Books

I love books and for that reason I am incredibly pleased to have some books either about the Icelandic sheepdog or containing material related to Icelandic dogs and their history.

In my collection is The Iceland Dog 874-1956 by Mark Watson which refers to many old books and I find it fun to dig up these primary sources. Some I have found online (in digital libraries) and some I got in antiquarian bookshops, for example Das unbekannte Island by Wather Heering (1935), Lýsing Íslands IV by Þorvald Thoroddsen (1920) and the large travel book by Eggert Ólafsson and Bjarna Pálsson 1752-1757.

So is the book Icelandic Sheepdog by Gísli Pálsson (1999) in which he briefly goes over the history of the Icelandic sheepdog and then gives an overview of the breeders of Icelandic sheepdogs at the time the book was published. The breeders describe their dogs their breeding is based on and it is very informative to read through this because the number of pure bred dogs is still rather small at this point in time. There are also pictures of the main coat colors of the Icelandic Sheepdog and a name bank in the book.

The books by Stefán Aðalsteinsson are interesting because he has researched the origin of domestic animals in Iceland and is often referred to in recent sources.

Much interesting information about Icelandic farm animals can be found in Íslenzkir Þjóðhættir by Séra Jónas Jónasson from Hrafnagili (1934).

In the book The Dewclaw Puzzle, Moniku D. Karlsdóttir writes about her theory of the inheritance of dewclaws in the Icelandic sheepdog.

I'm sure there is much more about Icelandic sheepdogs hidden in my book shelves that I have not yet found.

If someone knows about "hidden" stories in various books, please do not hesitate to let me know and contact me by email at [email protected].