In the first half of the 19th century, Norwegian captain Wilhelm Conrad Dunker crossed several scent hounds and gave the new breed his name. A blue-marbled coat, often with pale blue wall eyes, has long been a hallmark. That colour is optional, which is good news for health.
| FCI | Group 6 (Scent hounds and related breeds), Section 1.2 Medium-sized Hounds, Standard No. 203, with working trial |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Norway |
| Height at the withers | Males 50 to 58 cm (ideal 52 to 54 cm), females 47 to 54 cm (ideal 49 to 51 cm) |
| Weight | Not specified in the FCI standard |
| Life expectancy | No reliable study figure found (N/A) |
| Coat | Straight, harsh, dense and not too short |
| Colours according to the standard | Diluted black with tan markings or blue mottled (merle) with pale fawn and white markings; deep black with warm brown less desirable; 50 % white or more undesirable |
Hare hounds from all over Norway
The standard says the scent-hound group then included hare hounds from across Norway. By the 1980s, inbreeding had made most Dunkers too closely related. After several applications, outcrossing was approved and, according to the FCI, significantly improved diversity and health. The population remains small. Related Norwegian hounds include the Hygen Hound (Hygenhund) and the Halden Hound (Haldenstøver).
A hunting dog who can be a companion too
The standard describes a hardy, robust dog with strong nerves, particularly sociable and trusting. Good temperament and openness make training easy, combining hunting dog and companion. The nose nevertheless remains a hare hunter’s, and fresh scent outweighs any treat.
Merle: permitted, not required
The standard accepts two colours equally: black and tan or merle with pale markings. Wall eyes are permitted only in merles, and white patches within merle are faults. Merle has a health drawback. In a US study of 153 merle dogs of various breeds, 2,7 per cent of single merles were deaf in one ear and 0,9 per cent in both, compared with 10 and 15 per cent of double merles (Strain et al. 2009). Double merles arise from two merle parents. Ask both parents’ colours and whether puppies receive hearing tests.
What Norwegian laboratory data shows
A Norwegian veterinary-faculty analysis of blood samples from 2001 to 2018 listed the Dunker among breeds at increased hypothyroidism risk. In 15 affected Dunkers, the odds ratio was 2,1 against all submitted samples and 1,5 against new Norwegian Kennel Club registrations, the latter not significant (Ringstad et al. 2022). No reliable life-expectancy figure exists: McMillan and colleagues list but do not analyse the Norwegian Hound.
Exercise and coat
Built for endurance with ground-covering movement, the dog gains more from tracking and mantrailing than ball games. The harsh, dense coat needs little: weekly brushing, with ear and paw checks after woodland outings.
Who may find a Dunker too much
Anyone expecting woodland off-lead freedom or a silent dog is unlikely to enjoy this breed. For active rural people who like nose work, this Norwegian is an agreeable partner, whether black and tan or a single merle from a carefully planned mating.
To see whether a friendly scent hound suits you, try the breed quiz, with a more thorough look in our book “Welcher Hund passt WIRKLICH zu dir?” (book in German). For the first weeks with a puppy, there is the free Puppy Starter Pack. If a Dunker already shares your home, find ideas among our dog portraits or as a downloadable digital artwork.
Further reading
- Australian Shepherd: what MDR1 and merle mean for you
- Beagle: a nose with a dog attached, and what that means day to day
- Is my dog overweight? How to assess body condition and ideal weight
Sources, accessed on 20.10.2026: FCI-Standard Nr. 203 Dunker (fci.be, German version dated 30.01.2020, English version dated 03.06.2016, valid original standard dated 04.04.2016); Ringstad NK et al., Breed distributions for diabetes mellitus and hypothyroidism in Norwegian dogs, Canine Medicine and Genetics 2022; Strain GM et al., Prevalence of deafness in dogs heterozygous or homozygous for the merle allele, Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 2009; McMillan KM et al., Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death, Scientific Reports 2024 (breed listed but not analysed).
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