The breed was originally trained to hunt all types of game from squirrels and other rodents to bears.

[2] However, several Arctic dog breeds show a genetic closeness with the now-extinct Taymyr wolf of North Asia due to admixture.

These breeds are associated with high latitudes - the Karelo-Finnish Laika, the Siberian husky and Greenland dog that are also associated with arctic human populations, and to a lesser extent the Shar Pei.

An admixture graph of the Greenland dog indicates a best-fit of 3.5% shared material, however an ancestry proportion ranging between 1.4% and 27.3% is consistent with the data.

This introgression could have provided early dogs living in high latitudes with phenotypic variation beneficial for adaption to a new and challenging environment.

[3] It is assumed that the Finnish Spitz developed from Spitz-type dogs that came from central Russia with migrants 3,000 years ago.

[4] These small clans of woodsmen relied on their dogs to help them obtain food, and the excellent hunting ability of the Finnish Spitz made it a favorite choice.

[1] Thirty years of careful breeding resulted in the modern Finnish Spitz; the dogs are descendants of his original foundation stock.

[6] Finnish Kennel Club has revised the breed standard six times, and the latest version was confirmed in 1996.

In 1979, when the club celebrated its 90th anniversary, the Finnish Spitz was declared Finland's national dog breed.

The club is also working for including the hunting experience with the Finnish Spitz on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

[7] The proper conformation is a square build, meaning that the length of the body is the same or slightly shorter than the height of the withers to the ground.

Failing to shed undercoat is considered neglect by some judges who prefer a clean and combed coat.

A fawn-colored puppy or one with a large amount of white of the chest is not preferable for show purposes.

The coat is usually at its darkest shade on the back of the dog, gradually getting lighter around the chest and belly.

This breed will not adapt well to a strictly kenneled living situation; they need a balance of outdoor exercise and indoor play time with the family.

They are bred as a hunting dog and thus are unreliable around small animals and pet birds, but on an individual basis may live well with cats, especially if they are raised with them.