The Norwegian Elkhound

Animal souls are such an important part of the universe, with the dog being especially important among Western cultures especially America. Each breed of dog is meant for a certain purpose, so the least we as humans can do is do some research into different breeds to make sure you are the right person to make that dog's purpose come true.

Through my life, I have been exposed to a wide variety of species of dogs that all have their main distinct attributes. Always trying to market research and find the dog species that is a perfect fit.

It's funny though with all this research, it wasn't research that found the dog breed that I could make the happiest, it was the universe. My girlfriend had done a bunch of research before I met her and went to Amish country to find a certain type of breed, the Norwegian Elkhound. She came back with Trigger, the dog you see in the photos.

I was unaware of the breed, the Norwegian Elkhound and wow is it an interesting breed. It's native habitat is Norway and neighboring Scandinavian countries and its purpose is to track and hunt down elk.

Yes I said elk.

Those big freakin mammoths of an animal.

An elk :)

Somehow this 50 pound dog species can kill these massive animals.

How do they do it? Especially since an elk weighs several hundred, if not thousand pounds, more than the dog.

They run them to death.

That's right, Norwegian Elkhounds will literally run the elk up to 10-12 miles until the elk is so tired it dies of exhaustion.

To me, this is absolutely an incredible miracle of nature. How the heck can a 50 pound dog run that long and take down these massive beasts who could easily kill it with one full stomp.

It's all about endurance.

Practice, we talkin about practice?! :)

Elkhounds have to work there way up to being able to run those excessive amounts of distance. It usually takes them 2-5 years to be able to successfully build up the stamina to take down an elk.

So to help Trigger, my Norwegian Elkhound, fulfill his purpose, I have been building up his stamina through daily hikes, jogs, and sprinting. I try and space it out throughout the day into 3 or 4 30-minutes segments to make sure not to overwork himself or myself haha.

Over the past few months, Trigger has worked his way up to be able to run 8 miles (albeit in cold weather) and he is roughly 1.5 years old. We go on runs throughout the neighborhood, various parks in the areas, and on long jogs in the wooded paths. He definitely likes running through snow the best however. The guy loves his snow haha.

I hope this brought some value to you as I know a lot of people who should have done more research before they got their dog to maximize the happiness it will receive.

I am happy I found a dog who I can make the happiness by providing him:

• the ideal habitat (Ohio has four seasons with pretty cold winters),

• allowing it to achieve its purpose (building up endurance so that he can hunt elk),

• and giving him unconditional love.

Thanks again for your time and attention. I hope you find the dog and.or animal that you can bring the maximum amount of happiness to and help it fulfill its life purpose.

All photographs (except for the elk) taken by myself or girlfriend.

Namaste

@chiefmappster