It is one of dogdom’s best kept secrets. The terrific Danish/Swedish Farmdog was bred to be a versatile all purpose farm dog, but its intelligence and liveliness lead to other roles far beyond the farm, and we’ll talk about those in the coming days. For now, we mention that the breed so often mistaken for a Jack Russell Terrier (or any terrier), is actually a Pincher. In fact, the dogs were originally known as Danish Pinschers (other sources include “Old Danish Fox Terrier” and “Scanian Terriers” as original names). As such, the breed (currently listed with the AKC’s FSS), will be assigned to the Working Group when it gains full recognition.

Dogs of this breed were seen on both Denmark and Southern Sweden farms where they were as much a part of farm scenery as a tractor pulling a plow, and houses with thatched roofs. In 1987, it was both the Danish and Swedish Kennel Clubs working in joint effort that saved this dandy little dog from extinction by searching for typical breed specimens. As it happened, excellent healthy specimens of this tough old breed still existed and helped reconstitute the breed.  

Image of a Danish/Swedish Farmdog found on Pinterest and happily credited upon receipt of information