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Norwegian Elkhound

Mia and Tora Norwegian Elkhound Females

Appearing here at close 9 months of age is Tora with her Mother Mia. Mia is the ultimate coastal Norwegian Elkhound and was the foundation female of our  program.

 

Mia Square Profile Norwegian Elkhound

You can see in this photo of Mia all the compact powerful ability of the quintessential Norwegian Elkhound.

Bram and Outstanding Norwegian Elkhound

Bram is an old world hunting strain Norwegian Elkhound. He is first generation in Canada and has sired some incredible pups for us. l have 3 of his daughters here, Kai, Tekla and Tuva. I have witnessed the ability of the Norwegian Elkhound to pass the traits intact from both parents. We will be using Bram yet again with Nola potentially this summer 2016.

Jocko a tremendous Norwegian Elkhound

Jocko, a young son of Bram and Tora at 6 Months - he is down Montana way with his owners Dick and Sherry. Jocko exhibits every trait and instinctive quality you want in the Norwegian Elkhound.

Kaia Young Norwegian Elkhound

Kaia, she was a beauty right from the start. You can look for a portrayal of a great Elkhound Female for generations and not find a nicer female. She is pictured below at 1 year, sitting at 11, 000 feet on a hike in Colorado. She lives down there with her sister Scout, another outstanding Norwegian Elkhound female. Paula and Steve have two of the best in North America.

Norwegian Elkhound Female Kaia

 

Gerald and his Norwegian Elkhound 

We still raise old world hunting lineage Norwegian Elkhounds. All our dogs can hunt. Gerald is shown here with young Wolf, a son of Tora only few days after he flew out to get him from us. There is no doubt in anyone's mind, young Wolf brought Gerald some mighty good hunting luck. A neat part of this story is that Gerald flew thousands of miles to pick up Wolf, as he was driving the last mile or so to our yard, he spots a great big Bull Moose. Go figure, hadn't even picked up the young pup yet. He travels home, goes on his hunt, and success is his.

It's no random event either, as you can see the next year, just as successful. This lineage has been bringing hunting luck for thousands of years. There is no better hunting dog!

Norwegian Elkhound on Hunt 

Norwegian Elkhound - Kamia Kennels

I am in a fairly unique situation to share my views on the Norwegian Elkhound. I have raised over the last decade some of the very best Norwegian Elkhounds in North America. Here at Kamia Kennels we still raise old world working Elkhounds. The ancient lines that were family oriented full working and hunting dogs.

Norwegian Elkhound Females and Merv CarlsonI am shown here in the winter of 2016 with a few of my Norwegian Elkhound females. I have Tekla and Tuva, Tora, Kalia, Kai and Kamp.

These are all spectacular working dogs with old blood lines, some of the very best in the world.

 

Norwegian Elkhound breeders have been raising these dogs for centuries. Hunters and hikers, Vikings and Kings all traveled the Scandanavian regions with these great dogs.

There are more legends and tales of the Elkhound than any other breed! This is one of the oldest breeds in the world with a fair bit of history going back at least 4000 years.

Norwegian Elkhound Females of Kamia KennelsThe photo to the right shows 3 Kamia Kennels Norwegian Elkhound females. Kamp is shown in the middle with her two twins, Tuva and Tekla.

These three females are exactly what perfect Norwegian Elkhounds should be.

These are powerful compact dogs built for rugged terrain. They are close coupled so as to move effortlessly in mountain, bush and bog areas. They can jump almost straight up as if on springs, going over deadfall and logs and moving through brush and forest like no other dog.

They have been used for centuries to travel this type of region alongside thier handler and master, scouting for danger and assisting in the hunt. They are the worlds greatest, and oldest hunting dog. Used from the very beginning to hunt Moose.

Typically they have a dark mask, a stunning coat, which is a double coat, a thick inner layer and an outer coat which has longer guard hairs that can shed mud and water and snow off.

Norwegian Elkhound Females Kai and TeklaThe tail is tightly curled so no mud or snow gets stuck in it, feet are well designed, not overly large, little space between toes, and virtually never would an Elkhound have any issues with feet or legs.

There are little to no issues of any kind with Norwegian Elkhounds. We have experienced none in any of our dogs or pups, no eye problems, no feet, ear, nothing. The two female Norwegian Elkhounds are half sisters, Kai and Tekla. Kai is a daughter of the legendary Tora, and Tekla a daughter of our stunning Kamp. These two girls are in my opinion two of the best Norwegian Elkhounds in North America.

Dark ears with good covering, pointed and shouldNorwegian Elkhound Male Kobe, A Kamia Kennels Pup have the points slightly pointing in from the base. The head is a very distinctive feature of the Norwegian Elkhound. It has a good sized head, with a flat plane to the muzzle and head, muzzle should be same length as the head. These dogs have big jaw power.

