Icelandic Sheepdog Dog Breed

The Icelandic Sheepdog, or Friaar dog, is the only dog native to Iceland. They settled in Iceland with their owners as early as 870 A.D. and were prized protectors of sheep, horses, and cattle. Interestingly, Reykjavic (Iceland's capital) banned dog owning in 1924 due to a high human mortality rate from echinococcosis; the parasite is transmitted from dogs to humans and was often fatal. Eventually, the Icelandic dog law was rescinded and dogs were accepted as pets again, however, there are strict requirements and guidelines for ownership in Iceland. The AKC accepted the breed as part of the Herding Group in 2010 but the breed continues to be extremely rare, even in Nordic countries. The following is a quick list of pros and cons to introduce you to the breed:

Members of this breed definitely have the Spitz looks-- many people's first guess is that they are some sort of Icelandic sled dogs. They have the characteristic thick, weather-resistant double coat, the triangular, erect ears, wedge shaped head and muzzle, and the tail curled over the back. They would, for the most part look as if they should be pulling a sled across a frozen tundra if they were not only medium-sized dogs. Instead, breed has long played guardian to flocks of sheep as well as devoted family companions. This page will briefly cover the information on the Icelandic Sheepdog so you can make an informed decision whether this may be the breed for you!

The intelligence of the Icelandic is very high, as with most shepherd breeds. They require an experienced, consistent owner to train them. They are always a step ahead of you and if left bored and under-stimulated can be extremely hard to handle. Icelandics make wonderful therapy dogs and skilled search and rescue dogs.

Members of this breed are great family companions as they are happy, loving and gentle. They do well with other pets, even cats if they are raised with them. Naturally, they may be inclined to hunt small, furry critters like rats so any pet that resembles this type of creature is not a good match for the breed. Experts recommend having other dogs in the house if you spend most of the day at work or school since the breed is prone to separation anxiety.

Exercise needs can be met with long, daily walks. They also enjoy hikes, agility training, rally training and ball games. We recommend at least an hour outdoors each day and access to a fenced yard or large property.

This is the only Icelandic dog breed and there's a very small chance you'll see one outside of its native land. There are no major variations in breed size, coat, etc. accepted in the breed standard. These Icelandic Shepherd dogs are known for their thick, weather resistant coat, therefore, if you ever see a short haired Icelandic Sheepdog you can be sure the coat was shaved or clipped. This isn't really useful to the dog since the ultra thick coat actually insulates them from the weather, although it may reduce the amount of shed hair the owner has to clean up.

The Icelandic Sheepdog temperament is often described as happy-- the expression often makes it seem like they are smiling at you, hard-working, and devoted. Although they excel at farm duties such as hunting down pests like rats and guarding flocks, they are now employed as search and rescue dogs, therapy dogs and family companions. The breed is extremely smart and will need a patient, consistent and prepared owner to keep up with them; we recommend that you are an experienced dog owner that has trained a pet before.

The breed is sweet and gentle with kids and friendly with strangers-- after the initial alert barking has subsided. They should get along with other dogs and even cats, especially when raised with them. The breed is prone to separation anxiety as they bond very closely with their families and are known to bark and dig quite a bit (behaviors which can intensify if bored or lonely). Making sure the high-energy Icelandic gets at least an hour outdoors each day is very important, but they shouldn't live by themselves in a yard without another dog to keep them company.

The Icelandic Sheepdog is a dog with very few well documented health issues. They are pretty rare, especially outside of Nordic countries so we can't assume they are without problems. Hip dysplasia, patellar luxation and eye problems may be issues the breed is prone to, otherwise, they are hardy, cold-weather dogs that typically live 12-14 years. A few things you can do at home to keep your Icelandic Sheepdog healthy are:

• Making and keeping yearly veterinary appointments, even if he/she seems healthy.
• Feed your pet as per your vet's (or the bag's) instructions
• Brushing the teeth weekly from puppy age is very important