Old Icelandic Sheepdog Photos from the early turn of the Century.

Hello Folks,

Just out some of these old photos of the ISD.. Enjoy a glimpse into the past of this wonderful breed, I think my favorite photo is of the Kennel Ladies holding their dogs in England.. " I love how much the pretty little bitch in the middle, looks like my little Greenstone Black Pearl"

and in a very cool way of bringing someone from the past into the future.. check out this wonderful interview with Jean Lanning..

Jean Lanning
A 'charmed life' in the world of dogs
Simon Parsons talks to Crufts 2005 best-in-show judge JEAN LANNING

“I THINK I have been very lucky and have led what they call ‘a charmed life’,” says this year’s Crufts best-in-show judge, Jean Lanning.Since her schoolgirl years, the world of show dogs has been Jean’s great passion, and many years of successful breeding and exhibiting have been accompanied by a career as a judge. In this she was fortunate enough to start remarkably young; indeed she first judged more than 50 years ago, something those who know Jean’s youthful looks, attitude and enthusiasm may find hard to credit.Like last year’s BIS judge, Margaret Everton, Jean’s success in the show ring came with Great Danes – indeed it is remarkable how many prominent dog people have made their mark in, or owned, this breed. One can think of the great Bill Siggers, of course, Leslie Page, whose parents bred Danes, Gwyn and Olive Davies, Di and Carl Johnson, Karina Le Mare, Sheila Cartwright, Robin Searle, Frances and Jack Krall, Jeff Horswell and others. Even Andrew Brace owned a Dane at one time. Perhaps the skills needed in rearing and handling such magnificent dogs to a high standard give one a head start"

"Most unusual inmate of the Clausentum kennel was an Icelandic Sheepdog. They often boarded a pretty little bitch of the breed until one day the owner was having domestic problems and in desperation offered her to the Lannings, who went on to show her in unclassified classes – those were the days before the imported register. She had been bred by the Hon Mark Watson, a great enthusiast of all things Icelandic, who had imported several of the breed. Concerned about the future, he asked them to breed from their bitch, and eventually they found a half-brother who had also been sold locally. From this came a dog, Clausentum Halloween who, Jean believes, is now behind all Icelandic Sheepdogs in the world through two of his progeny sent back to Iceland in return for two more. The breed fizzled out in this country – Jean was not keen on the coats of the later imports – but has been preserved in its native land where the kennel club was set up in the late ‘60s, mainly to look after the interests of this native breed. Through Mr Watson, Jean was invited to judge the club’s first show, stopping off en route to the States, and remembers the exhibitors’ enthusiasm to learn about their breeds."

How cool is that, that Jean was asked to judge the very first dog show in Iceland and by Mark Watson himself.

For total write up (its interesting and long folks but this is the relative part about the ISD" can be found at

http://www.dogworld.co.uk/node/78

Greenstone Ajay New Stud Photo Update

Hello Folks

Thought you might like to see a new stack photo of Ch Greenstone Ajay, Top Icelandic in Canada for 2006.

First photo is Ajay at six months of age at the May Ottawa dog show 2005, Second photo is Ajay finishing his Championship at the May Ottawa Dog show 2006 at one and half years old (a one show Champion, and first Multi Group placing ISD), and Third Photo is taken today, end of May 2007, at two and half years old.

Why is it that others can see things so much fast then you can yourself, I just had a letter from a friend that Ajay's newest 2 and half year old photo, he looks a great deal like the ideal standard drawing for a med adult male ISD. So I went to look, and I can see what they mean.. wow, that is so great, the drawings where done in 2002, and of course Ajay was not born till 2004, but he really does look like the drawing.

Greenstone Ajay is available for stud to approved CKC registered females.

Barks

Judges Seminar over the weekend.

Good Morning Folks,

I love this photo of the crew, with myself and Monika Karlsdottir visiting from Iceland. The dogs look sooo young, hard to believe that this was taken two years ago, I think I will have to try and get some group photos of the dogs this summer for the albums.

What a good long weekend, Jason took Friday off work, and stayed home to work on one of the new inside Dog pens that has a pop out door to their own private 20 by 8 by 6 doggy run. I still need to paint and do the finishing touchs but I am thrilled to have it come up for the girls heats, as I will be able to safely keep everyone inside, without having to use very much to almost no crate time, instead they will have large indoor pens in the attached dog room, and their own outdoor pen to hang in.

