Norwegian Elkhound
Learn about the temperament and personality of the Norwegian Elkhound. Discover what he's like to live with, his traits and characteristics and how he generally behaves. And look at lots of Norwegian Elkhound photos.

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Watchdog | ![]() |
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Guard Dog | ![]() |
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Norwegian Elkhound Temperament
The Norwegian Elkhound is a courageous and loyal companion who loves to be part of the family. (And he's not a hound!) These are bold and friendly people-dogs, the extroverts of the canine world. They are loving, good-natured and remarkably intelligent, yet they do have a stubborn streak. They are independent thinkers, and while trainable, they are not a blindly obedient dog. They are energetic dogs and will need regular daily exercise. They like long walks and are a little too dignified for fetch or roughhousing. A bored Elkhound will get into mischief. A stimulated Elkhound will be docile, dependable and trustworthy. But it will be up to you, the owner, to ensure that the Elkhound knows who the pack leader is. While the Elkhound is not aggressive, he is protective and sometimes possessive of his family and property. He is a commendable watchdog. He is highly alert and will bark at any strange noises. He does enjoy barking. The Elkhound does well with children, especially when introduced to them at a young age. He was bred to be an all-purpose working dog and he has spent many generations on the family farm, so he can be trusted around farm animals. However, he does best with a fenced area to play because he will follow interesting smells and end up miles away from home. The Norwegian Elkhound is an ideal pet if you are looking for a versatile, devoted companion. Just know that they need to be around humans to be happy. This is only one of the reasons they make excellent therapy dogs.
Norwegian Elkhound Training
The Norwegian Elkhound is intelligent and quite easy to train. He learns new commands quickly at an above average rate.
Norwegian Elkhound Shedding
The Norwegian Elkhound is a very heavy shedder. He sheds an awful lot of hair! You'll find hair all over your home, stuck to everything! You'll probably even find it in the butter!
Norwegian Elkhound Grooming
The medium-length coat of the Norwegian Elkhound only requires an occasional brushing. But because he sheds excessively you may find yourself brushing him daily to remove loose hair. (What you get out with a brush doesn't fall out in your home!)
Adopt a Norwegian Elkhound
Norwegian Elkhound Photos
Rating: Ease of training
Tells you how easy or difficult a breed is to train.
A higher rating means the breed is easier to train, a lower rating means the breed is harder to train.
An easy to train breed require less time and patience to train.
Rating: Intelligence
Tells you how intelligent a breed is in terms of how quickly it can learn commands from humans. A higher rating means the breed will learn your commands faster (and is therefore generally considered to be more intelligent), while a lower rating means the breed will learn your commands more slowly (and is therefore generally considered to be less intelligent).
Keep in mind that this is only one way to measure a dog's intelligence and a low rating might still mean the breed is highly intelligent in other ways.
Rating: Shedding
Tells you how much hair the breed sheds. The higher the rating the more hair the breed sheds.
Rating: Watchdog
Tells you how good the breed is at being a watchdog and raising the alarm when a stranger approaches. A higher rating means the breed will bark vigorously to warn you of a stranger's presence on your property. A low rating means the breed probably won't bark much if a stranger enters your property.
Rating: Guard dog
Tells you how good the breed is at being a guard dog due to the appearance, size, and strength of the breed. A breed with a high guard dog rating will make an intruder think twice before stepping foot on your property.
Rating: Popularity
Tells you how popular the breed is in terms of ownership. A higher rating means that more people own the breed. The more popular a breed is the easier it is to find and purchase one because there are more breeders breeding it.
Rating: Size
Tells you how large or small the breed is. A lower rating means the breed is smaller and a higher rating means the breed is larger. It gives you a quick idea of how physically large or small the breed is compared with all the other breeds.
Rating: Agility
Tells you how agile the breed is. A higher rating means the breed is fast and nimble on its feet while a lower rating means the breed is heavier and slower on its feet.
Rating: Good with kids
Tells you how good the breed is with children. A higher rating means the breed is good with children. Note: all breeds are generally good with kids when they're raised with them.