Quick Links: Table of Contents
- Finnish Spitz Breed Overview
- History of the Finnish Spitz Breed. Where Finnish Spitzs came from
- What the Finnish Spitz Looks Like
- How Much is the Finnish Spitz Puppy?
- Best Finnish Spitz Breeders
- Adopting or Rescuing the Finnish Spitz
- What Colors do Finnish Spitzs Have?
- How Long Finnish Spitzs Live
- Finnish Spitz Litter Size
- How Fast Finnish Spitzs Can Run
- Good Names for Finnish Spitzs
- How Intelligent are Finnish Spitzs?
- How Popular are Finnish Spitzs with New Dog Owners?
- Health Problems in Finnish Spitzs and How to Prevent Them
- Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Finnish Spitzs
- Other Things to Know About Finnish Spitzs
Finnish Spitz Breed Overview
The Finnish Spitz is a medium-sized dog.
The adult Finnish Spitz stands 15 to 20 inches tall at the shoulder.
The Finnish Spitz belongs to the Sporting Dogs group.
Dogs in the Sporting Dogs group, like the Finnish Spitz, were bred to help hunters catch and retrieve feathered game. Some sporting dog breeds such as Retrievers, which were built for swimming, were bred to hunt waterfowl in water.
Whereas sporting dog breeds like setters, spaniels, and pointing breeds were bred to hunt quail, pheasant, and other game birds nest on grasslands.
Many Sporting Group breeds have thick, water-repellent coats that protect them from harsh hunting conditions.
The fact that Finnish Spitzs belong to the Sporting Dogs group is one of the reasons why Finnish Spitzs have the personality and temperament that they have.
The temperament of the Finnish Spitz is generally described as:
- Happy
- Independent
- Intelligent
- Loyal
- Playful
- Vocal
History of the Finnish Spitz Breed. Where Finnish Spitzs came from
It is believed that migrants from central Russia brought their spitz-type dogs along with them to Finland around 3,000 years ago.
These dogs are known for their ability to hunt all kinds of animals.
According to the FSC, the Finnish spitz of the past was a skilled hunter and was capable of taking on large, aggressive animals such as elk or bears.
Finnish spitz are well-known for their bright red fur, intelligence and friendly demeanor.
These darks were originally bred to bark when hunting birds, a trait that they still display today.
The Finnish spitz has developed a speciality in bird hunting over the years.
The dog would run backward and forth, waving his tail, and attracting the birds` attention by barking louder and more loudly.
According to the FSC, the dog`s bark can carry a great deal of distance, drawing attention from hunters and distracting birds as they approach.
The Finnish spitz was almost extinct by 1880 after it had been crossed with so many other breeds.
Hugo Roos and Hugo Sandberg, two avid admirers of this breed, set out to save them.
Sandberg described the dog`s breed and asked the Finnish Kennel Club not to destroy the dog.
The dogs were named the “national dog breed.
The American Kennel Club recognized the Finnish Spitz in 1960.
In 1991, the American Kennel Club recognized these pups.
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What the Finnish Spitz Looks Like
According to the FSCA, the double coat of the Finnish spitz is the longest and thickest on his plume and back of his thighs.
The outer guard hairs, which are hard and long, are thick and soft.
These dogs can be worn as-is and require minimal grooming.
Brushing is recommended every few days.
Their coats are brushed once a year.
The dog`s coat color can range from a light honey color to deep auburn.
The undercoat of the dog is paler and gives it a magical glow.
Finnish spitz dog puppies often have white markings at the tips of their toes.
They also often strip their chests.
Baby Finnish spitz dogs can be born with black hairs that fade in a few years.
A black nose and tight, black lips are other distinguishing characteristics.
A cute, fox-like expression is also a characteristic.
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How Much is the Finnish Spitz Puppy?
The average price of a Finnish Spitz puppy is $1500. The price of a Finnish Spitz puppy ranges from $1500 to $1500.
A lot of factors determine the price of the Finnish Spitz. These factors include what health records the Finnish Spitz puppy has, the lineage of the Finnish Spitz puppy, the US state the breeder is located in, etc.
To estimate how much you can expect to pay for a puppy Finnish Spitz based on the many factors that determine the price of the Finnish Spitz puppy, check out our calculator that lets you estimate how much you should expect to pay for the Finnish Spitz puppy based on what you want in the puppy.
