I saw Kloi [fra Sellatrum IS00001/67] in 1959; an old and very fat, but beautiful dog. He was oozing charm. I know that Iceland Dog owners know what I mean. He was not very big. I asked his owner, a farmer where I could get a dog like that. I wanted a dog like that. 

At that moment, I owned Fox Terriers, very different dogs. This Iceland dog, he was a very charming dog. My Fox Terrier bitch was very special to me. She was the one who knocked the phone off the hook and fetched me when it rang. [Perla also did this]. So, the farmer told me that he had gotten the dog from Keldur, from the chief veterinarian at Keldur. 

The chief veterinarian knew that they were getting lost, the Iceland Dog, that they were almost extinct. Mark Watson got in touch with him and he [Watson] exported the dogs. He searched all over the country for the Iceland Dogs because he saw that they were getting near extinction and Watson saw that. So, the veterinarian brought all the dogs [to Keldur] that were to be exported [by Watson] to the States.

The funniest thing happened. One of the bitches that Mark Watson collected got strangely lost. She was "lost". But a year or so later, she was found again. That is a true story. 

There were nine [Icelandic] dogs [in Iceland]. Mark Watson had eight.  After I got to know [Watson], I begged of him to let me take back dogs because there were only 9 dogs in the country. 

I asked my husband, who had some connection to the chief veterinarian through his work, [to talk to him]. So, he went there and said to the chief veterinarian, my wife wants very much to have an Iceland Dog. Can you see that she gets that? He said, "We'll see." 

I asked my husband when he went to see this veterinarian if he would mention this. Some three years later, he said, "Yes, come speak to me." I went to Keldur and when I was sitting in his office, he said I could have a bitch. I was asking for a bitch because I was used to having bitches.  [He told me I could have her] only if [I] promised to breed from her. I said, "of course." 

I was asked to save the breed. I was called to the chief veterinarian of the country. I was hoping to get one of the puppies that would be born because I knew he had two bitches. They were owned by the state, by Iceland, not by any person. 

There were two bitches and Farlan(?) the writer had gotten one dog from the west coast of Iceland. He was used to breed. 

I was expecting to get one dog and one bitch, Skotta fra Saetuni [ISO00014/68]. Skotta means "the one with a beautiful tail". I got more than just Scotta. I got a dog but he was the litter brother of Scotta.  hen I got another. 

Then I got a visit from a farmer who said he was not farming anymore and was moving to Reykjavik and had a beautiful Iceland Dog. He said, "I think this would be a very good dog for you." That was Katur fra Villingavatni [no registration number] and I called him Katur of Olafsvollum. 

The dogs were all yellow, reddish yellow. But, I saw at Keldur, one bitch that was tricolour and I got to see an Iceland bitch that I couldn't get. She was black and white, pure black and white, and that is why I am not happy that they have taken out this colour and that they all must be tricolour. It is good [that you have a lot of black and white in the U.S.] because they are different genes; black and white and tricolour.  So, that is good. It is good to have both. They are not the same thing.

All the veterinarians were asked to look for breeding material. Little by little, I got more [dogs and bitches]. 

There were three kinds of coat; short, full and long. Short coat, lying very flat, very shiny but not harsh, not soft, feels coarse. It was dry when it came out of the water; or shaken dry when it was, what I call, full coat or long coat. 

Those are not the kinds of coats they talk about today. But, I have only seen extremely few with correct long coats. The undercoat has to be so thick that when you open it, you can't see the skin. The back hair [on the back of the legs] should be 12-14 centimeters long, but not like a Keeshond. This coat was very thick, very straight, and not like today when it looks like it had a permanent. That is not a correct coat and I wish people would realize that the long coats of today, if they go to swim, they drown. [Sigríður pointed out what she was describing in pictures of Icelandic Sheepdogs]. 

The tail should be like a fox tail, not flowing in the wind. 

Sigríður Pétursdóttir on breeding:

I was doing what wasn't heard of in Iceland and that was breeding after selecting the bitch and dog for breeding. I sold or gave the [puppies] away depending on how good they were. 

I went into the homes for elderly people to find out what they knew about the Iceland Dog. I found out many things and they told me how to select for breeding. It was said that a good Iceland Dog was worth a year old horse and a year old ram, for one puppy. That was the most expensive I ever heard of and I spoke to all the farmers I ever heard of and I spoke to all the farmers I could reach all over. 

The farmers were breeding the Iceland Dog for their purpose and they had to be able to work with more than sheep; they had to be able to work with all the animals. They were supposed to also find people if they got lost and find people from avalanches. They were supposed to do everything you could expect from a dog and more than usual.

Those were the dogs that the farmers bred. They did not breed from dogs that were not smart. They just disappeared. 

Later on, when people who were not used to breeding and did not use dogs for usual purposes, working with animals or people, they [the Icelandic Sheepdog] fell back in the breeding because they used anything that looked sweet or didn't look sweet. They did not take care that the dogs were behaving properly. 

[When the farmers were breeding], those dogs that did not behave properly just disappeared. It was impossible to give food to all the dogs that were not useful. 

So, that was the selection that was used in the breeding in the former dogs and that is what we do not, unfortunately, understand today.  We have to select dogs very severely and not be afraid of line breeding and even inbreeding in certain cases. 

Only take the best.  Don't use dogs that yap and talk.  That was forbidden because they were useless. When they were collecting sheep, they had to bark a little bit more than, for example, when they were working with horses. Then they only barked once or twice and not very loud because horses can't take all this barking. So, I got lucky. I got some exemplary dogs. 

Hip dysplasia is a sorry thing, but if you have an exceptional dog that has slight hip dysplasia, breed from him or her.  Not very many litters, but at least one or two litters and choose out the mentality and the quality you need.  

It is typical that there is a marked difference between the male and female [in personality type]. Males were more their own and bitches were more yours. 

The loudness of some Iceland Dogs was not natural for the dogs I got or bred. 

The Iceland Dog shoud be rectangular, not square. [I presented Sigríður with some pictures of Icelandic Sheepdogs and Perla's pedigree so that she could explain what she meant]. This head [Perla's] reminds me of her head [points to Brana of Wensum's name {ISOOO26/69} in the pedigree], full of expression, like her mother. Her tail was not like her mother's.  Perla's was much bigger. This is another thing today regarding Icelandic Sheepdogs; extremely long hair on tails. I did not know this. 

Inbreeding is alright. If you know what you are doing it is extremely useful. You have to know as much as possible about each dog at least three or four generations back. Otherwise, it isn't healthy. Your dog may be healthy, but you may be inbreeding bad qualities.

Part II of III will be added shortly.