East Siberian Laika Dog Breed Info And Characteristics

Posted on July 16, 2016 by Primitivedogs Team

The East Siberian Laika (ESL) or Vostotchno-Sibirskaïa Laïka is a Spitz type hunting dog originating from the Siberian territory east of the Yenisei River and Lake Baikal. Similar to the West Siberian Laika, the ESL was developed from the aboriginal Laikas used for hunting and sled pulling. However, these dogs have been located in the Amur River region, Evenkiysky District, Irkutsk Province, and Primorsky Krai in the far east of Siberia. They are known to share many common things with their wild ancestors, wolves, and are of the similar ancient origin like Mansi and Khanty dogs. In fact, experts believe that they were brought in these lands by migrating tribes from the west. That is why the West Siberian and East Siberian Laikas are quite similar in their appearance and behavior. However, these East Siberian dogs, especially those from the Vladivostok and lower Amur River basin, share some traits with Chinese and Japanese dogs. These traits are probably in connection with interbreeding between some of these Laikas and dogs brought from China and Mongolia by migrating tribes. Continue Reading →

West Siberian Laika Dog Breed Info And Characteristics

Posted on July 6, 2016 by Primitivedogs Team

The West Siberian Laika (WSL) or Zapadno-Sibirskaïa Laïka is an ancient Spitz type hunting dog originating from Ural and West Siberia. The breed was developed through selective breeding from primitive hunting dogs of the Mansi (Voguls) and Khanty (Ostyak) indigenous people. These dogs known as the Mansi and Khanty Laikas are the actual descendants of wolves and primitive Spitz dogs, who had accompanied these aboriginals from prehistoric times. The mentioned selective breeding program started during the 1920s in several Russian cities, including Moscow and Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg), at the time when some local hunters had brought with them a few of these incredibly potent hunting dogs from their hunting expeditions in the Ob River region and North Ural. The breed standard was approved around 1930, but its modern shape was maintained after the WWII. The West Siberian Laika is one of three widely recognized Laika breeds, other two being the Russo-European Laika and East Siberian Laika. All three breeds are by the FCI included in the group 2: Nordic Hunting Dogs in the class of primitive dogs. Continue Reading →

Russo-European Laika Dog Breed Info And Characteristics

Posted on June 23, 2016 by Primitivedogs Team

The Russo-European Laika (REL) or Russko-Evropeĭskaya Láĭka, as they call it in Russia, is a Spitz type hunting dog originating from taiga regions of European Russia and Finland. This dog is a descendant of the Karelian Bear Laika, which unfortunately doesn’t exist today in its purebred form. The other and more popular descendant of this ancient dog breed is, you probably guessed it, the Karelain Bear Dog. Although these two breeds have the same ancestry and are almost identical in look, there are quite noticeable differences between them, which I’ll explain down under. This Russo Karelian Laika particularly was developed through a breeding program initiated in 1944 by E. I. Shereshevsky. The program was undertaken with the help of the All-Union Research Institute for the Hunting Industry in the Kalinin (now Tver) province. The Russo-European Laika is one of three widely recognized Laika breeds, the other two being the West Siberian Laika and East Siberian Laika. All three breeds are by the FCI included in the Nordic Hunting Dogs group in the class of primitive dogs. Continue Reading →

Black Norwegian Elkhound Dog Breed Info And Characteristics

Posted on March 4, 2016 by Primitivedogs Team

The Black Norwegian Elkhound or Norsk Elghund Sort is a Spitz type hunting dog originating from, as its name suggests, Norway. This is, in fact, a modern, smaller and more agile version of a Gray Norwegian Elkhound. The Black Elkhound was actually developed from this original Elkhound back in the early 19th century – the breed was acknowledged in 1877. Despite that, people in Scandinavia often say that this particular Black Moose Dog truly has an ancient origin since it was estimated that Norwegian Elkhound‘s ancestors had originated approximately 6.000 years ago. Beside these two Norwegian versions of Elkhound dogs, there is also a third version – the Swedish Elkhound, which is the biggest of the three. All three breeds are classified as hunting dogs and are mainly used to hunt big game. The Black Norwegian Elkhound is by the FCI included in the Nordic Hunting Dogs group in the class of primitive dogs. Continue Reading →

Swedish Elkhound Breed Information And Characteristics

Posted on February 11, 2016 by Primitivedogs Team

The Swedish Elkhound or Jämthund is a Spitz type hunting dog that originated a few thousand years ago in Jämtland, a province in central Sweden. It is quite obvious that its Swedish name was given after the name of this province. This is one of three Elkhounds – other two being the Norwegian Elkhound and Black Norwegian Elkhound – and is the biggest of them, but it’s also the least favorite of them. It is interesting to know that before 1946, when the breed was finally recognized, the Jämthund and Norwegian Elkhound were considered the same breed. Well, although they’re quite different in look, it is not that surprising since these dogs were developed from the same ancestors. Together with the Swedish Lapphund, Finnish Lapphund, and Lapponian Herder, these two breeds were developed through hybridization of female wolves and male dogs. This interbreeding had occurred after their domestication. The Swedish Elkhound is in the FCI included in the Nordic Huntig Dogs group in the class of primitive dogs. Continue Reading →