The lundehund is a dog that is easy to keep. Using the following check list makes sure you are well covered:
- Regular claw cutting
- Regular teeth brushing
- Wipe tears and keep the coat dry by the eyes
- Brush and groom it regularly in coat shedding periods
- Keep the dog properly vaccinated
You'll find the longer version of this article here (in Norwegian).
Food
The lundehund needs low-fat food, below 15 % is recommended. Give the dog:
- Low-fat, easy-digestible kibbles from the veterinary (normal kibbles are not recommended).
- Canned fresh low-fat dog food, or raw mixed low-fat dog food (bought frozen)
- Home made food from rice, potatoes, carrots, white fish, chicken, cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs etc
You'll find the longer version of this article here (in Norwegian).
Illnesses
The lundehund is a healthy dog, not having any of the illnesses that some other dog breeds commonly struggle with, like AD/HD, eye diceases etc.
However, the lundehund seems to be genetically disposed for two illnesses; Intestinal Lymphangiectasia (IL - belly/bowel dicease including nutrition problems) and Pseudpopelade (hairlessness). Of these two, IL is the most important one to treat correctly and as soon as possible.
We have published information in Norwegian about IL (in Norwegian) including how to diagnose, treat and try to prevent it, how to know when to see the vet, and how to feed your dog gentle food while sick. There are also some articles about IL in English, like this article by Susan Torgerson, an American lundehund breeder.
The most important thing is to take all kinds of stomach or digestion problems seriously (if it doesn't stop by itself in a short time) and start giving the dog a gentle food diet immediately. The food needs to be extremely low on fat, high on easily digestible proteins - well boiled and mashed white fish and rice is a good choice to start with.
If the dog has got IL (diagnosed by the veterinary by a blood sample), usually a treatment with cortison (prednisolon) is also necessary. IL is a complex disease to treat for an unexperienced veterinarian, and we strongly encourage you to contact your breeder, a breeder in your country or the Norwegian Lundehund Club for additional advice if you've got a dog that has belly or digestion trouble. You could also bring the article by Susan Torgerson mentioned above, to your veterinary for more background information.
The Norwegian Lundehund Club also has an IL-contact group that can help you with some advice as far as possible.
In serious cases, the dog can get swollen with fluids leaking from the bowels into the body or inner organs, which can give symptoms that look like poisoning or heart failure. If this is the case, it's usually a good idea to remind a veterinary unexperienced with lundehunds, that the dog could have IL instead.