Norwegian Lundehund

The Norwegian Lundehund is a small dog breed of the Spitz type that originates from Norway. Its name is composed of the prefix Lunde, from the Norwegian lundefugl , and the suffix hund, meaning dog. The breed was originally developed for the hunting of puffins and their eggs. The Norwegian Lundehund is a small, rectangular Spitz type dog. The Lundehund has a great range of motion in its joints, allowing it to fit into and extricate itself from narrow passages. Dogs of this breed are able to bend their head backwards along their own spine and turn their forelegs to the side at a 90-degree... horizontal angle to their body, much like human arms. Their pricked, upright ears can be folded shut to form a near-tight seal by folding forward or backward. The Norwegian Lundehund is a polydactyl: instead of the normal four toes per foot, the Lundehund normally has six toes, all fully formed, jointed and muscled. Some specimens may on occasion have more or fewer than six toes per foot. The outercoat is dense and rough with a soft undercoat. The Lundehund is adapted to climb narrow cliff paths in Røst where it originally would have hunted puffins.
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