Black Norwegian Elkhound

The Norwegian Elkhound is a sturdy medium-sized dog that was developed as a hunting dog to assist in the tracking and hunting of moose and bear in primitive Norway, as far back as 4000-5000 BC. Although these small dogs were specialized for moose, referred to as elg in Norwegian, Elkhounds developed particularly keen senses and were able to effectively stalk and hunt several varieties of game. At some point in the early 1800s lines of solid black dogs began to emerge, often back-crossed with the traditional grey Norwegian Elkhound. In 1877, the Norwegian Hunters Association held it’s first dog show, and in 1901 the first Norwegian Elkhound standard was drawn up, and all but the grey dogs were excluded. While the Black Norwegian Elkhounds were now excluded from the show ring, they were still being developed as hunting dogs, and breeders focused on abilities such as scent tracking. The Black variety continued to fall out of favor as the popularity of the grey dogs rose. The Black Norwegians were close to extinction, but in the mid-1950s several dedicated breeders began their efforts to preserve the breed and a stable population has now been established in Norway. While the Black Norwegian Elkhound is seldom seen outside of Scandinavia, it is growing in popularity in Norway and the surrounding countries. It has been recognized as a separate breed by the Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) and some smaller national breed clubs, but not yet by the United Kennel Club (UKC) and the American Kennel Club (AKC).