Valhund FREYJA SWEDEN

We bet you’ve never heard of a Valhund, the herding dog of the Nordic lands, so we take pleasure in introducing you to Freyja. Yes, there are two Nordic Goddesses in our feature story, different spelling (Freya and Freyja), but both named for the warrior of love, beauty, war and death. However, this little version of the goddess is only interested in love…and maybe a little gossip. We hear from Freyja’s mom, Trisha Lares, that she loves to chat. Yes it’s true, she actually talks. Well, she talks in Valhund speak, which the breed is known for. It’s called “Argle Bargle”, which is a series of yips, howls and barks and Freyja has a lot to say! She chats with her other Valhund housemate, Torgny, which means Thor’s loud noise. Very nordic and noisy at the Lares household!

When not being a chatty Cathy, Freyja is an expert at Fast CAT (lure coursing) and has recently earned her first AKC title at the young age of 2. Closely related to the Corgi, Freyja also has a cute little bum with no tail. Vallhunds can be born both with or without tails. Freyja’s tail is naturally docked and is referred to as a natural bob. So adorable!

Although she may appear to be sweet and charming, we did get a report of some odd and naughty behavior. It seems Freyja likes to lick clean feet (odd) and chase the cat and destroy the mail (naughty). Sounds like a normal dog to us!

Once finished with her first-ever photoshoot, we asked Freyja what she thought about the experience. “I would like more cookies please” was the only response we got. Yep…normal dog!

DID YOU KNOW:

Vallhunds are an ancient breed that were companions to the Vikings and were known as Vikingamas Hund or Viking Dog. Vallhund means “herding dog”. They are distant cousins to the Corgis and almost became extinct in the 1940’s. They are a timeless breed, as comfortable in a suburban backyard as they were on the prow of Viking longships 1,200 years ago.