Danish Swedish Farmdogs – Friendly, Low Maintenance, Sturdy

Dr. Marty Greer joins host Laura Reeves to talk about the FSS breed with which she’s fallen in love. Danish Swedish Farmdogs date to the 1700s but were saved from extinction by the joint effort of the Danish and the Swedish Kennel Clubs in 1987.

History

Greer notes that the breed was originally from Denmark and their job was “sort of an all-purpose farm dog”.. so they were to herd, they were to play with the kids, be able to be Watch Dogs … “that’s kind of what appealed to me about them, is they’re a hardy little dog.”

“They’re cool little dogs,” Greer said. “I find them to be absolutely fascinating and really easy to get along with. Every time you see pictures of them, they are stacked on top of each other sleeping. They don’t have that terrier snarky, sparring kind of attitude.

Size and Grooming

“The males are probably 22 to 24 pounds. The females are 18 to 20. They are small enough dog that you can pick them up under one arm, you can put them in a Sherpa bag and fit them under the seat of an airplane. So if you’re going to be traveling they’re portable.

“One of the things that appeal to me about them is that easy to maintain coat. When I got into Corgis back in the 1980s, you’d wash your dog, you blow her out and you take her in the ring.  You didn’t do anything else. Now there’s quite a bit of grooming that goes into a Corgi … I find that to be a little upsetting when you’re supposed to be showing a dog that’s natural.

“Well, this dog really is natural. There’s no trimming. There’s nothing you could trim other than their toenails. When you travel with them you just need a towel. You don’t need a brush. You need a towel and a leash.

Temperament and Activity

“There’s no dog aggression, no people aggression. Just kind of chill little dogs … they come in the house, do one loop-through, flop down on the couch and hang out with you the rest of the day. I really appreciate that about a dog because, by the time I’m done with a 14-hour shift, I don’t really want to come home and throw the tennis ball for two hours. So I appreciate a dog that has the ability to settle in the house. At the same time, there are a lot of activities that people do with them. They’re doing lure coursing, lots and lots of flyballs, lots of agility. They can be shown in FSS in AKC.

“They do have the ability to jump. My 4-month-old Farm Dog puppy is already scaling expenses. They’re relatively quiet. They will bark occasionally if the Corgis set them off, but they don’t usually initiate the barking.”

For more information, check out these resources.

http://www.fci.be/Nomenclature/Standards/356g02-en.pdf

https://dsfca.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?page_id=0&club_id=459025