THE SWEDISH VALLHUND
by Linda Rorem
The Swedish Vallhund is a
very old Scandinavian herding breed. Vallhund means "shepherd dog," but the
official name in Sweden is Västgötaspets, "Spitz of the West Goths" after
its home province of Vastergotland. Resemblance to the Pembroke Welsh Corgi has
led to speculation that the Vallhund may be an ancestor of the Pembroke, or vice
versa, the Vikings having visited Wales during their colonizing expeditions to
Britain and Ireland, but no definite relationship has been proven between the
breeds. As a herding dog, the Vallhund was used primarily as a cattle dog, also
working other kinds of stock as needed. Vallhunds are natural heelers and able
to duck quickly out of the way of a kick.
As happened with other rural
working breeds in this century, the Vallhund, still a common sight in the
countryside into the 1920's, greatly diminished in numbers by the 1940's.
Largely due to the efforts of Mr. K. G. Zettersten and one or two other
individuals, the breed was preserved. A standard was drawn up and in 1943 the
breed was recognized by the Swedish Kennel Club.
The general appearance
of the Swedish Vallhund is of a small, powerful, sturdily built working dog. Its
expression is watchful, alert and energetic. Ears are medium in size, pointed
and erect. The tail may be natural (long, stub, or bob) or docked.
The coat is medium length, with a harsh, close topcoat and soft, woolly
undercoat. The color ranges from steel grey, greyish/brown and greyish yellow,
to reddish/yellow and reddish/ brown, with darker guard hairs on the back, neck
and sides of body and lighter hair on the muzzle, throat, chest, belly,
buttocks, feet and hocks. White markings are acceptable but should never exceed
one-third of the total color. Height at the withers is 12.5" to 13.5" for
dogs and 11.5 to 12.5" for bitches, with a weight of 22 to 35 pounds.
While the Swedish Vallhund resembles the Pembroke Welsh Corgi in having legs
that are short in proportion to its body, the Vallhund is longer in leg and
shorter backed. The desired ratio of height to length of body is 2:3 as
measured from the prosternum to the rear most portion of the
buttocks.
Vallhunds are self-confident dogs, lively and inquisitive. They
are agile and fast. Being willing to please, they take well to training, but
they also are willing to "test" their owners. They are good family dogs,
friendly, healthy and hardy. As a watch dog, the Vallhund is alert and prepared
to stand its ground, but not aggressive. Because of its cattle-heeling
background, it has been known to give people a quick shove or nip on the back of
the leg.
True to their herding dog background, Vallhunds are versatile.
In addition to their herding duties on the farm, they served as watchdogs and
vermin catchers. Today they take part in obedience competitions, agility, and
other canine activities. In Great Britain, a couple of Vallhunds have been used
as retrieving gundogs. The Versatile Swedish Vallhund, printed by the
Swedish Vallhund Association, gives an account of a Vallhund taking part in a
pheasant hunt. Eric Rodwell writes that the dog was
"...the picture of concentration, standing in an attentive pose
with her ears pricked forward. Her eyes were fixed on the narrow end of the
copse facing us, waiting for the birds to break cover. And as they did, she
stood motionless, following their flight path with her head and eyes, only
moving off when a bird had been hit, having marked where it was going to fall.
By the time I had to leave I was so engrossed in what was going on that I had
virtually forgotten it was actually a Swedish Vallhund I was watching and not
just another trained gundog. My lasting recollections of that day are of a
bright, alert, sturdily built little Swedish Vallhund bitch working
intelligently over heavy ground with total concentration and great stamina."
In Sweden, some Vallhunds took part in herding trials in the
early 1940's, but as time passed the Border Collie became and remained the
primary trialing and working dog. As farmers turned to the Border Collie, the
Vallhund became more and more purely a pet and conformation show dog. Some
breeders are of the opinion that the many of the modern dogs are not strong
enough to perform their original work of herding cattle, but there are Vallhunds
that have retained their working ability A small number of Vallhunds, still herd
cattle on farms in Sweden. One story of a working Vallhund tells of a dog that
was used to bring the cows into the pasture. The dog's master showed the dog
where the cows were allowed to graze by walking along the perimeter of the area.
Then he went home, leaving the dog to watch the cattle. At milking time, the
herdsman would give a whistle and the dog would round up the cattle and bring
them back home. A few Vallhunds have been used with sheep in Britain, and a
Vallhund in America is working on a 90,000 acre Colorado ranch. This Vallhund,
along with an Australian Cattle Dog, a Border Collie and a Kelpie, is flown into
mountain valleys by helicopter and sent to gather up and bring in cattle. Her
owners describe her as strong but gentle, very sure of herself away from the
group.
Although the Vallhund has become primarily a pet and show dog,
there also is concern about preserving working ability. The Versatile Swedish
Vallhund lists the requirements for the herding test set up by the
Specialklubben for Västogötaspets in Sweden, translation provided by
Gunnar Smedberg:
"We have a specialist club in Sweden which has dedicated itself to
preserving and promoting the natural abilities of the Swedish Vallhund for
herding cattle. As part of its work this club has devised a very practical
test base don all the essential abilities required of a good herding
dog.
"For example, we think it is important that the Vallhund's ability
to recall or bring in a herd of cattle should be good; that it is able to
drive a herd carefully and in any direction its handler wishes; that it is
efficient in helping its handler to cut one animal out from the herd.
Obviously, to do all this well, it is essential that the dog obeys its handler
and therefore one very important part of the test is in judging the dog's
obedience.
"The test is divided into six parts and makes use of a
graded points scoring system which gives a fairly objective means of judging
the Vallhund's herding abilities. In Sweden it is also an advantage to you if
you can arrange for your dog to be tested at home. This means, of course, that
the judge has to do the traveling... The six parts of the herding test and
their maximum points allocation are:
| Obedience before herding |
5 points |
| Recalling the herd |
10 points |
| Driving-handler in front |
5 points |
| Driving-handler behind |
5 points |
| Obedience during herding |
5 points |
| Cutting one animal out |
5 points |
| Maximum number of points |
35 points |
A dog taking
this test is required to wait silently beside its handler and not begin to work
before it gets orders to do so. It must exhibit its ability to recall or bring
in a herd without frightening the animals. Driving must be done calmly
("driving" here simply means moving the stock, rather than the narrower sense
often used today of pushing the stock in front of or away from the handler). The
dog is only allowed to bark when it has to hurry or turn an animal, When the
handler is in front of the herd the dog must be able to turn them in the
direction the handler goes without barking. It must be able to stop at a signal
and stays until given its next command. It can be seen from this test that the
working qualities valued in the Vallhund are those of the all-around farm
dog-gathering, fetching, driving and sorting. Rounding up and bringing in the
animals has been an important part of the Vallhund's duties.
For more
information about the breed, contact the Swedish Vallhund Club of
America:
Swedish Vallhund Club of America
Secretary, Mary Carter
tel.: 512-331-6103
e-mail: 7corgis@sbcglobal.net
Gail Symka, General Education, e-mail: svcags@comcast.com
(The author wishes to thank Carl Borgstrom in Sweden and Jane Ward,
Franklin, TN, for their help with this article, and also Ray Anderson, La Honda,
California, for help with Swedish words.)
Herding on the Web
Linda Rorem
Pacifica19@aol.com