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Finnish Spitz

The breeds · companion

AKC Non-Sporting · UKC Northern Breed · FCI standard 49

Finnish Spitz.

FCI 49 utilization: a hunting dog mainly for forest game birds, also predatory small game, waterfowl and elk; eager hunter, rather independent, yet works co-operatively to game, marking game by barking (working trial only in the Nordic countries). FCI history: the goal was a dog that barked well at game up in trees; first standard 1892, first bird-hunting trial 1897; named National Dog of Finland in 1979. AKC standard: has long been used to hunt small game and birds. UKC: its primary use was as a hunting dog, 'the barking hunting dog' for its continuous barking while on track; a written standard since 1812. Royal Kennel Club: originally used for tracking elk and bear, their barking signalling that they had found game; now used for finding game birds, barking at the birds perched in trees. Finnish Heritage Agency: a handler and one dog hunt capercaillie, black grouse and hazel grouse; the dog signals the bird by barking underneath the tree..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

19 / 17INHeightdogs 18.5, bitches 16.5. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
16–33LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 25 to 33 lb; breed bitches 16 to 28 lb.
1HRSExercise, every dayRoyal Kennel Club: exercise up to 1 hour per day.. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 18.5 in (17.3 to 20) · bitches 16.5 in (15.4 to 18)

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2026

Center is the FCI ideal (42 cm); AKC and UKC print the range only. FCI cm converted to inches.

Weight

dogs 25 to 33 lb · bitches 16 to 28 lb

Breed clubAKC

The two figures disagree at the low end (AKC 20, Wikipedia 16); both stand and low spans both. The registry standards print no weight.

Coat

AKC: double coat, short soft dense undercoat and long harsh straight guard hairs about 1 to 2 in on the body; longest on the tail plume and back of thighs; males carry more coat and a ruff; no trimming; golden-red from pale honey to deep auburn. FCI: coat of medium length. Royal Kennel Club: coat length medium; sheds. Finnish Spitz Society: moults twice a year; lies in snow or cold wind because the undercoat protects it.

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Shedding

Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · Double coat with dense undercoat and long harsh guard hairs, plumed tail (AKC, FCI)

DerivedAKC breed standard

Derived from the coat description (medium double = 3). No measured data.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

Royal Kennel Club: exercise up to 1 hour per day.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band 'up to 1 hour' recorded as 60 minutes.

Exercise need

Royal Kennel Club: up to 1 hour per day; small to medium garden. AKC page: Energy Level 5 of 5, Mental Stimulation Needs 4. Wikipedia: one or two long walks a day; will not adapt to strict kennelling.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC and AKC disagree on how much: the working dog is a high-energy forest hunter by AKC's band.

Energy

AKC breed page: Energy Level 5 of 5, Mental Stimulation Needs 4, Trainability 3, Barking Level 5, Good With Young Children 5, Good With Other Dogs 4, Openness To Strangers 3, Watchdog/Protective Nature 3. AKC standard temperament: active and friendly, lively and eager, faithful; brave but cautious. FCI: lively, vigorous, brave and determined, a little reserved toward strangers. Finnish Spitz Society: independent, sensitive, cautious and suspicious of strangers at the start, tends to bark at anything unusual.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands, not measured.

Grooming load

3 of 5 · Royal Kennel Club: grooming more than once a week; coat length medium; sheds.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band 'more than once a week' = 3. AKC page rates Coat Grooming Frequency 2 of 5 and Shedding 3 of 5.

Grooming

Royal Kennel Club: more than once a week, medium coat, sheds. AKC breed page: Coat Grooming Frequency 2 of 5, Shedding Level 3, Drooling Level 2. Finnish Spitz Society: little grooming; moults usually twice a year, comb daily then.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

AKC bands.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

FCI 49 utilization: a hunting dog mainly for forest game birds, also predatory small game, waterfowl and elk; eager hunter, rather independent, yet works co-operatively to game, marking game by barking (working trial only in the Nordic countries). FCI history: the goal was a dog that barked well at game up in trees; first standard 1892, first bird-hunting trial 1897; named National Dog of Finland in 1979. AKC standard: has long been used to hunt small game and birds. UKC: its primary use was as a hunting dog, 'the barking hunting dog' for its continuous barking while on track; a written standard since 1812. Royal Kennel Club: originally used for tracking elk and bear, their barking signalling that they had found game; now used for finding game birds, barking at the birds perched in trees. Finnish Heritage Agency: a handler and one dog hunt capercaillie, black grouse and hazel grouse; the dog signals the bird by barking underneath the tree.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2026

Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Primary game

FCI: forest game birds. Finnish Heritage Agency and Finnish Kennel Club: capercaillie, black grouse and hazel grouse, hunted in Finland and also in Sweden, Norway and Russia. Finnish Spitz Society (UK): predominantly capercaillie, a large grouse. Royal Kennel Club: game birds perched in trees. AKC standard: small game and birds.

