbers during the 1950s and 1960s. During this time, devoted breeders began setting a certain look and standard for the Lapponian Herder. The Finnish Kennel Club recognized the Lapponian Herder as the Kukonharjulainen. The Kukonharjulainen was cross bred with the Karelian Bear Dog resulting in a short haired, dense coated, black and white dog. Eventually the Finnish Kennel Club placed all reindeer dogs under the same registry. It was not until the 1966 that the various reindeer breeds were separated again and the Lapponian Herder was his own independent breed. An official breed standard was adopted at this time.  The Federation Cynologique Internationale began recognizing the Lapponian Herder as did the United Kennel Club. It was not until 2017 that the American Kennel Club began recording Lapponian Herders in their Foundation Stock Service.