What we have come to call Icelandic Sheepdogs today were in the past good old fashioned all around farm dogs for centuries in Iceland. They were great at what they did and how they fit into the everyday life of the Icelanders. They were truly part of the families. Their looks are really nice but it was what they did that was important to the survival of those herders and farmers.
There are still people who try to take advantage of those special traits in Icelandics for herding, tirelessly working, getting along fabulously with humans that we all love in our dogs.
Doing the recommended health tests and using the results of those tests to produce puppies in such a way as to increase the overall genetic health of Icelandics is important to every serious, conscientious breeder.
Using their innate temperaments in herding, therapy visits, agility. obedience, search and rescue, etc. continues to take advantage of the unique traits of our special dogs.
It is my hope for the future of our dogs that we use them in ways that are natural for them.
The best predictor of future performance or behavior is past performance or behavior.
If we capitalize on what is there, the future for Icelandics is secure.
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