People new to our breed quickly discover that Icelandic Sheepdogs are very friendly; they love people. They do not try and hide their love but show it enthusiastically, perhaps sometimes too enthusiastically for those of our friends who are not dog lovers. (Years ago I decided that there must be something wrong with someone who doesn't like pets whether they are dogs, cats, horses, parrots or other birds, some kind of fish, amphibians or reptiles, etc. I still think I'm right.)
Our dogs greet almost everyone exuberantly. That could be a problem. Some people are uncomfortable with an overwhelming Icelandic greeting. (I have a sign immediately inside my house that says, "If you don't like dogs, then why are you here?"
I have found that is very hard to discipline one of my dogs from greeting a visitor. I do not want to completely discourage them and end up with an unsocial dog or asocial dog. Therefore in the early days with your new puppy I would suggest that you teach your guests or people you may meet on the street walking or sitting at a sidewalk cafe how to greet your Icelandic. Some of the rules that apply to other breeds of dogs seem not to apply to our dogs.
If your Icelandic is apt to jump up on people like mine are, teach your friends and visitors to raise their knee and gently knock your dog down and at the same time say, "Off!" After they have done that two or three times your Icelandic will get the idea. Honest. I have found that it does not work for me to say "Off!" to my dog when it jumps up on another person. It has to come from that person or the dog does not seem to understand. Each person has to do that. The dog seems unable to 'universalize' the command.
Children are more interesting than adults to our dogs. I teach children the "Tree" exercise in order to discourage a too friendly dog. (That also works with a hostile dog.) Almost to a child, kids want to pat the dog on the top of the head. That is NOT a good idea. Some dogs hate being touched on the top of the head and react to that negatively. Other children and even adults raise their arms/hands above their shoulder or heads in order to avoid contact. To a dog or puppy, that is a universal gesture called the play bow indicating that the person or dog performing that gesture wants to play. That play bow actually invites the dog or puppy to jump up - which is exactly the opposite of what the child or person wants to convey. Watch closely when two puppies greet one another. Very soon they will both do a play bow and probably a play bark.
So, how should children (and reluctant dog-cautious adults) greet a dog or puppy? They should cross their arms over their chests (not raise them above their heads in a play bow), turn away from the dog or puppy, and completely avoid eye contact. Don't look back. This neutral gesture indicates to the canine that the person does NOT want to interact with them and they will leave the person alone - usually. Some of the more modern breeds have had many of their natural instincts bred out of them and those dogs may not recognize this avoidance gesture. Our dogs are rather primitive and still have most of their innate instincts intact. Our Icelandics will get this. They will understand the message.
Our dogs love other dogs too which could also be a problem. Not all dogs are friendly to other dogs. It is extremely important to take your puppy while it is still young to a puppy kindergarten kind of class. Ideally in that class there will be a short recess or play period where puppies can interact, perhaps on-leash, with one another. Puppies are almost always born into a litter - that's important. In their litter they learn how to interact with other canines. Their early play with one another teaches them not to be too rough. If they are too rough, the other puppies will yowlp and avoid playing with them. Puppies quickly learn HOW to play and not hurt one another. They learn NOT to bite too hard. They learn not to always be 'on top'. If they want to play with their litter mates, they learn to get along. In that way, canines and humans are very similar. Human bullies also should ideally learn that no one wants to be their friend.
The problem with puppies is that they soon leave their litter behind and playing with other canines of similar age usually or often stops. Puppy kindergarten is an excellent way to prolong their early socialization. In a good puppy class, puppies have a chance, albeit a short one, to play peacefully with one another. Larger puppies can play with smaller puppies and usually do so carefully because of their early lessons in getting along. In a good puppy kindergarten, puppies also have a chance to socialize with humans other than their new families and learn that we, as a group and usually, are also safe.
In fact, I think that two of the most important lessons to be learned in a good puppy class are human and canine socialization. The socialization experiences just may be more important than learning to sit or down or heel. Socialization in a puppy class continues and expands on their experiences with their birth litter.
I believe that you will find that our Icelandics almost universally greet other dogs with the same kind of enthusiasm and warmth that they greet humans with and that could be a problem. Watch your puppy closely and if you sense a potential problem, distract your puppy from the possible problem with toys, treat and praise. Ideally you should always have your bait bag with you and a small toy that you can easily tuck into a pocket.
When two Icelandics who are strangers to one another greet one another, they will most likely both roll over on their backs. In dog language, this is at the same time both a submissive gesture and an invitation to play. Let me explain. When most dogs greet each other, one will be submissive (roll over on its back exposing its soft underbelly) and the other dog will stand over it. After a few seconds, usually, both dogs relax and start to play. One has expressed that it is submissive and the other that it is dominant. If both dogs were to remain standing upright, there could be issues.
If both dogs roll over on their backs, they are both saying, "Let's get this dominance/submissive nonsense out of the way so we can play." And they do, then, play.
