- • Fawn and red in various shades, ranging from cream to reddish brown • Grey shaded • Chocolate brown in various shades • Black White markings always accompany the main colour, lighter shading often occurs on the underside of the dog, from throat to tip of tail.
- On grey shaded dogs and quite often on fawn and red dogs a dark mask, dark tips to the outer hairs and dark hairs in the coat occur (dark overlay/sable).
- Black and chocolate brown dogs most often have traditional tan markings in any of the various fawn colours on the cheeks, over the eyes (eyebrows), below the tail, on the underside of the tail and on the legs.
- Pied dogs have patches of colour on the body on a white background, and can also have the accompanying white markings.
- The patches of colour, which can vary in size, should predominate.
- The white markings, which are often irregular, are a blaze or a part of the face, collar, chest, socks of varying length and tip of tail.
- Preferred: Colour on or near the ears
About the Icelandic Sheepdog
Origin: Iceland
- Typical life span
- 12-14 years
- Size
- Medium — from its typical weight
- Weight
- Male
- 14-16 kg
- Female
- 11-14 kg
- Height
- Male
- 46-51 cm
- Female
- 42-47 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Spitz and primitive types
- Origin
- Iceland
- Also called
- Perro de Pastor Islandes
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a Icelandic Sheepdog?
Medium-sized spitz-type herding dog with thick weatherproof double coat, prick ears, and curved bushy tail, known for its cheerful and inquisitive nature
Icelandic Sheepdog history and origins
Iceland's only native dog breed, brought by Viking settlers around 874-930 AD and bred in isolation for centuries. Essential for herding sheep and livestock in harsh Icelandic conditions
Icelandic Sheepdog appearance and size
Males typically weigh 14-16 kg and stand 46-51 cm at the shoulder; females 11-14 kg and 42-47 cm.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Herding dog
- Behaviour and temperament
“The Icelandic Sheepdog is a hardy and agile herding spitz, which barks, making it extremely useful for herding or driving sheep and other livestock. The Icelandic Sheepdog is by nature very alert and will announce the arrival of visitors without being aggressive. The breed is cheerful, friendly, inquisitive, playful and confident with a gentle temperament”
Quoted from FCI standard n°289. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Medium
- Exercise needsRead from what the breed was bred to do, in the registry’s own words: “Herding dog” That is a working purpose, not a measured exercise requirement — an individual dog’s needs depend on its age, health and household.
- 4 of 5
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- 4 of 5
- Grooming needs
- 4 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Not researched yet
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Icelandic Sheepdog
What you get with the Icelandic Sheepdog
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Herding dog”
- The standard describes the breed as: “The Icelandic Sheepdog is a hardy and agile herding spitz, which barks, making it extremely useful for herding or…”
What you are taking on
- High grooming needs — the standard’s own description is “It is longer behind the ears, on the neck, withers, chest and back of thighs and with…”
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · Icelandic Sheepdog
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged preferred.
Coat
There are two variants: Short-haired: The outer coat is fairly coarse, with a thick, soft undercoat.
The hair is shorter on the face, top of head, ears and front of legs.
It is longer on the neck, chest and back of thighs.
The tail is bushy and the hair length is in proportion to the coat.
Long-haired: The outer coat is longer and fairly coarse, with a thick, soft undercoat.
The hair is shorter on the face, top of head, ears and front of legs.
It is longer behind the ears, on the neck, withers, chest and back of thighs and with fringes on the back of the forelegs.
The tail is very bushy and the hair length is in proportion to the coat
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°289 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Icelandic Sheepdog in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Icelandic Sheepdog
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Icelandic Sheepdog on this platform yet. That is a gap in our records, not a clean bill of health — ask the breeder which hereditary conditions their lines are tested for, and ask to see the results for both parents, dated and from a named laboratory.
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where Icelandic Sheepdog owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Puppies
No puppies listed right now
No Icelandic Sheepdog breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.