Fun Dunker Facts For Kids

Dunkers are a medium-sized breed of dog and are also known as the Norwegian elkhound. They get the name because they hail from Norway. The Dunker is a mixed breed between the Russian Harlequin and the Norwegian scent hound.

The Dunker dog breed was bred by a man named Wilhelm Dunker. Hence, the breed takes its name from the name of the man himself. The height of the Dunker is different for both genders.

Male Dunker dogs stand at an average height of 19.5 - 21.5 in (50 - 55cm). Female Dunker dogs generally have a height of  18.5 - 20.5 inc (47 - 52cm).

The Dunker can be seen with a long neck. A Dunker's forelegs are straight, and their shoulders flaunt a slope. The top line of a Dunker is straight and level.

The chest of a Dunker has a slight tuck. This makes the Dunker have a sleek appearance. To know more about this breed, keep on reading.

If you like what you are reading, then check out Maltese Shih Tzu facts and Alaskan Husky facts.

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Dunker Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a Dunker?

The Dunker is a type of dog.

What class of animal does a Dunker belong to?

The Dunker or the Norwegian hound belongs to the class of mammals.

How many Dunkers are there in the world?

Although the exact number of dunker dogs or Norwegian hound dogs is not known, they are fairly few in number. In the past ten years, there has been a rise of Dunker puppies by the rate of 131 - 180. There are fewer than 200 registrations of new Dunker puppies per year.

Where does a Dunker live?

Dunker dogs make excellent pets. Since Dunkers are family-friendly, they are suitable to live domestically.

What is a Dunker's habitat?

Dunker dogs are scent hounds. These particular scent hounds hail from Norway. Dunkers are adaptable to extremely cold climates, such as their breeding. Hence, they can live in cold places.

However, it is also true that a Dunker can adapt very well to different climates. Hence, they are comfortable in shifting with their humans from one place to another. They thrive best when someone stays at home with them. They also can adapt to office environments if they are taken along to one's workplace if it is pet friendly.

Who do Dunkers live with?

Dunkers generally live with people. A Dunker does not do well in solitude.

How long does a Dunker live?

The Dunker's average life span is 12 - 15 years. In some cases, Dunkers can live up to 20 years.

How do they reproduce?

Dunkers are mammals. Hence they reproduce by copulation. The average gestation period lasts between 58 - 68 days following which the female Dunker gives birth to a litter of 3-5  puppies.

What is their conservation status?

The conversation status of a Dunker has not yet been listed; although, the number of dunkers present in the world is fairly few.

Dunker Fun facts

What do Dunkers look like?

The Dunker has a very sleek appearance. Its head has a clean shape. The Dunker flaunts a straight topline and strong quarters. One of the best features of this dog is the amazing colors of its coat, the most enviable ones being blue marbled, or black.

How cute are they?

The Dunker has a long and clean, noble head. The skull is not wedge-shaped and has a parallel and low skull and muzzle. The skull is slightly dome-shaped.

The cheeks of a Dunker are clean. The nose or the muzzle of a Dunker is long and square. The Dunker also looks tough with its strong hindquarters.

The healthy feet of a Dunker are firm, with soft padding underneath their toes which face forward. A Dunker has a tail that is in line with its back. The tail has a strong base and gradually tapers towards the end. Resting on top of the muzzle is a broad nasal bridge.

The Dunker's teeth have even spacing. The Dunker's nose is black in color and has wide nostrils. Dunkers also have beautiful eyes which are wide-set, round, dark, and large.

Dunkers have low, flat, and wide ears. One of the best features of a Dunker is its coat which is not too short, yet dense and straight. These features of a Dunker make it look cute.

How do they communicate?

Like most dogs, Dunkers communicate by barking. They also use their sense of smell and sound to communicate. Dunkers also use grunting as a means of communication. Grunting may be a sign of warning or protection. In other words, Dunkers may growl to avoid possible conflicts. Dunkers can also growl to show stress, fear, grief, malaise, sorrow, or worry.

How big is a Dunker?

A Dunker dog is almost two and a half times smaller than a regular Labrador. While the Dunker weighs around 25 – 39lb ( 11-18kg), the Labrador weighs around 55 - 79lb (25 - 36kg).

How fast can a Dunker run?

Dunkers love to run. They can't stay in one place for too long since they are hunting dogs. Dunkers can achieve a speed of 43mph or 73kph.

