In total, Sweden has twelve national breeds (nine of which are recognized by the FCI). Can you name all twelve?*

Among them is the Schiller Hound (or Schillerstövare). Descended from Swiss hounds that came to Sweden in the 17th and 18th century with soldiers returning from war, the breed also had a bit of British hound blood thrown in, mostly Harrier and English Foxhound. Today, the Schiller Hound is considered by the Swedish Kennel Club to be the fastest Scandinavian hound.

Although many of the Schiller’s ancestors hunted the forests of Sweden since the Middle Ages, the Schillerstövare is somewhat of a baby as native breeds go. It was developed by a Swedish young farmer, Per Schiller, who showed off his new breed at the first Swedish dog show in 1886. Some 189 hounds were shown, including two of Schiller’s, siblings named “Tamburini” and “Ralla I.”  respectively. Though they were smaller than today’s Schillerstovares and have brown rather than black markings, the brother and sister are considered the foundational ancestors of the present day Schiller Hounds.

Sadly, Schiller had only a few years to establish his strain of hounds because he died of pneumonia in 1892 when he was only 34 years old. After Per’s death, his brother, Karl, inherited the dogs and continued Pers’ breeding program. In 1903, fifty entries from Schiller’s line were exhibited at a dog show organized by the Stovare Club of Vastergotland. Spectators were so gobsmacked by the dogs that discussion of a breed standard began in earnest.  Four years later, Per’s hounds were named Schillerstövare in his honor.

In time, the breed would be recognized by Swedish Kennel Club in 1913, and would become one of the nine Swedish breeds accepted by the Federacion Cynologique Internationale. In 2006, the United Kennel Club also recognized the breed.

Breed enthusiasts nicknamed the Schiller Hound, “the Hunting Dog for the Frozen Land” – and for good reason. The dogs have tremendous power, endurance, and incredible speed and are unfazed by traversing immense expanses of snowy terrain in the bitter cold of Scandinavia. Working alone with their owner instead of in a pack, Schillerstovares are so intent on tracking their prey that they tend to become oblivious to everything else. Once cornered, the prey gets an earful of howling until the hunter appears, and because hunting in Sweden is primarily recreational where the focus is on the hunt and not the kill, the dog is usually called off, and the prey allowed to go free. Understandably, the Schillerstovare is one of the most popular hunting dogs in Sweden.

*Were you able to name the twelve dog breeds native to Sweden? They are the Dalbo dog, Danish–Swedish Farmdog, Drever, Hällefors Elkhound, Hamiltonstövare, Jämthund, Norrbottenspets, Schillerstövare, Smaland Hound, Swedish Lapphund, Gotland hound, and the Swedish Vallhund

For a full body image of the breed, click here. Our head shot image of a Schillerstövare is by Lilly Mreal name: Małgorzata Miłaszewska – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4004406