Icelandic Sheepdog Dog Breed Information

The Icelandic Sheepdog (Islenskur Fjarhundur) is Iceland’s only native dog breed and one of Europe’s oldest spitz-type herders, brought to Iceland by Norse settlers in the 9th century AD. The breed has a small but steady NZ presence, concentrated in cooler regions where the dense double coat is an asset rather than a liability. Most NZ Icies are family dogs in lifestyle-block or cool-suburb settings rather than working stock dogs, although the breed retains real herding instinct and does well at NZKC herding trials.

A note on the survival story is worth knowing because it explains the breed’s small global population. Two distemper outbreaks in the 19th and 20th centuries nearly wiped out the breed; the most recent (in the 1950s) reduced numbers to fewer than 50 dogs nationwide. Icelandic breeder Sigridur Petursdottir rebuilt the breed from those remaining dogs from the 1960s onward, and the global population today (still under 5,000 dogs) remains small. NZ has a few dozen registered dogs, mostly imported from Scandinavian and Australian lines.

Adults stand 42 to 46 cm at the shoulder and weigh 9 to 14 kg, with bitches noticeably smaller than dogs. The double coat comes in two natural variants: a short, dense coat and a longer coat with feathering on the legs, tail and ruff. Colours run tan, red, chocolate, black and grey, almost always with white markings on the chest, legs, blaze and tail tip. The expression is open, friendly and alert; ears prick high; the tail curls in the typical spitz manner over the back.

Personality and behaviour

Icies are friendly with almost everyone: family, strangers, kids, other dogs. They bond closely to the household, settle on a lap or rug between activity, and treat visitors as friends-in-waiting rather than potential threats. Of all the NZ working-group spitz breeds, the Icelandic Sheepdog is the most reliably sociable. With other dogs in the household they are usually easy; with cats and small pets, dogs raised alongside them coexist well, although small-animal prey drive shows up at times.

The trait that surprises new owners is the voice. Icies bark, and they were bred to. The herding job involved working semi-feral Icelandic sheep across open landscape, alerting shepherds to lost stock and warning off ravens and arctic foxes threatening lambs. Modern pet Icies carry that voice into household life: alerting on visitors, vocalising during play and “talking” at family in conversation. The bark is high and clear, not deep, but it is frequent. Households on a small section with neighbours close by need to manage barking from puppyhood.

Energy is moderate by working-spitz standards. An Icie will happily walk and play for an hour or two, then settle. They are not the on-tap intensity of a Border Collie or working Kelpie, and they suit families who want a working-line breed without the daily commitment of two hours of structured exercise.

Sensitivity is a real factor. The breed reads household tension, reacts to harsh handling by withdrawing, and bonds intensely to family. Icies left isolated for long days become anxious and sometimes destructive.

Care and exercise

Plan on 60 minutes of daily exercise. A structured walk plus free play covers most adult Icies. The breed enjoys hill walks, agility, rally, and herding at club level. Cool water swimming is fine; hot beach days are not.

The double coat is the main grooming consideration but is far less demanding than long-coated breeds like the Old English Sheepdog. Realistic grooming routine:

• Brush twice a week year-round with a slicker brush and pin brush.
• Daily brushing through the seasonal coat blow in spring and autumn (two to three weeks each). Expect rubbish bags of undercoat.
• Bath every six to eight weeks. The double coat is largely self-cleaning between baths.
• Trim nails every three to four weeks. Check ears weekly.

Heat tolerance is the genuine NZ-specific issue. The dense double coat is built for Iceland and translates poorly to upper-North-Island summers. The breed handles cool, damp NZ weather without complaint, but humidity above 70% with daytime temperatures over 25C creates heat-stress risk. Walk early or late, never midday, ensure indoor cool space, and provide shade in the yard. Coat clipping is discouraged: shaving disrupts the insulating undercoat layer and rarely helps with heat. Pet trims for hygiene only (rear, paws, ears) are fine; full clips are not.

Training and household life

Icies are intelligent and biddable, with food and toy motivation that suits reward-based training. The breed is sensitive enough that harsh corrections backfire and friendly enough that group classes work well. NZKC obedience and rally clubs in main centres run group classes (NZ$120 to NZ$280 for a six to eight week course) which sort recall, lead manners and basic obedience early.

Recall in open spaces is the most common training gap. The herding instinct kicks in around joggers, cyclists, small children and farm stock; an Icie that has decided to circle a moving target needs to come back when called. Adolescence (10 to 18 months) is generally manageable compared to high-drive working breeds, with mild teenage testing rather than the meltdown patterns seen in Mals or Border Collies.

Climate fit across New Zealand

• Auckland and Northland. The hardest fit in NZ. Heat and humidity push the breed beyond its comfort range for several months a year. Practical only with aircon, deep shade and disciplined limits on midday activity.
• Wellington. Excellent fit. Wind is irrelevant; the coat is built for it. Cool damp winters suit the breed.
• Christchurch and Canterbury. Excellent fit. Cold winters are a non-issue. Watch grass seeds in coat and paws after summer rural walks.
• Central Otago and Southland. The breed’s natural climate. Cold tolerance is exceptional. Snow days suit the breed exactly.

Where to find an Icelandic Sheepdog in New Zealand

Three paths.

1. Registered NZKC breeders. The Dogs NZ breeders directory lists a small number of registered Icelandic Sheepdog breeders nationwide. Litters are infrequent because of the small breeding population. Expect a 12 to 24 month waitlist, NZ$2,500 to NZ$4,000 per puppy, with hip scores and pedigree available on request. Some NZ breeders import frozen semen from Scandinavia or Australia to widen the gene pool.
2. Imports from overseas. Buyers who cannot wait for an NZ litter sometimes import from Australian or European breeders. Expect total landed cost (puppy, transport, MPI quarantine) of NZ$6,000 to NZ$10,000.
3. Breed rescue and SPCA. Very rare. The breed almost never appears in rescue because the population is small and the dogs tend to be well-placed.

What surprises new owners

The barking, in two ways: how often it happens and how clear the bark is. Both are baked into the breed and only partly trainable. The Icelandic Sheepdog is a herding spitz with a working voice. For households in the cooler half of NZ who can tolerate a vocal dog, the temperament fit is genuinely good.