Icelandic Sheepdog, Facing Extinction Despite Its Adaptation to Ice and Snow
The Icelandic Sheepdog, also known as the Icelandic Dog, is one of the oldest dog breeds in the world. It was brought to Iceland as early as between 874 and 930 AD by Scandinavian settlers. The Icelandic Sheepdog is highly adapted to the local environment, terrain, and herding methods, and over the centuries, the Icelanders have regarded it as an indispensable assistant for survival. The Icelandic Sheepdog is very cold-resistant and able to adapt to Iceland's harsh environment and terrain. It is fearless in the absence of roads and bad weather, and surprisingly, in Iceland’s icy and snowy environment, the Icelandic Sheepdog not only survives well but also has a relatively long lifespan.
The Icelandic Sheepdog is energetic, lively, intelligent, amiable, and affectionate, but the Icelandic Sheepdog matures later, and its personality becomes stable only after it is 18 months old. The Icelandic Sheepdog has medium size with alert eyes with eyebrows, strong front legs, an arched head, a short and precise muzzle, a large and black nose. The Icelandic Sheepdog’s coat is double-layered, with a rough outer layer and a soft inner layer. The Icelandic Sheepdog’s colors include: light yellow, reddish-brown, dark brown, gray, gold, red, brown-red and black, often with white patches.
The Icelandic Sheepdog is a medium-sized dog, a local guardian and patrol dog. Although this breed looks quite small and cute, it is very fierce and has strong attack power. It is known as the Viking’s Bitches. The Icelandic Sheepdog has a special function, which is to use its sensitive sense of smell to find lost cattle and sheep, and to bark to drive cattle and sheep.
Nowadays, the Icelandic Sheepdog no longer needs to graze or survive in the wild, and its hunting instinct has weakened. However, the Icelandic Sheepdog still likes to bark at anything, seeing cars, small animals, birds flying in the sky or other fast-moving objects, it will bark a few times, so it should be socialized with the Icelandic Sheepdog early in its life to correct its habit of barking.
The Icelandic Sheepdog is a very intelligent sheepdog, it can work independently and instinctively, rather than following the owner. The Icelandic Sheepdog has keen alertness, which is due to its working environment. When driving cattle and sheep, many unexpected things may happen, it not only needs to take care of the cattle and sheep, but also consider the safety of the owner. Therefore, it must always be vigilant to protect the owner and the cattle and sheep. It can be said that the Icelandic Sheepdog is very responsible.
The affectionate Icelandic Sheepdog likes to be the core of family life, it is very friendly and kind-hearted, likes to be with people, it especially likes to play with children, it is a very loyal companion dog. It is intelligent, cheerful, friendly, curious, and eager to please, loves games, and is an fearless companion dog. The Icelandic Sheepdog needs at least one walk and playtime every day, it is happy to accompany the owner on long hiking trips. As long as it has enough exercise, it is relatively quiet in the room.
Due to its outstanding endurance and excellent character, the intelligence of the Icelandic Sheepdog is reflected in its strong understanding and comprehension ability. The Icelandic Sheepdog is very clever and belongs to the type that ‘gets it instantly’ during training, and can be well-obedient to training.
Although the Icelandic Sheepdog is very fierce, its temperament is stable, which is different from other fierce dogs. The Icelandic Sheepdog is easy to raise, obedient, agile, brave, and likes to work. When it’s idle, the Icelandic Sheepdog will play with the owner like a child, which is very popular with the owner.
The Icelandic Sheepdog is both loyal and submissive to the owner, it is flexible-minded and learns quickly. The Icelandic Sheepdog is not suitable for raising in cities, as it likes to bark, is stubborn, it is suitable for raising in remote rural areas, factories, etc., it is a very good watch dog, guard dog.
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