Visigothic Spitz

Swedish Vallhund - Spitz Des Visigoths The Swedish Vallhund (Västgötaspets) (or Dog of the Goths) is a breed of sheepdog originating from Sweden. It is a millennial breed which, brought to the UK by the Vikings in the Middle Ages, is believed to be the origin of many breeds including the Welsh Corgis, Skye Terrier, Cairn Terrier, Glen of Imaal Terrier and Lancashire. Heeler. He has been present in France since 1988 where he remains rare: he is more widespread in the Nordic countries (Sweden, Finland) where he practices many activities: agility, obedience, herding, search for people... Very attached to his family, he is neither a runaway nor a hunter. Their size varies from 30 to 35 cm in height and their weight from 9 to 14 kg. They have short, thick fur and a wolf-grey coat, with or without white and rufous markings. Some västgotaspets do not have a tail. The average age of the dog is around 14 years old.

There are very few French-language documents on the breed. The following text is taken from Editions Atlas (1990) Here is a very ancient race of which we know very little, except that the first known traces of its existence were found in the tombs of ancient Egypt, under the form of ornaments bearing a small VÄSTGÖTASPETS type dog in wrought iron as the emblem of a guild of craftsmen. These are very mysterious origins. However, the fact that a dog which could be a primitive Dachshund also lived in Egypt sheds some light on this canine family which surely existed under the pharaohs and from which the various Dachshunds would also have descended: a branch of small dogs, with an elongated but firm body, a broad head, a frank and honest character. The VÄSTGÖTASPETS arrived in Sweden, but we don't know when or how. The story of the first exports of this dog from Sweden is better known. The Vikings undoubtedly played an important role there, and perhaps they are even responsible for the Egyptian-Swedish journey of the race. Presumably, they disseminated it throughout Scandinavia and introduced it, from the 9th century, in the different regions where they landed, in Europe and as far as Iceland. It is also said that a descendant of William the Conqueror, eager to improve the craftsmanship of his kingdom, brought in Flemish weavers, but also Scandinavians who brought with them their families and their dogs, including VÄSTGÖTASPETS. Established in Wales, the VÄSTGÖTASPETS would have contributed to the birth of the Welsh Corgi (Pembroke). Since moving to Western Europe, VÄSTGÖTASPETS has changed its name. The Anglo-Saxons call it Swedish Vallhund, and in France it is the Chien des Goths de l'Ouest. From a sheepdog, he became mainly a companion dog (although the sister of the first female dog imported into France guards sheep in Yorkshire). The breed seems well appreciated in Great Britain, since its numbers are the same there as in Sweden. In France, it was not until the beginning of 1988 that a passionate breeder, Mrs. Thomas, brought a female - Biba - from Great Britain. At the same time, Alex, a Swedish male, arrived in France thanks to his owner, Mrs. Klimsha. From the union of these first two "VÄSTGÖS" was born, in August 1989, the first French litter: three males and a female, who came to enlarge the ranks of Mrs. Thomas' breeding. A Swedish woman also introduced Vallhunds. Currently there are nine subjects in France. A fairly discreet breed, but whose expansion should be rapid. A breed that asks only to live on, for, while it had more or less disappeared from Sweden and was rediscovered there four years ago, the herd of this country now amounts to around seven hundred people. A very old breed serving the Egyptians, Vikings and Welsh, the VÄSTGÖTASPETS is beginning a new career in France." Recognized by the Swedish Kennel Club in 1943 and then by the International Canine Federation in 1948, it owes its protection to two men whose Count Björn Von Rosen, who in the 1940s, remembering the small farm dogs he had known in his youth when he spent his summers in the region of Västergötland (in the south-west of Sweden), decided to find their He advertised in a local newspaper to find out if anyone had seen or knew his dogs: a teacher replied, Karl-Gustav Zetterstén, who asked his students to look for his dogs. They took their bikes and searched the surroundings, more precisely around the city of Vara. This is how TOPSY was discovered, a female born in 1930, too old to breed but who served as a model for the drafting of the first standard of the breed. With her, 3 other s females (including his daughter VIVI and his granddaughter TESSAN, born in 1940) and a male MOPSEN (born in 1938 and father of 2 litters born in 1943) were considered to be in the type of the breed. They were presented at the Gothenburg exhibition and the judges decided that they represented a breed in their own right: the Västgötaspets was born... The first name given to the breed was Svensk Vallhund, it changed in 1953 to Västgötaspets. Before 1943, the breed had no name, they were just called "hunn" ("dog" in the local dialect) but that didn't make them less valuable. The farmers knew exactly what kind of dog they wanted: - he had to lead the herds - he had to look exactly like his grandfather - he had to guard the farm and prevent intrusions The selection exercised by the peasants allowed that only those who who corresponded to this portrait, survive and perpetuate the race, the strongest, the most courageous and the most enduring. In 1974 the first Västgötaspets arrived in Great Britain, then in 1984 in the United States.