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Danish-Swedish Farmdogs are small, compact dogs with a big attitude and a passion for a job and a challenge. The American Kennel Club’s 202nd recognized breed and newest member of the Working Group is eligible to start competing in AKC events on January 1, 2025. Aimee Parramore Kincaid, President of the Danish-Swedish Farmdog Club of America, has helped usher the breed to recognition.

Moving to Recognition

While the Danish-Swedish Farmdog is joining the ranks of breeds recognized by the AKC, it isn’t a new breed. As old as the Vikings, skeletons of similar Farmdog types 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 U.S., and ‘Dansk Svensk Gardshund’ or ‘Danski’ in Europe,” says Kincaid. “It’s popular in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands; you see people walking them everywhere.”

Once seen on small farms in Denmark and Sweden, the Farmdog nearly became extinct when the Industrial Revolution came and farms were sold. But the Danish and Swedish kennel clubs worked together to save them. When officially naming the breed, Denmark and Sweden held the dog in such high esteem that neither country wanted to relinquish ownership. Hence, the breed carries both country names.

While Farmdogs likely accompanied their families to the U.S. 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 Prinsesse Madeleine” from Denmark in 1999, and Brita Lemmon of California imported “Gonzo’s Folmer (Vago) from Denmark in 2000.

Farquhar-Chang, Riisgaard-Pedersen, and Lemmon organized a Danish-Swedish Farmdog 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. A second club soon emerged. In 2019, the two clubs merged as the official AKC Danish-Swedish Farmdog Club of America. In 2021, the club piloted the breed into the Miscellaneous Class.

From FSS to Working Group

Becoming an AKC-recognized breed involves meeting specific requirements that begin with the FSS and Miscellaneous Class. Before a breed can enter FSS, a foreign registry must recognize the breed, and U.S. club members must begin an accurate record-keeping 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 Farmdog in 2019.

While not eligible for AKC registration in the FSS class, the breed may compete in companion events. Moving into the Miscellaneous Class is the next step. Before a breed can enter Miscellaneous, it must have 150 dogs with three-generation pedigrees, a written breed standard, and one club representing the breed in the U.S.

Kincaid estimates there are about 400 Danish-Swedish Farmdogs 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 Breed Knowledge

Receiving full AKC recognition means letting the public know there’s a new breed in town. When people in the U.S. see Danish-Swedish Farmdogs for the first time, they don’t know what breed they are, but they’ll likely 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,” Kincaid says. “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 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 Farmdog.” “It’s our favorite t-shirt, and we wear it when we’re out with our dogs,” Kincaid says.

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

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 Farmdog’s smaller size,” she remembers.

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 it’s not a Terrier, but a Pinscher-type dog most likely descended from Pinscher-Fox Terrier crosses,” Kincaid says.

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

“A multipurpose barnyard dog, DSFs live to hunt vermin, but at home, they’re one of the easiest dogs to live with,” Kincaid says. A dedicated and hardy working breed, Farmdogs are far from needy, capable of entertaining themselves, and, like a cat, will lie on their back 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 nearly all performance events and take quickly to training. Many Farmdog owners report that their dogs possess 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 are even known to go after iguanas.

“The best part comes when you settle down; they do, too,” Kincaid says. “If you like a dog sleeping with you, they’ll happily curl up under the covers and cuddle.”

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

Measuring Health

The club is committed to the breed’s health. “The Farmdog’s biggest attribute is its health,” Kincaid says. “The typical life span is 16 to 18 years, and the oldest in California was healthy until he died at age 20.”

With no genetic issues common in the breed, many club members voluntarily test their adult dogs for hip and elbow dysplasia, patellar luxation, primary lens luxation (PLL), and perform BAER hearing tests on puppies.

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

The U.S. breed standard is the same as the FCI standard, which enables breeders to maintain diversity. “We’re not breeding for specific traits, although we’re trying to improve the type,” Kincaid says. “We want judges to identify a dog that looks like a Farmdog.”

If you see a dog on the street that looks like a cuddler, a charmer, and a willing worker, know that it’s not a South Carolina Squirrel Dog but a Danish-Swedish Farmdog.