Íslands Garða Kara and Snögg

After my last golden retriever passed away, I was without a dog for almost a year. My children felt the emptiness when coming home from school, even though I was a stay-at-home mom. Feeling the need for a dog again, I explored and familiarized myself with several breeds. However, due to my current dog allergy, I found the body odor too strong among the breeds I considered.

I then booked a consultation with Helga Finnsdóttir, a veterinarian, who recommended looking into the Icelandic Sheepdog. All I knew about them was that they barked a lot, but she assured me it was manageable and not more excessive than other breeds. I visited Guðrún Guðjohnsen at Íslands Garða Kennel and, upon seeing her puppies, I was captivated. I ended up getting my first Icelandic Sheepdog, Íslands Garða Kara, from her.

I was surprised by how smart and quick to learn she was. I trained her in object retrieval, and she learned the names of various items she owned. I often hid things in the mountains above where I lived, and she never failed to find them. She even played a role in a children's movie called "Töfraskórinn" (The Magic Shoes) and performed well.

When she had offspring, I kept one of the female puppies, Reykjadals Snögg. I trained both dogs to find items in the mountains, and although Snögg was clever, she figured out that waiting for her mother to find the items and then taking them from her was more efficient.

Íslands Garða Kara and Reykjadals Snögg

In the mountains above my home, two duck species nested alongside with different kind of perching birds and seabirds. Watching the seabirds pick up the young of the other bird species was heartbreaking, and I decided to teach my dogs to find the seabirds nests so I could take an egg from them. It seemed unnecessary for all the young seabirds to survive. Kara and Snögg quickly distinguished the seabirds nests from others and were only interested in the seabirds nest. Kara did what she was supposed to, waiting by the nest until I arrived to take the egg. Snögg, however, lacked patience and would take the egg herself, carrying it down the mountain to me. She never broke an egg during these runs. This activity only took place for one month each summer, and some days, I brought home up to 50 eggs.

Afterwards, I enrolled the dogs in tracking courses, as tracking can be done throughout the year. The Icelandic Sheepdog is highly versatile and incredibly enjoyable to train, whether it's herding sheep, rounding up horses or cows, searching for objects, tracking, or teaching them to search in barns or snowdrifts.

All this work should be like a game for the dog, and we should ensure they have fun working with us. We need to be good at praising them for well-done tasks. I've had 13 Icelandic Sheepdogs, and I never cease to be amazed at how capable this breed is and how much joy they derive from working with humans. They are good-natured and happy to participate in our daily lives, whether it's work or simply relaxing in front of the TV in the evenings.

Íslands Garða Kara born 05.03.1991 and died 2004

Reykjadals Snögg born 13.06.1994 and died 2007