Animals

The lapinporokoira is historicaly closely connected with the lapinkoira. The breed was used for centuries as herder for the Saami people to help with their reindeer. Where the lapinkoira was more of a guarding dog who stayed home with the tents the lapinporokoira was the real worker who could work day after day and run long distances. The dog is build as a typical runner, long in the body with very good angulations and a low carried tail. Today some lapinporokoiras are still used as herders in Lappland.

The breed is very strong in comparison to its size. It must never seem skinny. It should always have long and efficient movements as it was important in their original working field that they could run long distances and for a long time. It is also important for the breed to have a thick dence coat. Some people by mistake think that the breed is shorthaired. It is not. It has a thick waterproof coat like similar other arctic breeds. The coat must never be soft as the dog in its original climate would then get wet all the way to the skin. It is also important that the dog has coat everywhere on the body even in the ears as the dog would otherwise freeze in -30 degrees celcius and under.

The lapinporokoira is not a dog who will lie in the sofa all day it is a typical working dog who should be used for something. In Finland many people saw the breeds qualities and many dogs are doing very well in obedience, agility, tracking, rescue work etc. The breed is obedient if trained and it learns easily and remembers what it learned.

Furthermore it is not at all as stressed as many other working breeds. In Lappland it has been typical that it should work hard some days and not work at all some others. So the Saami people couldn´t use a dog who was going crazy in the times where there was no work to be done.

It is therefore usual for the breed that it is ready to work when you are ready, but when it is at home it is relaxing. The breed is quite strong mentally and we do not recmommend the breed to somebody who never owned a dog before or somebody who are not planning to work with their dog one way or the other.