What do the Buhund, black Elkhound, grey Elkhound, Lundehund, Halden Hound, Hygen Hound and Dunker all have in common? They are all, of course, Norwegian breeds. But there’s one other thing they share, and that’s the dedication of the Norwegian Kennel Club, in conjunction with the Norwegian Genetic Resource Center and various other clubs, to protect and preserve breeds that belong to their country’s cultural heritage. To that end, a canine semen bank has been established for all Norwegian dog breeds jointly developed by the aforementioned clubs and centers. The goal is to deposit semen from ten dogs of each of the seven native Norwegian breeds for ten years, sperm that can be used in case of a sudden crisis within a specific breed, or if there’s a need for “old” genetic material in breeding.

This is forward thinking based on experiences of the past. In 1942, for example, World War II made distemper vaccine unobtainable, and when the disease struck Værøy, Norway, and all the surrounding islands, it wiped out all but one of the known Lundehunds. Distemper struck again in 1944, and had a certain Eleanor Christie not forged an earlier relationship with a farmer named Monrad Mikalson, and the two exchanged puppies (in one instance, out of harm’s way),  the breed might very well have been lost forever.

Given that there are some breeds currently at risk in their country of origin, could a sperm bank be an idea that should be seriously considered on a national scale?

You can see a description of the aforementioned breeds at the Norwegian Kennel Club’s site.

Image of a Halden Hound found on Pinterest and happily credited upon receipt of information