History  

Finnish Spitz is one of those breeds of dog of which almost no historical writing remains. In fact their origins, where they were and what they looked like are still shrouded in mystery. The earliest information on the existence of dogs belonging to ancestors of the Finnish people is to be found in linguistic studies, the excavations of the Gorodishche culture (dating from between the stone and bronze age) and artifacts and research which has been stored to give a picture of finnish life.

The first information about this type of dog came from the French explorer de la Martinière in 1875. He speaks of a dark red dog which he claims to have come into contact with as far north as the Murmansk coast. It can be assumed that de la Martinière met with our spitz's ancestors. The other written information is from Wilhelm von Wright, in 1834. He refers to a foxy looking barking bird dog. It is possible that hunters from central Volga got dogs from others in the same language group or from other surrounding nations. The generic name for dog comes from the Finno- ugric language.

When the Finnish peoples separated from the Volga tribal communities, roaming towards the Baltic Sea, they began a long-term cultural contact with the Germanic and Baltic peoples. Their dogs were subject to great changes in appearance as they interbred with Central European breeds.

The Finnish tribes pressured into moving from the south to their current homelands already had with them dogs suitable for hunting in the Baltic lands. They were demonstrably smaller than the dog of the Finnish- Ugric times. It should be noted that in the new lands which were not rich in game the dogs' ability to scent, search and give tongue were more important characteristics than catching and killing game.

In a historical context we may consider that the domestic spitz breed's formation as a type in its own territory began around 100 years AD. Dogs arriving at the south and south-west coasts interbred to a certain extent with dogs already living there, but those dogs settled in Middle-Finland up towards at least the tip of the Gulf of Bothnia and even further to Kainuu kept their original type and greater purity as those areas were not susceptible to the influx of other breeds. To our knowledge it is not recorded that the dog has interbred with wild animals.

Although the dog was useful in many ways and earned his keep, the life of the spitz dog (often referred to as ‘Peni') was not easy. He had to find his own food by catching small birds and animals while continually seeking protection from wolves in the human dwelling places. A hard struggle for existence

He also wrote a paper which he presented to the newly established Kennel Club which asked them to protect this precious and truly National breed. Indeed, in 1892 the Kennel Club decided accept the breed into its register and to accept in essence Sandberg's breed proposals.

In December 1892 the Finnish Kennel Club organised a specialty show in Oulu for barking bird dogs. A number of winning dogs had come from this area previously. 57 dogs, 28 bitches and 8 puppies were entered.

A dog called Kekki won first prize (30 Finn marks and a diploma). He was 4 years old, red in colour, 45 cm in height. Kekki was a strong and quite muscular dog. All the points of his head were satisfactory. In particular his ears were well-set compared to most of the others, mobile and a good size. Eyes dark brown, amiable and alert. Good neck; level back; chest sound - also wide and deep. Front legs and feet acceptable, but hind legs were weak and slightly cow-hocked. No dew-claws. Good tail. Correct coat - red with just a very small white spot on the chest. Kekki was clearly the best dog in show. Kekki was listed in the Kennel Club's first Stud Book 1889 - 1893 as number 1.

We should here mention the males Halli af Tampio SKK690 and the breed's first Champion Nätti SKK1714/VII who influenced the breed in those early days.