The Icelandic Sheepdog is one of the oldest breeds of dogs in the world. These dogs were brought by the Vikings settlers to Iceland, along with sheep and horses between 874-930AD. To date these dogs have not changed much from the original breed. Icelandic Sheepdogs are the descendants of the Nordic Spitz. The breed easily adapted to the cold climate with their dual layer coat. With the help of their dew claws on their rear legs they became invaluable herders navigating the steep terrain of Iceland looking for their sheep and horses. For these reasons the dogs became an asset to the farmers who had livestock.
These dogs are alert, friendly, and very intelligent. They are devoted to their family and generally love people and get along well with other dogs and animals. The breed comes in a variety of colors but white must always accompany the main color. The most common color is various shades of tan, ranging from cream to reddish brown. Other acceptable colors include chocolate brown, black and grey.
It is written that in the twentieth century the breed almost became extinct due to an outbreak of distemper. Only dogs that lived in remote areas of Iceland survived. In the 1930's an Englishman, Mark Watson was passionate to save the Icelandic Sheepdog, he traveled throughout the countryside to find the best specimens of the breed. Twenty years later Mark and his friend Páll Pálson came to the states with their dogs and started Wensum Kennel.
In 1969 Sigríður Pétursdóttir of "frá Olafsvellir" kennel founded The Icelandic Kennel Club, then almost 30 years later with only a small number of dogs in the states the Icelandic Sheepdog Association of America was established in 1997.
If you would like to know more about this wonderful breed I suggest you visit the
ISAA Website. www.icelanddogs.com
Click here to see the breed standard. www.icelanddogs.com/Standard-AKC.html