Years ago when I first discovered Icelandics but before I actually had one, people from Iceland told me that in the old days before WWII they used to put Icelandics in the crib with their babies to keep them warm in the winter. I thought that was just an old wives tale, a myth. I thought it would be crazy to put a child and a dog in bed together. Soon I was learning more about Icelandics with my first one. A friend had experienced their temperament (personality) with my dog and was considering adopting one for herself but she had a three or four month old baby and was concerned about how they would interact. Me too. I suggested that we introduce the baby and dog to one another very carefully in a tightly controlled situation.
We put the baby on the floor and, on a short leash, put my Icelandic on the floor a few feet away from the baby. The dog immediately without warning or without any direction from us, rolled over on her back and the sidled towards the baby using her feet to push herself in its direction. She had never seen a baby before. No part of the dog's body ever touched the baby but she got very close and stayed on her back. It was amazing to watch. I don't suggest that you do that, but if you do, be sure you have complete control of your Icelandic.
How do we explain the amazing temperament (remember? personality) of Icelandics? Remember they have been in Iceland for over a thousand years and they have been good all around, all purpose farm dogs useful for herding but also good guardians of family farms. Any dog that could not be trusted around farm animals and children would have been dispatched. That would have left only the best, the smartest, the friendliest, and the most tractable, to produce the next generation. Multiply that by hundreds of years and it's easy to understand how our dogs got where they are. (By contrast, most modern breeds of dogs are only about a hundred years old.)
As a caution: - I know of maybe three Icelandics that are not typical. They are not friendly, according to what people who have met them say. I have not met them nor have I ever talked with their owners so I'm only guessing about the "why" but my guessing makes sense, at least to me. People who have met these dogs say that they are not sociable. I'm guessing that they were not socialized with other dogs, puppies and humans when they were puppies. That is why I say over and over to the people who adopt my puppies to get them enrolled in a puppy class as soon as possible after they arrive in their new homes. Early socialization for humans and puppies is extremely important for their long term health and wellness.
Someone recently told me that their puppy nips at them. That is also a herding dog behavior and it is easy to change if corrections are done early. In a previous post I explained how to discourage our Icelandics from grabbing at your feet, ankles, pant legs, etc. That is also a herding behavior. You simply, gently so as not to actually hurt your puppy, kick back at the puppy while it is doing that and say something like, "Leave It!" With our dogs three or four times is probably enough to get the message across. You might have to repeat it a few times but it will work if you are consistent.
If your puppy nips at you, when it actually makes contact, say, "Ow!" or "Ouch!" and whine like a hurt dog just a bit. That is a universal sound. A puppy will make that same noise if its playmate hurts it while playing. They understand that noise. If you say ouch and pull away from your puppy a few times, it will understand that it has hurt you - make the noise even if it hasn't actually hurt you. You do not want a puppy or an adult dog that nips at anyone of any age. Ever.
If you have children around, get them to take that seriously also. It is NOT a game. If the puppy nips at them, they must say ouch and stop playing with the puppy. There have to be consequences or the message will be missed. Do not hit or hurt the puppy. That is unnecessary. The withdrawal of affection and stopping playing with them will deliver the message in a better way.
I adopted/rescued a five year old dog a couple of years ago and it still nips at me. The habit was formed and ingrained. We're working on it. We may succeed. One day. Once the pattern is set, it is harder to change the behavior. That dog was also not housebroken. It took almost two years but he is now OK 98/99% of the time.
Speaking of housebreaking: - Because, possibly because, our breed is primitive it may be a little harder to housebreak so you have to be a little more observant. Sometimes, but not usually nor not always, it takes a little more time to produce a completely housebroken dog.
Kria took me a long time to housebreak. It was most definitely MY fault, MY problem. I missed her signal to go out. Each one of my dogs signals me with a different clue when he or she wants to go outside. I had my computer upstairs back then. While I was working on my computer she would come all the way upstairs and want to get up onto my lap. I would pick her up, pet her a bit and then put her down. She would go into another room and pee. I was mistaking her signal to go out for a signal for comfort. Duh! It seems so easy in retrospect, doesn't it? Soon every time she came up to my office, I would get up immediately and take her all the way down the stairs and out the back door. I finally got it! NEVER, not once since then, did she ever have an accident. Duh! Duh!
Dogs, just like humans, go through an adolescence. Their adolescence lasts a few weeks and happens shortly before physical maturity. That adolescence for dogs can start at around seven months of age and may last several weeks or maybe even a few months depending on the breed. Larger breeds start later, smaller breeds start earlier. The rush of adult hormones changes their temperament in ways similar to the ways human teens are changed. They (humans and dogs) may seem to forget everything they ever learned. They may become diffident and aloof and possibly even combative. Most dogs that are given up to shelters or rescue groups are given up during those teenage "weeks". In humans that difficult period can last from about the age of twelve until they are in their early thirties - ha!! In dogs it lasts a very short time, relatively speaking. When it is over, you will have an adult dog that is even more amazing than your puppy was.
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