Meet the newest AKC recognized breed: the Danish-Swedish farm dog

Danish-Swedish farm dogs are small, compact dogs with a great attitude and passion for a job and a challenge. The American Kennel Club’s 202nd recognized breed and newest working group member is eligible to begin competing in AKC events on January 1, 2025. Aimee Parramore Kincaid, President of Danish-Swedish Farmdog Club of Americahas helped usher in the race for recognition.

Going for recognition

While the Danish-Swedish farm dog joins the ranks of breeds recognized by the AKC, it is not a new breed. As old as the Vikings, skeletons of similar farm dogs have been found in Viking burial sites dating back 1,000 to 1,200 years. “Today, the breed is called ‘Farmdogs’ or ‘DSF’ in the US and ‘Danish Swedish Gardshund’ or ‘Danski’ in Europe,” says Kincaid. “It is popular in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands; you see people walking with them everywhere.”

Once seen on small farms in Denmark and Sweden, the peasant dog almost became extinct when the industrial revolution came and farms were sold. But the Danish and Swedish Kennel Club worked together to save them. When the breed was officially named, Denmark and Sweden held the dog in such high regard that neither country wanted to give up ownership. Therefore, the breed bears both country names.

While Farmdogs likely followed their families to the US from Scandinavia for many years, Melody Farquhar-Chang of California imported “Agerhonen’s Flora” from a breeder in Norway in 1998. Two DSFs from other breeders followed when Helene Riisgaard-Pedersen of Wyoming imported “Javika’s” Princess Madeleine” from Denmark in 1999, and Brita Lemmon from California imported “Gonzo’s Folmer (Vago) from Denmark in 2000.

Farquhar-Chang, Riisgaard-Pedersen and Lemmon organized a Danish-Swedish farm dog club in 2003. Farquhar-Chang helped guide the breed’s entry into the AKC Foundation Stock Service (FSS) program in 2011, the first step toward AKC recognition. Another club soon appeared. In 2019, the two clubs merged as the official AKC Danish-Swedish Farmdog Club of America. In 2021, the club piloted the race into the Miscellaneous class.

From FSS to working group

Becoming an AKC recognized breed involves meeting specific requirements beginning with the FSS and Miscellaneous class. Before a breed can enter the FSS, a foreign registry must recognize the breed and American club members must begin an accurate registration program. Denmark and Sweden recognized the DSF as their official breed in 1987. The Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI), the international federation of national kennel clubs, recognized the Danish-Swedish farm dog in 2019.

Although the breed is not eligible for AKC registration in the FSS class, the breed can compete in companion events. Moving into the Miscellaneous class is the next step. Before a breed can participate in Diverse, it must have 150 dogs with three-generation pedigrees, a written breed standard, and a club representing the breed in the United States

Kincaid estimates that there are around 400 Danish-Swedish farm dogs nationwide.

The path to recognition also includes proof of registrations, a certain number of club members in good standing and ten dogs with Certificate of Merit titles. Their owners can earn these titles after showing in the Miscellaneous class offered at AKC shows. Clubs applying for recognition must also present judging seminars and competitions in three Open shows.

Building racial knowledge

Receiving full AKC recognition means letting the public know there’s a new breed in town. When people in the US see Danish-Swedish farm dogs for the first time, they don’t know what breed they are, but they will probably play a guessing game with the owners. “People on the street or even at a dog show will stop and ask me if my DSF is a Beagle or a Jack Russell,” says Kincaid. “If they know a Jack Russell, they’ll guess Jack Russell, and if they know a Beagle, they’ll guess Beagle.”

After a man insisted that a club member’s dog was a purebred “South Carolina Squirrel Dog,” club members printed t-shirts with a saying: “No, it’s not a Jack Russell, Beagle, or a South Carolina Squirrel Dog. It’s a Danish-Swedish farm dog.” “It’s our favorite t-shirt and we wear it when we’re out with our dogs,” says Kincaid.

To educate people about their breed, club members devised a strategic plan that included taking their dogs on public outings, printing pamphlets, attending judging seminars and decorating a booth at AKC Meet the Breed events. “We want people to know as much as possible about them,” says Kincaid. “When we sell a dog, we mentor new owners,” says Kincaid.

Kincaid acquired her first Farmdog after a friend told her about the breed. “I went to the AKC Meet the Breeds in Orlando, Florida in 2017, and since I had Australian Shepherds, I liked the smaller size of Farmdogs,” she recalls.

Small breed in a do-it-all package

This cheerful, friendly, outgoing companion dog was once known as a Danish Pinscher. “We want people to know that it’s not a terrier, but a Pinscher-type dog, most likely descended from Pinscher-Fox Terrier crosses,” says Kincaid.

More rectangular than a terrier, DSFs are 12 to 15 inches and weigh 15 to 20 pounds. Plain and smooth coated, in patches of various colors, sizes and combinations of black, brown, yellow, all shades of tan and fawn, the breed helped bring in cows, but its specialty was its agility and speed in combating vermin. .

“DSFs are a multi-purpose dog that lives to hunt vermin, but at home they are one of the easiest dogs to live with,” says Kincaid. A dedicated and hardy working breed, farm dogs are far from needy, capable of entertaining themselves and, like a cat, will lie on their backs and play with a ball. These dogs are ready to accompany their owners to any activity.

Once used as performing circus dogs, they enjoy competing in almost any performance event and quickly begin training. Many Farmdog owners report that their dogs have solid herding instincts and enjoy a variety of sports, such as dock diving, AKC Scent Work, AKC Rally and Agility. A few Farmdogs in the Florida Keys have even been known to go after iguanas.

“The best comes when you settle down; so do they,” says Kincaid. “If you like a dog that sleeps with you, it will happily curl up under the covers and snuggle.”

Farmdogs are not a nuisance, but they are relatively quiet and will alert their owners when a stranger appears. “When they’re happy to see a familiar face, they emit cute vocalizations, almost like yodeling and squeaking,” says Kincaid.

Measuring health

The club is committed to the health of the breed. “The farm dog’s greatest attribute is its health,” says Kincaid. “The typical lifespan is 16 to 18 years, and the oldest in California was healthy until he died at age 20.”

Without genetic problems common to the breed, many club members voluntarily test their adult dogs for hip and elbow dysplasia, patellar luxation, primary lens dislocation (PLL)and perform BAER hearing tests on puppies.

“Many of our breeders come from other breeds and are used to testing and breeding permits,” says Kincaid.

The American breed standard is the same as the FCI standard, which allows breeders to maintain diversity. “We don’t breed for specific traits, although we try to improve the type,” says Kincaid. “We want the judges to identify a dog that looks like a farm dog.”

If you see a dog on the street that looks like a bitch, a charmer and a willing worker, know that it is not a South Carolina squirrel dog, but a Danish-Swedish farm dog.