The Saami, a tribe of semi-nomadic people, in Lapland (the northern region of Finland, Sweden, and in part, Russia), employed two type of Lapphunds in guarding and reindeer herding: The long haired variety now known as the Finnish Lapphund, and the short haired variety commonly called the Lapponian Herder.

As of 2005, Finnish Lapphunds were the third most popular breed in Finland with registrations of over 1,000 puppies for the year. Excellent progress for a working breed that suffered from being replaced by snowmobiles to herd reindeer.