Shakespeare’s Icelandic Cur Enters the Kennel Club

“Pish for thee, Iceland dog! thou prick-ear'd cur of Iceland!”

Thusly Shakespeare described the Icelandic sheepdog more than 400 years ago (Henry V, Act II). Now the UK’s Kennel Club will formally recognize the breed, and it’s high time. Long before Shakespeare, the dog was celebrated in the Icelandic Sagas a thousand years ago.

“They are described as an attractive spitz breed,” according to the Kennel Club website. “Most intelligent and exceptionally friendly. In addition to its main task of a drover dog as well as a general farm guard and alert dog, the Icelandic sheepdog has also been used for rounding up the Icelandic horse.”

Exceptionally friendly is right. The American Kennel Club, which has recognized the breed since 2010, gives the Icelander its highest grade for friendliness: “Lovey-Dovey.”

A medium-sized dog at about 18 inches tall and weighing up to 30 pounds (slightly smaller for females), this sheepdog has a thick coat and comes in both fur types, long or short-haired. Muscular and built to handle the rough Icelandic terrain, they live between 12 and 15 years. It is the only dog indigenous to the island country.

This sheepdog descended from dogs brought to Iceland by Viking colonists in the 9th century and is one of very few breeds whose ancient origins are backed up by archaeological and written evidence. But plague and canine distemper destroyed over 75% of the breed by the twentieth century, and it wasn’t until the 1970s that the line was revived.

Formal recognition by the Kennel Club – which will kick in on April 1 –  means the breed can compete in dog shows in the UK.

Photo credit: Ágúst Ágústsson / The Kennel Club