We have plans to set up three more in the same area so that will be a wonderful help in being able to manage the dogs while the females are in heat and the males can't be with them etc.

Otherwise, we worked outside on friday a bit, and got some more scrubs planted, we are creating a flower bed and garden with bushes to help provide shade in front of the dogs pens, will give the dogs more shade, and will make it look nicer for everyone.

So Friday night was getting ready to go Saturday for the judges seminar, so up bright and early on saturday and off we went, good drive, lots of rain but still it was a good drive, and we arrived on time, and the hosts where wonderful..

I loved their dog training area!, I want one LOL, they have a huge covered areana, half is smooth cement, with ring mats down, for show/obedance training, and the back half, a full size agiltiy training center, sweet! It was a great set up, and I would love to someday have something simular for my own dogs to train in on property.

So the semianar itself went very well, we gave out the Standard with drawings, and we have the DIF video, and many other books and four ISD's for the judges to see. We had two males, two females, two long hair, two med coated, Black tri's and yellow gene dogs. lots of white, and little white, so a good cross section of the breed in these terms.

The judges where interested and very kind to us, they asked lots of questions and seemed quite interested in the breed. All in all a wonderful way to spend a few hours, everyone who knows me, knows get me talking about ISD's and I can go forever LOL

However last week, we had those very bad wind storm (knocked the rabbit hutch over) and I was outside in it a bit, and got wind in my ears, and so over the week, my ears and throat just kept getting worse and worse, by Saturday, I was on full meds to appear normal :) and when done, got in the truck and my head felt like it would explode, so took some more meds and had a nap on the way home, thank goodness for willing hubbies that help in these things, Went to bed early saturday and most of sunday morning, was spent getting some extra sleep, Jason was in charge upstairs and the dogs seemed to think that is fine, but most of them piled on the bed with me and gave me much needed cuddles and kisses to make me feel better, nothing much better then a living, loving furry hot water bottle ;)

So after I got up, worked outside in my gardens for a few hours and then was tired again, so went to bed early last night and am a bit better today, and have started my normal chores, so far so good.

The dogs a fab, everyone is doing great, training is good, we are all loving the extra time outside, and they are all getting much more one on one time taking turns hanging out in the yard with me while I am working outside.. I try and switch them off, so they all get time out of the dog yard and out with me. and they all run and run and then they come back and hang with us.. and stick their noses into the ground, or boxes or whatever we are doing.. with this sweet, "What are you doing? look and a few of them know the word dig, and so we have to have a talk about, no digging in my gardens LOL

Otherwise found a stash of eggs in the barn, I knew those hens had found a place, tons of eggs, most of them fresh and good so that is great, barn critters are doing well..loving the new green grass, but today they are going to have to stay inside, I am not up to being out in the winds today to help graze them.

Hope everyone had a great weekend, and my goals for the week, painting, planting, gardening, cleaning the outside chicken area, getting better, dog training classes, (advanced agility starts tomorrow night) and getting packed and ready for my harris semianar in toronto this coming weekend.

Barks

Greenstone Iceland Sheepdog Painting

Hello Folks

Wow, what a great four day weekend and Dog show event, I will get to much more detail but decided to break down the event into parts, so this is one of the thing I had done, was order, a painting done of the the Iceland Sheepdog to be used for promotional items for Greenstone Kennel. It was done in mind to be placed on a Iceland Dark Blue or Black T-Shirt.

I think it turned out great, and can't wait to get it put on a few mugs, T-shirts, bags etc.. for my puppy owners, please let me know if you would like something. The imagine is being shared here but it is copyrighted to Greenstone, so please don't use without permission, thanks.

Barks.

Icelandic Sheepdog Judges Seminar April 28th

Hello Folks

In Keeping with talking about the breed standard, Greenstone Kennels, has been asked to do a breed seminar for CKC judges on April 28th here in Ontario. This is wonderful news, there was a breed seminar from Frank at Bayridge Kennels in Ontario at a Judges Seminar last spring here in Ontario, and Jill Fike from Pineridge was host to a hour long Judges Seminar in Nov of 2006 in B.C, with over sixty judges at the seminar for Jill, it was a great turn out. Jill and family were able to take three Icelandics with them.

