Family-friendly: | 5/5 |
Exercise needs: | 5/5 |
Easy to train: | 5/5 |
Tolerates being alone: | 3/5 |
Likes other pets: | 3/5 |
Energy level: | 5/5 |
Grooming needs: | 4/5 |
Shedding: | 4/5 |
- Dog suitable for owners with some experience
- Extra training required
- Generally healthy breed
- Enjoys active walks
- Enjoys one to two hours of walking a day
- Medium dog
- Minimum drool
- Requires grooming once a week
- Chatty and vocal dog
- Barks and alerts to visitors/anything unusual
- Could have issues with unknown dogs but gets along with known dogs
- May need additional training to live with other pets
- May need additional supervision to live with children
- Needs a large garden
- Can live in semi-rural areas
- Can be left occasionally with training
The Swedish Vallhund breed is prone to:
- Hip dysplasia
- Breed specific retinopathy which is a form of progressive retinal atrophy which causes deterioration of the back of the eye.
- Progressive retinal atrophy which is an inherited disorder where part of the eye degenerates and wastes away which can result in blindness.
Priority Kennel Club health schemes and testing:
- Hip dysplasia screening scheme
- Eye screening scheme
Personality
Clever, lively and alert, the Vallhund is a natural watchdog, informing their owners of anything interesting, suspicious or unusual that they have seen or heard! Friendly and amenable, they are a loyal companion and enjoy spending time with their people. Easy to train with the right motivation, the Vallhund will enjoy a variety of doggy activities, but beware leaving a Vallhund to get lonely or bored – they will bark and become destructive if so!
Did You Know?
- Vallhunds are so versatile, they have taken part in herding, agility, flyball, obedience, vermin control, search and rescue and have even been trained to sniff out valuable truffles.
- For a relatively unknown breed, the Swedish Vallhund has featured on a remarkable number of postage stamps including those from Tajikistan, Mali, Nicaragua, Ukraine, Russia and of course, Sweden.
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