Finnish Lapphund vs Lapponian Herder vs Swedish Lapphund

When I first started telling people I shared my home with Finnish Lapphunds, the usual reply was a friendly, slightly puzzled "a what?" The second most common reply, from anyone who had done a little digging, was "isn't that the reindeer herder dog?" It is a fair question. Timber and Tundra come from a small family of northern dogs that were genuinely one breed not so long ago, and even keen dog people mix them up. I am Jill, co-founder of Lapphund Designs, writing from Castlegar, British Columbia with two very fluffy examples snoring at my feet. Let me untangle the three Lappish breeds.

Where do all three Lappish breeds come from?

All three trace back to the same source, the spitz-type dogs the Sami people kept across Lapland. That Arctic region spans northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and north-west Russia. For centuries these dogs worked as camp watchdogs, and then as reindeer herders once Sami life shifted from nomadic hunting to settled reindeer husbandry. The shared job is why all three carry the same northern hardware. A weatherproof double coat, pricked ears, a hardy build and a strong instinct to watch, move and bark at livestock.

The breeds share genetics as well as a job description. All three carry the same mitochondrial DNA subclade (d1) that marks them as a closely related northern family. If you have ever looked at the three and thought they seemed like relatives, you were reading them correctly.

That heritage is the reason my Reindeer Herder at Heart tee ($28.75 CAD) exists. It is the only shirt in the shop that suits all three breeds, because all three earned the job.

Are the Finnish Lapphund and Lapponian Herder the same breed?

They were once, and they are separate now. This is the part that surprises most people. The Finnish Lapphund and the Lapponian Herder began as a single breed under one standard, and long-coated and short-coated puppies were often born in the same litters. In the late 1960s the Finnish Kennel Club drew the line and gave them separate standards, around 1967 by most accounts. The long-coated dogs became the Lapinkoira, which we now call the Finnish Lapphund. The shorter-coated working dogs became the Lapinporokoira, the Lapponian Herder.

So they split on coat length and, increasingly, on temperament and purpose. The Finnish Lapphund leaned toward the companion and show home. The Lapponian Herder stayed closer to the working reindeer life. Today they are two distinct breeds with their own standards, their own clubs and their own jobs, even though your great-grandparents would have called them all Lapland dogs. My Finnish Lapphund history guide covers the full timeline, including the first Finnish standard in 1945 and the name Suomenlapinkoira arriving in 1993.

How are the Finnish Lapphund and Lapponian Herder different?

The fastest way to tell them apart is the coat and the overall bearing. The Finnish Lapphund wears a long, profuse double coat with a soft dense undercoat under a harsh outer coat, plus a generous mane on the males and a fluffy tail that curls right over the back or side. The look is classic spitz, round and built to charm. The Lapponian Herder carries a medium-length, straighter, harsher coat. It is still a double coat made for Arctic weather, and it is noticeably less fluffy and more workmanlike.

The tail is a lovely little tell. The Finnish Lapphund's tail curls up over the body. The Lapponian Herder's hangs down at rest and, in movement, forms a loose curve rather than a tight curl over the spine. If you see a similar northern dog with a shorter coat and a low tail in a soft loop, you are very likely looking at a Herder.

Size separates them too. The Lapponian Herder is the taller and heavier of the two, with an ideal height of 51 cm (20 in) for males and 46 cm (18 in) for females, and a working weight of 25 to 29 kg (55 to 65 lb). The Finnish Lapphund is shorter at about 49 cm (19.5 in) for males and 44 cm (17.5 in) for females, and lighter at 15 to 24 kg (33 to 53 lb).

Temperament is the other big difference. Both are intelligent and capable. The Finnish Lapphund is bred and loved as a friendly, people-loving companion that keeps a herding streak. The Lapponian Herder is more driven, more independent and more energetic. Its standard describes a dog that is calm, friendly and docile, and also energetic and willing to work, and it wants a real job to feel right. The Herder is far rarer, recognised in North America mainly through the United Kennel Club, which places it in the Herding Group.