How much does a Dunker weigh?

A Dunker weighs around 25 – 39lb (11 - 18kg).

What are their male and female names of the species?

Male dogs are just called dogs. However, he can be called a sire if he has children, or a stud if he participates in inbreeding. On the other hand, a female dog is called a bitch. So the male and female names for Dunkers are Dunker dogs and Dunker bitches.

What would you call a baby Dunker?

Baby Dunkers are called puppies or puppy Dunkers.

What do they eat?

Dunkers are omnivorous creatures. They need a mixed protein diet containing both plant and animal protein. The ideal diet for a Dunker would be two or three and a half cups of dry dog food of superior quality. This should be further divided into a minimum of two meals per day.

Are they slobbery?

Dunkers are not too slobbery. They salivate on a moderate to average level.

Would they make a good pet?

Like most dogs, Dunkers make good pets. A Dunker can be quite calm given that their daily activity needs are fulfilled. In this case, they will not mind resting with their humans or having a lazy time as well.

Also, Dunkers are quite friendly in nature. Once they are made familiar with socializing, they mix well with kids.

Hence, they make for good family dogs. Dunkers are also very playful, friendly, and affectionate. As a result, a Dunker can be a great company.

Although training these dogs is not impossible, one requires a lot of patience to train these hounds. One needs to be commanding with these dogs. When these dogs go after prey, they make baying noises.

It is just how these dogs were bred. As a result, these dogs can make such noises in one's house too.

One can train these animals to stop on command, however, this habit of the dogs will never completely fade away. While training these animals, it is necessary to accustom the dogs to different and varied people, children, places, sounds, smells, and other animals. Only then can these dogs become more affectionate.

Did you know...

The Dunker has two layers of coat. The inner layer contains down hairs that are soft in nature. These hairs are used for keeping the heat in. On the other hand, the outer layer is used to keep away dirt and water. This layer is composed of hard guard hair.

Dunkers are very active dogs. They were mainly bred for hunting.

However, they are quite affectionate and friendly given the proper grooming, exercise, and training. It is essential for Dunkers to have good training, grooming, and exercise because without adequate grooming and exercise Dunkers can channel their energy aggressively.

Training for hunting can be easy as Dunkers respond well to such exercise. However, Dunkers are known to be stubborn and demand experienced trainers or handlers who can make them exercise. Dunkers are so active that they can easily run after something on a rough land for hours, even in rough weather.

These dogs have humongous endurance and stamina levels. Therefore, it is necessary for them to exercise, not just physically but mentally too.

Every Dunker should be taken out for hunting for at least an hour per day. Hunting is something it loves to do.

Although a hike or a jog is a good idea, the best escape for these hounds would be to leave them to run unleashed at a safe place where they can come back from.

However, it is important to keep them on a leash while taking them out for a walk, in order to make other nearby animals safe from their search.

Dunker needs to be well exercised. On not meeting their exercising needs they can turn out to be loud, destructive, nervous, hyperactive.

This leads them to be a difficult company. Hence, a Dunker should ideally live in a house with a fenced yard.

History Of The Dunker

The Dunker has a rich history as compared to other American dogs or any other dogs. Military officer and author from Norway, Captain Wilhelm Conrad Dunker, came up with the idea of a new breed of scent hound.

This idea came to him at the beginning of the 19th century and he wanted this new breed to be able to work in his homeland, where the conditions were rough. This place was in Norway.

Norway provided one of the harshest terrains for any hunting dog. It is so because the lands are not well developed and rocky.

Moreover, the climate in Norway presents an extreme cold. Captain Dunker chose the Russian Harlequin as his base breed.

This Russian Harlequin was also a mixed breed between English Foxhounds, Russian hounds, and varying breeds of Russian dogs. The Russian Harlequin was his first choice because it had the traits of having an excellent sense of scent, and it could endure extreme cold.

The second breed of dog used by Captain Dunker is not exactly known. Word around says that it was a number of scent hound breeds, and some Spitzens too.

Finally, he succeeded in creating a new and unique dog breed that specialized in hunting and did not perish under severe weather conditions. Following this, the Norwegian hound or the Dunker slowly became popular all across the country, especially with hunters, throughout the 1800s.

Variations Of The Dunker

Although variations of Dunkers are not found within the species, these dogs are found in black, or blue marbled variations.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other mammals including the Beagle lab mix, or Cheagles.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our Dunker coloring pages.