In Finland, barking competitions held each year crown a “King Barker,” and a Finnish Spitz (Finkie to her friends) usually wins. These are prodigious barkers, and some Finkies have  been recorded barking at 160 times per minute in competitions. Far from being an annoying aspect of a dog that’s gone unchecked, barking is an important part of the Finnish Spitz makeup. The Finnish Spitz is a natural bark pointer who follows a bird, and barks when it lands. If it moves, they follow it and bark again when it lands. Some claim the barking mesmerizes the bird and it stays in place. Others suggest that the barking simply distracts the bird so he doesn’t notice the approaching hunter. Either way, barking is so valued in the National Dog of Finland that any conformation champions must first prove they are adept at barking while hunting before they can become official champions.

Below is a video we found on You Tube that offers 11 seconds of champion barking. We found that 4 seconds was enough to persuade us.

Finnish Spitz by Judith Stein/
www.judithstein.com
https://www.etsy.com/shop/k9stein