Saga - June 21, 2012

Here are some recent photos of Vinlands Saga and some excellent questions.

The above two photos show show black hairs, sable, coming in on her back. I wonder if the amount of black will increase as she matures.

She looks a tad possessive here! What are her toys doing in that basket?! I love how she's holding onto the edge of the basket.

I've heard people say that sometimes the eye rim on the white half of Odin-faced dogs develops color around the eye. Because I have never produced Odin-faces before, I don't know what to expect. If you look closely at the eye rim around her right eye, it looks like some black pigment is starting to form. It was not there before now. (Remember, clicking on photos enlarges them.)

I'm going to post the questions and my responses below. As always, you get to decide what to do with your puppy. My suggestions are only that: suggestions. Find what works for you.

Question: - "Can you blog again about controlling the barking (command name, process)? We went to the first puppy class last night (humans only last week). She barked almost the whole time. I think she was the only herder there. She had a fantastic time but was hard to hear the instructor. I tried the calming tech but she was having none of that. I love to hear her bark when we are playing, etc. We just need to figure out when is a good time to bark and when it isn't."

The first few classes are very exciting for puppies, all puppies. Herding dogs do bark more that most other breeds. 

Last things first. I would discourage her from barking at anytime. (She will still bark. But I think you should want to reduce it. Always. In all situations.) I use, "No Bark!" and "Be Quiet!" I gently hold the muzzle closed when I say those words. I treat them when they "do" those things (not barking, that is).

I believe that when she barks in class she is trying to get your attention. She is used to being a primary focus of your attention. In your situation (Trust me, I have been there and done that, as they say.) I believe her bark may be partly be due to boredom. The instructor is talking and Saga is used to being the center of your attention AND you are ignoring her and listening to the instructor. She is drawing your attention back to her and away from the instructor. She wants to be the center of your attention again. So? Let her be the center of attention for you. I would sit on the floor with her. Yes, really. 

While you are on the floor, do stuff with her. Does she have a favorite toy that would fit in your back pocket? A small version of her dinosaur, perhaps. You can purchase smaller, pocket-sized toys at all kinds of stores now. Use that toy (or those toys) for classes only (so they don't get destroyed back at home). Always have one with you in your pocket and when she gets bored, play with it and with her. She will LOVE being the center of your attention again and the barking will (hopefully) lessen or even stop. To prepare her for the next class, do that over the next few days at home. Sit on the floor with her and play with the toy with her. 

In addition, have her react to some of the commands she has learned - also on the floor with her. If she knows sit, down, stand, roll over, shake, etc., give her those commands and, of course, as always, reward her with praise and treats and playtime with her toy each time she responds correctly. Do that at home for practice, and also in the next class if the instructor is talking. It's your puppy. You're an adult. You can do what you want!!!

Remember puppies are like toddlers. They want your attention all the time. At her age, give in. (Remember when you had a toddler at home? It was probably always, "Mommy, watch this." and "Look, Mommy." and lots of "Whys?" Puppies are the same.)

Question: - "Also, another thing she was doing was pulling at her collar so much she was choking. Is it okay to buy the "back harness" collar or will that hamper the training?"

I do not like harnesses and would not use one - - - but she's your puppy. You get to decide what to do and not do. I MUCH prefer pinch collars (sometimes called prong collars). See photos below.

This prong collar has a safety clasp that opens and closes like a safety pin or a clothes-pin. They are much easier to put on and take off and are not much more expensive than the ordinary type of prong collar. (To put on and take off those collars you have to squeeze the links which may weaken them making them more likely to come off.) You would want to find a pinch collar with medium-sized teeth.

Mom and Pop pet stores are more likely to have safety clasp prong collars. Chain stores are less likely to have them.

Now I know they look fierce but I believe they are much more humane for exactly the reason your cited above ("pulling at her collar so much she was choking"). Prong collars don't cause that choking or gagging reflex that happens when the collar puts pressure on the dog's trachea. Regular collars like leather and nylon and even the older choke collars (now called training collars because that word - training - sounds so much better than - choke) put a lot of pressure on the trachea, the tube that leads from the mouth and nose to the lungs. By contrast, prong collars distribute the pressure evenly around the entire neck and the dog does not choke or gag. In addition, the 'teeth' of the prong collar mimic mom's teeth. Mother dogs may discipline their puppies by gently grabbing them around the neck. I saw Totty do that this spring when her puppies were playing too rough. That action on her part instantly quieted the puppy down.

A word of caution: - NEVER leave a training collar on a puppy or dog. When you are finished training, remove the collar. If a choke collar or a prong collar is left on, the puppy could get it caught on something and choke to death. It does not happen often but a word to the wise - - - -, remove the training collar when you are not training.