Breed clubFinnish Heritage Agency / Finnish Kennel Club

The Finnish Heritage Agency page is written by the Finnish Kennel Club and heritage bodies. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Also used on

FCI: predatory small game, waterfowl and elk. Royal Kennel Club: elk and bear (originally). Finnish Spitz Society: sometimes elk and even bears, the dog's light foot keeping it out of reach of antlers and claws. Finnish Heritage Agency: 'a dog of all prey': small predators (pine marten, raccoon dog, mink, badger), water birds (ducks, taiga bean goose), moose and bear, and in the past squirrel for the fur trade; moose hunting trials and blood tracking today.

Breed clubFinnish Heritage Agency / Finnish Kennel Club

Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Range

Finnish Heritage Agency: a short working distance of approximately a few hundred metres is necessary in the forest, because a dog intensely barking can be caught unawares by wolves or bears. It also says the dog can search a wide area. No registry standard states a range class.

Breed clubFinnish Heritage Agency / Finnish Kennel Club

Editorial; stated by the Finnish Kennel Club side, not a standard.

Search pattern

Finnish Heritage Agency: handler and dog work as a pair; the dog searches a wide area, spots birds up trees by scent and signals the bird's position by barking underneath the tree, focusing the bird's attention by barking intensely and wagging its tail while the handler sneaks close enough to choose whether to shoot. Finnish Spitz Society: the dog seeks and follows the bird until it settles in a tree, barks softly and sways its plumed tail, then louder to a clear ringing tone; if the bird flies, the dog stops barking and follows until it resettles. FCI: marks game by barking. UKC: continuous barking while on track. AKC standard: when hunting he moves at a gallop. AKC page: Barking Level 5 of 5.

Breed clubFinnish Heritage Agency / Finnish Kennel Club

Single dog, voice on the bird (bark at tree). Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Field trial standard

FCI 49: with working trial only in the Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway and Finland); first bird-hunting trial 1897. Finnish Heritage Agency: bird hunting trials simulate the traditional hunt in a realistic environment; no birds are shot; 1,475 Finnish Spitzes took part in hunting trials in 2016, most of them for bird barking; moose hunting trials also exist. Finnish Spitz Society: official barking competitions in Finland find the 'King of the Barkers', recording the time a dog holds a bird in a tree by barking, the longest time winning. Wikipedia: in Finland a dog's barking ability in the field must be proven before a conformation championship; also cites up to 160 barks a minute.

Breed clubFinnish Heritage Agency / Finnish Kennel Club

The trial rules and scoring sheets themselves were not read. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Water work

FCI utilization lists waterfowl. Finnish Heritage Agency: also used for retrieving shot birds from water; water birds (ducks, taiga bean goose) are among the 'all prey' quarry. No water test standard read.

Breed clubFinnish Heritage Agency / Finnish Kennel Club

Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Cold water

4 of 5 · Double coat; boreal-forest work in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia; lies in snow (Finnish Spitz Society); retrieves shot birds from water (Finnish Heritage Agency)

DerivedAKC breed standard

Derived from coat plus cold-forest work. No measured data.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

6.1% · OFA all-data: 361 evaluations, 6.1% dysplastic (mild 4.2, moderate 1.7, severe 0.3), 93.1% normal.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA submissions are breeding-stock skewed and under-report affected dogs; period undated ('current all-data', accessed Oct 9 2026). Small n.

Elbow dysplasia

0.8% · OFA all-data: 125 evaluations, 0.8% abnormal (all grade 1), 99.2% normal.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA submissions are breeding-stock skewed and under-report affected dogs; period undated ('current all-data', accessed Oct 9 2026). Very small n: one dog.

Most common disorders

Wikipedia: described as typically very healthy; known to occur: elbow dysplasia, hip dysplasia, patellar luxation and epilepsy (a cited study found idiopathic epilepsy more prevalent in males and linked to age under 4 years, feeding frequency, extreme stress such as hunting, and sex). Wikipedia also gives a median lifespan of about 11.2 years. Royal Kennel Club lists no breed-specific Good Practice tests.

EditorialWikipedia

Wikipedia is editorial and the cited epilepsy study was not read. The 11.2-year figure is not placed in median_lifespan_yr because no Dogs Trust row exists.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 5; Mental Stimulation Needs 4; Trainability Level 3; Barking Level 5; Watchdog/Protective Nature 3; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 4; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 2; Drooling Level 2; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 4.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 7 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Suomenpystykorva, Finnish Barking Bird Dog, Finsk Spets

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

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