What about the Swedish Lapphund?

The Swedish Lapphund is the third sibling, and it is usually a striking solid black, sometimes black with bronze shading or a little white on the chest, feet or tail tip. It is so bound up with that glossy dark coat that it earned the nickname "the black beauty of Norrland". It is also very old, considered one of Sweden's oldest breeds, developed by the Sami for herding and guarding reindeer.

In build it sits close to the Finnish Lapphund. It is a spitz-type dog with a fluffy double coat and a tail carried curled over the back in movement, and it stands a touch smaller. Males run 45 to 51 cm (18 to 20 in) and females 40 to 46 cm (16 to 18 in), with FCI ideals of about 48 cm and 43 cm. Weight sits around 19 to 21 kg (42 to 46 lb). The AKC describes the breed as lively, alert, kind and affectionate, receptive and willing to work, easy to train and full of endurance. It thrives on obedience, agility, herding and tracking. Like the Herder, it is rare outside Scandinavia, so finding one in Canada takes patience and a waitlist. If the Swede is the one that caught your eye, my dedicated Finnish Lapphund vs Swedish Lapphund comparison goes deeper on that pairing alone.

The black coat is also a real Finnish Lapphund colour, which is why people confuse the two so often. If solid black is your favourite look, the black-coat designs in the shop are drawn from Lappies with exactly that coat.

Finnish Lapphund vs Lapponian Herder vs Swedish Lapphund: the full side by side

Here is the whole comparison in one table. The Lapphund figures come from the FCI and AKC standards and the price canon below. The Herder and Swede figures come from the FCI standards, the United Kennel Club standard and the sourced Wikipedia summaries.

What does a Lappish breed cost, and how long is the wait?

The Finnish Lapphund is the only one of the three with a price you can research properly. It ranked 129th of 201 breeds in the AKC's 2024 registration statistics, with only a few dozen active breeders across the United States and Canada. A puppy from a health-testing, club-affiliated breeder costs about 1,500 to 3,000 USD, roughly 2,000 to 4,000 CAD. Show or breeding prospects and imports run 3,000 to 5,000 USD and up, and rescue or adoption fees sit around 50 to 300 USD. Litters run small, four to six puppies being typical, and waiting lists commonly run six months to two years.

The Lapponian Herder and the Swedish Lapphund are rarer again, and no club publishes a price range for either. In practice you are looking at an import, which adds transport, paperwork and time to whatever the breeder charges. Start with the national clubs in Finland and Sweden and expect a long wait. My Finnish Lapphund price guide and my guide to finding a breeder cover the Lappy side of that process in detail.

Are the three Lappish breeds healthy?

This is general information, not veterinary advice. Ask your vet about any individual dog, and ask any breeder for results you can verify.

The Finnish Lapphund typically lives 12 to 15 years. The parent clubs ask breeders for a hip evaluation, an elbow evaluation, an annual eye exam by a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist, and DNA tests for prcd-PRA and Pompe disease. The Finnish Lapphund Club of America health page makes the point that a DNA test covers one mutation and never replaces the yearly eye exam.

Because the three breeds share ancestry, the Herder and the Swede sit in similar territory for hips, elbows and inherited eye disease. Neither breed has a published lifespan figure from its clubs, and the working population in Finland and Sweden is small. Ask any breeder in any of the three breeds for documented results on both parents, and verify them in a public database where one exists.

Which Lappish breed makes the better pet?

For most families the Finnish Lapphund is the easiest of the three to live with, and that is more than hometown bias. The breed was shaped over decades toward companionship. Lappies are calm indoors with a real off switch, friendly and submissive with people, good with children, and happy inside family life. They still need daily exercise, a securely fenced yard and patience for the barking and the seasonal coat blow, and they forgive a busy, normal household.

The Lapponian Herder can be a wonderful pet, and it asks more of you. The stronger working drive and independence mean a Herder is happiest with a real outlet, whether herding, sport, hiking or structured training, and it can turn restless without one. The Swedish Lapphund lands in between, affectionate and trainable like the Finn, with the energy and work ethic of a dog that wants a job. Both rarer breeds come with a practical hurdle in Canada, which is simply finding an ethical breeder.

