Ell's Norwegian Elkhound

Welcome to my page dedicated to our dog, Tessa.
Ell's Elkhound:

Tessa was a female Norwegian Elkhound.

She was born in early May 1990 in Point Roberts, Washington, USA She sadly passed on July 26th, 2005 in Abbotsford BC Canada. She was 15 yrs and 2½ months. She is so very much missed.

Description:In appearance the Elkhound is a medium-size, compact dog, basically gray in color. They are for males about 20 !/2" high at the withers and may weigh 50 pounds or somewhat more; the female ordinarily will be smaller on both counts..........................lol unless you feed them too much

The coat is double;---longer and harsher guard hair above, and soft, wooley undercoat below. The gray guard hairs, dark at the tips, give the "grey-black-silver" coloring characteristic of the Elkhound and serve to shed rain and snow. (Our dog loves to shove her nose in the snow if we get any.) The light-colored undercoat provides insulation. The hair on the head and front of the legs is short and even. Typical markings include light coloring on the underside, legs, and rear; dark mussel and ears; (real soft ears) and a distinctive "shawl" behind the shoulders.

The eyes should be dark and expressive, (oh, believe me they are) contributing to the bearlike appearance of the broad head, with it evenly tapered muzzle (not pinched or foxy) and mobile, erect ears. One of the most noticeable features if the tightly curled and preferably centered ring tail. Unlike the Husky and Malamute which have a curving "scimitar," or "sickle" tail.

In general build, the Elkhound is compact and square in profile, giving an impression of both power and action.

One of the most unusual (and attractive) aspects of the Elkhound's physical characteristics is the absence of any doggy odor.

Our dog sheds when most of them keep there coat, that is in the fall, when the coat begins to thicken, our dog looses (chunkies, as I like to call them) as our dog is an indoor dog and due to the warm climate she doesn't need all the extra coat.

Comment: A hardy Nordic breed, the Norwegian Elkhound goes back to the days of the Vikings, some 6000 years ago, when its ancestors guarded village herds against wolves and bears, hunted great elk, and even pulled sleds. Despite its relatively small size, this breed's enormous stamina and keen senses of smell and hearing made it ideally suited to ruthless weather and rugged northern terrain. When these dogs were brought to the United States in the early 20th century, the name "Elkhound" mis mistranslated from the Scandinavian word hund which means "dog" not "hound."

Other qualitys include:

They are moderately suited to urban life, providing they have room to play.
They are rated high in being good with children.
They are rated high as a watchdog, don't be confused with guard dog, this breed will tell you when someone is at the door, lol.
They need moderate exercise.
They need moderate grooming.

MORE PICS OF TESSA
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. Tessa playing........ Tessa clowning around.......

OK but I won't go deeper than my tummy
or I'm outta here

OK deep enough, I'm outta here....NOW!

OH this is fun!!

But who's chasing who????
Tessa was 6 month old in this photo.
Playing with my poodle ( Cindy) who was aprox 14 yrs old in the picture. Not bad for an old gal.Cindy lived to 17½ yrs old before we had to say goodbye.
Here are a couple photos of Tessa at 9 yrs old.

She never was fond of the camera in her face.

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