Speaking of which, dogs quickly learn to recognize their "outfits". If you do training for what's called the "breed ring" by which I mean the conformation ring, there are certain kinds of collars that are acceptable. Conformation is the competition where dogs are judged by how close they come to looking like the official description of what an ideal dog for a particular breed should look like. When you see dogs "shows" on TV where the dogs move around the ring with a well-dressed handler while a judge is looking at them critically, they are being judged by how well they "conform" (please note the spelling - not confirm or confirmation) to the written standard. There are other kinds of shows also for agility, obedience, tracking, herding, hunting, etc.) Each kind of contest or show often requires a different kind of collar and dogs that do more than one kind of show, quickly learn what they will be expected to do based on the kind of collar they are wearing. I know that may sound strange but dogs are very smart. They are problem solvers and it's pretty easy for them to know what to do based on what they are wearing.

I just talked with Jim who told me that when his dog puts on his "service dog" outfit or vest, he behaves different from when he is wearing his obedience collar. Jim has an Icelandic that came from Michigan but not from my breedings.

Puppies or untrained adult dogs will often pull on the leash (and collar) when you are walking. It seems they never learn NOT to pull. They pull even though they are choking themselves. (So this must be one problem that they are unable to solve!!)

Prong collars are like power steering. Once a puppy or dog has experienced a prong collar, it is much easier to work with them, to walk with them as long as they are wearing it. After many months, when you have established control, when your puppy has learned the rules, you can switch to another kind of collar. In other words, you do not have to always use a prong collar once they have figured out how to behave.

Prong collar open - note safety clasp near top right.

Most trainers will tell you that if you use a prong collar, you should have a second collar on also. It can be the dog's regular collar (but without tags). Both collars should be attached to the leash. The reason they want you to do that is that sometimes the links on a prong collar separate. (See above.) That is more likely to happen if the links are weakened by repeatedly using them. With a safety clasp the links shouldn't weaken.

Prong collar closed.

When training with a prong collar, a slight tug on the leash by the handler reminds the puppy that it is wearing a prong collar. The first few times you jerk slightly the puppy may be surprised and emit a yelp. If that happens, jerk with less force. Do not exert a constant pull. A slight jerk is better, more effective. 

Question: - "Also, also, please blog on water/baths. She doesn't like her baths. Right now I am taking her to the bath tub and letting her play in it without water to get her used to it. Wasn't sure if they liked to swim or play in a small pool. It sure did get hot last week here!"

Because I was getting older, I wanted a breed that was smaller and easier to bathe whether it was in the bathtub, the kitchen sink, outside with a hose, etc. So I started looking for a smaller breed that would be easier to lift and to bathe.


The truth? I don't bathe my dogs. Well, I very rarely bathe my dogs. I have found that even if they roll in really stinky opossum or raccoon scat (poop), or a dead toad, the smell and the scat just seem to drop off on their own. Within a very short time the dirt and the smell are gone.


If you think about that, it makes sense. For hundreds of years the ancestors of Icelandic Sheepdogs lived outside on the farms and in the fields of Iceland with the sheep, cattle, horses, etc. Lots of muck there! Water and dirt repellent fur were essential for their survival. If the fur got wet and/or dirty and stayed wet and dirty, the dogs would have been prone to sickness and died. Only the dogs who had thick double coats that were dirt and moisture repellent would have survived to produce the next generations.


The huge majority of our dogs have double coats, a thick inner coat and an outer coat of either longer or shorter hairs that repel dirt and water. As an experiment, the next time your puppy gets dirty, don't bathe her right away. If possible, stay outside with her for an hour or so and see what happens to the dirt or water or stink. I think you might be pleasantly surprised.


Of course bathing is OK to do but if you do it, don't do it often. It washes off essential oils that protect them and help make their fur water repellant.

One person writes: - "(my dog) - did not like a bath the first couple of times. I bathe him in a shower stall. On the second or third bathing I just sat in the shower floor with him and got wet and now he licks and I give him "sugar kisses" and he could care less. He just needed to be comfortable.  Also he likes the water cooler. Really warm water was uncomfortable to him."


Yes, our dogs do love a kiddee pool with water in it on a hot day. And if you have access to a beach, let them explore it on their own with your supervision, especially as a puppy. In Iceland our dogs swim in the icy streams coming from the glaciers and snow run-off and are not bothered either by the water or the cold. I've discovered that if puppies are not exposed to lakes, rivers, streams as puppies, then they are less likely to like them as adults. All puppies should be encouraged to explore as much as possible as a way of expanding their minds.