Welcome to the American Swedish Vallhund Society

The Swedish Vallhund is an ancient Swedish spitz, known for at least 1000 years. The breed was historically a general purpose farm dog and cattle herder in Västergötland and Skåne, Sweden. The stature is inherited, probably selected because it was a suitable size and structure for herding. The breed almost became extinct in the early 1940's. K. G. Zettersten and Björn von Rosen started an extensive search and breeding program to rescue the breed. They succeeded in getting the breed recognized by the Swedish Kennel Club in 1943 and established a breed standard. The official name of the breed was changed in 1953 from Svensk Vallhund (=Swedish Vallhund) to Västgötaspets. In Finland the breed is called Länsigöötanmaanpystykorva, which is a straight translation from the Swedish name Västgötaspets.

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