HISTORY

With one look at the homeland of the Norwegian Lundehund, one can see why the dog is built the way it is.
With a wide variety of physical anomalies that have everything to do with surviving their environment, we firmly believe the Lundehund is a product of natural evolution, not man’s breeding.

 

The Lundehund’s cliffhanger history is one of great challenge and is a testimonial to the survival skills and determination of the breed. Once recognized as an asset greater in value than a cow (unusual for a northern European country during the last few centuries), the Lundehund fell out of favor when the Puffin became protected and could no longer be hunted.
Mrs. Eleanor Christie is credited with saving the breed after becoming aware of the Lundehund in the 1930’s while reading an article written by Sigurd Skaun. Fascinated, she set out to find purebred Lundehunds, a quest that brought her to the islands of Vaeroy and Rost in the Lofoten archipelago north of the Arctic Circle and to the long-time breeder, Monrad Mikkelson.
Twice in the 20th century the Lundehund population was eradicated because of a distemper outbreak; each time either Christie or Mikkelson was able to send a breeding pair to begin the repopulating process.
In 1962 it was determined that there were just six purebred Lundehunds remaining and the Norsk Lundehund Klubb was formed to oversee the protection of this national and evolutionary treasure. The Norsk Lundehund Klubb remains the parent club for the breed to this day and maintains firm control of the breeding practices to ensure the survival of this incredible link to antiquity.

A very early photograph from a dog show in Norway with Mrs. Christie in the middle

A litter of Lundehund puppies from Mrs. Christie’s kennel, “Luxor”