Not too long ago in April 2007 several breeders banded together to pay for a group ad in the Dog World issue that featured the Icelandic Sheepdog. We were all members of the Icelandic Sheepdog Association of America (ISAA). The ad listed the ISAA website as a contact for all of us. We were all such good friends and so excited about the future back then.

Other breeders had their own individual ads as well if I remember correctly.

I also placed my own separate ad which a great friend designed for me. I only had one call from that ad but I sold a wonderful puppy named Vinlands Loa to a fantastic couple in Minnesota.

From time to time Dog World and their near relation, Dog Fancy, still contact me to see if I would run that ad again. It is rather expensive and I’m retired and living on a fixed, but decreasing, income so I’ve always declined.

This year Icelandic Sheepdogs are again going to be featured, not alone but along with several other breeds, this time in an upcoming issue of Dog Fancy. Someone from Dog Fancy contacted several of us and asked if we would do individual ads or perhaps join together to place a group ad in that issue.

We talked with one another and decided that we would do another group ad and that this time we would also have a group website that interested people could go to in order to find Icelandics. The idea snowballed and we now have a small website. We call ourselves the Icelandic Sheepdog International Breeders (ISIB). All of the US and Canadian people on the ISIB website are members of the ISAA, some are lifetime members. We do not have a chat-room, have never had a meeting, and do not discuss issues. We are not a club and do not want to be a club.

Attached to this blog entry is a copy of our ISIB ad. Somehow the color blue was switched to red. Computers are amazing,aren't they?

We listed two phone numbers in the ad, an east coast one and a west coast one, in case readers of Dog Fancy do not have an internet connection.

We appreciate all the ISAA has done for the breed. Our ISAA breed club has done a great job. It is our turn now to help them by expanding the number of breeders that advertise thereby increasing public awareness.

Since some of the breeders that were interested in advertising in Dog Fancy are not ISAA members because they live in Europe or Iceland, having an "international" name is a way of encompassing everyone and explaining to the public that there are many options to explore when looking to buy an Icelandic Sheepdog.

In the December 2008 issue of Dog World Chihuahuas are featured. I counted almost 30 big separate color ads for Chihuahuas. In the classified pages of Dog World there are an additional regular 30 +/- ads.

I don’t think we will ever be taken seriously until we increase our exposure. We hope the small amount of additional exposure we’ve provided with our ISIB ad will add to the prestige of the Icelandic Sheepdogs and the ISAA.

We decided to step up to the plate, put our money where our mouths are, place the ISIB ad in Dog Fancy and help the ISAA with a show of our confidence in the great job they are doing!