I am greatly looking forward to presenting the Icelandics to a great many of our Eastern Canadian CKC judges, and hope to bring six Icelandics with me, A lovely selection of Red/White, Proper Black Tri, and Chinchilla with a couple med coated and a few lovely Long Hair ISD's. Its very important that the judges learn what coat colors are allow by the standard and what colors should be faulted, example, Saddle or Mantle on any of the Tan colored dogs, Black dogs, White dogs, Black and White dogs, or Extreme Pieds, Tan dogs with Brown pigment etc.

Updates to follow after the seminar.

Barks

Icelandic Sheepdog Head Profiles

Hello Folks,


The Canadian Icelandic Sheepdog Standard, calls for





"Head : Strongly built with close fitting skin.


"Skull slightly longer than muzzle.


"Triangular when seen from above or the side.


" Skull: somewhat domed.


" Stop: clearly defined though neither steep nor high.

So in keeping with the standard, how would you rate the drawings?? Who has the correct Stop? Who has to steep of Stop? Who is to long in the muzzle? Who has not enough Stop? Which ones are med coated and which ones are long Coated? I wish that I had a drawing for lack of underjaw, as this is something that we are seeing alot in N.A. Answers at the bottom of this writing..

" Nose: black, dark brown in chocolate brown and some cream dogs.


" Muzzle: well-developed, nasal bridge straight.


" Muzzle slightly shorter than skull.


" Tapering evenly towards the nose to form a blunt triangle when seen from both above and from the side.


" Lips: black, close fitting, dark brown in chocolate brown and some cream dogs.


"Cheeks: Flat. Bite: scissor bite. Complete dentition.


" Eyes: of medium size and almond shaped. Dark brown. Slightly lighter in chocolate brown and some cream dogs. The eye-rims are black. Dark brown in chocolate brown and some cream dogs.

"Ears: erect and of medium size. Triangular with firm edges and slightly rounded tips. Very mobile, reacting sensitively to sounds and showing the dog's mood.

How about Ears?? Read the above quote from the standard, and then take a good hard look at the drawings and see what you think.

Which one has the correct eat set and placement to the Breed Standard?

Which one is to large? Which ones is to Wide? Which ones are to close set? To Pointed? Which ones are to low set?

How about a live example, to be on the safe side, I am doing this to my own breeding,

1)Black Pigment, Black nose, Black lips muzzle, no pigment issues

2) Well developed nose, Nice full muzzle, good depth to the underJaw.

3) Med brown eye pigment with almond eye shape

4) a moderate stop (personally I would perfer just a bit more stop)

5) Slightly rounded ears, with good placement, (but I would in fact perfer them to be a tiny bit smaller, this might come with age, we will see)

6) Skull slightly longer then muzzle.

7)Cheeks flat (watch this, some dogs are getting heavy in this regard)

8) Can't see if but full scisser bite

Ok, by the standard, in the first drawing,

First drawing on the left top: Correct to standard Stop, and Muzzle Length, with Correct matching underjaw.

Top right drawing: Too Steep of Stop

Bottom left drawing: Too long in muzzle (often seen in real life with a lack of underjaw)

Bottom right Drawing: Not enough stop.

Left top and Bottom Right are med coated, So what is the dead giveaway?? The shorter hair behind the ear of course!

Ears

1) Correct Ear Size and Placement

2) Too Large and too Pointed

3) Too Wide and too low set

4) Too Close Set and too Pointed

I am aware that everyone has their own thoughts on what is correct, and please be aware that these drawings where done by a CKC Herding judge and where done based on the written FCI standard.

I am the first to admit that I have some personal perferences that would be a bit different then what is the ideal drawing, a perfect example of this, is I like a little more stop to my own dogs, but that is what the Breed Standard is for..

You need to remember that there is no Pick of a litter, if its a poor litter of puppies in Quality, then there they are all poor.. You need to compare ever dog and ever puppy directly to your breed standard.. READ your standard over and over again.. get it out and go over each area of your dog, put your dog on your grooming table and put a mirror on the wall and look at your dog though the mirror, take lots of stack photos and then look at them and read the standard in printed format at the same time..

