Icelandic Sheepdog

Spitz & primitive

Medium

12–14 y

FCI group 5 · Spitz and primitive types · The breed standard (FCI 289)

Uncited — a general reference figure, not a published one · no measured cohort for this breed

The Icelandic Sheepdog, is an Icelandic breed of dog of Nordic Spitz type. It derives from dogs brought to Iceland by Viking settlers in the ninth century; it is both similar and closely related to the Buhund of Norway and the Vallhund and Norrbottenpets of Sweden, which derive from the same ancestral stock.

Friendly

Cheerful

Hardy

Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · reference ranges from the Kintail breed dataset

Adult weight

Reference

Male

12.2–15 kg

Female

10.2–12.5 kg

Estimated — ±10% around the AKC breed page's single points of 30 lb for dogs and 25 lb for bitches

Weight for age

Stock data

Male

Female

Expected range

Expected range from the breed's own adult weight, kilograms. Growth reference: Salt et al. 2017, WALTHAM (9–15 kg band).

Heat cycles · females

Stock data

First heat

8–12 mo

typical

Interval

180 d

typical

Bleeding

~9 d

typical

Proestrus 9d

Estrus 9d

Diestrus 52d

Anestrus 110d

General figures for dogs, not for this breed — individual cycles vary widely.

Questions people ask

Adult males usually weigh 12.2–15 kg and females 10.2–12.5 kg. Most are close to their full size by around 18 months, though the last little bit of filling out takes longer. Growth reference: Salt et al. 2017, WALTHAM (9–15 kg band).

No Icelandic Sheepdog cycle figures are published here yet, so this is general guidance rather than a breed number: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later.

12–14 y — the usual range. Uncited — a general reference figure, not a published one · no measured cohort for this breed. How the later years go comes down to weight, teeth, exercise and regular check-ups far more than to the breed.