Icelandic Sheepdog (Imp)

The Icelandic Sheepdog’s ancestors arrived in Iceland with Scandinavian settlers in the ninth century, and the breed is even mentioned in ancient Icelandic Sagas. Over the centuries, travellers returning from Iceland described a hardy, double-coated spitz breed—well-adapted to herding flocks in harsh landscapes and unforgiving weather. The first known illustration of the breed was published in 1754 by the French naturalist Buffon, showing a dog strikingly similar to the one we recognize today.

In the 19th century, contagious disease nearly drove the breed to extinction, making them a rare and valuable asset for Icelandic farmers. Although not a UK recognised breed at that time, a single specimen named Chuck was registered as a Foreign Dog with the Kennel Club in 1905, followed by two more in the 1920s.

By nature, Icelandic Sheepdogs are gentle, intelligent, lively, and confident, capable of recognizing individual sheep and travelling long distances to locate and return lost members of the flock.

Images for this breed

Pastoral breed group

The Pastoral Group consists of herding dogs that are associated with working cattle, sheep, reindeer and other cloven footed animals.

Usually this type of dog has a weatherproof double coat to protect it from the elements when working in severe conditions. Breeds such as the Collie family, Old English Sheepdogs and Samoyeds who have been herding reindeer for centuries are but a few included in this group.

Colour Watch

Category 0: Breeds with no NBS colour registration options.

Read more about Colour Watch.

Breed Standard colours

Breed standard colour means that the colour is accepted within the breed standard and is a traditional and well-known colour in this breed.

Breed standard colours in this breed include:

Fawn
Red
Grey shaded
Chocolate
Black

Other colour/s

'Other' means you consider your puppy to be a colour not currently known within the breed and one that does not appear on either the breed standard or non-breed standard list. In this instance you would be directed through our registrations process to contact a breed club and/or council to support you on identifying and correctly listing the new colour.

Non-breed-standard colours

Non-breed-standard colour means that the colour is not accepted within the breed standard and whilst some dogs within the breed may be this colour it is advised to only select a dog that fits within the breed standards for all points.

Colour is only one consideration when picking a breed or individual dog, health and temperament should always be a priority over colour.

Whether you're considering buying an Icelandic Sheepdog (Imp) puppy or breeding from your dog, it's important to understand the health issues that may affect the breed and how they can be managed or avoided.

Pre-breeding Health Screening

At this time this breed does not have any recommended pre-breeding health screening in place, however breeders and puppy buyers should check frequently as this may change once new evidence and research becomes available

Find out about a particular dog's results

Please visit our Health Test Results Finder to discover the DNA or screening scheme test results for any dog on The Kennel Club's Breed or Activity Register.

You can also view the inbreeding coefficient calculation for a puppy's parents, or for a dog you're thinking of breeding from.

DNA Testing Services

We don’t currently offer a breed-specific DNA testing package for this breed, but we have a wide selection of individual DNA tests available. To find out more and view our full selection, click here.

Breed Health & Conservation Plan

The Breed Health and Conservation Plans

Our breed health and conservations plans (BHCPs) use evidence and data to help us understand the health issues found in each pedigree dog breed. These plans help breeders and owners identify health and welfare problems and use information, health tests and health schemes to avoid passing on those problems to future puppies. They also support and provide breeders with tools and specialist expertise to help manage genetic diversity, understand the impacts of close breeding, and find the best ways to preserve the population of their breed.

If you would like to seek access to the full report, please contact our health team.

Health (The Kennel Club)

More about health

If you have any concerns about a particular health condition in your breed then you may wish to speak to your vet or you could contact your breed health co-ordinator.

Breed health co-ordinators are individuals working on behalf of breed clubs and councils who are advocates for the health and welfare of their chosen breed. They acts as a spokesperson on matters of health and will collaborate with The Kennel Club on any health concerns the breed may have.

To contact your breed health co-ordinator please email

Health (The Kennel Club)

Breed watch

Category 1

Currently no points of concern specific to this breed have been identified for special attention by judges, other than those covered routinely by The Kennel Club's breed standard.