When you love your dogs, or your puppies, you often get that Ahhh feeling when you look at them.. and I hope you do, I love that feeling but I don't want that happening when I am looking at them for breed type. I want to be as hard on them as I can be, so that I can breed to improve each generation.. Photos will allow you to see things in a removed way..

Good luck and have lots of fun learning more about your breed standard..

Barks

Comment from a Viewer

"Don't forget the aspect of the head that is covered in General Appearance: "expression is gentle, intelligent and happy". For me this has a lot to do with breed type. Eye shape, eyeset and color are crucial here. "

Thanks for the impute Laura35

Here is the whole General Appearance from the Canadian Icelandic Sheepdog Standard

"General AppearanceThe Icelandic Sheepdog is a Nordic herding Spitz, slightly under medium sized with prick ears and a curled tail. Seen from the side the dog is rectangular; the length of the body from the point of shoulder to point of buttock is greater than the height at withers. The depth of the chest is equal to the length of the foreleg. The expression is gentle, intelligent and happy. A confident and lively bearing is typical for this dog. There are two types of coat, long and short both thick and extremely weatherproof. There is a marked difference in appearance between the sexes."

Double Dewclaws on the Iceland Sheepdog

Hello Folks,





The Canadian standard says





"Dewclaws: well-developed double dewclaws are desirable"





In Keeping with this most Icelandic Breeders around the world consider double dewclaws important, Single Dewclaws on the Front and Doubles on the back is the most common Dewclaw seen within the breed. IMO second would single on all four legs, rarely you will find doubles on all four legs, and even rarer, you will find the odd dog with singles on some legs and no dewclaws on one or more legs.





The Standard is very clear " Serious Faults :Lack of dewclaws.Yellow eyes.Round protruding eyes"





Monika at Tofra Kennels has spent years studying and learning about the dewclaws in the Iceland Sheepdog Breed to read about her "theory of the inheritance of dewclaws in the Icelandic Sheepdog" Please go to her website, and on the left side click on Articles.





http://www.tofradogs.com/english.htm





Within my own kennel, I have been keeping track of all dogs and their litters since 2000, and I will show you what my own percents look like, I will continue to update the results as each new litter is born, and of course that means that the results will also move around.



Personally, I will admit that I do not breed for the double dewclaws on the front legs, nor would I given the choice buy a puppy with double dewclaws on the front legs, I find that having doubles on the front is for me at least a distraction of the clean look of the leg. However having said that, I do look and breed for large, tight, lowset, very strong back double dewclaws.

As it would appear that the front set and back set are breed on different thesholds, this means I can work on creating bigger strong doubles on the back without having to worry about producing double dewclaws on the front legs..

Now you might ask, why would it be important, well the most basic and simple answer is that its one of the things that set our breed apart from many other Spitz breeds. We are a double dewclaw breed, and its often one of the first things a judge or new puppy owner will say, is can I see the famous double dewclaws.

But I think that its has more to do with the landscape that the dogs developed in, Iceland is a rough land, and its landscape is very much like the high artic in Nunavut, (as they are just across from each other, its no wonder that they are very much the same) and when I lived in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada, I got to see first hand how the Icelandics used their dewclaws, and much to my surprise it was not on the climb up rocks so much as them using it for the controlled movements coming down the cliffs and rocks, they would spread out their foot, and with proper strong lowset dewclaws, they would use them as extra toes for grip and for control of their speed down. Only once did I think that one of my dogs had damaged their dewclaw using it, but when I looked very closely, he had in fact cut it on a rock, and Jason packed him out for a bit on the hike, and soon enough, he was put me down, and he limped out the rest of the hike.

Please never allow your vet to talk you into removing your Icelandic Sheepdogs Dewclaws, they are part of what makes our breed great, and just because most vets are use to removing them on other breeds does not mean that its correct for all breeds.

I have had a number of my puppy owners talk about the fact that their Icelandics use their feet and toes to hold their toys, and to control what the toy is doing a great deal more then any of their other dogs of different breeds over the years every had, and I will agree, the Iceland Sheepdog uses his feet and dewclaws to the best of its advantage, and I again thank Iceland and the Icelandic Peaple for this, I think they have breed for a hardy, smart, thinking dog, now its up to the breeders of the Iceland Dog, no matter where they live, to follow in the same footsteps.

