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Icelandic Sheepdog

The breeds · herding

AKC Herding · UKC Herding · FCI standard 289

Icelandic Sheepdog.

FCI utilization: herding dog; the dogs became indispensable in rounding up livestock and in daily work on the farms. AKC standard: a hardy, agile herding dog which barks, making it extremely useful for herding or driving sheep and other livestock. UKC: to be evaluated as a herding and drover dog; also a watchdog. AKC page: an all-around herder. Wikipedia: traditional uses include herding of both sheep and horses..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

18 / 17INHeightdogs 18, bitches 16.5. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
20–31LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 30 lb (19.8 to 30.9); breed bitches 25 lb (19.8 to 30.9).

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 18 in (17.7 to 18.1) · bitches 16.5 in (16.5 to 16.5)

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2025

All three standards print the same ideal; no range is published.

Weight

dogs 30 lb (19.8 to 30.9) · bitches 25 lb (19.8 to 30.9)

Breed clubAKC

Center is the single figure the AKC page prints. Wikipedia's breed-wide range counts in both sex rows. Neither is a standard.

Coat

Two coat types, short-haired and long-haired, both thick double coats and extremely weather resistant (AKC standard, UKC, FCI). Short: fairly coarse outer coat over a thick soft undercoat, longer on neck, chest and back of thighs, bushy tail. Long: longer outer coat, fringes on the back of the forelegs, very bushy tail. Colors: tan from cream to reddish brown, chocolate, gray, black, always with white markings; pied allowed (UKC, FCI).

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2025

Shedding

AKC page: sheds a fair amount, more so during the shedding season, which occurs twice a year.

Breed clubAKC

Heat tolerance

2 of 5 · Double coat, thick and extremely weather resistant, in both short and long types (AKC standard, UKC, FCI).

DerivedAKC breed standard, 2025

Derived from the coat description (heavy double = 2). Short-haired dogs may sit nearer 3; no source separates them. No measured data.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

AKC page: moderate exercise every day, walks and play sessions; enjoys long walks and hikes; herding, obedience, tracking, agility and rally. No Royal Kennel Club band exists for this breed in the sources read.

Breed clubAKC

Energy

AKC page bands: Energy Level 4 of 5, Mental Stimulation Needs 5, Trainability 5, Barking Level 4, Affectionate With Family 5, Good With Young Children 5, Good With Other Dogs 4, Openness To Strangers 3, Watchdog/Protective Nature 4, Playfulness 3, Adaptability 4. AKC page header life expectancy 12 to 14 years (the AKC's own figure, not a study). Wikipedia: expected to live some twelve to fifteen years.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands, not measured. No Dogs Trust or Teng row exists for this breed, so no lifespan row is written.

Grooming load

2 of 5 · AKC page: weekly brushing, daily during shedding season; sheds a fair amount, twice a year.

Breed clubAKC

Mapped from the AKC page's weekly brushing (scale 2 = weekly brush); no RKC grooming band was available. AKC page rates Coat Grooming Frequency 2 of 5.

Grooming

Weekly brushing, daily during shedding season; tangles worked out with a slicker brush or metal comb (AKC page). AKC bands: Coat Grooming Frequency 2, Shedding 3, Drooling 2.

Breed clubAKC

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

FCI utilization: herding dog; the dogs became indispensable in rounding up livestock and in daily work on the farms. AKC standard: a hardy, agile herding dog which barks, making it extremely useful for herding or driving sheep and other livestock. UKC: to be evaluated as a herding and drover dog; also a watchdog. AKC page: an all-around herder. Wikipedia: traditional uses include herding of both sheep and horses.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 289, 2018

Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Primary game

Sheep and other livestock (AKC standard, FCI, UKC); AKC page also names rounding up ponies; Wikipedia names sheep and horses.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 289, 2018

Stock worked, not game.

Also used on

UKC: watchdog (they drive livestock by barking and use that talent as watchdogs), equally at home as a family pet; having evolved with no natural predators they have very limited hunting instincts. AKC standard: alert, announces visitors without aggression. Wikipedia: the national breed of Iceland, protected as cultural heritage since 1994.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2017

Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Search pattern

Voice on the stock: a barking herder that drives livestock by barking (AKC standard, FCI, UKC). FCI: the working method adapted to the local terrain and farming methods. UKC gait: a quick agile trot, essential for driving stock over Iceland's rough terrain. Single dog or team work is not stated by any source read.

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2025

Style: barking herder and drover; the standards do not use gather, heel or tend language.

Field trial standard

FCI: Group 5, Section 3 Nordic Watchdogs and Herders, without working trial. AKC page: herding, obedience, tracking, agility and rally are listed outlets. The AKC herding test and trial rules were not read.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 289, 2018

AKC herding titles for the breed not read.

Cold water

4 of 5 · Thick, extremely weather-resistant double coat (AKC standard, FCI); a farm and stock dog of Iceland's harsh terrain and climate (UKC, FCI).

DerivedAKC breed standard, 2025

Derived from coat plus the breed's work in northern weather. No cold-water work is described, so 4 and not 5.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

18.4% · OFA all-data: 1314 evaluations, 18.4% dysplastic (mild 14.8, moderate 3.3, severe 0.3).

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA all-data is undated ('current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026') and skews to breeding stock: submissions come from breeders screening before breeding and under-represent affected dogs.

Elbow dysplasia

0% · OFA all-data: 406 evaluations, 0.0% abnormal (grade 1 0.0, grade 2 0.0, grade 3 0.0).

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA all-data is undated ('current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026') and skews to breeding stock: submissions come from breeders screening before breeding and under-represent affected dogs.

Most common disorders

AKC page: hip and elbow dysplasia and patellar luxation.

Breed clubAKC

Single AKC page source. No VetCompass paper or club survey was read.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 4; Mental Stimulation Needs 5; Trainability Level 5; Barking Level 4; Watchdog/Protective Nature 4; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 4; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 2; Drooling Level 2; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 4.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 6 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Icelandic Dog, Iceland Dog, Icelandic Spitz, Islenskur fjarhundur

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

Your icelandic sheepdog, on the record.

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