Danish–Swedish Farmdog
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| Dansk Svensk Gårdshund (Danish Swedish Farmdog) | |||||||||
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 Danish Swedish Farmdog | |||||||||
| Origin |  Denmark and  Sweden | ||||||||
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| Dog (domestic dog) | |||||||||
Dansk Svensk Gårdhund (Danish Swedish Farmdog) is a breed of dog that has its origin in Denmark and Sweden, but now has become popular all over Scandinavia. DSF is an old native breed which historically lived on farms in the northern part of Denmark and southern Sweden, serving as a farmdog, guarding their people, farmed animals and the farm itself from strangers and intruders, catching rats and as a hunting dog. There are some indications that the breed originates from the Pinscher breeds and the British white hunting terriers. DSF has a soft and gentle temperament, but still has the strength to guard its family.
Name
The Danish Swedish Farmdog became a recognized breed in Denmark and Sweden in 1987. At that time, the two countries got together and agreed on the name of the breed. The DSF was used as a working dog on farms for many hundreds of years. Being that it has always been a breed that has worked on farms, the name was only a natural extension of the breed's job.
Appearance
The FCI standard says that a DSF should be between 30–39 cm of height with a compact body. The relation between withers height and body length should be 9 to 10. The head is rather small and triangular with a well emphasized stop. The coat is hard, short and smooth in texture, with white as a dominating color, with one or several patches of different color combination. The tail could be long, half bobtail or bobtail.
Temperament
The Danish Swedish Farmdog is a very friendly, easygoing breed. Not only does it work on the farms herding livestock and alerting to intruders, but it is also a companion to adults, and is known to befriend and play with the children of the household.
The Danish Swedish Farmdog is unlike a terrier, even though it is often mistaken as one. Unlike the high-strung nature of the terrier, the nature of the DSF allows it to do its job, as well as be calm and loving during times without work. This makes it an ideal house companion.
The DSF is a fairly high energy dog, though, and loves having a job. The breed is new to the USA, and can only now start to be seen in sports such as Flyball and Dog agility. The DSF is also known for its excellent mousing skills and can perform sports such as Go To Ground and Earthdog. They are also very speedy and quick, and love all types of Lure coursing and Course A Lure.