Their homeland is the region extending across the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, and Finland.
Similar dogs occur in adjoining regions of Russia.
Most of Lapland is north of the Arctic Circle, and for centuries the Sami people who live there have relied on the reindeer for food and clothing, first hunting and then herding them. Their dogs likewise helped first in hunting, then in herding. The Norwegians and the Swedes were the first to look at the possibilities of standardizing the Lapland herding dogs, with more interest developing in Sweden. After the war, representatives of the kennel clubs of both Finland and Sweden sent representatives to the Lapp region to select foundation stock, but differences of opinion soon arose, breeders in the two countries desiring slightly different types. The standard for the Swedish Lapphund was approved by the FCI in 1944, and eventually the Finnish Lapphund was recognized as a separate breed.