|
History of the Lundehund Breed
These 'histories' are mostly anecdotal and veracity is not guaranteed.
|
| Norwegian History
The history of the breed in Norway goes back to the late 1500's when visitors to Norway wrote of dogs who hunted Puffins for farmers. Puffin hunting dogs continue to be mentioned in numerous written accounts over the centuries. In the 1800's an account describes them as looking like a fox, at which time we can assume that they resembled the dog we know today as the Lundehund. Once very numerous on coastal areas where Puffins lived, the breed numbers declined from the mid 1800's on as modern methods of hunting were cheaper than keeping dogs, especially when a tax was imposed on each dog. In 1925, Sigurd Skaun wrote an entire article about the Lundehund, in which he elaborated on the declining numbers and limited locales where they could be found.
This prompted Eleanor Christie to acquire her first Lundehunds from Monrad Mikelsen of Vaeroy in 1939. For the next two decades the numbers of Lundehunds fluctuated drastically as canine distemper swept through the areas. But their dedicated efforts kept the breed from extinction. In the 1960’s the Norsk Lundehund Klubb was formed. From then on, organized breeding plans were developed to breed up their numbers. Once the total in Norway reached 200, a few were allowed to be exported to other countries. Lundehunds continue to flourish in Norway, the rest of Scandinavia and Europe.
|
|
| USA History
The first American Lundehund (Haldis) was imported by Paul Ross in 1987. Paul, a Britisher living in the U.S., had been trying to acquire a Puffin Dog for quite some time, but had not gotten anywhere with the Norwegian Club, who required that there be 200 dogs in Norway before export. By a lucky accident, he contacted Julia McGrew. She was a retired college professor who had taught at Vassar, currently living in Denmark, who raised Lundehunds. She taught Paul much about the breed and sent breed authorities from Scandinavia to work with him. As a direct result of their correspondence, the first Puffin Dog entered America and the Ross home. Later, Christen Lang of Norway and Inger Kristiansen of Denmark personally delivered the next imports to this country: Julia, Brynjar and Gustau.
Harvey and Judy Sanderson read about the dogs in a Dog World article published in September 1987. They contacted Paul and visited him in the spring of 1988. In June of 1988, they obtained their first dog: Urd-Sara. In June 1988, they and Diane Ammerman formed the Norwegian Lundehund Club of America. Harvey and Judy traveled to Norway that September to meet with the Norway Club and received the Sanction of approval for the NLCA, Inc. from the Norsk Lundehund Klubb. On the same visit, they received two more dogs: Aina and Pluto.
In the spring of 1989, the first Lundehund National Specialty was held. The judges were visiting Norwegian Lundehund breeders: Sophie Schonheyder, president of the Norsk Lundehund Klubb, judged the Sweepstakes, and Christen Lang was the judge of the regular classes. Harvey tells me that Christen knew Lundehunds so well he could recite all pedigrees of the dogs by memory. Since then, an NLCA National Specialty have been held almost every year, as more people acquired dogs, both from Norway and USA litters. The five Perpetual Trophies of the NLCA, Inc. are named for the five dogs that preserved the Lundehund breed. The NLCA has been instrumental in attaining on-going research into Lundehund medical problems.
The Lundehund breed has been growing in the USA ever since then local breeders have produced local large populations of Lundies in several regions of the US: New Jersy, Ohio, Illinois, Califronia and Washington State.
In 2005, the Norwegian Lundehund Association of America, Inc. (NLAA) was formed from a splinter group of NLCA members who disagreed with the members and goals of that current power structure. They have a comparable membership as the NLCA, annual National Specialties, and assistance with canine medical research. In 2005, they received approval from the AKC to be the parent club to the Norwegian Lundehund breed.
In 2006, the American Norwegian Lundehund Club (ANLC) was formed when several people splintered off from the NLAA. They have regular shows in conformation, obedience and agility under the auspices of the United Kennel Club (UKC).
In 2010, due to the efforts of Sharon Pederson and the support of NLAA members, the AKC granted the Lundehund full acceptance into the AKC, to be shown in the Non-Sporting Group, effective January 1, 2011.
| |
|
|
| Canada History
Canada saw its first Lundehunds about the same time as the USA. Arnold Ovesen, of Vancouver, B.C. imported Linesviken's Ask-Viking and Linesviken's Embla-Saga in 1987. The breed was not recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club
The next Lundehunds were acquired in 1990 by Frances Wagner in Nova Scotia. First was a female, Heide Lunde's Mira Fern, bred by Hedy Harrison of Lancaster, California. "Snowflake" came in March and was followed in June by "Boe" (Ovesen's Thicketwood Bodi ), whose parents were Arnold Ovesen's "Ask" and "Embla."
Shortly thereafter, the Canadian Kennel Club instituted a Miscellaneous Class for breeds that, in future, would be considered
for full recognition. The Norwegian Lundehund was one of the breeds on the list. Application was made later for full recognition of the breed, a goal that was accomplished as of October 28, 1993. The process for getting a breed recognized is more complicated nowadays but still does not need the numbers of dogs the AKC requires.
The first two Canadian champions, finished in 1997 and 1998 respectively, were Nondas Thicketwood Bjarni and Trillium Thicketwood Gyda in Nova Scotia, followed in 2001 by Ekko Kaya av Asen and Asvald's Ekko of Bandit, both owned by the Dobells of Kamloops, British Columbia. Two more, Ch. Norwegian Ginger Snap and Ch. Happyvale Pallyn Per Lofoten, have since been finished in British Columbia. The current number of CKC-registered Lundehunds is estimated to be between 12 and 15.
|
|
|
|