When looking to buy a puppy, look at buying a puppy only from well-established breeders that breed puppies primarily for the love of the Finnish Spitz breed, and secondarily for profit. Do not buy a puppy from a puppy mill. Puppy mills mass-produce puppies in bad living conditions for maximum profit.
You may also consider adopting instead of buying a puppy. Adoption costs are very low compared to the price of a puppy.
Best Finnish Spitz Breeders
We have researched reputable Finnish Spitz breeders that you can buy a puppy.
Go to this page for our complete list of reputable Finnish Spitz breeders in various states in the United States.
On this page, you will see how much these breeders sell their puppies for, and how many puppies they have available.
A few of these breeders are listed below.
Mosley Finnish Spitz
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Peggy Urton
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Adopting or Rescuing the Finnish Spitz
You may consider adopting a dog instead of buying a puppy. Many dogs, Finnish Spitzs included, are currently available for adoption in your local dog shelters.
These helpless but adorable dogs are waiting in dog shelters hoping that someday someone will rescue them. Dog adoption costs are lesser than the cost of a new puppy. Dog adoption costs are usually around $300 or even less.
In addition to your local dog shelter, another good place to find dogs that are available for adoption is petfinder.com.
Below is an adorable Male Finnish Spitz named Rocky Raccoon that is currently available for adoption on Petfinder.com. You can find other lovely Finnish Spitzs like Rocky Raccoon on pefinder.com.
You can find more Finnish Spitzs that are available for adoption on petfinder.
What Colors do Finnish Spitzs Have?
Finnish Spitzs come in the following beautiful primary colors:
- Black
- Golden
- Gray / Blue / Silver
Finnish Spitzs come in the following lovely secondary colors in addition to their primary colors:
- White / Cream
How Long Finnish Spitzs Live
The lifespan of the Finnish Spitz is typically from 12 to 15 years.
Moreover, a few years back, veterinarian researchers performed a scientific study to determine the lifespan of the Finnish Spitz. In this study, the scientists collected data on how long 42 pet Finnish Spitzs lived.
From the study, it was found that Finnish Spitzs have an average lifespan of 11.1 years. Furthermore, the study found that it is not uncommon for Finnish Spitzs to live as long as 15.9 years.
Note that you need to put in some effort if you want your Finnish Spitz to live long.
Finnish Spitzs live long if they eat well, drink well, exercise well, and visit the veterinarian regularly.
There are also dog supplements that you can give your Finnish Spitz to improve your Finnish Spitz`s quality of their life.
Click here to learn more about how to make your Finnish Spitz live long.
Finnish Spitz Litter Size
Researchers from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science did a study where they counted the numbers of puppies in 23 different Finnish Spitz birth litters.
From this study, the researchers found that the average number of puppies that Finnish Spitzs can have is 3 puppies. Also, the Finnish Spitz can have as few as 2 puppies per litter and as many as 6 puppies per litter.
The number of puppies that the Finnish Spitz will have depends on factors such as the age of the Finnish Spitz, the method of pregnancy, etc.
Click here to see our calculator for predicting how many puppies your Finnish Spitz will have and how the litter size of the Finnish Spitz compares to the litter size of other dog breeds.
How Fast Finnish Spitzs Can Run
How fast a dog breed can run is a good measure of how athletic the dog breed is.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) regularly conducts dog running competitions. The AKC records the running speed of competing dogs in these competitions. These competitions are open to all dog breeds.
Based on our analysis of the speeds of 3 different Finnish Spitzs, the average speed of the Finnish Spitz is 19.9 mph (32.0 kmph).
The fastest speed on AKC record that the Finnish Spitz ran in a race is 20.98 mph (33.8 kmph) and the minimum speed on record in a race for a Finnish Spitz is 17.19 mph (27.7 kmph).
Click here to see how the speed of the Finnish Spitz compares to the speed of other dogs and other mammals such as cats, horses, humans, etc.
Good Names for Finnish Spitzs
Here are some really good names that are typical for the Finnish Spitz ranked by popularity:
- Rocky
- Max
- Amadeus
How Intelligent are Finnish Spitzs?
| Finnish Spitz | |
|---|---|
| Intelligence Rank | 43 out of 130 dog breeds |
| Trainability | Tend To Learn New Commands After 25 To 40 Repetitions |
According to Prof. Stanley Coren, a Canadian psychology professor/dog trainer, the total intelligence that a dog demonstrates is the addition of three types of intelligence. These intelligence types are:
- Instinctive Intelligence: This is the natural intelligence that comes from instinct. For example, dog breeds that have been historically bred to be guard dogs will have a high `guarding` intelligence compared to dogs that were not bred for guarding.
