A small program, on purpose

We came to the breed the way most people do: we met one, and then could not stop thinking about it. Icelandic Sheepdogs are one of the world's rarer breeds — a few thousand dogs worldwide — and every responsible litter matters to the breed's future. That is a large part of why we do this, and why we do so little of it.

How we decide on a pairing

Temperament first. An Icelandic Sheepdog should be cheerful, confident, and friendly, with no shyness and no sharpness. If a dog is not that, it does not matter how good the rest of the package is — it is not going into our program.

After temperament comes health testing, then structure, then pedigree diversity. The breed came through a genetic bottleneck in the twentieth century and inbreeding coefficients matter a great deal, so we look hard at how closely related a proposed pairing actually is rather than only at the last three generations.

What we test for

Both parents are tested to the breed parent-club panel before being bred: hip evaluation, patellar luxation, an eye examination by a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist, and a DNA sample on file. We also run elbows and a cardiac evaluation. Every result we have is published on our dogs' pages, whatever it says.

What we will not do

• We will not sell a puppy to someone we have never spoken to.
• We will not hand a puppy to a shipper we do not know. You collect in person, or your puppy travels with Island Pet Movers, who we have used and trust.
• We will not breed a dog that has not finished growing, or breed a female on back-to-back seasons.
• We will not place a puppy in a home we think is wrong for it, even when the deposit is already sitting there.

Our commitment for the dog's whole life

Every puppy goes home with a written health guarantee and a return-to-breeder clause. If your circumstances change — in a year or in twelve — the dog comes back to us. No questions, no judgement, and no Icelandic Sheepdog of ours ends up in a shelter.