Make no mistake the bite strength of old world Elkhounds rival dogs of much larger proportions. I have seen all of mine take large Turkey drumsticks, turn them into licorice in seconds and eat them whole.  Kobe an amazing Norwegian Elkhound male, son of Tora and Bram is shown to the right. Kobe lives in Alberta with Henry and Elena, you can read about him throughout this site. Just one of Tora's 17 big boys. The Norwegian Elkhound males like Kobe are about 23 inches tall at the shoulder and weigh in around 65 or so pounds. Some are a bit smaller, some a bit larger.

Norwegian Elkhound Female GAEDAThese dogs have a real fluid easy way about them. It's a fairly distinctive gait they have and it allows them to travel rugged terrain hour upon hour, day after day. I have hiked some of the toughest regions in Canada in all seasons and have yet to see an Elkhound not up to the task.

GAEDA is a lovely female we have who has produced some outstanding young pups. We have a great litter on the ground as I am putting this article together, it's February 9th, 2016. GAEDA is a very showy female, super personality, and very fast and agile. A really great example of a world class Norwegian Elkhound. She is trouble free, causes no issues, has impeccable manners, extremely smart and passes these traits down intact. She can hunt, she can visit, she can defend her territory, she can do it all. Norwegian Elkhound Male Blowing Out Coat Females like GAEDA at full maturity can weigh around that 55 to 60 pound range. GAEDA is 60 pounds in this photo.

 

The inner coat is what keeps the Elkhound so warm in the winter. Double coat dogs "Blow Out" or lose this inner coat each spring. All of it comes in a very quick burst. If you brush for a week once it starts it's all done for the year. Ashten has just finished the first big brushing on Jaegar in this image. In the old days they used to keep this and make yarn, then mitts. It's super warm, just like wool. Other than the spring coat brushing, maintenance is very easy on Elkhounds.

Norwegian Elkhound PuppiesNorwegian Elkhound puppies like those to the left, a litter from Tora and Bram, are all born black. They slowly over weeks begin to lighten up. Around the 2 1/2 week mark they will just start to open the eyes and by 3 weeks will be working to see. Around that same time they are moving pretty good and are able to stand and so on.

Elkhound females will have somewhere around 5 to 7 pups, I have had litters up to 10. If the female is fed well all the pups are going to Norwegian Elkhound pups sleeping outsidewean very close to the same weights. I rarely have a kg difference at the weigh-in at 7 weeks. We keep the pups with the females until 8 weeks, although she is barely feeding anything at that time, they are practically weaned. We start feeding pups at 4 weeks. Elkhound pups are extremely hardy, here they are sleeping outside day after Christmas in Central Alberta, it's about -15 degrees Celcius. They have access inside to the kennel but prefer outside.

Norwegian Elkhound Pups 7 WeeksAs you can see from the pups Tora has by weaning time they are all getting to be pretty good sized rascals. Our big boys are sometimes up to and just over 12 pounds. They are eating a good sized baseball of ground meat three times a day as well as grabbing a little milk that might be left by this time.

 

Norwegian Elkhound pup Gunnar with Murray Boys

There is nothing more rewarding than having the ability to provide a world class Norwegian Elkhound to a great family. Here the two young Murray boys stand with their famous Elkhound Male Gunnar. Gunnar comes from a long line of family dogs dating back as far as the records go. He is from champion hunting stock, and champion show dogs, world champion Elkhounds line up his heritage. But above all, Gunnar like all other great Norwegian Elkhounds lives to please his handlers. You will not find a better family dog than the Norwegian Elkhound.



Nanook, Norwegian Elkhound Male

Here is a photo of Nanook. This young fella is out on the west coast with Kosmas and Joanna. He is another great example of an outstanding Male Norwegian Elkhound. This is a full brother to Jaegar.  These boys are great dogs for active young couples like Kosmas and Joanne. They love to snowshoe and hike and a robust dog like Nanook is ready for all adventure.

4 Norwegian Elkhounds

The Norwegian Elkhound is such a versatile dog. It suits such a wide range of lifestyles and families. I have in the image above 4 great young Norwegian Elkhounds, Cypress, Tesla, Kate and Kaia. We have a lot of great stories on these 4 incredible dogs and the great lives they lead with all of the terrific families throughout the site.

Shasta and Payton

Shasta, a female Elkhound watches out for her young handler, Payton. The Norwegian Elkhound has been watching over young children for thousands of years. They bond extremely well to young handlers as they are an ancient breed with a very strong pack mentality. These are territorial dogs that watch over the family and in my opinion make the very best dog for a family with children.

Kamia Kennels Future Norwegian Elkhound Females 

The three Norwegian Elkhound females above, Kai, Tekla and Tuva, represent the future of ancient lineage Elkhounds in Canada. These three females are a big part of our foundation moving forward here at Kamia Kennels, and no better Elkhounds could we have wished for.