Does anyone know the breed of dog that the Vikings had? I'm talking about the big red dog. Thanks for any help.
I believe that is a scottish deerhound. Closely related to the Irish wolfhound.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Deerhound
A little peace? Why be so modest. Why not eternal peace. -Eleanor of Aquitaine, The Lion in Winter
That's really a great question, but of course the Vikings had many dogs AND cats which were working animals on the farms. That did strike me as a bit contrivance in the film since the lack of guard dogs allowed the 13 warrior's stealth approach the bearclan's lairs.
Besides wolflike cross dogs that resembled Siberian huskies they also had the Nordic super sturdy SkoggKatt. That was a larger fierce rat killer that had heavy fur coats & very strong claws making them great climbers. The Viking's supreme Godess Freya rode a charriot shown drawn by SkoggKatts, they were so large & sturdy.
Great site here showing all, and Wiki has the SkoggKatt too
http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/vik_pets.shtml