If all of this has you leaning toward a Lappy of your own, I have a few owner-written guides that go deeper. Start with my Finnish Lapphund breed guide, browse the rainbow of Finnish Lapphund colours, get to know the real Finnish Lapphund temperament, and when you are ready to be straight with yourself, read whether a Finnish Lapphund is right for you. And once you know which of the three is yours, the Finnish Lapphund t-shirt collection is drawn breed-true, coat by coat, by people who own one.

If the dog you are trying to identify came from a shelter rather than a breeder, my guide to telling a Lapphund from a look-alike covers the Keeshond, the Eurasier and the Icelandic Sheepdog too.

The Finnish names tell you the difference before the dogs do, and I break down Lapinporokoira and Suomenlapinkoira piece by piece.

Related Finnish Lapphund guides

• Lapinporokoira and Suomenlapinkoira
• telling a Lapphund from a look-alike
• Finnish Lapphund vs Swedish Lapphund
• Finnish Lapphund vs Icelandic Sheepdog
• Finnish Lapphund vs Keeshond
• Finnish Lapphund vs Eurasier
• Finnish Lapphund vs Norwegian Elkhound
• Finnish Lapphund vs Finnish Spitz

Finnish Lapphund vs Lapponian Herder: quick answers

Are the Finnish Lapphund and Lapponian Herder the same breed?

They were one breed until the late 1960s, around 1967, when the Finnish Kennel Club split them into separate standards based mainly on coat length. The long-coated dogs became the Finnish Lapphund and the short-coated dogs the Lapponian Herder.

What is the main difference between a Finnish Lapphund and a Lapponian Herder?

Coat, size and drive. The Finnish Lapphund has a long fluffy coat and a friendly companion temperament. The Lapponian Herder is taller and heavier, carries a shorter harsher coat, and has a stronger, more independent working drive.

How can I tell a Lapponian Herder from a Finnish Lapphund?

Look at the coat and the tail. A Finnish Lapphund is fluffier with a tail curled over the back. A Lapponian Herder has a shorter coat and a tail that hangs at rest and forms a loose curve in motion rather than curling over the back.

Is the Swedish Lapphund just a black Finnish Lapphund?

No. The Swedish Lapphund is a separate breed and one of Sweden's oldest, usually solid black and nicknamed the black beauty of Norrland. It shares the same Sami reindeer-herding roots and a similar spitz look, and it has its own FCI standard, No. 135.

Which of the three Lappish breeds is the best family pet?

For most families the Finnish Lapphund is the easiest fit, since it was bred for companionship, is calm indoors and is good with children. The Lapponian Herder and Swedish Lapphund make lovely pets too, and both generally want more of a job to do.

Which Lappish breed is the rarest?

The Lapponian Herder and the Swedish Lapphund are both rare, especially outside Scandinavia. The Finnish Lapphund is uncommon as well, and it is the most findable of the three, ranking 129th of 201 breeds in the AKC's 2024 registration statistics.

Sources

• FCI Standard No. 189, Finnish Lapphund (Suomenlapinkoira)
• Lapponian Herder, Wikipedia (FCI Standard No. 284, size, colour, the 1966 to 1967 split)
• United Kennel Club, Lapinporokoira (Lapponian Herder) breed standard
• American Kennel Club, Lapponian Herder
• FCI Standard No. 135, Swedish Lapphund (Svensk Lapphund)
• Swedish Lapphund, Wikipedia (size, colour, Sami origin, subclade d1)
• American Kennel Club, Swedish Lapphund
• United Kennel Club, Swedish Lapphund breed standard
• Finnish Lapphund Club of America, breed history
• Finnish Lapphund Club of America, general health
• American Kennel Club, most popular breeds of 2024 (registration statistics)

Written by Jill, co-founder of Lapphund Designs. Jill lives in Castlegar, BC with her husband and their two Finnish Lapphunds, Timber and Tundra.