- Adaptive Intelligence (learning and problem-solving ability): This indicates what a dog can learn to do for himself or herself. Adaptive intelligence is specific to each dog, and not breed specific. You can improve your dog`s adaptive intelligence by investing time to train your dog.
- Working/Obedience Intelligence: This type of intelligence is breed-specific. Certain dog breeds tend to have higher working/obedience intelligence than some other breeds. This intelligence is the closest to what we might call school-learning ability and it is based upon what the dog can learn to do when instructed by humans. This type of intelligence can be measured for each dog breed and compared to that of other dog breeds.
Professor Stanley Coren measured and ranked the working intelligence of about 130 different dog breeds.
Prof. Coren found that the Finnish Spitz has an obedience intelligence rank of 43 out of 130 dog breeds. Thus, Prof. Coren put Finnish Spitzs in the `Average Working/Obedience Intelligence Dogs` category.
This means that Finnish Spitzs tend to learn new commands after 25 to 40 repetitions.
However, we should mention that a dog should not be judged based on its intelligence alone. There are other important factors you need to consider when deciding on which dog breed to get. These other factors include sociability, adorability, and compatibility of the dog breed with your lifestyle.
See the intelligence ranking of some other dog breeds below:
| Breed | Intelligence Rank |
|---|---|
| Belgian Tervuren | 14 |
| Collie | 16 |
| Belgian Malinois | 22 |
| Chesapeake Bay Retriever | 27 |
| Border Terrier | 30 |
| American Staffordshire Terrier | 34 |
| Affenpinscher | 37 |
| Bedlington Terrier | 40 |
| Kuvasz | 42 |
| Bichon Frise | 45 |
| Boxer | 48 |
| Norfolk Terrier | 56 |
| Maltese | 59 |
| Italian Greyhound | 60 |
| Chinese Crested | 61 |
| Dandie Dinmont Terrier | 62 |
| Saint Bernard | 65 |
| Shih Tzu | 70 |
| Beagle | 72 |
| American Bulldog | 77 |
How Popular are Finnish Spitzs with New Dog Owners?
Every year, the American Kennel Club (AKC) publishes information on how popular a dog breed is in that particular year. The AKC gets the popularity information of a breed from how many dogs of that breed the owners register with the AKC every year. The AKC collects this data for about 200 dog breeds.
The graph below shows the popularity trend of the Finnish Spitz.
The popularity of the Finnish Spitz averaged over the years is Number 180 out of about 200 dog breeds.
Do not get a dog breed just because it is a popular dog breed. And do not reject a dog breed just because it is an unpopular breed.
Health Problems in Finnish Spitzs and How to Prevent Them
Every dog breed has its own set of health problems that it tends to develop. There is nothing like a perfect dog breed.
The Finnish Spitz is prone to certain genetic health conditions. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) is an organization that keeps track of genetic health problems in dog breeds.
From the extensive records that the OFA keeps, the OFA knows what health problems each dog breed is naturally prone to develop.
Hence, the OFA recommends which health screening breeders should perform on a dog breed to make sure that the breeders won`t breed `defective` dog parents that can pass down defective genes to their puppy offspring.
If you want a Finnish Spitz puppy that will grow up to be healthy, make sure that your Finnish Spitz breeder screens your puppy or your puppy`s parents for the health problems that the OFA recommends for your puppy`s breed. This will increase the chances that your puppy is free from genetic defects.
The following are the health tests that Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) recommends that breeders should screen Finnish Spitzs for:
You can find out more about OFA`s recommended tests for Finnish Spitzs here.
Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Finnish Spitzs
If you have not made up your mind on which dog breed to get, you may also want to consider some other dogs similar to the Finnish Spitz.
We crunched the numbers and found that the following dog breeds that have similar behavior and temperament as the Finnish Spitz:
- Bearded Collie (78 percent match with Finnish Spitz). Learn more about the Bearded Collie here.
- West Highland White Terrier (79 percent match with Finnish Spitz). Learn more about the West Highland White Terrier here.
Other Things to Know About Finnish Spitzs
Here are some of the very important characteristics of the Finnish Spitz that you need to know about the Finnish Spitz breed: