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A huge Norwegian Mastiff on a bridge north of Oslo.
Late 1700's, Akershus.
Detail from a painting shown here with the courtesy of Mr. Jørgen W. Cappelen,
J. W. Cappelens Antikvariat, Oslo - Norway.



The Vikings was a sea travelling people. With their longships they travelled all over Europe, as traders or doing bloody raids. Swedish Vikings also travelled east, following the Russian rivers, and reaching as far as the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Caspian & the Aral sea. Traveling further on foot, to Baghdad and Samarkand. Danish Vikings occupied most of southeastern England, while Norwegian Vikings occupied parts of Irland, Scotland, Isle of Man and north-western England/Wales. The Scandinavian Vikings also had colonies, or visited for trading or raids, the shores of Germany and Holland, Normandie, further down the French shores, following the French rivers to Paris and Toulouse, Spain, Italy, Miklagard (Istanbul), Serkland (Northern Africa) & Vinland (Newfoundland).
We know for sure that the Vikings did bring with them home all kind of goods, including live animals. Many of the old domestic animals from Norway, like Spelsau (cheep) and Jærgås (goose), was developed from the animals the Vikings did bring with them to the Norwegian shores. We also know for sure that the Vikings did bring with them dogs to Scandinavia. Native to Scandinavia is the spitz type of dogs. The hounds, like Dunker and the Stöver-breeds, is new to Scandinavia, developed the last hundreds of years or so. In Viking findings it have been found dog skeletons of various size and type, from light spitz typed dogs to large and heavy built dogs.
According to the old Norse Sagas we can learn that the King Olav Trygvasson had a very large dog named "Wige". This dog was brought from Irland, and the King used the dog to kill peasants that would not convert to Christ. "Wige" was considered as the most excellent dog in Scandinavia. If "Wige" was a Molosser dog is not known, but it show us that the Vikings also did bring with them dogs from the raids, if they would find them useful. As a people known to be fierce it is easy to understand that the fierce Molosser dogs of the time of the Vikings did appeal to the equally fierce Norsemen.
The existence of large flock guarding dogs was already mentioned and praised in the "alemannic" laws of the 900's.



Spiked iron collar from Scandinavia.
Dalsland Museum, Sweden.



Also in the old sagas we can find the story about when Egil Skallgrimson met some herders and their flock. Egil asks the herders which farm they belong to, and why they are using such huge dogs to protect the herd.
There have been found many hundred spiked iron collars, like the one above, in both Norway and Sweden. The oldest collar dating to about A.D. 975-1000, which shows us that these dogs have been used as protectors for the livestock for a very long time.
But the dogs did not dissapear with the Viking culture. Below you will find an illustration from Lier in Buskerud, dating 1762, which shows the herder and his large dog, wearing a spiked iron collar.



The shepherd and his dog, which are wearing a spiked collar.
Lier-Buskerud, 1761.



Below there is a illustration dating about A.D. 1200, which shows a peasant warrior and his dog of war. It is difficult to say if this dog has natural erected ears or if the ear is cropped. Considering that the illustrator have used some artistic freedom it would be just guessing what the natural state of the ear should be. However, the illustration show a rather large dog with short muzzle and great stop. The tail is carried hanging, while the tail of the ancient Norwegian spitz breeds always is carried curled over the back.
Since this is a peasant warrior, that was a farmer but also had to serve time as a warrior for the King, we can assume that he did bring his own farm dog with him. In other words the dog should function well as both a flock guardian and as a wardog.



At left; a peasant warrior, about A.D. 1200, Gol-Buskerud.



Between the time of the Vikings and modern time there are very many references to the flock guardian of the Norwegian farmers.
Peder Claussøn Friis (1545-1614) wrote; "When the wolf see the shepherd or the dog that guards the cattle....." (Naar Wulffen ser Hyrden eller Hund som vogte Fæ).
The Englishman Thomas Robert Malthus visited Norway in 1799 and wrote about his travels in the southern parts of the country. He made a couple of excellent references to the large flock guarding dogs of Norway. One of the references goes like this; "After dinner we talked with our host, which owned a farm. At the farm he had 60 cows, 12-13 horses and six cotters. All the animals had been taken to the grazing land in the mountains, and they had two men and two women to look after them, and some very huge dogs to protect them against the wolves." The place which Malthus tells about is near Tretten in Oppland.
Further Malthus gives another description of the large Molosser dogs of Norway, this time near Magnor in Hedmark, near the Swedish border; "The second time was one evening when he was walking a big dog that was owned by a farmer, and which was attacked by four wolves at the same time. The dog had a collar with iron spikes, and since the dog was very muscular and powerful he defended himself against all four wolves, forcing them one after the other on their back. The dog was never on its back but stood its ground. When Mr. L. came all wolves fled into the forest."
These descriptions given us by Mr. Malthus gives us a very good picture of the size and work of the flock guardian of Norway, as well as what they was capable of.



Illustration from about A.D. 1300 which show the shepherds dog and the livestock.
This dog is clearly not of spitz type, but show us instead a very short and
broad head with a short muzzle and a destinct stop.
Luster-Hordaland.



Another good description of the flock guardian in Norway comes from W.C.L. Martin, who did write in 1845 in his "The History of the Dog"; "The Norwegian farmers keeps in the mountain, where there are lots of wolves and bears, dogs that remind me of the Newfoundland, and which are wearing a spiked iron collar, for protection against the wolf."
This description given by Mr. Martin gives us an even clearer picture on what kind of dog the Norsedogge was. A thing worth noting is that there are hardly any descriptions at all of these dogs without the spiked iron collar being mentioned.

The Norsedogge was without a doubt close related to the flock guardian of southern Sweden, the Dalbo-dog. We can assume that these two breeds did have the same origin, desended from the Molossers brought to Scandinavia by the Vikings, especially from the British isles by Norwegians and Danes, and from east by the Swedes, who travelled all the way to the homeland of the Caucasian & Central Asian Ovtcharka.
We must still remember the words of the British Zoolog Horace William Wheelwright, in 1865, about the Dalbo-Dog; "The only hound peculiar to the land which I know of, are the Dahlbo hound (now nearly extinct), a magnificent dog, rather like an English Mastiff."



Detail from the same painting as the picture on the top of the page.
In this picture the huge propotions of the dog can be compared with the people on the bridge.
Below you will find the whole painting pictured.
From a painting shown here with the courtesy of Mr. Jørgen W. Cappelen,
J. W. Cappelens Antikvariat, Oslo - Norway.



The search for descriptions, illustrations and pictures of this vanished Norwegian flock guardian still goes on.
In Sweden several persons have in the 1900's searched for information and pictures/illustrations of the Dalbo Dog. The most known being Il Öhman, Björn von Rosen and Gunnar Brusewitz, and they have uncovered very much information that else would be lost by the curtain of time.
In Norway there have earlier never been any research in the matter of the large mastiff-like livestock guardian, and therefore there are still much work to be done. I am hoping that people with genuine interest in the old Dogge of Norway and Scandinavia will contact me so we together can cover much more ground in the search for information about these large dogs which have their rightful, but forgotten, place in the Scandinavian history.




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