She is the last of eleven Elkhounds I have owned during the last 35 years.
She has never been tied up or even owned a collar. She is fearless and will stand her ground when faced with just about anything, She weighs close to a hundred pounds and is far too heavy and awkward to pickup and place on a scale.
For all of her impressive appearance, she loves children who visit and stands at the perfect height to lick their face and produce many a giggle.
I could write a hundred stories of my experiences with Norwegian Elkhounds, but they have taught me more than I have ever taught them.
This is an outdoor dog that loves winter but loves to sleep on a bed when no one is looking. She is welcome in the kitchen and spends a great deal of time sleeping on top of the big wood box lid, near the kitchen fireplace. This is a perfect spot to see what is going on in the house as well as keep an eye on the outdoors through the kitchen window.
She was raised with her sister Tillie, from the time they could first walk, to all the outdoor sounds and activities.
Before they were a year old they could howl back as perfect mimics to the family of coyotes that were raised in a den nearby.
The coyote parents learned to make a wide loop around our property because a single howl on their part usually produced a loud concert of replies from three to five Elkhounds in our woods. Many a cold winter night, with the sky filled with countless stars, I have stood transfixed by the coyotes and the Elkhounds howling back and forth to each other. I understands a coyote howls for many reasons but mainly to establish his territory with other coyotes. I think my dogs understood and at the same time made it clear what territory was theirs.
The Elkhounds were so good at producing a coyote’s long drawn out howl that I felt as if I were standing with my own coyotes.
Two full grown Elkhounds fighting will make a brave man step back. It rarely happened with our crew but it was an event to be remembered. I could step into the fray and break them up with a yell and a push and was never bitten, but then they always knew I was in charge.
I intend to use the Nor’ west Scribe Blog to record many of the experiences I shared with these loyal companions.
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