Finnish Lapphund Dog Names

The Finnish Lapphund was fully accepted into the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 2011. While some people were familiar with the breed, most of the U.S. did not know a thing about these interesting dogs. That changed in February of 2012 when the Lappie was introduced into homes across the U.S. during the Westminster Kennel Club’s annual dog show held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Ted Blanch of Boerne, Texas was a bundle of nerves when his Finnish Lapphund, Nova, was invited to this prestigious dog show. Before entering the world of dog shows, Blanch showed horses and was well known in Texas for his horse sense. Nova, or more formally Grand Champion Sugarok Casanova, came to Blanch from Lappie breeder Linda Marden of Tennessee. Marden and Blanch competed against each other at the Westminster dog show; however, Nova took a backseat to Marden’s Lappie named Bruce. Bruce took best of breed and went on to compete in the herding group ring. Nova was awarded second and given an award of merit. Bruce was unable to score a win or placement in the herding group ring, but both Blanch and Marden are proud of their Finnish Lapphunds.

 Fast forward to February 2017 and meet the Finnish Lapphund from Alabama named Michael, which is short for Michelangelo. Michael’s handler, Brandi Murray, drove from Alabama to New York City to attend the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club’s annual dog show. Murray has been a professional handler for over 18 years. Michael was issued the invite and Murray was along for the ride. This was not Murray’s first Westminster show though; in 2014 she won best of breed with another Finnish Lapphund named Storm. Aside from handling Michael at dog shows and chauffeuring him around the country, Murray is also his groomer when they are on the road. The Finnish Lapphund has an extremely dense coat and does require a good amount of grooming and pampering to keep them in top condition and ring ready. Michael needs to be groomed daily when he is preparing for a show. This keeps his coat shiny and healthy. At the 2017 Westminster dog show, Michael was competing against a number of other top Lappies from around the country and he had to be in tip top shape. Murray has several shows under her belt with Michael at the end of the leash and she was confident that he would make her proud in the breed ring. However, this year was just not Michael’s time to shine.