Barks

News about coming Iceland Trip

Iceland, 19th May 2006


Dear friends,

We apologise for the delay in replying, we have been waiting for replies from the coach company and the guesthouse.

About forty people have registered to come to Iceland for the ISIC anniversary in September, this is many more than we expected and we are delighted to get such a great response. We are looking forward to seeing you all and sharing what will surely be an unforgettable weekend together.

Here is the itinerary for the weekend 15th – 17th September 2006:

Friday evening
We all meet in the evening at the guesthouse to welcome you.

Saturday
Depart from the guesthouse at 08.00 sharp. The sheep gathering is 90km. from Reykjavík, the sorting pen we will be visiting is called Reykjarétt and is situated in Skeiða- og Gnúpverjahreppur.

This sorting pen was originally built in 1881 from lava rocks and underwent extensive restoration in 1981. The gathering of the sheep from their summer pasture up in the mountains each autumn and sorting them out to their respective farms has been a traditionally celebrated for centuries by friends and relatives on the farms in the area.

We will be offering sandwiches and soft drinks for sale during the sheep gathering. Afterwards we will drive to a nearby farm restaurant called Húsatóftir where we will be served traditional Icelandic lamb soup. The prize for the soup will be ISKR 1.000 and you can eat as much as you want.

On the return journey we will be stopping at Thingborg, where they sell locally made woollen crafts and it is possible to see how the wool is worked and the items are made.

We will also stop at Kerið in Grímsnes, a 5000 – 6000 year old volcanic crater filled with water. It is a very beautiful area; there have been a couple of concerts held there.

Then everyone will be driven back to Reykjavík. There is nothing formally organised for Saturday evening as most people will probably be tired after the day’s activities and another full day planned the next day with the dog show.

Sunday
The DÍF breed club show in Ölfushöll at the farm Ingólfshvoll in Ölfus. The show hall is 50 km. from Reykjavík by coach. We have a judge for the show; Zindy Munsterhielm-Ehnberg will be coming from Finland.

The time the show starts will depend on the number of dogs registered for the show. In January there were 80 dogs registered and we started at 11.00.
After the show there will be an evening meal in the show hall dining room. There will be a set menu of roast Icelandic lamb with assorted vegetables, desert and coffee afterwards for ISKR 2.450.

There will be no admittance charge to the show and refreshments will be for sale in the show hall dining area throughout the day.

Transportation
The return coach trip on Saturday will cost ISKR 1.630 per person and ISKR 880 on Sunday. This is assuming there will be 40 passengers.
Please could you let us know if you will be travelling with the coach.

Accommodation
We have arranged a special deal with the Borgartún Guesthouse. The guesthouse has 22 rooms, all non-smoking with TV and en-suite bathrooms. There is a comfortable sitting room with TV and Internet facilities, breakfast buffet is included. There are a number of excellent restaurants nearby. The Borgartún Guesthouse is on the main bus route into the city centre or a 30 minute walk by the sea wall takes you to the centre. Reykjavik’s main swimming pool is only a 10 minute walk away with hot pots and steam bath.

Prices per night including breakfast:
Single room ISKR 5.850
Double room ISKR 7.740
Triple room ISKR 10.080

More information about the Borgartún Guesthouse can be found on their website: http://www.gjtravel.is/borgartun.asp?strAction=getPublication&intPublId=114.

We have made a block reservation but we need to confirm actual numbers as soon as possible. We would be very grateful if you could let us know if you will be needing accommodation at the guest house no later than 26nd May and the exact dates you would like to stay.

GJ-Travel’s offices are in the same building as the Borgartún Guesthouse so if you have other excursion arrangements while you’re in Iceland it could not be simpler. More information can be found on their website: http://www.gjtravel.is/

Hoping to hear from you soon.

With best regards on behalf of the DÍF board,

Þorsteinn Thorsteinson

______________________________
Brún
845 Flúðir
ICELAND
(+354) 486 6647 / 892 6647
E-mail: sunnusteinn@simnet.is / dif@dif.is

New Greenstone Dog

Hello Folks

Jason came home from his work trip with a new Greenstone Icelandic Sheepdog to add to our home and hearts...

Please welcome our newest pup... LOL

Barks