OK, so maybe he is not so "mighty" yet, but he is mighty cute! And mighty soft! He is a 4 week old Norwegian Elkhound/Great Pyrenees crossed puppy! He needed a home and the children were happy to provide him with one. We got him from the Stephens on Wednesday, August 31st.
He looks very much like the pictures we see of the Norwegian Elkhound, even though he is half Pyrenees. I didn't know anything about Elkhounds before, so I found it interesting to read up on the breed. They are supposed to be a medium sized dog, getting to be 60-70 pounds and about 20 inches tall, but the Pyr in him may make him a bit larger. Here are some excerpts from the Wikipedia article about the Norwegian Elkhound:
The Norwegian Elkhound is one of the ancient Northern Spitz-type breed of dog and is the National Dog of Norway. The Elkhound has served as a hunter, guardian, herder, and defender. In a land of subzero temperatures, deep snow, thick forests, and rugged mountains, only the hardiest of the breeds could evolve to perform the variety of jobs at which the Elkhound excels....
Norwegian Elkhounds are bred for hunting large game, such as wolf, bear and moose. Although the breed is strong and hardy, the dogs typically have an inseparable bond with their masters and are quite loyal. All Elkhounds have a sharp loud bark which makes them suitable as watchdogs.
Norwegian Elkhounds are loyal to their "pack" and make excellent family dogs given proper attention. It is bold, playful, independent, alert, extremely intelligent, and, at times, a bit boisterous...
Since the breed is the national dog of Norway and is also nicknamed "the dog of the Vikings", we thought a powerful Norse name would be fitting for him. Thor was always one of my favorite characters in Norse mythology, as well as in the comics, so Thor was the first name I thought of. For me the name conjures up an image of a powerful guard dog that will strike fear in the hearts of would-be evil doers that may dare darken the confines of our fair abode! I guess everyone else liked the name, too, because it seems to have stuck with him!
Luna and Chief are already great guard dogs and they have always detered the bad guys from coming around Pure Water Hollow. I think they also help keep the coyotes and bears away from the stock. Hopefully, they will train young Thor to also be a great guardian and protector of our homestead! Chief is getting old, and soon Thor will be the new sidekick for Luna. I think he will make a very good one!
He is rather small, cute and helpless now, but I'm sure he will grow quickly. I wanted to get some pictures on here of when he was small and cute so here are some of that were taken earlier today.
Luna seems to like him very much!
I think it will be fun to watch Luna and Thor play as he gets bigger and fiestier. Sometimes Luna tries to get Chief to play with her, but he is seldom interested in that foolishness! Soon, she will likely have more to handle than she may want! But it will be good for her to have a friend to chase around in circles and wrestle with.
We are praying that Thor will be a good dog and a great addition to our homestead!
Too cute!
ReplyDeleteAmanda
Matthew 6:33