Norwegian Buhund

Energetic and quick to learn, with a ready voice.
A Norwegian Buhund
Photo: Svenska Mässan from Sweden
Adult male
14–18 kg
31–40 lb
Adult female
12–16 kg
26–35 lb
Lifespan
12–15 yrs
Class · Sport
also Family, Working

What it's like

Buhunds are alert, energetic and quick to learn, with a strong urge to work and a ready voice. They are generally friendly and form close bonds with their household. Some have been trained in Britain as hearing dogs for deaf people, and they also take part in obedience and agility.

Day to day
Activity
Needs lots of exercise
Intelligence
Needs daily brain work
Handler demand
Needs steady training
With people
Affection
Affectionate on its own terms
Loyalty
Bonded to its family
Independence
Cooperative, with its own ideas
Around the home
Sensitivity
Average
Voice
Very vocal
Prey drive
Chases; needs managing
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.
Is a Norwegian Buhund right for you?
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Living with one

It has a double coat, an outer coat over an undercoat. Most of the shedding comes when the seasons change. Plan on a brush once a week, plus daily brushing through the seasonal moult. It needs a moderate amount of exercise compared with other breeds.

Size and growth

A Norwegian Buhund is a medium dog, about the weight of a grown Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Males end up a little heavier than females. It is one of the lightest medium breeds.

It is a compact, square-built spitz with a wedge-shaped head, sharply pricked ears and a tail carried in a tight curl over the back. The double coat has a harsh, close outer layer over a dense, soft undercoat. It comes in two colours: wheaten, ranging from pale cream to yellowish red and sometimes with a dark mask, and black, preferably solid.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 5 months, a male Norwegian Buhund puppy is already as heavy as a grown Pug. They grow fastest between 3 and 4 months old.
Fully grown
11 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight6
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
051015202m4m6m9m12m18m
051015202m3m4m6m9m12m18m
Age
Male
Female
2 months
3.0–3.9 kg 6.6–8.6 lb
3.4–4.5 kg 7.5–9.9 lb
3 months
4.5–5.8 kg 9.9–12.8 lb
4.4–5.8 kg 9.7–12.8 lb
4 months
6.5–8.4 kg 14.3–18.5 lb
5.9–7.9 kg 13.0–17.4 lb
5 months
8.4–10.8 kg 18.5–23.8 lb
7.1–9.5 kg 15.7–20.9 lb
6 months
10.0–12.9 kg 22.0–28.4 lb
8.1–10.8 kg 17.9–23.8 lb
7 months
11.2–14.4 kg 24.7–31.7 lb
8.8–11.8 kg 19.4–26.0 lb
8 months
12.1–15.5 kg 26.7–34.2 lb
9.4–12.6 kg 20.7–27.8 lb
9 months
12.7–16.3 kg 28.0–35.9 lb
9.9–13.2 kg 21.8–29.1 lb
10 months
13.1–16.8 kg 28.9–37.0 lb
10.3–13.7 kg 22.7–30.2 lb
11 months
13.4–17.2 kg 29.5–37.9 lb
10.6–14.1 kg 23.4–31.1 lb
12 months
13.6–17.4 kg 30.0–38.4 lb
10.8–14.5 kg 23.8–32.0 lb
15 months
13.9–17.9 kg 30.6–39.5 lb
11.4–15.2 kg 25.1–33.5 lb
18 months
14–18 kg 31–40 lb
11.9–15.8 kg 26.2–34.8 lb

Lifespan

No vet study has measured how long Norwegian Buhunds live yet. The 12–15 years shown is a general figure without a published source.

Where it comes from

The Norwegian Buhund, whose name means farmstead dog, has long guarded and herded on Norwegian farms; the type probably predates the Viking Age, and remains of a small spitz-type dog have been found in Viking burial mounds. Snorri Sturluson's sagas tell of Olav Tryggvason, in Ireland, receiving a farmer's herding dog, Vige, for a gold ring and his friendship. Its first standard dates from 19264.

The Norwegian Buhund was in danger of dying out by the early twentieth century. Its present form owes much to enthusiasts in western Norway, particularly in the Jæren district, who gathered surviving farm dogs and bred them to a consistent type. A national breed club followed, and after the Second World War dogs were exported to Britain, where the breed has kept a small but steady following. It was bred as an all-purpose farm dog, herding sheep and cattle, guarding the yard and barking to warn of strangers.

Breed standard

The Norwegian Buhund is judged against standard no. 237, in group 5, Spitz and primitive types4.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Norwegian Buhund figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a medium-sized breed is most likely somewhere in the middle.

Compare with related

Icelandic Sheepdog
Spitz & primitive · Medium
Shiba Inu
Spitz & primitive · Small
Finnish Spitz
Spitz & primitive · Medium
Akita
Spitz & primitive · Large
Or compare the Norwegian Buhund with any breed you choose
Track your own Norwegian Buhund
Log a minute a day and watch them sit on these curves. Free.

Sources

Uncited on this page: Lifespan — no reviewed source yet, so it is a general reference figure rather than a published one.
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Parts of this page were written by AI ·