Island Icies

Resources

Bringing your puppy home

Everything we would tell you on the phone the week before collection, written down so you can work through it at your own pace.

Shopping list

Before they arrive

  • Crate, 24–30 in, with a divider so it grows with them
  • Exercise pen for safe unsupervised time
  • Two stainless bowls, plus a slow-feeder if they gulp
  • Flat collar with an ID tag, and a 6 ft lead
  • Y-front harness (not a tightening one)
  • Enzymatic cleaner — buy more than you think

Grooming

  • Undercoat rake — the single most important tool
  • Slicker brush and a metal comb
  • Nail clippers or a grinder
  • Dog-specific shampoo (never shave the coat)

Enrichment

  • Two or three food-dispensing puzzles
  • A snuffle mat for meals
  • Chews appropriate to a puppy's teeth
  • A long line for safe recall practice

Getting your puppy home

If you are collecting in person, bring a crate, a towel that can be thrown away, and more patience than you think the day needs. Plan to arrive the day before rather than flying in and out the same day.

If your puppy is travelling with Island Pet Movers, they will send you a crate checklist well ahead of the date. Follow it exactly — airline crate rules are specific and a crate that does not meet them is the one thing that can stop a flight on the day. We start crate training before your puppy leaves us, so the crate itself is already a good place to be.

Whichever route, your puppy travels with a health certificate issued close to the date. We handle that end; you will just need to keep it with the paperwork.

The first week

Do less than you think. Your puppy has just left their mother, their littermates, and the only place they have ever known. The first few days should be quiet, predictable, and boring. No visitors, no parties, no trips to the pet shop to show them off.

Expect broken nights for a week or so. We recommend the crate beside your bed at first — a puppy who can hear you settles far faster than one shut in a kitchen, and you can move the crate gradually once they are sleeping through.

Feeding

Keep them on the food we send home for at least the first two weeks. If you want to change, do it gradually over ten days. Puppies at eight weeks eat three or four small meals a day, dropping to two by around six months. Feed to condition rather than to the number on the bag — you should be able to feel ribs easily without seeing them.

Socialisation, done properly

The window that matters most closes at around sixteen weeks, which overlaps awkwardly with the vaccination schedule. The answer is not to keep your puppy at home until they are fully covered — behavioural problems from under-socialisation are far more likely to cost a dog its home than parvovirus is.

Carry them. Sit on a bench near a school at pick-up time. Let them watch traffic, wheelchairs, umbrellas, and people in hi-vis from a safe distance. The goal is calm observation, not being handled by every stranger you pass.

The barking, again

We say this on the breed page and we will say it again here, because it is the reason Icelandic Sheepdogs most often get rehomed. Start early: reward quiet, teach a "thank you" cue that means the alarm has been received, and never shout back — to a herding dog, that reads as you joining in.

Training and clubs

Find a reward-based puppy class before your puppy comes home, as good ones fill up. Look for one that keeps groups small and does not use choke chains, prong collars, or e-collars. This breed is soft, and heavy-handed methods produce a shut-down dog rather than a trained one.

The AKC parent club for the breed is the Icelandic Sheepdog Association of America, which is worth joining — it is the best route to other owners, breed-specific advice, and events.

Our number

You have it, and it does not expire. Ring us at eleven at night in your first week if you need to. Every question you have has been asked by someone before, usually by us.