Norrbottenspets

The Norrbottenspets, also known as the Norrbottenspitz, and the Pohjanpystykorva, is a breed of spitz type dog from Sweden. A small- to medium-sized breed with typical spitz-like features, the Norrbottenspets has traditionally been kept as a hunting dog in Northern Sweden and is closely related to similar Nordic spitz breeds such as the Finnish Spitz.

==History== The Norrbottenspets takes its name from the region of Norrbotten in the northeast of Sweden, with "spets" being the Swedish spelling of "spitz"; the breed is also known as the Norrbottenspitz, the Nordic Spitz and the Pohjanpystykorva. The origins of the breed are unknown; it is likely both arctic and German spitz blood is present in its ancestry. The Norrbottenspets is the Swedish equivalent of the closely related Finnish Spitz, and the Russian Karelo-Finnish Laika; the various breeds only becoming distinct with separate kennel club recognition for dogs found across various national borders. Almost lost in the 20th century, in 1948 the Swedish Kennel Club declared the Norrbottenspets extinct and it was not until the 1960s that sufficient numbers were found for the breed to be declared extant. Never having received the international attention of the Finnish Spitz or the Norwegian Buhund, the Norrbottenspets is rarely seen outside of Scandinavia, although with a revival in interest in national breeds, today the Norrbottenspets is a relatively popular breed in Sweden.