Finnish Spitz Dog Breeds
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Height at the withers: Males 38 – 51 cm, Females 38 – 51 cm
Average weight: Males 14 – 16 kg, Females 14 – 16 kg
The Finnish Spitz does resemble a fox with their lovely red coats and narrow muzzles. They are handsome dogs that boast having a clean-cut head that’s longer than it is broad. Their muzzles are narrow and taper nicely to the end of a black nose that contrasts nicely with a dog’s coat colour and adding their fox like looks. Their lips are also black and tight.
Their eyes are almond shaped being medium in size and dark in colour with dogs always boasting a bit of glint in them. Ears are small, soft to the touch and pointed with dogs typically carrying them cocked. The Finnish Spitz has a strong jaw with a perfect scissor bite where their upper teeth neatly overlap their lower ones. Their necks are moderately long and muscular with a male’s neck appearing a little shorter thanks to the much thicker ruff around their necks.
Their forequarters are strong with dogs boasting quite a square outline and straight front legs. They have deep chests, nice level backs with their bellies being slightly tucked up. Their hindquarters are strong looking with dogs having well-muscled back legs. Feet are neat and round with dogs boasting nicely plumed tails are nicely which they carry curled from the base.
When it comes to their coat, the Finnish Spitz has short, tight hair on their heads and on the front of their legs whereas the hair on their body as well as the back of their legs is longer and it stands semi-erect. The hair on a dog’s neck and back is a lot stiffer than on the rest of their body. They have a double coat with the outer one being quite a bit coarser and longer on a dog’s shoulders. Their undercoat is much shorter, softer and denser providing a lot of protection from the elements. Accepted breed colours for Kennel Club registration are as follows:
- Red
- Red Gold
It is worth noting that the accepted breed colours for Kennel Club registration can differ from those set out in the breed standard which are as follows:
- A dog’s back should be reddish-brown or red gold and ideally very bright. The hairs on a dog’s inner sides of their ears, cheeks, under the muzzle, on their breast, abdomen, behind the shoulders, on the inside of their legs, back of their thighs, underside of their tails being a lighter shade. A dog’s undercoat should be a lighter colour which gives the impression of a dog having a “glow” to their coats. A narrow white stripe is allowed on a dog’s breast and black hairs on their lips with a few separate black pointed hairs being permitted on their backs and tails. Finnish Spitz puppies can have black hairs which disappear as they mature although remain on their tails that much longer
Gait/movement
When a Finnish Spitz moves, they do so with a springy, light action showing a lot of drive while remaining graceful and quick too.
Faults
The Kennel Club frowns on any exaggerations or departures from the breed standard and would judge the faults on how much they affect a dog’s overall health and wellbeing as well as their ability to perform.
Males should have both testicles fully descended into their scrotums and it is worth noting that a dog can be a little lighter or heavier as well as slightly taller or shorter than set out in the Kennel Club breed standard which is only given as a guideline.