Breeding quality Norwegian Elkhounds for over 50 years.
Norman and Mitzie Vig purchased their first Norwegian Elkhound in 1960, and have been breeding Norwegian Elkhounds ever since.
TOP IMAGE: Kamloops Norwegian Elkhound Specialty shows Best Brood Bitch: Ch Ryfjeld’s Driva av Vigeland handled by Norm Vig (right of centre) and her off-spring: Ch. Vigeland’s Trygg Sigbjorn on the right (handled by Pat Trip). On the far right is Ch. Driva’s Miss Hilja av Vigeland (handled by Mitzie Vig). Far left is: Ch Vigeland’s Royken, and The Top winning Dog in Obedience in Kamloops, Vigeland’s Tzar CD. (handled by Karen Chernencoff of Solbakken Kennels). Under Judge Leslie Rogers, and Royken’s handler is Mark Webster.
We were living in Alberta at the time, at the North end of Sylvan Lake. In 1961, we bred our bitch to “cedarstone’s Fritz” owned by Natalie Madanski, near Edmonton. Natalie was most helpful in getting us started on the right foot. She recomended joining the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC), registering a kennel name, Vigeland, and getting our tattoo letters, When our bitch, Maggie, presented us with nine puppies on our son Ole’s first birthday, December 29th, l961, we were members of the CKC, and all set to properly name, tattoo and register our puppies.
You can find out more about Vigeland Kennels on our About Us page.
Trygg winning Best of Breed at the Norwegian Elkhound Specialty in Kamloops
That was the start, and over the past 52 years, we have imported five different bitches from the top Norwegian Elkhound kennels in Norway. In 1968, our first import “Ch. Ryfjeld’s Driva av Vigeland” started a new trend for us. All our dogs were shown well-groomed, but not a whisker or hair was clipped on them. Elkhounds are hunting dogs, and their whiskers are needed to protect them in bushy conditions.
Driva was a great bitch, producing “Ch. Vigeland’s Trygg Sigbjorn” from her first litter. Trygg became the Top Winning Norwegian Elkhound in Canada in 1973, and placed second in 1974. Driva produced many champions, and her offspring became the foundation stock of many kennels. Driva was sent to California to be bred to the TOP DOG ALL BREEDS in the USA, “Ch. Vin-Melca’s Vagabond”.
Jack (BIS, BISS Can Am Champion Seacrest Jade’s Legacy) winning Best of Show at the 2016 Yukon show in Whitehorse
Having been members of the Norsk Kennel Klub for a number of years, we have attempted to breed our elkhounds according to the tried and true Norwegian Standard for the Grey Elkhounds. Elghund is incorrectly translated as elkhound unfortunately. The direct translation is MOOSEDOG. Moose is ELG in Norwegian, and dog is HUND. They are not a hound, and should be placed with the other Spitz type dogs at Dog Shows, or preferably in a Spitz Group, which is where they are shown in Europe.
BIS, BISS Can Am Champion Seacrest Jade’s Legacy (Jack) taken at the Norwegian Elkhound Club of Canada Specialty held in Winnipeg, Manitoba on Nov. 11, 2017.
In 1977, we purchased a place in Atlin, BC, in the Northwest corner of BC. So for the past 35 years, we have divided our time between our farm in Abbotsford, BC, and the wilderness of Atlin. Our dogs enjoy the three-day trip north in the spring and the three-day trip home again in the fall. They especially enjoy houseboat trips on beautiful Atlin Lake, and our moosehunting expeditions in the fall.
You can read more about the dogs on Our Dogs page.
Or view them in the Photo Gallery.
View information about Puppies Available
If you are interested in the Norwegian Elkhound we would love to hear from you, and we would try to answer any question that you may have. We will continue to breed one or two litters of quality puppies a year. The puppies are ready to go to their new homes at eight weeks of age.They will have had all the necessary shots, they will be micro-chipped, and registered with the CKC.
You can contact us by telephone at: Sheila Vig Robertson in Whitehorse, Yukon at 867-668-3885 or cell: 867-334-2916
Email Sheila at : clif@northwestel.net
Copyright Vigeland Kennels Ltd. 2019