Welcome to the world of the Swedish Vallhund. This is a basic history of the Swedish Vallhund and our Club.

 The Swedish Vallhund is an original Swedish breed as well as a very old Spitz breed.

 Sweden states that the Swedish Vallhund goes back over 1000 years to the time of the Vikings when it may have been known as the ‘Vikingarnas Dog.’  During the eighth or ninth century, historians state that either the SV was brought to Wales or the Corgi was taken to Sweden, hence the similarities between the two breeds. The historian, Clifford Hubbard thought that the Swedish Vallhund was the older of the two breeds. The SV is an alert, eager to please and learn, energetic, hardy dog that is longer legged, not as long in body, and not as stocky as the Corgi. The Swedish Vallhund was bred to work on farms and ranches and originally herded cattle. The SV is low to the ground and herds by rounding up & nipping at the hocks. In 1942, the breed was almost extinct. In this year, Bjorn von Rosen, who had worked to save several old Swedish breeds from extinction, remembered the SV from his boyhood and became involved. He placed an advertisement in the paper regarding these beloved dogs from his childhood and luckily got a response from K. G. Zettersten. They worked together to save the breed.  The men found a few of the old SV’s and began a breeding program to revive this old breed which had been common prior to World War I. They started with one male named Mopsen and three females named Vivi, Lessi, and Topsy. According to Nicky Gascoigne in her book, The Swedish Vallhund (Dalsetter  Designs, 1989), Mopsen and Lessi produced a dog, Jerry265OTT; a breeding of Mopsen and Vivi produced a female, Tessan 3999VV; and a breeding of possibly Topsy with Mopsen produced Borgalls Mopsan 7871VV. Together these five Swedish Vallhunds were the source of their new breeding program.  In 1943, after a year of exhibition showing, the Swedish Kennel Club recognized the breed. The SV was known as Svensk Vallhund, Swedish Vallhund, where "Vallhund" meant "herding dog."  In 1964, with the Swedish standard revised, the breed became known as Vastgotaspet after the Swedish province Vastergotland in which the revived breeding program originated.  In 1974, the first SV came to England.  Ms. Nicky Gascoigne helped to organize the Breed Society there in 1980 and Championship Status for the breed was received in 1985 from the Kennel Club in the UK. The first two SV's were imported to a private owner in the United States from Starvon Kennel, England in early 1984. Marilyn Thell of Rhode Island, USA, brought two SV’s to the United States in 1985, and her first litter was whelped in 1986. In 1987, Mrs. Thell founded the Swedish Vallhund Club of America, first known as the Swedish Vallhund Enthusiasts Club. The Swedish Vallhund is now recognized and found in many countries: Sweden, Britain, Finland, USA, France, Netherlands, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Holland, Denmark, and Switzerland.  

The first two USA SV’s were imported to California around early 1985 but were not bred at that time. Also in 1985, Marilyn Thell of Rhode Island, was visiting England and saw SV’s at Crufts. Being of Swedish descent, she wanted to know more about the Swedish Vallhund. After learning more about the breed’s background, Marilyn brought two SV’s to the United States in July 1985. Two others followed shortly and the first litter of nine SV’s in the United States was whelped at Jonricker Kennel, September 4, 1986.

This Swedish Vallhund Club was founded in 1987 by Mrs. Marilyn Thell of Jonricker Kennels, Connecticut. When this Club was initially developed it was known as the Swedish Vallhund Enthusiasts of America (SVEA). Work was done to develop Club documents in 1988. In 1994, the Club name was changed to Swedish Vallhund Club of America (SVCA) to more descriptively reflect a club status and the geographic distribution of the Club. Mrs. Thell remained president through 1996, when she became President Emeritus.

The Swedish Vallhund Club of America was formed to preserve and promote the prosperity and true qualities of the Swedish Vallhund. The Club emphasizes the breed’s natural qualities in the breeding of the SV’s and provides education to the public about this wonderful breed. The SVCA is dedicated to preserving the health, quality and temperament of the breed.

SV’s are self-confident, lively, inquisitive, courageous, loyal and independent. They are agile, fast, and eager to please and take well to training. They are friendly, healthy and hardy. The SV is alert, watchful and will stand his ground to observe what is happening but is not aggressive.

SV’s have delightful personalities. Their temperaments are sound, loving, and sweet. They are calm and adaptable and delight in sharing your life. Being a spitz breed, they sometimes have a tendency to bark; however, this can be corrected with training. They find new uses for toys and are quite good at problem-solving. They enjoy being stimulated by learning new tasks.

Swedish Vallhunds are versatile family dogs and companions as well as working dogs. They can accompany their owners on hiking and riding trails, drives, and vacations. They are muscular and energetic. They are most often red-sabled or gray-sabled in color with specific harness markings; however, they come in all the colors that are seen in a wolf. Swedish Vallhunds are playful, friendly, and marvelous with children, adults and other animals. They have a fox-like appearance and are enthusiastic. SV’s are great all-around pets and companions. They have become champions at conformation shows and have received titles in obedience, herding, and agility.

The breed is most common in Sweden, Britain, Finland, Norway and Australia and is becoming better known in the USA. SV’s are recognized by the United Kennel Club, the American Rare Breed Association, the Canadian Kennel Club and several other registries in North America. The SV is registered with AKC-FSS. The SVCA is working to gain AKC recognition of the breed.

Because this is a relatively new breed to the United States, breeders have also imported SV’s to add to their stock’s diversity. USA stock of SV’s have also been exported to Britain, Australia, Sweden and other countries. Breeders here are constantly working to ensure quality in our stock of "The Little Viking Dog."